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Chapter 1

The Primal Planet, in one of the smallest continents, the Dying Isle Continent...

A small dark purple ray of light moving faster than the speed of light crossed countless solar systems, and universes to reach a certain solar system. The ray of light entered the green planet known as the Primal Planet. The purple light ray then descended like a shooting star towards the Dying Isle Continent which was one of the smallest continents on this planet.

The purple light eventually reached the city of Azure.

Without anyone noticing, the purple light that was moving faster than the speed of light itself reached a certain bedroom where a young man was lying on the bed unconscious, the light ray entered the young man's body.

[Ding! After searching countless universes, the first host has been found.]

[Ding! The system is activating... 1%]

[Ding! Activation.....88%]

[Ding! Dragon Monarch System has been activated.]

[Ding! Scanning the host's body...1%]

[Ding! Scanning.....77%]

[Ding! Scanning complete!]

[Ding! Merging the memories of two hosts.....1%]

[Ding! Memory Merging...66%]

[Ding! Memory Merging is complete]

The sky was dark, the clouds were covering the moons, preventing any light of the moon from reaching the Azure city. Lying on the bed, a young man whose age was 19 years old suddenly started feeling uncomfortable.

"Where am I?" Suddenly the young man opened his eyes and looked around. He tried to get up only to realize that his current body was too weak. He couldn't even lift his head.

"How the hell have I become so weak? The last thing that I remember was reading a book on history, about the great Alexander."

For a moment the young man closed his eyes. It was then all the memories of the previous owner began to resurface. Isaac remembered everything that the owner of this body had gone through ever since he was a young child.

"So his name...my current name is Aditya Bainnith." Isaac or current and will be known as Aditya was a man from earth 21st century. He came from a world where technology has progressed a lot. At this point, his previous world was experiencing an outbreak of a virus, wars between countries, and the economy had almost been crushed. Being the son of a prime minister of a small country, Aditya was trying his best to come up with a solution to stabilize his country's economy.

While the real Aditya of this world was different. The Aditya of this world was the son of the Dragon king. Yes, Aditya was a dragon himself. However, there was a certain problem with Aditya, a problem that was also the root of his suffering. Even though Aditya is a dragon, he couldn't awaken his Dragon lineage.

This caused Aditya to be bullied all his life. As a result, he became mentally tired and tried to escape reality by drinking alcohol. Seeing that the son of the dragon king didn't cultivate but instead had become an alcohol addict, Aditya's furious father who also hated him for not awakening their family lineage, threw Aditya out.

Aditya was thrown to one of the smallest and poorest continents of this world. Aditya was banished from his royal family, meaning he no longer had any rights to the throne. A small noble king of this continent decided to adopt Aditya and pass the throne to Aditya when they died.

There was certainly a lucky thing about Aditya, he had something that no one in this world had. Men would die in jealousy knowing what Aditya had. Aditya was the husband of 7 fairies.

Aditya's Dragon family ruled the biggest kingdom in this world. When Aditya was born, to establish close connections with the strongest and biggest Empire, the influential families with big backgrounds decided to marry their daughter to Aditya.

So under Aditya's father's order, 7 contracts were forged. The main reason why Aditya still was the husband of the 7 fairies of this world was because of this contract. If Aditya were to die, all 7 of his wives will also die with him.

So when Aditya was banished from his royal family, the big families that once got their daughters to marry Aditya through the contract could no longer do anything as there was no way to break the contract.

The reason why his wives are known as the 7 fairies of this world is that his wives are world-class experts in their respective fields. Each of his wives has goddess titles on their names.

If that wasn't enough, each of his wives belongs to one of the 7 continents of the Primal Planet. His wives were the top beauties of their respective continents and no other women could even come closer in terms of beauty and power.

Any man wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice his very soul to get one of the 7 fairies as his wife. So knowing that Aditya was the husband of the 7 fairies, he was hated almost by every man who has seen or met of one his wives.

"It's not like I wanted to get marry the 7 fairies anyway. Even I who is the husband still have never seen all of my wives, except for one or two." Just remembering all the depressing things that the previous Aditya made, caused the new Aditya to feel depressed. The previous Aditya had completely given up on his life. It was his seven wives who kept him alive.

"System?"

[Ding! The Dragon Monarch System is at your service.]

[Ding! Does the host wishes to open the Beginner gift package?]

"Open it."

[Ding! The gift Package has been opened.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for activating Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting an Innate skill of Instant learning and adaptation]

[Ding! Activating the hidden bloodline of the host has gained some skills.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning the Innate skill Fiery Blaze.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning the Passive skill Eruption Wave.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning the Passive skill Molten Bolt]

[Ding! Awakening Dragon Lineage has increased the host stats.]

[Ding! Stamina [50+], Mana [50+], Health [50+], Agility [50+], Strength [50+]

[Ding! It has been detected that the host still hasn't chosen a class yet. Please choose a class to complete the final process of acquiring the system.]

[Classes are divided into three different grades.

Normal classes: - Swordsman, Spearman, Archer, Brawler, Mage, Medic, Navigator, Spellsinger, Scavenger, Samurai, Scout, Cavalier, Marine, Ranger, Slayer, Mercenary, Binder, Corrupt Mercenary, Emissary, Ninja, Spy, Butcher, Tank, Assassin, and so on...]

[Rare classes: - Puppet Master, Bishop, Trapsmith, Viking, Maiden, Mystic Knight, Windwalker, Crusader, Trickster, Beastmaster, Magehunter, Ghostwalker, Skymage, Battlemage, Paragon Knights, Demonologist, Dread Weaver, Shadow Seer, Corrupt Battlemage, Armored Engineer, Corrupted Tempest, Venom Samurai, Demonic Paragon, Pyro Witch Doctor, Demon Conjurer, Battle Brawler, Pyro Legionnaire, Necromancer, Nightwalker, Night Ranger, Magician, Archmage, Demon Hunter, Arachnomancer, Gunslinger, and so on...]

[Mythical Classes: - Blade Dancer, Stormlord, Stormsinger, Hero, Sunmaster, Wardancer, Dragon Knight, Illusion Sorcerer, Shadow Master, Armageddon Warmaster, Frost Sorcerer, Cataclysmic Seer, Battle Marauder, Warlock, Sage, Lightning Master, Fire Master, Water Master, Earth Master, Wind Master and so on...]

[Ding! Currently, the host can choose only one class. Whenever the host reaches a new order, the host will be allowed to choose a new class besides the existing classes. The system recommends the host choose a mythical class. Being a Dragon, only a mythical class can benefit the current host.]

Looking at the list of almost endless classes, Aditya nearly fainted. There were so many classes out there. He is not even sure which class he should pick.

"From memories of the previous Aditya, each person in this world has a class. When a child reaches the age of 15, they are required to choose a class. Each class comes with its own unique set of skills, and powers. Each class has its unique cultivation manual." Looking at the almost endless list of mythical classes, Aditya realized that some classes were not known to the people of this world. Most of the mythical classes on the list were either extremely rare or not known to the residents of this world.

"Since my bloodline already has given me fire powers, even though I am tempted to choose magic-type classes, for now, I will go with a class that gives me an advantage with my physical stats. I will go with War Dancer."

[Ding! The host has chosen a mythical class.]

[Ding! Stamina [20+], Mana [20+], Health [20+], Agility [20+], Strength [20+]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining a new innate skill Weapon Mastery]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining a new passive skill Silence Mind]

[Ding! More skills related to Mythical class War Dancer can be acquired either through training or by leveling up.]

When all the ringing sounds disappeared, Aditya no longer felt any weakness. Previously he couldn't even raise his head, but now his entire body was full of energy.

"I feel like I have been reborn." Aditya could feel it. This new kind of energy was flowing along with his blood. This was his Mana. His heart was the mana storage and producer.

"rumbling!"

"It feels like I haven't eaten anything for ages." Aditya felt he could devour anything at this point. Without wasting another second, he quickly got up from his bed and walked out of his room. From the memory of the previous Aditya, he reached the dining hall.

"I should find something to eat in the Kitchen."

"Master" Aditya quickly was about to walk to the kitchen when he heard someone's voice.

Turning around, Aditya's eyes widened seeing the figure sitting on the chair. "You're.....

Chapter 2

"Master is unconscious. Should we feed him a healing potion? At this rate, he might end up in a coma, or worse he might even die." Watson Singer was an old man who has been working as a butler for generations now. Despite looking 60 years old, he was actually a few hundred years older. His long life has allowed him to see the rise and fall of many great nations, geniuses, and powerhouses.

Watson had long hair and a white beard. He was wearing what a typical butler would wear. He currently was the head butler of his castle.

.

"There is no need to do that. That bastard should just die." Coldly replied the maid sitting opposite Watson. Her name was Julia Onard. Julia was the daughter of one of the most powerful noble houses on this continent. Julia was one of Aditya's wives. But she always had disguised herself as a maid so that Aditya would never know about her and see her real face.

"But milady, if we don't heal Lord Aditya, his death will mean the end of your life. As the butler and servant of Onard's noble house, I cannot allow that to happen." The only reason a princess of a powerful noble house was disguised as a maid was that she needed to protect Aditya from secret as her life was connected to his.

"I know Watson. I am just sick of it. That man, no he is not even worthy of being called a man. He doesn't mind whether we live or die. If it wasn't for the contract binding me, I would have never come to a place like this."

"Milady, I think...." Both Watson and Julia turned silent hearing the footsteps.

Tap! Tap!

When the figure whose entire body was shrouded in darkness walked onto the dining table and kept walking forwards the kitchen, for a second both Watson and Julia were left shocked to their core.

Others might not know it, but Watson and Julia knew how drunk Aditya was. They were not expecting Aditya to regain his consciousness for at least a week.

The dining hall was about 50 meters big. In the middle of the hall, there was a huge 10 meters long and 2 meters wide table with multiple chairs. Sitting at the table, both Julia and Watson looked at Aditya who was murmuring something about eating while walking toward the kitchen.

"Master." Aditya stopped walking and looked at the dining table. The entire hall was shrouded in darkness, There was no light in the whole castle. It was only because of the moonlight that he was able to walk in the darkness.

The yellow light of the candles that were placed on the dining table made it easier for Aditya to see the faces of his loyal butler and maid, Watson and Julia. When Aditya came here, both Watson and Julia has been working to serve him. Even when all the butlers and maids of this castle left, Julia and Watson never left his side.

"What is a Julia?" Aditya stopped and asked with a smile. Remembering the things both Watson and Julia did for him in the past, Aditya couldn't help but smile.

Unlike normal cultivators, both Julia and Watson were able to see through the darkness. Both of them were left astonished seeing the pure smile on Aditya's face. Before Aditya was always drunk, so he never had any proper conversation with Watson and Julia. This was the first time they had seen Aditya smile.

Although Aditya's hair was messed up, his pure smile added more charm to his face. This Aditya looked completely different from his drunken version.

The current Aditya looked very charming and handsome. Being a dragon, Aditya was naturally handsome. His face was even more charming without being drunk.

Aditya had long dark blue hair that reached his back. He had a sharp jawline and an otherworld handsome face. He was 177 cm tall and was about 85 kg. Due to his constant drinking of alcohol, his weight has been increasing.

'What happened to him? He doesn't look like he is drunk anymore. What is this sudden change in the Aura around him? Did he perhaps change? No, no, a man like him can never change. What I am even thinking?' No one knew the thoughts going on in Julia's mind.

"Young master, when did you wake up?" Watson being a man with hundred years of experience, kept his expression unchanged. Since Julia was thinking about something else, she failed to see the changes in current Aditya, but Watson was able to see the changes. Watson decided to not talk about the changes within Aditya for now.

"I just woke about 30 minutes." Aditya's eyes fell on the dining table. Seeing the food on the table, he felt he couldn't hold himself any longer.

"Watson, do you mind if I joined you two?" Aditya asked without moving his eyes from the dishes that were served on the table.

Once again both Watson and Julia widened their eyes in shock. The Aditya they knew would never sit to eat with them. Even though Aditya was kicked out of his royal family, he never forgot his noble etiquette. Aditya never allowed any servants to be with him. Everyone in the castle was ordered to eat after Aditya did.

"if you don't mind then you can join us, young master." Watson quickly replied while trying not to show his shock.

'Since when did he become so polite?' Julia asked herself once again.

Without thinking too much, Aditya took the head chair of the dining table. Julia was on his right side while Watson was on his left.

Watson began to serve food on his master's plate, while Julia didn't stop looking at Aditya which was making him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Julia, why are you staring at me like that?" Aditya asked with an awkward smile. Julia was been staring at Aditya non-stop.

While asking, Aditya also took a few extra seconds to look at Julia. Julia had long purple hair that reached down to her waist, her hair is always tied in two messy low pigtails with a square fringe hanging just above her purple eyes. Julia had a curvaceous body. Her chest was above average. Despite not using any makeup, Julia was more beautiful than any average girl. Many men in this town have a crush on Aditya. Whenever the previous Aditya went to a bar, there were always some men who wanted Aditya to sell Julia to them. But the previous Aditya always refused to do that.

"Master, I noticed that you seem different than before." Julia couldn't speak looking at Aditya seeing his intense gaze. Julia spoke while lowering her head. There was a small blush on her face that no one noticed, not even Julia herself knew about it.

"I somehow managed to awaken Dragon Bloodline."

"I see you awakened your Dragon Bloodline. That's reall...Say what!!!!!" Both Julia and Watson dropped their forks on the table as their entire bodies froze in shock.

Without being bothered about their reaction, Aditya started to eat as if the more time he wasted, the more hungry his stomach was getting.

After an entire minute, passed both Julia and Watson recovered from their shock. Seeing Aditya eating calmly, Julia didn't know whether he was lying or not even though she felt the changes within his body. Before there was no mana surging throughout Aditya's body, but now there was not much mana in this body.

"Master is it really true?" Watson asked. Aditya could hear Watson's voice trembling in excitement.

Gulp!

Swallowing down the piece of bread, Aditya nodded his head. "Today when I woke up, something strange happened. After that, I discovered my entire body has changed."

"Master, what bloodline did you manage to awaken?" Aditya's royal family's bloodline has various types of heavenly dragons' bloodline mixed in it. So it was totally random which bloodline one would awaken. In the world of cultivation, bloodline plays a very important role in determining the power of an individual. For dragons, awakening their bloodline means they are bound to reach great heights.

"My bloodline is Inferno Blaze Dragon"

"Young Master, are you really sure it is an Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline?" Aditya just normally nodded while eating.

"Why both of you are reacting this way? Is Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline that powerful or what?" Aditya had zero knowledge about the dragon bloodline. Since he never managed to awaken his bloodline, he stopped studying about them.

Julia and Watson looked at each other and sighed. This was their Aditya, there was no doubt about it. At first, Watson suspected that this Aditya was a fake, but seeing his uncaring and unsurprised attitude it was clear that this Aditya was their master.

"Master, you might not know it but Inferno Blaze dragon bloodline is very rare. Though the bloodline is not strong enough to compare with the bloodline of the royal family. In thousands of years, the young master is the first person to awaken Inferno Dragon Bloodline."

"By the way, Watson I have been meaning to ask this for a while. But what happened to the light mosses of our Castle?" In this world, light Mosses are a special kind of moss that glows brightly in the darkness. Usually, these mosses are used for lighting houses and streets. Not everyone in this world could afford these mosses as they were a little expensive and rare.

"Master, don't you remember, a week ago you sold all the light mosses to buy alcohol?" For some reason, Aditya felt Julia was mocking him when she said those words.

Sigh!

Aditya put his on his forehead and sighed. 'Just how low the previous me had fallen to even sell the mosses of this castle. No wonder everything was so dark in the castle. It looks like years of drinking alcohol have emptied the treasury. I doubt there is any money left to even pay Watson and Julia's salaries.' The previous Aditya had sold many things just to get money for alcohol. He even dismissed all guards and maids of the castle to save enough money for wine.

Even the food that Aditya was eating was the food that was meant for low-class families. The food was also bought using Watson's money. 'It looks like I have to go through the budget reports and secure at least enough money to buy daily necessities.'

"Young master, are you okay?" Watson worriedly asked.

"How can I be okay Watson? At this rate, we will be bought to the streets. I have to secure enough money to pay the debts and start my future plans." Being a man who worked under his grandpa, who was the prime minister of a country, Aditya knew everything there is to know about ruling a kingdom. In this mind, Aditya already had some thoughts on improving the conditions of his tiny kingdom. But to do that, he would need funds.

"Young Master, are you out of money to drink alcohol again?" Watson mistakenly assumed that Aditya wanted money for his wine.

Hearing Watson's question, Aditya felt embarrassed and ashamed of himself. It was because of this his loyal butler and maid were suffering.

"No, from now on I won't drink anymore. Let's not talk about this now. When we are done eating, Watson came with me to my study room." Not understanding why Aditya suddenly looked so changed, both Julia and Watson continued to have their food.

"By the way, did the nobles pay their taxes yet?" Although this kingdom was one of the smallest kingdoms in this world, Aditya still had two nobles working under him.

Watson stopped eating as a complicated look appeared on his face. "Young Master, the thing is in recent years both nobles have stopped giving any taxes. It is rumored that both of them are working with the neighboring kingdoms and making a plan to over thrown master from his rule. So far we have killed at least hundreds of assassins. Recently the number of assassins only increased."

"I see." A bone-chilling smile appeared on Aditya's face. Since somehow was planning on assassinating him, there was no need for him to hold back against them.

Chapter 3

Cultivation in this world is divided into orders. Staring from zero-order to ninth order. Not everyone in this world is blessed with the power to cultivate. Aditya was also the same. But now with his bloodline awakening, Aditya can cultivate. Even among the people who can cultivate, not everyone has the talent to reach second order. Hence almost 60% to 70% of the cultivators are forever stuck at the first order.

Around 65% of the population doesn't have the ability to cultivate. However, after thousands of years of research and development, the people of this world have found a way where even the people without cultivation ability can get stronger.

The cultivation path is divided into two paths, external cultivation, and internal cultivation. The people who can't cultivate use external cultivation which involves making the body stronger with mana. While internal cultivation is regular cultivation where one can use mana to use elemental powers.

After reaching a certain stage, one can use elements. Or another way of using elements is by having an elemental type bloodline, just like Aditya who now has Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline. There are 5 primary elements fire, earth, water, wind, and lightning. Other than 5 primary elements there are also certain individuals who have rare elements mainly due to their bloodline or because they are born with them.

In the world of cultivation, only the people who are fortunate enough to awaken their bloodlines have the most advantage. Awakening a bloodline comes with hundreds of benefits. It can increase strength, increase cultivation speed, increase recovery speed, can give the user certain rare elemental powers, and many more.

Even though Aditya has never cultivated and was still considered a zero-order, when he awakened his bloodline with the system's help, he got a huge boost in his stats.

"Young master, we only have 100 soldiers and one second-order guard. Other than 100 soldiers everyone left the army because we couldn't pay their salaries on time." Hearing Watson's words, Aditya felt like an invisible arrow has been shot at his heart. Since both new and old Aditya's memories have merged, both of them basically have become one person. The current Aditya has memories of his previous self. Knowing that he is the reason why everyone in the city was suffering, he felt very guilty about it.

"If the nobles had paid their taxes on time, I think our current situation would have been much better." The previous Aditya had left all the financial work on Watson's shoulder. It's miracle that this Castle was still standing given the large number of debt that was taken to run the castle.

In this world, 100 silver was worth 1 gold while 100 gold coins were worth 1 royal gold. Counting all the debt that the current Aditya had in his name, he needed to pay 50 royal gold coins. Generally, one gold is more than enough for a middle-class family to cover their expenses for 1 month. Even if Aditya decided to sell some of his lands, he still wouldn't have enough money to pay off the debt. Also given how small his territory was, selling his land was an option for him.

"Master, not just the nobles even the people who are running their business in this city has stopped paying any taxes."

Slap!

Aditya couldn't help but slap his own forehead in frustration. Just how bad the situation was. As the King of this land, Aditya wasn't feared by anyone. Even the owners of small shops dared to not pay their taxes. 'At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if someone else started to govern this land.'

Aditya put all the papers down and seriously looked at Watson. Judging from the Aura around Watson it was clear that his butler was a second-order body cultivator.

"Watson, who is the biggest business owner in this city?"

"It's the Norlor family. A few years ago, their family had two shops. But now they have 19 shops all around the city. The Norlor family controls 80% of the total business of Azure city."

"For how long their taxes were left unpaid?"

"24 months, no actually its 25 months."

"Watson, what do you say, shall we pay a visit to this Norlor Family?" Aditya coldly asked. Being a dragon himself, Aditya had pride engraved to his very bone. If someone dares to disrespect him, he won't just sit around and tolerate it.

"I will follow my young master." Aditya could see that even Watson couldn't wait to wash his hands.

"Good, then we will leave tomorrow."

Scene change___

After leaving Aditya's room, Watson went to report everything to his real master Julia who was one of Aditya's wives. Meanwhile, Aditya didn't go to sleep. Aditya took some time to check his stats and skills.

.

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline

_Current Class: - War Dancer

_Current class Level: - 01

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Fiery Blaze, Weapon Mastery

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Molten Bolt, Silence Mind

_Strength: - 70

_Speed: - 70

_Stamina: -70

_Health: - 70

_Mana: - 70

_Free stats: - 0]

.

[Instant learning and adaptation: - The skills boost the user's brain, making the user a genius when it comes to learning and adaptation. The skills will allow enhances the brain by 25 times.]

[Fiery Blaze: - This skill allows the user to control fire. Every time the user activates this skill, it will consume [2+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination.]

[Eruption Wave: - When this skill is used, the user can control lava. Whenever this skill is activated it will consume [5+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination.]

[Molten Bolt: - Using this skill one can fire a lave bolt. Each time this skill is used it will consume [05+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination.]

[Weapon Mastery: - This skill gives the user knowledge and instant mastery over any weapon that is held by the user. Weapon Mastery increases the power of any weapon by [10%]

[Silence Mind: - A special type of skill that helps the user keep his mind calm on the battlefield. During a battle, the host will stay alert all the time.]

"Did you use that spell?" Julia asked while looking at the moon.

Standing behind her, Watson replied in a serious tone. "I have used this orb to check if the young master was really under some mind-controlling spell. The result is the opposite of what we had expected. No one is controlling the young master."

Sigh!

"Watson, after today's interaction with Aditya, do you think he has changed?" Julia has cursed her fate so many times. Being married to a man who is not even a cultivator and worse he was an alcoholic addict. If Aditya can really change, then this will be for the best.

Watson didn't reply immediately. He remained silent, showing that he was thinking deeply. After about 5 minutes of silence, Watson finally replied.

"After our today's interaction, it was clear that the young master was very worried about the situation of this Kingdom. He looked really angry when I told him about nobles' corruption. I do believe that the young master has changed. As for whether this change will bring fortune or not, even I am not sure."

"I see."

"Watson, for we will continue to observe him. Use your power to assist him whenever he needs your help."

"I understand milady. But milady, for how long, do you plan on hiding your identity?" Watson felt now that the young master was showing signs of changing into a better person, it would be better to reveal the young lady's identity.

"For now I will observe him. Just because my parents decided to marry me to Aditya doesn't mean that I have feelings for him."

Next day

Aditya, Julia, and Watson had breakfast together. After eating, Aditya took a bath. The whole castle was empty. It was only Julia, Watson and Aditya. While walking around the castle, Aditya noticed that there were some parts of the Castle which were broken or about to fall apart. The Castle was very old and was in desperate need of renovation.

"Are you ready young master?" Watson asked. Currently, Watson was wearing simple clothes that made him look like a commoner. It was Aditya who told Watson to hide his true identity and use a disguise. For now, Aditya didn't wish to let anyone know about his recently awakened bloodline. So today, Aditya and Watson were using different identities.

"Uncle Jack, call me Isaac. We're the guards sent by the King to collect the tax." Watson nodded his head with an awkward look. Watson was not comfortable calling someone whom he has been calling young master for years now.

"Young master, is there any specific reason why you disguised your identity?" While walking Watson curiously asked.

"Watson, If I want to catch the nobles off guard, I can't just reveal my identity to anyone. To them, I am still an alcohol addict. If I let them know about my move, they will become alert and might do the worse which is fleeing to another kingdom with all the wealth of this kingdom."

"I understand, young master."

While walking on the streets, Aditya once again realized just how bad the condition of this city was. This city was supposed to be the capital of this Kingdom yet the condition of this city was worse than a village.

The roads were not properly constructed. There was garbage thrown in the open. Wild dogs and cats were roaming everywhere. Beggars were lying on the sides of the roads. The houses were poorly constructed. Some mud houses looked like they are about to fall down at any given moment. There were slaves carrying goods for rich merchants. Drunken men were struggling to walk.

After walking and observing the city for 10 minutes, even a normal can tell that his city was not planned. The previous king should have given some attention to the hygiene and cleanness of this city.

"Master, we are here"

Chapter 4

Knock! Knock!

"Who is bothering us at early in the morning?" Watson and Aditya exchanged gazes hearing the angry tone of an old man.

Cough!

After clearing his throat, Aditya tried his best to not show his anger in his tone. "Sir, we're here from the neighboring city with your goods."

"You guys arrived quickly. Hold on, I will be there in a second." Watson was left speechless. He wasn't this kind of cheap lie to work.

Click!

Opening the door that was made from iron, an old man who despite being younger than Watson looked older than him stood in front of Aditya. The old man was supporting his body with a wooden stick. He appeared to be wearing expensive-looking Kimono. He was wearing a thick gold chain around his neck and a golden bracelet on his left hand.

"Who are you? I don't seem to recognize the two of you?" The old man who was also the head of the Norlor family, spoke while looking at Aditya and Watson's faces.

Neither Aditya nor Watson spoke anything. Aditya was already angry at the Norlor family while Watson was getting pissed seeing this old man's attitude. Whether his lady liked Aditya or not, since Aditya was lady Julia's husband by contract, Watson always served Aditya like he was serving his true master. Seeing someone disrespect his master, Watson was reaching his boiling point.

"Our Lord has sent us here for you to pay the tax for 25 months."

Hearing Aditya's words, contrary to what they had expected, the old man named Sam began to laugh loudly.

"Hahaha! You mean that trash who drinks alcohol every single day." Watson frowned hearing those words. While Aditya could finally see it with his own eyes. Even a small merchant like the Norlor family wasn't afraid of Aditya so why would the nobles obey him?

"You know what, I was thinking of taking over his castle. With the mercenaries that I have hired, taking over that trash's castle shouldn't be a problem."

"I know you two should start working for me instead. I will pay double the amount."

"Why you..." Watson was about to charge at Sam, but Aditya stopped him with a smile.

"Sir I am really interested in your offer. Why don't we talk more about this in that alley?" With an innocent smile on his face, both Aditya and Sam went into the abandoned alley.

Ahhh!

Please stop!"

"I beg you!"

"Not my hair...Ahh!"

"Not my pants....Ah!"

"Stoppppp"

"Ahhhhh!"

A moment later, sound screams woke up everyone in the neighborhood. The scream continued for the next 5 minutes. Everyone in the nearby area opened their windows and looked very annoyed.

"Hey, what's happening so early in the morning?"

"Who is screaming?"

"Someone stop this screaming sound."

"Fuck my luck, I can't sleep at all."

Watson seeing how angry the people were getting, felt a little worried. The sounds of screaming also bought the two sons of the Norlor Family.

"Who the fuck is screaming like a dog?"

"Which son a bitch dares to ruin my sleep?"

Both sons of the Norlor family got out of their house with an enraged look. Both sons of the Norlor family just like their father were wearing expensive kimonos and gold rings and chains.

Another minute later, the screaming sounds finally stopped.

"Hey, who are you?" Spencer, the eldest son of the Norlor family asked Watson when he saw a strange standing in front of their house.

"Before I answer, I think you two should look at the person whom you two just called a bitch." Just as Watson's words were finished, like a rotten mango, Sam fell right in front of his two sons.

Bang!

Cough! Cough!

When the dust settled down, both Spencer and Robert saw an old man wearing nothing but white dirty underwear lying in front of them. The old man's head was covered in drops of blood, his entire face was swollen and both of his eyes had large dark circles, almost like a There were bruise marks on his arms and shoulders. The old man's clothes were worn apart. It was only due to Aditya's mercy that he let the old man go with his dirty underwear. Aditya had beaten Sam to an unrecognizable shape.

"Who is weird animal? I better stay from this animal, otherwise, I might catch some unknown disease." Robert the youngest son of the Norlor family stepped back with a disgusted look on his face.

"He looks like a monkey whose hair has been removed."

"Hahahaha!" Aditya almost fell on his butt hearing Sam's own two sons calling their father money and a weird animal. Even Watson was wearing to keep his usually calm face. His body was slightly trembling, showing his struggle to hold back his laughter.

"You morons, look carefully that bitch is your fucking daddy."

Both Spencer and Robert exchanged confused gazes and then closely looked at the old's man face which was beaten into an unrecognizable shape. Even though Sam's face has changed after a close look both Robert and Spencer realized who this old man was.

"Father, what happened to you?"

"Father, please open your eyes."

Both Robert and Spencer kneeled and checked their father's condition.

"Guards" Hearing Robert's angry shout, all the hired mercenaries came out from their mansion. Within 10 seconds 20 mercenaries surrounded Watson and Aditya.

Spencer coldly looked at Aditya. "Don't kill him. I will personally torture this man in front of the crowd. I will wash today's shame with his blood."

All the mercenaries were wearing black clothes and covering their faces with black masks. Despite being surrounded by 20 mercenaries both Watson and Aditya showed no bothered look.

"Isaac, should I kill them?"

"Na, grandpa you just chill. I will deal with these insects." Judging from the Aura, it was clear that non of the mercenaries' strength was above First-order.

"How dare they underestimate us. Everyone attack." Aditya was expecting to fight some strong opponent, but here he was stuck fighting some low-level mercenaries.

"Whatever, free experience points for me."

Swoosh!

Watson, Spencer, Robert, and Sam who just regained consciousness all suddenly found Aditya disappeared from his place. When Aditya moved, the faster around him also seems to move. Everyone was shocked by the display of his speed.

Not even 2 seconds had passed, and the killing streak began. Holding the sword in his hand, Aditya moved faster than the mercenaries could ever move. Before they could even react, their heads were severed from their bodies.

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.....]

"What's happening?" One by one, all the 19 mercenaries' heads fell to the ground. Only the leader of the mercenary was alive. However seeing the dead bodies of these subordinates, his very soul was shaken to the core.

"I just gave them a quick death." Aditya appeared behind the leader like a ghost appearing out of thin air. Just when the leader turned around, as his entire body trembled in fear, Aditya grabbed the leader's head and lifted it in the air.

"Pl....Please le.....let me go" The leader struggled to free himself from Aditya's hold.

Aditya without caring about the leader of the mercenary looked at the trio of father and two sons. "You guys haven't been paying the tax for the last 25 months. Did your Norlor family really think that our lord has forgotten about this? Since today our lord ordered us to come here, I will get the tax along with interests."

Fiery Blaze!

Sam, Spencer, and Robert all the Norlor family members widened their eyes as their entire bodies began to shiver violently seeing a red flame engulfing the leader and burning him alive.

Ahhhhhhh!

The scream of the leader was enough to send chills down everyone's shine. When the flame started to burn his body, he struggled with his might to free himself. Even Watson who was a man with hundreds of years of experience couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of his eyes.

At this moment everyone was terrified. No one was expecting the man sent by the King would go this far to collect their taxes. This crazy event soon spread throughout the entire city like a wildfire.

After a minute of burning, Aditya just threw the leader's body like throwing garbage. After that Aditya, coldly approached the Norlor Family and crouched down in front of them.

"You guys didn't pay tax for 25 months. Did the Norlor family really think that the King would let you guys go away with this big crime? When I asked for the tax, you instead insulted me and my King. You even went as far as to attack the King's right-hand man with mercenaries. Now, what punishment do you think the King will give to the three of you?" Looking at those demonic eyes, that seems to reflect the red hot flame that burned someone alive right in front of their eyes, the Norlor Family men couldn't stop trembling.

"Pleas.....Please sir take whatever you need. Please spare us. Please, my lord." Sam was a commoner at the end of the day. This kind of scene was just too cruel for him. He and his sons were afraid of death. After seeing how mercilessly Aditya killed everyone in front of them, Sam nor his sons had the courage to resist anymore. Fear had completely taken over their hearts.

Aditya smiled inwardly hearing Sam's words. Aditya already had achieved his success. "For not paying taxes for 25 months, for insulting the King and daring to attack the King's right-hand man with mercenaries, the Norlor family shall be publicly executed to serve a lesson for every one individual living in this city. Furthermore, all the businesses, wealth, and properties belonging to the Norlor family will be seized away."

Sam's face completely turned pale hearing Aditya's words. Everything was over now. Greed blinded him. If only he had paid the taxes then nothing would have happened to him and to his family.

With Aditya's announcement, every merchant, and shop owner felt scared. The news spread throughout the entire city. All the merchants who haven't been paying their taxes for years rushed to pay all the taxes with interest. What happened to the Norlor family had scared every small and big merchant in the city.

Many even tried to flee from this city, but fortunately, before coming here Aditya already had ordered Watson to order the 100 soldiers to guard the soldiers and not to allow any merchants from escaping the city.

2 hours later, in front of the public, Norlor and his son was executed. This whole incident has left a deep mark on the people of this city. Not even the previous King of Azure city was cruel enough to publicly execute anyone.

After today's incident, everyone will have fear in their hearts. The people, merchants, shop owners, and everyone will live in fear. This fear will drive them to pay their taxes on time.

"Did you hear?"

"The biggest merchant house of the Azure city has been publicly killed by our new King?"

"No way, that alcohol addict can do something like this."

"It's true. I just witnessed the public execution. Let me give you a piece of advice, you better pay all the taxes with interest otherwise who knows when the right-hand man of the King will knock on your door."

"Yeah, I guess. I heard that the security of the City gate also has increased."

Standing on the roof of a house, Watson and Aditya observed the reaction of the public.

"Young master, can I ask you something?" Unlike other times, this time there was admiration, and respect in Watson's eyes for Aditya.

"Go on"

"You purposely gave cruel deaths to the mercenaries and also went as far as to publicly execute the Norlor family. You did all of this for a reason, didn't you?"

"Since you're asking that, you already should know the answer" Aditya looked at Watson with a mysterious smile.

"You wanted to install fear in the people's hearts. You knew that you have lost your respect as the King among the people. So by giving cruel deaths, you created fear and panic in the people's hearts. You even indirectly gave a message to the other shop owners and the merchants to pay the taxes through the Norlor's family's death. This was completely a genius move from your side."

Aditya smiled and did not reply. "Sometimes a King must use the sword of darkness to eliminate the virus from his Kingdom. I used cruelty to give a message to everyone. This message was not only for the people but also for the criminals and thugs hiding in the city."

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Chapter 5

It was already evening time, the sky had turned slightly red as the mild wind blew from the south. Sitting in the garden, which now was an empty field, Aditya was reading the reports when Julia came with tea and some snacks.

"Master, I have bought your tea." Aditya nodded his head in a daze. He looked lost while reading the budget reports.

'He completely has changed.' Julia has stayed disguised as a maid with her husband for 2 years. She knew Aditya's past habits better than anyone.

Aditya was a type of person whose entire life depended on alcohol and wine. In her 2 years of staying here, she has never seen Aditya, the former Dragon Prince come to the Castle garden. It was as if the Aditya that everyone knew and despised was gone.

The former dragon prince in front of her is a new person. Last night, Julia assumed that Aditya was doing all this because he wanted a budget for drinks. But after all the things that he did throughout the day, Julia has to admit that Aditya is now a changed man.

After returning to the castle, Aditya ordered Watson to sell all the wine and alcohol bottles that he has kept in his room. This was a huge thing for someone who was an alcohol addict.

'Everything feels like a sweet dream. In a world where Aditya is a hard-working King trying to do the best for this country. If Aditya can stay then way forever, then I don't mind being his wife and staying by his side all the time.' While thinking about being his wife, Julia couldn't help but glance at Aditya who was focused on reading reports.

'No, No, no,....What I am even thinking?'

Even Julia herself didn't know what she was thinking. 'But now that I look closely, Aditya is really handsome.' Previously Julia was so disgusted with Aditya that she never took a proper look at her face. Almost 99% of the time, Aditya was drunk and unconscious.

'Maybe now that Aditya has started to change, I no longer find him disgusting as before.' Julia was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the tea that was overflowing.

"Julia stop" Aditya's words snapped the virgin maiden back to the reality where she found what a grave mistake she had done.

"Oh no. Master, I apologize. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice when the tea spilled on the table." Julia quickly bowed her head and apologize. This was the first mistake she made in one year. After working here as a maid for 2 years, Julia now was a professional maid. She very rarely made any mistakes.

"Don't worry, it's okay" Aditya replied while checking if any tea fell on the papers.

"I will clean this table." Julia was about to leave, but her master's words stopped her.

"It's alright. You can wash the table later. For now, why don't you sit down and join me for a cup of tea?" Aditya already had finished reading all the budget reports. Normally these many reports would have taken at least 3 to 5 days to finish reading, but with his innate skill of instant learning, Aditya's reading and processing speed have increased a lot.

After some hesitation, Julia took the chair next to Aditya and sat down. Julia then proceeded to pour another cup of tea for her master and for herself.

While Julia was pouring tea, Aditya suddenly remembered something from the past. "You know, back when you had just started working as a Maid, I remember you used to make lots of mistakes. You couldn't even do the simplest things without making mistakes."

"Master, please don't mention my past mistakes." Julia felt embarrassed remembering her past mistakes. Julia was the princess of the biggest noble house on this continent. Before coming here, Julia had lived the life of a princess. When she suddenly became a maid, Julia had a lot of mistakes compared to other maids. If it wasn't for Watson covering her, she would have been kicked out.

"By the Master, how much taxes did you manage to receive today?" Honestly, Julia was really impressed knowing what Isaac did today. Seeing how Aditya was conducting his work, Julia had a feeling that her master who is also her husband will rise in power very soon.

Hearing the word Tax, a happy and innocent smile appeared on the young king's face. "You won't believe how many coins we managed to collect just in 5 hours."

"First just from seizing all the assets of the Norlor family, we managed to earn about 100 royal gold coins. The public execution of Sam really created fear in others' hearts. The plan worked like a magnet. Without even telling others, all the merchants, and shop owners of the city have paid their debts with taxes. Now we have over 306 royal gold coins."

"This daddy is now rich. Now I have enough capital to start new plans for my Kingdom." Julia was taken back seeing how innocently Aditya's eyes sparkled when he held the white gold coin in his hand.

"I have given Watson the 6 royal gold coins to pay all the soldiers and yours pending salaries. I ordered him to use the rest on buying daily necessities for the castle, and also to hire 5 new maids and two chefs. This will reduce the burden on your shoulders." Julia was touched to know that Aditya thought so deeply of her.

"I also have told him to buy some young and strong slaves with the potential to become stronger."

"But master, why buy slaves?" Except for a few kingdoms, almost every kingdom on this continent allowed slave trading. Julia didn't understand why they would need slaves.

"Julia, I am currently building this entire Kingdom from the beginning. I realized that other than you and Watson, we don't really have any powerful warriors. And as the king, I can't always go everywhere. So I am planning on buying some slaves with potential and train them to become a core part of our Kingdom. Though I realize that training the slaves will take some time. Consider this as an investment for the future." Julia can't help but feel impressed by how far Aditya was thinking.

The more she listened to Aditya, the more fond she was getting of her master. Without her even knowing, she was beginning to look forward to the future where Aditya builds his own Empire. While both master and maid were enjoying their tea, the maid who was the wife of the master in disguise suddenly had a question in her mind.

"Master, do you know about one of the seven fairies, also nicknamed the Goddess of Alchemy?" Hearing Julia mentioning one of his wives, Aditya without realizing straightened his back.

"I do know her but I never had the luck of meeting her in person." Aditya replied when looking at the sky with a lonely look.

While he replied, he or no one at that moment knew what the goddess of alchemy was thinking.

Soon, Watson returned with 7 slaves who were slightly different from the types of slaves that Aditya wanted.

Sitting on the old and rusty throne, Aditya sighed and looked at the slaves that his butler Watson bought for him. "Watson, who are they? I am sure you have a logical explanation for this"

Watson nodded his head and began to explain. "Young Master, I understand why you want to acquire slaves. I believe bringing them here was the best choice I could have made."

Aditya didn't interrupt Watson and let him finish his words. "As you must already know, their Mana heart was crippled. All of them here are Body cultivators also known as External cultivation users. Even with their crippled mana heart, their bodies are strong as First-order warriors. As long as we heal their crippled mana hearts, all of them will eventually regain their former second-order strength. I personally believe each individual here has the potential to reach at least fourth-order."

Aditya sighed while rubbing his forehead. "Watson, the problem is how we're going to heal their crippled mana hearts. In this whole world, no one knows how to heal a crippled mana heart."

"Master, I think you're forgetting about a certain person. Even if healing a crippled Mana heart is impossible to everyone, there is one being in this world who can do the impossible."

"Okay, who is that person? And how we're supposed to find this person in this world?" Aditya at this point had stopped thinking and had shut his mind down. He let Watson do everything.

Watson before replying looked at the 7 slaves standing behind. "You all can go out and rest at the training ground." The slaves nodded and without making any noise left the room.

"Master actually that master lives in this city."

"Really? Where?" Aditya became excited.

"Before telling you where she lives, let me tell you about her. That person is a genius at alchemy. At the age of 12, that person managed to defeat even an alchemy grandmaster. That person's alchemy talents are said to be unrivaled in this whole world. At the age of 15, she became a legend. Her name spread far wide on every continent on this planet." The excited look on Aditya's face started disappearing cause from his words he already knew who this person was.

The door suddenly opened up as Julia walked into the room with a completely different expression than her usual self. "That person is known as the Goddess of Alchemy. And her name is...."

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Chapter 6

The door suddenly opened up as Julia walked into the room with a completely different expression than her usual self. "That person is known as the Goddess of Alchemy. And her name is Julia Onard."

Silence!

For a moment neither Aditya nor Watson said anything. Aditya blankly kept staring at the figure in front of his own eyes. The woman standing in front of him could be described in thousands of ways. Just looking at her, Aditya couldn't describe how shocked his heart was.

The woman in front of Aditya was still wearing the maid uniform that she wore when she had disguised herself as a maid. Now that she was no longer using makeup to hide her face, Aditya finally was able to see the face of the most beautiful woman on the continent of Dying Isle continent. She was the very woman who was his wife.

She had long purple hair that reached down to her waist, her hair is always tied in two messy low pigtails with a square fringe hanging just above her shiny purple eyes, and charming face. Shining purple eyes watched the reaction of Aditya with an amused smile that further enhanced her beauty.

She stands seductively, despite her narrow frame. There's something intriguing about her, perhaps it's her composure, or perhaps it's simply her company.

Just looking at those shiny purple eyes, the young dragon found himself unable to resist her charm. Her beauty is enough to cause wars. All the models and actresses in his previous world started to feel average when he laid his eyes on her.

She had an hourglass figure. It seems her maid uniform couldn't hide her curves. Standing at the height of 5 feet 6 inches, Julia's beauty was enough to give herself the title of Goddess. In his two lives, Aditya has never met anyone as beautiful as the woman who was his wife. At this moment Aditya also realized how lucky he was. He understood why millions of men all around the world envied him.

For the entire 5 minutes, Aditya never blinked his eyes. The more he looked at Julia the more he wanted to keep looking at her. There was no lust in his eyes even though male Dragons are known to have second-most lust after the succubus race.

"Are you done looking?" Julia asked in an irritated tone. Even though Julia sounded angry on the surface, inside she was very happy. Most of the time, Julia would just hide her face because she didn't like the lustful gazes of other men on her body. What made her happy was the fact that Aditya didn't look at her with lust. There was only warmth, and appreciation in his eyes.

Julia has finally decided to reveal her identity. After the conversation she had with Aditya, she was convinced that her man had changed. Julia wanted to give Aditya a chance. Before Aditya's life was all about alcohol but now that he had changed, she wanted to support him for a better future.

Also this morning, she had a small talk with her loyal butler Watson. The current Aditya needs her help more than anything. If her little contribution can help Aditya in becoming a great man, she wouldn't mind doing it.

"I apologize." Aditya looked away while trying to lower his heartbeat.

"I am ashamed to know that Miss Onard has been working as my maid for 2 years now and I couldn't recognize her." Aditya wondered what the people of the continent of Dying Isle would do when they learns that their goddess has been working as a maid for someone low-level alcohol addict.

"There is no need for you to address me this formally. You can call me Julia." Unlike what Aditya thought, even though Julia had revealed her identity, she still remained the same Julia that he knew. There was no change in her personality which greatly relieved Aditya as he also didn't want to deal with some arrogant princess.

"Julia, do you have a way of curing their crippled mana hearts?" If Julia really can cure their crippled mana hearts, then in the shortest time Aditya would have the power to build an army of second-order warriors.

When a cultivator's mana heart is crippled, that person loses their ability to harness Mana from the atmosphere. For internal type cultivators, this would mean the end of their cultivation carrier. But for body-type cultivators, since their main focus was getting their bodies stronger like a weapon, even if the mana heart is crippled, they don't lose all of their strengths. That's why the slaves that Watson bought still had the strength of first-order warriors.

If Julia can cure their crippled mana hearts, Aditya can just buy all the body cultivators with crippled mana hearts from the slave merchant and add them to his army. He won't even have to worry about the slaves betraying him since the slave's contract will prevent the slaves from betraying him.

"I know the method of curing a cripple heart. But the material is the real issue."

"What materials do you need? I am more than willing to invest all of our reserved money to buy the materials."

Aditya won't hesitate to use all the gold coins that he earned as tax today. Having 7 second-order warriors could greatly increase the strength of his kingdom. Even the two nobles who are under him, only have 4 second-order warriors. The weakest of the second-order warrior can easily kill 100 Peak First-order warriors. The difference between having first-order warriors and second-order warriors is like comparing a lion with a dragon.

"Master, the materials that I will need are the heart of wyvern, Phoenix Ash, and Poisonberry flower. Since getting the heart of wyvern will be super expensive, I can replace it with a Master's drop of blood. Since Dragons are superior to Wyverns. The Phoenix Ash has a hidden property that can heal injured organs."

"What about Poisonberry Flower?" Aditya thought Poisonberry was used to make poison.

"The blood of a dragon has a lot of vitality, even a single drop of blood contains lots of energy. I need that energy to restart the mana heart. While the Phoenix Ash when mixed with the blood of Dragon, the hidden healing property will be activated which will heal the crippled mana heart. But the process is over."

Julia looked at Watson who also looked astonished. "When a cultivator's heart is crippled, their body starts accumulating lots of impurities. These impurities will block the mana pathways. When the poisonberry flower is used in a proper ratio, it will give us a substance that can clean all the impurities."

"Well, Watson what are you waiting for? Take the money we earned today and buy all the materials."

"Young master, poisonberry flowers are not cheap and each flower can cost up to 15 royal gold coins. Also, it might take a few days to get all the needed materials."

"No problem, we can wait a few days." It's not like Aditya was going to attack the nobles tomorrow. He had others things to be taken care of.

Watson was about to leave, but then Aditya stopped him. "Before you leave, make sure to buy at least 100 slaves that we can train to become our soldiers." Now that Aditya had 7 ex-body cultivators there was so much he do could with them. Those 7 could use their experience to train the new young soldiers.

After Watson left, Aditya and Julia walked together. "Master, why do you need slaves to become your soldiers? You could always recruit new soldiers."

"Please stop calling me Master. You can just call me by my name." Aditya felt uncomfortable knowing that his wife was calling him master. Even though Aditya still hasn't developed any feelings for the woman walking beside him, she was still his wife in name. Aditya wanted to give her the respect that she deserved.

"As for your question, the salary of an average soldier is one gold per month. We are already paying 100 gold coins to our 100 soldiers. In our current financial situation, I don't want to invest in recruiting soldiers when I can just buy slaves and train them to become soldiers."

Aditya already hasn't paid the salaries of his remaining 100 soldiers for 5 months now. By recruiting more soldiers, more money will be required. But if the salaries that he is going to pay to his new recruits are used in resources for raising the power of slaves, Aditya will receive more benefits. Also once their situation gets better, Aditya is planning on giving even the slaves a small sum of salary each month.

"But master.....I mean Aditya, it might affect your reputation if people learned that you're using slaves as soldiers." Every king cared about their image more than anything so they never used slaves to become soldiers.

"Julia, I don't care about my reputation. It's not like I had any good reputation. I don't understand why the others kings don't use this cheap method." Aditya already had a negative image because of being an alcohol addict. He wasn't the type of person who cared about his reputation or image. What mattered more than anything was the power. In this world power was everything.

"Well, if you're in need of money then I have something for you." Aditya raised his eyebrow and looked at Julia.

"As long as you buy me the needed materials I can make one-star healing potions that can completely heal any first-order cultivator. The healing potion that I am talking about is much cheaper than the ones available on the market. The ingredients needed to make the potion will cost only 50 silver coins per potion." Julia had no knowledge about the market or economy. But whenever she needed money in the past, she always used her Alchemy skills.

"Julia, are you really sure?" Aditya tried his best to not show his emotions on his face.

"Well, the Kingdom does need funds to rebuild everything. If you're okay with it, then I can tell Watson to buy the materials." Julia wasn't sure if Aditya was going to agree with her suggestion. There was still a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Julia I thank you enough." Suddenly the Goddess of Alchemy widened her eyes when Aditya bowed his head.

"There is no need for you to bow your head." Julia quickly replied.

"So, how are we going to divide the profits. How about 50/50?" Aditya asked after calming himself.

"I don't need the profits as long as you promise me something." Julia with a tone of hesitation.

"As long as it's within my powers, I will promise anything."

"I was planning on building my laboratory in the castle. I want you to help me with the funds that I will need to do my alchemy research." Julia was known as the Goddess of Alchemy. Back when she was living with her parents, Julia always had the needed materials for her research. But after coming to Azure city, due to the lack of funds she was unable to continue with her alchemy studies.

Seeing Aditya thinking so deeply, Julia felt that she had asked too much. "If you want we can postpone....."

"No, I was thinking where we should build your lab." Aditya replied while thinking. The previous Aditya has never explored the Castle.

"We can build the laboratory next to the library. There is an abandoned building next to the library." Aditya never knew if his castle had any library.

After that, both future husband and wife discussed how the healing potion production was going to take place. Aditya didn't wish to share the production method with anyone. So the production of the healing potion, for now, was going to take place in Julia's laboratory. Julia also had asked Aditya to buy some female slaves who can help her with the production.

Scene change to the training grounds

The training ground that once used to be filled with soldiers' training, was now empty. Standing in the middle of the training ground, 7 slaves that Watson previously bought was standing before their lord.

"Hello, everyone my name is Aditya."

Chapter 7

The Istarin Dynasty, one of the smallest Kingdoms on the continent of the Dying Isle was located at the bottom of the map, near the sea. The Istarin Dynasty was said to be found when all the local fishermen came together under a single rule.

When Aditya was thrown out of the royal family, the Istarin Dynasty king whose name was Ahmed decided to adopt Aditya so that the young dragon can take over the Dynasty when the old Ahmed died. The old Ahmed had lost in wife and son in an assassin attack that happened 9 years ago. After that being a man who dearly loved his wife, Ahmed never married anyone and died of old age.

The Istarin Dynasty was very small, having only 23 square kilometers of area. Despite being one of the smallest kingdoms in the Dying Isle continent, the Istarin Dynasty managed to thrive and prosper because of the natural minerals found in this land.

The Kingdom's economy was very stable until Ahmed died 3 years ago. When Aditya became the king, his lack of care and his attachment to alcohol gave the two nobles of the Istarin Kingdom the chance to rise in power. With no King keeping them in check, in 3 years both nobles looted the entire Istarin Kingdom in daylight.

This caused the economy of the Kingdom to fall down. Even the capital which was supposed to be the most prosperous city of a Kingdom even fall. The people and the noble stopped being bothered by the King who was an alcohol addict. As a result, the crime rate in the Istarin Dynasty began to increase. The dynasty that once was very prosperous now was on the verge of collapsing.

This made the other two kingdoms with whom the Istarin Dynasty shares their borders with to be very happy.

The Istarin dynasty was located on the eastern edge of the continent. The dynasty shared boundaries with the Kingdom of Nepoca Empire in the North and sharing boundaries with Zulux Dynasty in the North-west.

In the south, the dynasty shared borders with the forest of Silver Meadow Grove. Being located at the edge of the continent, the dynasty had something that most Kingdoms didn't have. And that was accessibility to the sea. (I have drawn a rough map of the Three Kingdoms. If you don't understand then you can take a look at it.)

The Istarin Dynasty was in the most strategic location to build a port and start international trading. Unfortunately, the previous King Ahmed never thought of building any port as he was afraid. Because the Nepoca Kingdom located in the North also had its eyes set on the Istarin dynasty for that very reason. Building a port on the western edge of the continent would make international trade easier and less time-consuming. The huge chunk of coins that one can earn just from building this port was enough to start wars.

During King Ahmed's time, it was predicted that the natural resources in the land of Istarin would soon exhaust. Meaning, that the future generation would have to find a new source of earnings. However, king Ahmed never took the steps forward in building the port, as it could potentially start a war with the Kingdom of Nepoca.

However, Aditya was very different from king Ahmed. Being a man who has worked for the prime minister, Aditya's ambition has no bounds. There was no way he would drop the plan of building the port city just because another Kingdom had its eyes on them.

In this world, the territories of small Kingdoms and dynasties kept changing. There was no peace. Even in the present moment, there were 2 small kingdoms located on the Dying Isle that were having a war. Whenever there is a war, neighboring lands would receive the most benefits. Sometimes the captured warriors would be crippled and sold off as slaves. Meaning that whenever a war started, the number of slaves in the markets also increased.

If Aditya wanted to build a strong kingdom then he would eventually have to start his plan of building the port city. Meaning the clash with the Nepoca Kingdom was something that will happen in the upcoming months.

Before the young Dragon could shift his focus on launching his plan, he would have to clean the pest from his Kingdom. Aditya has been thinking of dealing with the nobles for a while now. Fortunately, luck was on his side. As he had someone who could let him use the slaves with cripple mana hearts.

"Sir, my name is Scott Young. As you can see, I am a dark elf." In front of Aditya, there 22 years old young man who was the same height as Aditya. Being a dark elf, Scott's skin was darker than others. But this did not mean that Scott was ugly. In fact, Scott was a handsome young man with short spiky dark hair and brown pupil. Scott was an excellent bow user.

"I am Tyler Ryan." Tyler was a man with a muscular built body. He was 6 feet tall. Tyler was about 39 years old. The scars on his hands and the long scar on his cheek were proof of how experienced he was in fighting. Before becoming a slave, Tyler had fought multiple wars. It was only when he faced a third-order body cultivator, that his mana heart was crippled and he was sold off as a slave. Unlike Scott, Tyler was a greatsword user.

"Nathan Owen" Nathan like a real ninja covered his nose and mouth with a mask. Only his eyes and the upper part of the cheeks can be seen. Nathan had dark red hair that covered his left eye and red pupil. Nathan used to be an assassin before he was captured by his target which he was about to kill. After his mana heart was crippled, he became a slave. Unlike Tyler, Nathan is a dagger user and his class was Assassin.

"I am Josh Dawson." Josh was a man from a lion tribe. In this world, various races live together. One of those races was the Lion tribe. The lion tribe had the body of a human with the face of a lion. Their entire bodies were covered in thick fur. Any beast race man and woman was far stronger and muscular than humans. Even though Josh had lost his cultivation, being a beast-man he still had enough raw power to tear even a second-order human. After dragons, lions had the rawest strength.

Just like any other beast-man, Josh was 7 feet tall and had a muscular built body. Josh had red hair and used a giant hammer as his weapon.

"I am Amber Lawrence. Please do thank Miss Julia for giving me this beautiful Kimono." Amber here was also a beastmen from the fox race. Unlike Josh, Amber's body was 5 feet 6 inches tall. She had long yellow hair, fox ears, and 9 fluffy tails. The color of her tails was the same as her yellow hair. Fox race women are known to have the second-most charm after the succubus race.

Just like any other fox race woman, Amber had a seductive body that she tried to hide by wearing red kimono that further enhanced her beauty. It was like nothing can escape her yellow pupils. It was a shame that Amber's face was ruining long scars that resulted in no one wanting to buy her.

"I am Eleanor Reid." Eleanor was human. Eleanor had long black hair that covered her eyes. She looked a little shy. Just like Nathan, Eleanor also used to work as Assassin.

"I am Henry Ward." Henry was another human that Watson bought. Henry was a commander of a small dynasty. But in the war, his forces were killed and he was captured. The enemy tortured him for days before selling him off as a slave. Henry held a normal sword. Unlike others, the coldness and hatred in his eyes were more clear. Just looking at him, one could tell that he was thirsty for blood.

'The 7 of them specialize in something unique, maybe except for Eleanor. I don't what is her specialty. Whatever I ask her later. Among the 7 slaves, it seems Julia has taken a liking to Amber. Since 7 of them specialize in something unique, I can divide the newly recruited troops into 7 divisions and let 7 of them train the new troops of their division." Aditya had decided to appoint the 7 of them as the future head of 7 divisions. Each division will be unique and will specialize in one thing.

In the future, the 7 slaves would go on to become world-famous generals that no empire wants to face.

After a simple introduction, Aditya asked them to show their power and abilities. This continued for an hour before Aditya left with a satisfied smile. Aditya was very impressed by Watson. Each individual had shown the potential that they had inside of them.

Aditya finally got some free time at the end of the evening.

"Stats"

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline

_Current Class: - War Dancer

_Current class Level: - 05

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Fiery Blaze, Weapon Mastery

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Molten Bolt, Silence Mind

_Strength: - 70?75

_Speed: - 70?75

_Stamina: -70?75

_Health: - 70?75

_Mana: - 70?75

_Free stats: - 10]

.

"It looks like killing low-level beings won't give me any Experience points. I need to hunt bigger fish if I want to level up. As the King of the Istarin Dynasty, there is no way I can fall behind my own generals. I have to get stronger." For now, Aditya decided to save 10 free stats points for the future.

"It would be a waste to not use my Instant learning and adaptation skill." Now that Aditya temporarily had some free time, he decided to head to the library and do some research.

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Chapter 8

Huff! Huff!

29th September!

"How did this happen?" Standing on the corpses of countless enemies, Aditya looked at the people who stood 20 meters away from him. Currently, Aditya was standing in a place that had countless corpses lying dead. The entire battlefield was overflowing with blood. Countless weapons, flags, and armors were lying on the ground along with the dead bodies of the enemies.

"I fought this hard from the beginning. So Why did things turn out this way?" The desperation, panic, pain, anger, and regret in his tone were heard by his enemies.

Currently, Aditya was standing in the middle of the battlefield with countless corpses of soldiers painting the entire place with red blood. Even the heavens seem to feel sympathy for the dead as the sky also turned slightly red. With the sun going down, Aditya felt as if all of his hopes were also being turned to ash.

Huff! Huff!

"This war started a month ago. It took away everything that I earned. Even with the system, I failed to keep the people I love safe. Is this how my life is going to end?"

The current Aditya was wearing armor that was half destroyed and cracks had appeared all over it. His right arm was missing and his right shoulder was constantly bleeding. There were countless small wounds and cuts all over his body. Aditya was also missing one of his Dragon wings. He was only alive because of his strong dragon vitality.

"Hahaha! It looks like you lost Dragon King." Hearing the mocking laugh, even though Aditya was exhausted to the point where his body had stopped moving, he felt his blood boil hearing that man's words. Aditya gritted his teeth so hard that they started bleeding. At this moment, the only thing that he wished to do was kill the person who was responsible for everything that happened to him.

"I have killed your so-called 7 generals." Aditya looked at the dead bodies of Scott, Tyler, Nathan, Josh, Amber, Eleanor, and Henry, looking at their dead faces, Aditya's breathing quickened as the anger was visible on his face.

"What's more, I also have killed your loyal butler Watson in a rather stylish way." Aditya again looked in a certain direction, where he saw the dead body of Watson. The black suit that he was wearing and the white shirt were completely soaked in blood. Some fingers Watson has been cut off which again proved that these people has tortured Watson before his death.

"Now all that is left is to kill you, dear wife." Aditya's entire body trembled as he desperately tried to move. The army of more than a hundred thousand stood behind that man with long dark red hair. The red star-shaped flag of the enemy was fluttering in the wind.

Aditya's very heart trembled seeing the girl who once had disguised herself as his maid, the girl whom he eventually came to love being held by the enemy.

The person who was holding Julia was a young man whose age was around 25. That 5 feet short man held Julia by her neck. The lust in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

"Your Majesty, before I kill this woman, with all the help I gave you, I would like to know how the most beautiful woman on this continent tastes."

"Aditya, listen to me. You have to live." Julia shouted as tears rolled down her eyes.

Seeing the very last thing that kept Aditya sane all the time was being captured, Aditya at that moment felt he had lost all of his motivation to live.

"Thanks to the Black Heart, I managed to build army warriors who are capable of killing a third-order cultivator despite being a second-order. I have to thank you, Amos. If you had not found the way of making the Black heart, the dragon King already would have defeated us." The man with long dark red hair said the last part while looking at Aditya.

"So it's only fair if I let you have this woman in exchange for the gift you gave me."

Bang!!!!

Suddenly out of nowhere, a huge explosion took place. Before Aditya could figure out what was happening, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Ahhhh! Huff! Huff!

Aditya immediately stood up from his bed and started heavily breathing. His heart was anything but calm at this moment. The images of what he saw in his dream started flashing before his eyes.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

"What was that?" Aditya touched his cheek only to feel something wet. When he took out the mirror, he noticed that his right eye was bleeding. Blood was rolling down from his right eye like tears.

"That dream" Aditya noticed that his arms were trembling. What he was in his dream was so frightening and real

"Everything felt so real."

Aditya quickly washed his face with the water that he bought in his room for drinking. Not caring about the water falling on his bed, Aditya repeated the process multiple times while trying to calm himself.

"Everything happened on 29th September....but?" Aditya quickly got up from his bed and check today's date on the calendar.

"But today is July 6th."

"Does that mean, I saw the future? No, no, no. How is this even possible? Only certain individuals with special class can see a glimpse of the future by sacrificing hundreds of years of their lifespan. I neither have any class that can let me see the future nor do I know the method of seeing the future. But everything felt so real. I could even feel the physical pain of losing my right arm." Calming his head, Aditya sat on the floor not caring about his royal image at all.

"Judging from the red star-shaped flag, it was the army of the Zulux Dynasty. But why would the Zulux Dynasty attack the Istarin Dynasty? For generations, both kingdoms had great friendships."

Remembering the death of Watson and his 7 future generals, and most importantly how his very wife was captured, Aditya felt like destroying everything in his sight in anger. His anger had reached the point where his eyes had become red and smoke had started coming off his body.

"I clearly remember each of those bastards' faces. I swear to the heavens, before 29th September, I will kill each of them with my own hands."

After 10 minutes,

Aditya finally managed to calm himself to the point where he was able to think about the whole situation without letting his anger take over him.

"The Zulux dynasty is bigger than the Nepoca Kingdom. With the military strength that this dynasty has, I don't think even the Nepoca Kingdom can win against them. And from the corpses that were lying all over the battlefield, it was clear that before the Zulux Dynasty's troops came, the future me fought against the Nepoca Kingdom. I somehow manage to survive the fight and kill all the troops but that also cost me my right arm."

Aditya does remember seeing the Nepoca king standing beside the Zulux Dynasty. "From the way things look like, both Zulux Dynasty and the Nepoca Kingdom had allied. But I thought both Kingdoms were enemies. Both kingdoms troops often clashed." Aditya again closed his eyes and remembered the face of that short bastard who held Julia by her neck. Just thinking about that bastard, Aditya felt like going berserk.

"I have to find this bastard named Amos before he finds the Black Heart or whatever thing that made the Nepoca and Zulux kingdom's troops much stronger than before."

"From the words that Amos bastard said, it was clear that everything started with him. So it shouldn't be wrong to assume that at some point in the future, Amos will eventually meet me and Julia. After he finds the black Heart, he will go to the Zulux kingdom for revenge." Now that Aditya knew what started all this, he finally was able to calm his heart. He was relieved to know that he had some hopes of changing the future.

"I will have to ask Julia about this black heart thing?" From the way, the King of the Zulux dynasty spoke, it was clear that the Black Heart was going to play a huge role in this upcoming war.

Scene change_

4.00 in the morning,

Wearing an old dirty cloak that covered his entire body and face, Aditya walked out of his room and walked onto the training ground to leave the castle.

"Who is there?" At the training ground, under the full moonlight, Aditya found a person whom he never expected to see here.

"Amber, what are you doing at the training ground in the middle of the night?"

Aditya noticed Amber was holding a sword in her hands. She was breathing heavily. Seeing her dirty clothes and disheveled figure it was clear that she was training in the middle of the night.

"Your highness, I apologize for not recognizing you." Amber quickly bowed her head and greeted Aditya. However, Aditya wasn't in the mood for such things. He had more important things to do now.

"Since I got the chance, I took some time to practice my old skills. It's been a while since I last used them."

Aditya nodded. "You continue with what you were doing. But I suggest you take a few hours' rest. Because from today onward, all 7 of them are going to train the other slaves." Before dinner, Watson had bought 700 slaves in the castle. It was all thanks to Watson and Scott helping the slaves settle down, otherwise, things would have been a huge headache for Aditya. Since the Castle was not big enough to accommodate, all 700 slaves, Aditya had no choice but to let some man sleep under the moonlight. Since it was summer, the cold wind blew during the night times, and none of the slaves had any problem sleeping outside.

"I understand." Amber was very grateful in her heart. She was grateful and happy about the fact that she managed to leave that hell and come to this place, which was no different than a paradise to her. When Amber was still a slave, she and others were caged in an underground place where they wouldn't see the sunlight for weeks or even months. Amber and others got meals every day but the slaves who were commoners not cultivators were treated much more harshly. Those slaves are forced to starve for days.

Unaware of the thoughts in Amber's heart, Aditya decided to not waste any more time. "Amber, please inform Watson that I am going out. If nothing happens, then I should be back before afternoon." Without waiting even for a single second, Aditya vanished. He used his full speed and moved out of the castle at late night.

The Azure city was not that big. The city was a little bigger than an average town. The population of the city that was also the capital of the Istarin Dynasty was somewhere between 50,000 to 70,000. The capital experiences an increase in population during the harvest seasons. While during the winter, since the economy of the kingdom was falling rapidly causing the prices of everything to rise exponentially, most people goes to spend their winter in villages where they won't have to worry about food.

There were huge 12 meters big walls surrounding the city. The city-fortress was built by the previous king Ahmed's grandfather. For 100 years no kingdom has attacked the Istarin dynasty, the previous kings never had any need of renovating the city walls. As a result, the city walls were in pretty bad condition, with large cracks and moss growing on them.

Since there were only 100 soldiers who constantly patrolled the two entrances of Azure city, many criminals easily managed to sneak inside the city. And without anyone stopping them, during the night times, most of the illegal activities took place.

"The bar should be here." Since the previous Aditya was an alcohol addict, there is no way he wouldn't know about the bars in his own capital. In fact, most of the time Aditya came to this bar to drink alcohol. Event the criminals stopped paying attention to the King of this kingdom after knowing that their king was an alcohol addict. Some criminals even went as far as to buy bottles of alcohol for Aditya with the illegal money.

"The previous me, saw countless illegal things happening but never bothered to step forward. This further ruined my image. But today, I am going to use this bar for a different purpose." The hood covered Aditya's face. At this time, other than red hotels, prostitutes' centers, and bars everything else was closed.

Ding!

Opening the door of the bar, Aditya noticed that the atmosphere of the bar seems a little different than other days.

Several people lazily looked at Aditya for a second before enjoying their drinks. As this bar was the place where most illegal activities took place, it wasn't surprising to see people walking with large hoods covering their faces.

Aditya directly went to sit in front of the bartender. "Hello, Sir! What can I get you today?" The Bartender couldn't recognize Aditya as this was the first time he was coming to this place in disguise.

Without saying anything Aditya put a royal gold coin on the table and passed it to the bartender.

The bartender, who was the old man widened his eyes in greed. His hand moved faster than the wind and took the royal gold coin from the table.

"I wonder what mister would like to drink today?" The bartender asked while cleaning a glass with a towel. He acted as if he had never taken or even seen the money.

"I would like to have Amos, please"

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Chapter 9

The bartender, who was the old man widened his eyes in greed. His hand moved faster than the wind and took the royal gold coin from the table.

"I wonder what mister would like to drink today?" The bartender asked while cleaning a glass with a towel. He acted as if he had never taken or even seen the money.

"I would like to have Amos, please."

Hearing those words, the bartender widened his eyes. But unlike the last time this time, there was a shock in his eyes.

"Sir, I am afraid that we don't serve Amos drink here. I apologize." Aditya snorted in his heart. Of course, this old man knew everything. In this place, everything worked on money. Everything had value.

Without saying anything, Aditya put 5 royal gold coins on the table. Last like the last time, the bartender moved his hand very quickly causing the coins to disappear. For a moment Aditya really doubted whether this bartender was a thief in secret.

"Since Mister is so generous, this old man will surely fulfill your request." The bartender began to make a special type of drink. After being called an alcohol addict so many times, Aditya has sworn to himself that he will never drink again. But for the sake of this information, he would have to least take a sip of the drink.

After making the drink, the Bartender passed the glass with a light blue liquid in it along with a small folded piece of paper beneath the glass.

Aditya put the folded piece of paper in his pocket and then took a sip of the drink. In others' eyes, Aditya has drunk alcohol from the glass but in reality, the liquid was still in his mouth. These kinds of activities are very risky. Often times there are chances that the bartender would mix strange substances in the drink to knock people out.

"I have enjoyed your drink. I will surely pay you a visit again." This was Aditya's way of telling the bartender that he was going to come again. But the next time he wasn't going to wear any disguise.

Aditya quickly went out of the bar. Just as he began walking back, he noticed several people were following him. "Just like I expected, this bartender really sold me out. Fortunately, I never consumed that drink."

Looking at the group of people who were following him, Aditya wanted to kill them here. "Too bad, killing you dogs would spoil the plan. I promise I will give you another visit." Killing these men would alert the bartender. That old bastard might even escape.

"There is no way I am letting that bastard leave especially when I gave 6 precious royal gold coins." Just remembering the 6 royal gold coins, Aditya's heart ached in pain. It was not easy to earn money but it was always super easy to spend the money.

Aditya purposely walked into a dark alley. When those men following him also reached the alley, Aditya already had vanished.

Swoosh!

Without anyone noticing, Aditya jumped from one roof to another roof and continued moving to the other side of the city. Aditya was moving so fast that even the first-order cultivators couldn't see him moving. Also, his black cloak helped him further blend into the darkness.

Today Aditya confirmed something. After awakening his bloodline and when he choose his class, his current stats were above first-order body cultivators. First-order cultivators have a total of [250+] stats points while Aditya's total stats points were [375+]. This is why he was able to take on all the mercenaries without much effort. By using his skills and free stats point, Aditya is confident that he can even go against a Mid 2nd-order cultivator and survive.

As Aditya was on the western side of the city, while he was about to pass by some old wooden houses, he suddenly heard a scream that stopped his movement.

"My lord, please forgive this lowly person. I swear to pay back all the money that I took from you. Just give me a few more days. Please don't burn our house." Curiously Aditya decided to take a look.

There was a fat man who was kneeling in front of a group of thugs. The man who was kneeling in front of them was about 38 years old. Under the moonlight, Aditya could see that the thugs had beaten the man causing bruises to appear all over his face.

"Why does this whole scene feels like it is taken from a cliché novel?" Aditya decided to observe everything for a little longer.

"Give you time? We gave you money one year ago. You still haven't paid the interest, not to mention the actual amount is also unpaid. Our business runs on interest. We didn't open this business to give charity to people like you."

The fat man's entire body trembled hearing one of the thug's words. It was true to he had no choice but to make money to feed his family. The man thought he would be able to pay off all the money but little did he know that he had fallen into a trap. It was only after 5 months he learned that these people charged a very high amount of interest.

"But sir, when I took the money your people told us that the interest would be only 10%. But now you're charging 60% interest and that is per month. Please, sir, I think we have some misunderstanding."

bang!

One of the thug's kicked the fat man's stomach. "You dared to talk back with us? Who do you think you're?"

"That's it. We're not going to waste any time here. Burn his entire family with their house."

The man tried to get up but failed. The pain in his body was not allowing him to get up and stop the thugs. At this moment he felt extremely powerless. Despair was written all over Alex's face. His family was tied inside the house. There was nothing he could do to save his precious family.

"I never knew thugs have started doing business." Hearing the sudden voice, every thug became alert. Everyone looked in a certain direction, only to see a man whose face was covered in a hood standing on the roof.

"Who are you?"

"Tsk! Classic cliché line. Can't you people ask something else? Whatever, I should end this." Before any thug could understand what was happening, a red bolt of lightning shot out from Aditya's body. The molten lightning split into 10 small lightning and hit each thug who was standing in front of Aditya.

Ahhh!

"Weaklings. I shouldn't have expected any experience points from these people."

Aditya then removed the hood that was covering his face as he landed in front of the man named Alex.

"Hey man, how are you doing?" Aditya asked while pulling Alex to stand up.

"Not so good. But thank you for saving me and my family." The man bowed his head to Aditya.

"No worries. So can you tell me who these thugs were?" Aditya wasn't saving this man and his family only out of pure kindness. What he wanted was the leader of these thugs.

'A great man once said, plundering is the easiest way of getting rich.' Aditya was exactly following that man's words. The quickest way of getting rich would be by targeting the criminals of this city. In this way, Aditya can kill two birds with one stone. This method will lower the crime rate and also give a boost to his treasury.

"This was the Vile Crew group."

"Vile Crew, are they pirates or what? What kind of idiotic name is that?"

Alex weirdly looked at Aditya. This was one of the biggest gangs in this city that they were talking about. Even if this person had the strength to kill them, he shouldn't take them lightly.

"Sir, I think you shouldn't take the Vile Crew lightly. I heard their number is well over 200. Their leader is a man with terrifying strength. Rumor has it that the Vile Crew leader is a Mid-second-order body cultivator."

"I see. By the way, my name is Aditya. What is your name?"

"My name is Alex. I don't have any family name." In this world, only the rich and the nobles are allowed to have family names. While the commoners most don't care about having family names. While the rich and noble families want to preserve their family name for generations, the commoners don't have the same thought as the nobles.

"Alex, do you know where I can find this Vile Crew gang?" Aditya's eyes flashed in killing intent. After that nightmare, Aditya has been wanting to vent his anger on someone.

"I do know where the Vile Crew gang operates their business."

"Good. By the way, I can't help but notice you seem to be knowledgeable about calculations." Earlier Aditya heard Alex talk about interest. It sounds like Alex knew a lot about mathematics.

"Yes, father used to be a merchant. He taught me everything that I know about finance." Alex replied with an awkward look. Before Aditya, no one had ever asked Alex about his financial knowledge.

"Great. I need men like you Alex. Tell me, Alex do you want to work for me? I promise you and your family won't have to worry about food and shelter. I will give you a monthly 5 gold coins salary as well." Aditya looked very excited for some reason.

Watson was a butler, not a financial expert. It was all thanks to the hundred years of knowledge that Watson was able to help Aditya with the financial work. As their financial condition continues to improve, the workload on Watson's shoulders will also increase. Watson also had other works to do. Aditya can't just pull Watson to sit with him and work the whole day long.

So sooner or later, Aditya will need an assistant. Alex was perfect for this job. As long as Aditya trains him for a few weeks, Alex should grasp the basics and would be able to work without Aditya's guidance.

"Sir, Can I know what kind of job you're offering me?" Alex asked.

"You will know later. For now, take this scale with you and give it to a person named Watson." Alex looked at the shiny red scale that was the size of a fingernail. The scale was very durable and seems to shine even in the dark.

This scale was Aditya's dragon scale. Since Aditya had recently awakened his dragon bloodline, he still can't transform into a dragon. As long as Aditya manages to reach second order, he should be able to transform into a dragon.

Unlike humans who grow weaker with age, Dragons, Vampires, and Fox people, Elves only keep growing stronger with their age. Even if Aditya stops cultivating, his cultivation will continue to increase with his age. But the process will be too slow for Aditya. It might take him 100 years to reach second order. That's why most dragons prefer to cultivate instead of relying on their age.

Although Aditya still can't transform into a dragon, he noticed that as his strength keeps increasing, he can grow scales on his dragon body. This crimson red scale that he gave to Alex is his signature to Watson knows.

"Take your family with you, and head to the Castle." Saying that Aditya left as he had to deal with certain stupid pirates who were staying on his land.

"Head to the Castle? The only castle that I can think of is that King's cast...does that mean?" Alex's entire body trembled in excitement. The excitement was so great that he no longer felt any pain in his body. Alex quickly ran into his house to free his wives and children and let them know about this amazing news.

"Who the fuck are you?" A man whose right eye had a long scar and was holding a cigar in his hand asked the cloaked figure who just entered his house.

"Let's just say, I am inferno Blaze." Saying that Aditya rushed towards the leader of the Vile Crew.

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Chapter 10

"Who the fuck are you?" A man whose right eye had a long scar and was holding a cigar in his hand asked the cloaked figure who just entered his house.

"Let's just say, I am inferno Blaze." Saying that Aditya rushed towards the leader of the Vile Crew.

Bang!

"What the hell do you want? Why are you even attacking me?" The man who was the leader of the vile Crew gang asked as he defended himself from Aditya's attack. Being a body cultivator, this man's stats were higher than Aditya's. But Aditya had an advantage in firepower.

"I came to repay the interest." Aditya replied in a sarcastic tone as he charged at the man name Amir once again.

Clang!

"Repay the interest? I don't remember paying you." Saying that Amir pushed Aditya back and then retreated 10 meters away.

The man named Amir was 5 feet 5 inches tall. His body was slim and muscular. The scar on his right eye gave him a scary appearance. Amir had long black hair that he tied in a bun. He was wearing a black kimono that had a pirate symbol on its back. Amir here was a Mid-2nd-order body cultivator. Unlike normal cultivators, his cultivation was rather focused on making his body tougher.

"Well, I don't know which fucker sent you here. I am not going to let you live."

Scene change_

On the streets, most of the gang members of the vile crew were drunk and pissed.

"Did you hear what that alcohol addict did today?"

"Of course I did. I was here when the Norlor family's head was being publicly executed."

"Thanks to that bastard King, today we were forced to use our profits to pay the tax. I swear one of these days, I will kill that king by my own hands."

"Idiot, you're only a first-order cultivator. From what I heard, the king has a right-hand man who can even kill a Peak first-order easily. Only our mighty leader can put an end to this King's rule."

"Yeah, if things continue like this then we won't able to earn any money." While the gang members were talking to each other, they suddenly heard a loud sound.

Boooom!

Everyone looked at their left side, only to see two figures fighting each other.

Aditya charged forward aiming his sword at Amir's neck but at the last moment, the pirate leader sent the young dragon flying with a kick on his stomach.

Aditya was pushed 5 meters back. 'That kick almost broke my ribs. I have to be careful.' Ignoring the pain in his stomach, Aditya quickly used one of his skills.

Molten Bolt!

A crimson red volt of lightning was sent forward in Amir's direction.

Being a Middle 2nd-order body cultivator, Amir quickly bent his back and narrowly dodged the molten volt by only a few inches. When the volt passed by his chest, Amir in a small second was able to feel the terrifying temperature of the attack.

Aditya knew that Amir could dodge his attack, he wasn't foolish enough to think that his attack would hit a Middle 2nd order. The young dragon quickly charged at Amir as soon as he fired the molten bolt.

'System, add all of my free stats to my agility.'

Just after dodging the molten bolt, Amir's eyes landed on Aditya. 'That attack was so powerful. I can't let his attack hit me. Otherwise, I will be doomed.' As Amir prepared to engage Aditya in close range, he widened his eyes in shock.

"What the...Clang!"

When Aditya was only 3 meters away, his speed suddenly increased. As Amir noticed the tip of the sword that was about to touch his chest while gritting his teeth Amir somehow managed to use his dagger to block the attack.

Clang!

"I thought this would be enough to end your life." Aditya looked at the small cut on Amir's chest.

Fiery Blaze!

The next second Amir was greeted with a huge wave of red flame coming from his right side. Without thinking anything, just relaying on his instinct Amir quickly moved to the left side. But just when Amir moved to his left, he noticed a sly smile on Aditya's face.

'Something is wrong'

Before he could understand what was going on, just when Amir took a 4th step towards the left, his left leg was on fire.

Ahhhh!

All the criminals and thugs in the western part of the city heard the loud and painful scream of Amir. Amir quickly looked down. A horrified look appeared on Amir's face seeing the lave right under his left foot.

Molten Bolt!

Without wasting any time, Aditya put his both palms together. A powerful red-orange volt of lightning shot towards Amir and hit his chest.

Bang!

Amir was sent flying more than 15 meters away. He directly crushed the city walls, as the walls beneath him cracked.

Cough!

Looking at the figure who was standing 20 meters away as red flame danced around his body, Amir at the moment of his death had only one question in his mind.

"How?"

After a few seconds, the pirate leader's eyes turned lifeless. His entire body was still stuck on the city wall. The molten volt had burned his chest, shoulders, and his thighs.

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.....]

'I wouldn't have won the fight if I had not used my Eruption Wave. The Eruption Wave allows me to control lava at a certain range. I already had created this trap when we landed on the ground. All I had to do was lure Amir into the correct position. So I used the Fiery Blaze to launch a fake wave of fire to move Amir towards the trap. Just when his feet touched the lava, I knew I had found my opportunity.' Instant learning and adaptation is a terrifying skill. Just when the battle started, Aditya's mind has been working on finding perfect counters against his opponent. Both Aditya's had never killed any human or any animal. But thanks to the Silence mind, Aditya's mind remained calm in this situation.

"Now that I have taken care of the root, it's time to clean the rest and plunder everything." The next second, Aditya vanished from his place. What happened next could be said in a few words, Pure Slaughter.

At late night, when the people of Azure city were sleeping peacefully, the western part of the city, where most of the gangs were located heard the screams of the Vile Crew gang. Aditya went on a complete rampage against the 200 members of the Vile gang. That night, Aditya had dyed his sword and his black cloak with the blood of vile crew gang members.

The slaughter ended within 5 minutes. But that 5 minutes was one of the most frightening times in Azure city. Small other small gangs who were allies of the Vile Crew tried to stop Aditya. The Blaze Dragon of course wasn't going to let those people leave. After killing the 200+ members of the vile crew, he went to kill the nearby small gangs.

By the time, Aditya stopped the whole western part of the Azure city was in chaos. Flames were burning the hideouts of the gangs, the roads were dyed in red blood, and corpses were lying on the streets.

When the slaughter finally ended, Aditya had massacred more than [600+] criminals within 30 minutes. The people who saw Aditya that night were traumatized. Those unfortunate people witnessed how brutally Aditya killed his victims.

At some point, when Aditya's killing count reached [500+], the criminals nearby the area were running for their lives. However, other than ordinary people, no other criminal who saw Aditya was left alive. Since most of the criminals were only first-order body cultivators, no one was able to give challenge Aditya.

After dealing with the gangs, Aditya took all of their spoils back to the castle. After doing all that, Aditya without making any noise left the Azure city as he had something important to do.

Scene change

A long time ago when the Istarin Dynasty was founded, three powerhouses came together to form Istarin Dynasty. The first king of the Istarin Dynasty gave the other two powerhouses two cities near the borders of the Zulux Dynasty and the Nepoca Kingdom. Both Cities also acted as fortress to defend the Istarin Dynasty from both neighboring Kingdoms.

Located in the northeast part of the Istarin Dynasty, the Eastgard Noble house, governed Zraka City. For generations, the Eastgard Noble house has been governing and also guarding Zraka City against intruders. While in the western part of the Istarin Dynasty, located near the borders, the Sarlus Noble house, defended the Vrane City.

Both Rulers of the Zraka and Vrane Cities were dissatisfied and were angry about the fact that king Ahmed choose a person who can't even awaken his bloodline as their next king. Both noble houses were very unhappy with the decision.

Due to Aditya's years of negligence towards the Istarin Dynasty, both noble houses began to operate on their own. Both noble houses stopped paying taxes. Instead, both noble houses invested heavily in the military increasing their number of troops.

The Eastgard Noble house who ruled the Zraka City went as far as to cut off all the connections with the Istarin King. The Eastgard Noble house began to act independently on an unofficial note. Ryan Eastgard who was the ruler of the Zraka city and the head of the Eastgard noble house decided to take things to the next step. Unlike his ancestors who swore to serve the King of the Istarin Dynasty, Ryan was an ambitious man who wanted to conquer and expand his territories. He wanted to become the Emperor.

In a large hall that has been decorated with gold and red carpet, sitting on a luxurious chair, the Zraka City ruler Ryan listened to the reports.

"Sire, I got some serious news from the Azure city." The commander of Eastgard noble house, Zayne kneeled in front of Ryan who now called himself the King of the Zraka city.

"What news?" Zayne gritted his teeth and replied while lowering his head.

"Today, under King Aditya's order, one of the biggest merchant families in the Azure city was publicly executed for not paying Taxes. Not only that King Aditya also sent a warning message to other merchants in the city to pay the taxes."

Ryan was a middle-aged man with long white-silver hair that reached down his waist. He always carried a sword on his waist. Despite looking like 30 years old, Ryan was actually 60 years old. Being a handsome man, Ryan had multiple wives and concubines.

At this moment, the handsome ruler of the Zraka city didn't look too pleased.

"Zayne didn't I tell you to not call that bastard this formally. He doesn't deserve to be the King."

"I apologize, your Majesty." Zayne tried his best to not show his anger.

Zayne was a commoner from a small village located near the Azure King city. Zayne became a soldier with the intention of serving this Dynasty. Zayne wanted to protect his village so he came to Zraka city. Being a talented man, Zayne quickly rose in the ranks. Eventually, he became the commander just after 4 years of his service.

Everything was going great for him until he learned the truth. Ryan wanted to expand his territory. So began to expand his territory towards the Silver Meadow Grove forest. However, in the process of doing that, Ryan's cruel orders have forced Zayne to take the lives of many innocent people. Not only that Ryan was also planning on betraying King Aditya in a few months.

"Alright, you may leave." Ryan stood up and after bowing his head even though he didn't want to, Zayne left the mansion. After leaving the Mansion, Zayne wrote a message to a certain person without anyone knowing about it.

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Chapter 11

"What just happened last night?" Julia asked. This morning everyone in the city and in the castle received the news. [600+] dead bodies were found lying on the streets. The streets of the western part of the city were dyed in blood. Many big houses were burned to the ground. This incident frightened ordinary people. The ordinary people now were in a panic, not knowing when their turn will come. Some people even went as far as to complain to the King and ask for his protection.

Sigh!

"I am not sure what happened. But this was done by the young master." This morning Watson had personally gone out to investigate the entire place. From the investigation, it was clear that all of these criminals were killed by a fire cultivator.

Also this morning, a person named Alex came with his family. Alex showed Watson a red scale that Aditya gave him. Watson without asking any questions helped Alex in settling down. Since the number of slaves in the castle was already too big, Watson had no choice but to temporarily give Alex and his family two rooms that were previously used by King Ahmed and the queen.

"By the way, where is Aditya?" Julia felt concerned. At first, she feared that last night Aditya had gone out to drink again, but later she learned from Amber that Aditya has gone somewhere else.

"I am here."

Hearing the familiar voice, everyone sitting at the dining table turned their heads. At the entrance, Aditya was standing wearing an old and dirty cloak. "Young Master, where have you been all this time?"

Opposite of what everyone was expecting, Aditya smiled and took out a leather bag.

"Master, what is this?" Aditya gently shook the leather bag. Everyone heard the sound of coins.

"Master, from where did you get all this money?" Watson asked with an astonished look. Just like Watson, Julia, Amber, and Alex all had the same shocked reaction.

"Plundering is the easiest way of getting rich. Last night, I happen to run into some criminals who needed to be punished. So I just took things in my hand and killed them." Seeing the innocent smile on Aditya's face, no one would believe that this innocent-looking man was responsible for killing [600+] criminals in a single night. Even Julia and others had a hard time believing in Aditya's words.

Compared to everyone, Watson was the most excited as he knew how desperately they needed money. "Young Master, how much did you manage to earn?" Alex, Julia, and Amber's right eyes started twitching hearing Watson's words. Watson's words sounded like Aditya had profited after doing business. Watson sounded like he was praising and encouraging Aditya.

Aditya grinned and gave the leather bag to Watson. "There should be at least 800 royal gold coins." Watson opened the bag and looked at the shiny white gold coins. "Young Master, it looks like we have become rich. Now we can finally separate enough budget to renovate this castle." Both men grinned like fools.

"Together with the remaining money that we have in the treasury, now we should have over 1050 royal gold coins. We won't have to worry about money for at least for next 2 to 5 months. We can even recruit new soldiers. Not only that we have enough money to start repairing the city walls." After seeing that nightmare, Aditya was not going to hesitate in investing in his military powers. Currently, this Kingdom urgently needed an upgrade in its military powers.

"Are the two of you done?" Julia asked in an impatient tone. Everyone was waiting to have their lunch.

"I apologize. You all should have lunch without waiting for me. I have to take a bath." After all the killing last night, there was still blood on Aditya's body. He was not going to have anything without washing his body first.

"Aditya, we will just wait for you. But Don't take too much time." Julia after saying that sat down and began to talk with Amber.

Aditya still hesitated. He felt bad for making everyone wait for him. Aditya quickly went back to his room and grabbed a set of new clothes and entered the bath. The bath of this castle was completely different from the baths on Earth. The baths of the servants and the royal family members were separate.

The bathroom was about 30 meters in size. At the center, there was a large poll with rose petals on the water. Normally servants of the same gender would accompany to help in washing. But Aditya being a man from the 21st century, preferred to bathe alone.

After bathing 15 minutes later Aditya joined everyone for lunch. While having lunch, Aditya everyone a few questions to know the current state of the castle.

First of all, after accommodating more than 700 people in the castle, there wasn't any space left in the castle. The entire Castle was very old and had cracks all over it. The Castle was in serious need of renovation.

"We will have to build houses for the slaves." Aditya decided to build houses for the troops outside the Castle.

Scene change___

After having breakfast, Aditya ordered all the slaves to gather in the training ground. Standing before [700+] slaves, Aditya noticed several things. The slaves were wearing old and dirty clothes. Except for the slaves belonging to the beast race, all other slaves were skinny and malnourished. And the last and most important thing, Aditya could see fear in everyone's eyes. With this kind of mentality, these slaves can never become a soldier.

'I will also have to train their mentality along with their bodies. These slaves are like unrefined iron ores. Just have to go through several processes to become sharp steel swords. But these slaves have one advantage over the other newly recruited soldiers.'

'Everyone here has lived the life of a slave. All of them here have gone through the dark times of being a slave. They are used to being starved and getting injured. Their instinct for survival is stronger than normal soldiers. As long as everyone here is properly trained then I am more than 100% sure everyone here will become elite troops who have the killer instinct and easily can slaughter ten normal soldiers.' If someone asked anyone other than Aditya if these malnourished and skinny people who have been living as slaves could become soldiers. Anyone in Aditya's place would immediately answer saying no.

While other lords and nobles would have found these slaves as useless trash, Aditya viewed them as unrefined diamonds. Being a man from the 21st century, Aditya's mentality was very different from the people of this world. It was his mentality, and his ability to use any resources at his disposal that made Aditya more dangerous than other nobles and Kings.

'Young Master knows when he needs to be ruthless. He is not careless. He is always thinking 3 steps ahead. He can see the bigger picture. His every action is always calculated. He has the vision of leading his Kingdom to a golden age.' Watson felt pride when he looked at his young master. Before Watson only served Aditya because of Julia's orders but now he wanted to serve Aditya from his heart. Watson wished to witness when a new page of history will be written.

'There were even times when even I couldn't comprehend the meaning of his words.' After working with Aditya for a day, Watson has learned many things. Aditya has told Watson the changes that he would like to bring to this Kingdom. After hearing the changes that Aditya wanted to bring, Watson was convinced. Right now even if his lady Julia left this Kingdom, Watson would still stay here to see the young dragon rise.

Looking over the [700+] slaves who also had their eyes on Aditya, the young dragon opened his mouth and began to speak.

"My name is Aditya. I am the King of Istarin Kingdom. By now all of you should know why I have bought you here." All the slaves curiously stared at Aditya. There was something about Aditya that made it hard for them to ignore him.

"I don't how long each of you have been a slave. But I do know that each of you here has suffered. All of you have experienced what cruelty really is."

Aditya paused for a second and looked into the eyes of the slaves. Aditya's words have managed to capture their interest.

"People were laughing at my back when they heard that the King of the Istarin Dynasty is training slaves to become soldiers. I don't care what others say. But in my eyes, all of you are unrefined diamonds that could become the mightiest elite troops of this Kingdom." Julia was watching this from the kingdom. Her eyes couldn't stop looking at Aditya. At this moment Julia just couldn't resist this man's charm.

"With that being said, I am not going to take away your freedom of choice. I give you all of you two choices. The first option is that you become my soldiers. Those who become my soldiers will have to go through harsh training for months. I will give my future soldiers body cultivation techniques and the resources for you to cultivate. I will make sure all of you get three times meals and proper shelter. I promise those who agree to become my soldiers will never be mistreated. Those who work hard for this Kingdom and manage to collect a certain amount of merits will be freed from their slave status."

Aditya smiled seeing that determination in everyone's eyes. It seems his words have worked. Aditya has purposely asked Watson to only buy young adult slaves. If Aditya adds any weak or old slaves, then those people won't able to become soldiers. Having young soldiers would mean that Aditya can expect their service for at least 10 to 15 years before retiring.

Compared to elderly people, young adults are hot-blooded. Compared to elderly people, young ones wouldn't hesitate to do hard work for a better future.

"Also once you become a full-time soldier, no one would dare to call you slaves. You will have known as soldiers who protect this Kingdom. Your status will no longer be associated with slaves. The people will have to respect you." These few sentences had deep meaning for the slaves. If the slaves can disband their identity and walk-in society with a proud look, then becoming soldiers of the Istarin Kingdom is a small thing for them.

Aditya's words affected all the slave's minds. Their determination to become soldiers increased. Aditya, Watson, and others could feel the sudden changes in the slave's eyes. Their eyes now were burning with passion.

'As expected of the young master. His words really motivated everyone.' Watson smiled looking at the people who will become their elite troops.

"As for the second option, do you people want to hear it?" Aditya asked with a loud voice, showing the passion that was burning in him.

"No"

"Do you want to go through harsh training to become the future light of the Istarin Empire and live your lives as a respected citizen of this Empire?"

"Yes"

Just like Aditya expected, since everyone here was young and hot-blooded, they wanted to abandon their slavery status more than anything. What Aditya was giving them was the opportunity of a lifetime. By becoming slaves, everyone here would become a citizen of this Empire, meaning they wouldn't be called or treated as slaves anymore.

"Now, I called the 7 warriors to step forward." With Aditya's order, his 7 future generals stepped forward and next a few meters away from Aditya.

"Watson already should have told you everything." Aditya then looked at the slaves behind. "From now on, these 7 are going to be known as your captain. In ordinary times, you will address them as your captains. While on the battlefield, everyone shall call them generals."

Scott, Amber, Scott, Tyler, Nathan, Eleanor, and Henry all looked shocked to hear Aditya's declaration.

Watson had not told them about becoming the Istarin Empire's general. This sudden revelation was so shocking for each of them. It's not like Amber and others hated it. Every 7 individuals felt extremely proud standing before Aditya. But deep inside, Scott and others feared something. Since their mana heart has been crippled, everyone felt that they are not worthy of becoming a general.

"Your highness, I don't think we're worthy of becoming your generals."

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Chapter 12

"Your highness, I don't think we're worthy of becoming your generals." Although Josh was very proud and happy that a slave like him was given the chance of becoming one of the generals of the Istarin Kingdom, deep down he just felt unworthy. When cultivator Mana heart is crippled before reaching the 5th order, everything is over for them. The countless years of hard work disappear in thin air.

When Josh lost his cultivation, the only thing that he had left was his body which was strong as a first-order cultivator. Josh had lost all of his hopes. Josh felt if an unworthy person like him becomes the general of his Majesty's army, then it will affect his Majesty's reputation.

"What if I told you that I can repair your mana crippled hearts?" Josh, Scott, Amber, Henry, Eleanor, Nathan, and Tyler all widened their eyes in shock. All 7 of them raised their heads and looked at Aditya's eyes to see if their King was lying to them.

"Don't worry, in a few days, you will know what I mean." Aditya then looked at the slaves who were going to become his future troops.

"From now on, I announce the formation of 7 divisions."

"Scott you will be the Captain and leader of the First division. I admire your skills with a bow. You will train the soldiers in your division to become archers." Scott immediately kneeled in front of Aditya. The gratitude was written on his face.

"Tyler, you will be in charge of division 2. It is your responsibility to train the soldiers in your division to become Heavy Infantry." Tyler slightly nodded his head after bowing to Aditya.

"Nathan, among everyone, you're the most special one. You will be the captain of Division 3. Your responsibility will be to train the member of your division to become assassins. While the other six are the main forces of the Istarin military, your division will focus on intel gathering and assassination. Your division will be named Shadow Guardian because you and your men will protect this Kingdom from the shadows." Nathan simply bowed his head. Though deep down he was really happy that someone finally had recognized his skills. Nathan was really satisfied.

The purpose of creating Shadow Guardian is mainly to assassin people. The shadow Guardian would help Aditya in gathering information on the enemy. Information was the most important key to a winning battle. It would be the job of the shadow guardian to keep the city and the Empire clean.

"Next, is Josh. Josh, you will be responsible for the fourth division. Your group will only have people from the beast race. You will train them to become beast warriors." Josh's body trembled in excitement. Just imagining the beast warriors charging in and destroying the enemy made Josh's blood boil in excitement.

"The captain of the fifth division will be Amber. Among everyone here, you're gifted with extraordinary agility. Your division will focus on agility and quickness." Amber lowered her head and bowed to Aditya. Among the [700+] there were at least [50+] people of the fox race. It would become easier for her to train her race people but it will be a little difficult to train people from other races.

'Since his highness has put his faith in me, I will do the extra work and train every one of my divisions to become capable.' Amber was confident that her division can easily beat, the Shadow guardian. Inwardly she was already competing with every other division.

Aditya was unaware of the thoughts in Amber's mind. Even if he did, he wouldn't stop her. Because competition between divisions was a good way to motivate soldiers and improve faster.

"Next, Eleanor, you will be the head of the sixth division. Your job will be to train soldiers with spears. Your division will mainly focus on using spears." Eleanor was an assassin just like Nathan, but in terms of experience, Elanor only worked as Assassin for 9 months. Even though Eleanor was an assassin, she was better at using spears. Her attacks were swift and deadly.

"And lastly, Henry, unlike everyone here, you have experience in commanding your troops. You will be the head of the 7th division. Your division will train normal soldiers to become Legionnaire." Legionnaire was the type of soldier that used a sword to attack while a shield to defend. They are the most common type of soldiers. To be honest, among all 7 generals, only Henry's 7th division looked ordinary. The only thing that was special about Henry was his experience as a general. But Aditya has a feeling that the soldiers trained under Henry won't be weak at all.

"Now that all the divisions and captains have been selected. It's time to start the training. All of you won't be allowed to join any divisions without learning the basics. So for this 1 week, all the captains and the recruits will train to make their bodies physically stronger." Normally even a month of training won't be enough to make these slaves' bodies stronger. Everyone other than the captains was malnourished and very skinny. Before anything, Aditya must focus on making their bodies stronger.

Julia, fortunately, managed to come up with a special pill that can decrease the 2 months of training to only 1 week. Although this pill was a little expensive to make, the benefit of this pill was too big. This pill only worked on non-cultivators. Julia was currently making the pill in her bedroom.

'I will have to hire someone to do the castle renovation as soon as possible.' After that, the harsh training began. Aditya first told everyone to run around the castle 10 times. With his knowledge of the earth and also some help from Watson, Aditya created a training regime for his troops.

"Watson, please hire someone to renovate the castle. If possible make the Castle even bigger." As if knowing what Aditya was thinking, Watson asked. "Young Master, are you planning on building training facilities for the 7 divisions?"

"Yes. Each division is unique in its way. I want each division to be big enough to let 500 soldiers train at the same time. In the future, we can increase that number. But for now, this much capacity should be enough."

"Young Master, if that's the case then I suggest you build the training facility behind the castle. Behind the Castle, there is a large empty land." Aditya nodded in agreement.

"Young Master, what about the slaves. Are you planning on building houses for them?" Aditya shook his head. He had other plans for the slaves.

"For now, we will let the slaves stay in the castle. I have a plan on renovating this entire city. At that time, I will build a training camp for our future soldiers next to the training facility." Watson nodded while remembering the things that Aditya told him to do.

'I will also have to invest in upgrading the military weapons and armors.'

"Young Master, what should we do about the citizens? After seeing so many dead bodies, I think the people of this city are now scared. I think your words should help the citizen in calming down." Although most people still couldn't place their trust in Aditya, after what he did yesterday the people had some hopes that their King has changed.

"Tell the people that the culprit has been captured and in 3 days the culprit shall be executed in public." Watson noticed the sly smile on Aditya's face. Seeing that smile, the old butler was sure that his young master was plotting something in his head.

"By the way, did the ingredients needed to make the one-star potions arrive yet?"

"No, young Master. The ingredients should arrive before this evening."

"That reminds me, you should buy some slaves that can help Julia with her work. While you're on that, you should also hire some trustworthy maids and servants for the castle."

"I understand, young Master."

While talking to Watson about the various problems, Aditya and his butler arrived at his study room.

"Young Master, did the two nobles reply to your letters?" Watson asked even though he knew the answer. Watson wanted to see how his young master would react. He wanted to see how this master was going to solve this problem. Watson wished to see what path Aditya was going to take. Was Aditya going to shed blood or was he going to use some other ways?

After sitting on his chair, Aditya sighed and shook his head. "It seems Duke Ryan and the other Duke are not interesting in answering my summons."

"Young Master, do you think that both Dukes are planning on overthrowing you?" Watson asked in a serious tone. If the two dukes were to attack the Azure city, there is no way that Aditya can defend the city. If the two Dukes had submitted to Aditya, then things would have been 10 times easier for him.

As Aditya supported his chin with his right palm while his right elbow rested on the table, a cold and murderous look appeared on the young dragon's face. "I am not sure. But both Dukes have done grave mistakes by not paying the taxes all these years and by not answering my summons. For that, I will make them pay."

"Young Master, leaving the two Dukes aside for a moment, how are you planning on cleaning the mess of the western part of the city?" The western part of the city was filled with criminals who escaped from other nations.

"Watson, I promised a certain person that I would pay him a visit. I will keep my promise." Watson was unable to understand the meaning of Aditya's words. But seeing the killing intent in his eyes, it was clear that the king himself was going to take matters into his own hands.

'While I am at it, I should check my stats. After all the killing my level is still 15. I have to kill people like that pirate if I want to level up quicker.' Most of the criminals that Aditya killed were too weak. They were a little stronger than normal humans.

While Aditya's current strength was above a first-order, so he needed to defeat enemies on Peak first-order or above strength if he wanted to earn more Experience points

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline

_Current Class: - War Dancer

_Current class Level: - 15

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Fiery Blaze, Weapon Mastery

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Molten Bolt, Silence Mind

_Strength: - 75? 85

_Speed: - 85? 95

_Stamina: -75? 85

_Health: - 75? 85

_Mana: - 75? 85

_Free stats: - 20]

After that, it was all boring writing and reading various reports. Alex was being taught my Watson while Aditya was making plans for his next step. Aditya knew that each step that he took was monitored. The very first people who watched him from the shadows were his other wives. Surely the news of what he has done and the changes within him must have reached their ears, given how powerful their reputations were.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in"

Amber curiously opened the door. Her golden sharp eyes fell on Aditya who seems to be very focused on his work. For a moment Amber couldn't stop staring at Aditya. Someone said that a serious man was 10 times more handsome, there was something about Aditya that made it hard for the fox race woman to resist the young dragon's charm.

"What is it?"

Watson asked while pretending to not notice how Amber was staring at Aditya. "Well, four carriages have stopped in front of the Castle. Some woman is requesting to have an audience with his Majesty." Aditya put his pen down and looked at Watson. Watson professionally nodded his head and left.

After 10 minutes, Watson returned with a serious face. "Young Master, the guild Master would like to meet you?"

The 7 division is like the 13 Divisions in Bleach Anime. Each Division has a role on the battlefield.

Chapter 13

After 10 minutes, Watson returned with a serious face. "Young Master, the guild Leader would like to meet you?"

"The guild Leader? Why would the guild Leader come here to meet me? And Which guild are we even talking about?" In this world, guilds existed almost in everyone city and in every kingdom. Since the Istarin Dynasty was too small and its economy wasn't that big, no guild ever bothered to set up its branch office in Istarin Dynasty. Even when King Ahmed requested several guilds to open their branch in his Kingdom, those guilds never gave any reply to King Ahmed.

Currently, there was a certain guild that was considered the most powerful and influential guild in the continent of the Dying Isle. The Seekers of Impurity was a guild that suddenly started rising in power in the last 5 years. The Seekers of Impurity guild became powerful to the point where it suppressed the power of existing guilds. Although Aditya is not sure, he did hear from some people that the Seekers of Impurity were expanding very rapidly in all Kingdoms regardless of any Kingdom's political and financial structure.

The old Aditya was a man of alcohol. He stopped listening to these kinds of rumors. Because of the negligence of the old Aditya, the new Aditya has to suffer.

"Young Master, I am not sure why the Seekers of the Impurity guild would come over to our territory. But this is a rare opportunity. If a guild that is influential and powerful to be called Dying Isle continent's number one guild, opened its branch in our territory, it can push our economy." When a guild opens its branch in a city or in a rural village, that place receives a huge increase in visitors. Adventurers would come to that city or rural town, bringing foreign goods with them, thus affecting the prices of goods in the market. It also opens more job opportunities for the common people.

But there is one disadvantage. Normally adventurers are second-order or above-order cultivators. Currently, Aditya can only handle Mid-Second-order cultivators, if a higher-order adventurer comes to this city, then he won't have the power to defend his city in case something bad happens. With the increase in adventurers, there is a high chance that the order of the city might get disturbed if the adventurers decide to fight in the city.

'What I am even thinking? Compared to the benefits that my Kingdom will receive the disadvantage could be overlooked. Also, I still haven't even met the Guild Leader. So the reason for the guild Leader's sudden visit is still unknown to me.'

"Watson, let go." Today's meeting might be one of the most important meetings in the Istarin Dynasty history. If things go smoothly, Aditya might receive the golden fruit that will help him in lowering the food princes of his Dynasty.

Tap! tap! Tap!

The guild leader who was sitting on the couch turned around to see a man walking in. The man was wearing sky blue Kimono with red rose petal designs on the kimono's shoulder and chest area. The man was 177 cm in height. He had long dark blue hair and crimson red pupils with a vertical slit. The man was 19 years old. Despite his age, there was an Aura of authority, an Aura of nobility, and An Aura of superiority around him. Despite his young age, he looked very mature. His otherworldly handsome face seems to have the power to charm any women's heart.

The guild leader noticed when the king of the Istarin Kingdom walked, his posture was always straight. His face never even for a second showed a trace of nervousness. He looked very proud but not arrogant like other noble men of his age.

"I hope I didn't make you wait long, Guild Leader of Seekers of Impurity." Saying that Aditya sat on the couch located opposite.

"I should apologize to his majesty for coming here without any notice. Please forgive my offense." Hearing the Guild Leader lowering her head, Aditya chuckled inwardly and said nothing. Aditya was an Inferno Blaze Dragon. He could sense the power sitting opposite was extremely dangerous. The Guild Leader wasn't even trying to hide her powers. She was even stronger than Watson and any other cultivator that Aditya met after coming to this world.

'Even if she had not decided to apologize, it's not I could have done anything in response. Her power is definitely in third-order or above." This was the gap between cultivators. A third order has the power to destroy a small country like the Istarin dynasty within one day or 2 days.

"So, since Guild Leader came to suddenly, I am sorry I couldn't prepare anything for you. But if you wait long enough, I could tell my butler to bring you tea and snacks." The guild leader sitting opposite Aditya looked very mysterious. She was covering her face with a black veil. The guild leader was wearing a beautiful black Kimono that covered her sinful body.

But her dress couldn't properly hide her curves and tempting curry hip. It was like the Kimono was sticking on the skin like glue, highlighting her curves even further. Any man would have a hard time not looking at the guild leader's lustful body. But Aditya was the King, he is different from others even though dragons high sex drive.

"That won't be necessary but I have to thank your highness for asking. I am going to stay in this city for a while if our guild and this Kingdom manage to reach an agreement." The Guild Leader said the last part hinting at the reason why she came to meet Aditya.

Aditya was not a fool. He could see that the guild leader wanted him to get into the business. "If the Seekers of Impurity guild wants to open their branch in the Kingdom, then I am more than happy as long as the guild follows all the rules and regulations of this Kingdom."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Seekers of Impurity guild would give its 100% in following the rules and regulations of this Kingdom."

"Our guild has a strict policy for adventurers. Even if some adventurers violets the rules and regulations, the guild will take strict actions and also will compensate the Kingdom. Also, each of our branches is protected by 4th-order cultivators. If any adventurer dares to start a fight in this city would be punished by the guild master himself. I think this should give your highness the assurance that you need." Aditya silently nodded his head. Now that one of his biggest worries has disappeared it was time to talk about another matter.

"Our guild follows a certain set of rules. First rule, the Seekers of Impurity guild shall never intervene in wars between two Kingdoms or in any Kingdoms political affairs."

"The second rule, the Seekers of Impurity will never accept any assassin mission regardless of the target's identity. Even if the target happens to be a criminal. That rule can only be bent for bandits."

"Third rule, the guild does not promote any kinds of ideals. The guild is neutral in all kinds of fights."

"Fourth rule, the contract shall be terminated if any noble or the King himself tries to meddle into the affairs of the guild."

"Fifth rule, the guild does not sell information. If any King or noble of any Kingdom or Empire tries to force the guild into giving information on other Kingdoms, the contract shall be terminated. Without the contract, the guild will stop working in that Empire."

"The sixth rule, if the King or the nobles tries to force the adventurers of the guild into joining their troops, the guild shall stop operating in that particular city and that city's King or noble won't receive any taxes."

"7th and most important rule, if the guild is attacked under any King or any nobles orders, the guild shall take appropriate measures. In worst-case scenarios, the guild shall use a 6th-order cultivator as a counter-attack."

'A 6th-order? I don't think the guild leader is lying. If she was then her guild wouldn't have been this continent's top guild.' Just realizing how much destruction just a single attack of 6th order could do sent chills down Aditya's spine. The Dying Isle continent never produced any 6th-order cultivator. Most 5th order and higher-order cultivators live in the Main continent or also known as the higher continent. The very same continent from where Aditya's biological parents live in.

"I have no problem with the rules of your guild. I am happy that the guild wants to take a neutral stance and won't interfere in political and economical matters. But what about the taxes?" This was the most important part of this negotiation.

Since the Kingdom of Istarin is located near the Silver Meadow Grove Forest, it wouldn't be surprising if ten thousand or even a hundred thousands of adventurers come to the Istarin Kingdom and choose a monster extermination mission. Aditya knew that as long as his Kingdom continues to develop, the tax number would only continue to increase. Not just that, if a guild is opened in his territory, it would generate thousands of jobs for the people of this Kingdom which will be a great help in restoring the economy.

"Before we talk about taxes, let this lady tell your highness about the ranking system of our guild. Each cultivator, according to its cultivation order will be given a rank starting from E all the way to S or SS or SSS rank. Similarly, the job requests are also ranked according to their difficulty. Generally, E-rank jobs can pay from somewhere between 5 silver coins to 20 silver coins. While D rank jobs can pay somewhere from 10 silvers to 50 silvers."

"C rank jobs can pay somewhere from 25 silvers to 5 gold coins. B rank jobs can pay between 1 gold coin to 100 gold coins."

"Our guild generally pays 18% of our total earnings. For example, for a B rank mission, if the mission completion reward is 100 gold coins, we will take 2 gold coins as fees." Although 18 percent might not look much, given the millions of adventurers connected with the Seeker of Impurity guild, and the huge number of missions posted by the guild, at the end of the month Aditya would still get a huge chunk of money.

"I am good with 18% but what about the other businesses owned and will be operated by the Seeker of Impurity Guild?" Aditya was not stupid. Even though he doesn't have much information on how the guilds in this world operated, from his experience he was sure that the continent's biggest guild must have other businesses. This is how the giant business companies back on earth operated. For example amazon, the company started with delivery and then gradually expanded its business in other sectors.

The guild leader looked visibly surprised when Aditya asked about their other businesses. She wasn't expecting Aditya to think so far. Being this continent's biggest Guild, the Seeker of Impurity also run their potion store, auction house, weapon store, hotels, and restaurants.

'She mentioned 18% of their total earnings in Istarin Kingdom's territory. I would be stupid if I had signed the contract only for 18%. Generally, weapon stores, auction houses, and potion stores had high tax rates. If I agree with only 18% percent then I would take a huge loss.'

After some discussion, both parties came to an agreement. In the end, the Seeker of Impurity guild agreed to pay 18% of their total earnings from guild jobs. For auction houses, the tax rate was set to 37% of the total earnings. And for potion and weapon stores, the tax rate was 40% and 30%.

"Your Highness, tomorrow I will send someone with the contract." After discussing with Aditya for an hour, the guild leader knew that she couldn't underestimate Aditya. Aditya was like a natural merchant. He saw through her plan. Even she was terrified of Aditya's financial knowledge.

Aditya nodded his head with a relieved smile. Fortunately, the guild leader didn't try to pressure Aditya with her power as the continent's largest guild. In this contract, no one wasn't losing anything. The guild was getting a new kingdom to expand their business while Aditya was getting a new source of earning.

"Now that we have talked about the contract, your majesty I shall take my leave." The guild leader stood up to leave. There was a hidden smile beneath that black veil that no one saw.

Aditya also stood up. "One more, I was told to pass this to your Majesty by a certain interesting person."

A black scroll with golden borders lines on its edges appeared in the guild Leader's hand. "Can I know who that person was?" Aditya asked while taking the scroll from the guild leader.

"I don't know her name, but she is famously known as the Goddess of War."

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Chapter 14

"I don't know her name, but she is famously known as the Goddess of War." The guild leader said with a mysterious smile that Aditya couldn't see.

Just when the nickname of one of his wives was mentioned, Aditya for a moment lost his composure. His breathing quickened as his hand slightly trembled while holding the black scroll. Among Aditya's seven wives, there was a woman who was famously known as the Goddess of War. Mainly because of her high Battle IQ, unique battle techniques, and her power to wield any weapon. Even her class was War Goddess class.

Rumor has it that she is so strong that despite being the 4th order, she has the ability to slaughter a 5th order cultivator. One had to know that it was extremely hard if not impossible for a cultivator to defeat someone with one order higher cultivation. Only certain rare persons in this world could achieve this feat in lower orders while Aditya's wife was able to do it in higher orders. Because the gap between each order is like heaven and earth. Even the weakest second-order can kill 100 first-order very easily. While even the weakest third-order can slaughter an army of second-orders. The gap only continues with higher orders.

Among Aditya's 7 wives, the goddess of War was undoubtfully the strongest one. People mainly feared her because of her terrifying battle IQ. So far, she never has lost even a single battle. She was one of those few people who was to this day, undefeated on the battlefield. Whenever she has led an army, just using her battle IQ she was able to destroy the enemy.

She was a battle genius. Even if the odds were against her, the goddess of war had the ability to overcome all odds and win. She was also called the child of Heaven because of her frightening cultivation speed. Her comprehension ability to learn spells and fighting techniques could compare to no one.

"May I know, when the Guild Leader actually met the Goddess of War?" Aditya asked while looking at the black scroll. As much as he wanted to open it, he refrained from opening the scroll in front of the guild leader.

"I am sure exactly how much time has passed. But it shouldn't be longer than 12 hours."

"I see. You have my sincerest gratitude."

"There is no need for his majesty to express his gratitude to me. I owed her a favor which I am repaying by delivering this scroll. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

After the guild Leader left,

After taking a deep breath, Aditya slowly opened the scroll. Aditya was not scared that this might be a trap or explosion. Aditya knew that his wives wouldn't try to kill him. If he dies, then his 7 wives will also lose their lives.

"Blast of Divine Fury! This looks like some kind of battle technique. And here, I was expecting this scroll to have some kind of message. It looks like I was thinking too much." Curiously Aditya began reading the Blast of Divine Fury. As Aditya began reading, he felt with each passing second, his comprehension of this move was increasing.

Aditya didn't realize that he was so focused on comprehending, that he had entered into a deep enlightened state. After the guild Leader left, Watson and Julia came to ask Aditya about the contract but seeing that Aditya was so focused, both of them didn't bother Aditya anymore.

After about 4 hours, Aditya finally closed the scroll with a smile on his face.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning a passive skill Blast of Divine Fury.]

[Blast of Divine Fury: -

[Description]- A special type of skill developed by the Goddess of War. This skill still hasn't reached its perfect level yet. Currently, this skill can only be used by Dragons who have fire affinity.

[Function]: - It will consume [15+] mana to activate the Blast of Divine Fury skill. When this skill is used, the host will enter into a berserk state. All of the host stats except for Mana will be temporarily increased by 50%. The host will have to spend [5+] mana per second to keep this skill activated. After using this skill, the skill will enter a 24 hours cooldown.]

"With this skill, I am confident that I can even hold on my own against a Peak second-order.' As Aditya was in the middle of celebrating, he heard someone knocking on the door.

Knock! Knock!

"What is it, Watson?"

"Young Master, the ingredients has arrived. Although we still haven't received all the ingredients yet, I believe there are enough ingredients for one person."

"So, who are we going to choose?" Aditya asked.

"Miss Julia has selected, Miss Amber to be the first person."

"Alright, let's go."

Aditya wasn't surprised when Julia picked Amber out of everyone. Aditya still can't understand how Amber and Julia became friends on the very first day of her arrival.

"Is she confident?"

"Young Master, Although Milady has never done anything like this before, I believe she is more than confident."

Both Watson and Aditya reached the underground place where criminals were used to being tortured. This was the torture chamber that no one used. Coming to the torture chamber, Julia and Amber were already there.

"Took you long enough. What benefits did you get from your enlightenment?"

"I learned a new skill. Moving on, Amber are you sure you want to go first?" Although Julia was known as the Goddess of Alchemy, since it was her first time doing something like this, Aditya couldn't help but be worried.

Amber showed a determined smile. "Young Master, I am sure it. I trust my friend with my life. I am sure everything will go well."

"Alright enough talking." Julia said after she finished wearing white gloves.

"Amber, please lay down on this bed. And you two can wait outside?"

"But why, we can help you?" Both Watson and Aditya had the same question.

The smile on Julia's face disappeared. She coldly glared at Aditya and spoke in a threatening tone. "I am going to perform a small surgery. Amber will have to take off her clothes. Do you want me to continue....or...?" Julia showed the knife in her hand.

Cough!

"Of course. Me and young Master were planning on waiting outside. Isn't that true, young Master?" Aditya repeatedly nodded his head while giving a secret thumb up to his loyal butler. Fortunately, Watson came in time and saved him.

Both Watson and Aditya were about to leave, but Julia stopped him. "Wait, how I can perform the surgery if I don't have your blood?" Julia gave Aditya a test tube. Without any hesitation, Aditya picked up the knife on the table and cut his index finger.

"I have been meaning to ask, why do you have to perform a surgery? I thought you were going to make a pill and feed it to her."

Julia surprisingly didn't get angry. She instead sadly looked at Amber and replied. "Amber's heart was injured. Just feeding the pill won't help her. In her case, I will have to directly pour the medicine into her heart. Also, the process cannot be rushed. I have to be gentle otherwise Amber wouldn't able to handle the pain."

After filling the test tube, Aditya and Watson silently walked out of the torture chamber that now had become the temporary laboratory.

Julia took out an orange color pill that was the size of a round marble. "Amber, eat this pill. This pill will knock out unconscious for the next 15 minutes. This pill will also make your body insensitive to pain." Amber nodded and ate the pill like normal candy. In the meantime, Julia began to prepare the ingredients needed to cure Amber's, crippled heart.

"Amber, while you're conscious I think you should change your clothes and wear these. You don't want to get your Kimono stained with your blood."

While Julia was busy with the surgery, Watson and Aditya stood outside. Both men leaned against the wall and looked at the thick steel door.

After a few minutes of silence, Aditya broke the ice by asking first. "How is Alex's family settling down?" Alex was Aditya's very first employee and assistant.

"I have helped Alex in settling down. But he has a child of 8 years old. I think we will have to open a school in the near future. The literacy rate of this Kingdom is very low. Young Master, if you want to build a powerful empire, you will have to increase the literacy rate of this Kingdom."

There weren't any schools in this Kingdom. In most parts of this world, only the nobles or the rich people goes to school. In a Kingdom where the people are struggling to even find 3 times of meals, going to school was nothing but a stupid dream for them. Not to mention the ridiculous high school fees.

"I was thinking of building schools in the upcoming months. But with our current income, it would be best to teach some people and let them run a school." Normally most school teachers were either nobles or rich class people. Just hiring one teacher belonging to a noble family for a month would cost up to 100 royal gold coins per month.

"Say, Watson, have you ever met the Goddess of War?" Aditya was increasingly getting more curious about the Goddess of War, the very same woman who also was his wife in name.

"Unfortunately, no. The Goddess of War is from another continent. She very rarely visited the Dying Isle continent. Other than some Kings of big Kingdoms, no one really has seen her. I did hear people saying that her beauty was unrivaled in her home continent."

"What about the other 5? Have you seen any one of them?"

"No, Just like Lady Julia, all other 6 goddesses are the most beautiful women in their respective continents. Just like lady Julia, everyone mostly hides their faces in the public to not attract the attention of the crowd."

'I wonder what kind of women my other wives are? Even though we don't have any feelings between us, I would still love to meet them, at least even for once.' Just like any other man in this world, Aditya also held lots of admiration and respect for the 7 goddesses.

After about 20 minutes, Julia opened the door. "How did the surgery go?" Aditya and Watson asked while walking inside.

After walking in, both Watson and Aditya saw a completely different person. Even though she still had yellow hair and 9 fluffy tails, she now wouldn't lose to Julia in terms of beauty. The bad scars on her face were no longer there. She looked like a plant that had regained its vitality.

"As you can see, the operation was a success. With the experience, I had with alchemy things went very smooth even though this was my first time."

"Yes, I used some secret medicine to remove the scars from her face." The Amber in front of Aditya now looked like a completely different person. Other than her yellow hair, her body seems to have gone through changes. With all the changes, her charm and seductiveness also reached another frightening level.

When Julia and Amber stand together, Julia looks like the symbol of pureness and beauty while Amber's body itself was made to tempt men to commit sins. Amber radiated the seductiveness of an older woman even though she was a virgin.

Her body has become more curvaceous than before. Even her height had increased by a few meters. With the changes in her body, Aditya, being a dragon who was known to have high lust was having a hard time keeping his eyes from looking at Amber's sinful body. Her Kimono seems to be tightly held against her body, which seems to give a unique kind of charm.

"Young Master, I think Miss Amber has awakened a unique kind of bloodline and has become a Fox queen." Watson in this multiple century-old life has seen multiple fox queens. He clearly knew how terrifying each queen was. When a fox queen reached a certain age, their powers would naturally reach 5th-order.

Fox race people were naturally born very beautiful and handsome. The longer a fox race woman lives, the more frightening her charm becomes with her increasing cultivation strength. After succubus race women, only the fox race women are said to have the most charm and seductiveness. While the Fox race queen, which is a unique kind of mutation within the fox race said to have seductive powers that can rival even the succubus queen.

Today I might not able to upload another chapter since I have to spend time with my family this Eid. We only need 4 more reviews to get a rating. Everyone please give 3 minutes of your precious time and write a review.

Chapter 15

"Hey, did you head? Your Bastard king has told the people that he was going to bring the culprit who killed our brothers last night and publicly execute that murderer."

"Do you really think the King has captured the man who managed to kill [600+] thugs in just 30 minutes? Don't forget, among the people that person killed there was also the Amir who was a Mid-second-order cultivator. I think the King is trying to calm the people with fake words."

"Your words do have a point. Who knows you might be right and on the day of execution, he might execute a fake person to calm the public."

In the same bar that Aditya went to last night, all the thugs and criminals in the city had gathered for an emergency meeting about the incident that shook the underground world of this city. If this incident had happened with just one gang, then others wouldn't have been much worried. Instead, they would have been happy because, with one less gang, they can increase their earnings. But what happened yesterday night has left a seed of fear in other gangs' hearts. They were afraid. Everyone gang in this city was now living in fear of not knowing when that demon will appear and start killing once again.

"Everyone please come down. I have a few words that I would like to say before we will decide what to do." The one who just spoke was the old bartender who gave information to Aditya last night.

"I know what happened last night was very horrifying and disturbing. Today, after some investigation we have found some clues on the murderer's identity." Today, the bar was closed to outsiders. It was a special gathering for all the gangs in this city to discuss the last night's incident.

Hearing the bartender's words, all the gang leaders and criminals went silent. Everyone here highly respected the old bartender. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this old-looking man was the real leader of the mafia world of this city.

"After checking all the dead bodies, including the dead body of Amir, it was confirmed that the killer could use fire-element powers. For example, when we checked the wounds on Amir's body, his chest was burned. The place where they bought had ashes. My people also have checked the bodies of our fellow brothers. Among the [600+] dead bodies, most of them had severe burns. The burns were not any normal burns, their flesh was turned charcoal black from the heat. You all can imagine just how frightening the killer's fire attack was." Some thugs felt chills running down their spine. Just from listening to the bartender's words, they felt were seeing the whole thing in their imagination.

"My guess is, the killer first attacked Amir and took him near the western gate. After killing Amir, the killer went ahead to kill all the gang members of the Vile Crew gang. In the process of slaughtering the members of the vile crew, some other gang members must have seen the killer and tried to attack him. And that's when the true slaughter began. He killed every single thug that came into his view."

"However, I have noticed something here." The bartender fell into silence for a second.

"What?" One of the gang leaders asked.

"While the killer was killing the thugs, due to the loud screams, some ordinary citizens woke up and saw the killer. But the killer never went to silence those people."

"Just get to the point already." Another gang leader slammed the table with his fist and asked in anger.

"Does everyone here remember how The Norlor family was publicly executed one day ago?" Everyone nodded their heads with a confused look.

"Does the image of a certain fire user who brutally slaughtered the mercenaries in the public come to your mind?" It was then everyone realized who the killer was. It was non than the person who called him the right-hand man of the King.

"It was that bastard Isaac."

"Exactly. But why would the King suddenly order his right-hand man to do something like this? I mean the King could have publicly taken action. But instead, he chose to do things in the dark."

While other gang leaders were speaking, the bartender began to think about yesterday. 'There is no doubt, it was that man who came for information who did all this. Then why did he ask about Sir Amos?' As everyone was talking among themselves, the whole place turned quiet when they heard a knock on the door.

Knock! Knock!

"Who is it?" The bartender signaled everyone to keep their mouth shut.

"Hey, why is this bar is closed? I just fought with my wife. Let me drink some alcohol." Everyone looked at each other with a speechless look.

"I hate to say but today the bar is closed for some maintenance work."

"Grandpa, why the hell are you asking for entry permission? If someone blocks our path, we will just cut them down."

Bang!

The next moment everyone heard a loud sound. Looking at the other side, everyone found the male waiter lying on a broken table.

"We're under attack. Everyone prepare yourselves." The old bartender shouted with a pale look on his face.

"May I come in?" The old bartender's eyes widened in shock and his face turned pale when Aditya walked in while holding a black sword in his hand.

"It looks like everyone is here." From the shadows, behind Aditya, another old man appeared and stood beside Aditya while holding a long sword in his hand.

"Fu! Fu!, this big sister can't wait to kill some people." On Aditya's left, another figure emerged from the shadows. She had long beautiful yellow hair and she was holding a pair of daggers.

At this point, all the thugs were on their feet and were ready to attack. "So you're the one who killed my best friend." Aditya looked at the man with short silver hair and golden eyes. The man was 6 feet tall.

"It's a good thing that you come here. I won't have to search for you. Now I will avenge my best friend." Without any warning, the man disappeared from his place and appeared behind Aditya in a few seconds. He was about to swing his battle axe aiming at Aditya's neck but before his attack could reach Aditya, Watson landed a kick on the man named Jason and sent him flying.

Bang!

"Young Master, please don't underestimate your enemies." Aditya wouldn't have thought of attacking tonight. But seeing that Amber had regained her ability to cultivate and also recovered half of her strength, Aditya changed his mind.

"I am not underestimating anyone. Though I was a little surprised by his strength. Amber and Watson, both of you handle everyone here. Meanwhile, I will settle the debt with certain someone." Saying that Aditya looked at the old bartender who tried to poison him yesterday.

"Understood. But please don't be too reckless. This man is strong. We will try to assist you as soon as we're done here."

"Let's take this fight somewhere else."

Swoosh!

Both parties appeared on two rooftops. Standing opposite each other, both parties tightly held their weapons.

"I told you that I was going to pay you a visit."

"If I had known that you're this dangerous then I would have done everything in my power to kill your last night."

"Bad for you then. But I do wonder, why are you trying to keep Amos's information a secret." The piece of paper that the bartender gave Aditya had all the basic information written about Amos. Like when did Amos start his merchant carrier, or when did he decide to expand his business. But there was no information on where Aditya could find Amos.

"If you defeat me, I will tell you the answer. Before we fight, let me introduce myself I am Conor."

"I will also do you a favor and tell you my name when I defeat you."

"Enough talking, let's start this fight already." The third-party was none other than Jason who wanted to avenge his best friend's death.

Air compression!

Jason jumped 5 meters above the ground and punched the empty air with his right fist causing an air sphere to form and shot forward Aditya like a cannonball. Aditya quickly raised his left-hand index finger towards the incoming sphere and shot a red-orange bolt from his left hand to destroy the sphere.

Boom!

"You shouldn't let your guard down." The old man, Conor appeared behind Aditya and sent him flying with a kick.

Bang!

Aditya was forced to land 10 meters away, on another roof. 'It's difficult to take on two Mid-second-order enemies at the same time.' If Aditya was fighting one of them at a time then he was confident about defeating them but now the situation was pressuring Aditya. This entire time he was on his defense.

"Nice work old man." Both Jason and Conor rushed at Aditya at their full speed. Both men become so fast that Aditya couldn't keep track of their movement. Under the moonlight, two shadows rapidly closed the distance and were only 5 meters away when both stopped their bodies when Aditya's body suddenly started glowing in gold light.

"What the hell is happening?"

"I have no idea."

The golden light covered Aditya's entire body. The light was so bright that even from another part of the city, the people were able to see the golden light.

[Ding! Blast of Divine Fury has been activated. All of the host stats except for mana have increased by 50%.]

Just when the Blast of Divine Fury skill was activated, Aditya instantly felt the increase in his powers. But his face soon turned pale due to the rapid consumption of his Mana. Each second he was losing [5+] mana.

'I can only keep this skill going for the next 14 to 15 seconds. I have to finish things quickly.'

Bang!

The roof beneath Aditya's feet instantly cracked when he jumped by exerting his strength. The golden figure moved like a bolt of lightning and appeared in front of his enemies. Both Jason and Conor were beyond shocked seeing Aditya's sudden increase in his strength.

Without wasting any time, Aditya swung his black sword hoping to take out Jason with his attack.

Clang!

Conor intervened at the last moment and blocked the strike that was aimed at Jason's neck with a dagger.

"I am getting sick of you old man." Saying that using his left fist that was covered in crimson flame, Aditya angrily punched Conor's chest and sent him flying like a rocket.

Bang!

[10 seconds]

By then Jason had recovered from his shock. He realized even though Aditya's speed had increased, his agility wasn't faster than his. Jason stepped back to dodge the sword attack while trying to land a punch on Aditya's body.

[9 seconds]

'Dammit' As seconds passed, Aditya's face started turning paler and paler. He realized that he won't hold on for much longer. As time passed, his head was getting heavier. It felt like he was about to lose his consciousness. While gritting his teeth, stepped back and raised his sword above his head.

Using both of his hands and with all of his strength, Aditya vertically swung his sword that was now showing some signs of turning crimson red with the intention of cutting Jason in half.

"Hahah! This can't hur...What?" Jason laughed while moving out of the attack range but then a red wave of flame hit Jason faster than he could react.

Booom!

The red flame consumed Jason. The flame wrapped itself around Jason's body.

Bonus Chapter!! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will try to release the other Bonus chapter tomorrow. Thank you for all the Power stones. I hope you all will continue to show your support with power stones.

Chapter 16

[7 seconds]

[Mana: - 35/85]

[Ding! You have killed a Mid-second-order. You have gained experience points.]

[Ding! You have leveled u.....]

Ignoring the message, Aditya rushed forward to the old man Conor.

The punch sent Conor flying more than 20 meters away. He directly crushed on the wall causing the wall itself to crack like a spider web.

Cough!

"That hurts." After coughing a mouth full of blood, Conor looked at his chest. His whole chest, even some parts of his throat severely burned. Conor was only alive because at the last moment he used mana to cover his chest, thus reducing the power of Aditya's attack.

"I don't understand why his flame is so powerful?" Conor himself was a fire-type cultivator. But compared to the red crimson flames that Aditya used, Conor's flames were nothing. It was like comparing a candle flame with lava. The difference was just too big.

"His flames are strong as a third-order cultivator. His single flame attack could turn any first-order to ash." This is why Conor didn't dare to attack Aditya with flame as he knew his strongest flame attack wouldn't able to even come anywhere near injuring him.

Boom!

Conor looked to see a loud explosion take place. He immediately understood that Jason had taken this attack. As Jason was a body cultivator and only Aditya had the power to use this type of attack.

"He will come for me soon." Conor somehow tried to stand up as Aditya moved at his peak agility to use the remaining seconds to finish the old man Conor.

[3 seconds]

[Mana: - 15/85]

"It looks like I will have to use that pill."

Looking at his mana, Aditya realized that he won't make it in time. He quickly stopped and ate a candy looking like a pill. This pill was given by Julia. It has mana stored in it. Although this pill wasn't that powerful, it could instantly recover half of Aditya's mana, thus buying him more time. But this pill also had a side effect.

Once the effect of the pill is over, Aditya will feel pain in his heart. The effect could last for at least an hour. At that time, Aditya won't able to recover his mana. Meaning, that for an hour, his heart will temporarily stop collecting mana from the atmosphere.

[Mana: -55/85]

Aditya felt a cool refreshing feeling of energy entering his heart but that ended with a burning feeling. Aditya started to feel his heartburn. It was like someone was burning his organs from inside.

[11 seconds]

"Where is the old man?" Aditya realized that he had lost track of the old man's movement.

"Looking for me?" Aditya without looking back, instantly lowered his head to dodge the incoming attack.

Aditya's current speed had reached a terrifying level. Before killing Jason, he had used his free stats to increase his agility to [105+], and with a 50% increase in his agility from his skill Blast of Divine Fury, his current speed had reached [152+].

"It looks like you lost your sword." To kill Jason, Aditya used the fire element in his sword and release a wave of red flame. The high temperature of his flame instantly melted the iron sword.

"I won't need a sword to kill you." At this point, Aditya was almost out of mana while the old man was seriously injured. With each passing second, both of their conditions were getting worse.

Fiery Blaze!

"This will be my final move." Under Aditya's control, 7 red snakes made out of red flame appeared from his back. For a moment Conor was surprised. This wasn't any fire-type move, rather Aditya was controlling the flame. Just realizing this, Conor was again shocked. If Aditya had fire-controlling ability, this could mean that this young man had some rare bloodline that gave him this ability.

Under the young dragon's orders, the seven snakes shot forward and charging at Conor from 7 directions. Leaving him with no choice but to move back.

As Conor stepped back, a sly smile appeared on the young dragon's head. Even with his pale face, his smile was frightening enough to make Conor's entire body tremble in fear. For a moment Conor felt like he was looking at the devil himself.

Eruption Wave!

Without Conor realizing the ground beneath him transformed into lave. And from the lava, a giant palm grabbed Conor.

"What is this? Ahhhhhh!" In the middle of the night, the western citizen again heard a loud scream. Conor's eyes tremble in fear and in regret when the red lava wrapped his entire body down and consumed him entirely.

[Ding! The host has leveled up. All of the host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has gained 2 free stats points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. All of the host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has gained 2 free stats points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. All of the host stats have been increased by 1 point. The host has gained 2 free stats points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up. ....]

Huff! Huff! Huff!

"Finally, the fight is over."

"Old man, you never kept your promise but I will keep my promise. I am the King of this Kingdom. Aditya" While breathing heavily, with the burning pain in his heart, Aditya lay on the roof. trying his best to maintain his consciousness.

Huff! Huff!

"At that moment, If I had not used my saved-up stats points, the result of this battle would have changed entirely."

[Mana: - 01/96]

"By killing these two, my level reached level 26. I am tired." Aditya knew that with Watson and Amber, everything should be settled down there. There was no need for him to go there. Also, those thug's levels are so low that Aditya won't get many Experience points if even he kills them all.

Sarlus Noble house defended the Vrane City

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline

_Current Class: - War Dancer

_Current class Level: - 26

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Fiery Blaze, Weapon Mastery

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Molten Bolt, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury

_Strength: - 85? 96

_Speed: - 95? 106

_Stamina: - 85? 96

_Health: - 85? 96

_Mana: - 85? 96

_Free stats: - 22]

About 15 minutes later, both figures came in search of Aditya. "Young Master, I was getting worried. We have been looking for you."

"Young Master, are you alright?"

Aditya opened his eyes and saw Watson and Amber's worried faces. He just smiled and nodded. "I should be alright after the next 44 minutes. What about you two? Is everything done?"

"Yes, we have killed all the thugs and arrested the gang leaders."

"What about their spoils?" Aditya doesn't want to lose their hard-earned money.

"Scott and others are cleaning everything. I am sure they won't leave anything behind." Seeing Watson's mysterious smile, Aditya felt relieved. At least his butler shared his thoughts.

"By the way, I had no idea that Jason had come to fight you, young master. I thought he run away, taking advantage of the chaos. I am sure this must have been a tough fight for you." The only reason Watson let Aditya fight the bartender Watson knew that the young master had the power to kill the old man. But never did he think another person would join the fight.

"Don't worry. I go valuable experience from his fight. Again I realized that I have so many things to learn." Aditya felt that he could have ended this fight very quickly if he was experienced enough.

"Amber, you help young Master return to the castle. I will help others and return with our hard-earned profits." Amber's mouth twitched hearing the last two words. She decided to remain silent in this situation and do what she was ordered to do.

After Watson left, Amber helped Aditya stand up. She put Aditya's right on her left shoulder while she used her right hand to hold his waist.

"Young master, can you walk?"

For a moment, Aditya felt he might have a reaction. Even though Amber was a body cultivator, her body was extremely soft. Aditya tried his best to keep his head clear from the impure and dirty thoughts. On top of that, for some reason, Amber's current stone sounded so seductive that it could melt even the coldest hearts in the world.

If all the stimulations weren't enough, Aditya could smell her body's beautiful fragrance. Aditya felt his body was getting hot from smelling her body's fragrance. 'God, what kind of situation is this? My body is already tired and now standing next to this vixen was only making things worse.'

'No, I must not lose my focus. Stay focused my little brother. We must stay focused, brother.' What Aditya didn't realize was that due to all the stimulations, the pain he was supposed to feel in his heart was no longer there. Amber's body had something that was calming the burning sensation in his heart.

"Young Master, I have a request." After walking silently for 10 minutes. Amber opened her mouth. Amber being a woman, had sensitive senses. She understood that her charm had reached a dangerous level after activating her fox queen bloodline.

During these 10 minutes, Amber noticed that Aditya was trying his best to not fall under the stimulation. Seeing Aditya trying so much, the respect that Amber had for Aditya grew up bounds. Everyone knew that the male dragon had the second-most sex drive after the incubus. It's just that Dragons had a very low birth rate because of their powers.

Amber knew that if there was any other male dragon in Aditya's place, then that person would have used his authority to try to force his lust on Amber. Because of this, when Amber noticed how hard Aditya was trying to hold himself and not show any kind of lust, Amber truly felt respected and the admiration for Aditya only grew in her heart.

It's not like Amber wanted to openly use her body to seduce other men. She was not that type of woman. She respected her body. She only wished to have a single mate in her whole life. But after activating her fox queen bloodline, her charms increased to the point where even the smallest thing that she did had a touch of seduction.

"As long as, it's not too much, I will grant your wish." Since Amber was Aditya's future general, he had to give his general certain privileges. But that doesn't mean he will grant them anything.

Although I was supposed to celebrate my Eid, I instead took the time to write and upload a second bonus chapter. Continue to support this novel with your power stones.

Chapter 17

"As long as, it's not too much, I will grant your wish." Since Amber was Aditya's future general, he had to give his general certain privileges. But that doesn't mean he will grant them anything.

After hesitating for a minute, Amber finally decided to open her mouth. "Young Master, if someday I asked you to save the fox race and give people of the fox race a place in your Kingdom, will you grant my request?"

Almost all of the beast race people lived on another continent. With the development and passage of time, a small part of the beast race people moved to different continents in order to find better living conditions. From what Aditya has heard, almost 80% of the beast race continent was prairie and rocky mountains. The living condition of the beast race people living in the prairie is very harsh. It is very difficult to find food or grow crops. As a result, sub-races of beast-men have to rely on rearing.

From her look, it was clear that Amber was planning on helping her fox race people. As for where her family and people live, Aditya is not sure. For now, the Young dragon decided to not ask his Fox general about her backstory. He decided to wait till she is ready to talk

"Of course, My kingdom is and always will be open for every race. I don't discriminate against people based on their race, color, gender, and sex. As long as the citizen of the Kingdom can obey all the rules and work hard, I will protect them and their rights." There were some Kingdoms on this continent that discriminated against the beast race people. Beast race people were banned from living in those Kingdoms. The people in those kingdoms use beast-men as slaves.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The small and beautiful smile of relief was hidden by the darkness of the night. Unfortunately, Aditya will never see that smile as he was focused on his own world. The young dragon was trying his best to control himself and not lose control.

Somehow, both Amber and Aditya made it back to the Castle. "Your Majesty, should I take you to your bedroom?" King Aditya felt his bones were going to melt hearing those seducing words. He quickly shook his head and stopped relying on Amber.

"I can return to my bedroom without your help. Thank you for everything." The King quickly run away as he didn't wish to let his future general see his erection.

Knock! Knock!

"Young Master, I have returned to give my report." From Watson's excited tone, it was crystal clear that their gain was huge this time around.

"Come in." Entering the house, the butler noticed that his Majesty was wearing his red Pajamas and reading some books while lying on his bed. These books had information on different attacking moves. After the fight with Conor, Aditya felt that he should read books to expand his knowledge of cultivation and fighting techniques.

"Your Majesty, after counting all the cash, liquid assets, and valuable items that we got from today's raid, we now have 4,918 royal gold coins. That wasn't even the biggest part. Among the items we found, there were also fifteen 2-star weapons of high quality." A single one-star weapon was priced from 25 gold coins to 1 royal cold. While 2-star weapons cost from 10 royal golds to 100 royal gold coins. Fifteen 2-star weapons of high quality meant, that these weapons were worth nearly 1,500 gold coins.

"Watson, don't sell these weapons. You should know that 2-star weapons are very rare. We would have to make a preorder from our neighboring Kingdoms if we want any 2-star or any higher star weapons. First, let our 7 future generals take one weapon of their choice. You can take one 2-star weapon of your choice as well. Then keep the remaining in the treasury for future use. And Also if there is a sword, then leave it for me." Since Watson and his 7 generals were his current main forces, it would be best to give each of them a 2-star weapon which would give them a significant boost in their fighting powers.

"We already have burned all the drug packages, then taken away all the illegal items that were imported without paying taxes. With the help of soldiers, all the bodies were burned outside the city and the place was cleaned leaving no sign of a battle taking place. We still have to torture the gang's leaders. I will do that later, probably tomorrow if I get time. Young Master, while searching the interior of the bar, I found an interesting letter." Watson handed a neatly folded square-shaped piece of paper. Aditya noticed the dark and angry look on his butler's face when he handed the letter.

After opening the letter, Aditya saw the name of the person who appeared in his dream.

[Grandpa Conor, In a week's time the Capital of Istarin Kingdom will go through earth-shaking changes. By then, the Istarin Kingdom should have Ryan as its new ruler. I already have talked with him. He is a clever man with big ambition. He will do anything for his interest. But this is just a small part of that Kingdom's plan. This week, prepare all the money that you and your subordinate have earned. Be prepared to leave this city. Chaos will fall in the Istarin Land.]

[Please be careful, grandpa.]

[From, Amos]

"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Butler Watson asked in a serious tone. This matter was really serious. Just when things were beginning to get better with the Istarin Kingdom, a storm was on its way to crush everything that Aditya was trying to build.

"Watson, you should know what I am clearly thinking." When the young dragon looked at Watson's eyes, the old butler was forced to take a step back. Currently, Aditya's eyes had turned red as the temperature of his body began to rise at a rapid speed. At this point, Aditya wasn't even bothering to hide his killing intent.

There was no way, Aditya was going to let his nightmare become a reality. This was the Kingdom that was given by the old man Ahmed. Ahmed entrusted him with his Kingdom when everyone in this world shunned him. The debt that this young dragon owns to the previous King was simply huge. Although he has failed to do this duty for 3 years, this Aditya whose real name was Isaac wasn't going to let someone take or harm his Kingdom.

'This is where I spent years of my life. I call this city my home. When my biological proud parents threw me out just because I couldn't awaken my bloodline, this city King welcomed me and made me feel like I was home. This Kingdom will not perish, will not sink under the water, as long as I am alive.' Unknowingly Aditya had tightly clenched his fists in anger.

"Young master, I think you should calm yourself. We can talk over this matter tomorrow." The old butler wanted his king to calm down first. Nothing will go right if Aditya lets his anger control his decision.

"There is no need, Watson. Tomorrow, I will use that artifact." The old butler was relieved to know that his master was able to think and not get blinded by anger. Not everyone had the power to do this.

"Good night, young Master." Butler Watson left knowing that Aditya won't go to sleep this soon.

Scene change___

"Miss, I am but you're not allowed to enter." In the middle of the night, a woman walked wearing a black cloak while covering her face with a hood. The woman was stopped from entering the inn. The woman looked at the two guards who were not going to let anyone enter.

"I wonder if showing this would give an entry pass." The woman spoke in a playful tone while showing a golden color coin that had the symbol of a sword drawn on it, it was the royal seal of the Seeker of Impurity guild.

"Milady, you can enter now." The guards dared not to offend a person with the royal seal of the Seeker of Impurity guild. Only a certain handful of individuals in this world had this seal. Whoever had this seal was anything but ordinary.

Knock! Knock!

"You don't really have to knock for entering." It was the voice of the guild leader, whom Aditya met today.

The woman in the black cloak walked in while removing the hood. As the hood fell down, her long purple hair come into the view. The woman proceeded to sit on the couch. "Never did I think, that the Goddess of Wealth would pay a visit to her husband in secret?"

"I went to meet him as the leader of Seeker of Impurity."

Julia knew what the goddess of Wealth said is half true and half false. "So what do you think?"

"Think of what?"

"Don't play dumb. I am asking about him. What's your first impression?"

"He is way different than those rumors. I don't know what caused this change in him but this change might be the best thing for all of us. Above anything, I have to praise him for his extraordinary knowledge of finance."

"I also heard all the things that he did in two days. I have to say that I am very impressed." The goddess of Wealth and the Goddess of Alchemy had met each other in the past a few times. Both girls were friends.

"Does that mean you like him?" Julia asked in a teasing tone.

"Don't be stupid. There is a big difference between being impressed and liking someone." Julia just shrugged her shoulders and didn't go with the topic.

"What about you? You have secretly stayed by his life for 2 years now? What impression do you have of him?" The goddess of Wealth looked at Julia's eyes to see.

"Everything was the same until 3 days ago. On that day, while I and Watson were having dinner, he came to eat with us. This was the first time we had food together. While talking we learned that he has managed to awaken his bloodline. From that day, Aditya was a completely different person."

"Wait a minute, he really awakened his bloodline? When I met him, I did sense dense mana comparable to second-order in his body. I mistakenly assumed that he had found some way of cultivating with your help."

Julia chuckled seeing the guild leader's shocked expression. "Trust me, I had the same reaction when I learned about his bloodline."

"So what's his bloodline name?"

"Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline." Just 4 words were enough to give the goddess of wealth another shock. But after a moment the guild leader calmed down.

"What's with that look?" Julia asked.

"I don't think he knows about the incoming darkness that will sink this Kingdom. After years of being weakened, the Kingdom's power has fallen low. The neighboring Kingdoms are keeping their eyes on Aditya and waiting for the moment to strike. I don't think Aditya can withstand the invasion without an army."

"So the reason why you wanted to set your branch in this Kingdom.....?"

"Yes, Although I can't directly help Aditya as no one knows that I am the Goddess of Wealth, without exposing my identity I can buy him some time. But that won't be longer than a few weeks at most."

Deep down, Julia felt a little sad. She tried her best to not show it on her face. But she didn't wish for the Kingdom to sink under the water, right when it was about to enter his golden period. She and Watson have seen the countless hours Aditya spends planning the future of his Kingdom. "I see. By the way, did you really meet the Goddess of War?"

"I did. She is currently in a war with another Kingdom. Meaning for the next few months, it will be impossible to contact her."

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Chapter 18

In the middle of the night, while everyone in the castle was sleeping there was a certain person who couldn't close his eyes no matter how much he tried. Every time he closed his eyes, images of that nightmare event would flash before his eyes. After reading that letter, Aditya couldn't get rid of the uneasiness in his heart. He felt the time was running out.

"This should be the library." Walking into the castle library with a candle in his hand, Aditya noticed that the entire library was collecting dust and had become a home for the spiders. Spider web was everywhere.

"I should tell someone to clean the library." He then began to aimlessly go through all the books that were preserved in the library. Some books were old as the Istarin Kingdom. All the books in the library were enchanted with rune magic. The rune magic kept the books preserved.

The library was massive. It was about 50 meters in size. The library had about 29 meters tall. The massive bookshelves reached 29 meters and had countless books which were collected by all previous generations of Istarin Kings. (The library looked something like this)

"If I am not mistaken, this library is supposed to be the main treasure trove of the Istarin King. This library was created by the first Istarin King. This library is old as the Istarin Kingdom. During a certain period of Istarin history, the Istarin King of that time destroyed the 3 sects and took away their treasure due to certain crimes that they committed. All battle techniques used by those 3 sects were also placed in this library." Aditya's goal was to find a powerful skill for his use.

In this world, just like cultivators, the skills were also divided into two. For body cultivators, battle techniques were most effective as they couldn't use elemental powers. While magical cultivators tent use spells depending on their natural affinity. A magical cultivator can't use battle techniques while a body cultivator can't use skills that were meant for magical cultivators. However, there were also third kinds of cultivators who cultivated both body and magical cultivation. But those cultivators also had a limit. Since they had to cultivate on both paths, their cultivation speed was a lot slower than an average cultivator.

Aditya didn't need to cultivate as leveling up was giving him both cultivation path powers. As he continued to claim through levels, his body was getting stronger while his mana reserve was also increasing. Unlike everyone in this world, he can use both path techniques without any limit.

"What is this?" After searching for 19 minutes, Aditya found a book that was covered in dust and was left in a corner. The cover of the book was black in color with the words [Aura of Soul Fire] written on the top.

"This book does have an interesting name." Curiously he decided to read the description of the Aura of Soul fire.

[Aura of Soul Fire: -

[Description] - A special type of skill that can be learned by both body and magical path cultivators. There is no requirement to learn this skill. This skill itself is a passive skill that will increase the user's stats after reaching a certain limit.

[Function] - Since this skill is a passive skill, the user won't have to spend any mana to activate this skill. This skill works by collecting a small part of the enemy's soul killed by the host. When a certain amount of soul energy is collected by the user, this skill will increase the user's stats by 40% for a temporary period of time. The boost in the user's stats will disappear after 10 minutes.

Note: - This skill is totally passive. The activation of this Skill cannot be decided by the user.]

.

"This is a nice skill. I would learn it." With instant learning and adaptation, Aditya's compression speed was 25 times faster than the average human. In a few hours or so he managed to finish learning this skill.

Aditya was so lost in reading books that he didn't notice when the entire night passed. All the slaves including 7 future generals woke up very early in the morning. After waking up, everyone washed up and gathered in the training ground.

"Everyone, we will start with jogging around the castle." Yesterday, thanks to the pill that Julia prepared, almost every slave had undergone some changes. Their bodies were now more energetic than before.

Wearing simple clothes everyone started running. The generals run at the front while only Henry was in the back. He purposely stayed at the back to see if any recruit was skipping the training. While running at the front, the other 5 generals occasionally glanced at Amber.

"Why all of you're looking at me like this?" Amber asked with a confused face. Unlike others, Amber's mana heart has been repaired, within a week's time, she was sure that she would recover her second-order cultivation. Amber could have run faster but she choose to run along with everyone.

"Yesterday, high Highness told us that he had a way of repairing our crippled mana heart. Now seeing your mana heart crippled, we are wondering when our turn will come?" Scott spoke on behalf of everyone.

"Don't worry, according to lady Julia, the ingredients should arrive today. As soon as the ingredients come, lady Julia will call you for a small surgery."

"By the way, what happened to Miss Amber's body? You now look so beautiful." Eleanor, being a woman was curious about how Amber suddenly became so beautiful.

"Thank you for the compliment. When my mana heart was repaired, through some fortune I managed to awake my Royal Fox queen bloodline." With the awakening of her bloodline, not just her charms, but even her physical stats also have improved a lot. Her current mana was on Peak-first-order.

"Wait a minute, you really awakened your Royal Fox queen bloodline?" Unlike others, Josh was a beast-man and knew more about the royal fox queen bloodline. Unlike other clans or tribes, the fox tribe was one of those tribes where a fox woman was the ruler. Not just any fox woman can awake their fox queen bloodline. Only the descendants of the royal family can awake the Royal Fox queen bloodline.

"Then, you're really a descendant of the Royal family?" Josh asked with a shocked look. Amber nodded her head slightly without much care.

"What is this royal family we're talking about?" Hearing the familiar voice, everyone nearly fell down when they found their king running with them.

"Your Majesty, when did you come here?"

"Not long ago. I came when you guys were talking about Amber's mana heart." Aditya replied. After a whole night of studying, his body was a little stiff. So he felt it would be better to do some training. This should also help him in clearing his mind.

"Long time ago, in the Lunar Continent, which is also known as the beast-men continent, there was an Empire that was ruled by the Fox race people. According to the legend passed down in our tribe, the Empress of that Empire had a Royal Fox Queen bloodline. Although no one knows how a mighty empire fell down, it is believed that the many fox tribes have the Royal Fox bloodline descendants. After countless generations, the original bloodline lost its purity, thus becoming nearly impossible to awaken the bloodline."

"It looks like in the future, I will have to go to this Lunar Continent." Aditya wanted to meet more beast-men. Their way of life was completely different from humans. The beast race people were divided into thousands of small tribes. Unlike other races, beast race people are very honest and direct. Beast race doesn't have any politics. The strongest gets to become the tribe leader while others follow their leader. Due to the evil nature of humans and other races, the Beast-race people don't really welcome any outsiders on their continent.

After training for an hour which hardly made Aditya sweat, he took a shower and joined everyone for breakfast. After breakfast, it was time for the meeting.

In a large hall that had a luxurious red and white carpet, at the end of the hall, there was a golden throne. Climbing the stairs, Aditya had his way to the throne. For the first time, he sat on the throne with a serious look.

On both sides of the carpet, white flowers were placed. Behind the throne, slightly 2 meters above the Istarin Kingdom flag was placed on the wall. The flag was red in color and had a Crescent Moon symbol in the center.

7 meters away from the throne, Julia, Watson, Amber, and the other 6 generals stood there looking at Aditya.

"Your Majesty, the artifact is ready to use." Watson changed the way he normally addressed Aditya. He took out a Crescent-shaped black earring and put it on his right ear.

[Good Morning, King Aditya. I believe this is our first time having a meeting. Although you can only hear our voices. My name is Marvin Sarlus. I am the head of the Sarlus Noble household that has once sworn to serve the Istarin Kingdom forever. I am the governor of the Vrane City.] Everyone in the hall was able to hear the voice of a middle-aged man. His tone was neither slow nor too fast. His deep voice was authoritative. Everyone noticed the way the Duke of Sarlus house addressed their king.

[I don't have the same patient as Duke Sarlus. So I will keep this quick. I am the Duke and also the ruler of the Zraka city. My name is Ryan Eastgard. I don't care about your reason for calling this meeting using the artifact left by our ancestors.] Instead of showing a frowning look, Aditya strangely smiled and listened.

[I and my Eastgard noble house won't serve an alcohol addict. In case, you're unaware, let me say it directly, I, formerly known as Duke Eastgard, declare independence from the Istarin Kingdom. The Zraka city and the surroundings will be under my control.] Watson angrily clenched his fists in anger. Duke Eastgard had some balls daring to say these words to the King's face. It was not just Watson, even Amber, Scott, Josh, Nathan, Henry, Eleanor, Tyler, and Julia all looked angry.

[King Aditya, I share the same feelings as Duke Eastgard. You became the King 3 years ago. Never even for once, you bothered to have a meeting with your Kingdom's Dukes. This itself was a slap to our faces. You wasted this Kingdom's wealth on partying and drinking alcohol. Under your negligence, the Kingdom's economy has fallen. Food prices rose rapidly. The common people were unable to afford even their daily meals. Because of your negligence toward the Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of people have suffered. Do you have a single idea of how many people were forced to leave this Kingdom because of the ever-increasing food prices?]

[Under your rule, the crime rate in this Kingdom has increased rapidly. Your reputation has badly impacted this Kingdom's name. Now whenever our Kingdom's name is mentioned to a foreign, the only thing they do is laugh and humiliate the Istarin name. Our Kingdom used to be a 3-star Kingdom. We used to have the same military power as our neighboring Kingdoms. After you took the throne, you dismissed the army, under your lack of care, all the soldiers lost their jobs, causing our military strength to fall. Now if you're to lose both of our supports, this Kingdom will be weaker than a one-star Kingdom. If Duke Eastgard and I weren't holding back the small invading forces from two Kingdoms, by now this entire Kingdom would have fallen.]

Aditya clenched his fists tightly while looking down. He was responsible for the suffering of the people. Because of him, the kingdom lost its prestige. Because of him, this kingdom was having food storage problems. It was only of his uncare, that the crimes of this Kingdom rapidly rose. Each of Duke Sarlus's words hit Aditya's heart.

From the beginning, even Aditya himself knew and always was guilty of what he was doing to this Kingdom. When Isaac took out Aditya's body, all those feelings of guilt, sadness, and depression were also passed to the current Aditya.

The previous Aditya wanted to escape this world by drowning himself in Alcohol, while this Aditya slowly wanted to fix his past mistakes and bring this Kingdom back to its original state.

[Hmph! What's the use of telling him these things? It's not like he cares. The only reason why he called for his meeting was to ask for taxes as he is out of money to buy alcohol.]

[Duke Ryan, while it's true that in the past I was an addict. But I have changed now. And my reason for calling his meeting is completely different. Whether you like it or not, I am the King and I will protect this Kingdom.]

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Chapter 19

[Duke Ryan, while it's true that in the past I was an addict. But I have changed now. And my reason for calling his meeting is completely different. Whether you like it or not, I am the King and I will protect this Kingdom.] The last part of Aditya's words was an indirect threat to both Dukes. He was saying that if two Dukes didn't submit, he would have to use violence.

[It was your Kingdom. It is your Kingdom. But in a wee time, it won't be your Kingdom. Being a dragon won't give you privilege everywhere in life. You're not worthy. I don't even understand why that Old man chose you as his successor. I don't see anything special about you. Duke Sarlus also thinks that you're not fit to be the King. I will give you a chance. Why don't you surrender? I promise I will let you escape. Maybe you can start a new life in some other part of the world.] At this point, Duke Eastgard was mocking Aditya and insulting him openly. But strangely Aditya didn't look angry. Instead, it was Watson and others who seemed very angry.

Aditya didn't lose his calm. He can't lose his calm here and act rashly. A mistake is a mistake. There is no use in crying over spilled milk. Instead, it would be best to think of a way of solving the problems.

[Duke Eastgard, I assume you're determined to stand against me.]

[Not just stand against you but also to kill you with my own bare hands. This is war.]

[Since both of you're going to start a war, the house of Sarlus won't be joining in this meaningless fight. I have to defend the borders. But just because I am not participating in this war doesn't mean that the house of Sarlus is not condemning the house of Eastgard. I am equally disappointed in King Aditya. In my opinion, you're not fit to become the king.]

[It looks like I have we have no other option. Duke Eastgard, tomorrow, I will be attacking the house of Zraka city with my generals.]

"What?"

"Young Master?"

"Aditya, you can't?"

Ignoring everyone, Aditya continued on. [After I defeat your troops. I will enter your city and in front of the crowd, I will cut your head and place your head on the city walls.]

Shock!

Silence!

Even Duke Sarlus was not expecting this kind of bold words from the young dragon's mouth. Everyone standing in the hall turned silent. Watson, Amber, Julia, and others were completely shocked. Going to face a powerhouse like Duke Eastgard and his thousands of troops with just 7 first-order body cultivators was no different than committing suicide.

At this moment everyone didn't know what Aditya was planning by saying something so crazy. This was pure madness. Even a fool wouldn't dare to go against an army of more than ten thousand troops.

After 3 minutes of silence, Duke Eastgard couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. [Hahaha! Since you have dared to say these words then I will wait for your arrival. Tomorrow, I will place 5,000 troops in front of the Eastern Gate. Let's see if you can actually fight your way through.] With that Ryan, left the meeting leaving Duke Sarlus and Aditya.

While Amber and the other six generals looked at each other with determination. Since Aditya had given them their lives, they were going to follow their King till death. Tomorrow will be either death or victory.

After another 5 minutes of silence, Duke Sarlus sighed and asked. [What are you planning to do your Majesty?] This time everyone noticed how Duke Sarlus addressed Aditya.

[Duke Sarlus, are you also going to rebel just like Duke Eastgard?] Instead of replying, he asked back.

[I was never planning on betraying my motherland. I swore to protect this land. And we Sarlus noble house value promise more than anything. I won't hesitate to give up my life for this land. But that doesn't mean I recognize you as the King.]

[If you want to gain my recognition, you will have to prove your will. I want to know just how far you're willing to go for this Kingdom.]

[I see. I wish Duke Eastgard was a person like you. Though I don't wish to shed blood. That doesn't mean I don't know how to kill others. Duke Eastgard, if you manage to take over Zraka City tomorrow, will I gain your recognition?] No one knew how Aditya was going to kill an army of 5,000 troops. Each troop will have the power of first-order. Even Duke Sarlus can't think of a way.

After another minute of silence, Duke Sarlus replied. [If your Majesty manages to survive and take over the Zraka city, then the house of Sarlus will swear their allegiance to you.]

[Duke Sarlus, let me clear this. I don't want your house allegiance. I want your recognition.] Duke Sarlus, was one of those legendary People who managed to defend the borders of the Istarin Kingdom for 39 years. Under his power, no invader from the Nepoca Kingdom has managed to enter Istarin Border.

While the house of Eastgard robbed people with taxes just to increase their military power, the house of Sarlus has never done anything that violated the Kingdom's rules. Although Duke Sarlus didn't pay the tax for years, Aditya feels the reason for not paying the tax has something to do with the past Aditya who spent money like crazy.

'More importantly, from reading the records of the past, it was clear that the house of Sarlus always has been more loyal than the house of Eastgard. All the kings of the past highly valued the house of Sarlus over the house of Eastgard. Loyalty was in the blood of the Sarlus family.'

[Your Majesty, I don't know how you're going to defeat an army of 5,000 troops without any help but if you manage to survive, I will personally come to the capital and have a conversation with you regarding this Kingdom's future.] It was Sarlus way of telling Aditya that the Duke wants to know his plan for rebuilding the Kingdom.

[Then, you better clear your schedule for the day after tomorrow.]

[Hahaha! From your Majesty's tone, I can feel the confidence. I will wait for the day when I finally get the chance of meeting your Majesty.]

The more Duke Sarlus talked with the King, the more he came to like him. At the beginning of this meeting, Duke Sarlus had a bad impression of Aditya. But as the meeting progressed, Duke Sarlus was increasingly beginning to like Aditya. The Duke liked the mentality that this young man had. He had gathered his courage to face an enemy knowing that his chances of losing were 99.9%.

Sitting on a chair, Duke Sarlus stroked his long white beard. "I am impressed. When I was of his majesty's age, even I didn't have the courage to face 5,000 troops alone. Without meeting me, you already have earned my recognition your majesty. This Kingdom needs someone who is ambitious and courageous like you. I can't let anyone kill your Majesty."

"Haku?"

"Your orders Sire?"

"You already should know what to do." Haku simply nodded his head and disappeared.

Scene change

"What the hell are you even thinking? You can't face an army of 5,000 by yourself?" Julia furiously walked up to Aditya. She grabbed his shirt and looked very furiously. This was the first time Aditya has ever seen Julia lose her calm.

"I am not going. I have my 7 generals with me." Aditya knew that anyone in this situation react the same as Julia and others.

"Your Majesty, even though you have the power to kill even a mid-second-order, taking on 5,000 trained soldiers is suicide. Even if you take them without, the outcome of the battle won't change."

"Listen, everyone, I know what I have said might sound crazy, but just me, I am not going there to die. I have a backup plan. Nothing will go wrong. Just trust me this once."

"Young Master, this is crazy. This is too dangerous."

"Watson, do we have any other choice. Without Duke Sarlus's help, we can't defend the capital. So it's better to follow my plan."

After somehow calming everyone down, Julia proceeded to repair Scott, Tyler, Josh, Nathan, Eleanor, and Henry's crippled heart. Now all of them had recovered a part of their cultivation. It might them from 2 weeks to even a month to recover their lost cultivation.

For the rest of the day, 7 of them spent their time training the slaves who now are called the recruits.

Next day,

Just when the first light of the morning came, brightening everything, Aditya and his 7 generals left the castle. In the early morning, the streets of the city were empty. Everyone was still sleeping. Riding a horse, the king and his 7 generals left the capital.

"Watson, I think you should have gone with him." Julia asked while looking out of the glass window.

"Milady, you should just wait for the good news. Nothing is going to happen to his majesty." Watson replied with a mysterious smile on his face. Only Watson knew what earth-shaking event was going to happen today.

The is coming. Vote for more chapters!!!

Chapter 20

"Zayne, that idiot King is going to come today. Make sure to use 5,000 troops and crush him. I don't have enough time to play with that idiot. Today the Prime Minister of the Zulux Empire is going to come. So take care of that foolish King and end his story today. I don't want any unnecessary drama."

"I understand." Zayne was trying his best to not show any anger. Deep down, he was so angry that he wished to rip this man's head with his bare hands.

Zayne did as Duke Ryan ordered him to do. He placed 5,000 troops before the city gate. Today the eastern entrance of Zraka city was closed because of the fight that could start at any given moment.

Standing at the top of the wall, Zayne's heart beat wildly as he waited for the long waited battle to begin. Today, many powerful figures had their eyes set on this battle. Among those people, there was the Goddess of Wealth, Haku (commander), duke Sarlus and some other powerful figures of this continent.

"Today, history will be created." Zayne looked at the 5,000 soldiers. These soldiers are those who have sworn their loyalty to Duke Eastgard. These soldiers wouldn't hesitate to kill an innocent. Zayne, specifically choose them to face His Majesty.

While Duke Eastgard was having a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Zulux Dynasty, the 5,000 soldiers who were ready to face Aditya eagerly waited for his arrival.

The whole world seems to have gone silent. Only breathing sounds could be heard. It already has been 3 hours since the soldiers have been standing in formation and waiting for the opponent to show his face.

"When will the enemy come?"

"I don't know. But I am sick of waiting."

"We have been standing under the afternoon sun for 3 hours."

Today the 5,000 soldiers especially looked very excited and energetic. The reason for their excitement was simple. It was rumored that whoever lands the final blow on King Aditya will get a special reward from Duke Eastgard. The thought of Aditya defeating 5,000 never comes to their mind. All the soldiers were more focused on thinking about how they are going to land the final blow and get the reward.

"Do you think we should really stand against the King of Istarin Kingdom?" One of the soldiers felt hesitant. His family lived in the capital and has been under the King's protection. He felt by standing against the King, he was betraying his family and motherland.

"Of course. We should. After Duke Eastgard takes over the capital, we all will receive more benefits than the current King could ever give us." Another soldier replied. All the 5,000 soldiers were personally hand-picked by Duke Eastgard. He wanted to make sure that his soldiers would stay with him in any situation and wouldn't betray him.

The sun was right above their head. Outside the eastern walls, there was 8km of grassy land. The duke often used this huge open field to train his soldiers. Unlike Duke Sarlus, Duke Eastgard gave more priority to the military.

But that doesn't mean Duke Sarlus's military power is weaker than Duke Eastgard's. Both houses had more than a hundred years of history. While the house of Eastgard focused on quantity, the house of Sarlus focused on quality. Sarlus troops were far stronger and more experienced than the troops under Ryan.

"Hey, what is this thing in the sky?"

"Where?"

"Right above you"

Everyone who looked at the sky saw something that they would never be able to forget in their lifetimes. A big shadow covered the sun. For a moment everyone felt like the sun was swallowed up by the shadow.

But after a few seconds, a dark red light began to appear. The dark red light was so intense and bright that the sunlight was replaced by red light. Any person near or around the Zraka city saw this phenomenon.

The people in the city also saw this sudden change. For a moment everyone panicked. As seconds passed, everyone realized that what once seemed like a red shadow that threatened to devour the sun, was actually a dark red flame. The dark red flame looked like some kind of meteor that threatened to destroy the entire city.

"God what is happening?"

"Is this the end of everything?"

"I think this is the wrath of the Gods."

"What should we do now?"

With each second passing, with the gravity, the dark red flame that looked like a meteor only kept increasing its falling speed. After a few seconds, everyone's faces turned pale seeing what previously looked like a meteor was actually a 2-meter-long lance that was covered in a giant wave of red flame. The red flame around the lance made it look like some kind of meteor.

"What the hell is this?"

"Can we even survive this attack?"

All the 5,000 soldiers who previously looked very relaxed and occasionally cursed Aditya, now trembled in fear. Their faces turned pale, as their bodies froze in fear.

Zayne coldly looked at the 5,000 soldiers from the top of the wall. As the lance closed the distance, everyone can see that the lance was about to fall on the grassland located on the Eastern part of the city walls.

"Sir, Zayne should we help them?" One of the soldiers asked.

"There is no need. Everything is going according to plan. Prepare for the big impact. Order everyone to take shelter behind the walls." Saying that even Zayne who was a second-order quickly took shelter behind the walls. The attack was so strong that even a second-order like him had no confidence in surviving.

"Everyone, run back to the city. We can survive if we take shelter behind the walls." No one knew who said those words. But hearing those words, the soldiers whose bodies were frozen in fear had found some hope of surviving this nightmare. They quickly began running towards the wall but it was already too late.

Not only Zayne had ordered to keep the gates closed but also the lance was only 3 km away from hitting the earth.

Some soldiers realized this and fell to their knees. In the end, they couldn't understand why low existence like them was being killed.

Just when the lance had a huge wave of 30 meters of red flame covering it was only 1 km away, everyone, even those who were hiding in the city felt the terrifying temperature. Even before the lance could hit the ground, the terrifying temperature of the flame was enough to melt the bodies of the 5,000 soldiers like butter.

Zayne, realizing this high temperature might end up leaving the soldiers hiding behind walls with severe 2nd or even 3rd-degree burns, quickly used all of his powers to form a huge energy barrier covering the eastern walls.

"Dammit"

Booooooooom!!!!!!!!

It was like the horror-struck sound that came with a violent earthquake was the painful roar of the earth itself. When the lance was crushed, a huge wave of red flame spread everywhere. The impact was so powerful, that the earth began to crumble and shatter, forming a huge crater.

When the people who were 15 km away from the Zraka city heard the sound explosion that came with the earthquake. However, it was the people of the Zraka city who experienced the wrath of the Crimson Dragon.

The explosion sound was loud enough to cause some ordinary people to faint. The earthquake was strong enough to cause cracks to appear in some new build houses. As for the old houses, those houses broke down as those houses could handle the terrifying earthquake.

Even though Zayne was using his power to keep the red fire wave that spread when the lance impacted the earth, many newly recruited soldiers fell unconscious with blood coming out of their mouths and ears due to the explosion sound.

Ryan Eastgard, a few hours ago started his meeting with the Prime Minister. The Zulux Dynasty has offered its wings to Ryan. By betraying the King, the Zulux Dynasty was going to help Duke Ryan in conquering and overthrowing Duke Sarlus. No one knew that Ryan was going to attack Duke Sarlus. Everything was proceeding in secret with utter caution.

"Your highness, the Zulux King is more than happy to help a fellow ally." The prime minister spoke in a flattery tone with a hidden sinister smile on his face.

But before Duke Ryan could reply, an earth-shaking earthquake shook the entire city while a mighty roar of the earth caused chaos in the whole city.

"What's happening?" At this moment everyone who was looking to know the end result of this confrontation had only one question in their mind. What the hell was going on? Today, many figures from the Zulux Dynasty and the Nepoca Kingdom came to watch the fight that was supposed to be known as the most idiotic fight in history. Everyone came even though they knew that foolish king was going to die. No one was expecting to see an attack that was strong enough to injure even a third-order cultivator being used on the soldiers.

10 Km above the sky, a certain figure with long dark blue hair was standing in the sky and looking down. If one looked closely enough they would see that the person's face had turned pale and lost all of its colors.

"Everything went better than I expected." Aditya smiled with his pale face.

[Ding! The host has killed Peak-first-order. The host has gained Experience points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has killed Peak-first-order. The host has gained Experience points.]

[Ding! The host has killed Peak-first-order. The host has gained Experience points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has....]

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Chapter 21

The Zraka City was surrounded by multiple mountain ranges which made it very difficult for the city to be attacked. In the history of the Istarin Kingdom, no invader has managed to conquer the city. All the mountain ranges were covered in green trees.

10 km away, deep in the mountain, Aditya and his fellow generals were preparing to launch their attacks.

"Everyone, I want all of you to pour your mana into this artifact." The Artifact was actually a 4th-star bracelet made out of white gold with mysterious runes drawn on the surface. Watson found this 4th-star artifact collecting dust in the treasury.

One had to know that not everyone could obtain a 4th-star artifact just with money. In this world, even the lowest-tier artifacts are extremely valuable. Artifacts with above 3rd-star were considered national treasures. For tier-2 or tier-3 Kingdoms, having a 3rd-star artifact was far more valuable than anything. The Zulux and the Nepoca both kingdoms wouldn't hesitate to declare war on the Istarin Kingdom if they were to learn that a tier-1 kingdom like them had a national grade treasure.

"Majesty, what is this?" Josh scratched his head in confusion while he looked at the white bracelet. The bracelet was too small for his size. Among every, Josh was the only one who looked like a beast.

"You idiot, this is an artifact. Have you never seen an artifact?" The dark elf, Scott replied in annoyance. After saying that the proud dark elf, took the artifact and began pouring all of his mana into the bracelet. Being a dark elf, Scott had the second most mana after Amber.

Josh didn't look offended hearing Scott calling him an idiot. Even Josh himself knew that his specialty was not smartness. "The artifact was found in a dungeon. For some reason, my adopted father decided to not use it and kept it in the treasury, only to let it collect dust." When saying the last part, Aditya felt his heart bleed. How could someone just throw a 4th-star artifact and not use it?

"Your Majesty, can you tell which grade artifact is this?" Henry, the quietest and coldest one in his 7 generals asked.

"This is a 4th-star artifact."

"_____"

"What's with that look? This is a 4th-star artifact. Whether you believe it or not."

Even Aditya had the same reaction when Watson gave him the artifact. After getting the artifact, he made Watson recheck all the stuff in the treasury. It turned out that other than some useless old armors, and old flags, there was really nothing else left in the treasury. The bracelet was covered in dust, no one picked it up thinking this was just one of those useless items.

After this small incident, everyone finished pouring all of their mana into the bracelet. Everyone here knew the value of this 4th-star artifact. Without even Aditya telling them, everyone knew that they shouldn't tell another soul about it.

"By the way, your Majesty can you tell us about the function of this Bracelet?" Eleanor asked feeling very curious.

"The main function of this artifact is that it can give me the ability to fly." Saying that Aditya put the bracelet on his right hand as the system showed the bracelet's functions.

[Bracelet of Wind Fairy

[Low-grade 4th-star artifact]

[Description]: - This artifact used to be a 5th-star artifact in its early days. But with the passage of time, the artifact slowly lost its other functions, becoming a 4th-star artifact. The artifact was built by the Wind fairy and later it was given to a human as a gift. The artifact was said to be lost when the 7th owner died in a war. The Bracelet of Wind Fairy gives the user wind abilities.

[Function 1]: - The artifact uses wind nature to let the user fly. The maximum speed of the user's flight is 100km per hour. It will consume [50+] mana to activate this Artifact. While it will consume [15+] to [30+] mana per second, according to the user's speed.

[Function 2]: - This artifact can store up to [1000+] mana. The stored mana can only be used to activate the [function 1].

[Function 3]: - When this artifact is worn, the user will passively gain [100+] agility.

[Function 4]: - All types of wind-based attack power are increased by 25%. The chances of landing a critical hit using wind magic increase by 15%]

'Worthy of being called a 4th-star artifact. I wonder what functions a high-grade 4th-star artifact has.' All artifacts, weapons, and potions from 3rd-star or above stars have 3 grades. Low, Mid, and High.

Aditya could feel the increase in his agility. His body felt much lighter than before. He could feel his reaction speed also has visibly increased.

After some thinking, Aditya decided to invest all of his free stats into his mana. 'If I want this attack to be deadly, then I will have to use as much mana as I can.'

[_Mana: - 96 ? 118]

Aditya then looked at everyone and nodded his head. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the clear sky. Just when he thought about flying, as if the artifact could understand his feelings, an invisible pair of wings appeared on his back.

Before Aditya could understand what was happening, the invisible wings that were entirely made from wind elements, started to take Aditya up in the sky. For a few seconds, Aditya was very scared but after 10 seconds, Aditya got comfortable. It was like the artifact taught him how to use those invisible pair of wings made from wind elements. Or maybe this has something to do with Aditya being a dragon.

After reaching a certain height, Aditya took out the 2-star lance. Yesterday, after checking all the fifteen 2-star weapons, Aditya decided to use the 2-star lance to execute this deadly attack.

'The idea is to take out everyone with just one attack. By adding my red flame and with this world's gravity constantly increasing the lance's pace, by the time the lance reaches the ground, it should create a huge explosion.' To make this attack stronger, Aditya wanted to use gravity. The higher an object goes the more gravitational potential energy it gains. When it falls, its potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, and; since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted then it will move at a faster speed. Thus giving more destructive power to a simple attack.

Fast forward to the present_____

Standing in the sky, seeing all the destructive and the mushroom-like cloud that rose in the air, Aditya felt he had overdone things a little.

"I hope, I don't accidentally end up killing any innocent. It looks like I will have to pay all the house repairing damages. What a pain!!!" All the mana that his 7 generals gave was nearly dried up. Right now Aditya was still 10 km away from the earth. With all of his mana being used in the attack, Aditya was having a hard time maintaining his consciousness.

Huff! huff!

[Ding! You have leveled up!]

While falling from the sky, Aditya could feel his body getting stronger with each passing second. His stats were rapidly increasing.

When Aditya was only 2 km away from hitting the ground, at this moment his falling speed had reached above 100 kilometers. He quickly used the little bit of mana that was left in the bracelet to use the wind element to decrease his speed.

Zayne deactivated the barrier that he used to protect everyone from the impact of the attack. Once the wave of red flame was gone, after deactivating his barrier he saw someone landing on top of the wall.

The figure was wearing a golden cloak with a red Crescent Moon symbol on the back. The man had the aura of a king around him. Just looking at this man, Zayne had endless respect in his heart. This was the first time Commander Zayne ever felt so much respect for someone.

"Your Majesty?" Seeing the high-class dress that Zayne was wearing, Aditya knew who this man was. Only that certain person would address Aditya respectfully.

"I assume you must be Zayne." Zayne nodded his head with a relieved smile. Even he was worried, not knowing his majesty was going to fight an army of 5,000. But seeing what his Majesty just did, Zayne knew in his heart that the risk he took was worth it.

2 days ago, Aditya received a secret letter from Zayne. That night after killing the Vile crew gang members, Aditya secretly visited Zraka city. With his speed, it was not difficult to reach Zraka city within 4 hours.

Zayne wasn't expecting the King himself to come. Zayne took his time to tell all the things that Duke Ryan was plotting against the Kingdom in secret. That day, Aditya also made his plan. Everything that happened so far was all according to his plan. The meeting and his ridiculous claim to fight 5,000 soldiers.

'Duke Ryan is a proud man. Knowing that he can easily kill him. He decided to leave things in 5,000 soldiers' hands. His single carelessness gave me the opportunity that I needed to enter the city. Everything went according to how I wanted.'

"Commander Zayne greets his Majesty." Zayne quickly kneeled on one knee and then lowered his head.

"Zayne, I cannot thank you enough for what you did. There is no need for you to lower your head. As the King of this Kingdom, I have failed everyone. But even then you choose to put your trust in me. For that, you will forever have my gratitude."

It was true that Zayne was doubting if he had made the right call. But after meeting Aditya, all of his doubts disappeared. He realized that their King was far more capable than any King he had ever known. It was just that he couldn't understand why his Majesty neglected the Kingdom for 3 years.

"Zayne, you may stand up. When everything is over, I will reward you for your service to this Kingdom. Now tell me about the current situation of this city?"

After standing up, Zayne looked around. "Your Majesty, other than the 5,000 soldiers that just died, all the other soldiers are under my command." It took Zayne a lot of time. Almost a year to convince everyone to not betray the Kingdom.

"Good. Now, it's time to deal with that Asshole. I hope he is ready."

Aditya's eyes turned extremely cold as killing intent began to leak from him. His face turned lifeless. It was like Aditya was a living dead. Just looking at the current Aditya's eyes, Zayne felt his very soul tremble in fear. He couldn't dare stare at those dead eyes that seems to contain endless killing intent.

"Zayne, you take control of this city. Kill every people who are related to Duke Ryan. Don't stop until every member of the house of Eastgard is dead." In order to rule, the ruler sometimes had to make cruel decisions. If Aditya kills Ryan today, who knows in the future one of the successors might come to take revenge. Instead of waiting for the problem to grow, it would be better to cut everything down.

"As you wish, your Majesty." Zayne didn't have even a shred of mercy for the people with the Eastgard house bloodline. Over the years, Zayne had seen just how cruel, arrogant, and merciless the members of the house of Eastgard.

Except for a certain person that made Zayne's heart melt, everyone in that family was a sinner. Zayne hesitated for a second, before asking.

"Your Majesty, I have a request."

Aditya stopped as the coldness in his eyes melted. Aditya was never going to treat his people with coldness and cruelty. "What is it?" Zayne sighed in relief seeing that his Majesty was patiently willing to listen. Again he felt he had done the right decision.

"Actually, she is the daughter of Duke Eastgard. I really love.....Stop!!" Zayne raised his head to find Aditya looking at him with a smile.

"Can you guarantee that she won't turn against the Kingdom?"

"Yes. She hates her father more than anything. I swear on my life that Selena is not that kind of girl."

"Good. Then you can keep her safe. Once we're done with everything and you two can come to the capital and have a meeting with me." Zayne sighed in relief.

"I can't thank you enough for your kindness." Zayne said as he stared at the spot where Aditya was standing a few seconds ago.

Chapter 22

"Sir Ryan, do you have any idea who could have launched an attacking powerful as this one? The power behind this attack is enough to seriously injure even a beginner 3th-order cultivator." The prime Minister of the Zulux Dynasty was frightened. The man named Joseph Holland was so very scared. He will never forget what he has seen today.

'It looks like Duke Ryan messed with someone he shouldn't have. Until the situation calms down, the Zulux Dynasty shouldn't get involved with a force that is capable of launching this kind of destructive attack.' With these thoughts in his mind, Joseph was slowly thinking of a way of escaping.

Duke Ryan didn't reply to Joseph. He was too stunned and shocked to speak. For a while, he couldn't say anything. This was Duke Ryan's first time seeing something like this.

"From the power contained in that attack, the attacker should be someone with 3rd-order cultivator power. But as far as I can remember I have never offended any force with high order cultivator supporting them. Unless...." It was then Duke realized and was able to connect all the dots.

"Unless a third-order cultivator is assisting that King."

"Maybe that's why he dared to challenge me and even told me that he was going to fight against 5,000 troops." The more he spoke the more his words made sense. The more Joseph listened the more frightened he became. If the King has a third-order backing them, then the Zulux Dynasty can't afford to start a fight with the Istarin Dynasty.

'First I have to get out of this place and report everything to his Majesty.' With these thoughts in his mind, Joseph Holland stepped back.

"Duke, due to some urgency, we will head back. The negotiation can continue later."

Hearing Joseph's words, Duke Ryan's face instantly turned dark. Ryan could obviously see through the prime minister's excuse. 'Anyone in his situation would have done the same. After all, no one would be willing to offend a third-order. For now, I will let you leave. But once, I have settled things here, I will personally give you and your Zulux Dynasty the taste of betrayal.'

"I believe this is the first time we're meeting face to face. Let me reintroduce myself." Duke Ryan's entire body trembled for a second hearing the familiar voice. He turned around to see, Aditya standing 10 meters away with a relaxed smile.

"I am the King of Istarin Kingdom. I am the King that you and your family were supposed to serve. My name is Aditya." The look on current Duke Ryan's face was something that Aditya really wished to capture and place the picture in his treasury.

"So, it was all your doing." Ryan's voice started to tremble as anger start to leak his bloodlust. But Aditya remained unaffected. Although he was feeling the pressure of a Peak second-order, Aditya didn't show it on his face as the current Aditya's stats also have multiplied because of his skills.

"I don't know how you managed to bring a 3rd-order to kill my troops. But since everything has come down to this, I won't die until I take you with me. You shall join me in hell."

"Nah, man I am good. I am not a hell product. Hell is better suited for someone like you. Heck, even your daughter wants you dead."

Lightning bolt!

Ryan put his palms together and released a yellow bolt of lightning at Aditya.

Booom!

"That could have seriously injured me." The former Duke's body stiffened hearing the familiar voice of the King coming from his back.

"How?"

[Ding! The aura of Soul fire has been activated.

[Aura of Soul Fire: -

time: - 7:44]

"Let's just say that a certain skill of mine has been activated, giving me a 40% boost in my stats." Aditya's speed had reached [221+] after wearing the 4th-star bracelet. After killing 5,000 troops his passive skill Aura of Soul Fire activated and gave him a 40% boost in his stats.

"I don't have time to play with you. You betrayed me and this Kingdom. You and your family will never be forgiven." There was not even a trace of regret in Ryan's eyes. Ryan fell on his knees and closed his eyes. He was the type of man who didn't fear death. Duke Eastgard always has been ready for his death.

"It's unfortunate that the Istarin Kingdom has to lose a brave warrior like you. But the deeds you have done cannot be forgiven." Aditya took out a black sword and walked to finish his former Duke.

"I don't regret what I have done. I am a man of ambition. I wanted to become a ruler. I know that my actions cannot be forgiven. I am not looking for forgiveness either. But as the man who has served this Kingdom for multiple decades, all I request is you spare my daughter." Aditya was about to land the final but he stopped midway after hearing Duke's last words. He didn't think that a cruel man like Ryan would ask for his daughter's life at the end of his life.

"I know that my daughter hates me. I always have mistreated her. I just want to do something good for her." For a moment Aditya's hand trembled. Hesitation appeared in his eyes.

"My King, if you're not cruel enough to land the final strike on your enemy then the people close to you will suffer. King needs to be cruel towards his enemies."

Bang!

Aditya couldn't bring himself to severe the Duke's head. He instead went for his chest and pierced his heart.

[Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order lightning Mage. You have gained experience points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have .....]

Scene change_____

"Hurry up. We have to leave this city as soon as possible." The prime minister, Joseph Holland was about to leave the city through the western gate.

"Sir Joseph, it seems you're in a hurry to leave." Joseph's face turned pale seeing the 10,000 troops of the Sarlus house led by the infamous Haku, the commander of the Sarlus house.

.

With the Duke and his family being slaughtered, the city and the land of Zraka city were back under the rule of King Aditya. After several hours, the chaos in the city finally died down. All the supporters of the Duke were publicly executed.

Aditya then appointed, Zayne as the temporary governor of Zraka City. He also told Zayne to pay the damages done to many houses in the city because of his attack. With that Aditya and his team left Zraka city and were on their way to the capital.

The news spread like wildfire. The death of Duke Ryan and the capture of the Prime Minister Joseph Holland spread in neighboring Kingdoms within a few hours. Both Nepoca and Zulux Dynasty received the news within a few hours. What shocked Kings the most was the rumor of a third-order cultivator backing the Istarin Kingdom. This caused both Kings to temporarily stop their plans of attacking the Istarin Kingdom.

It was not just the kings, the news within a day reached Aditya's wives who were living on other continents. The news was so shocking that it picked up the interest of all the fairies. After today's event, both Nepoca and Zulux Kingdoms Kings knew that they couldn't underestimate King Aditya. The man played the role of a frightened sheep to lure the enemy.

Before leaving Zraka city, Aditya has taken 5 carriages and 2,000 soldiers with him. He knew after what he has done, the number of spies sent by both Kingdoms would drastically increase. So he needed to increase the security of the City. 1,000 soldiers would be used to guard the city walls. While another 1,000 soldiers would work to keep the crimes in the City as low as possible. Their jobs would be similar to police.

Sitting in the golden carriage, which was no different than a small luxurious wooden house that even had a bathroom, Aditya and his 7 generals was relaxing and recovering their used-up mana.

"Today was an exhausting day. Nathan, have you buried Duke Ryan?" In the public, Duke Ryan was a criminal. But those last words of the Duke touched Aditya's heart. He warrior like him should at least receive a proper burial.

"Your Majesty, I have buried his body deep in the mountain forest."

"From tomorrow onwards, you all should focus on recovering your cultivation. With their Prime Minister being captured, I am sure the Zulux Kingdom won't sit still. We can expect a war within this month or in a few months. Or maybe in a week depending on the situation."

"Understood, your majesty." Aditya was planning on asking Zayne to send a few instructors to train the recruits in his general place.

Before midnight, Aditya and everyone managed to return back to the capital. After placing the soldiers along with his original 100 soldiers and dealing with the soldier's food issues, Aditya and Watson finally got time to have their dinner.

"Your Majesty, how did everything go?" Watson and Julia were still shocked. Even before Aditya and the troops returned to the capital, the news reached their ears only after a few hours of the Duke's death.

"Everything went perfectly. Tomorrow Duke Sarlus and Zayne with former Duke Ryan's daughter will come to the capital and have a meeting with me." Aditya then explained why he spared the traitor's daughter.

"Everything will be decided tomorrow."

"By the way, Your majesty what should we do with Joseph. Should we execute him?" Watson knew that Aditya already had thought of different use.

"Let that man live in our prison for a few days. It has been years since the last criminal was captured. Be sure to give him quality meals three times a day. We should expect an envoy from the Zulux Dynasty by today or tomorrow. At that time we will have rich." Knowing that the Zulux and Nepoca Kingdoms had the wrong assumption of a third-order cultivator helping the Istarin Kingdom, both kingdoms won't attack, at least for now. Aditya can use Prime Minister to get ransom from the Dynasty without having to worry about the Zulux Dynasty attacking them.

After having dinner, everyone went to bed. However, Aditya couldn't seem to fall asleep so he went to sit under the moonlight for some time.

"After killing 5,000 soldiers and a Peak 2nd-order, I have leveled up 21 times in total."

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Inferno Blaze Dragon Bloodline

_Current Class: - War Dancer

_Current class Level: - 26? 47

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Fiery Blaze, Weapon Mastery

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Molten Bolt, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy,

_Strength: - 96 ? 117

_Speed: - 106 ? 127+ [100]

_Stamina: - 96 ? 117

_Health: - 96 ? 117

_Mana: - 96 ? 118 ? 139

_Free stats: - 42]

"Now, I am only 3 levels away from reaching second-order." Aditya looked at the Bracelet of Wind Fairy. It was only because of this 4th-star artifact, that he was able to defeat the enemy. Even without using the bracelet, Aditya felt that with his 7 generals he could have defeated the 5,000 troops head-on. Though he is not sure if he could kill everyone without taking serious injuries.

"What are you doing here?" Aditya knew who this person was. He looked back to find his wife, Julia wearing a beautiful set of bunny pajamas. The moonlight seems to make her entire body shine in the dark. For a moment Aditya, couldn't take off his eyes from looking at her.

"I couldn't sleep. So I was relaxing under the moonlight for a while. What about you?" Julia sat next to Aditya and looked at the half-moon that lit the night sky.

"I can use the moonlight to cultivate. So sometimes, I come out here to cultivate under the moon."

After that neither of them said anything. It was a peaceful silence that both enjoyed. After looking at the moon for a while, Aditya looked at Julia only to find her staring at him as well.

She hurriedly averted her gaze and pretended to look at the object behind Aditya. Aditya smiled and said nothing to expose her. And like this the night slowly passed.

Chapter 23

Next day,

The news of Duke Ryan's death spread throughout the Kingdom. The respect that the people once had lost for their King, began to return. Everyone felt under Aditya, the golden age of the Istarin Kingdom would come. The people were in high spirits. After knowing that the biggest guild on this continent was going to open its branches in three cities of Istarin Kingdom.

Even the recruits who were training were affected by this change. They now looked even more excited and motivated than before. The recruits believe that their future was secured under Aditya.

"Your Majesty, I have received some exciting news." Watson gave a letter to Aditya.

"What is it?" He asked even though he already knew.

"Duke Sarlus and Commander Zayne both have sent all the unpaid taxes along with the interest. After counting, it seems now we have over 37,000 royal gold in our treasury. Not only that, but Zayne also has sent the iron ores that were mined in the last 6 months." This was really great news.

"Watson, now that we finally have money in our hands, we can't waste any more time. Hire some construction company to rebuild all the roads, the city walls, and the castle."

The two men were soon lost in planning how the whole city was going to be reconstructed. Aditya and Watson both decided to expand from the eastern side. Several new roads, tunnels, public baths, barracks, and bridges were planned. The idea was to hire the common people to provide them with jobs.

The Istarin Kingdom mainly imported foods and other daily necessities from other neighboring kingdoms. The Kingdom was mainly dependent on the Nepoca and the Zulux Dynasty for food and other basic items.

If a war starts, there is a high possibility that both Kingdoms will cut off their good supplies. Since both kingdoms surrounded the Istarin Kingdom and separated the Kingdom from the rest of the continent, it would not be possible to import food from other Kingdoms. This is why Aditya didn't immediately kill the prime minister of the Zulux Dynasty.

The only possible way of importing would be through the sea. But Without any port, their option was limited to only two Kingdoms.

"So, we will have to build a port city."

"Yes, I believe building the port city would be the right choice. Given how fast we're progressing, war with two neighboring lands is bound to happen. So we might as well take this chance and start our plan of making the port city." 95% of the Istarin Kingdom land mass is mostly a range of mountains. From the beginning, the people were dependent on hunting fish. With the increase in population, the food demand also increased.

After some thinking, Aditya couldn't help but ask. "What about the Silver Meadow Grove forest on our southern borders. The forest is unoccupied. We can expand our borders in that direction and clear land for agriculture."

Sigh!

"From what I have learned, the Zulux Dynasty and the Nepoca Kingdom want the Istarin Kingdom to remain dependent on them for food supplies. This is why they don't allow the port city to be built in the past. As for clearing the Land and expanding our borders in the south, the Zulux Dynasty has strongly warned us in the past to not increase the borders otherwise, a war will be inevitable."

Bang!

Aditya angrily smashed the table. "This is pure bullying. They won't let us expand nor they will let us build a port city. Anything we try to do, they will always threaten us with their military. I am tired of this."

"Screw them! Everything is going to change. Watson, tomorrow sends a team of 500 soldiers to help the villagers in cutting down the trees. We're going to expand our borders. I don't give a shit anymore. At the same time, start investing in our port city project." Watson was surprised. This was the first time he had seen Aditya get so angry.

Knock! Knock!

"Young master, Duke Sarlus and Zayne has come to have an audience with you."

"The head of the Sarlus family greets his Majesty." Duke Sarlus, who had the blood of a lion kneeled in front of Aditya. Just like Josh, Sarlus was a beastmen from the Lion race. He had the head of a lion and the muscular body of a human. His hair was crimson red in color and he was 7 feet tall giant, carrying a battel-axe with him all the time.

His fairly short-sleeved, furred jacket covers him too well below his groin and is buttoned up completely at the center. The sleeves of his jacket are a little narrow and reach down to well above his hands, they're decorated with a single thread lining at the sleeve ends. The jacket has a rectangular neckline which reveals part of the refined shirt worn below it and is worn with a wide rope belt, which is held together by an ornate pin. The rope belt is a functional addition but does have some decorative value.

His pants are simple and quite wide and reach down to his hard leather boots. The boots are made from a pretty rare leather but are otherwise a simple design.

Red pupils, and the might of a lion, Duke Sarlus truly looked like a noble. Unlike Duke Ryan, Duke Sarlus was very calm and intelligent.

.

"Zayne, former commander of Duke Ryan, this lowly servant greets his majesty." Zayne was wearing his battle armor and had a sword on his waist.

Kneeling next to Zayne, there was a young lady of Zayne's age. She had long blond hair that reached down her waist. She had tied her hair in a ponytail. She had a mole on her left cheek that only enhanced her beauty. Her dark brown pupil looked at the world in curiosity. Kaia Eastgard was truly a beautiful woman.

Her relatively simple dress flows from top to bottom and has a cowl neckline, which tastefully reveals the modest dress worn below it. The silky, corset of her dress covers her stomach where the continuous flow is broken up by a large rope belt worn low around her waist.

Below the rope belt, the dress opens up and reveals the dress below. The front of the top dress is shorter at the front and curves outwards, the back continues to flow a short length behind her and ends in a broad curve. Her sleeves are quite long and quite wide, their flow is broken up well above the elbow where they're divided by long, cosmetic brands, these are the same fabric and color used to outline the sleeves, bottom, and neckline of the dress.

.

"Kaia Eastgard, Former princess of House of Eastgard greets his Majesty." Looking at the Kaia, Aditya suddenly felt guilty. Even at the very last moment, her father requested to spare her life. Aditya didn't show these complex thoughts on his face.

"You all may rise. You all must know the reason why I have called you here. First of all, I wish to ask some questions to the princess of the Eastgard house."

"I will answer anything."

"Miss Kaia, do you hate me for killing your father?"

"No, I don't. That man wanted to sell me to another noble's house just for benefits. I never received any love from him. There was no feeling I had for him. At the end of the day, he was just a stranger who wanted to take away my freedom."

"Miss Kaia, let me tell you the last words of your father. Even at the very end, instead of begging for his life, he begged me to spare your life. I think this one sentence says many things about your father."

Kaia's body slightly trembled hearing Aditya's words. "Miss Kaia, the house of Eastgard will continue through since you're the last remaining bloodline. So in the future, if the two of you get married, Zayne will have to change his family name. Zayne, do you have any objections?" Aditya felt both Zayne and Kaia will be excellent couples. Being the daughter of a noble she must have received a high-quality education. So she can manage her family's territories. While Zayne, being the commander, can deal with any military issues.

Both Zayne and Kaia couldn't describe the happiness they felt at this moment. At first, they assumed, that the King would take away Kaia's rights as the princess of the Eastgard family. The couple was ready to sacrifice anything to live a happy life.

Zayne and Kaia looked at each other and nodded at the same time. "We have no objections, your Majesty."

"Good. You two can enjoy the castle for now. I have some private matters to discuss with Duke Sarlus." Both Zayne and Kaia offered their bows and left the throne hall for Aditya and Sarlus.

"Your Majesty, before you speak I would like to tell you something." Aditya nodded and signaled him to go on.

"In these 3 years, I have some extra resources and funds into raising an army of 4,000 soldiers aside from the 25,000 large troops that I was told to maintain. if your highness wants, I will order Haku to send the 4,000 troops to the capital." Aditya can't express how grateful he was to Duke Sarlus.

"I really have to thank Sir Sarlus. The capital desperately needs soldiers."

"Moving on, Do you have any information on that man?" Yesterday, after the official meeting was over. Aditya contacted Duke Sarlus and asked him to check on a merchant named Amos. Aditya had a feeling that Amos might be from the Nepoca or the Zulux Kingdom. So he had Sarlus check both kingdoms.

"Yes, I do. Apparently, this guy named Amos is really famous in the Zulux and the Nepoca Kingdom. From what the spies told me, he is a merchant in the daytime while in the darkness of the night, he is the leader of a bandit that robs people."

"Anything else?"

"If my info is correct then currently he is in one of the cities of the Nepoca Kingdom that is located near our border."

"Hehehe! Tonight is going to be fun."

Vote for !!!

Chapter 24

"So, can you tell me where you're taking me?" Standing outside the castle, in the middle of the night, Julia the Alchemy Goddess and Aditya, the Crimson Dragon was about to head out.

"Princess, we're going to Lifwood City." Aditya replied.

"Why are we going to a city that is out of this Kingdom and that is also in the middle of the night?"

"I thought I should take you on a date." The Crimson Dragon replied while giving a flirtatious wink to the Alchemy Goddess.

"Hmph! I don't believe you." Julia snorted and looked away. She tried her best to not show her happy side. This trip is almost like an adventure to her. Sneaking out in the middle of the night and going to a city that is located outside the Kingdom.

Seeing her acting like this, Aditya couldn't help but smile. He pulled her closer and then wrapped his arms around her waist. "Wha....What are you doing?" Julia asked as her face flushed red. Before today, she never had come this closer to any male in her life.

Looking at those purple pupils, Aditya smiled and replied in a carefree tone. "Princess, if we want to reach Lifwood city then we will have to use this 4th-star artifact to fly. Unless you want to walk for days." Feeling his hot breath as he whispered into her right ear, Julia at that moment experienced and felt something that she had never done before.

Aditya has to admit, that touching her waist feels really good. "Are you ready princess? Make sure you tightly hold on to my body. Otherwise, you will fall down." Julia didn't reply. She instead buried her head deep in his chest while wrapping her arms around his neck.

Swoosh!

Two invisible pairs of wings that were entirely made out of wind elements appeared on his back. Even though the wings were invisible and entirely made out of wind elements, he still could feel the length of his wings.

The night sky was clear without any clouds. The cold wind from the sea cooled down everything and gave a slightly chilly feeling. While flying, he made sure to tightly wrap his hands around her waist. He was taking advantage of the situation to feel more of her waist.

Duke Sarlus, Watson, and Aditya had a joint meeting where they discussed their future plans. During the daytime, Aditya had recharged the Bracelet of Wind Fairy. With [1000+] being stored and used to fly, Aditya estimated that they can fly for 31 seconds before all the mana battery dies down.

'Currently, we're flying at 100km per hour speed. Meaning that each second is consuming [30+].' Aditya knew that he also had a solution to his problem.

"Julia, can you please use your spell to reduce both of our weights. Also If you know any wind spells, try casting them to increase our speed."

"So this is the reason why you bought me along with you." Aditya's body shivered hearing the dark tone of the woman who was his wife in name.

Sigh!

Julia decided to pursue this matter later as time was running out. While Aditya is a body cultivator, Julia was a magical cultivator. Being a second-order, she had 750 total stats. Since her class was Alchemy Goddess, she had focused more on raising her Mana than any of her stats. Meaning her Mana was well over [300+].

Weight Reduction!

Purity of Holy Wind!

Divinity of Heavenly Wing!

Booom!

Just three spells were enough to increase their speed to 350 kilometers per hour. The first spell reduced both of their weights by half. The purity of the Holy wind gave added more wind elements which increased their speed by [100+]. Lastly the Divinity of Heavenly Wing, temporarily increased their speed by another [100+].

"Julia, are you alright?" Aditya asked in a concerned tone. Casting these spells must have taken a lot of mana from her.

"I am alright. But the effects of the spells will only last a minute. I have enough mana to cast these spells 2 more times."

'Given how fast we're currently moving. Each minute we are covering 5,833.2 meters which is nearly 6km. Not only that, because of Julia's supporting spells the [30+] mana that was being consumed also significantly decreased.'

The alchemy Goddess repeated the same three spells 2 more times, consuming nearly all of her mana. By that time, they had covered almost 18km. Seeing the mana that was stored in the bracelet that acts as a battery was about to run out, Aditya quickly made a safe landing in one of the mountain ranges.

"Are you alright?" The princess's face had turned pale from exhausting her mana. Her face lost its color and she was breathing heavily with an exhausted look.

"I should be alright if I take one of these pills."

Under Aditya's gaze, she took out a white glowing pill that seems to emit some kind of sweet mist. Like eating candy, she threw the pill in her mouth.

"This pill is the improved version of the Mana restoring pill. Although this pill is still a 1-star and can only restore the full mana capacity of a first-order cultivator, it does work on second-order cultivators as well. Unlike the previous one, this one doesn't come with any pain in the heart. By an hour or so, I should be able to recover my mana."

"Awesome. I have to say, being an alchemist really has some advantages." Aditya could only imagine the difficulty he and his troops would have to go through if Julia wasn't here to support them with pills.

"Alchemy was always awesome. It's just that 90% of the people don't even have the talent to learn Alchemy. Don't worry, give me a few more days, and I will make a 2-star mana restoration pill."

"Well, it is thanks to you we have managed to find another source of earning." The benefits that the Alchemy Goddess could bring to their Kingdom were too many to count.

"Okay, let's keep walking. We shouldn't be that far away from the borders."

After about 3 hours of walking, Aditya and Julia managed to reach Lifwood city. Crossing the borders was very hard, especially with the soldiers of Duke Sarlus guarding and patrolling the borders. It was due to Julia using a wild animal to distract the soldiers, that both of them were able to cross the borders.

Unlike the Istarin Kingdom, the Nepoca Kingdom didn't bother to place any guards on their borders. Maybe they were too confident in their strength. Knowing the military power of the Istarin Kingdom, they weren't worried about being attacked.

Near the Nepoca Kingdom borders, there was a city called Lifwood city. The city of Lifwood was built at the edge of a lush forest and is truly a historic marvel. Its appearance is matched by the backdrop of green, fertile fields which have helped shape the city into what it is today.

The materials these fields brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings are slim and tall, which mimics the grasses and openness of the fields around them. Wood was used to make the buildings and structures of the city.

It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Many kinds of restaurants, bistros, and coffeehouses offer a plethora of culinary choices.

"So this is Lifwood city." Just like any other city, Lifwood city was surrounded by high walls and was governed by a noble house. The city is said to never sleep at night times. The crime rates in the city were very low. There were more than a hundred casinos and prostitute centers. The city was way ahead in terms of entertainment.

Even though it was past midnight, there were lots of people who were waiting in line to enter the city. Aditya and Julia also waited in line for 5 minutes.

"Halt! Name and reason for coming to this city. If you're a resident of this city, then me your residency badge. If you're not a residence, then it will cost 2 silver coins to enter the city." The soldier was writing the names of the people who came into this city. While another soldier was collecting the entry fee.

"My name is Isaac and this is my wife, Sasha. We're here to purchase some goods from a merchant." Aditya replied while giving them 4 silver coins.

"You two may pass." The gate was opened for Julia and Aditya.

After entering the city, for a moment both Aditya and Julia were stunned. The entire city was shining. There were multi-color lights almost everywhere. Aditya felt like he had traveled back to some ancient European cities.

"Wow. I guess this is one of those cities that mainly operated during night times." There were some cities in the continent that heavily relied on tourists. Those cities would build and invest a huge chunk of their earnings in the entertainment sector.

"Julia, do you want to buy anything?" Since Amos was a merchant, he would be found in the shopping district.

"If you don't mind, I want to buy some materials for my alchemy research." Both of them went to the shopping district.

.

"Excuse me, do you have royal Butterfly blood?" Julia asked one of the shopkeepers that sold Alchemy ingredients.

"Miss, we have everything in our shop. Please come in and took a look." The middle-aged shop owner politely welcomed both of them to his shop.

"Ma'am, you can tell me what ingredients you need?" Aditya lazily watched everything. To him, alchemy was a complicated subject that he will never understand.

"I need royal Butterfly blood, Phantom's Tooth, Crystalized Unicorn's blood, and Chimera Horn."

"Ma'am, you came to the right place. We have everything. I don't mean to be impolite or mean any disrespect but these items are a little costly."

"That's alright. Just give her whatever she needs." After that Julia ordered a few more items and then Aditya paid for everything.

"Here is your change sir."

"You can keep the change. But in exchange can you please tell me where I can find Big Brother Amos? I had an appointment with him. But I was a little late due to some incidents on my way. Now I can't find Big brother Amos." From the beginning, Aditya has been planning on asking this question to the shopkeeper.

Seeing how good Aditya was acting, for a moment Julia doubted if this was the same Aditya she knew from the past. "Tonight there is an auction being held at the northern part of the city. You can find brother Amos there." The shopkeeper replied without thinking too much. Amos was really popular in this city.

"Thank you bother." After exiting the ingredients shop, both of them headed toward the auction house.

"Why did you call Amos big brother?" Julia curiously asked.

"Amos is really popular. To normal people, he is known as a saint merchant. To get Amos's location, I figured asking a local would be the best choice."

"Ohhh!"

"Brother Amos, are you also here for the Ancient book that was found beneath the sea?"

"Do you even have to ask? Other than the ancient book, nothing else here is worthy of brother Amos's attention."

"I heard that no one was able to open the ancient book. It is said that the book contains a secret method to increase one's cultivation."

"Those are just rumors. You shouldn't believe in the rumors." The man named Amos replied while keeping his eyes on the stage. The final moment was here. The book that he has been wanting to find for years now finally appeared.

Voter for Bonus Chapter!!!

Chapter 25

"Ladies and Gentlemen, now we're going to bring out the item that you all have been waiting for. It is the ancient book of the lost sea. Recently, a fisherman discovered this ancient book when he was fishing. We still haven't been able to open the book yet. After some inspection, we have found that only someone who is 2nd-order Rune Master can open this book."

"Now the bidding for the ancient book of the sea will start. Please don't forget that whoever tries to use their influence to oppress others from participating in this bid will be banned from the Silver Grass auction house."

"The bid starts from 1,000 royal Gold."

[2,000 RG]

[4,000 RG]

[5,000 RG]

[How about 10,000 RG?]

[10,000 and 500 RG]

The price only kept increasing. The commoners had no chance of even participating in the bid. They could only watch as the VIPs fought among themselves.

"Are we going to bid for this book?" Julia who now was known as Sasha asked.

"No, I am not planning on getting this Book. For now, let's just enjoy the show." From his nightmare of the future, Aditya was sure that this ancient book of the sea had the secret to the black heart. Amos will get the book and uncover the secrets of the black heart.

'I don't if the future is still the same. In the future that I saw, he gave the black heart secrets to the Zulux King and stood opposite the Istarin Kingdom. Something must have happened in that future, that made Amos hate me. But now, I am not certain. Many things have changed since that nightmare of the future.'

The bidding number only continued to increase.

[15,000 RG]

[16,000 RG]

[16,000 RG once]

[16,000 RG twice]

[Congratulations to Mr. Amos for gaining the Ancient Book of the Lost Sea. Ladies and Gentlemen, with this our auction, concludes here. We look forward to seeing you all attend our next auction.]

"Are we not leaving?"

"Wait a minute."

"So this is the ancient book." In front of Amos, there was a dark book. Despite being in the water for years, the pages of this book were still intact. There was some kind of red runic words written on the cover of the book.

"Let's go. Tomorrow, we will find a second-order Rune Master to help us with opening the book."

"But sir, where are we supposed to find a runemaster. To my knowledge, I don't think there is any runemaster in the three kingdoms." Cultivators with the knowledge of Rune were extremely rare.

"Idiot, I can always go beyond the three kingdoms to find a Rune Master." Amos and his guards walked back to his Mansion without any care in the world. Whenever some locals saw Amos, they would bow their heads and greet him respectfully. To the public, Amos was known as Saint Merchant. But in the dark, he was the leader of mountain bandits.

"Sir, are you not planning on going to the Istarin Kingdom Capital?" One of the guards asked.

"No, my very reason for going to that city was over when that bastard King was killed by adopted grandpa. By now, that king must have found the secret message I wrote to grandpa. I can't go to Istarin territory for now." Amos was very angry. He wanted to revenge. How dare a lowly Kingdom's King to kill his grandpa. He was very furious.

After walking for a while, Amos finally reached his Mansion. The Mansion was 50 meters big, surrounded by 2-meter high walls.

Just as Amos was about to enter his house, he noticed that everything in his Mansion was strangely very quiet. "Hey, you an.....His words got stuck in his throat seeing his guards knocked out lying on the ground. Before Amos could understand what happened, felt his senses getting blurry. After a few seconds, he also lost consciousness.

Two figures wearing dark clothes, covering their faces with a black cloth appeared on the roof of the Mansion after Amos fell unconscious. "Having an alchemy wife really has its advantages. Especially in these types of situations."

"Who are you calling your wife? For the record, I never agreed to become your wife." Julia pouted.

Aditya stared at her for a few seconds before saying. "You're my wife by contract."

"Hmph! I don't follow these stupid contract rules. Heck, we never even got married in the first place."

"So you're fine being my wife as long as I marry you." Hearing Aditya's words, the princess acted as if someone had stepped over her tail. She glared at Aditya and signaled him to shut his mouth. To which the Crimson King nodded his head with a helpless smile.

"I can't believe you're so shameless. I shouldn't have come with you in the first place." Aditya has been teasing Julia ever since they went out of the castle. It was like the proud King Aditya was gone and was replaced by a shameless man who wants flirt with her.

"Hahaha! Well, without you, it would have taken me an extra few hours to reach here. Not to mention, without your amazing alchemy skills, I couldn't have knocked down all these 2nd-order cultivators." Before Amos reached his mansion, Julia used one of her second-order pills to knock out everyone unconscious. When this pill is used with water, colorless smoke would spread in the surroundings. Poor Amos couldn't see it coming since the smoke had no odor and color. Fortunately, the princess had given him the antidote otherwise even with their mask, he could have been knocked unconscious.

"If you're grateful then you better buy me some expensive alchemy ingredients."

"Sure princess. Your husband shall buy you whatever you want." When it came to her alchemy research Aditya never hesitated to spend his earnings.

Sigh!

Julia had given up. She was too tired to fight back. "Whatever. Just finish the job already. The effect of the pill will keep them knocked out for 2 hours."

"With pleasure."

Aditya jumped down and was about to kill one of the second-order guards. "You can always turn your head if you don't want to look, princess."

"Hmph! This princess is not a child. I have lost the count of people I have killed."

"Yeah, yeah! Like I believe your words." Saying that Aditya started slicing off the unconscious guards' throats one after another.

[Ding! The host has killed Mid 2nd-Order. The host has gained experience Points.]

[Ding! The Host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for reaching Second-order.]

[Ding! Mythical class, War Dancer has reached second-order.]

[Ding! After reaching second-order, the host is now eligible to select a second class.]

[Ding! A random mythical Class or higher grade class will be selected by the system]

Aditya for a moment didn't know what to say. He would rather choose a rare class than get a random mythical class. 'But then again, every mythical class is overpowered and it comes with multiple unique and rare skills. I guess this is the better way. I won't have to waste too much time deciding which class I want to choose. Let's just hope that I don't end up with some useless mythical class.'

.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting the Rune Monarch class.]

[Ding! Since the host is already a 2nd-order, the Rune Monarch class also has been upgraded to 2nd-order.]

[Ding! Upgrading both classes to 2nd-order has given the host new skills and also has evolved some of the previous skills.]

[Ding! Fiery Blaze has evolved to become to 2-star Crimson Blaze]

[Ding! Weapon Mastery has evolved to become to 2-star Weapon Grandmaster]

.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning a new 2-star passive skill Disturbance of Blessings]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning a new 2-star passive skill Mystic Surge]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning a new innate skill 2-star Runic Enchantment]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning a new passive skill 2-star Charm of the Inferno Rune]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for learning a new passive skill 2-star Lunar Vision]

[Ding! Awakening a second class has increased the host Mana by [50+]

.

[Ding! The host bloodline has evolved from Inferno Blaze Dragon to Crimson heavenly dragon.]

[Ding! The host stats have been increased by [50+]

[Ding! After reaching 2nd order, the host has gained the ability to transform into a dragon. The host has gained a new innate skill called Dragon Transformation.]

"What is going on?" Julia become worried seeing Aditya not moving. She could feel tremendous changes in his bloodline.

Graaaaa!!!!

A huge roar escaped from Aditya's mouth. The roar was so strong that the entire city of Lifwood started shaking as if an earthquake has come. Julia almost lost her consciousness just from being close to Aditya. The roar was so strong that it caused Amos and other knocked-out guards' ears, noses, and mouths to start bleeding.

Fortunately, just as Aditya let out his loud and terrifying roar, he regained his senses. He realized what he has done already alerted everyone in the entire city.

"There is a dragon in the city. Everyone hurry up. We must slay the dragon." Even from the distance, Aditya could hear the people's panicked tone.

"It won't be long before guards come to this place." Under the shocked eyes of the Alchemy Goddess, Aditya stretched out his right palm as an orb of dark crimson red flame appeared in his palm. From the orb of Dark Crimson flame, small red wisps of flame started burning the bodies of the guards and Amos.

[Ding! The Host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up.]

[Ding! The Host has .....]

Aditya quickly put the Ancient Book in his storage ring and then appeared in front of Julia.

"Let's leave this place." Julia thought Aditya was going to use the bracelet of Wind fairy to fly away from this city but instead he did something that blew her mind.

Two pairs of dragon wings appeared on his back by tearing his Shirt. Each dragon wing was crimson red and was 2 meters long each. (The wings looked something like this).

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Aditya flew off to the sky. When Aditya started flapping his newly formed wings, he didn't feel any discomfort. It was as if he was familiar with his wings and dragon body. By instinct, he knew how he had to move his wings to fly.

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Chapter 26

"Can't you move a little faster?"

"Seriously! This is my first time flying using my own wings. I could have moved even faster if I was not carrying you." But in reality, Julia's weight was hardly giving him any problem.

"Are you saying that I am fat?" Julia angrily started punching his chest. She was not even using 10% of her strength. Aditya hardly felt anything.

After a moment both of them calmed down. When a moment of silence passed, Julia asked. "What happened back there? I am still confused about the whole thing?"

"I managed to break through. Now I have reached 2nd-order." Even Aditya was not expecting to level up. He momentarily had forgotten that he was very close to the breaking point.

"This fast!!! It hasn't been 6 days since you awoke your Bloodline? How did you do it?" Even the continent's most geniuses would at least take 6 to 1 year to reach 2nd-order. And here Aditya has done it in less than 5 days.

Aditya showed a helpless smile and replied in a helpless tone. "I don't know what exactly happened. My bloodline started reacting when I began killing. My whole body felt like it was burning on fire. When the burning sensation disappeared, my bloodline evolved. Now my bloodline is Crimson Heavenly Dragon." Half of his words were true while the other half were lies. The existence of the system was Aditya's top secret. For now, Aditya wanted to keep everything to himself.

"Wh..What did you say? Can you repeat your words?" Aditya wasn't sure why Julia was reacting this way.

"My bloodline evolve...No...No" She interrupted him.

"Not that part. Tell me the name of your bloodline?" Aditya wondered why Julia looked so shaken.

"Crimson Heavenly Dragon" Aditya replied.

"Aditya, are you lying to me?" Julia wanted to confirm once again.

"No, I am not. I am not in the mood of joking."

Sigh!

Julia took a deep breath to calm her heart. "Before you, only one Dragon in history shared the same dragon bloodline as you did. That person went on to become the Emperor of 7 continents. His single attack was enough to change the shape of this continent. Having the same bloodline as him means that you also have the potential to reach the Peak of cultivation."

"So, should I be happy?" Aditya asked with a straight face. With the system, Aditya never needed any bloodline. Even without a bloodline, just by killing he can reach the peak.

Sigh!

"Whatever, I shouldn't get too much worked up. Remember, Aditya you should never reveal your bloodline to someone that you don't trust. In this world, you will find billions of people who only care about their interests."

"I understand." After that neither Julia nor Aditya said anything. Both enjoyed the silence of the night.

Julia had many wild thoughts in her mind. After knowing Aditya's bloodline name, on the surface, she might look calm but her heart was not calm at all.

'If the world learns about his bloodline, I am sure his selfish parents would be the first to want him back in their family. Also, The Skeletal Isles won't simply stand by if they knew that in one of their neighboring Kingdoms, a King with Heavenly Dragon Bloodline has appeared. Other than that, almost all big kingdoms in this continent will try to marry their princess to Aditya. I don't want anyone to take away Aditya from this Kingdom. I have to talk things with Amber and Watson.' Without even realizing it, Julia was getting possessive of the Crimson Dragon.

Meanwhile, Aditya was taking his time to check his new skills.

"Status"

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Inferno Blaze Dragon ? Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 47 ? 55

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, [Fiery Blaze ? Crimson Blaze], [Weapon Mastery ? Weapon Grandmaster], Runic Enchantment [New], Dragon Transformation [New]

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Molten Bolt, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision [New], Disturbance of Blessings [New], Mystic Surge [New], Charm of Inferno Rune [New]

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy

_Strength: - 117 ? 175

_Speed: - 127 ? 185 + [100]

_Stamina: - 117 ? 175

_Health: - 117 ? 175

_Mana: - 139 ? 247

_Free stats: - 42 ? 58]

'With the arrival of my second class, my status panel also went through some changes.' Curiously Aditya tapped on his New class that came with a badass name.

"Rune Monarch." Aditya has to admit he liked the name.

.

[Rune Monarch]

[2nd-order]

[Description]: - Rune Monarch is the class of the King. Long ago, Rune Monarch dominated the Oblivion Domain. Just the name of the Rune Monarch was enough to make the enemy surrender. To this date, the name of the Rune Monarch is not forgotten. Not everyone is eligible to acquire the Rune Monarch class. The host is the only second being in the Universe to get Rune Monarch class.

[Function 1]: - At 2nd-order, the rune Monarch gives its holder many kinds of powers. After reaching 2nd-order, the host's knowledge of runes has increased to a certain point where the host has mastered all the basics. The host is 100% likely to create a 2-star rune item. There is a 50% chance of the host creating a 3-star rune item. The percentage will keep decreasing with each high orders.

[Function 2]: - Unlike other classes, the Rune Monarch is a special class. The Rune Monarch class only can be evolved to the next order as long as the host manages to expand his knowledge and experience of rune to a certain degree.]

[Rune Monarch class Progression to 3rd order: - 0%]

.

Aditya for a moment closed his eyes. It was like all the knowledge of Rune had existed in his mind from the beginning. It was like his second class had created a special library of runes in his head. 'So unlike my War Dancer class, I can only evolve my second class only by expanding my knowledge and experience to a certain degree.'

'let's check if my War Dancer class gives me anything special.'

.

[War Dancer]

[2nd-order]

[Description]: - A special type of class that was once used by the God of War. When reached a certain level, the War Dancer gives the user variety of powers and skills.

[Function 1]: - Gives host knowledge of all kinds of weapons.

[Function 2]: - Each time the host reaches a new order, the War Dancer will unlock a new set of skills for the host.

[Function ]: - There is a 19% chance that the host might unlock new skills of War dancer class in a dire situation.]

[Weapon Grandmaster

[2nd-star]

[Description]: - A powerful innate skill is only given to people who have the War Dancer class.

[Function 1]: - This skill gives the user knowledge and instant mastery over any weapon that is held by the user. Weapon Mastery increases the power of any weapon by [15%].

[Function 2]: - Gives the host a 10% chance of dodging or landing a critical strike, if the opponent is in the same order as the host. The percentage might increase or decrease depending on the level of the opponent.]

'Not bad. This skill will certainly come in handy when facing a tough opponent. Now my next skills'

[Crimson Blaze

[2nd- star]

[Description]: - An advanced evolved and powerful form of Fiery Blaze. This skill allows the user to control fire.

[Function 1]: - Every time the user activates this skill, it will consume [1+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination.

[Function 2]: - Decreases the damage of fire-type attacks used by the enemy by [30%]. Increase of power of Fire-type attacks used by the host by [30%].

"Aditya?"

"Aditya?"

"What is it?"

"Aditya, what are you thinking so deeply? Julia has been calling his name for a while now. But Aditya gave no response. This kind of worried her.

"No....Nothing. I was thinking about the changes that took place in my body."

"Are you alright? Should we take a rest?" Julia worriedly asked.

"No, I am alright. You are worrying too much. By the way, tomorrow, I am going to show you all something that will blow your mind."

The princess narrowed her eyes and looked at Aditya in suspicion. "What are you planning again?"

"Something that will blow your mind."

On the way, Aditya joked with Julia. The journey was peaceful. Fortunately, no one from Lifwood city chased after them. Before the night ended, Aditya and Julia returned to the castle. Both of them went back to their bedrooms. Since both of them are 2nd-order cultivators, a single sleepless night couldn't tire them. Julia went back to her alchemy research while Aditya went to grab a piece of paper and pen.

[Dragon Transformation: - A innate skill that all 2nd-order or higher-order dragons possess. The skill allows the host to transform into a Dragon or transform any part of the host's body into a dragon. The shape and the size of the host's dragon form are determined by the host's bloodline and level. When the host fully transforms into a dragon, all of the host's stats except for mana are instantly doubled.]

[Runic Enchantment

[2nd-star skill]

[Description]: - The power of this skill is determined by the order of the Rune Monarch class.

[Function 1]: - At the current level, there is a 100% chance of the host enchanting a 2-star weapon or artifact. 50% chances of enchanting a 3-star weapon or artifact. Less than 10% chances of enchanting a 4th-star weapon or artifact.]

[Lunar Vision]

[2-star skill]

[Description]:- A special and unique type of skill was created by combining the power of War Dancer, Rune Monarch, and Crimson Heavenly Dragon. The host is the founder of this unique eye skill. Since this skill is passive, it doesn't require any mana to activate.

[Function 1]: - The Lunar Vision gives the host Night vision. The host can see anything in the darkness.

[Function 2]: - The Lunar Vision lets the host finds the weak points of the opponent whose powers are one order below the host.

[Function 3]: - This skill gives the host 70% resistance against mind-controlling spells used by 2nd-orders. But against higher orders, the resistance percentage decreases depending on the cultivation strength of the opponent.]

[Disturbance of Blessings]

[2-star skill]

[Description]: - A special type of skill granted by the War Dancer class. This skill is used to debuff the enemy troops. It will take [25+] mana to activate this skill. The skill will continue to consume [5+] mana per second.

[Function 1]: - Decreases the attack power of mages whose cultivation level is on 2nd-order or below by [15%]. If the battle is fought at the host's territory, the debuff will increase from [15%] to [30%].

[Function 2]: - When the commander of the opponent army is killed or captured, the enemy troops' attacks powers will be duffed by [20%].

"This is a really powerful skill. This very skill itself can change the whole course of the battle. But it's a shame that even with my current mana, I can't keep his skill active for longer than 44 seconds at most." Aditya was a little disappointed to know that he won't have enough mana to use this skill in a battle. Imagine, the difficulty his opponents would face due to this skill.

[Mystic Surge]

[2-star skill]

[Description]: - Another special skill of the War Dancer class. This skill can grant buffs to the allies. It will take [25+] mana to activate this skill. The skill will continue to consume [5+] mana per second.

[Function 1]: - When this skill is activated, the troops and the generals and allies will receive a [9%] boost in their agility.

[Function 2]: - When 70% of the enemy troops have been defeated, the troops and the generals and allies will receive a [9%] boost in their strength.

[Function 3]: - If the enemy troops outnumber the ally troops, then the ally troops and generals will receive a [9%] boost in their stamina and health.]

"This is also a skill that I can use for more than 44 seconds. It's really disappointing to know that I am getting so many awesome skills but I don't have enough mana to keep them running." The storage of Mana was beginning to frustrate Aditya.

He realized that the only way that he can increase his mana reserve would be by eating 3-star or higher-star fruits that were super expensive. Even if he sells his entire Kingdom, he won't have enough money to buy a priceless treasure that can safely increase his mana reserve.

[Charm of Inferno Rune]

[2-star skill]

[Description]: - This is a special skill that was granted by the host's Rune Monarch class. This skill allows the host to use his fire affinity with his runes.

[Function 1]: - The objects that have been enchanted with Inferno runes will give the user [10%] extra fire damage.]

"Well, the last skill is not useless. It might have one function but by adding my fire elemental powers in my runes, I can create various weapons or objects that will give buffs related to the fire element."

For example, Aditya could turn a normal sword into a 2-star runic weapon that has fire enchantment. When the sword is used, the user will gain fire-related buffs.

Runic weapons are the weapons that only have been enchanted with runes. A 2-star Runic Weapon is different from a 2-star weapon that is forged by a blacksmith. While Runic weapons can provide powerful buffs to the user, a 2-star weapon is made of rare metals to have 2-star weapon power. Generally, a 2-star weapon is first forged by a blacksmith and then taken to a Rune Master for enchanting the weapon with runes, to add buffs to the weapon.

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Chapter 27

"Hehe! It looks like things are going to get interesting." It's hard to believe that the capital had changed so much in less than 7 days. Before the atmosphere of the capital was always gloomy, dark, depressing, and full of hardship. The people were struggling to find enough food to feed their families.

Compared to those dark days, the capital had undergone huge changes. The dark, gloomy, and depressing atmosphere of the capital vanished like it never existed. The people of the city now looked much happier than before. With the large-scale construction taking place in the city, thousands of people now had jobs and were earning enough money to feed their families.

Now that there weren't any more big gangs or criminals in the city, the suffering of the commoners has been reduced. Although the capital is yet to fully recover and transform into something big, everyone living in this city could feel upcoming that will make their lives a hundred times easier. Under the new policies of the King, doing business has become easier than ever. And by defeating Duke Ryan and suppressing the rebel, many people now were coming to the capital in hope of finding a job.

"To think he would able to change the city this quickly. I have to say, I am really impressed." The Goddess of Wealth walked on the streets of the capital that was being reconstructed with a new technique that Aditya introduced.

"The newly made roads are notable for their straightness, solid foundations, cambered surfaces facilitating drainage, and use of concrete made from volcanic ash and lime. I wonder how he managed to come up with this method."

"Milady, did you hear what happened last night at the border city of Lifwood?" The guild master of this city asked as he followed the leader of the Seeker of Impurity guild from behind.

"I did. It was a little surprising. Honestly, I wasn't expecting Amos to die this way. But this also gives us an opportunity. Amos was the top merchant in both the Nepoca and the Zulux Kingdoms. We can expand our business in both kingdoms." Being the Goddess of Wealth, she had the mind of a businesswoman.

"Milady, given the rising tension between Zulux and Istarin Kingdoms, I wouldn't be surprised if war broke out anytime."

"That's true. Both kingdoms have been suppressing this Kingdom for generations. Given how big their arrogance is, I am sure they won't sit still seeing how fast King Aditya is advancing." The tension between Zulux and the Istarin Kingdom has been rising for multiple reasons. First of all, Aditya ignored their warnings and started expanding toward the Silver Meadow Grove and also started building the port city.

Capturing their Prime Minister was like a direct slap to the Zulux Emperor's face. And most important of all, the Zulux Kingdom was trying to break the Istarin Kingdom by creating conflict between the Duke and the King. So what when a civil war takes place, the Zulux Kingdom can take the Istarin territory in one swipe.

"Whatever, the war has nothing to do with us. Our guild will continue to function normally regardless of any war." But inwardly the Goddess of Wealth was getting a little anxious. Once the Zulux Dynasty attacks, there is no way the Nepoca Kingdom which has been looking to capture the Istarin Kingdom for generations would simply sit still. With both kingdoms attacking a Kingdom that recently became a 2nd-tier powerhouse, the Goddess of Wealth is not sure if the Crimson Dragon could protect his land.

"Young Master, what is this?" Currently, Watson, Julia, and Aditya were having a meeting in the study room. Three of them had their eyes on an ancient book that Aditya bought back with him last night.

Watson was still shocked knowing that his young master now possesses the Heavenly Crimson Dragon bloodline. Just like Julia, Watson also reacted very strongly. The old man probably couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just like Julia, Watson strongly warned his Majesty to not tell another soul about his Bloodline.

"How are we supposed to open this ancient book? To open this book, we will need a 2nd-order Rune Master."

"Actually....." Aditya picked up the book and started reading the runes that were written on the cover page of the book. Seeing that both Julia and Watson felt their numb bodies being hit with another wave of lightning.

[Open]

"Young Master, you can actually understand runes? But since when?" Watson has been serving Aditya for 3 years now. He was here even before his lady Julia come. He knew better than anyone that in these 3 years, Aditya never did anything other than drinking.

Knowing that he can't lie to Watson, Aditya decided to tell them the half-truth. "Look, my super-fast cultivation, my bloodline evolving and me knowing about Runes has something to do with a huge secret. It's not that I can't trust both of you with my secret. It's just that this secret is too big. I would die if people knew my secret." There was no way Aditya was going to tell them about the system. This was his only way to shut both of their mouths so that both Julia and Watson wouldn't ask him any more questions.

Julia and Watson looked at each other and nodded with a serious look. "Thank you. Now let's open this book and uncover the secrets."

[The Black Heart]

'So this is really the book that gave Amos the way of using the Black Heart. I wonder if I would be able to strengthen my soldiers with the black heart.'

Watson picked up the book and began reading out loud. [The black Heart is a mysterious technique that once was used by a famous Necromancer. The Black Heart is an artificial heart that is placed on the right side of the chest.]

[The Black Heart is said to give cultivators immense powers. The Black Heart can double or even triple a cultivator's cultivation speed. When the Blackheart is used, the user would receive a huge increase in Mana.]

"This Black Heart thing is really strong." Both Julia and Watson knew the value of this book. If other Kingdoms were to learn the existence of such a powerful mighty technique, they would do anything to get their hands on this book.

"Young Master, I think we should make this Black Heart and test it on some criminal. If the test succeeds we can double if not triple the powers of our military forces."

"Watson, I hate to break your excitement but even if the test succeeds, we can't simply use the black heart to enhance our troops. Just imagine what would happen if the news spread. At that time, we would be hunted by powerful factions." In this world of cultivation, a cultivator's greediness had no bounds. The big factions wouldn't even hesitate to crush their Kingdom to get this heavenly technique.

"I think both of you're thinking too far ahead" Julia said while looking at the book.

"Huh?"

"Even if we managed to successfully create the black heart and I don't think anyone could withstand the sudden increase in mana. Let's image a cultivator's body to be a container while the heart is the main part of the container. The Container size can only be extended when the cultivation of a person increases. Now let's imagine what would happen if the container surpasses its capacity. The container would explode like watermelon."

"What I am trying to say is, even if the black heart was placed, after a period of 2 or 3 days, the side effect would start showing up, or in worse case scenarios that person would just explode like a balloon."

'That's why the soldiers in my nightmare looked fine. So their tragedy was going to come Afterall.' Aditya felt a little relieved to know that in one of those infinite futures, his enemies would die because of the very thing that gave them the taste of victory and power.

"Isn't there some way that we can use the black heart?" Watson asked in a disappointed tone.

"Maybe Aditya can."

"Me? How?"

"I am not sure but I feel your heavenly bloodline should allow the black heart to function. Unlike normal people, beings who have a heavenly bloodline are special. Unlike our container, your container is made up of rubber that can be stretched. This is all just a theory. I will have to do some research."

Massive braziers encompassing each of the twelve limestone columns light up every part of the throne hall and blanket everything in a warm glow. The humongous chandeliers hanging from the oblique ceiling dance in the flickering light while memorials look down upon the mosaic floor of this imposing hall.

A coral rug runs down from the throne and splits to encircle the entire hall while square dag banners with adorned ridges the walls. Between each banner hangs a small magical chandelier, a few of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the paintings of heroes and legends below them.

Extensive, stained glass windows depicting important moments of victory are hidden by veils colored the same coral as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with fancy tassels and burnished corners.

A noble throne of marble sits in front of a giant painting of the kingdom and is adjoined by three similar, but smaller seats for visiting dignitaries.

The throne is covered in symbolic illustrations and fixed on each of the broad ears is a lavish lion's head. The thick pillows are a dark coral and these too have been adorned with embellished tracery.

Those waiting to see their royal highness can do so on the plethora of lightly illuminated oak benches, all of which are facing the throne in a wide V-shape. Those of higher standing can instead take a seat on the extravagant balconies facing the throne.

While peace was beginning to bless the land of Istarin Kingdom, the Zulux King was not happy at all. "Your Majesty, the messenger from the Istarin Kingdom has arrived."

"Let me hear what the Istarin Kingdom has to say."

[The king of Istarin Kingdom had to say the following, "King of Zulux Dynasty, the Istarin Kingdom has captured the Prime Minister of your Kingdom for working with a rebel. Currently, the Prime Minister is in our custody. Don't worry, I am feeding him 3 meals a day. If your highness wants his Prime Minister back, then I want 50,000 royal gold coins, fifty 2-star weapons, and one year of grain supplies.]

"The King of Istarin Kingdom really has grown his balls. To think a king who used to live on alcohol till a week ago, is now demanding the Zulux Dynasty to pay ransom for freeing our Prime Minister. The Zulux Dynasty won't accept this humiliation." The King's eyes turned red from anger. How dare a lowly Kingdom capture the prime minister of the Zulux Dynasty?

"The Dog that we used to feed is now starting to bite us." In the King's eyes, the Istarin Kingdom was nothing but a small piece of land that we can conquer at any given moment.

"Send General Darren Ellis with 60,000 troops to crush the Istarin Kingdom. Also, tell him to not kill that king. I want to personally torture that bastard to death."

"But your Majesty, according to the reports, there might a be third-order cultivator helping the enemy. Don't you think it would be wiser to wait a little longer?" One of the advisers of the King asked.

"So What? General Darren Ellis's power is enough to deal with any 3rd-order." General Darren Ellis was a 3rd-order existence himself.

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Chapter 28

Quickly another week passed. This week, Julia was busy researching the black heart. Watson and Alex were doing the management work under Aditya's orders. While 700 recruits who have been training for 2 weeks were now ready to select their division. Aditya left the selection part to his 7 generals. Since they knew the recruits better than he did.

The reconstruction of the capital was going smoothly. By now the Seeker of Impurity guild also had opened its first branch in the capital. The plan to build the port city was in its final stages and the construction work should begin anytime in the next week. While on the other side, the expansion of Silver Meadow Grove was going too smoothly.

By the end of the second week, the prices of the food and supplies also dropped, making it more affordable for the common people. After taking Prime Minister Joseph as a prisoner, Aditya knowing that a war is going to start, bought a huge supply of food using Duke Sarlus's connections with some merchants from the Nepoca Kingdom. Also by expanding borders towards the Silver Meadow Grove, the soldiers were able to hunt a large number of magical beasts. The Magical beasts were transported back to the capital.

In this world, there were two types of wild animals. There was a type of animal that couldn't cultivate while there is another kind of animal known as Magical beasts that can cultivate. Magical Beasts are born with certain cultivation techniques that they use to cultivate. However, unlike humans, Magical beasts can also cultivate by killing other magical beasts and by eating their flesh. Magical animals only lived in forests that have a high concentration of mana. The Silver Meadow Grove is one of those places where magical beasts live.

While this passing week has been the most exciting week for Aditya. Even though he couldn't level up this entire week, he wasn't the least bit sad about it. He spent the majority of his time in his study room. Other than Alex and Watson, even Julia was forbidden from coming to his study room. No one knew what Aditya was doing in his study room.

Knock! Knock!

"Enter!"

Standing in front of the master, Watson looked very serious. "Young Master, the Zulux Dynasty has officially declared war against the Istarin Kingdom."

There was no change in Aditya's expression. "The War already had started when I captured their Prime Minister. It was just a matter of time before the Zulux Dynasty acted." Rather than fighting both Kingdoms at the same time, it was better to fight once at a time.

"So, how many troops does the enemy force has?"

"60,000 troops lead by a 3rd-order general."

"Well, the number is higher than I expected. When will their army arrive?"

"In less than 72 hours. Their target is Zraka city."

"I understand. Then what are we even waiting for? Prepare for the war. It's time to shed some blood."

"Your Highness, who will remain in the Castle if everyone leaves?"

"What do you mean by everyone? Julia will be staying at the castle." Since Julia was an alchemist class cultivator, there was no reason to bring her to the battlefield. Julia's skills were mostly supportive type. While it's true that her supportive skills would be useful in a battle, Aditya is not sure whether he can protect her.

The battlefield will be too chaotic. Even though this was Aditya's first time fighting a war, he knew that the entire battlefield will be dyed in blood. Anything can happen in battle. He doesn't want to risk her life.

"What about the recruits? After two weeks of training combined with regular pills from Lady Julia, I think they are ready to participate in the war. They're already strong as newly trained soldiers." Watson felt they could use this chance to let the recruits gain experience which would be helpful for their growth.

"No, all of them will die if they are taken to the battlefield. Julia's pills have certainly made their bodies stronger. But they are still unrefined iron ores. Even if their bodies have gotten stronger, they don't have the skills to use that power. For this battle, we're mainly going to rely on the army of Duke Zayne."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Julia bit her lips in frustration. As much as she hated war and killing, she wanted to come with Aditya and use her skills to support him in a battle.

"No princess. You can stay at the castle and keep making various pills for us. You have no idea how much you're contributing to our military by making pills. Your pills will give the soldiers an extra life." The previous plan of selling healing pills at a lower price was canceled. Those healing pills would now be used to heal the injured soldiers.

"Then take this with you." Julia handed a purple pill that was stored in a jade bottle.

"What is this pill?" Even a person with no alchemy knowledge can tell that this pill was a 3-star pill. "This is a 3-star pill that I managed to create after many trials and errors. The pill is made from your blood. Crimson Berserk Pill can temporarily push your strength one order. But do remember the increase in your cultivation will only last for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will experience the side-effect of the pill."

"I guess I will have to pay a price for the sudden boost in my strength."

"Yes. Once this pill is used, 5 percent of your soul will be damaged. This will cause your cultivation strength to drop for a while. As for how long it will take for your soul to recover, even I am not sure since I don't have much knowledge of the soul."

"So this pill is my last resort." Aditya stared at the purple color pill.

"I really don't want you to use this pill. But it's better than dying. Remember, use this pill only as your last resort." Julia, in fact, didn't even want to create this pill. Compared to death, this was a small price to pay.

"Thank you, Julia." Aditya replied in a sincere tone.

"How far have you progressed with your research?"

"It won't take too long. At maximum, I will need one week. When I am done, I will let you know."

"Alright. Watson, I will leave everything in your hand."

"You can rest assured. Your Majesty, this humble servant will not fail your expectations." Watson politely lowered his head and offered a bow to Aditya.

"Let's head out." All the food supplies, healing pills, and other items were in Aditya's storage ring. With the 7 generals followed by 400 soldiers, the king head out for the war.

Aditya only took 400 soldiers and the rest were ordered to guard the capital. Leaving the capital defenseless when war was going on was not a good idea. Another reason why Watson was left behind was that he had the ability to lead an army in case some third party used this situation to attack.

With the walls being renovated, Aditya was confident that even his army can hold the enemies long enough for him to rush back to the capital.

After exiting the capital with everyone, Aditya ordered them to stop. "Scott, you take the charge and lead the Army to Zraka city. I have some other work to do."

"I will obey your command."

"Good." After saying that, two red pairs of wings appeared behind Aditya. Each red wing was 2 meters long. In front of everyone, the king flew off to the Sky in the direction of Silver Meadow Grove.

"It looks like a huge storm is going to come." Yesterday night, the whole sky was covered in black storm clouds. The local told Watson that a huge storm could come by today or tomorrow. "Hopefully with the storm, the army of the Zulux dynasty will stop their march and wait until the storm ends."

Aditya took out a crescent-shaped black earring and put it on his right ear.

[Duke Sarlus greets his Majesty.]

[Commander Zayne, greets his Majesty.]

[Enough with the formalities. In this period, we don't have time for such things.]

[Sir Sarlus, what was the Nepoca Kingdom's response to our proposal for an alliance?] Aditya had asked Duke Sarlus to send a letter to the King of the Nepoca Kingdom.

[I still haven't received any words from them.]

[I guess they are testing us.] Aditya broke the silence with his words.

[Your Majesty, how they are testing us?] Commander Zayne asked. Zayne was a commander. He had no experience and knowledge of how polities worked.

[Both Kingdoms think that we have a 3rd-order cultivator.] Aditya even sent spies to spread the rumors in both Kingdoms.

[Now the Nepoca Kingdom wants to see if the rumor is really true. Meaning, that they're thinking that we will use our 3rd-order cultivator to fight against the invaders.]

[I don't understand how having a 3rd-order can affect all these matters?]

[Let me explain. The Nepoca kingdom wants to see if we really have a 3rd-order. Whether we have a 3rd-order or not, the Nepoca Kingdom will have to help us. Once the Zulux Dynasty captures our territory, then the Nepoca Kingdom will be their next big target. To prevent that, the Nepoca Kingdom will assist us in this war. This is why I wrote a letter and made Duke Sarlus send it to the King.]

[Another reason why they are purposely delaying their response is to make the Istarin military weaker. They don't the Istarins to use their assistance to grow in military power. Imagine what would happen if with the Nepoca Kingdom's help we managed to push back the Zulux Dynasty, in return well will gain many benefits that will grow our military powers to 3rd-tier. But if that were to happen, we would become a threat to their Kingdom.]

[This War is a fight of interests. The Nepoca Kingdom won't let either the Zulux or the Istarin Kingdom gain any military power from this war. Their aim is to use the Zulux army to weaken the Istarin military to the point where our military power would degrade to 1st-tier. While doing that, they also wish to wait till our so-called 3rd-order cultivator dies in this invasion.]

[Your Majesty, even I failed to see the big picture. I must your political understanding is even higher than mine. I guess you're really this Kingdom's guiding star. Hahahaha!] Duke Sarlus laughed out loud.

[Your Majesty, what about the Zulux Dynasty? Surely they also must have expected us to ask for an alliance.] Zayne asked.

[I don't know. While I did purposely capture their prime minister and also ignored their warnings and started expanding our territory towards the Silver Meadow Grove and also started building the port city, I guess these all factors must have really infuriated the King. Sometimes having too much ego is not good. The king must have felt humiliated seeing a weak kingdom ignore their warnings and even went as far as to capture their prime and minister and even ask for ransom. Right now, they only have one thought in their mind and that is to destroy our Kingdom.]

[For some Kings, their reputation is everything. The Zulux Dynasty King happens to be a person who really cares about his reputation. Because of his ego, he failed to see that he was falling for my trap.]

Vote for !!! We really need power stones to win this competition.

Chapter 29

[For some Kings, their reputation is everything. The Zulux Dynasty King happens to be a person who cares about his reputation. Because of his ego, he failed to see that he was falling for my trap.] From that day when Aditya had the nightmare in which all the people close to time were killed by the Zulux Dynasty, Aditya had a deep hate for the Zulux King.

From the letter that Zayne sent, Aditya knew that the Prime Minister was going to come on that exact day. Everything went according to his plan. By giving the excuse of food shortage, Aditya further provoked the King by expanding their borders and building the port city.

[Genius! Your Majesty, this old man is starting to feel his blood boil in excitement. Eventually, both Kingdoms will clash at our borders. This situation is like if I am going to die, I am going to drag others with me.]

[Haha! Except that I don't have any plans of dying yet. There is a quote that once was said by a great general named Sun Tzu.

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you can win hundred battles without a single loss."]

[Your Majesty, now I am almost starting to feel sorry for Duke Ryan. He died without knowing that he was used as bait.]

[There is another saying by Sun Tzu. "Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak." By spreading the false news of a 3rd-order cultivator in the Istarin Military, we made both Kingdoms panic. For now, everything is under our control. But I doubt the enemy will dance in our palms for a long time.]

[Yes, we will have to think of an alternative.]

[Luckily for us, we already have an alternative. I am going to meet them in Silver Meadow Grove.]

[I am sure that the Nepoca Kingdom will ask for a tribute for their alliance. They will say that in exchange for protecting your Kingdom, we want tributes to be paid every year. But don't worry, paying tribute will only last for a short period.]

[I trust your Majesty. With you, we have nothing to fear.] After that Aditya ordered the Dukes to increase the recruitment of soldiers. After another 5 minutes of discussion, the meeting finally ended.

"If my plan works out, by the time when this war will end, the Istarin Kingdom would become a 4th-tier if not a 5th-tier Empire." After flying for 10 hours straight, Aditya finally reached his destination. Currently, Aditya was in front of a huge mountain valley.

.

"So this is the Everlasting Highlands." Everything here was covered in a layer of greenery. The Everlasting Highlands was a place in the Silver Meadow Grove. In the middle of the Everlasting Highlands, there was a huge mountain valley where the demon race people lived.

It was said that a long time ago the demon race invaded the world. They had managed to take over the Dying Isle Continent along with 2 other continents that were near the Dying Isle continent. At that time, the entire world was said to have bathed in chaos. The invasion of a foreign race had bought all the races in this world together.

With the combined power of all races, the demon race was pushed back to their world after 90 years of conflict. But in that 90 years, many demon race people had settled down in their conquered areas. Even when the Demon race left, those demons never left this world. Just like how the Beast had several subraces like Lion men and Fox men, the demon race also had variations of subraces.

Today Succubus is one of the most famous races in this world. But before the demon race invaded, there was no Succubus in this world. Succubus, Majin, Devils, Wicked Orcs, goblins, Vampires, Hargraves, fallen angels, Stone Minotaurs, Gilded Trolls, Treants, and Snow Goliaths were some examples of Demon races. Over time the people of this world have come to accept the Demon races, though other than the Devils, Fallen Angels, Vampires, and Succubus races, all other Demonic races are hated, discriminated and used as slaves.

For this reason, many demon races live in the forest, away from civilization. The only reason why the Succubus race become this popular was because of their power of lust. It is said that the Succubus race found its place in prostitute centers. However, with time, nowadays only the lower class Succubus work in prostitute centers. While the rich Succubus families settled down in various Kingdoms across the whole world and become powerful nobles. The same could be said for Vampires, Devils, and Fallen Angels.

Vampires, Devils, and Fallen Angels had extraordinary power almost comparable to elves and Dragons. Even in the Demon Race, the Vampire, Devils, and Fallen Angels races were always at the top. Unlike the Succubus race, the Vampire, Devils, and Fallen Angels joined themselves with small Kingdoms and later they even managed to establish their kingdom.

After the Vampire, Devils, Fallen Angels, and the Succubus, there is the Majin race. Unlike the other 4 races, their number was very less. The Majin race chose to live in forests. The Everlasting Highlands was one of their homes. And Aditya was here to meet them.

.

Aditya could see a village in the center of the valley. According to what Aditya heard, the Majins that live here don't like to communicate or work with other races. Once or twice a year, they would go out to Zraka city with herbs, rare alchemy ingredients, and dead bodies of magical beasts and exchange them for weapons, clothes, salts, and farming tools.

"I hope they would at least hear what I have to say." Aditya slowly landed in front of the Majin Village.

The entire village was fortified by 3 meters tall stone walls. The houses were built with wood.

"Stop!" The entrance was guarded by two Majins. Aditya did what they told him to do. He stopped moving and raised his arms in the air to show that he wasn't here to harm them.

"What do you want outsider?" The two Majins for a moment looked confused seeing Aditya's red wings. Staying in the same place for generations has limited their knowledge of the world. Most of them didn't know what Aditya's race was.

"I am here to talk with your leader." In every Majin race, people had either one or two horns on their foreheads. The guards had two black horns on their foreheads. Generally, the color of their horns is the same as the color of their hair.

"Talk with our leader? I am sorry but we simply can't allow a strange to meet our leader. If you have any message for our leader, we will give it to the village leader." Both Majin guards simply didn't trust Aditya enough to take him inside their village.

"Why don't I introduce myself. I am the King of Istarin Kingdom. Today I came here to meet the leader of your village."

Both Majin guards looked at each other for a second as if deciding who was going to inform the leader.

"You wait here. I will inform our leader." Aditya was not offended by the attitude of the Majins. They didn't even know him. He patiently waited at the entrance for 10 minutes, before the black-haired Majin guard returned.

"You can come with me. But remember, if you do anything suspicious we won't hesitate to attack you." Aditya nodded and followed the Majin guard.

While walking in the villain, Aditya could see many small Majin children with a cute little horn growing on their forehead curiously looking at him. The children were not allowed to go out. So seeing an outsider, their curious nature kicked in.

Seeing the children looking at him, Aditya gently smiled and slightly waved his wings. Just as the children were about to walk toward Aditya to touch his wings that attracted their attention, the children's mothers came and took them away.

'I wonder why everyone is so offensive towards outsiders? Did Duke Ryan do something to this village or what?' After walking for 3 minutes, they stopped in front of a house that was 4 times larger than a normal wooden house.

"This is the house of the village leader." The interior of the house was built more like traditional Japanese houses.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in"

After opening the door, the Majin guard signaled Aditya to go in. Walking inside the room, the first thing that attracted his attention was the old man who was sitting on the floor. The old man was wearing a black Kimono. He had a black horn on the left part of his forehead.

"Welcome to the village of Watford. Why don't you sit down so that we can talk?" Aditya nodded and sat opposite the old man. Between them, there was a low coffee table.

"Why don't we start from the introduction part. My name is Aditya. I am the King of Istarin Kingdom."

[Bonus Chapter 1]

Chapter 30

"I have heard a lot about the Istarin King." Aditya could show a helpless smile. He knew the old man was talking about his reputation as the Alcohol addicted King.

"Anyway, I am Zachary Skullspire. As you know, I am the leader of this Majin Village. I like to be direct and ask his Majesty the reason for his sudden visit especially when a war is going to start in less than 62 hours."

"And here I thought your Majin village didn't have any idea about the war." Aditya replied with a smile.

"Haha! We know a thing or two from the passing wind. We just don't care. For generations, our people have lived in this valley without a care of the outside world."

Knock! Knock!

"Come in" When the door was opened, a beautiful lady wearing light blue Kimono came carrying tea and snacks.

"This is my first son's wife. Her name is Marie Skullspire." Marie looked like she was only 20 years old but in reality, her age was above 35. She was 5 feet 8 inches tall. She had long blue hair that she tied in a bun.

After serving the tea and snacks, Marie bowed and left the room. "Now, before we start our conversation, why don't we drink some tea. I promise you will love this tea." Aditya nodded and after blowing the tea a few times, he took a sip.

"It's really good. This tea is even better than the ones I drink at the palace." The tea that Aditya and everyone in the palace drink is specially imported from another continent.

"Hahaha! I am pleased to know that his Majesty likes our tea. This tea planet naturally grows in the mountains of the Everlasting Highlands. Drinking this tea helps in the quick recovery of mana. If this tea is consumed for a prolonged period, then the mana of a person naturally increases."

"No wonder, I sensed so powerful mana coming from your body." Aditya was very amazed. If possible he wanted everyone in the palace to drink this tea everyone.

"Your Majesty, if you're thinking of buying this tea from us, then I have to disappoint you."

"Why?" Aditya asked while enjoying the tea he was given.

"First of all, you're not the only one who wants our tea. Recently a group of bandits has started stealing our tea. Normally we would have enough tea to even sell it to the merchant. But these few months, our tea supplies have dropped."

"If you want I can help you with the bandit situation." Aditya was naturally doing this to earn Majins trust and respect. When Aditya was walking in the village, he noticed that even the 5 years old children had very high mana for their age. Even a dragon of 5 years old does not have this much mana.

"I thank you for your kind words. But we can handle solve this problem on our own. Now moving from the topic, I would like to ask the reason for his Majesty's sudden visit to our small village. This is not the place where a King should come." Aditya could feel that the old man was trying to distance himself from outsiders. Even though they are troubled by bandits, they are not willing to ask for help.

"My main plan was to invite your people to live in my territory. I was thinking of granting you a piece of land where your people can build a village and settle down. But seeing how much your people hate outsiders I have changed my mind. I have another proposal for your people." Aditya knew that he would be kicked out of this village if he ask the people living here to settle down in his territory.

"Oh! I wonder what proposal the King of Istarin Kingdom has from us?" The old man naturally knew what Aditya was going to request. Zachary has protected this village from wind and storm for multiple generations. He has forgotten how long he has been working as the leader of this village.

"In the future, the three Kingdoms will be involved in this upcoming. If that happens, the chances of my Kingdom surviving are small. But I can increase that percentage by having a team that can keep me updated on the movement of the enemy troops." Majin race is one of those special races that is born for the sole purpose of assassination and infiltration. Every Majin race member was born with a unique ability that allowed them to move through the shadows.

'I already have set up an Assassin division. The members of the assassin division are still not ready. Even Nathan still hasn't recovered his full strength. Nathan can't do everything alone. I will need the Majin race people's help.'

"This lowly man would have to apologize. My people do not wish to participate in the war." Aditya didn't show his disappointment on his face. He instead drank some tea to calm himself.

"I am ready to pay them monthly salaries in royal gold."

"Your Majesty, this is not about money. My people prefer to live here instead of interacting with the outside world."

"I understand. But can you please tell me why the Majins of this village don't like outsiders?"

"A long time ago some human merchants approached us to do trade with them. I agreed to exchange our tea, the skin and bones of magical animals, and whatever herbs that we can find in the forest. For a few months, everything was going well. The human merchant would visit us once a month. We would get our clothes, weapons, farming tools, and salt from the merchant. Everything was going smoothly. Everyone was happy until that day came." Aditya noticed the sadness and regret in the village leader's eyes.

"One day, the human merchant took a liking to one of our female Majin. Everything was going well and after a month both the human and female Majin named Sara got married. Sara and her husband decided to stay in the village. Every month Sara's husband would spend 10 days in the village. But one day, Sara's husband never returned. We even sent our male Majins to look for the merchant in Zraka city."

"Later, we learned that the human merchant was a despicable person. He would go from village to village and marry one of the women from each village. At that time, Sara was pregnant with that man's child."

"After learning about the truth, we killed the human merchant. But this incident left a bad stereotypical image in the village Majin's mind. That was the first time we had tried to open up to an outsider. From then, no one in the village likes any outsiders in this village."

"Wyvern attack!"

Aditya and Zachary looked at each other. The next second, both of them reacted and appeared outside. Zachary moved using their innate ability to travel using a shadow.

"What the hell?" Aditya raised his head when saw Black Wyvern attacking the village. The Wyvern had the tail of a viper a venomous snake, two black wings that were 3 meters long, and two legs. The Wyvern was 7 meters tall.

"Everyone, hurry up and go to the underground shelter. We cannot fight this Wyvern." The whole village was in chaos. 1/10 of the entire village was already destroyed by the Wyvern's attack.

Aditya spread his red wings and flew off to the sky. The Wyvern seems to have noticed Aditya. It quickly turned its attention to Aditya. Every Majin in the village stopped for a second to look at what was happening.

"This Wyvern should be at Peak 2nd-order."

ROARRR!

With a thunderous roar, the Wyvern charged at the Crimson Dragon at its full speed.

When the Wyvern was about 15 meters away, it opened its mouth showing its sharp fangs, and fired a wave of black flame at the Crimson Dragon.

"So this is the black flame." In this world, flames are divided into ranks. Ordinary fires are orange while the tip is red. Certain individuals could flame of different colors. The black flame can be used when the darkness element is combined with the fire element, resulting in the formation of a powerful flame.

Generally, beings who have fire and dark nature affinity can use black flame. For magical beasts, some unique beasts possess the ability to use black flame. This Wyvern is one of those unique Magical Beasts.

"The Black flame is nothing in front of the Crimson Flame of a Heavenly Dragon." Seeing the wave of black flame that was 15 meters in size, that threatened to devour the heavens and earth, in front of such a devastating attack, the King still looked as calm as the ocean.

Crimson Blaze!

A small wisp of Crimson red flame was prepared by Aditya to block the Wyvern's attack. Although the black flame couldn't even come near the Crimson flame in terms of power, the attack still had the power to harm Aditya in his human form.

Booom!

Just like he had expected, the Wish of Crimson flame was powerful enough to black the huge wave of black flame. The collision between the two attacks resulted in a huge explosion that for a moment covered the sky with black smoke.

The Wyvern finally regained some of its senses. Seeing the Crimson flame, the Wyvern's instinct knew that this flame was extremely dangerous for him. The eyes that were previously filled with anger now were filled with fear.

When the smoke cleared up, the Wyvern finally stopped and looked at Aditya in fear.

"Had enough? or do you want more?" The Wyvern repeatedly shook his head. Aditya also relaxed his guards. Now that the Wyvern has been dealt with, he needed to have a second discussion with the village leader.

"Amazing, to think I would find a being who is capable of using the legendary Crimson flame. I have to capture you for my experiment."

Under the dark stormy clouds, several Wyverns flew towards the Majin village. Followed by two black 7 meters big Wyverns, there was a Wyvern that looked slightly different than other Wyverns. This Wyvern was 10 meters in size. However, unlike the other Wyverns, this one had blue lightning constantly flickering around its body.

The eyes of this Wyvern were pitch black, there was no white part. There was a man wearing a black cloak who was riding the Wyvern. The man was holding a black 2 meters long bone staff.

"I am Ash."

"I am sorry, who are you again?"

are coming

Vote for this novel. Today is the second last day of this competition and we must win it.

Chapter 31

"I am Ash." The man who was riding a 10 meters big Wyvern and was followed by two other Wyverns introduced himself like a King. Honestly, the whole thing looked so cringe especially for Aditya who was an actual ruler.

"I am sorry, who are you again?" Aditya in a mocking tone. This name reminded him of a certain anime character from the earth. Even after 2 decades, that character didn't age. Instead, with time, the character's age seemed to be moving in reverse.

"Who are you?" The man asked while the Wyvern moved in his direction.

"Let's just say I am a traveler. So, I assume you're not just here to show off your Wyverns, are you?" On the surface, Aditya might look very relaxed and calm but inwardly his mind was running faster than the speed of light. He was trying to think of a way of taking down this man as soon as possible. But even for Aditya fighting three Peak 2nd-order Wyverns and a beginner 3rd-order at the same time would be very difficult if not impossible.

'The Wyvern's eyes are strangely pitch black. There is no emotion in their eyes. It was like they are already dead.'

"You're pretty arrogant. It looks like after managing to push a singly Wyvern, you assuming that you can defeat me. How bold? Let's see if you can fight against three Wyverns at the same time."

Mind Controlling puppet!

Raising the bone staff in the air, the man who was a mage with dark nature released a black bolt of lightning that hit that Wyvern that Aditya just defeated. As soon as the Wyvern was hit with the black lightning, all the emotions in the Wyvern's eyes were erased as its eyes turned pitch black like the other Wyverns.

'As I thought, this man is a cultivator that specializes in mind controlling.' Without wasting any time, he took out a 2-star sword that had runes drawn over it. During this whole week, Aditya was busy practicing his rune magic. He even stopped sleeping at night and replaced it with only a few hours of nap. He would start his days by drawing various rune spells. After exhausting his man in using rune magic, he would do the administration work. Whenever Aditya recovered his mana, he was always giving his time in rune magic.

"This sword is really interesting. Not only this sword is a 2-star weapon but it also has been enchanted with runes." The man named Ash observed the 2-star sword that had red runes drawn all over it.

[Sword of Crimson Blaze

[Mid 2-star]

[Description]: - This 2-star sword was forged by an experienced blacksmith. The power of this sword has increased by several folds after being enchanted by someone who has mastered all the beginner class rune magic. This weapon was forged as an experiment.

[Function 1]: - This sword holds the power of Crimson Blaze. The sword can increase the power of fire-type attacks by 50%.

[Function 2]: - There is a 10% chance of landing a critical strike on a beginner 3rd-order and a 25% chance of landing a critical strike on a 2nd-order.]

'No matter how many times I read the description and the function of this sword, I can't stop being impressed.' This was the very first weapon that Aditya used his rune magic to enchant. Using Charm of Inferno Rune skill, after some failures he was finally able to add fire-elemental buffs to the 2-star sword. Extra 10% fire damage was added due to the passive skill Charm of Inferno Rune.

"This sword. From where did you get it?" The man named Ash asked with a curious look.

"Why bother asking this kind of question, when we're about to start our fight."

"Boy, today a dragon is going to be killed by a lesser dragon."

Boom!

The 7 meters long Wyvern charged at Aditya without any emotions. Those wyverns looked no different from machines. Seeing the three Wyverns taking a deep breath and opening their mouths, he knew they were going to blast a wave of black flame from both sides.

Knowing what his opponent was planning, Aditya hurriedly slashed his 2-star sword at the two Wyverns who were coming from the front. With the slash, a huge arc of red flame burst out of the Crimson sword towards the two Wyverns.

Knowing that another attack was coming from the back, he used his skill Crimson blaze to cover his 2 meters long dragon wings in red Flame.

Boom!

The entire village shook from the shockwave and the sound of the explosion. Every Majin in the village was looking at the battle. Since Majin cannot fly, they were powerless against enemies that can fly. Although they can hide in the shadow, fighting an enemy in the air was beyond them.

Covering the dragon wings with Crimson flame didn't do any harm to Aditya since his body was naturally resistant to his own flames, mainly due to his heavenly Crimson bloodline. By covering his back with his flame, he managed to block the black fire attack of the first Wyvern.

While by sending a powerful gigantic arc of red crimson flame that was over 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, Aditya bought himself some extra few seconds to focus on each Wyvern at a time. While the two Wyverns couldn't dodge the huge arc of flame that burned their bodies. If not for their black Wyvern scales, they would have died.

Taking advantage of the black smoke that now had covered the sky above the Majin village, Aditya using his Lunar vision moved super fast and appeared behind the first Wyvern who was momentarily blinded by the black smoke.

"Die"

Aditya raised his Crimson sword with the intention of cutting the Wyvern's neck, but just when his sword was about to touch the Wyvern's neck, a blue bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and hit Aditya's chest sending him flying more than 100 meters, making him crush land on a rocky mountain.

Bang!

Seeing Aditya getting hit and sent flying like a cannon ball, all the Majins in the village panicked. Now that the person who has been fighting to protect their village was gone, they were doomed. Even if they can hide in the shadows, if the Wyverns destroy their entire village, then everything will be over for them.

"I have to help him. Though I can't fight enemies who can sky, I can still give the opportunity that he needs." The old man who has enjoying tea with Aditya a few minutes ago went back to his house to look for something that he swore never to use.

Cough!

"That hurts! I could have ended the fight in a minute if that beginner 3rd-order Wyvern had not intervened with its lightning bolt." Wiping the blood that he just coughed out, Aditya extended his Majestic crimson wings, and once again he flew off to the sky.

Aditya was still feeling his chest burning from the pain of a 3rd-order attack. If not for his red Crimson Heavenly dragon scales covering his body like armor, he would have been severely injured in that attack. "Fortunately, I have been using my dragon scales from the very start."

"How did that feel?" Ash asked with a mocking look.

"I admit, I was a little reckless back there which let my guard down. I wasn't expecting you to use your beginner 3rd-order pet to stop me. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised considering this is the nature of your character."

Hearing Aditya's mocking words, finally, the look on Ash's face changed. He gritted his teeth in anger. He looked like he couldn't wait to torture Aditya. "It seems you still have a lot of vitality left in you. Then how about facing 4 Wyverns at the same time. Since I am the villain here, I get to do the cheating."

Looking at 4 Wyverns that stood 50 meters away from him, Aditya felt he shouldn't have made Ash angry. "Sometimes I should really keep my mouth close." Even when Aditya was standing before three peak 2nd-order and one beginner 3rd-grade Wyverns, there was no nervousness or fear in his heart. Maybe Aditya's Heavenly Crimson Bloodline was changing him. No matter how powerful a Wyvern is, at the end of the day all dragons looked down on Wyvern as if they were lesser Dragons.

A normal 2nd-order would have died 10 times to kill a Peak 2nd-order Wyvern. But here Aditya was facing three peak 2nd-order and one beginner 3rd-grade Wyverns and was still pushing them back. This itself was a huge feat that no one in the whole world has managed to achieve.

"Can he really win against 4 Wyverns?"

"I don't know. At first, I thought he can't. But seeing how powerful he is, I am not certain."

"No matter how powerful he is, I don't think he can defeat 4 Wyverns. There is a vast difference between a Peak 2nd-order and a beginner 3rd-order. Adding to the fact that he is currently facing off three peak 2nd-order and one beginner 3rd-grade Wyverns, I think he won't even be able to last 30 seconds. We have no choice but to hide in our shadows and wait for the enemy to leave."

"I don't know if he will win or lose. But I am praying for him to win. Otherwise, that man never let us live in peace."

The second chapter of the day!!! More chapters are coming. Keep voting for more!!!

Chapter 32

Facing 4 Wyverns, the Crimson Dragon wasn't the slightest bit afraid. Once again, the four Wyverns prepared to attack.

Crimson Blaze!

Just as Aditya created a red crimson spread of flame, the 4th Wyvern the beginner 3rd-order moved very fast. While the 4th Wyvern moved to meet Aditya head-on, the other three Wyverns stayed back preparing to fire their black flame.

"So fast" Seeing how fast the leader Wyvern was moving towards him, Aditya was forced to stop his Crimson attack knowing that he was short on time. And his simple attack won't harm a beginner 3rd-order that has around [1200+] total stats. Also, Wyverns are known to have very high mana and strength. A beginner 3rd-order Wyvern holds the power to even defeat an average mid-3rd-order due to its high mana and strength, which gives it extra stats points.

Even with its gigantic 10 meters body, it was moving super fast. Before Aditya knew it, the Wyvern was already in front of him.

Instead of using magical attacks, the Wyvern looked at Aditya in disdain and went to finish the Crimson dragon with its sharp teeth. Just as the Wyvern opened its mouth intending to tear Aditya tear, he using this chance fired a molten volt in the Wyvern's mouth.

Boom!

However, instead of showing that pained expression, contrary to Aditya's expectations, the Wyvern replied with a sudden blue bolt of lightning that once again sent him flying like a cannonball, causing him to fly more than 50 meters and crush on a 10-meter flat boulder that instantly cracked from the impact.

Bang!

Cough!

"Not again." Aditya for a split second had lowered his guard to see the Wyvern's pained expression as earlier when the Wyvern showed at Aditya in disdain, he felt his pride as a Dragon wouldn't allow any other lesser Dragon to mock him.

"I can't fight this Wyvern without going all out." He didn't want to go all out because he wanted to preserve his strength for the big battle he would fight in less than 61 hours. "It's not like I have any other choice."

"Besides, I can't stand that lesser dragon's mocking and disdain gaze." Any Dragon in Aditya's place would get super angry if they saw lesser Dragon giving them a mocking look. Wyvern was considered to have ancestral connections with Dragons but they were not true dragons, they were considered a lesser dragons.

Blast of Divine Fury!

Booom!

Everyone Peak 2nd-order in the valley felt the sudden wave of mana that came out of Aditya's mouth.

Before anyone could understand what was going on, Aditya started floating back to the sky. However, unlike the previous times, the playful Aditya was long gone. It was as if Aditya has become another person. Except for his appearance, his aura and his temperament had changed. Unlike the calm Aditya that everyone in the Majin village saw and was familiar with, this Aditya looked very wild and fierce. There was nothing gentle about this current Crimson Dragon.

"What happened?" The man named Ash, who was responsible for this attack and also was controlling the 4 Wyverns couldn't help but ask out loud. Unfortunately for him, he and everyone in the Majin village was going to get the answer to their curiosity in a cruel way.

ROARRRRRR!

A powerful roar escaped from the Crimson King's mouth. The roar was so loud, that it caused the elderly people in the Majin village to directly faint. With the thunderous roar, even heaven seems to shake as the storm clouds turned even more chaotic.

All the previous emotions that were on Aditya's face were erased and replaced with a cold expression. Those crimson pupils seem to have the terrifying ability to make one's soul tremble for eternity.

Dragon Transformation!

Boom!

Another strong wave of mana spread throughout the valley. This time even the small Majin children were able to feel the Crimson Mana that spread around the valley.

A bright red light started glowing on Aditya's entire body. The red light was so bright that the magical beasts even living in the deeper part of the deep Silver Meadow Grove were able to sense the awakening of a heavenly monster.

Everyone in the Majin village couldn't take off their eyes. In front of their eyes, they were witnessing the first full dragon transformation of a Heavenly Crimson Dragon. This whole world was experiencing the birth of a Heavenly Crimson Dragon after countless millenniums.

[Ding! Due to the host activating his Heavenly Crimson bloodline and going through the first full dragon transformation, several passive skills have been modified due to the host's bloodline.]

[Ding! Skill Blast of Divine Fury has been activated. Due to the host having a heavenly bloodline, the mana required to keep the Blast of Divine Fury skill activated has been reduced.]

[Ding! The Passive skill Blast of Divine Fury has been modified because of the Host's Crimson Heavenly bloodline.]

[Ding! Passive skill Eruption Wave also has been modified.]

[Ding! Passive skill Molten Bolt has been modified and forcefully evolved.]

[Ding! Molten bolt has evolved to become Crimson Blink.]

The red light that was coming from Aditya started changing its shape. The outline of a human figure started to disappear, and Aditya's body started growing in size. His wings started growing much longer than before. His arms started growing, turning into huge claws. The shape of his head, and neck, also started growing.

When the bright red light stopped glowing, even though all the 4 Wyverns were under Ash's control, just standing before the Crimson being, they instinctively started lowering their heads to bow to the Crimson Dragon.

"What are you guys doing?" Ash tried to use his mind-controlling spell to stop the Wyverns that were under his control to not bowing their heads to the Crimson Dragon.

"Grandpa, what is this thing? What happened to that outsider?" A small innocent Majin child asked this question to her grandfather.

"This is the legendary Dragon. The race that stands at the top of the food chain. The strongest race in this whole world. Our savior has come." Just like this elderly Majin, many other Majin looked at the Crimson Dragon with endless respect and admiration. Everyone had a single thought and that is their savior had finally arrived.

Even though the Majins have never really seen a Dragon, from the stories that were passed down from their ancestors, every elderly Majin in the village knew who this creature was.

Zachary, who had just come out from the underground room hearing the loud roar and feeling the mana that spread from Aditya, Looking at the Crimson Dragon that seems to have just awakened, Zachary almost kneeled down as the moment for which they have been waiting for finally came.

"So, the legends were true after all."

At this point, Ash had stopped caring about the villagers that he came to kill. Instead, his entire body was trembling seeing the Crimson being stare at his eyes.

100 meters away from Ash, there was a Crimson dragon that was 5 meters in height. Its red pupils with vertical slits seem to have the power to put fear in one's heart. Its entire body was covered in red shiny Crimson scales. The scales seem to shine brighter than any gold in this world. It had a long neck, red spikes growing on its spine, and red scales giving it a majestic appearance. Large and sharp red claws that could tear anything. Large and leathery Crimson bat-like wings that were over 3 meters long.

Despite being only 5 meters in height, the appearance of a Crimson Dragon was enough to remain the Wyverns who has the descendant here. The lesser Dragons by instinct lowered their heads and dared not to look at the Crimson Heavenly Dragon.

"What are you?" Ash at this point had lost the arrogance that made him look like a villain. Now he looked like a child that was being bullied by a monster. He couldn't stop his trembling body. His face and body were covered in sweat. Just being in front of that Crimson Dragon made him feel like he was seeing his soul burn in those Crimson fires.

[I am the Dragon that you shouldn't have messed with.] Aditya spoke in a deep tone. His voice itself seems to make the weak Magical Beasts living in the valley tremble in fear.

The next second, a crimson spear that was entirely made out of Crimson flame was shot toward Ash. Ash tried his best to use protective spells to block the attack. A seven-layered barrier formed in front of him. But despite making a seven-layered barrier out of magic, Ash didn't feel safe.

Crack!

Boom!

The crimson spear without stopping broke the 7 layers like breaking glass and easily made a fist size hole in Ash's stomach.

Cough!

[Ding! You have killed a Peak 1st-order. You have gained some experience points.] Just as Ash fell to the ground, the pitch black eyes of the 4 Wyverns returned to normal. After regaining their senses, they quickly once again lowered their heads in front of the Crimson Dragon. Since Wyverns were lesser Dragons, it was an unwritten rule to show their uttermost respect to a Dragon.

While Aditya wasn't just any simple dragon. He was the Heavenly Crimson Dragon. With Aditya's bloodline, he can command any lesser Dragons.

The beginner 3rd-order Wyvern lowered his head and spoke in a respectful tone.

[My King, we have offended you. We failed to recognize your power because of that damned human. We were under the mind-controlling spell. We apologize for everything that we have done to you. Please forgive these lowly servants]

[Huh!!!!!]

[Excuse me, what is going on here?]

Guys keep voting for this novel. Today is the last day. We need all the votes we can get to win. I will upload the remaining 2 today along with a third chapter if we can get [50 power stone]

[If you like this novel, then support this novel with power stones.]

Chapter 33

9 Km away from Zraka city, a fortress was built along the borders of the Istarin Kingdom. The fortress was built on the top of a mountain. The Istarin Kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Mountain Ranges. Around 95% of the Istarin Land was covered in mountains. But except for very few mountains, almost all the mountains were not that big.

The Zraka city fortress was built on one of these mountain ranges. The border between the Istarin Kingdom and the Zulux Dynasty was separated by high mountain ranges. This made it hard for the Zulux Dynasty to invade the Istarin Land. Since the Istarin Kingdom was full of mountain ranges, in the past, Nepoca and the Zulux Dynasty never showed any interest in capturing a kingdom of no worth.

However, after years of alliance, both Kingdoms agreed to make a path through the mountain ranges. The road was curved between two mountain slopes. The road was wide enough to fit a football pitch.

"Since the enemy is going to attack from the front, we don't have to worry about the enemy dividing their forces and coming from other sides. We can give all of our focus and attention to the front."

"There is one problem. Even if we don't have to worry about the enemy attacking from other sides, from what I have heard the enemy troops' numbers are too big."

Without Aditya, his 7 generals along with 400 soldiers had reached the Zraka city fortress, which was their first and most important defense line against the Zulux Dynasty. Aditya already had informed Zayne about the arrival of his 7 generals.

Even Zayne didn't say anything but inwardly he felt slaves were not worthy of becoming generals. If the people were to learn this, the Istarin military's reputation would take a big hit. But after meeting the 7 generals, Zayne's impression of them changed. Despite being only Peak 1st order, each general was perfectly capable of taking down a 2nd-order. In the military, respect came from strength. Seeing his new allies were this strong, all the soldiers began to respect them like they did Zayne.

Currently, the 7 generals were having a meeting. While others were discussing their plans, Nathan, the leader of the Assassin division was out scouting, trying to gather as much information as possible. His role in the war was to gather information, assassin, and protect the Kingdom from the shadows.

"If you're here then who is protecting and looking after the Zraka city?" Asked Henry, the cold and quiet general.

"I have left my fiancé, along with 5,000 troops to protect the Zraka city."

Just Zayne finished speaking, and from the shadows, a figure emerged. "Nathan, did you find anything?" Scott, the dark elf and the leader of the first division asked.

"We have bad news. Even in this weather an advance party of 30,000 troops is marching towards the fortress. The commander of the advance party is no other than the right-hand man of general Darren Ellies." Hearing the words of Nathan, everyone's faces turned grim.

For a moment no one said anything. The reinforcement sent by Duke Sarlus is yet to arrive. Meaning that 20,000 troops had to face an army of 30,000.

"Duke Ryan previously had about 30,000 troops. 5,000 of them were annihilated by his Majesty. While I had to leave 5,000 troops to guard and protect the Zraka city, that means we have to fight an enemy of 30,000 with 20,000 soldiers."

"I say, this is way better than facing 60,000 enemy troops. As long as we keep our causalities minimum then we might have enough troops to even face the main enemy troops. Honestly, I don't know if this is a blessing in disguise or something else." The fox queen had matured a lot in this one week. She now can control her charm even better. Each of her words was filled with pride and dignity.

"So, we have to aim for a quick victory. Nathan, when will the advance party arrive?"

Nathan closed his eyes for a moment as if trying to calculate the time that the advance party will take to arrive. "Not more than 10 hours."

"What happened if the storm starts before the 10 hours?" Everyone looked at Amber in surprise. "If the storm does starts, then we and our troops can take shelter in the fortress but the advance party will have no way of taking shelter. I don't if the enemy general is taking a big gamble or he is just too confident. Either way, if the storm does starts, we will have a huge advantage in this fight."

"The storm would leave the advance troop tried and exhausted. We can easily kill an army of 30,000 exhausted soldiers with very few causalities."

Tyler looked at the sky which was covered with dark clouds. "Let's do hope that mother nature will help us in this war. Otherwise, the chances of winning would be very slim."

Just as everyone hoped and prayed, after 8 hours the storm finally started. As soon as the storm started, every soldier was ordered to take shelter in the fortress.

Rumble!

Along with the storm, loud rumbles of thunder were also heard. The Istarin forces hid in the fortress and used the storm to take proper rest. While the advance party of 30,000 wasn't that lucky. They were only one hour away from reaching the Istarin Fortress when the sudden storm hit them.

Rumble!

"What's happening? I was told that the storm wouldn't start until the day after tomorrow." Standing in the storm as the loud thunderous sounds of lightning shook the earth, the leader of the advancing party looked panicked.

Aris was the name of the commander leading 30,000 troops. "The lady Tamar predicted that the storm won't start until the day after tomorrow. Was Lady Tamar's prediction wrong?" Lady Tamar was an elderly elf who served the King of the Zulux dynasty. Lady Tamar had this unique power to predict when the weather will change.

Never, even once Lady Tamar's prediction had failed. This is why, after knowing that the storm won't start until the day after tomorrow, Aris was given the responsibility of leading half of the total army to capture the Zraka fortress.

So that when the storm ends, the main army can come and launch a full-scale war on the Istarin Kingdom. "Sir, Maybe Lady Tamar's prediction isn't wrong. This was the work of some external forces."

"You idiot, don't nonsense. I have never heard of anyone who can control the weather. Even if there were some people who could control the weather, why would they help Aditya? More important this is not the time nor the place to talk about things that don't even matter anymore."

"Commander, what we should do? The soldiers are having a hard time resisting the storm." Unlike the storms on earth, the storm on this world was 10 times stronger. Due to the presence of mana in this world, every matter in this world is influenced by mana. The weather and the atmosphere were no exception to this.

While 2nd-order cultivators still can endure the storm without much effort, the 1st-order cultivators who were mostly soldiers were having a difficult time.

"We are in the mountains, there is no place for us to take shelter. At this point, it is impossible to go back. I don't even know what to do in this situation." The commander named Aris saw no path except for charging ahead and taking a huge risk to defeat the enemy with their exhausted and tired soldiers.

"We will keep charging ahead. Rather than turning around or waiting here, we will continue our march and attack the fortress. Our 30,000 number is more than enough to take down the Istarin troops and find shelter in their fortress." No one can disobey the commander's order. With Aris's orders, all the troops were forced to continue their march even in this storm. The storm had caused their speed to slow down.

Even though Aris said those words, somewhere deep in his heart he knew that the chances of defeating the Istarin troops who probably have been taking shelter in the fortress would be extremely difficult. Aris knew that this was his only option. The option of turning around and going back didn't even come to his mind as the distance was too long for the soldiers to handle.

In this strong wing and rain, each 1st-order soldier was protecting their bodies with a layer of mana. The layer of mana was reducing the wind pressure by a small margin. With each passing second, the soldiers were losing their mana which was making them exhausted.

"Let's hope that this risk will work." Aris was ready to sacrifice 2/3 of his troops if he can take the fortress. As long as he can take the fortress, he would not be punished by the Zulux Dynasty otherwise only God knows what will happen to him.

Aris cared more about his reputation and the punishment of the king than the lives of some lowly soldiers.

"Ara! Ara! Now that I have done my part to help your dear husband, you shouldn't forget your wife. Perhaps I should ask for a reward." Standing in the sky, there were two women looking at the Zraka fortress.

One of these women was the guild leader of the Seeker of Impurity. "little Sister, now that I have done my part, can I leave everything to you? This big sister has lots of work. I have to return to my continent."

"How many times I will have to tell you to not call me sister? It's not like you're going to listen to me. I will arrange a teleportation array for your return."

"Do you think our husband can win this war?"

"I don't know. We are forbidden from directly helping him. But that doesn't mean we can't help him indirectly. With this storm, I am not about his victory but the casualties number from his side will definitely decrease by a lot."

"I really want to meet him. I wonder how much he has changed."

[3rd Bonus chapter of this week. Another one is coming. Vote for more chapters!!!]

Chapter 34

"I really want to meet him. I wonder how much he has changed." The woman was wearing a white dress and just like the guild leader, she also was hiding her face.

"We should leave. If someone saw us, the problems would only increase." The next second both figures disappeared from the sky.

As if this was the will of the god, when 30,000 exhausted soldiers reached the fortress, the storm had slowed down. The rain was still showing no signs of stopping but the strong eastern winds have stopped blowing.

"Sir the enemy troops are here." From the fortress, the 8 generals couldn't help but feel happy seeing the exhausted troops of the enemy.

"Prepare for attacking. We shall not let the enemy commander flee."

The party of 30,000 soldiers just stopped 1 km away from the fortress. Fortunately, the storm had slowed down, this made things a little easier for them as they no longer has to use mana to protect their bodies. "Now that the storm has slowed down, this is our perfect opportunity to fight and capture the fortress."

But one thing that Aris failed to notice or pretended not to notice was the bad condition of his soldiers. 30,000 exhausted soldiers facing 20,000 soldiers who were in full health.

Soon the enemy came out to greet the Zulux Dynasty forces. Standing at the front, Zayne and the other 7 generals were holding their weapons. Aris stared at Zayne, thinking that he was the enemy commander. For a minute of silence, both parties reacted.

[Kill the Istarin soldiers. Today we will bath in the blood of the enemy and claim glory for our Dynasty. Charge.] The soldiers who were already half exhausted started charging following their commander Aris.

[Today if we don't fight back and defend this fortress then the lives of our families will suffer under the Zulux Dynasty. We will defend our land. We will protect our families. Now my brother and sister, charge toward enemies. Do not fear death. Turn your fear into your weapon. Kill the invaders!!!!!]

Glory to the Istarin Kingdom!

Charge!!!!!!

Unlike enemy troops who were tired, the Istarin troops were full of stamina and health. Zayne's words triggered the soldiers to feel their blood boiling. With full excitement and anger, they followed their generals into the battle.

Scott riding a horse, he had a 2-star golden bow in his hand. This bow was given to him by his Majesty. Aditya later used his rune skills to enchant the 2-star weapon, making it even more powerful than before.

[Blood Sucker Bow]

[Peak 2-star]

[Description]: - This bow was forged by a powerful dark elf. This bow is the peak definition of a 2-star weapon. This bow later was enchanted by the Rune Monarch. This bow has reached the peak limit of 2-star.

[Function 1]: - The bow increases the power of normal arrows. The arrows shot using his bow will have [50+] damaging powers.

[Function 2]: - This bow lets the user shoot up to 5 arrows at the same time. But every time when this function is used, it will cost [05+] mana.

[Function 3]: - The power of the special arrows which contain the mana of the user will be increased by 20%.]

Having a 2-star bow was like a cheat item. Scott didn't even need to use any extra mana to power his arrows to kill his enemies. The bow itself increased the power of his normal arrows by [50+], thus giving him the power to kill an average 1st-order soldier with just one shoot.

"I can't thank his Majesty enough for giving me this bow." As someone who specialized in using a bow, Scott loved this bow very much.

Sitting on the horse, Scott's both hands moved very quickly. Each time he would grab one arrow and kill one soldier. He never missed even a single target. The arrows never hit his allies.

Bang!

Bang!

Although it was a little hard for him to shoot arrows in the rain. As the rain was affecting the direction and the distance of his arrows. Although the effect wasn't that big, for someone who had perfect accuracy, this was a troublesome matter. The rain was also limiting his vision and range. But even with that, Scott was killing enemies faster than any soldier ever could. No enemy soldier even managed to come near him. Whenever they crossed the 10 meters mark, Scott's arrow would take them down.

On the left side of Scott, Tyler, the man who has already fought multiple wars was madly swinging his 2-star greatsword. With their mana hearts being repaired along with the pills that Julia gave them every day, just in 10 days' time, Tyler has managed to recover his cultivation to near Peak 1st-order. Along with the experience he had in fighting, Tyler could even take down a beginner 2nd-order.

"Who is this mad bull?"

"I don't know. I never even heard of him."

"I think ahhhh!" The enemy soldiers didn't even get the chance to react when the greatsword cut their bodies in half.

Tyler had gone berserk. Any soldier that came in front of him was cut in half. The 2-star greatsword now has been painted with the red fresh blood of the enemy soldiers. When the enemy archers tried to take down Tyler from the distance, he would sometimes grab one of their soldiers and use that soldier as a meat shield. Or he would just use the greatsword to protect his body while leaving his arms and legs exposed.

He was slaughtering the enemy soldiers like he was cutting grass. Despite the enemy's number, it was not the enemy who was pushing back Tyler. It was the other way around. The mad bull was singlehandedly pushing the enemy while increasing his kill count.

"Awesome. I never knew general Tyler was this wild." The soldiers that fought behind Tyler, couldn't help but take a moment to look at their mighty general in admiration.

"Those scars on his body weren't meant for show."

"Just look at him. He was a machine. A mad bull who seems to have gone berserk. He is pushing the enemy." The soldiers who were fighting behind Tyler, looked at their general like they were looking at their idols. To the enemies, Tyler might be the mad bull but to them, Tyler was the coolest person they have ever seen.

"Is it me or does Tyler looks too excited." The dark elf Scott looked at how madly he was unleashing his greatsword on the enemy troops. The enemy troops were already exhausted and now in front of a mad bull, they had no chance of stopping him.

While Scott and Tyler were fighting on the left side, on the right side Scott, Nathan the leader of the shadow division was doing something that was even crazier. Unlike Scott and Tyler, Nathan was using his shadow movement ability to slaughter a bunch of soldiers in a single attack.

Shadow!

Nathan once again jumped into the shadow and disappeared. The next moment before anyone could realize what was going on, a thick dark wire strangled 13 enemy soldiers. Nathan came out of the shadow and pulled the wire, which resulted in the 13 soldiers' bodies being cut into pieces.

The whole scene was so frightening that the soldiers who were fighting behind Nathan felt a shiver running down their spine.

"Fortunately, Master Nathan is on our side. Otherwise, we never could have stopped this monster."

"Yeah. Even though his cultivation is the same as ours, he was way stronger than any soldier."

"That's given. Otherwise, his majesty wouldn't have made Nathan one of the generals. Though it would be more accurate to call him a shadow general."

Bang!

"Dammit, what the hell is happening? We can't even spot him, how the f**k we are supposed to fight this demon?"

"Don't ask me."

Before the soldiers could say anything more, Nathan silenced them and freed their souls from this mortal world with a 2-star dagger given by his majesty.

Ahhhh!

Bang!

Nathan was forced to stop when the earth shook a little. He turned his head to his right to find Josh, the lion man smashing everything with his 2-star hammer.

In front of the 7 feet tall giant, no human soldiers were able to stand on his attacks. Each time he smashed the hammer on the soldiers, the ground around him tremble, making the enemies even more frightened than they already were.

The lion men had his strength increased by a large margin when Aditya enchanted his 2-star hammer. In front of him, the soldiers were smashed to death. Sometimes he would even tear the soldiers with his bare hands.

If Tyler was the human mad bull, then Josh was barbaric. The word savage perfectly described how cruelly he killed his enemies. His killing style was so frightening that even the Istarin soldiers were feeling pity for their enemy.

At normal times, Josh would be an easy-going and fun guy. But when he stepped his foot on the battlefield, it was like the man himself had changed. Bringing out endless savagery from him.

"I would never want to become general Josh's enemy."

"Not just you. Anyone who sees his savage fighting style wouldn't want to mess with him." On the left side, Scott, Tyler, Nathan, and Josh were pushing back the enemy by taking the lead. Even though the 4 of them were only 1st-order, their enemies felt like they were facing 2nd-orders.

However, the story was a little different on the right side.

[4th Bonus chapter of this week. Thank for all the votes and support. I appreciate every single power stones you all have given to this novel. I hope you all will continue to read this novel.]

Another chapter is coming in few hours!!!

Chapter 35

On the other right side, Henry and Eleanor were killing enemies together. Unlike others, Henry and Eleanor's killing speed wasn't that fast. Both of them were trying to preserve their strength for the later part of the battle. The fight on the right side was less chaotic.

However, Amber was a different story. With the awakening of her Royal Fox queen bloodline, her stats have taken a massive leap. She now can fight with mid 2nd-order.

Among everyone, Amber's agility was the highest. She was known for her agility. With the awakening of her bloodline, she also managed to awaken the fire element, giving her the ability to learn fire-type techniques. Amber was the only person who was cultivating both body and magical paths. Thanks to the pills that Julia gave her, combined with her hard work, Amber's cultivation speed was fast enough to compete with the geniuses of this world.

Holding a 2-star curved dagger that Aditya enchanted with rune magic, Amber appeared behind the enemy troops.

"Time to see how much this dagger can do."

[Angel of Slaughter]

[Peak 2-star dagger]

[Description]: - A special type of dagger that was forged by an experienced blacksmith. This dagger was later enchanted with rune magic which further improved the ranks and power of the Angel of slaughter.]

[Function 1]: - The angel of slaughter can increase the power of fire-type attacks by [10%]. The dagger gives the host [20%] resistance against fire-type attacks from any 2nd-order being.

[Function 2]: - The dagger has been coated with a unique poison. [80%] chances of poisoning any 2nd-order or lower-order beings. [5%] chances of poisoning a 3rd-order cultivator. The poison won't work against those who have poison-resistant skills.]

Swoosh!

Amber started attacking the enemy soldiers from behind. Her speed was so fast that non of the soldiers were able to see her coming. She moved like a lightning snake within the crowd of soldiers. When she passed by a soldier, a second or two later, other soldiers would find that soldier dead with a cut on his throat.

Starfall explosion!

After finding herself surrounded by enemy soldiers, Amber created a yellow gold star made out of the fire. The flame star was 10 meters in size. Seeing the attack above their heads, many tried to stop Amber with low-level attacks that she easily avoided using her agility.

Booooom!!!

Leaving behind the 10 meters big golden star that was made out of the fire, Amber appeared 100 meters away and continued with her killing not bothering to look back at the loud explosion that instantly took away the lives of hundred soldiers.

The entire battle was a one-sided massacre. The army of the Zulux Dynasty was already exhausted. Many didn't even have the mana to use any spells. This gave the soldiers of the Istarin Kingdom a chance. Taking advantage of the enemy's exhaustion, they continuously launched attacking spells.

With the 7 personal generals sent by Aditya, the battle soon became a one-sided slaughter. The Zulux dynasty army was being pushed back while being on the defense. Many were struggling to even properly defend themselves. Despite their massive number, they were overwhelmed by the Istarin soldiers.

"This is bad. If this continues I will lose this battle." Aris realized what was happening. He clearly knew that bringing an exhausted army to fight was a clear mistake. He should have thought more and let the soldiers rest. Not even 30 minutes had passed and more than half of the Zulux dynasty army had died.

"I have to flee." After killing one of the Istarin soldiers, Aris turned around his horse and started going in the same direction from which he and his army came.

Zayne who has been keeping his eyes on the enemy saw Aris fleeing. He immediately shouted and let everyone know. "The enemy commander is fleeing. Stop him. Whoever kills the enemy commander shall get a special reward."

Hearing Zayne's tempting words, many soldiers turned their attention to Aris who was fleeing. He was killing anyone who tried to stop him. He still was a 2nd-order. For him, killing soldiers was no problem. In fact, Aris had enough strength to fight for 3 hours, but he knew it was useless. Soon the army of the Zulux Dynasty would perish. He would have no choice but to flee.

"Once I get back, I will return and pay back all the humiliation that I have suffered today." Aris's eyes flashed in anger as he fled for his life.

"I don't think we're letting you leave this battlefield alive." Aris suddenly heard a seductive voice that sent chills down his spine. Before he could turn around his head, he found his headless body riding the horse as his head flew in the air and then fell to the ground.

"The enemy commander is dead. I order all the Zulux Dynasty soldiers to surrender otherwise only the Istarin Kingdom wouldn't mind ending your pathetic lives."

Amber purposely used mana to make her voice even louder so that her words could be heard all over the battlefield. Just as she expected, other than a few percentages of soldiers almost all the exhausted soldiers immediately gave up and stopped fighting.

"The fight is over for now." And like that the first and one of the most important battle of this upcoming war was won by the Istarin Kingdom.

Most soldiers lost their will to fight seeing their commander die. They put their weapons down and surrendered to the Istarin Kingdom. After doing all the cleanups, and counting, it was already midnight.

"Today, we have lost around 4,399 soldiers." The storm has not stopped yet. It was very difficult to clean the battlefield and dispose of the corpses. In the end, Zayne ordered the soldiers to take any useable weapons, armors, and shields for reuse. Zayne had no choice but to bury all the dead soldiers with a layer of earth.

"How many Zulux dynasty troops did we capture?" Scott, the dark elf asked back while having soup that was made with the meat of magical beasts. Unlike normal animals, the meat of magical beasts was rich in mana. Eating magical beasts' meat had many benefits to the body of a cultivator. One of those benefits was it helped cultivators in recovering faster.

"They had over 30,000 troops at the beginning. In today's fight, we managed to kill around 17,000. Now we have nearly 28,500 soldiers, that is if we include the soldiers that we captured as our war prisoners."

"What if the captured soldiers try to escape? Their number is too big." Henry asked in a cold tone. By now everyone had gotten used to Henry's cold attitude. Everyone knew that Henry was actually not a cold person, inside he was a warm person. It's just that due to certain incidents of the past, his personality had changed and become cold.

Henry's question made others look at Zayne in concern. If the captured war prisoner escapes, this would a huge loss for them. "You guys are worrying too much. In this storm, they can't escape anywhere. Besides I have told the chief to put a special pill in their food. This pill can suppress their mana for 12 hours." Amber, the seductive fox said as she ate her food.

"Also, I have put some soldiers in disguise among the prisoners. If they wanted to do anything suspicious, my men would let me know." This time Nathan opened his mouth. Nathan was the quietest one in the whole group. He preferred to stay quiet and observe.

"I have to say I am really impressed. I can see why his Majesty choose you 7 as his generals." Even during the battle, Zayne witnessed how talented each of them was. Each general specialized in using different abilities.

"By the way, I have this meaning to ask. Where is his majesty? He was not there during this battle? He didn't even tell us where he was heading." Josh asked while finishing his soup. He already has eaten 4 bowls of soups. Being a beast man, he needed to eat thrice as much food as others.

"His Majesty is doing something important. He told me to not tell anyone where he was. For now, he let us handle the situation. If there is any emergency, then I will send an emergency message to his majesty using this artifact that he gave me." Zayne showed a crescent-shaped earring.

"I can't wait to fight alongside his Majesty. I really want to see him in action." Josh has heard from Amber and Watson that Aditya was really strong. He was able to kill a Peak 2nd-order when he was still at 1st-order.

"If his Majesty was here, then this battle would have ended even quicker." Zayne smiled remembering how he annihilated 5,000 troops with a single attack. Zayne had seen how terrifying that attack was. And now that Aditya had reached 2nd-order, Zayne wondered how terrifying his fighting powers had reached.

The next day, the storm was still going on, showing no signs of stopping.

"I see. You and everyone have done really well. I will be sure to reward everyone for their hard work." Aditya was relieved after learning how the situation turned out. This situation was very favorable for their condition.

"My work here is almost done. I should return soon."

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Chapter 36

Just after Aditya killed the man named Ash in his dragon form, he was shocked hearing the Wyvern speaking to him. The Wyvern was speaking in a language that was foreign to others. But strangely Aditya was able to understand what they were saying. What he didn't know was after evolving his Bloodline to Heavenly Crimson Bloodline, Aditya had gained a few passive abilities. One of those abilities gave him the power to understand any lesser Dragon's language. Another ability he got was authority over any lesser Dragon. Even if the Wyverns didn't want it, Aditya would still control them with a command.

"How did you all fall for that weak men's mind-controlling spells?" Aditya didn't understand how a low order was able to control 3 peak 3rd-orders and one beginner 3rd-order.

"My king, that nasty human had a powerful artifact that gave him the power to control our minds. Though I tried to fight best and resist the mind control, in the end in front of the powerful artifact my efforts were futile." The beginner 3rd-order Wyvern spoke while the other three Wyverns still kept their heads lowered as if afraid to even look at the Crimson Dragon in front of them.

"I see." Saying that Aditya's glowed in bright red light for a few seconds. When the light disappeared, Aditya returned to his human form with two red pairs of wings on his back.

"Your Majesty" The old man Zachary run towards Aditya when he landed at the entrance of the village. As soon as Aditya landed, he felt something has changed. The Majin villagers were no longer looking at him like an outsider. The hate in their eyes for Aditya was erased.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how I will ever thank you for saving our village and our kind." Along with the old man Zachary, everyone even the small Majin children bowed their heads to Aditya and expressed their gratitude.

"My king, I have found the artifact that was used by that nasty human." All the Majin children quickly hid behind the adults seeing a giant 10 meters big Wyvern flying towards them. Seeing the panicked and distressed look of the villagers, Aditya quickly cleared the misunderstandings.

"Everyone can relax. Before these 4 Wyverns were controlled by a human named Ash. I already have freed them from the mind-controlling spell. They won't attack this valley anymore." Hearing the words of the Aditya everyone sighed in relief and lowered their guards against the Wyverns.

Aditya took the small dark star-shaped object that had several big cracks all over its body. "This thing looks like it might break at any moment."

[Mind Controlling Star]

[Rank Decreased to low 1-star]

[Description]: - The Mind controlling star was forged by a skilled dwarf. This artifact used to be a peak 3-star artifact. After years of use, the artifact has lost the value and functions that it once had. This artifact rank now has fallen to the lowest tier. If this Artifact is kept being used, then soon the artifact will break apart. At its peak, the artifact had the power to mind control even a Peak 5th-order. Using this artifact to control four lesser dragons has left some damage to the artifact's powers.

[Function 1]: - Just like the name of the artifact, this artifact gives the ability to control the mind of any mid-1st-orders or lower orders.]

"I don't know who is talented enough to make an artifact that could control even a Peak 5th-order. Something tells me that when this artifact was just forged it had the power, it was a peak 5-star artifact." Looking at the dark star-shaped artifact that once was a 5-star artifact, Aditya wondered how this artifact ended up in that man named Ash's hand.

.

"Do you know the man who just ordered these Wyverns to attack the village?" Aditya asked Zachary.

"NO. Other than the bandits from whom we have to protect the tea fields, we don't have any enemies. If some outsiders approach our village, then we would just ask them to leave."

"Old man, can you please ask someone to bring the dead body of the man named Ash." Aditya felt Ash couldn't be an ordinary thug. Having an artifact powerful enough to control a beginner 3rd-order tells how powerful the mind-controlling artifact was. There is no way an ordinary bandit would get this powerful artifact in his hand, especially considering how low his powers were.

While Zachary was talking with others, Aditya turned his focus to the 4 Wyverns who are waiting for him, outside the village. "You guys are still here? You guys don't want to go back to the wilderness."

"My King, we wished to serve you."

"What?" Aditya for a moment couldn't believe what he just heard.

"We wish to serve you, My king. Please allow us to accompany you on this journey. We promise we won't get in your way and we will always stay loyal to you."

What Aditya didn't know was for a lesser dragon, a dragon with a heavenly bloodline was like a deity or a God that every lesser Dragon worshipped. Now that finally, a dragon with a heavenly bloodline had appeared after thousands of years, the Wyverns desperately wanted to follow Aditya. Their instinct as a lesser dragon was screaming at them and telling them to follow Aditya. The 4 Wyverns wanted to follow the person whom they considered their King, their master, and their owner.

'Well having 3 peak second-order Wyverns and one beginner 3rd-order following me would give me an edge in this war. I would also have a 3rd-order being to rely on.' Aditya found no reason to reject the Wyverns will to follow him.

"Very well." And like that Aditya obtained 4 powerful magical beasts as his followers.

'Coming here wasn't a waste of time after all. I have gained some things in this journey that will help me greatly in the future.'

As Aditya was talking with the Wyverns, the village head came up to him.

"Your Majesty, we have bought back the corpse of that man."

"Thank you." Both Aditya and Zachary were walking back to the village.

"Old man, tell me do you have anything precious hidden in our village? Something so valuable that it caused this man to attack your village." Hearing Aditya's words, the old man stopped walking as he realized something.

"Seeing your look, I am certain that you're hiding something very precious in this village. I won't ask what that precious item was, but know that a weak 1st-order having an artifact that is strong enough to control a beginner 3rd-order Wyvern isn't something that should be taken lightly. You should know what I am hinting right?"

The old man still can't digest the fact that their village's greatest secret was found out by an outsider. The value of that item is so huge that the attackers wouldn't mind killing the whole Majin village just to get their hands on the item. Aditya was warning Zachary. At this point, both of them were 90% sure that there will be another attack on the village. And this will continue until the people behind Ash gets their hand on the precious item hidden in the village.

The old man Zachary also realized that the power of the people who are behind their attack couldn't be underestimated. Today they have attacked using a beginner 3rd-order, tomorrow they might attack using a Peak 3rd-order. At that time, Aditya won't be there to save their village.

"Your Majesty, do you have any solution to our problem?"

"You can try changing the location of your village, that is shifting to another place where those people won't able to find you. This is the only safest and most effective option I can currently think of. I know my words may sound cruel. You have called this place home for centuries. But to save your people safe, I think this is the only solution you have." Currently, Aditya was facing a war. He cannot stay here all the time to look after this village. As for leaving the Wyverns to guard after the village, this thought never crossed his mind. Aditya has to think of his interest first. The 4 Wyverns would become a great power addition to the Istarin military. There was no way Aditya would leave the 4 Wyverns to guard a village that doesn't even come under his territory.

After some thinking, Zachary decided to trust the myth that has been passed down for generations. "Your Majesty, can you please come with me? I have something that I wish to show you." Aditya nodded and followed the old man Zachary.

In an underground chamber that was located right beneath Zachary's house, the Crimson Dragon and the village head were standing in front of a golden metal door. "What is this place?"

"This underground chamber is by our my great great grandfather, that was about more than 300 years ago. Before my great great grandfather built this chamber, this place was used to store precious monster cores and other rare items. Your highness can think of this place as the treasury of our village." Aditya nodded and curiously observed the high-level and complex runes that were drawn on the golden metal door. Even with his knowledge of runes, Aditya can barely understand anything. It was like a child trying to understand university-level mathematics.

"Old man, do you know who draw these runs on this door?"

Notice: -

My apologies for the late update. I don't have Wi-Fi in my house due to some problems. I wrote this chapter on my mobile so there might some mistakes.

From tomorrow onwards, I will continue to upload the regular 2 chapters.

Chapter 37

"Old man, do you know who draw these runs on this door?"

Aditya asked while looking at the runes. Something told him that if he managed to comprehend all the runes drawn on this golden metal door, his Rune Monarch class would reach the next level.

"I am not sure. Even my father doesn't know who has drawn these runes. Anyway, let go in." The golden metal doors reacted when Zachary put his right palm on the door.

The golden walls spread apart, revealing the hidden room that was known as the treasury. Following the old man behind, Aditya walked in. The whole treasury wasn't grand as Aditya had expected it to be. There were some old metal boxes lying around the room collecting dust and spider web.

"This isn't what I expected the treasury to look like."

"Hahaha! Your Majesty, your standards are too high." Aditya felt a little embarrassed. Unknowingly he was comparing this room with his treasury.

As Zachary was moving the copper boxes, Aditya's found a painting on the wall. 'What is this painting?' In the painting, there was a Crimson Dragon fighting 7 beings whose bodies were shrouded in darkness. But he could see the outline of their bodies and could determine that out of the 7 shadows, 3 of them were women.

"Old man, do you know anything about this mural?" Zachary stopped for a second and looked at the mural. When his eyes fell on the Red Crimson Dragon, he remembered how their village was saved by the Aditya.

'Maybe he is really the person.' Zachary closed his eyes for a second.

"This painting has existed for multiple centuries. This mural is related to the fairytale that has been passed down from generation to generation." While saying that, from one of the copper boxes Zachary took out a golden simple, and ordinary-looking crown.

"So you're telling me that some people are after this simple and cheap-looking crown." Aditya couldn't see anything special in this crown. He was more interested in knowing the fairytale that somehow connected the Crimson dragon in this mural.

"Your Majesty, this crown might look simple and cheap but this crown is so precious that its appearance could cause a continental war. Every Empire wouldn't hesitate to kill millions just to get their hands on this crown. The appearance of this crown could potentially cause the deaths of millions if not billions."

Aditya raised an eyebrow and observed the golden crown in Zachary's hand. "Can I see it for a second?" Aditya wanted to see what functions and abilities this simple-looking crown had that made it so special.

"Here you go." There was a mysterious smile on his face. He believed that if Aditya was the fated person then he would be able to see the value of this crown.

[Crown of Seven Sea]

[Low 5-Star Artifact]

[Description]: - The Crown of Seven Seas is an artifact that is considered a myth. The Crown was lost with the death of the Previous Crimson Dragon King. The Crown was forged by the world's best and finest blacksmith and Rune Grandmaster. After losing the 7 stones, the Crown of Seven Sea lost its rank and fell from Peak 8-star to low 5-star. The king who holds this crown in his possession will become the unofficial ruler of the world. During War times, the male birth rate will be increased. The Crown can be restored to its former glory as long as the 7 stones that have been lost are found.

After falling to a low 5-Star rank, the Crown lost its main important functions.

[Function 1]: - The Crown of Seven Seas has the power to bless the land. When the land is blessed, the Kingdom's agriculture will be improved by 50%. The overall food production will be increased by 50%.

[Function 2]: - For a temporary duration, the King can use this crown to increase the power of the soldiers by [10%]. The 2nd function will only last for 5 hours.

[Function 3]: - When the king wears this crown, the fighting power of that King will be increased by [20%]. The cultivation of the owner must be below 5th-order otherwise this function won't work.

[Function 4]: - The owner of this crown can increase the cultivation speed of his loyal subordinates by 50%. The number of people who can receive this benefit will be limited to [10], The subordinate's cultivation realm must be below 5th-order or the 4th function of this crown won't work.

[Function 5]: - The crown can increase the power of the King's generals by [20%]. The subordinate's cultivation must be below 5th-order or the 5th function of this crown won't work.]

Just seeing the rank of this crown, Aditya's breathing became ragged. His heart began beating wildly. This crown wasn't just some simple ordinary crown. It was like this crown was made for a King.

As the Crimson King continued reading each function of the crown, Aditya's blood began boiling. By the time he finished reading the 5th function, his body was slightly trembling in excitement.

"Your Majesty, is this still a simple and cheap crown in your eyes?" Aditya shook his head while trying to calm his heart.

For a moment, Aditya was so tempted by seeing the power of this crown that he even thought of betraying the old man. But he quickly shook that thought out of his head. Aditya wasn't a man who was going to let greed control his heart. Since the old man trusted him so much, Aditya wasn't going to break his trust.

"Here, this is a low 5-star artifact. I have to say the functions of this artifact are really tempting." Zachary shook his head and pushed back the crown to Aditya.

"Before your ask why let me tell your Majesty the fairytale of our Majin village."

Aditya nodded with a serious look. After seeing the power of the Crown of Seven seas, he no longer dared to underestimate the fairytale that has been passed down for generations. He felt this crown, this mural, and the fairytale, all might have a connection with him.

"The Crimson King will wear the Crown of Seven Seas and shall unit all the races in the whole world. The Crimson King shall erase darkness from the whole world."

"So the Crimson King is me?" Aditya looked at the Crimson dragon in the mural. The dragon in the mural was huge.

"When I saw his Majesty transform, at that time I was convinced that you were the Crimson King. Though I still don't understand what darkness here meant. But I feel that darkness associated with the Demon race."

Aditya weirdly stared at the Majin village head who also was a part of the Demon race. "You do realize that your Majin race people are also a part of the demon race."

"I have to say, I was expecting his Majesty to freak out hearing my words but you're oddly calm about this." Aditya smiled and didn't reply. On the surface, he might look calm but inwardly his heart was wild as a tornado. Working as a politician, Aditya has learned to keep his calm face in almost every situation.

"Our ancestors told us that when the Crimson King shows up, we have to follow him. With this crown, I and my village also swear our loyalty to the Istarin King also known as the Crimson King." Zachary put one knee on the ground and lowered his head while saying those words.

"Get up, old man. Save the formalities for other times. Right now we have a problem."

"What Problem?"

"Didn't you realize it already? If an outsider knows about this Crown, then there is a high possibility that the information was leaked by someone from this village."

"What? Other than me, only my two sons and a few elders of the village knows about this Crown. Your Majesty, do you think the traitor is someone among these people?" Zachary tightly clenched his fits while his eyes turned red due to anger.

"Calm down. For now, call all the people who know about this Crown. Meanwhile, I will go and talk with the Wyverns." Zachary nodded. Now that their people had found the Crimson King, Zachary was going to listen to Aditya's every order without any hesitation.

After walking out of the village, Aditya used the earring to communicate with Zayne. [Zayne, how is the situation?]

[Your Majesty, an advance party of 30,000 is advancing towards the fortress. The advance party should arrive within 8 to 9 hours.]

[Can you defeat the enemy? It will take me at least 10 hours to reach the battlefield.] Aditya wasn't that worried knowing his 7 generals were there to handle the situation.

[We have over 20,000 troops. I should be able to defeat the enemy and force them to retreat.]

[Good. I will return with some powerful allies. When I return, we will take the initiative to strike the Zulux Dynasty.]

[Your Majesty, we will wait for your return.]

Aditya was very happy to know how the battle least causalities. After a day of investigations finally, the traitor was found. The traitor was non-other than the second elder who was Zachary's 4th brother and his son. Both of them received a huge amount of huge in exchange for the information.

Zachary publicly executed the 4th elder and his son. He used this incident as an example to let the people of the village remember that betraying the village was a taboo.

"From now on, everyone shall listen to his Majesty's order. He is the Crimson King. He is the King that we were told to serve. He will lead us to glory. If anyone disrespects his Majesty will be severely punished."

After the execution, Aditya was announced as the Crimson King. All the Majin villagers happily accepted to serve Aditya. After seeing him fight and defend their village, he won the hearts of everyone in the Majin village.

Aditya then asked the villagers to move to his land and settle near the capital where he could at least protect the Majin village's safety and prosperity. Some elderly people were not willing to move from the place that they called home for multiple decades. But after learning the dangers that could come at any moment, the villagers had no choice but to agree.

Aditya then asked Zayne to send some soldiers and carriages to help the Majin villagers shift as soon as possible. He also used the 4 Wyverns to carry the elder and children Majins to Zraka city where they could stay until their new village is created near the capital. While doing all that, he also made sure that no one was watching them from the shadows.

While that was happening, the news of the huge defeat of the Zulux Dynasty's forces spread like wildfire. The most shocked were the Nepoca Kingdom. With the Istarin Kingdom's victory, they had a lot of things to consider before helping the Istarin Kingdom.

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Chapter 38

Knock! Knock!

Hearing the Knock, a man sitting on a chair opened his eyes. "Come in."

The soldier entered the tent and kneeled in front of the man who sat on the chair. "Sir we have bad news."

"So the 30,000 troops led by Commander Aris have been defeated." The soldier for a moment was surprised. But he quickly calmed himself knowing how frightening a 3rd-order cultivator's powers were. It wouldn't be surprising since

General Darren Ellis, a mid 3rd-order powerhouse, a person who has been serving the Zulux Dynasty for three decades now. When General Darren joined the army 35 years ago, he quickly rose in ranks after his talent was discovered by the King himself.

The King of the Zulux Dynasty gave him the resources to become a third-order as quickly as possible. In 5 years he became one of the strongest pillars of the Zulux Dynasty. Ever since Darren had taken on the role of commander, he never even once had lost a battle. He always has managed to crush his enemies and achieve victory for his Majesty.

The moment that storm started, Darren knew deep in his heart that Aris and 30,000 troops had lost this battle before the battle could even begin. In the mountain path, Aris and the troops would have no choice but to continue their march towards the fortress. It was a do-or-die situation.

"I still don't understand how Lady Tamar's prediction was wrong this time. A simple wrong prediction caused us a talented commander and 30,000 troops. And worst of all, we were humiliated by a kingdom that recently became a 2nd-tier powerhouse." Darren angrily clenched his fist. In his carrier, this was the most humiliating loss he faced.

The soldier who was kneeling 10 meters away from Darren began to tremble when Darren released his killing intent without realizing it. The soldier felt at this moment he was standing in front of death itself. The pressure was so big, that after a few seconds he was having trouble breathing. He felt his entire body being pressured by a mountain.

"Inform the squad leaders to get ready. The storm is near its end. The moment this storm ends, we will head out and crush the enemy. I will erase this humiliation with the blood of that pathetic Dragon."

"Y...Yes, sir" The soldier didn't even dare to waste another second. He quickly run out of the tent like his whole life depended on it.

After the soldier ran out, Darren sighed and once again closed his eyes. He was getting frustrated as he was stuck in mid 3rd-order for almost a decade now. After reaching the 3rd-order, his Majesty stopped providing any resources as the resources needed for 3rd-order cultivators were too expensive.

Without any resources, Darren had to rely on his talent to reach mid-3rd-order which almost took him a decade. And now he was stuck in the mid-phase. He needed some kind of boost that could take him to the Peak 3rd-order.

Bang!

"Hello! Darren! How is everything going for you?" Darren opened his eyes while suppressing the anger he currently felt while looking at the person who knew him for almost 4 decades.

"Dylan Kelly, what are you doing here?" Darren asked in an irritated tone. Like Darren, Dylan was also a 3rd-order general serving under his Majesty. Clearly, Darren was not happy to see one of his rivals here.

"Don't so be rude. I came to see my trash and old rival."

Dylan Kelly was a man with black beard covering his lower face. Dylan was only 5 feet 1 inch tall. But no one dared to make fun of the general's height. Dylan wore was black armor and pants. He carried two sharp battle axes on his back. Despite his short size, Dylan's body was packed with muscles. Dylan was half dwarf so he had the advantage when it came to raw strength. Despite his size, his raw strength can compare with an average Peak 3rd-order.

"We both here know that if I am trash, then you're worse than trash." Darren was not offended by Dylan's words. He instead smiled in amusement. Whenever Darren and Dylan fought in the past, Darren always managed to beat the half-dwarf. Never, even once Dylan has managed to defeat Darren.

"So did his Majesty send you here?" Darren stopped smiling. Suddenly the atmosphere inside the tent turned dark and chilly.

"What do you think?" Dylan asked back with a cold smile. Hearing Dylan's response, Darren's face instantly turned dark.

Sending another 3rd-order means that his majesty didn't have enough trust in Darren. Just realizing this fact made him angry. Darren's anger wasn't directed at his Majesty nor at Dylan. He felt this was the Istarin Kingdom's fault. The fact that his Majesty sent another 3rd-order said a lot of things. It meant that his Majesty wasn't confident in his abilities. This itself hurt Darren's pride as one of the strongest generals.

'Everything is happening because of the Istarin Kingdom. A kingdom that recently became a 2nd-tier powerhouse is making his Majesty doubt my abilities. This is unacceptable. I must regain his Majesty's trust.'

Similarly, somewhere in the Nepoca Kingdom capital, a meeting was being held. In an underground chamber, a group of people was sitting around a 3 meters big round table.

"Your Majesty, the Zulux Dynasty has very badly lost their first attack on Istarin fortress. Reports say that around 17,000 troops were killed while the rest 13,000 were captured as war prisoners by the Istarin Kingdom. During the whole battle, the King of the Istarin Kingdom was not present. Our spies can't find the King in the capital or any two cities either. It's like the King has gone missing all of sudden."

"I think King Aditya has gone into hiding. He is a clever man. He clearly knows that there is no future for the Istarin Kingdom after offending the Zulux Dynasty. Maybe he is already planning to abandon the Kingdom from the beginning and escape somewhere else." Duke Easton, one of the 4 Dukes of the Nepoca Kingdom spoke whatever came into his mind.

"I have to disagree with Sir Easton. The possibility of King Aditya abandoning his Kingdom is very slim. Before this war started, he personally said to have cleaned the entire capital and made it safe for the public. I don't think a man like him would just run away. I believe he is planning something from the shadows."

"I will have to agree with Prime Minister Jamie here. We also shouldn't forget that now with the victory, the Istarin Kingdom has a total force of 28,500. This much force is enough to fight with the other 30,000 forces of the Zulux Dynasty. Also from my sources, I have there were 7 beings who played a major role in the battle. They are known as the 7 generals of King Aditya. Each general is said to have killed thousands of troops alone. Do you know what's more shocking, each 7 general is still a 1st-order cultivator. Can you imagine how frightening they will become when their strength reaches second-order?" Hearing the King's words everyone turned silent.

Sigh!

"I don't know from where King Aditya got those seven monsters. We all should stop underestimating the Istarin Kingdom. We should begin to think of them as a 3rd-tier powerhouse. If they manage to win the next big battle, no one can stop them from becoming a 3rd-tier powerhouse."

"But I think the Zulux Dynasty will win the second battle. Knowing how prideful the King of the Zulux Dynasty is, he won't sit around knowing that his 30,000 forces were defeated by a 2nd-tier Kingdom. I am sure this time he will be aiming to crush the Istarin Kingdom."

"So our involvement in this war will be decided by the outcome of the second battle. If the Istarin Kingdom loses this battle, we will support them as our ally. But if they win, we won't get involved in the war."

"Also make sure to order all the merchants in our kingdom to stop selling food to the Istarin Kingdom. I have to stop the Istarin Kingdom from becoming a powerhouse that can threaten our Kingdom."

"Understood your Majesty."

"By the way, what about the Merchant Amos? Did the investigators find anything that can tell us about the culprit?" The King and merchant Amos knew each other. The death of Amos left the King shaken. A person who had become the sixth richest man in the Nepoca Kingdom in such a short time dying like this was very suspicious.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything. We are sure that the attacker was a dragon. Other than that, we couldn't find any other lead on the attacker."

"Your Majesty, what if the attacker has fled to the Istarin Kingdom?" Everyone looked at Duke Easton in surprise.

"The attacker was a dragon, meaning that he can fly. In three Kingdoms only a handful of people can fly using the help of an artifact. If the attacker has flown to the Istarin Kingdom and taken shelter there, I don't think there is anything we can do about it." Duke Easton looked at the King hoping that the King would ask King Aditya to allow for a search mission.

"For now, we will send spies to the Istarin Kingdom and try to find anyone who is a dragon while also keeping an eye on the capital."

"There is a big possibility that in the future, both Kingdoms will clash."

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Chapter 39

4th day since the starting of the War,

The storm finally ended on the 3rd night. As the sky cleared up and the ray of sunlight fell on the wet mountains, the soldiers lazily got up and went out to guard the fortress. These 3 days, after winning that big battle, the soldiers were told to stay inside the fortress. Although it was a little difficult to stay in the fortress with 13,000 War prisoners, all the soldiers enjoyed their time.

Everyone in the fortress was given Magical beast meat for meals. The meat of the magical beast was very expensive and was very helpful for cultivators. The rich mana contained in the meat of the Magical beast benefitted some soldiers. A few soldiers even reached the peak of 1st order.

"Man, usually I hate storms but this time I really wished for the storm to continue for another week." One of the soldiers said lazily while walking out of the fortress.

"Don't complain man. If the storm really had continued for another week, then we would have run out of food stock. At that time, we would have no choice but to starve." Another soldier who was walking beside the first soldier replied.

"I guess, you're right. Still, I can't wait for this war to end. I have a fiancé back home waiting for my return. I can't wait to marry her and settle down."

"Are you planning on retiring?" Another soldier asked in surprise. Being a soldier was like having a government job. Each soldier would be paid in gold. And one gold is more than enough to feed a small family for 2 months.

"No, I am not retiring. I am going to send a letter of request to lord Zayne to ask him if my post can be changed." Soldiers had different posts.

"I plan on becoming a guard in the capital."

"Really?"

"Yes, I heard the Capital is being reconstructed. I have a feeling that moving to the capital would give me and my family many benefits. Not only that, I want to take things a little easy and settle down in the capital after a few years of service."

"Speaking of reconstruction work, I still haven't seen His Majesty. The rumor has it that his Majesty had completely changed. Within 2 weeks he bought changes to the Kingdom. Because of his changes, my family now doesn't have to worry about food prices."

As the soldiers were talking among themselves, Nathan returned with another piece of bad news.

"What happened, Nathan?"

"The enemy is on the march. This time they are marching with 35,000 troops with two 3rd-order commanders. In 4 to 5 hours, the enemy forces will be here."

The atmosphere inside the fortress was heavy and very serious. Taking down one 3rd-order is difficult enough, but taking down two 3rd-order is impossible. Zayne and others couldn't comprehend how they are going to take down two 3rd-orders.

"When this war started, I knew there would be a time when we will be facing 3rd-order general. But I wasn't expecting the enemy to send two 3rd-orders at the same time." Scott, the dark elf and the bow expert of Aditya's military didn't find any way of taking down two 3rd-orders.

"We still would have some chances if 8 of us had combined our powers. But against two 3rd-orders, even if an army of 30,000 were to attack them, two of them would slaughter everyone."

"In this situation, we can only contact his Majesty."

[Your majesty, the situation is....I know] Aditya interrupted Zayne with his words.

[Don't worry, I will be there before the battle could start.] Hearing the words of Aditya, everyone felt relieved. They subconsciously relaxed their bodies. This was because of the trust that they had in their king.

5 hours passed very quickly,

Standing before the fortress, Zayne and others could see the enemy troops marching at them. The enemy troop was led by two beings who were riding two white horses. The general on the right was Darren and the general on the left was Dylan. The troops of the Zulux Dynasty were marching with confidence. In front of two Mid 3rd-order generals, the Istarin Kingdom was nothing.

"So he is the enemy commander." Darren and the army stopped 1 km away and looked at the enemy commander Zayne in disdain.

"Hmph! Pathetic! To think your right-hand man died in the hands of someone this weak." Dylan said those words purposely to mock Darren.

"Sir, should we ask the enemy forces to surrender?" Darren's advisor suggested.

"Surrender? Even if the Istarin Kingdom wanted to surrender now, I will not stop until I covered this entire battlefield with the blood of their soldiers. This battle is about washing the humiliation with the enemy blood."

"If you can dye this entire battlefield with the blood of my soldiers, then I would really think f**k this is an interesting world." Darren's face turned ugly hearing those words.

Everyone looked up to see 4 Wyverns flying from the clouds. Along with the appearance of the Wyverns, from the shadows, several men and women with horns on their foreheads came out.

"Majin race" The generals immediately recognized who these people were.

"Hahaha! Instead of looking at us, you all should be looking at your King." Zayne and others were left shocked seeing their Majesty standing on a beginner 3rd-order Wyvern's back and looking at Darren.

As the Wyverns slowly descended from the clouds, the 1st-order soldiers were able to clearly see the face of the person standing on the 10 meters giant Wyvern's back.

"Its' his Majesty."

"It's the Istarin King."

Troops of both parties looked at the person with 2 meters of Crimson wings. The whole battlefield fell into silence. No one dared to speak anything.

While the Wyverns fell down, Aditya kept his eyes on Darren and Dylan. He wasn't afraid of two Mid 3rd-orders. Aditya couldn't stop his anger after hearing those arrogant words of the enemy commander.

After 5 minutes, Aditya landed on the ground, in front of Zayne and others while keeping his eyes on Darren.

"Good. I thought that King Aditya had fled to another Kingdom. You know, I was starting to regret not being able to kill you. But now that you're here, I will you kill and end the Istarin Kingdom once and for all." Darren's voice was filled with pride and arrogance.

While Darren was trash talking, Dylan, the half-dwarf was thinking something else. 'I never heard the Istarin King was a Dragon. Did the previous King Ahmed choose Aditya as his successor mainly because Aditya was a dragon?'

Other than a few people, no one in this continent knew Aditya's real identity. King Ahmed also hid the fact that Aditya was a dragon from everyone.

Now, seeing two crimson dragon wings, it was not just the enemy but also Aditya's troops were shocked.

'I don't from where he got these 4 Wyverns. But I can feel it. One of the Wyverns has beginner 3rd-order powers. Even a Peak 2nd-order Wyvern can give a tough fight to a beginner 3rd-order human. I can't underestimate the powers of this Wyvern. I hope this idiot has realized this fact as well.' Dylan looked at Darren wondering if he had seen the strength of the enemy.

'How did his Majesty get 4 strong Wyverns to listen to his orders?' Amber wondered while looking at the old man with a horn growing on his forehead. This old man was the leader of the Majin village.

"Enough talking let's start this fight already." The soldiers of Istarin Kingdom looked at Aditya in admiration for not being afraid to see a Mid-3rd-order on the battlefield. While the Zulux Dynasty soldiers thought Aditya was a fool and ignorant man. Why would a beginner 2nd-order try to fight a 3rd-order? This was no different than suicide.

Both Darren and Aditya looked into each other's eyes and the next moment both of them disappeared from their place.

Swoosh!

"Charge!"

"Kill the Zulux forces"

"Kill the invaders"

The soldiers of both sides also started charging at each other. This second biggest battle of the Istarin Kingdom had just started.

Clang!

Both Darren and Aditya's swords clashed and created sparks of fire. One wanted to kill to regain his respect while the other wanted to kill to defend his territory from invaders. In war, neither party is right nor wrong. Aditya was the villain in the enemy's story while the enemy was the villain in his story.

"I can't wait to rip your dragon head and show it to his Majesty." Darren spoke with a bloodthirsty smile on his face.

"I have no plans of dying this early."

Clang!

Both of their swords clashed with each other, creating metal clanging sounds and sparks. While both parties warmed their bodies with light movement and sword clashes, Aditya realized the power gap between him and Darren was just too big.

'I have to use my trump cards if I want to fight him on equal foot.'

Clang!

'System put my remaining [58+] free stats points to my agility.'

As Darren and Aditya were clashing their attacks, testing the water before diving into it, he suddenly noticed the boost in Aditya's speed that pushed him back for a second.

'So he is getting serious.'

Boom!

For a moment everyone stopped fighting hearing the loud sound. Zayne and others could only pray for Aditya's safety. The 3rd-order Wyvern was currently fighting 3rd-order half-dwarf general, Dylan.

Today only one chapter!!

Chapter 40

[Agility: - 185 + [100] ? 243 + [100]

Clang!

"Do you think by increasing your speed, you can then me down?" Darren rotated his body to perform a roundhouse kick. In counter, Aditya used his Crimson dragon wings to pull himself back to dodge the kick.

Seeing that his attack has failed, the calm look on Darren's face instantly changed. Like a fierce lion, he tightly closed his fists as he concentrated elemental mana in his fists.

Water Dragon!

Aditya's face changed seeing two eastern dragons made out of water coming at him from both sides. He threw a 5 meters big orb of Crimson flame to block both attacks while retreating back.

Booom!

"How did his low-tier attack block my water dragons?" Darren knew that there was something strange with these Crimson flames. Even from 5 meters distance, he can feel the terrifying temperature of the Crimson flames.

Swoosh!

Darren suddenly felt something aimed at his neck. At the very last moment, Darren moved his neck to the left to dodge the tip of the sword.

In that second, Darren rotated his body to see Aditya. 'How is he this fast?' Darren couldn't understand what was happening. Aditya was supposed to be a beginner 2nd-order cultivator, yet how is he matching the speed of a Mid 3rd-order cultivator. 'Unless he is using an artifact to increase his speed.'

Crimson Blink!

At that close distance, Aditya boldly used a molten bolt. Red-orange looking like a bolt was too fast for Darren to dodge. In the end, he tried to shield his body using a layer of mana but the bolt was too powerful for the mana layer to completely block the attack. The system had evolved his skill Molten bolt to Crimson Blink. After evolving, the power of his attack increased and also gave him one unique ability.

Bang!

Darren, a mid 3rd-order general was sent flying by the attack of a cultivator who just entered Second-order. The only reason Aditya was able to match Darren's speed was that he increased his agility using his free stats points and the combined boost from both 4th and 5th-star artifacts further increased his speed.

The Bracelet of Wind Fairy which is a Low-grade 4th-star artifact gave him an additional [100+] boost in his agility while the Crown of Seven Sea which is a Low-Grade 5-Star Artifact gave him a [20%] boost in his attacks. Aditya's attacks were already powerful due to his Crimson flame. Now with the [20%] boost, his attack power was further increased.

Boom!

Darren landed 15 meters away from Aditya. The flesh on Darren's chest had been slightly burned and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "I should stop underestimating you." Darren wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Without caring about the wound on his chest he stood up and took out another sword from his storage ring.

"Both of his swords are Peak 2-star artifacts." As Rune Monarch class holder, Aditya can see tell the grade of Darren's swords with a single look. But he was still not sure what powers or buffs his both sword had.

Swoosh!

This time, Darren moved so fast that for a second Aditya's eyes lost track of Darren. When he blinked his eyes, he found Darren standing in front of him and swinging the sword that he held on his right at his neck.

'too fast' Aditya could see the sword vertically swing at his neck but his body was not fast enough to react.

Clang!

Drip!

"That hurts!"

Aditya fell on one knee while holding his right trapezius. There was a large cut on the area between his right shoulder and his neck. The red Crimson scales that were covering his shoulders and chest were now covered with his blood.

"I forgot that you can use your scales for your defense. Next time, I won't miss." If Aditya's Crimson dragon scales weren't covering his neck and shoulder, Aditya would have died from the attack. The attack was strong enough to break his scale and leave a deep cut mark on his right trapezius.

[_Health: - 124 /175]

Due to the blood loss, Aditya's health was constantly dropping. Every second his health was losing by half point.

Enduring the pain, Aditya stood up with his Peak 2-star Crimson Dragon Wrath sword. While Darren looked at Aditya in disdain and said. "Don't worry, I will give you an instant and painless death. Instead, I will make your soldiers and generals suffer in your place."

Bang!

The ground beneath Darren's feet shattered into a spider web as he used his full strength on his legs to jump toward his enemy.

Blast of Divine Fury!

While activating one of his skills, Aditya looked at Darren who was 5 meters above his head. Darren's swords glow in light blue as he aimed to slash Aditya in an 'X'-like fashion.

Booom!

At the last moment, Aditya moved out of the way to dodge the attack. Just as Darren crash-landed on the ground while missing his target, his target appeared behind him and slashed the Crimson Dragon Wrath sword aimed at his back.

Bang!

Critical Strike!

Ahh!

Darren let out a painful roar when the Crimson Dragon Wrath left a deep straight mark on his back. He reacted super fast and retreated back.

"What is this sword?" Darren looked at the sword that was surrounded by red Crimson flame in fear. He screamed as he literally felt his own flesh getting burned because of the attack.

[Crimson Dragon Wrath]

[Peak-Grade 2-star]

[Description]: - The grade of this sword has been increased by a Rune Master. The Sword now has become a perfect weapon for second-order fire-type cultivators.

[Function 1]: - The Crimson Dragon Wrath increases the power of fire-type attacks by [17%].

[Function 2]: - There are 50% chances of landing a critical hit on a 2nd-order cultivator. While there is a 25% chance of landing a critical hit on a 3rd-order cultivator.]

[Function 3]: - When this sword is used with the whole Crimson set of armor, the attack power of his sword is increased by [30%].

"How did it feel?" Aditya asked with a grin on his face. With the modification of his Blast of Divine Fury skill, Aditya now won't have to worry about his mana running out too quickly. Before using the passive skill Blast of Divine Fury consumed [5+] mana per second but now it only consumed [2+] mana per second. The skills temporarily increased Aditya's stats except for mana by [50%].

'I have to kill him quickly and then deal with the other 3rd-order.' Aditya knew that his 3rd-order pet Wyvern wouldn't able to hold general Dylan for much longer.

The critical hit had dropped Darren's health below a hundred. He was rapidly losing his blood causing his health point to drop by one every second. Taking the opportunity of Darren's retreat, Aditya quickly ate a healing pill that was given to him by his dear wife.

"Time to end this." Aditya has been waiting to use this ability for a while now. After his first dragon transformed, he got a new ability when his molten bolt evolved to become Crimson Blink.

Crimson Blink!

Red-orange color lightning began to flicker around Aditya's body. Before Darren can figure out what was happening, the crimson King disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Darren raised his guard to the max. He had this uneasy feeling in his heart. Darren then felt something coming from above. When he raised his head, his eyes flashed in fear seeing 7 bolts of lightning coming at him at rapid speed.

The speed of the 7 bolts was very fast. Faster than even Darren's current speed.

When the 7 bolts of red-orange lightning were only 1 meter away from the ground, all the 7 bolts of lightning suddenly combined, shocking Darren to his core. Before he could realize what was going on, in that moment of surprise and shock, the 7 bolts of lightning combined together and took the shape of Aditya's body.

Bang!

The last thing that Darren saw before getting his body cut vertically in half was the image of Aditya vertically swinging the Crimson Dragon Wrath.

[Ding! The host has killed a Mid-3rd-order. The host has gained experience points.]

[Ding! The host has leveled up]

[Ding! The host has leveled up]

[Ding! The host has level...]

Huff! huff!

"Now its' time to take care of the other general." Aditya wanted to finish everything before he run out of mana. All he needed to do was kill both 3rd-orders while the rest would be done by his capable generals.

Swoosh!

Aditya used his full speed to run toward the battlefield. Darren and he was fighting somewhere else to not involve any troops in their fight.

"Using this ability of the Crimson Blink has drained [100+] mana." This was the reason why Aditya didn't use the second ability of his evolved skill Crimson Blink. The attack was super strong but it came with huge mana consumption.

Meanwhile,

The 10 meters big Wyvern was fighting Dylan. While the other three Peak 2nd-order Wyverns helped the Istarin army.

Dylan was getting frustrated with each passing second. The lesser dragon who was his opponent was able to block most of his attack with its black Wyvern scales. His fire-type attacks had no effect on the Wyvern.

To make matters even worse, the Wyvern used a strange black flame that was even stronger than his fire-type attacks.

Vote for a Bonus Chapter!!! Guys these few days I will be uploading one chapter. As for the , I will upload them on Monday.

Chapter 41

Dylan, the second general of the Zulux dynasty was currently looking slightly pale as fear could be seen reflecting in his eyes. 20 meters in front of him, there was a huge wave of black flame that threatened to devour the earth and heavens. The wave of the black flame was 15 meters high and 30 meters wide. The attack was strong enough to easily annihilate a small part of the army.

Flame Orb!

Knowing that the black flame was stronger than a normal fire, Dylan used nearly [110+] mana to make a fire orb that was 2 times bigger than the black flame wave. Seeing two terrifying attacks of 3rd-order cultivators about to collide, all the soldiers regardless of any kingdom began to run for their life.

"Run"

"Run as far as you can."

While running, some soldiers who have earth affinity used their affinity to make an earth wall in hope of reducing the shockwave that was going to come from a collision between two 3rd-order attacks.

To protect the soldiers of the Istarin Kingdom, the other three Wyverns used mana to make huge mana shields to hold the shockwave. Each mana shield was 50 meters wide and 20 meters tall. Each shield looked like a thin glass barrier. For a 1st-order, breaking these simple and weak-looking mana shields would be nearly impossible but for 3rd-order, these glass shields were nothing in front of their attacks.

"Everyone use your mana to protect your bodies." Zayne's loud voice was heard right before the explosion took place. The soldiers didn't hesitate to use almost all of their mana to create a small transparent mana barrier in front of them. It was not just the Istarin soldiers, but also the enemy forces who did the same in hopes of surviving.

This is why both Darren and Aditya moved away and fought in another place near the battlefield. Both of them knew that their attacks were too powerful for 1st-orders. One of their attacks could potentially kill thousands if not ten thousand soldiers at the same time.

Even the weakest 3d-order attack is more than an average 1st order soldier can handle. Not everyone soldier was rich and had the money to afford even the lowest tier artifact. Only a very few soldiers were able to afford enough money to buy a cheap 1-star defensive or offensive artifact.

Just as everyone finished creating the barrier, the explosion that everyone was anticipating came.

Boooom!

The collision between 3rd order fire attacks created a massive explosion which resulted in the formation of a massive wave of flame that spread to nearly every corner of the battlefield. If not for the barriers that every made around themselves, if not for the 3 giant mana shields created by the three Wyverns, nearly everyone on the battlefield would have died.

From afar, as Aditya was approaching the battlefield after finishing Darren, he stopped seeing a massive mushroom of clouds rising in the sky. The explosion created as a result of two 3rd-order attacks was so huge that even from 10 km away, the people living near the borders, in small villages could feel the earth shake as they all heard the thunderous sound of the explosion.

Meanwhile at the battlefield, for a brief period of time, the whole battlefield was covered in flames. It was like the whole world had become a world of flames. The earth was scorched black, and the soldiers who were near the explosion couldn't withstand the massive shockwave and fainted after several seconds.

After about an entire minute, the rumbling sound started dying down. The whole battlefield was still covered in smoke and dust. When the dust started settling down, Zayne and others generals were left horrified seeing a 100 meters deep crater in the center of the battlefield.

Not everyone soldier had enough mana to create a strong barrier that could withstand the shockwave. Thousands of soldiers immediately died when their mana shields shattered due to the shockwave. While the soldiers who were near the explosion instantly died and their bodies turned to ash. The shockwave near the explosion was stronger compared to other parts of the battlefield. Except for a few hundred soldiers, more than 5,000 soldiers from both sides instantly turned to ash.

Huff! huff!

"If not for these three Wyverns creating powerful mana barriers, most of our soldiers would have been wiped out." The fear was still lingering in Zayne's eyes.

Cough!

Zayne turned around to find the Majin village head, Zachary coughing blood while holding his chest. His arms and cheeks were slightly burned. "What happened to you?" Zayne assumed all the Majins had taken shelter in their shadows to escape the shockwave.

"I was trying to save several injured soldiers but in the end, I was a millisecond late." If Zachary took another one or two seconds to hide in his shadow, then his entire body would have been burned to charcoal black.

Cough!

"Are you alright?" Scott asked. His face looked pale. It was not just Scott, everyone's faces turned pale due to mana loss. To survive that explosion everyone had to use all of their mana to harden their mana shield.

"This old man is alright. By the way, is the enemy general is dead? I can't sense his mana anymore."

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the huge 100 meters deep crater. "I am not sure. But I can faintly feel that man's mana. But his mana is currently very weak. It's like a candle that is about to burn out." Scott as a dark elf had better senses compared to the rest. Due to his high senses, he can even shoot arrows even if he is blindfolded, though his range would be limited to only 80 meters.

Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, there was a 100 meters deep crater. The crater was 100 meters big. At the center of the crater, there were two beings who were lying on the ground with numerous injuries on their bodies.

The 10 meters giant Wyvern was lying on the ground. He already had lost his consciousness from the explosion. Even if his black flame was stronger compared to normal fire, his mana was not enough to compete against a Mid 3rd-order. His black Wyvern wings were burned with smoke coming from them. There was a deep wound on his chest which was bleeding. If he doesn't get treated, there is a chance that he will die soon.

Dylan's condition was even worse than the Wyvern's. The only reason he was still conscious and not dead is because of the defensive artifact that he carries with him. Despite having a Peak-grade 2-star defense artifact, Dylan's entire body was full of wounds. The wounds were so serious that no 1st or 2nd-order would be able to survive with these wounds.

The half dwarf's body was entirely burned black. His left eye wasn't spared either, the eyes were burned. Dark red blood was coming from multiple parts of his body. Even the holes of his nose were burned to the point where he could neither smell nor breathe through his nose. Right now Dylan looked like a demon that crawled out of Hell.

"You bastard. I will ****ing kill you." Dylan knew even if he managed to survive today, his body would never be the same. He had permanently lost his eye and his left hand which was burned to the point where he can see his left-hand bones. Even if Dylan wanted to heal himself, he would need at least a Peak 3-star healing potion.

And why would the Zulux dynasty spend a healing potion that is considered a national treasure on someone who has lost the battle and was half crippled? If anything the Zulux Dynasty king will personally execute Dylan for failing to win the battle which cost them their reputation and only bought them humiliation.

"Don't worry, I will end your miserable and pathetic life right here." Aditya could have used a special rune spell to make Dylan his slave. The current Dylan was so weak that he can't even fight an average normal human. Heck, even a 10 years old boy could easily kill him.

There would be no use in turning someone who is already half-crippled into a slave. Not to mention the huge amount of resources Aditya would have to use to heal his severely damaged body. "I thank you for the free experience points."

Slash!

The silent battlefield heard the sound of Dylan's head falling on the ground.

[Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order cultivator. You have gained experience points]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have.....]

After killing Dylan, Aditya immediately went to his pet Wyvern. At this point, even if he wanted to, he cannot lose a 3rd-order. It was only because of this Wyvern, that Aditya was able to kill two Mid 3rd-order generals and secure their second and one of the most important wins in this war.

"Julia still can't make 3-star healing pills due to lack of materials." Aditya had Peak 2-star healing pills which were slightly more powerful than average Peak 2-star healing pills. The healing pills made by the Goddess of Alchemy had some special materials that stimulated the regeneration speed of the body.

After feeding five peak 2-star healing pills, Aditya finally saw the result. Wyvern's body was rapidly healing. The black scale that was damaged from the attack was now starting to heal and regain its original color.

"Now that the two generals have been taken care of, the rest of the battle should be easy." Aditya walked out of the crater to find the whole battlefield staring at him in silence. The soldiers were too shocked to continue this battle. Before today, other than a few handfuls of soldiers, no one had seen a fight between two 3rd-orders.

Seeing the clash between two 3rd-orders, they realized how terrifying 3rd-orders were. They also realized their mistake. When the battle between the two 3rd-order started, they should have retreated back and fought far away.

"General Darren and General Dylan are dead." Aditya, The Crimson Dragon's voice was heard all over the battlefield. No one dared to interrupt Aditya. Since Aditya was here, standing in front of them with a wound above his right chest, it meant that general Darren was also dead.

"Now that your generals are dead. You have two options. First, you continue this fight and die or second you all drop your weapons and kneel on the ground with your hands raised up in the air and surrender to the Istarin Kingdom." Hearing Aditya's words almost 80% of the Zulux Dynasty troops dropped their weapons while some stubborn soldiers kept standing. They weren't willing to betray their motherland. Even if they were treated harshly in the army, they were not going to surrender without a fight.

"For those who are still holding their weapon and standing, is that your final answer?" This time Aditya asked while releasing all of his killing intent. The killing intent of a 2nd-order was no joke. Everyone's faces turned pale as their legs began to shiver.

When Aditya looked in their direction, the soldiers who were still stubbornly standing dropped to their knees and lowered their heads. They dared not to look at this demon. Just looking at his red eyes, they felt like they were looking at hell.

"From now on, the troops of the Zulux Dynasty will be my war prisoners. We have won this 2nd battle against the Zulux Dynasty. But our battle is not over. We will not stop until we have our revenge on the enemy. We will let the world know that the Istarin Kingdom is not a Kingdom that anyone can bully."

Hearing Aditya's loud speech, all the Istarin soldiers felt an adrenaline rush. It was as if their King's words had some kind of magic that erased their exhaustion.

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Chapter 42

"Ma'am, we have received the latest news from the border." In Azure city, sitting in a newly built Mansion, the Seeker of Impurity guild leader, also known as the Goddess of wealth, was reading a book while enjoying her tea. Behind the couch, a maid was quietly standing with a stoic face.

Just like the Guild leader, the maid was also a beauty to be reckoned with. The woman had short neck-length light blue hair. She was wearing a long maid uniform.

"Who won the second battle?" Any news from the border held great importance to the Goddess of Wealth. From the beginning, she had sent her spies to two neighboring Kingdoms' armies. She wanted to keep track of the two enemy kingdoms' movements.

"According to the news sent by our spies, King Aditya appeared with a beginner 3rd-order Wyvern and three Peak 2nd-order Wyverns. This time the enemy forces also had two 3rd-order generals. But his Majesty was able to kill general Darren while the Wyvern took on general Dylan. With the two generals' death, the battle was won by the Istarin Kingdom with the least causalities."

For a moment the Goddess of Wealth stopped reading. For a split second, she looked very surprised. But she quickly regained her calm.

"You may leave now." The man kneeling in front of the guild leader bowed his head and then disappeared without making a single noise.

After the man left, the whole room fell into silence until the maid asked her lady something that she has been curious about. "Milady, I was thinking that Aditya would badly lose this battle. Taking down two 3rd-orders while still being at 2nd-order isn't something that a normal dragon could do."

Hearing the words of her maid, she put the book that she was reading on the tea table. She then picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Honestly, what he did is shocking. We all were expecting him to lose this battle. I even sent a 4th-order to keep an eye on him. If his life was in danger, I had ordered the 4th order to react and protect his life."

"Now I feel that this entire time we have been underestimating him for the beginning." While Aditya was resting after the second battle, the news of the Zulux Dynasty's another huge defeat spread in all the neighboring kingdoms. Both kings were shocked to their core knowing that a King that everyone previously called an alcohol addict now had the power to defeat 3rd-order generals.

The news also reached the ears of Aditya's other wives. The sudden rise in his powers made people curious. Many people thought that from the beginning Aditya was pretending to be an addict so that he can strike on the two Kingdoms when they lower their guards against him.

Achoo!

"My lord, are you alright?" Amber asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I am fine." Aditya replied while rubbing his nose.

"My lord, are you sure you're alright? This is the 18th time you have sneezed in an hour."

"I am alright. Now let's talk about the causalities that we had in this battle."

"Before the battle started we had over 28,500 troops. While the enemy had 35,000 troops. That devastating explosion killed more than 10,000 soldiers from both sides. So by the time, when this battle ended, we had over 18,000 troops as most of the war prisoners that we captured before had died. So adding all the enemy troops who surrendered, we now have over 38,000 troops." In a room, everyone now was having a meeting.

"hmmm. That's good."

"But we now have a problem." Zayne frowned looking at the piece of paper in his hand.

"What problem?" Aditya lazily asked. He had been feeling lazy after the battle ended.

"Our food stock will only last for another week." Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked at Aditya with a serious look. Without food, it would be impossible to maintain this huge army. Without food, the soldiers will be weak and won't be able to fight at their full strength or worse can happen and thousands of troops might even die due to hunger.

"So we're in a situation where our food stock is limited to only 1 more week." Aditya closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

'The Nepoca Kingdom has blocked all kinds of trade with our Kingdom. There is no way Zulux Dynasty would sell us any food. Meaning, that the option of buying food does not exist.' Before this war started, Aditya bought one month's food for 20,000 troops, knowing that his troops were only 20,000. But he failed to count the possibility of his troop's number increasing.

'Also the merchant from whom I bought food only gave me a month's worth of food. Even though I tried to negotiate, he denied all of my offers saying that currently even he was out of food supplies.'

"Then contact Duke Sarlus." Among the three cities in the Istarin Kingdom, the city that Duke Sarlus governed is considered the most prosperous city. Compared to other cities, the food prices were not that high if the prices are compared to the price of the other two cities.

The meeting went on for another 30 minutes before everyone was dismissed.

Scene change_

"Your Majesty, we have lost the second battle." In the throne hall, everyone was staring at a person whose entire body was trembling hearing the words of his messenger. His eyes had turned red while he clenched his fists so tightly that his nails had dug into his flesh causing his palms to bleed.

For a moment no one dared to say anything. In front of the King of the Zulux Dynasty who currently looked too angry, no court officials not even the newly appointed Prime Ministers didn't have the courage to utter even a single word.

This time everyone was more than 100% sure that the forces of the Istarin Kingdom will be crushed and it won't be long before the Kingdom's territories are claimed by them. There was even a rumor which said that General Darren will be made the new governor of the conquered territories. Who would thought that two of their 3rd-order generals will be defeated? No one had expected this outcome even in their wildest nightmare.

A 3rd-order is considered the peak existence in three Kingdoms. Even after three decades of nurturing countless geniuses, the Zulux Dynasty had only managed to produce four 4rd-orders. Having a 3rd-order is equal to becoming a 3-tier Kingdom. While Zulux Dynasty before this war started was said to be near becoming a 4-tier powerhouse.

Before this war started, if someone had said that the King of Istarin Kingdom can kill a 3rd-order, no one would have believed in that person. Everyone would have laughed off thinking that the person was telling a Joke. Even the top-ranking geniuses in the three Kingdoms do not hold the power to kill a 3rd-order.

Yet a person who was called an Alcohol addict did the impossible. What kind of monstrous talent does one need to have to be able to kill a 3rd-order while still being a Beginner 2nd-order. Those who previously called Aditya an alcohol addict felt like their faces has been slapped countless times.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" The King glared at his newly appointed Prime Minister. If the old Prime Minister Joseph was still here, then he would have suggested some kind of solution. This made the King miss his old Prime Minister. Not only Joseph was cunning and sly in nature, but he also was the big brain that pushed to dynasty toward prosperity. It wouldn't be wrong to say that whatever that the Zulux dynasty has achieved in the last 10 years, was planned by Joseph.

The newly appointed Prime Minister began to sweat seeing the King angrily glaring at him. It only has been a few days since he started working as the Prime Minister. Before becoming the Prime Minister, he thought that becoming the King's right-hand man would benefit him and let him reach the peak of his life. But those fantasies were all wrong. Becoming the King's Prime Minister is like trying to babysit an adult. It was like he had come to hell.

After another 5 minutes of silence, the King sighed and calmed his head. He also knew that he had anger issues.

"With our defeat, we can say with 100% certainty that we can't underestimate the Istarin Kingdom. With the troops that we nurtured for years being captured by the enemy, their number should be exceeded 30,000." While saying those words the King again felt his heart boiling in anger. Only he and the previous Prime Minister knew how much money and resources they had spent on training the troops.

"Also knowing the enemy is capable of defeating two 3rd-orders, I think we should stop now." The words of the King surprised and shocked everyone in the throne hall. The King of the Zulux Dynasty giving up a war against a 2-tier Kingdom that now can be considered a 3-tier Kingdom didn't sound like something that the King would do. Especially after knowing how much the King valued his reputation.

It is known that the King would do anything to keep his reputation. He wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice an army of 10,000 for his reputation.

"We already have lost 65,000 troops, two 3rd-order generals. Dragging this war any longer would put the security of our dynasty at risk." While the King was someone who easily would get angry and impulsive in nature, the King wasn't stupid. He knew that the neighboring kingdoms wouldn't waste a single day in attacking if their Dynasty becomes weak enough.

While everyone was still shocked hearing the King's announcement, a messenger whose body was covered in black clothes making him look like an assassin appeared behind the throne and whispered something into the King's ear.

Announcement: -

Hello Everyone! I apologize for uploading one chapter every day. I have a high fever, maybe Coronavirus (I am not 100% sure). My body is currently too weak to write 2 chapters each day. For the next few days, I will continue to upload one chapter if my body is well enough.

Chapter 43

3 days passed since the second battle of the Zraka Fortress ended. During these three days, many people were expecting the Zulux Dynasty to send another large army. But contrary to their expectations, the Zulux Dynasty showed no sign of deploying their troops. It was as if they had forgotten about the ongoing war. This confused many people as they couldn't understand why would the Dynasty stop after experiencing two huge defeats.

The Dynasty was a proud Kingdom with over 115 years of long history. In that period, the dynasty had over 4 kings. The dynasty in that period of time did its best to maintain good political relations with other neighboring 3-tier Kingdoms while conquering all the 2-tier small Kingdoms around its borders. While the previous Kings didn't see any value in conquering land that is full of mountain ranges and were dependent on neighboring Kingdoms for food supplies. However, Sebastian Walker, the current King of the Zulux Dynasty saw the real value and potential that this small Kingdom had.

Sebastian Walker was by nature an ambitious man. He wanted to conquer more lands and expand his territory. His dream was to eventually let his dynasty become the overlord of this part of the continent by letting his Dynasty become a 5-tier powerhouse. However, his conquest plans were forced to be postponed due to several issues. Before becoming the King, his father previously had only 60,000 troops and one 3rd-order general under his command. Knowing that his Dynasty would be too weak to start his conquest plans, he had to wait 3 decades for his Dynasty to have four 3rd-orders.

The land of the Zulux Dynasty had 7 main cities and 29 small towns. Each main city was located either near the borders or in a strategic location for quick transportation of foods and other supplies. Unlike other neighboring Kingdoms, the title of Duke wasn't given to governors of the main 7 cities of the Zulux Dynasty. The Kings felt to main absolute control over all 7 cities that is the backbone of the Dynasty, they needed to maintain strong control over the 7 main cities.

He instead made the nobles of his Kingdom sign a special contract. If any noble tried to plot anything against the King of the Kingdom, they and their whole bloodline would instantly die, and their souls would be burned. This prevented any traitors or any rebels from rising.

The contract made all the nobles and their future generations the slave of the King and the Kingdom. All the nobles were very upset with the King because of the contract. Being tied to this contract meant, they had no free will. Every decision they want to make has to be discussed and approved by the King himself.

"Asharc city, one of the 7 main cities of Zulux Dynasty, located at the north-west border. The distance between the Asharc city and the Zraka fortress is about 50km but the mountain ranges made it difficult and consumed more time for traveling."

Currently, Sebastian Walker, the current King of the Zulux Dynasty, and John Mitchell, the noble house that is named as the governor of the Asharc city, was having an important meeting. John Mitchell was the governor of the Asharc city only in name, as the real ruler was King Sebastian.

"My personal spies had found that the Istarin forces are planning on attacking the Asharc city. It would take them approximately 9 to 10 hours to reach Asharc city. For now, we don't know when the Istarin forces will attack. But my theory is, that they will attack within this week. To prepare for the invasion, recall all the troops that were sent to guard the small towns." After giving several instructions to John, the king finally ended the meeting that was taking place with the use of 3-star artifacts.

3 days ago, when King Sebastian was thinking of stopping the war, for now, one of his personal spies came with very important information. Knowing that the Istarin Kingdom was going to attack the Asharc city, the King wanted John to increase the Asharc city's defense to the max. If one of the main 7 cities fell, it would be a huge loss for the Zulux dynasty. Losing a city to the Istarin Kingdom would be as same as being slapped millions of times.

Scene change

While the defense of the Asharc city was raised to the maximum, King Aditya was busy doing something else.

"Your Majesty, I can't express how impressed I am. Your intelligence is out of this world." Currently King Aditya, Majin village head Zachary and charming royal fox queen Amber were in the Zulux Dynasty territory. Everyone had big smiles on their faces.

"To think you would mislead the whole Zulux Dynasty with false information. Genius!"

The reason Aditya was trying to recruit the Majin under his command had something to do with his future plans. With the food shortage, Aditya's options were limited. He used the Majins' to spread false information about invading the Asharc city. Just like he expected, under King Sebastian's orders, John recalled all the troops who were meant to guard the surrounding towns. This left the towns unprotected.

What everyone failed to notice was that these towns held great importance for the Istarin Kingdom. By diverting the entire Dynasty's attention, Aditya was easily able to enter the Zulux Dynasty territory.

'Each of the three towns had more than 1000 acres of huge farming lands which is equal to having 38 football pitches. Each town specialized in growing corns, wheat, and rice. What I truly need is not territories, but rather food supplies. The farming land of the three towns located in the 100 km range of Asharc city had fertile land. These three towns fulfilled the high food demand of Asharc city. Last year, one of these three towns grew over 22000 quintals of rice.'

(Note: - 1 quintals is 100 kilograms or 220.462 pounds)

The plan was to bring down the food prices and eliminate the food shortage problem by lotting all the harvests from the three towns. No Kingdom in the dying Isle continent has ever done something like this. Many kings would strongly condemn this kind of act thinking that only thieves and bandits would do this kind of thing. But Aditya was different. Being a man who has worked for the Prime Minister, he didn't give a sh*t about his reputation.

'Thanks to the Majin who had gathered information on the enemy, I was able to form this plan.' Aditya has sent Majins to both Zulux and Nepoca Kingdoms.

'A great man once said, "Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle."

Aditya followed this principle. Since he lacked military powers, he wanted to have an advantage when it came to information. In this world where modern technology didn't exist, information was like possessing a powerful weapon. Information was the key to victory.

By bringing the Majins under his command, Aditya not only gained a powerful force of assassins but also a force that can deliver him the latest news.

"Grand East Springs, one of the three towns that provide food to Asharc city." The Grand East Springs had a population of 15,000. Almost 80% of the population of these three towns were slaves owned by John. Having slaves work for the farmland was cheaper and more effective.

Wearing black cloaks and covering their faces with hoods, the trio entered the Grand East Springs town by jumping over the walls without any effort. The whole town, including the farming lands, was surrounded by 3 meters tall wooden walls. The walls were built to prevent the slaves from running away and also to keep outsiders from entering the Grand East Springs town.

Previously there were a total of 10,000 troops guarding the three towns. Now there were less than 100 soldiers left to guard each town.

"Your Majesty, should I kill the guards?"

"Not now. You will get your time to play."

In the darkness of night, the trio approached the Warehouse, where all the harvest was being stored.

When the first ray of sunlight fell on the Grand East Springs town, two soldiers lazily walked up to the Warehouse that was located at the center of the Grand East Springs to guard the warehouse.

"Man, I don't understand why the hell we are supposed to guard the Warehouse. It's not like the Warehouse has anything valuable in it. The only thing that this Warehouse has is grains."

"Yeah, it's not like anyone has the balls to come and steal all the grains." The two soldiers walked up to the Warehouse. Just like every other morning, the first thing they did was to open the Warehouse and check if everything was in place.

Clang!

Pushing the two iron doors, the two soldiers entered the Warehouse. Looking at the empty Warehouse, the two soldiers were left dumbfounded.

"....Brother, I think I am hallucinating. I think I am still drunk. I am going to take a nap."

".....You're Not Hallucinating brother. If you sleep now you might never wake up again."

And just like that, in a single night, the last six month's harvest disappeared without a trace.

Within a single day, the news spread like wildfire eventually reaching the ear of King Sebastian. "You're telling me, while the soldiers who were meant to guard the Warehouse were having fun, someone mysterious person emptied our Warehouses."

Chapter 44

Within a single day, the news spread like wildfire eventually reaching the ear of King Sebastian. "You're telling me, while the soldiers who were meant to guard the Warehouse were having fun, someone mysterious person emptied our Warehouses."

"Yes, your Majesty." The messenger was trembling seeing the red eyes of the King.

"Your Majesty, I think I have an idea of who might be the culprit." The newly appointed prime minister gathered his courage to speak.

"Who is it?" Everyone in the court was looking at the man named Louis Martin.

"I think it was the Istarin Kingdom."

"Pure nonsense."

"What? This is nonsense."

"Yeah, why would the King do something this low and shameful?"

Everyone including the King doubted Louis, the Prime Minister's words.

When everyone calmed down, King Sabastian sighed and looked at Louis. He was starting to regret his decision on choosing this man as his prime minister.

"Explain your words."

"As we all know the Istarin Kingdom is lacking in food supplies. Now that their army has suddenly expanded to 38,000, I am sure they must have been running out of food to feed this huge army. The only reasonable solution to tackle this problem would be looting the enemy. By spreading false information, he made Lord John recall all the troops who previously were guarding the three towns. With only 100 soldiers guarding the towns, I am sure it must have been very easy for the Istarin Kingdom to take the Warehouse."

Hearing the words of the Prime Minister, the whole throne hall turned silent. Everyone realized how sly King Aditya was.

Bang!

Everyone took a step back seeing King Sabastian breaking the concrete wall with his right fist. A big part of the wall cracked like a spider web. King Sebastian did not use any Mana in his attack meaning he used his pure strength to crack the wall.

Drip!

Blood dripped from King Sebastian's hand as he angrily bit his lips drawing blood from his lips as well. "From the beginning, we have been dancing under that bastard's control without realizing it." This was the biggest slap to their faces. King Sebastian could feel his face burn in shame. What happened to the glorious Dynasty that he spent decades to built?

Scene change____

While everyone was shocked by what King Aditya did, currently the Dragon King was already executing the next phase of his grand plan.

"Everyone we will wait rest here." With 25,000 troops Aditya and his 7 generals had set out to invade Asharc city for real this time. Aditya had decided to stop 10 km away from Asharc city and hide in the mountain ranges until the perfect opportunity comes.

After giving a set of orders, Aditya turned to the old man who has been following him. "Old man, you know what to do" Zachary nodded and disappeared into the shadows. It was all thanks to the Majins who took out the enemy scouts that they were able to come this close to the Asharc city without anyone finding out about them. Zachary and the Majins were given the task to prevent news of the Istarin troops invading Asharc city from leaking out.

After finishing eating dinner, Aditya and others gathered in this tent to discuss their future plans. "Now that King Sebastian has found that we have purposely misled them to go after their Warehouse, he would probably try to increase the security of other towns to prevent this incident from happening once again. This means the security of Asharc city will be lowered. They certainly wouldn't expect us to launch an attack." The slaves that worked in the three cities are probably going to suffer from hunger now that all of their harvests have been taken away. Although Aditya did feel sympathy for them, he couldn't just let his people suffer as well. Sometimes, a ruler has to become cruel to win the war.

"Josh, Scott, Eleanor, Tyler, and Henry, you all will remain here and take command of the troop. While I, Amber, and Nathan will infiltrate Asharc city to take down the Mana barrier." Every main city of the Zulux dynasty was protected by a mana barrier. The barrier covered the whole city and was powered by mana stones.

Mana stones are special kinds of stones that are formed after collecting mana from the atmosphere for ten thousand years. Each mana stone had Mana comparable to a 3rd-order cultivator. The mana stones are very expensive. This is also why that capital only had 15 mana stones that Aditya bought for emergency purposes.

The mana barriers are strong enough to resist 3 full-powered attacks of a 3rd-order. Without deactivating the mana barriers it would be impossible for Aditya and his troops to invade the Asharc city.

"Out of everyone only Amber's illusion magic and Nathan's sneaking skills are going to help me." After awakening the royal Fox bloodline, Amber had started cultivating both paths. She even changed her class to Illusion Warlock. When one wants to change their class or choose a class, unlike Aditya they would have to visit the altar that is created for the sole purpose of granting a class for a cultivator.

"When we have done our part, I will send a signal. As soon as you all see the signal, don't waste even a second. March the army as fast as you can and attack the Asharc city."

"Understood"

With everything progressing according to the plan, Aditya, Amber, and Nathan disappeared into the darkness of the night.

The Asharc city was almost about 3 times the size of the capital. The whole city was surrounded by concrete walls standing 10 meters tall, just as in any other city. On three sides, the city was surrounded by forest, and on the north, it was surrounded by mountains. At a 10 km radius, watchtowers were made to look out if any army is approaching the city. With the joint afford from Nathan and a few other Majins, all soldiers in the watchtowers were killed in silence.

The Asharc city had a population of nearly three hundred thousand. The city was built in a pentagonal shape, having two gates at the North-west and the South-east sides of the city.

"Hold! If you're new to this city, then you must pay 1 silver as an entry fee." With Nathan's help, Aditya changed his appearance. Currently, Aditya's hair had turned dark purple while his pupils color still remained red. His face now changed to look more chubby. The handsome that could set any woman's heart on fire was no longer there.

While Amber did not change her appearance, as she used simple illusion magic to suppress her charm to the point where she now looked like an average woman.

Aditya politely gave two silver coins to one of the guards who were wearing silver armor and had short hair.

"Where are you from?" On the right side, Aditya could several posters of some wanted criminals. The faces of those criminals were neatly drawn on those posters.

"We came from one of the nearby villages." Aditya couldn't tell the guards that they came from the Istarin Kingdom. Due to the ongoing war, the security of Asharc city has been raised to the highest level.

"Which village?" The guard asked while taking a glance at Amber.

"The Ashwood village." Amber replied quickly. The guard nodded and wrote down the details along with the fake names that both Aditya and Amber gave them.

"How long are you two planning on staying in this village? And what is the purpose of your visit? Who is she?" After several more questions, finally, both of them were allowed to enter the city.

"My lord, where is Nathan?" Amber curiously asked while walking around the city. Unlike the capital, the whole city was bustling with different colors of light. There were street shops on almost every corner of the street. People from nearby villages mostly came here to sell their handmade products, hunted animals, and their harvest in the Asharc city in hope of making a little more money.

"You will know soon enough." Aditya replied with a mysterious smile.

While walking around, Aditya found many men glancing at Amber. Even though the Royal fox queen had suppressed her charm with illusion magic, she couldn't hide her bouncy body. Her big and round breasts slightly bounced every time she took a step and her big round plump ass attracted the attention of the males like a magnet. No one dared to approach Amber seeing the cold look in her eyes. It was as if she looking at insects.

"My Wife, what kind of food would you have tonight?" Aditya asked while putting his hand around her soft and slim waist.

Ehhh!

Amber wasn't expecting his Majesty to do something like this. When she felt Aditya's strong arm around her waist, her cheeks for a moment turned red before she quickly calmed herself.

"You, My dear, what are you doing?" Amber leaned right should on his chest and asked in a whispering tone. To others, this might look like the couples were flirting in the open which made the males very jealous. Amber purposely did this to not blow their disguise.

Aditya leaned to the right and whispered near her right ear. "A soldier has been following us for a while now." Now Amber finally understood why his Majesty suddenly put his arm around her waist, not that Amber felt offended or anything. Rather this whole thing was a unique experience for her. Before becoming a slave, Amber's life was full of struggle. She never had time for a relationship or romance.

For a moment Amber didn't understand why a soldier was secretly following them. But after a moment she realized something and looked at Aditya. "Your Majesty, did you suppress your Aura when you were entering?"

"I am sorry I don't understand your words." Amber nearly slapped her forehead with a palm.

"I think that soldier is following you because they sensed you are a 2nd-order."

"Your Majesty, you must learn to suppress your Aura otherwise even a non-sensory cultivator can what your cultivation strength is. The guards already must have seen through our disguise. If my guess is right, they are thinking of ambushing us." In these parts of the continent, only a few percent of the people can reach 2nd-order. There is no way a second order can belong from a village.

"Well, this makes things easier for us." From the beginning, Aditya came here with the intention of killing thousands. In war, it didn't matter who is the innocent or who is the criminal. It did not matter who is right and who is wrong. What mattered is the victory. The winner will always be the right.

In this path, Aditya has no idea how many innocent people will die in his hand. But as the ruler, the King must place his family and kingdom before anything. A king must become cruel when it's necessary. If a King does not use cruelty, sooner or later this Kingdom will fall. It was all about survival of the fittest. There was no such thing as innocent or guilty.

[Ever since I forged my plan, I have been prepared to slaughter all kinds of beings. I won't care who stands in my way. If my biological parents block my path then I will them as well.] These words were the true conviction of the Dragon King.

"Amber get ready to battle."

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!

Chapter 45

Swoosh!

Both Amber and Aditya disappeared with the passing wind.

"Where did they go?" The 1st-order soldier who has been following them in secret moved his head in other directions to search for the suspicious couples that entered the Asharc city.

"Looking for us?" In the darkness of the night, both Amber and Aditya appeared on the top of a roof. The soldier nearly jumped in fright when he heard a male voice as a hand grabbed his right shoulder.

Just when he turned his head, from the darkness two pairs of light yellow glowing eyes stared at the soldier for a second before the eyes of the soldier turned lifeless.

[Hypnosis!]

"Its' done. Your Majesty can ask or order him anything that you want." One of the new skills that she learned was Hypnosis. The skill only worked when the target has a weak mind or weak will. At her current level, she can only Hypnotize Mid-1st orders.

Scene change

"Bro, I heard that a prostitute house has opened in the western part of the city. I think we should check it out when we have some free time. With our identity, we should get some discounts."

"Sure, I have no problem."

"The sad part is I don't think at this time we will get any vacation. Given how the Istarin Kingdom has just robbed us by fooling the whole dynasty, I don't think the hatred between the two Kingdoms will end anytime soon."

Currently, in the training camp, around 4,000 soldiers were resting while the other 4,000 was working. The soldiers working time was divided into two shifts. Each shift was 12 hours long of hard work. During their working hours, non of the soldiers were allowed to leave the training camp. After every 15 days, the 8,000 soldiers would be replaced by another group who previously were guarding the nearby towns and the borders. This cycle continued for 15 to 30 years until a soldier reached the age of 40 to 55. There were even some soldiers who would retire only after reaching 70+. The life of a cultivator was long. Even a [70+] 1st-order soldier can beat the strongest men on earth by using 1/10th of his total strength.

The training camp was located on the northern side of the city. The training camp was built on an open field with thousands of tents. Each tent was big enough to let 4 soldiers sleep in comfort. Between the tents, there were big campfires meant to keep the tents warm during the night times. The entire training camp was restricted to the public. The training camp was surrounded by 2 meters long wooden walls.

Other than the 8,000 soldiers who had to work in two shifts, there was also a special unit. The special unit had over 1,500. The unit was created for emergency purposes.

"Brother, let's get our food." Currently, all the soldiers in the training camp were waiting in line to get their dinner. The soldiers are fed high-quality magical beast meat that is very healthy and nutritious for a cultivator's body.

"I heard today we are going to have the chance of eating the meat of Snow Bear." Just as the soldier extended his hand to get the tray, his entire body exploded like a water balloon.

Bang!

"What just happened?" Seeing the red blood and the small pieces of scattered meat on the ground, many soldiers who saw this scene panicked as fear took over their hearts.

"Hehe!" Everyone felt a shiver running down their spine when they saw a golden magic circle appear in front of them, the magic circle was about 20 meters in size. What scared them the most was when they saw all the corpses in the magic circle.

"...Amber, there is no way to scare them like that." Everyone turned to their right to see a handsome young man and a woman who is extremely beautiful and seductive, walking in their direction.

Amber covered her mouth as she giggled slightly causing her round breasts to bounce slightly but no one had the mood to appreciate this view. "Hehe! Your Majesty, I just wanted to test my illusion magic. It seems at my current level, I can only do this much."

Today Aditya found that one of his generals likes to torture the opponent using illusion magic. "Let's finish this quick and fast." The Crimson Dragon Wrath sword appeared in his right hand. Red-orange looking lightning began to flicker around Aditya's body making cracking sounds. The next second, the Crimson Dragon vanished from his place.

Swoosh!

Bang!

When Aditya reappeared, more than 200 soldiers were dead as their heads were cut off. The remaining soldiers who were previously standing in the line panicked. One of the soldiers took out a red orb and activated the orb using mana. As the red orb glowed in bright red color, his words were heard all over the city.

[Red alert. We have two intruders at the training camp. Requesting back for backup.] The voice was heard all over the city. With the red alert, the guards quickly closed the two gates and activated the mana shield that covered the whole city. The troops who previously were patrolling the city now was rushing in the direction of the training camp. Even the governor of this city, John Mitchell rushed out of his Mansion and went in the direction of the training camp.

"Everyone we will just have to hold them until the Governor himself arrives." With each passing second more and more soldiers gathered with their weapons. Within 5 minutes more than 5,000 soldiers surrounded Aditya and Amber. However, despite being surrounded by 5,000 and increasing soldiers, neither the fox queen nor the Crimson Dragon showed any look of nervousness or fear.

"Who is it?" After about 7 and a half minutes, everyone heard a loud voice. The soldier's eyes brightened with hope hearing the voice. Even if they had no hope of defeating this 2nd-order, their governor had the power to kill anyone under the 3rd-order. Now that their governor was here they had nothing to worry about.

Swoosh!

When the strong wind finally left, a man holding a lance stood 9 meters away from Aditya and Amber. For a brief moment, no one dared to speak anything. Both sides just stared at each other, trying to measure the opponent's power in silence.

"It's nice to meet you, Lord John Mitchell." The man named John Mitchell was about 6 feet tall, with a round bald head that perfectly reflected the moonlight. He had a fairly muscular body. What made Aditya and Amber most surprised was his fashion. He was wearing pink color pajamas.

".....That's an interesting Pajamas you got there." Hearing Aditya's words, John's lowered his head only to realize that in a hurry he wore his wife's pajamas and came here. It was not just Aditya and Amber who wanted to laugh even the soldiers of John wanted to roll on the ground and laugh.

"Hmph! Dragon King, I don't know if I should thank heaven for sending you to me. Today, I will capture you and present you to his Majesty." Since Aditya was no longer hiding his face, John was able to recognize him in a matter of seconds.

"My pink clown, have you ever seen fireworks?" John can't express how humiliated felt when Aditya called him Pink clown.

"What are you talking about?" Not understanding what Aditya was referring to, John asked back.

"Let me demonstrate it for you." Under the gaze of more than 10,000 soldiers, Aditya raised his right hand and snapped.

Snap!

With the snap, a huge loud explosion took place.

Boooooooom!

The explosion shook the entire Asharc city to its core. No one had expected something like this to happen. When the explosion ended, another series of explosions kept taking place. With each explosion, John's face kept turning more and more paler.

Boom! Boom! Booom!

"What is happening?" The earthquake produced due to the explosion caused some soldiers to fall to the ground.

After about 1 minute, the explosion sounds finally died down. But in just one minute, 97 explosions took place, shaking the entire city and destroying many things.

"What...did you really do?" John's entire body trembled as he looked at Aditya.

"Nothing much. I just made it easier for my troops to attack this city." John was ready for anything but this sentence. His entire body shuddered in fear as his pale turned pale. His lips trembled while his eyes flashed in fear of death. With the contract binding him, he can't surrender which would mean betraying King Sebastian meaning his death. While the enemy wasn't going to spare him either. In both ways, he was a dead person.

It was not just Sebastian, but also the 10,000 soldiers who had surrounded Aditya who paled hearing his words.

"How did you do it?" John weakly fell to his knees as he dropped the lance that he was holding before. There was no hope left in his eyes. Either way, he and his family was going to die due to the contract.

"What I was.....Flashback!!!

Standing on the top of a mountain, Aditya and Nathan were looking in the direction of Asharc city. "Nathan, take this storage ring with you." Nathan took the golden ring with a Crimson stone and looked at his king in confusion. His gaze was curious and filled with questions.

"This storage ring has over 100 explosive runes. Each rune can end the life of a second-order in an instant." These types of runes took a lot of time to draw. Aditya was able to make 100 explosive paper talismans after a total of 100 hours of hard work.

Nathan for a moment looked shocked hearing the words of his Majesty. He looked down at the storage ring and carefully placed the ring in his pocket. "To pull off our plan, I want you to place all the paper rune talismans on the walls of the Asharc city."

Flashback ends

"You can draw runes?" John nearly felt like dying in shock. In this world, Runemasters were very rare. Even a 4-tier Kingdom would struggle to find get a 1st-order Rune Master in their faction.

"I am an allrounder." Aditya smiled as he stared at the fearful faces of the 10,000 soldiers.

"I have given my army the signal they needed. It's time to shed some blood."

Swoosh!

The next moment, under the disbelieving gazes of 10,000 the head of governor John was cut in half.

[Ding! You have killed a Mid 2nd-Order cultivator. You have gained experience points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding1 You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding1 You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled u.....]

The soldiers couldn't block a single strike of Aditya and Amber. Both of them danced in the crowd of soldiers. That night, the Asharc city is said to have experienced the cruelest night in the history of its creation.

Crimson Blink!

From the hundreds of bolts of lightning began striking the soldiers. Each time a lightning bolt hit a soldier, that soldier's body would explode like a water balloon.

Aditya madly swung the Crimson Dragon wrath sword while Amber used this chance to practice her illusion magic. This wasn't a fight. It was rather a one-sided massacre that dyed the entire training camp with a river of blood and countless corpses. The whole fight continued until 10,000 soldiers were killed by both.

By the time when Aditya's troops came, the fight had long ended. Aditya and Amber were waiting for the troops to occupy their new territory, the Asharc city. All the troops, even the war prisoners who previously were soldiers of the Zulux Dynasty were shocked to see how quickly Aditya managed to capture the Asharc city. The whole process was smooth. Within a single night, Aditya conquered about 10% of the Zulux Dynasty territory.

Chapter 46

"Your Majesty, everything is done. We have successfully captured Asharc city."

"Thank you for reporting Amber. Now you can take some time to rest." It was already midnight. It took a few hours to clean and deal with all the dead bodies. Aditya also refused to throw away the armors and the weapons that the soldiers of this city used previously.

"Thank your Majesty. Then, I will excuse myself" Amber gave a bow before leaving the room. Currently, Aditya was in the Mansion of Governor John. He was sitting in John's study room and going through all the papers and documents.

"I have sent Scott, Tyler, and Henry with a total of 9,000 troops. Before morning, the towns in the surrounding 100 km radius will be under my control. I hope everything keeps moving according to the plan."

"Now, let's check my status panel. It's been a while since I opened my status panel. I have killed two 3rd-orders, one mid 2nd-order and ten thousand 1st-order, my level should have taken a massive jump."

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 55 ? 89

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, [Molten bolt ? Crimson Blink], Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision, Disturbance of Blessings, Mystic Surge, Charm of Inferno Rune

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 175 ? 209

_Speed: - 243 + [100] ? 277 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 175 ? 209

_Health: - 175 ? 209

_Mana: - 247 ? 281

_Free stats: - 0 ? 68 ]

"I have reached level 89." Aditya raised his left eyebrow in surprise. The amount of experience points that he needed to level up would only increase with each level. Only strong enemies can give Aditya the huge experience points he needs. Currently, 1st-orders are too weak for him. Even after killing 10,000 1st-order, contrary to Aditya's expectations he only leveled up 2 times. It was not that he was afraid of facing strong enemies. It was rather the opposite, Aditya felt a sense of excitement whenever he faced off against a powerful cultivator. What made Aditya sigh was the fact that his leveling speed would be greatly slowed down.

[Crimson Blink: -

[Description]: - An rare evolved form of Molten Volt. This skill is a combination of fire and lightning nature.

[Function 1]: - When this skill is used the user can transform into lightning for 10 seconds. For the first 5 seconds, the skill will consume [100+] mana while for the last 5 seconds the skill mana consumption will be doubled to become [200+].

[Function 2]: - When the user transforms into a bolt of lightning, for the next 10 seconds the user's speed will be increased by [500+].

Note: - The Crimson blink will enter into a cool-down period of 24 hours after each use.]

[Blast of Divine Fury: -

[Description]- A special type of skill developed by the Goddess of War. This skill still hasn't reached its perfect level yet. Currently, this skill can only be used by Dragons who have fire affinity.

[Function]: - It will consume [10+] mana to activate the Blast of Divine Fury skill. When this skill is used, the host will enter into a berserk state. All of the host stats except for Mana will be temporarily increased by 50%. The host will have to spend [2+] mana per second to keep this skill activated. After using this skill, the skill will enter a 24 hours cooldown.]

[Eruption Wave: - When this skill is used, the user can control lava. Whenever this skill is activated it will consume [2+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination.]

After 4 hours of nonstop reading various documents on the Asharc city's taxes, finance and income, Aditya was starting to feel a little tried. These days he rarely slept. He would either spend his time trying to make new rune talisman or he would spend his time knowing more about the enemy.

Sigh!

Aditya looked back, through the transparent glass window, he can see the bustling city that seemed unaffected by the invasion. It was only the normal class people who suffered in these times.

"I wonder when Julia will finish her research on the black heart." If Aditya were to get the Blackheart then he can bring down this whole Dynasty on its knees within a week's time. The Blackheart was an essential part of Aditya's future plan.

By the time when the first ray of the morning sunlight fell on the easter edge of the continent, the two Kingdoms were shaken up by the news that spread faster than bushfire.

"Hahaha! I don't if the Istarin King has gone mad or he is actually a genius."

"Not only to manage to fool everyone, but he also in less than 24 hours he went ahead to capture the Zulux Dynasty's bordering city."

"What's more, he and one of his generals dyed the land of the Zulux dynasty with the blood of 10,000 soldiers."

"This man is an absolute freak. A lunatic."

The streets of the Istarin Kingdom and the Nepoca Kingdom were talking about only one person. He was the same person who went on from being an alcoholic to becoming one of the best Kingdoms in the Istarin Kingdom history.

Currently, various meetings were being held in both the Nepoca Kingdom and in the Zulux Dynasty.

In the Nepoca Kingdom!

"What do you think your Majesty?" Duke Easton looked at his Majesty and asked.

"We will attack The Istarin Kingdom. Ever since the start of this war, King Aditya has kept exceeding our expectations. That man is a being with extraordinary intelligence. It's not his power that makes him dangerous, it's his intelligence. Even when the chances of the Istarin Kingdom winning those two battles were low, he never even once called the army that was under Duke Sarlus."

"Your Majesty, are you saying that King Aditya already had predicted a fight with our Kingdom?" The King nodded his head.

"I can't even see through him anymore. It's like he was always walking 2 steps ahead."

"It's ironic to think that before the war started we were thinking of taking advantage of the Istarin Kingdom to conquer the Zulux Dynasty. Prepare for the attack. While King Aditya is away from his Kingdom, we can use this chance to bring Duke Sarlus to his knees and capture him." In the north, while the Nepoca Kingdom was planning on attacking, King Sebastian was also planning his next move.

Zulux Dynasty Throne hall__

"Your Majesty....?" Everyone worriedly looked at King Sebastian. The man with dark red hair and a handsome face had closed his eyes and currently was taking long deep breaths to calm himself. Everyone worriedly stared at King Sebastian.

When today morning, the news reached the King's ears, he nearly passed out from coughing 5 liters of blood. Unknowingly he once again was dancing under the enemy King's control.

As everyone in the royal court stared at their King thinking that he was going to blame the newly appointed Prime Minister to take out his frustrated anger. The poor man has been cursed and blamed for the things that he didn't even do.

"Hahaha! Today's weather is really good."

"...." For a moment everyone in the throne hall felt something was wrong with their king. Some even looked at each other, asking each other what was wrong with the King. Did the King finally go crazy?

"I think this would be perfect weather to execute my Prime Minister."

"What?" Everyone including the Prime Minister stared at King Sebastian in shock. The King said that so casually that a few even felt that the King was joking but remembering the current state of the dynasty, the King shouldn't be in the mood of joking.

"Your Majesty, this is not even my fault." The young man with black hair whose age was only 29 fell to his knees and looked at the king with a begging expression. This whole thing wasn't even his fault. So why?

Whenever he suggested something the King or the King's advisors would always reject his suggestion. The decision to send two 3rd-orders and 65,000 troops in the battle was taken by the King and his royal advisors.

"Your Majesty, I think executing Prime Minister won't give us anything. We will only lose one of our best." One of the King's advisor's suggested.

The king looked at the Prime Minister in disdain. "Hmph! If he is considered one of the best in the Dynasty, then our Dynasty surely will fall. People like him don't deserve to even stand here. Someone throw this man out."

Instead of asking for forgiveness, everyone was a little surprised when the Prime Minister walked away from the throne hall without needing any guard to drag him out. He was already fed up with this. He was tired. Working under this man was not an option. He would rather work on farm lands than work as the King's right-hand man.

"Now that the trash is gone, let's talk about the real situation. I admit that King Aditya was very clever." Without Aditya, the enemy Kingdom would have fallen in their first attack. Aditya was the main pillar while his 7 generals were his seven weapons.

"Before he targets we must drive them back from our land and reclaim our territory. Your Majesty, this time I suggest going all out."

"That's what I am planning. Call both of our generals. This time I will personally lead this battle. I must see what King Aditya is capable of."

Chapter 47

From the North, an army of 50,000 was approaching the fortress of Vrane city. Just like the fortress of Zraka city, the Vrane city fortress was built 10 km away from the city. The Vrane city fortress was built 15 km away from the Turquoise Channel which flowed from the Nepoca Kingdom to the Istarin Kingdom, to reach the sea.

As soon as the news reached Duke Sarlus's ears, the first thing he did was to contact his Majesty.

[I am not too surprised. Seeing a weak neighboring Kingdom rise in power, anyone in their position would have done the same thing. How long do you think the enemy will take to arrive?]

[24 hours if the enemy army doesn't take any rest along the way.]

[So we have one day in our hands. I will send Zayne with 13,000 troops]

[Your Majesty, even if you send 13,000 troops, we still won't have enough forces to counter the Nepoca Kingdom. Not to mention their 3rd-order Duke Easton who is personally leading this battle. I don't know if I can win a battle against Duke Easton.]

[Don't worry, I will be there before the battle starts. For that to happen, I need some time as King Sebastian also leading an army and two 3rd-order generals against us.]

Not even one day had passed since Aditya had taken over the Asharc city he got the news of King Sebastian leading an army of 50,000, with two of his 3rd-order generals following the King to fight Aditya.

[What?]

[Your Majesty, even though my words might sound offensive, I strongly suggest you and the Istarin army retreat. This time, I don't think you can win the battle. As long as you leave Asharc city, I am sure King Sebastian won't go out of his land as he also needs these troops to protect his other border cities.]

Aditya for a moment did not reply. Instead, he closed his eyes as he lay down on the bed in his office. This time, Aditya was doubting whether he can ensure his victory or not just like the other two times.

The only reason they won the first battle was that the troops were exhausted from continuing their march in the storm. While the second battle was won only because Aditya and the Wyvern had managed to take down the enemy troops' generals.

But this time the enemy troop numbers are 50,000 while Aditya's forces were only 25,000. Not to mention their two generals.

'If it was only about taking down two generals, then I could have done it like last time. But defeating 50,000 troops, I don't see anyway. Is this how I am going to end my plan?' Aditya didn't know what to do. He was being attacked by both Kingdoms which was currently the worst thing that could happen to his Kingdom.

Just as Aditya was looking out the window with a confused look, he saw a pigeon carrying a letter on its neck. "What is this?"

[Your Majesty, did something happen?] Duke Marvin Sarlus asked hearing Aditya's voice.

[Nothing. Give a minute.]

The pigeon landed in front of Aditya. After taking the letter from the pigeon, he opened the letter. The letter only had 4 words. But these 4 words were the most important thing that Aditya needed to hear right now.

His emotions were so intense that a moment his arms began trembling as he reread those 4 words multiple times to make sure he was reading the right thing.

[We will win both battles.] Aditya suddenly said in an excited tone. His voice was slightly trembling as he said those words.

[Your Majesty, did something happen?] Duke Marvin could feel the excitement in Aditya's tone.

[I will tell you later. For now, you and Zayne shall get ready to face off the enemy. I will be there before the battle will start. I will finish things on my part.] After that Aditya ended the meeting quickly leaving Duke Marvin Sarlus confused.

Duke still decided to do what his Majesty told him to do.

Aditya closed the door to his study room and quickly made his way to Amber's room. Without bothering to knock, he directly entered her bedroom.

Click!

"Who is it....Your Majesty?" Amber, just came out of the bathroom wearing sexy transparent pajamas in which she was going to sleep. Her initial anger turned into surprise seeing it was his Majesty who entered her room without even knocking.

"Amber..." For a moment Aditya almost couldn't speak as his eyes went down beyond her collarbone.

Cough! Amber coughed lightly as she noticed where his Majesty was staring. She was very embarrassed at this moment.

"Sorry!"

Aditya's face for a moment turned red as he turned around. Even a small second was enough for the Dragon King to remember the image of two holy mountains for the rest of his life. Even when he turned his head around, his mind kept on playing that same image numerous times making the Dragon King's blood boil.

What he saw just now was making his throat go dry and making him feel breathless. Amber failed to see his hard stick that was poking against its pant, wanting to break out from the prison and show itself to the whole world.

"Anyway, I will leave you in charge of leading our troops against the Zulux Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, are you going somewhere?" Amber quickly asked while suppressing the embarrassment in her heart.

"Yes. I will be back before the battle begins."

"Understood your Majesty."

"Also one more thing, I apologize I didn't mean to barge in." After saying that Aditya did not wait for Amber to respond. He moved like the wind and quickly vanished.

Scene change!

Under the bright night sky and glittering stars, a figure could be seen flying in the direction of the east. The figure was flying faster than the speed of a beginner 3rd-order. The figure has been flying for 4 hours now.

Using the Bracelet of Wind Fairy which further increased his speed by adding wing elements to his wings, Aditya was currently flying towards the capital.

After a long time, Aditya finally saw his capital city. Even though he was away from the city for less than 2 weeks, the city had gone through lots of changes. "All the money I spent for construction wasn't only for show."

The population of the city has been on the rise. With back-to-back wins and even conquering the enemy's territory, the citizens of the Kingdom trusted that under King Aditya, the kingdom only will continue to become a better place. Many young men and women from the nearby villages have been coming to the capital to make a fortune.

"It looks like Watson has been doing a good job in my absence." The construction work was 80% finished. The construction speed was increased with the help of earth and fire magicians.

Tap!

Aditya landed on the training ground where previously all the recruits used to train. The whole training ground was empty. Aditya first took a moment to enjoy looking at his Castle. The whole Castle had been renovated to look completely new.

"Your Majesty?" Aditya smiled as he turned around hearing the familiar voice of the old man who looked energetic and excited.

"Watson, I am back." The butler still looked the same as ever.

"Welcome back, your Majesty."

"Where is Julia?" Aditya curiously asked.

"She is waiting for you in her newly built laboratory."

While walking toward the laboratory, Aditya asked Watson some questions regarding the situation in the capital.

"Your Majesty, you won't believe it but the population of the capital has doubled in just 10 days. More and more people are coming to the city. Adventurers from various Kingdoms are coming here to hunt monsters in Silver Meadow Grove."

"That's good. What about our project to build a port city on the eastern edge of the Kingdom? Did the construction work start yet?"

"It did. Everything is going smoothly. Though we had to deal with a few groups of bandits. Everything is going according to plan. 500 soldiers are constantly guarding the construction site. We can expect the port city to be ready before the end of this year."

"Wonderful. Did you find any spies from the neighboring Kingdoms?"

"Yes, we did. Especially from the Nepoca Kingdom. Those spies were looking for the killer of merchant Amos."

"Your Majesty, how is the situation at the front line? Now that you have taken over one of their border cities, I am sure the enemy will strike back."

"Your guess is right on the money. An army of 50,000 led by the King himself is marching to fight us. While from the north, the Nepoca Kingdom is also coming with 50,000 troops led by a 3rd-order."

Hearing the shocking words of Aditya, Watson suddenly felt like he was being struck by lightning bolts. "Your Majesty, then how can you remain so calm? You must withdraw your troops from the Zulus Dynasty territory and focus on defending against the Nepoca Kingdom."

Aditya stopped walking and turned around. This was the first time Aditya has ever seen Watson lose his calm. "I just don't want to keep defending. Today even if successfully managed to defend against them, tomorrow might even return with 100,000. What we will do then?"

"Watson war is fought for interest. Seeing how fast our Kingdom is growing the enemy will keep attacking us. With two victories, the Zulux Dynasty is already weakened. I want to take a risk and gamble on everything." Suddenly Aditya's pupils changed color to Crimson red with a vertical slit in the middle.

"My Empire is the Graveyard of Empires." For some reason when Watson stared at those Crimson dragon eyes and heard those three words, he felt goosebumps all over his body. From the beginning, this young man has been breaking the common logic and surpassing everyone's expectations.

Unconsciously everyone around Aditya began to believe that with their King leading them, they can even do the impossible. Even with the odds against him, Aditya always has managed to win. Watson had a feeling that soon the whole continent would know the Istarin Kingdom as the Graveyard of Empires.

"Let's go."

Watson didn't say anything as he followed behind Aditya. His old heart was still wildly beating as his blood boiled in excitement just thinking of that possibility.

Knock! Knock!

Standing in front of the newly built laboratory, Aditya knocked on the door.

"Come in"

Click!

Pushing the metal doors apart, Aditya and Watson walked into a large room. The room had several long tables that had all kinds of alchemy ingredients placed on them, chairs, and a small single bed. The whole room was filled with the fragrance of herbs. Multiple white lights lit the whole room bright.

Wearing a long white coat, the Goddess of Alchemy looked quite busy with her work. Hearing the sound of the footsteps, she for a second raised her head and stared at Aditya before looking down and continuing what she was doing.

'Is she purposely avoiding me or what?' Aditya wondered while looking at his wife.

'I think he became more handsome or is something wrong with me?' On the surface, her cold face seems to make people think that she doesn't want to talk but inside she was very happy to see Aditya back.

"Did you miss me?" Aditya asked in a teasing tone while Watson just pretended that he never existed. He had no intention of becoming a third party that everyone hates.

"Who missed you? Hmph! This princess was busy with her work. I got no time to worry for anyway." She replied without looking at Aditya.

'She is tsundere after all. She is not even honest with her feelings' Aditya sighed looking at Julia.

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 89

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Crimson Blink, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision, Disturbance of Blessings, Mystic Surge, Charm of Inferno Rune

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 209

_Speed: - 277 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 209

_Health: - 209

_Mana: - 281

_Free stats: - 68 ]

Chapter 48

"Who missed you? Hmph! This princess was busy with her work. I got no time to worry for anyway." She replied without looking at Aditya.

'She is tsundere after all.' Aditya walked without making any noise. Without Julia noticing, he walked right behind her. He leaned forward bringing his face closer to her right ear and whispered into her ear. "I missed you a lot."

"What are you doing?" Julia jumped back and glared at Aditya like an angry kitten. She was acting as if someone had stepped on her tail.

"Hehe! I missed my wife of course. Come here, give your husband a kiss." Aditya spread his arms and walked toward Julia for a kiss.

Julia for a second was left speechless seeing how shameless this man was acting. "You shameless Dragon"

Bang!

Ouch!

"What was that for?" Aditya held his stomach and looked at Julia with a painful expression.

"If you try to act shamelessly again, I will punch a 100 times." Surprisingly the right fist of the alchemy goddess is more powerful than it looks.

"Why does it feel like I have heard this dialogue before?" Aditya murmured as he rubbed his stomach.

"Hmph!" Julia snorted and then resumed what she was doing before.

'What was that? He completely surprised me. You shouldn't act so shameless in front of Grandpa Watson.' Deep in inside, she was very embarrassed. When he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, Julia felt her heart would nearly stop beating for a second.

'She is cute.' Aditya smiled seeing how Julia acted. The more time he passed with his wife, the more he came to like her as his wife. 'Maybe being married to her wasn't a bad thing Afterall.' Aditya smiled looking at Julia's back.

Watson on the other hand had a wonderful expression on his face. The old man couldn't describe his happiness. Just how far these two have come? Before Julia hated the fact that she was married to an alcohol addict. The whole continent made fun of the fact that the Goddess of alchemy, the most beautiful woman on the continent ended up being married to an ordinary man who is an addict.

But now things have changed so much. Watson noticed that when Aditya called her his wife, Julia didn't deny his words. 'Milady Onard, it looks like you can expect a grandchild in the next few years.

'Then I will become the baby's God grandfather. Hehe!' Just thinking of lady Julia's child calling him God grandfather made his heart excited.

Cough!

"Shall we start the process? Time is running out." Before coming here, Aditya forbade Watson from telling Julia anything about the frontline. There was no reason to make his kitty wife worried.

"Time is running out?"

"Yeah, his Majesty has to return to the frontline before morning." Watson quickly added. Even though he felt bad for lying to his lady, it was for her best. Also, Julia is worried, then she won't able to focus on making healing pills.

"Alright. I will need your Crimson flames." Julia kept her serious face and asked while looking at Aditya.

"Why do you need my Crimson flames?"

"Because your Crimson flames are one of the highest rank flames I have ever seen. The high temperature of the flame is what I need to extract the liquid from these ingredients without actually burning the ingredients." Hearing her words, Aditya turned to look at Watson. Seeing Aditya's look, Watson shrugged his shoulder as if telling Aditya that even he has no idea what the Goddess of alchemy is talking about.

"....You don't have to do much other than maintaining the temperature of the Crimson flame at the same level."

".....Okay" Aditya stood next to Julia and created a palm-size Crimson orb flame. As soon as Aditya summoned the Crimson flame, Julia and Watson could instantly experience the changes in the room temperature. Julia who was standing next to Aditya felt the full intensity of the flame. She felt as if her entire body was being fired by lava.

She quickly used mana to cover her. Just as she used her water element, her body temperature started returning to normal.

"Your Flame is more powerful than I expected." Aditya strangely looked at her.

"This sounds a little wrong."

Julia rolled her eyes hearing his comment. "....Your and your shamelessness knows no bound."

"I...No need to say anything. Keep your mouth and let me focus." Knowing this man's character, The Goddess was sure that this perverted Dragon was planning on saying something shameless to embarrass her.

Aditya noticed Julia's arms covered in a transparent light blue mana. She was using water mana to keep the temperature of her arms normal.

Julia held the Silver Dragon grass and marrow-washing grass above the Crimson flame. To prevent both of the grasses from instantly burning, she used a strange oil. The whole process was slow and complicated. After 5 minutes of heating, both Aditya and Watson looked surprised seeing a drop of strange dark purple liquid coming out. Slowly more drops of dark purple liquid were collected on a glass test tube.

"Hey, I think the glass test tube could melt at any time."

"Okay, you can stop now." When Aditya unsummoned his Crimson Flame, Watson, and Julia sighed in relief. The power of the Crimson flame couldn't be underestimated.

"Are you done?" Aditya asked seeing Julia adding other liquid solutions to the purple liquid that was stored in the test tube. "No, I am not done."

Julia then turned to look at Aditya and asked with a straight face. "Give me your blood."

"What?"

"I will need your blood to complete the serum." Aditya nodded and then made a vertical cut on his left palm allowing blood to fall in one of the test tubes that Aditya held with his other hand.

"What is this?" Aditya asked seeing Julia taking a frozen heart out of a 1-meter big rectangular glass box. The frozen heart was the same size and shape as the heart of a human. Without any blood, the frozen heart was transparent.

"This is the heart of a Peak 6th-order lightning Forest Deer."

"What" Watson and Aditya lost their calm hearing the casual words of Julia.

"Milady, you're really not joking are you?"

Julia put the rectangular glass container on the table and looked at Watson with a stoic face. "Do I look like I am joking?" She then turned to look at Aditya. "I could have used the heart of a normal magical beast. Using a normal second or third-order magical beast heart would have been enough."

Julia looked at the frozen heart. "But if I use the heart of Peak 6th-order lightning Forest Deer and turn it into your black heart, the benefits you will receive will be 100 times better than using a normal heart. There is a high possibility that you might even gain a new nature affinity."

"Seriously?" Aditya gasped hearing Julia's words. Before he had checked his nature affinity. Due to his Crimson Heavenly Bloodline, he only has fire affinity. If Aditya really can gain another nature affinity then his powers would take a massive leap. Just with his Crimson flame, Aditya is able to dominate his enemies. Now if he can get another nature affinity, even he is not sure how much his powers would increase.

"Yes." Julia nodded as she gently started pouring Aditya's blood on the Lightning Forest Dear's heart, causing the color of the heart to change to red with small sparks of blue lightning flickering around the heart.

"But milady, how did you get the heart of a Peak 6th-order Lightning Forest Dear? I don't mean any offense but I don't think even the Onard house has the power to hunt or have enough capital to buy the heart of a Peak 6th-order magical beast." In this continent, there were only 6th-order beings. 6th order beings could only be found in the central continent, Aditya's home continent. As far as Watson could tell, no one in the Dying Isle continent has the power or the influence to get a heart of Peak 6th-order magical beasts.

And the Lightning Forest Deer wasn't any normal Peak 6th-order beasts. In this world, there are only about 7 or 8 Lightning Forest Deer. Lightning Forest deer is also called the overlords of forests. They watch over the forests for centuries or even millenniums. They are peaceful magical beasts by nature but they can become extremely violent if their children are harmed.

Each Lightning forest Deer can move super fast, almost faster than some 7th orders. Hunting a Peak 6th-order Lightning Forest deer is nearly impossible. As far as Watson can tell, he has never heard of anyone who successfully has managed to hunt a Lightning Forest deer.

"It was not my family who got the Heart of Lightning Forest deer." This was the first time Aditya was hearing Julia and Watson talking about her family in front of him. Aditya always has wanted to ask Julia about her family. As a man and as the King, he had no intention of asking for her family's help, but as someone who is Julia's husband, Aditya felt he should know more about his wife's family. But he never really got the time or the atmosphere to ask Julia about her family.

"Then who gave you the heart of a Peak 6th-order Lightning Forest deer? Surely no one would be kind enough to hand over this type of continental treasure to you for free." The reason Aditya calls this a continental treasure is that the value of this heart is simply too big.

"It was given to someone whom you're connected with." Aditya raised an eyebrow. How can he not sense the jealousy in her voice?

"So it's one of my wives?" Aditya looked at Watson who shook his head as if telling Aditya that no woman came to visit Aditya while he was away.

"Yes, after you're done with the war. She asked you to have a meeting with her." Julia replied while pouring a purple liquid from the test tube.

This time Aditya could really smell something burning. Even Watson can tell his young lady was jealous. 'I wonder who among my wives was kind enough to give a Peak 6th-order Lightning Forest deer's heart or does my wife has a motive behind this?'

"Now you can lie down on that bed?" Julia pointed at the small bed in the left corner of the room. Aditya did what his wife said. He removed the simple white shirt that he was wearing and laid down on the bed.

Julia and Watson walked over to the bed while Julia carried the heart of Lightning forest deer on a large transparent glass bowl.

"Now listen, The black heart is complete. Unlike your other heart, this heart will only function to gather mana from the air and mana storage." Julia then pointed to the right side of his chest. "I will connect the black heart with your Dragon heart, meaning your black heart will be connected to the rest of your body. The whole process will be extremely painful. You will have to hold on and keep your consciousness." Aditya nodded his head with a serious look.

"Once the Blackheart has been planted in your right chest, you can never remove it. It will forever stay with you. The black heart has the healing ability of lightning forest deer. As long as you're not dead, the Blackheart can never be destroyed."

Aditya looked at Julia who was preparing her tools. "By the way, If the operation were to succeed, this King shall reward you."

"Hmph! I don't need your pathetic rewards. You being alive will be more than enough." This was Julia's first time doing this important and crucial surgery on someone. She never has implanted the black heart in anyone's chest. Julia was a little nervous before but Aditya's words helped her a calmed down.

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!

Chapter 49

"By the way, do you have any pill that can turn off my pain receptors?" Aditya wasn't some mad lad who liked experiencing pain. if possible he wished to avoid any kinds of pain in this surgery.

"My pills lose their effectiveness when the black heart is put in your chest. As long as the black heart is placed in your right chest, you will feel a new kind of energy. The mana will be foreign to your body. Your body will try to fight against the new foreign mana causing you pain in the process."

Gulp!

Aditya was now looking a little nervous. Even in his previous life, he had had any kind of surgery. This whole thing was a new experience for him.

"Grandpa Watson, please tie his hands and feet." Julia handed a golden color rope to Watson. As Watson tied Aditya's right hand on the right side of the bed, he curiously touched the golden rope.

[Holy rope]

[Mid-4-star artifact]

"What is this holy rope? Where did you get them from?" Aditya asked while looking at the functions of the golden rope.

"I just borrowed these ropes from the guild Master. She was kind enough to let me use these." After 3 minutes, Aditya's arms and legs were tied very tightly.

"Open your mouth." Julia fed him 3 blue pills.

"These pills should temporarily turn off your pain receptors."

Julia's right hand trembled for a second before she bit her lip to calm herself. Just like a professional doctor back on earth, she neatly made a long vertical cut on the middle of the chest. Aditya felt no pain or anything.

"Watson, give me the black heart." From the transparent rectangular container, Watson picked up the Black heart which now had decreased in its size. Before the heart was the size of a fist but now the black heart had shrunk down to half of its original size.

Unlike before, the ice around the heart had melted down. The heart was covered in a dark purple layer of mana, the dark purple mana was constantly flickering. It was like Watson was carrying a dark purple orb flame.

"The extract for which I used your Crimson flame produced this dark purple color and also has caused the heart to shrink in its size." Under Aditya and Watson's nervous gaze, Julia took her time to insert the black heart under his right chest. The whole process would have been very painful if she had not fed him those pills.

After inserting the black heart, Julia quickly fed Aditya a 4-star healing pill. As Aditya's body began to rapidly heal, he felt a cool and refreshing foreign mana entering his body.

Aditya closed his eyes as he could feel a small itching sensation on the right side of his chest. As he kept breathing, the foreign mana in his body kept increasing. Without Aditya even realizing it, his original heart started beating super fast.

Ahhh!

Aditya's entire body jerked up. With each passing second, the pain in his chest was increasing. It was like his body was being burned from the inside out.

Ahhhh!!!!

Soft moans and grunts escaped his mouth. Aditya tightly clenched his fists, he gritted his teeth, trying to endure the inhuman pain that he killing him from inside out.

'When will this hellish pain will come to end?' Tired and frustrated Aditya wanted it all to be over and done with. But Aditya desperately kept himself busy with mindless tasks and chores, but nothing really helped to ignore the pain.

Julia and Watson panicked seeing blood coming out of Aditya's eyes, nose, and ears. "Julia, what's happening?" Watson asked in a panicked tone.

"Grandpa, I don't know. This was not supposed to happen." At this point, Julia's entire body was trembling as her voice sounded really desperate.

"Aditya, are you alright?" Julia hurriedly checked his pulses. However, the pain was so great Aditya's mind stopped working. His brain couldn't process Julia's words.

After what felt like an eternity, Aditya finally felt his senses returning. He felt the overwhelming pain gradually end as the foreign mana in his body successfully merged with his original mana.

[Ding! The Blackheart has merged with the host.]

[Ding! The host's mana has increased. Mana [2,500+]

[Ding! The host's agility has increased. Agility [100+]

[Ding! The host has learned a new passive skill Lightning dash]

Julia and Watson noticed Aditya's body had stopped twitching. Seeing this Julia hurriedly went to check his pulses. "His heartbeat is now normal."

"Thank God." Watson sighed in relief. For a moment he assumed they had messed up.

Seeing Aditya's fingers slightly moving, Julia knew that he was about to wake up. Just like she expected, the Dragon King opened his eyes.

The first thing that came to his view when he opened his eyes was the concerned face of the Goddess of Alchemy.

"Where am I?"

"Aditya? Thank God, you're awake." A huge smile appeared on the concerned face of the princess.

Aditya got up and looked at Julia with a confused face. "Who are you?"

"What?" In an instant, Julia's face turned pale. Her entire body slightly trembled as she stared at Aditya in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

"I asked who are you?"

"Milady what happened?" If Aditya really had lost his memories then this would become another huge problem for them.

"I don't know what went wrong." Julia murmured in a daze as she sat on the chair next to the bed. Her eyes were filled with sadness, she was trying her best to fight her tears.

Meanwhile, Aditya glanced at Watson and winked his left eye with a teasing smile. Watson immediately understood and a relieved smile appeared on his face. He went along with Aditya's plan.

"Are you sad?" Aditya innocently looked at Julia.

"No, I am not." A drop of tear rolled down her right cheek without her even noticing.

"You're really crying. Do you miss him?" Aditya asked pretending to be the third person while he wiped the tear with his right hand.

"I miss him."

"Did you love that person?"

"I love.....Wait a minute..." Julia realized who was asking her all these questions. She raised her head to find Aditya smiling at her.

"My wife, I missed you too. Now come here. Let's me give you a nice kiss." Aditya closed his eyes and moved his head towards her head.

Bang!

"You asshole."

Ouch!

"That really hurts." Aditya rubbed his right cheek.

"Hmph! I should have punched you a few more times." Inwardly Julia was very embarrassed. She nearly said the words that she held dearly in her heart.

"Hahaha! You're cute." In response, Julia coldly glared at him which Aditya pretended to not see.

"The operation was a success. Though I wasn't ready for the pain." Aditya got up from the bed and wiped the blood on his face with a towel.

"Your Majesty, are you leaving? I think you should wait and let Milady do some tests on you."

"There is no need for that Watson. I trusted the Goddess of Alchemy with my very life. I will be alright." Hearing Aditya's words, Julia's cheeks slightly flushed red. She felt very happy hearing his words.

"I will be going, Watson. If things go according to plan, when this war ends, the Istarin Kingdom will become a 4th-tier powerhouse." Also now that the Nepoca Kingdom were attacking, Aditya wasn't going to let them go.

"Good night princess. When I return next time, you better give me the kiss that I owed you."

"I never owned anyone any kiss. You can kiss the dogs on the streets if you are so desperate."

"Hahaha!" Aditya laughed and flew off to the sky. Seeing Aditya leaving, Julia suddenly felt lonely. She has been eager to meet him for weeks. If possible, the Goddess wished to spend more time with her husband though she would never admit it openly.

"Don't worry milady, maybe next time his Majesty will take you with him."

"I don't know to go with him." Watson failed to notice the small smile on her face. Julia began to clean everything and visit a certain guild leader for giving Aditya the heart of a peak 6th-order Lightning Forest deer.

Meanwhile, Aditya was flying twice as faster as his previous speed. "With the black heart, not only my mana has taken a huge leap, but even my speed also has increased." Dark blue lightning flickered around Aditya's as his body cut through the clouds and dashed toward. The benefits from the black heart were huge.

"I also got a new passive skill.

[Lightning Dash]

[ X-star ]

[Description]: - A special type of skill that was gained from having the heart of Peak 6th-order lightning forest deer implanted into the user's heart. The rank of skill depends on the power of the host. -

[Function 1]: - This skill relies on lightning nature. Using lightning nature the user's speed can be increased by 10 seconds. Each time a lightning dash is used, the user's speed will be increased by [100+], and it will consume [5+] mana per second to keep the skill activated.]

"100+ speed? That's literally insane."

Aditya opened his status panel.

"Stats"

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 89

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Crimson Blink, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision, Disturbance of Blessings, Mystic Surge, Charm of Inferno Rune, → ([New]Lightning Dash)

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 209

_Speed: - 277 + [100+] → 377 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 209

_Health: - 209

_Mana: - 281 → 2,781

_Free stats: - 68 ]

"My mana has literally surpassed the 2700 mark. My mana should be higher than any 3rd, 4th, and 5th order. Maybe only 6th or 7th orders can compare." Aditya could feel his black heart. With the black heart, Aditya's mana regeneration has also increased. Not only that, but even his natural healing speed also has increased.

After an unknown period of time,

"Commander the enemy is only 5 km away from us." While Aditya was returning to the frontline, 25,000 of his troops and his 7 generals were currently facing 50,000 enemy troops.

"His Majesty still hasn't returned yet. The battle will start at any given time." Henry, the 7th division leader, and the last general in the group spoke.

Currently, after seeing the huge number of the enemy, the confidence of the Istarin troops was not that high. In times like this, they needed their king so the King could provide them with the moral support they need.

The whole battle was taking place in an open area that surrounded mountains. The whole place was 15 km in size. From the other side, the Zulux Dynasty forces were slowly marching. Today unlike before, the enemy had Cannons and ballista.

A ballista sometimes called bolt thrower, was a missile weapon invented by the Zulux Dynasty that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target. While the Cannons of this world were 10 times more powerful than the cannons on earth. The cannons were built with 2-star metals. Each Cannon shot was powerful enough to annihilate 100 soldiers.

The enemy had over 100 Ballista and 200+ cannons. Along with 10,000 bowmen that can shoot arrows while hiding behind the cavalry and infantry, the Istarin army was in real trouble this time.

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!

Chapter 50

The enemy had over 100 Ballista and 200+ cannons. Along with 10,000 bowmen that can shoot arrows while hiding behind the cavalry and infantry, the Istarin army was in real trouble this time.

"Where is that bastard? I have been wanting to meet him for a while now." Sebastian Walker asked while riding a white horse. He was followed by two of his generals.

"Your Majesty, it appears the enemy King is not here."

"Don't tell me he got scared and he just ran away leaving his army behind?"

"Your Majesty, shall we start the battle?" The 3rd general of the Zulux Dynasty asked in an impatient tone. Unlike Darren and Dylan, he always covered his entire body in 2-star armor. Holding a 2 meters long black greatsword, Oscar Parry was fiercely looking at his enemy. He couldn't wait to shed the blood of the enemy.

Among all 4 generals, Oscar is said to be the most brutal and cruelest one. In front of his greatsword, no enemies have ever managed to survive a battle.

King Sebastian did not reply immediately. He pondered for a moment. He was trying to think where the enemy King was. After 5 minutes of silence, King Sebastian raised his silver sword and pointed it at the enemy.

"Today we are here for blood. Don't let any of the enemy troops escape. Kill everyone single one of them. Now Charge."

Ahh!!!

Under their King's command, 50,000 troops officially started the 3rd and biggest battle that will decide the future of the Zulux Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, what about us?" Asked general Morgan Johnson, who was sitting on another black horse and standing right side of his Majesty.

"I have a feeling that the enemy King is preparing for something to take three of us. For now, refrain yourselves from joining the battle. Our 50,000 troops will easily crush the enemy troops." The King looked down, from the top of the mountain he could the troops of both sides were about to clash.

[My comrades do not fear death. Just do as you were ordered to do. Hold the defense line. Do not let the Enemy troops break our defense line.] While the Zulux Dynasty was taking offense, the Istarin troops were using huge two meters shields which they got from Asharc city to form a defense line.

The defensive line was formed in a V shape. As the groups of infantry and cavalry approached to defense line, hoping to break their defensive line, the archers who were hiding behind the defense line began shooting their arrows.

Ahhh!

"What was that?"

Ah!

Bang!

In an instant, hundreds of infantry and cavalries died from rains of arrows. "What's our soldiers are doing? Shoot your arrows dammit"

"Your Majesty, we can't. The enemy troops are protecting themselves with shields." This was the plan Henry came up with. Being a man who already had experience in being a general, he knew the best thing that their troops could do right now is defend.

"It looks like the enemy is not going to send their generals in the battle." There was a hint of frustration in Tyler's voice. While they were called the 7 mighty generals of King Aditya, compared to other generals, they lacked power and experience. Tyler was frustrated about his low cultivation. He was the type of man who wanted to go wild on a battlefield. He deeply desired to madly swing his greatsword and annihilate the enemy forces.

"This long last long. Once they began using their 100 Ballista and 200+ cannons, our defense line will break in an instant." One thing that the Istarin troops lacked was the need for siege weapons. Having a cannon, one can break any kind of defense. The Istarin Kingdom didn't have time to work on Siege weapons.

While the Zulux Dynasty never shared their Ballista and cannon creation technique with the outside world. Even the Nepoca kingdom lacked in front of the Zulux Dynasty when it came to Siege weapons. The Nepoca Kingdom only had battering Rams which are used to ram into castle gates or walls to destroy them. While the Zulux Dynasty had a powerful siege weapon, Ballista that could destroy a castle wall with 3 to 5 shots. Unlike Battering rams, Ballista was more powerful and faster.

Seeing that the enemy was preparing to use their Ballista, Scott raised his right hand and shouted loudly. "Now, let the shadow take over." While the enemy paused for a second not knowing what the enemy general meant, the archers who has been shooting arrows, took out a fist size balls that were wrapped in thin jute ropes.

The archers quickly tied the jute rope-wrapped balls to the tip of the arrow and then set the jute rope-wrapped balls on fire. The king and his confused generals watched as the soldiers began to shoot fist size balls.

"What are they doing?"

The enemy forces didn't have to wait too long to know the answer. Within a few seconds, the fist size balls began to release black smoke all over the battlefield, temporarily blocking the vision of everyone.

"I can't see anything through the black smoke." King Sebastian and his two generals also couldn't see anything while standing at the top of the mountain.

"We have done our part. Amber and Nathan, now everything rests on both of your shoulders." Without everyone noticing, using her illusion magic, Amber moved through the crowd of soldiers while Nathan used his shadows to move through. Both of them moved at their fastest pace. Time was limited.

Both Amber and Nathan eventually passed through the infantry and cavalry troops and reached the area where the archers were standing while their bows and arrows and the enemy siege weapons are kept right behind the archer troops.

Their main targets were the enemy siege weapons. From the beginning, Henry has warned everyone about the destructive power of the siege weapons. Before he was turned into a slave, he has seen how powerful the siege weapons were. Each weapon was fully capable of taking down 100 of their soldiers. Having a Siege weapon is like having extra troops in a battle.

Just when Amber and Nathan reached the place where the enemy Siege weapons were being kept, Sebastian and the two generals sensed something was wrong. They sensed the foreign presence in their army.

Due to the smoke, Sebastian and the two generals couldn't see anything from the mountain. Using the black smoke, Nathan and Amber took out a special kind of paper talisman that Aditya gave them before he left.

Explosive Paper talisman is a special kind of talisman that Aditya used previously to cause hundreds of continuous explosions at the Asharc city walls. Each explosive paper talisman was powerful enough to even severely injure a second-order.

"Let's hope our plan will work." Both Nathan and Amber used their speed to place the explosive paper talisman on the siege weapons of the enemy without the enemy noticing it.

"Your Majesty, can you also sense the two foreign presences at the back of our troops?" Oscar asked with a relaxed look. The reason King Sebastian and his two 3rd-order generals were too relaxed and not worried was that the power of the two foreign presences was only 1st-order.

"Hmph! I don't know what they are trying but there is no way a two 1st-order can mess siege weapons. I am sure they are trying to divert our attention while plotting something under the cover of the black smoke."

"Don't let your guard down. I am sure King Aditya will attack the two of you by surprise." King Sebastian also has heard many things about the wyverns that King Aditya bought in the second battle. But so far, they hadn't spotted the four Wyverns anywhere near the battlefield.

"Your Majesty, I think I should go and scout the area for the Wyverns. We can't underestimate three Peak second-order and one beginner First-order magical beasts. Their interference could potentially leave a huge blow to our army."

King Sebastian rubbed his chin with his right hand and thought deeply. He had no idea where King Aditya and the four Wyverns were. The situation looked unpredictable. It would be better for them to be safe than sorry. "Very well, Oscar you can scout the area. While Morgan you stay with me. If anything goes out of the plan, we shall intervene and take matters into our hands."

What King Sebastian didn't know was that he has been underestimating the enemy generals. Aditya simply didn't leave them in charge without knowing about his general capabilities.

And just like that, just because of a single carelessness from the enemy side, Nathan and Amber were able to execute their plans. When the black smoke disappeared, no one found anything out of ordinary. King Sebastian and general Morgan sensed the two foreign presence disappear as the black smoke dispersed.

Minutes passed while the infantry and the cavalry at the front tried to break the enemy defense line. As seconds passed, King Sebastian had this uneasy feeling taking over his heart. He wanted to know what the enemy was doing under the black smoke.

"Good job Amber, Nathan. It's time to make loud noises."

Snap!

With the snap of Scott's finger, King Sebastian finally got his answer.

Booom! Booom! Booom! Booom!

King Sebastian and general Morgan widened their eyes in shock and in disbelief seeing all of the siege weapons being exploded. Like a chain reaction, with one explosion all over Siege weapons also exploded at the same time, leaving no time for the soldiers who were around the Siege weapons to escape.

The explosion was so intense that the whole battlefield shook. The infantry and the cavalry troops stared at the explosion with their eyes wide open and their mouth wide enough to fit an egg inside.

Just as the explosion ended, without wasting a single second, Henry took over the command. [Everyone this is our opportunity. Now advance. Kill the enemy. Without their siege weapons, we have nothing to fear.]

Thank you for all the golden tickets and the gits that you all sent!!! It means a lot to me.

Chapter 51

[Everyone this is our opportunity. Now advance. Kill the enemy. Without their siege weapons, we have nothing to fear.]

[Yeah]

[Kill the enemy]

The Istarin troops who previously has been on defense now finally got their chance. Without the siege weapons, they had nothing to worry about. The infantry and the cavalry used this chance to take charge while the archers retreated back.

Ahh!

[Watch out for the enemy]

[Kill the Istarin troops]

[Don't be distracted]

King Sebastian and general Morgan both were still in shock and in a daze. Everything that just happened felt like a dream to them. Never did they think that underestimating two 1st-orders would cost them this dearly.

"Archers, prepare your arrows and rain down the enemy troops with arrows." Even since the Istarin troops have managed to trick everyone and have managed to destroy their siege weapons, the Zulux Dynasty forces still have 10,000 archers in their army.

Shoot!

10,000 arrows covered the entire sky. Scott's face turned pale seeing the sky being covered by 10,000 arrows.

[Everyone, take cover from the arrows.]

Bang!

Bang!

Not everyone in the Istarin army was able to react quick enough to dodge the 10,000 arrows that rained down on them. Many troops didn't even have shields to protect themselves. However, it was not just the Istarin troops that died in the rain of 10,000 arrows, many Zulux Dynasty infantry and cavalry troops also died from the arrows that rain down from the sky.

However as the fight continued, everyone realized that the Istarin troops were at disadvantage. The Istarin troops were rapidly dying while the Zulux Dynasty troops were still more than 45,000.

"Henry, I think it would be better to call the Wyverns now. At this rate, our troops won't last long." The Zulux Dynasty army is simply too big compared to the Istarin troops. In front of such a large number, formations did not matter at all.

"But if we call the wyverns I am sure King Sebastian would order his two generals to join the fight. We have to hold on until his Majesty arrives. Only his majesty has the power to take on their generals." Having fought multiple battles under King Aditya, all troops and generals believed in their hearts that with their King, they will never lose a battle.

The trust that Aditya's troops and his generals had in him was more like blind faith. If Aditya told them that they could win a battle against the continent's greatest kingdom, no troop would doubt his words. They believed in their King's words to the point where they didn't doubt the fact that their King was capable of taking down two Mid 3rd-order generals while still being a beginner 2nd-order.

Another 10 minutes passed, by this time the Istarin troops had lost almost 10,000 of their army while the Zulux Dynasty only lost less than 5,000 troops. As minutes passed, the Istarin troops were being pushed back as the Zulux Dynasty troops attacked them from three sides, slowly pushing the troops backward.

"This battle is entering its crucial stage yet their King still hasn't appeared. I am starting to think that King Aditya has fled, leaving his army behind with false hope." After 10 minutes, Oscar also returned. After scouting a 10 km area around the battlefield, he couldn't find the location or even small signs of the Wyverns that were King Aditya's pets.

"I am also starting to believe that. Let's wait for another 5 minutes. If King Aditya doesn't arrive by then, the two of you can join this battle and end this whole battle quickly while keeping our casualties to the minimum level." King Sebastian's heart ached in pain whenever he looked at his destroyed siege weapons. Each siege weapon took him more than 1000 royal gold coins and a half year time to build.

And just like that, another 5 minutes passed, and King Sebastian ran out of patience. "Oscar, Morgan, both of you can go wild. Crush the enemy forces. Also if possible don't kill the enemy generals. I will take my sweet time in torturing them." With all the humiliation that King Sebastian had faced, he wouldn't leave the Istarin troops just like that. He wanted to wash the shame that his Dynasty suffered with the blood of the Istarin troops.

"Yes, your Majesty." Oscar had a crazy smile on his face. He currently looked more like a bloodthirsty beast who couldn't wait to cover his entire body in the enemy's blood. Compared to Oscar, Morgan was calmer.

Both of them disappeared from King Sebastian's side and appeared in front of the Istarin troops. "Let's get this party started. Morgan, you can take the left side. Leave the right side to me." Female general Morgan simply nodded her head as she cast a 3-star dark spell.

The air around Morgan turned black mist. The 10 meters area around Morgan was covered in black mist. When the black mist dispersed, hundreds of skeletons holdings swords, spears and bows stood surrounding Morgan.

Morgan, 4th and newest general of the Zulux Dynasty. It has been only 9 years since Morgan become the fourth 3rd-order in the Zulux Dynasty. After reaching the 3rd order, king Sebastian made her the 4th general. Unlike the other three generals, Morgan's class was more special. Her class was Necromancy. It is said that she could summon 10,000 skeletons capable of killing any Peak 1st-order.

Unlike Oscar, Morgan was a Magical cultivator with dark nature affinity. It is believed that Morgan is the best dark magic user in the whole Zulux Dynasty. She specializes in darkness buff magic.

Meanwhile, Oscar simply grabbed his greatsword and jumped at the Istarin troops. Under Morgan's orders, 10,000 powerful skeletons rushed at the Istarin troops.

"This is bad. The whole situation just got worse." Scott's face turned pale seeing two 3rd-order generals slaughtering their soldiers like killing sheep. Each multiple Istrian soldiers was being slaughtered without any mercy.

Just as the situation was starting to look direr, all the Istarin troops suddenly relaxed when they heard a powerful roar shaking the battlefield.

ROARRRRRR!

The crazy and bloodthirsty look on Oscar's face changed after hearing the loud roar that for a split second caused the entire battlefield to tremble. "So they finally decided to show up." From the distance, King Sebastian was standing at the top of the mountain two 4 Wyverns approaching the battlefield.

Upon a closer look, he found a handsome young man standing on the back of the largest Wyvern. Seeing those pairs of red dragon wings, he immediately recognized this young man. Even though both never saw each other in real life, both knew each other so well that even from a distance of kilometers both were able to recognize each other.

"Aditya" King Sebastian's eyes flashed in hatred. Today no matter what happens, he will settle the debt of humiliation.

"It's the Wyverns"

"His Majesty is here"

"Thank God. Now we have nothing to worry about."

"With his Majesty, our victory is confirmed."

It was strange for the Zulux Dynasty troops to see the Istarin troops smile and relax even though they were currently being pushed back by an army of 45,000. The confidence that the soldiers had on their exhausted faces, left many including general Morgan confused. Scott, Amber, Tyler, Henry, Eleonor, Josh, and Nathan all had smiles on their faces. Their King had the power to turn the whole tide of this battle. Now that their Majesty was here, they no longer had anything to worry about.

What kind of man king Aditya was? Just his appearance on the battlefield was enough to give willpower to his exhausted soldiers. Just his name was enough to make the injured soldiers who previously were lying on the ground stand up. Even though the number of Istarin troops number has been reduced from 25,000 to 11,000, just hearing that lord's name they looked more confident than the Zulux Dynasty army who were actually pushing the enemy. "What kind of ruler King Aditya really is?"

For the first time Morgan, the Necromancer class holder general asked herself this question. Compared to king Aditya, their King Sebastian was lacking in many places. The difference between the two Kings was simply too huge. One fought for his reputation while the other fought to win. While one cared was arrogant, the other was confident. In front of King Aditya, Sebastian was simply not worthy enough to even call himself the ruler.

"Is this what a true ruler is supposed to be like?" Morgan joined the army when she was only 15 years old. The army was the best place to get resources that could help her in progressing. Morgan's goal simply was to stand at the top. She never cared about her social standings, her reputation, or her public image. She was very different from the other three generals who were greedy and ambitious.

Morgan simply served King Sebastian without any respect in her heart even though she never showed King Sebastian any disrespect. As a warrior, Morgan only respected a strong warrior who was ready to fight a battle to death without caring about their life. When she looked at the young man standing at the back of the 3rd-order Wyvern, her heart immediately started respecting that man.

"King Aditya, you finally came. I have been dying to fight you. Now that you're here, let's dance." Aditya glanced at the man who was slaughtering his soldiers while looking at him with a blood-thirsty grin on his face. Aditya had heard about general Oscar who was known for his ruthlessness in the battle.

"Sure let's dance till death stops us." Dark blue lightning constantly flickered around Aditya's body as he spread his Crimson wings and flew off. The next moment, under the gazes of thousands, Aditya's whole body became a blur to the point where the normal soldiers were only seeing Aditya as red light with blue lightning flickers.

"He is fast." King Sebastian's face turned pale as he realized the difference in both of their strengths. Previously he was foolishly thinking of fighting Aditya and defeating him. But he realized he was how wrong he was. King Aditya can kill him within a few seconds. This man was out of his league.

Holding the Crimson Dragon's wrath, Aditya appeared in front of Oscar and swiftly landed a kick on his stomach that sent him flying all over the way.

Booom!

Cough!

Like a cannonball, Oscar was sent flying more than 200 meters away with a powerful kick from the Dragon king.

Bang!

Oscar, the general crushed a giant boulder of 15 meters in size. The boulder inevitably cracked from the impact as Oscar coughed out a mouthful of blood and groaned in pain.

Thank you for all the golden tickets. I am planning on doing a mass release in a few days if everything hopes according to plan.

Chapter 52

Bang!

"What just happened?"

"I don't know. The attack was too fast for us."

"If it was us in the place of general Oscar, then our bodies would have exploded like a watermelon."

"Just how much raw strength does one needs to have to make a human explode like a watermelon?"

While the soldiers were stunned by the display of King Aditya's strength, Aditya didn't just stop there.

After sending general Oscar flying with a powerful kick, Aditya focused his attention on the Necromancer. Unfortunately for the enemy, since Morgan was a Necromancer, her battle powers lay in her summons and in her spells.

Swoosh!

Faster than the wind, the dragon king appeared behind General Morgan. Before she could do anything, with a slash of the Crimson Dragon's wrath Aditya instantly destroyed thousands of undead summons.

Bang!

'He fast. Too fast.' For the first time, Morgan had seen someone who was this fast.

Undead Domain!

Silently Morgan quickly activated one of her most powerful innate skills. Aditya without realizing that Morgan had activated one of her Necromancer class skills, swung his sword again, releasing a huge wave of Crimson flame that instantly annihilated another 2,000 undead skeletons.

Crimson Blink!

While killing the zombies, Aditya used one of his passive skills to launch a molten bolt at Morgan. The red-orange bolt of lightning headed towards Morgan at super speed.

Knowing that she can't dodge the lightning bolt in time, Morgan covered her entire body with Mana and took the attack head-on.

Booom!

"Did it work?" Aditya while slaughtering undead looked at Morgan for a second. The dragon king was left shocked seeing Morgan still standing in her place without taking any damage. Other than the white smoke that was coming off her body, she looked completely fine.

"But how?"

"Now it's my turn"

Shadow ball!

With Morgan's two words, more than 20 spheres made out of the darkness appeared behind her. All the spheres were the size of a human head. Under her orders, all 20 spheres shot toward Aditya at very high speed.

Crimson Blaze!

Aditya hurriedly created a Crimson Wall in front of the shadow spheres but he failed to see the arrival of another individual. General Oscar who was previously sent flying with a powerful kick appeared behind Aditya when he was distracted dealing with the shadow balls.

"Time to pay back" Saying that Oscar swung the greatsword aiming to cut the Dragon King in half. At the very last moment, Aditya once again used Crimson Blaze to cover his entire body Crimson Flame in form of defense.

Clang!

Everyone on the battlefield looked at Aditya with their eyes wide open. Beneath that Crimson red robe, the Dragon King was wearing Peak 2-star armors that has been enchanted by rune magic.

"What?" Oscar's face turned ugly. It was not just Peak 2-star armor, but also Crimson dragon scales were covering Aditya's entire body from his neck.

"You thought I had left my body unprotected? How foolish!" Ever since his fight with general Darren, Aditya always has made sure to wear Peak 2-star armors. He realized that in order to face off the 3rd-order generals, his natural defense wasn't enough. So before coming here, he took extra time to increase his defense. He had enchant his armors in a way that his Crimson Flames won't melt down his armors.

Crimson Blink!

Ahh! Once again Oscar was sent flying faster than a cannonball. This time a red-orange bolt of lightning hit his chest which instantly damaged the silver armor that he was wearing.

Lightning Dash!

As blue lightning flickered around Aditya, he once again disappeared from his position. "I will deal with you first" It was like Aditya had teleported behind Morgan but in reality, he just moved too fast.

"I don't think so" Aditya's eyes widened when he felt his mana being suppressed to some extent. Before he could realize what he happening, he and everyone on the battlefield were further shocked when Morgan grabbed the Crimson Dragon Wrath sword that Aditya aimed at her throat.

"What?"

"But how?"

"Morgan is not a body cultivator so her raw strength shouldn't be that high. But then how did she grab His majesty's incoming attack?" Even Aditya inwardly had the same question as others.

'What is happening? Is this one of her Necromancer skills?' Aditya couldn't understand how Morgen blocked his attack. Even when he attacked her molten bolt, she was able to take on his attack and managed to remain undamaged.

'It's not only my mana that is being suppressed. But also my strength and agility also have dropped.' Aditya gritted his teeth in frustration. This was the first time he had found himself in this kind of situation.

"Unfortunately, it's time to die." Even if Morgan respected Aditya deeply, she wasn't going to hesitate in trying to kill Aditya. On the battlefield, there was no room for mercy toward enemies.

Under Morgan's orders, the remaining of her undead surrounded Aditya while she silently cast one of her spells.

Shadow Wave of Death!

Aditya noticed Morgan's entire body seems to be glowing in the darkness. It was like an extra layer of darkness was surrounding her body. 'What is happening?'

However, he didn't get time to think as the undead skeletons began attacking from all directions. 'First I will have to get rid of these undead skeletons.' Aditya waved his hand as a 1-meter wall of Crimson flame covered the ground around Aditya while turning all the skeletons under a certain range to ashes.

'My mana would have fully suppressed if not for the Black heart. What did she do to me?' Aditya noticed Morgan was silently chanting another spell.

'Sh*t! She is going for another curse-type spell.'

Cough!

Suddenly Aditya started feeling dizzy and light-headed. He fell on his right knee as he coughed out blood. 'I have to get away from her.' Whatever spells this Necromancer was using, Aditya realized he was affected as soon as he came near her.

[_Stamina: - 199/209

_Health: - 200/209]

'She must have done something that slowly draining my stamina and health.' Without wasting another second, Aditya activated the lightning dash skill and got away from Morgen.

Swoosh!

Aditya appeared 100 meters away from Morgan. He noticed that his mana and other stats were no longer suppressed also his stamina and Health also stopped dropping.

'So She really was using curse-type spells' Some people in this world specialize in using curse-type spells. Curse spells can be countered by holy magic or Holy attribute artifacts. As a Necromancer, it was Aditya's mistake to not realize that Morgen also can use curse-type spells.

'This is why she was able to take on my attacks so easily. She must have used a spell that increases her defense while decreasing the opponents' attacking powers for a short period of time.'

While Aditya was taking on Morgen, he had momentarily forgotten about a certain person. Oscar who was sent flying with a molten bolt noticed that his opponent Aditya was more focused on fighting Morgan and at this point, King Aditya was practically ignoring him.

"How dare this bastard ignore me." Oscar angrily rip off the silver armor that he was wearing. From Aditya's attack, the armor was now useless as it was badly damaged.

Oscar was about to rush to face Aditya again but out of nowhere a black flame hit him.

Bang!

"Which bast**d dared to attack me off guard?" When the smoke settled down, Oscar finally was able to see the being who just dared to sneak attack him.

"I shall take you on." The beginner 3rd-order Wyvern, who had submitted himself to Aditya stood towering Oscar. The Wyvern knew that he only needed to buy enough time for his King to finish off the other 3rd-order then his King would have no problem killing this arrogant human.

"You worm!" At this point, Oscar was increasingly getting angrier. His desire was to fight someone stronger. When that strong opponent finally appeared, he was ignored and forced to fight a worm. This has never happened to him before.

Boom!

"Everyone, don't stop. Now that his Majesty is here, our victory is almost confirmed." With three Peak 2nd-order Wyverns constantly attacking the Zulux Dynasty forces, Aditya's 7 generals and his remaining troops were able to change the tide of the battle. Currently, they were pushing the enemy as the number of enemy troops number rapidly kept on decreasing.

Midnight Lost child!

Just like everyone, Amber was fighting hundreds of the enemy troops alone. Currently, among the 7 captains, she was the strongest. Awakening, the royal fox bloodline has increased her magical power as well as her physical stats.

Ahh!

Boom!

Nightmare Slash!

Boom!

As the fox queen kept on slaughtering her enemies without stopping even for a second, suddenly she felt something was wrong. For a moment Amber stopped her killing spree when she felt that all of her mana was rushing back into her heart.

"It looks like she is out of mana."

"let's use this chance and kill this B*t*h"

The enemy troops mistakenly assumed that Amber was out of mana seeing her stop. 100 enemy infantry troops rushed at Amber in excitement. Finally, they got a chance to kill one of the 7 generals.

However, when the troops crossed the 10 meters line, they saw a cold smile on Amber's face which sent chills down their spine.

Boom!

Before they realized what was happening, a powerful wave of mana was released from Amber's body. Sensing the rapid increase in Amber's mana and powers, other generals stopped for a second and looked at Amber with smiles on their faces. Everyone understood what was happening.

Even Aditya who has been attacking Morgen from the distance stopped for a second, realizing what was happening with Amber. "So she is finally breaking through."

"No way, she broke through." The troops that previously rushed to kill Amber in excitement now looked at Amber with pale faces as their legs trembled uncontrollably.

Amber opened her eyes as taking a deep breath. "I really have to thank Julia for giving me all those pills." Amber's Body cultivation had reached beginner 2nd-order while her magical cultivation had reached Mid 1st order. She was able to progress this fast because of her awakening her bloodline and also because of the pills that Julia made for her.

"I never expected that I would break through in the middle of a battle. Time to die boys." Amber elegantly took the first few steps. Each time she took a step, the soldiers felt like they were being hypnotized by this fox queen's beauty. After reaching 2nd order Amber's charm also increased.

The air around Amber started vibrating strongly. The next second when the soldiers blinked their eyes, Amber had disappeared.

Swoosh!

"Where did she go?"

"I don k.....Ahh!"

Bang!

Now that Amber had reached 2nd-order, she was unstoppable. No soldier can stop her. Along with her illusion magic and her agility, Amber had become the third deadliest force that resulted in the fall of the Zulux Dynasty troops.

Thank for all the gifts and golden tickets!!!!

Chapter 53

Crimson Blaze!

"These undeads are getting on my nerve." Aditya waved his hand as a huge wave of Crimson red flames began surrounding Morgan. Despite getting surrounded by one of the hottest flames that she has ever seen, Morgan didn't show any panicked reaction. Her expression remained calm as seawater.

Within a few seconds, 5 meters high walls of Crimson red flames surrounded Morgan from all directions. All the undeads that came near or in contact with the Crimson flame were instantly turned to ash.

"This is the end, Morgan." As blue lightning flickered constantly around Aditya's body he dashed toward Morgan at his full speed. Current Aditya's speed had reached 577 which is more than enough to match the speed of a third-order.

Morgan looked up when Aditya flew above her. Aditya began flying up, with each second he was getting higher and higher. She silently began casting spells to deal with Aditya but to her surprise and shock, Aditya stopped flying when he was 1 km above the ground.

He allowed his body to fall free from the height of 1km. King Sebastian and Morgan stared at Aditya in confusion, not understanding what this man was planning.

With the gravity pulling Aditya, within a few seconds he rapidly began falling to the ground. As he was only 50 meters above the ground, the blue lightning that was constantly flickering around his body changed its color to red.

Crimson Blink!

The next moment under the horrified gazes of Morgan and King Sebastian who were observing this whole battle from afar, Aditya's whole body turned into Crimson lightning. The whole process was so fast that other than King Sebastian and Morgen no one else even realized what just happened.

"What?" Under the disbelief gaze of Morgan, Crimson lightning traveled super fast, faster than she can react. When the lightning bolt was only a few meters away from hitting her head, Aditya suddenly transformed back into his human form. Even after he transformed back, he still continued falling at horrifying speed, faster than Morgan could react.

Bang!

Aditya rotated his body in mid-air and vertically slashed Morgan's right shoulder using the Crimson Dragon Wrath sword.

Silence!

As the Crimson flames that once surrounded Morgan began disappearing, everyone on the battlefield realized that the battle had come to end. The Zulux Dynasty troops were shocked to their cores to find their mighty general Morgen on her knees with her head lowered. There was a large vertical cut on Morgan's that was continuously bleeding.

"Why?" Morgan knew better than anyone else that Aditya could have ended her life in that strike but he purposely avoided slashing her throat, he instead went for her right shoulder. Morgen wanted to know why Aditya saved her life even though she was her enemy.

"Don't misunderstand. Killing you would be a waste. I have other uses for you." Saying that without bothering about other reactions, Aditya took out a slave collar from his storage ring and placed it around Morgan's neck. The slave collar has been enchanted by rune magic. Anyone under 4th order will have no choice but to obey his orders, if they don't the collar will rip off their throat.

"From now on you are my slave. Meaning that I own you. From his moment forward all of your freedoms have been restricted. I am your Master, I am your King." One of the reasons why Aditya was late was because he was enchanting this 2-star collar that he found in the treasury of Asharc city, with rune Magic.

Morgan is undoubtfully one of the most useless and talented people in the Zulux Dynasty. Since Aditya doesn't officially have any 3rd-order under him, from the beginning he has been planning on making Morgan, the former general his slave. With his 3rd Wyvern and Morgan, the Istarin Kingdom will have far better options in future fights against the Nepoca Kingdom. This not only will increase the military power of the Istarin Kingdom, but also give Aditya's military more options. Maybe in the future, he can open a special 8th division where Morgan will teach soldiers about Necromancy.

"It's over. It's all over. How did I screw up this badly?" While all the Zulux Dynasty troops were in deep shock by the defeat of their general and by the fact that the enemy had the audacity to turn their general into his slave, King Sebastian was experiencing what people call despair. He knew it was over for his Dynasty.

The mighty army of 50,000 now has been reduced to less than 20,000. With each passing second, soldiers were continuously dying under the assault of three Peak second-order Wyverns, King Aditya's 7 generals, and King Aditya himself.

"Did I really make a mistake by attacking the Istarin Kingdom?" The Kingdom that he once considered small and insignificant had risen up to become the one that ended 100+ years of rule. King Sebastian was now beginning to regret.

"I shouldn't have started the war."

"If only I was patient enough...." Right now Sebastian's entire body was trembling as he stared at the man with Crimson dragon wings who now was heading to kill his other general.

"I shouldn't have provoked the Dragon."

Sebastian shook his head and looked at Aditya with endless hate. "But this is not over yet. I still have the whole Zulux Dynasty under my control. As long as I manage to return to one of the main 7 cities, I will bring back an even bigger army and destroy you." Sebastian began running in the opposite direction of the battlefield.

"As long as I head back to the capital, I will ask for help from the Kingdom of Nyland." The Kingdom of Nyland was an Empire located on the borders of both the Nepoca and the Zulux Dynasty. The Kingdom of Nyland maintained peaceful political connections with both neighboring Kingdoms. There was a possibility that the Kingdom of Nyland would help the Zulux Dynasty King but the possibility of them not getting involved in this war also existed as the Kingdom had throne succession problems at the current moment.

Without anyone noticing, King Sebastian escaped. Meanwhile, General Oscar was on the verge of winning the battle against the 3rd-order Wyvern. While the Wyvern was a beginner 3rd-order, Oscar was someone who was far powerful enough to fight multiple beginner 3rd-order beings at the same time.

"It's time to end this worm" Currently Aditya's pet was on the verge of losing his consciousness. There were hundreds of cuts and wounds all over its body. Red blood was rolling down its black scales. The Wyvern had barely had the strength to even lift his head.

While standing at the top of the Wyvern, Oscar raised his greatsword as he gathered his mana around the 2-star weapon to make his final strike even more powerful with mana.

Swoosh!

"I am sorry but I can't let you kill my dear pet." Before the greatsword could land on the Wyvern's head, Oscar heard Aditya's words. The next moment he felt a gust of wind. When the gust of wind passed by him, Oscar suddenly felt something wasn't right with his right arm.

"How does it feel?" Aditya asked with a smile on his face. Seeing Aditya's gaze, Oscar looked down with a confused look. When he looked down, under his horrified and trembling eyes, he saw his right arm falling on the Wyvern's head.

Ahhhh!

For a moment the whole battlefield turned silent as everyone momentarily stopped fighting hearing a loud screaming voice that was full of agony.

"No way, the general...." The remaining Zulux Dynasty troops who were continuing this fight with the last remaining hope that their general Oscar would defeat King Aditya and the Wyverns, the last bit of hope also shattered seeing their general kneeling in front of King Aditya.

"As much as I want to make you my slave, having someone who is this violent and aggressive in nature, making you my slave would be the same as harming my own kingdom." Saying that Aditya coldly inserted his Crimson Dragon wrath sword through Oscar's throat.

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled up.]

[Ding! You have leveled...]

With the death of the second general, all the enemy troops lost their last remaining will to continue this battle. Everyone stopped fighting and looked in Aditya's direction.

For a moment no one on the battlefield dared to make any sound. After feeding 2-star healing pills to the Wyvern, Aditya took a few minutes to observe the whole battlefield.

By now the whole battlefield was in ruin. It had become a graveyard of almost 50,000 soldiers. The whole battlefield was dyed in red blood. Corpses were lying everywhere. Thousands of soldiers were lying on the ground, looking seriously injured. Swords, spears, bows, and all kinds of weapons could be found lying on the battlefield.

"This war now has come to an end. Those who wish to surrender can drop their weapons and kneel on the ground with their hands raised. I promise the Istarin Kingdom will not mistreat you. As for those who still....." Aditya didn't need to continue as the remaining soldiers dropped their weapons and kneeled on the ground with their hands raised.

"Amber, take things over. I have to deal with a certain King who decided to escape."

"Yes, your Majesty."

The next moment, Aditya disappeared from the battlefield. Aditya purposely allowed King Sebastian to escape. He was confident that he could catch up to him. "Also Zachary, the old Majin leader is secretly following King Sebastian."

Scene change

"I cannot fall under the enemy's hands. I will live and see the end of the Istarin Kingdom. I will end that King's life with my own hands. Just you wait King Aditya." As King Sebastian continued fleeing toward the capital, he was cursing Aditya to calm his angry and frustrated heart.

"Did you really think his Majesty had forgotten about you?" King Sebastian almost fell from his white horse when he heard the unfamiliar voice behind him. Unconsciously his entire body stiffened. Sebastian suddenly felt as if death had spoken to him.

Sebastian continued moving forward without daring to look back. He simply ignored the voice as he couldn't sense anyone behind him. After a moment he believed that he was hearing things.

Swoosh!

Bang!

But how can Aditya let go of this man? Aditya soon found Sebastian. He sent the former of King of the Zulux Dynasty flying with a kick.

Ah!

Sebastian back collided with a large tree trunk. He unconsciously groaned in pain. When he opened his eyes, he found his worst nightmare standing in front of him.

"Aditya?" Seeing the man who destroyed him in less than 2 weeks' time, Sebastian began trembling as his whole body was covered in sweat.

"Remember me." Aditya stepped forward with a cold smile on his face. He still hasn't forgotten what he saw in that nightmare. In that nightmare, King Sebastian mercilessly tortured and later killed the people that he cared about.

"If I had not changed the future, then the whole scenario would have been reserved. I would have been kneeling in front of you." Aditya was a man who holds grudges. He had killed Amos, and now King Sebastian.

"What are you even talking about?" Sebastian and Zachary who were standing behind Aditya both looked at the Dragon King in confusion.

"Even if I were to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand. Time to die." Aditya lifted the Crimson Dragon's wrath with the intention of severing King Sebastian's head from his body.

"Hahaha!" Seeing death so nearly, King Sebastian suddenly started laughing crazily. "Even if you kill me, my loyal men will not submit to you. Then will continue this fight."

Aditya's lips curved up hearing the last words of Sebastian. "Hehe! Since you're going to die, let me tell you this, while you and your army were busy fighting us, I secretly sent my men to assassinate all of your loyal men. Now that you're also going to die, the contract that you used to bind the nobles will no longer be effective meaning that they will be free."

"No way?" King Sebastian looked at Aditya in disbelief.

The next second Aditya severed Sebastian's head, thus ending the story of the Zulux Dynasty's last ruler.

[Ding! You have leveled up]

[Ding! You have leveled up]

[Ding! You have leveled up]

[Ding! You have leveled up]

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!! More chapters are on the way!!!

Chapter 54

"Your Majesty, is that?" Amber and others approached Aditya and couldn't help but look at the dead of the former King of the Dynasty.

"Yes, this is the head of King Sebastian. The war between the Zulux Dynasty and the Istarin Kingdom now has ended. From now on, there will be no more Zulux dynasty. All of the Zulux dynasty territories shall be under Istarin Kingdom's rule." Aditya glanced at Zachary, the Majin village leader.

"Old man, send this message to all the nobles of the Kingdom. Those who dare to rebel shall die."

"Understood your majesty"

Aditya knew that the nobles would be more than happy to serve King as their new King. Unlike the previous rulers of the Zulux Dynasty who enslaved the nobles through a contract, Aditya had just freed them from the curse of more than a hundred years. The nobles should know what is best for them. If they want to rebel, then there is no way King Aditya would let them live.

Also now that the Nepoca Kingdom had declared war on the Istarin Kingdom, the neighboring Kingdom won't be of any position to send troops to the rebelled nobles. Currently, the Nepoca Kingdom is more focused on its ongoing march toward the Istarin Kingdom. As long as Aditya manages to defeat the Nepoca Kingdom's marching forces, no one can stop the Istarin kingdom from taking over the Zulux dynasty territory.

If the Nepoca Kingdom does manage to win with their invading forces, then they will keep pressuring the Istarin Kingdom from two sides. Even if the Istarin Kingdom were to claim the Zulux Dynasty, the Nepoca Kingdom will do anything in its powers to cause some kind of internal conflict by providing military support to the nobles who wants to rebel. Also, the war with the Nepoca Kingdom will not end if the Istarin Kingdom happens to lose this big battle.

In short words, losing this big battle with the Nepoca Kingdom will result in another big war between the Istarin Kingdom who has claimed the Zulux Dynasty territory, and the Nepoca kingdom which shares borders with both the Zulux and the Istarin Kingdom that now has become a single Kingdom under the Dragon King.

Aditya then turned his head to look at his 7 generals. "Henry and Eleonor?"

"Yes, your Majesty?" Both of them immediately kneeled in front of Aditya and lowered their heads.

"You two shall go back to the Asharc city with 5,000 troops and guard the city until further orders."

"Understood your Majesty."

"Also, there is no need to kneel here."

Aditya then glanced at Amber and others. "Amber, Scott, Tyler, Nathan, and Josh, I want all of you to take the rest of the army and head to the capital. The Majins already have assassinated all the loyal men of King Sebastian. Head to the capital city and keep the city under control. If anyone rebels I give you the power to execute that person."

"Understood."

Amber hesitantly for a second before asking. "Your Majesty, what about you? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes, I am going to Vrane City. The Nepoca Kingdom has declared war on us. Currently, an army of 50,000 is marching toward the Vrane city fortress. I need to head there to stop the Nepoca army and bring an end to the war."

Everyone widened their eyes hearing Aditya's words. How can one remain so calm? Amber finally understood why Aditya looked so restless last night.

'His Majesty, from the beginning knew what he was facing. He was facing two armies with a combined troop of 100,000 marching to defeat him, troops. But with all the pressure on his shoulders, he never showed his weakness.' Just realizing these facts, everyone's respect for King Aditya increased by 10 folds.

Feeling Amber and others worried gazes on his, Aditya smiled and assured them. "Do not worry too much. The Nepoca troops will be crushed. Unfortunately, I cannot take you all with me as that would slow down my speed. With me, Wyverns, and her, the Nepoca army will have no chance against us."

Everyone looked at Morgan, the former general who now had become Aditya's slave. Amber finally felt relieved. With two third-order beings by his Majesty's side, what could possibly go wrong?

Now that the remaining Zulux Dynasty forces have surrendered, Aditya had over 26,000 troops. But among the 26,000 troops more than 19,000 were injured and needed treatment. Among the 26,000 troops, a few thousand soldiers had permanently lost one or multiple limbs or some had suffered deep injuries, those troops' careers as soldiers were basically over.

"Can you fight?" Aditya looked at the 3rd-order Wyvern who was lying behind him. By now thanks to the healing pills made by Julia most of his big wounds have healed up. In the next few hours, the Wyvern should be in full health.

[My King, I need a little more time to recover enough health to fight another battle. Forgive me but I need some time to recover my mana. In the previous battle, I had exhausted all of my mana.] Everyone was a little surprised to hear the Wyvern talk. Josh and others had tried talking with the Wyvern before, but the 3rd-order lesser Dragon refused to speak anything.

"No problem. You can take your time to recover. As for the three of you, you three can follow Amber and others and head to Capital. If anything happens, make sure to listen to Amber's orders." Aditya knew that his generals will have to slaughter some troops who won't just surrender like other troops. Having 3 Peak second-order wyverns would greatly help his generals.

"What about you?" Aditya looked at Morgan who was sitting on the ground 50 meters away from Aditya.

Morgan raised her head and looked at Aditya without expressing any emotions on her face. "I am alright now. But I can't fly." Morgan and others assumed that Aditya was going to take Morgan with him to fight the war against the Nepoca Kingdom.

"Morgan, you can also go with Amber. Make sure to listen to Amber's words." After giving another set of orders and instructions, Aditya flew off in the direction of Vrane city.

Vrane city

"The enemy should arrive in 4 to 5 hours. Is everything ready?" Asked Duke Sarlus. Sitting on a chair, Duke Sarlus went through the reports that his general Haku submitted to him.

"Sire, everything is ready. Zayne and the army of 13,000 should arrive anytime soon. Combining the retired soldiers who have come to join this war, we now have over 27,000 troops. Our 27,000 troops are made up of over 8,000 archers, 11,000 infantry, and 8,000 cavalry. And last we have the newly imported siege weapons from the Kingdom of Nyland."

"Hmmm! Good. What do you think?"

"About what, Sire?"

"About this big battle. What do you think of our chances of defeating the enemy?"

"To be honest, even with our newly imported siege weapons, I doubt we can win. But I am sure of one thing. Even if we lose, the enemy will surely suffer a huge loss in this battle. Our soldiers will die for nothing."

"Hahaha!" Seeing Duke Sarlus suddenly laugh Haku was a little confused.

"Your grace, did I say something wrong?"

"No, just imagining the ugly face that the enemy King will have after this battle made me laugh. Haku, we won't lose this battle. His Majesty has told me that before the battle begins, he will come."

"But your grace didn't you tell me that the Zulux Dynasty was also marching with a force of 50,000? Currently, the Zulux Dynasty and his Majesty should be in the middle of the war. I don't think his Majesty could travel the huge distance and arrive in time."

"Hake let me tell you this, never doubt this Majesty. Our King is someone who can see the future. His ability to predict things is terrifyingly accurate. If he said that he is going to come, I am sure then he will come."

"Think about it, we all assumed that we will lose the previous battles against the enemy but his Majesty managed to shock all of us and win the difficult and impossible battles. Sometimes, we have to rely on the future on faith. Our King will never abandon us."

Just as Haku and Duke Sarlus were discussing the upcoming battle, a messenger barged into the room.

Bang!

"Itsuki, what is the meaning of this kind of behavior? Do you know that I can punish you to death for barging in?" Haku wasn't pleased by what the messenger did. In the presence of Duke Sarlus, this kind of behavior was very offensive.

"Your grace, I beg for your forgiveness. But the exciting news that I just received from the front line is very important." The soldier named Itsuki kneeled in front of Duke Sarlus and Haku.

"But you can't just....Hold on Haku." Haku stopped when Duke Sarlus raised his right hand. Duke Sarlus noticed how Itsuki's body was slightly trembling in excitement.

"You may speak"

"Sire, according to our sources, King Aditya has successfully killed King Sebastian and general Oscar. Now King Aditya is on his way to Vrane city."

"What?" Duke stood up and looked at the soldier named Itsuki in shock and endless happiness. Duke Sarlus felt like heaven itself was blessing the Istarin Kingdom.

After a moment, Duke Sarlus finally calmed himself. "Is it true?"

"Hundred and ten percent true. Not only His Majesty has won the war, but now he has sent his generals to take over the capital. Soon the whole Zulux dynasty will become a part of the Istarin Kingdom."

Hearing those words, Duke Sarlus started laughing like a mad man. "Hahaha! this is what I have been waiting for. It looks like the late King Ahmed really knew what kind of Man Aditya. With the Dragon King, our Kingdom will enter the golden Peak."

Similarly, the news also quickly spread all over the neighboring Kingdoms like wildfire. Many were shocked by the news. While the citizen of the Istarin Kingdom cheered, the citizen of the Nepoca Kingdom was in despair.

On the far land, located in the North-western direction of the Zulux Dynasty that now has become a part of the Istarin Kingdom, there was another big Kingdom that was close to being called an Empire. It was the Kingdom of Nyland.

"Your Highness, now that the Zulux Dynasty has fallen, I think it's the perfect opportunity to strike. Please allow me to attack the Zulux Dynasty that now has taken over the Istarin Kingdom. I doubt the Istarin Kingdom has enough troops to protect their whole territory. If we don't act now, we will be taking a huge loss."

Polished braziers encompassing each of the six travertine columns light up every part of the throne hall and coat everything in an orange glimmer. The carved symmetric patterns on the sloped ceiling dance in the flickering light while statues and memorials look down upon the limestone floor of this grand hall.

A verdigris rug runs down from the throne and splits to encircle the entire hall while swallow tail banners with emblazoned crowns decorate the walls. Between each banner hangs a small chandelier, many of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the portraits of late rulers below them.

High, stained glass windows of heavenly mosaics are bordered by draperies colored the same verdigris as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with fancy tassels and impressive needlework.

A magnificent throne of porcelain sits in front of a giant painting of the kingdom and is adjoined by two equally impressive seats for those aiding the royal highness in all affairs.

The throne is covered in byzantine inscriptions and fixed on each of the stubby legs is an abstract demon wing. The light pillows are dark verdigris and these too have been adorned with golden tufts.

Those awaiting to be heard by their royal highness can do so on the few extravagant and comfortable teak benches, all of which are facing the throne in a V-shape. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the opulent mezzanines overlooking the throne.

Sitting on the throne, there was an old man with a long white beard who looked down at his first son. Currently, the Nyland King was having a meeting when his first son and the prince of the Nyland Kingdom came up with the suggestion.

Prince, Arthur Berry, wanted permission to attack the Istarin Kingdom. There were multiple reasons why Prince Arthur wanted to attack the Istarin Kingdom. One of those reasons was related to winning the race and becoming the next King.

"My son, I will have to disappoint your expectations."

One more chapter is on its way. Now that my health is recovered, I will release more chapters. Continue supporting me with golden tickets and gifts.

Chapter 55

"My son, I will have to disappoint your expectations."

"What?" Everyone didn't look shocked by the King's words. It was as if they knew what the King was thinking.

"But why father? This is our golden chance of expanding our territory and moving towards the northwest. The Istarin Kingdom will soon face the Nepoca Kingdom in a huge war. Even if they managed to win the sure, the Istarin Kingdom will be at its weakest. Shouldn't we take this chance to attack?"

"Arthur, I believe as one of the candidates to become the next King, you should figure out my reasons for not getting involved in this war. I am getting old Arthur. This Kingdom needs a new King. Just because you're my firstborn that doesn't mean I will hand over the throne to you." Arthur nodded his head with a polite smile but inwardly he was secretly gritting his teeth in anger and frustration.

"You must prove that you're worthy to sit on his throne. If an incompetent person sits on his throne, it could potentially lead to an end of our Nyland Kingdom which I cannot allow happening. We, the Nyland Kingdom won't be interfering in this war. Now you may leave."

"Understood your Majesty." Arthur bowed one more time before turning around and leaving the throne hall. Although Arthur didn't show it on his face, he was extremely angry with the old man who was his father. As the firstborn, Arthur always believed that he was the rightful successor of this throne. But his old man was making this difficult for him by saying that all princes were allowed to compete for the throne.

After exiting the throne hall, Arthur finally stopped pretending. He angrily bit his lower lips drawing blood out of them.

"I really want to end this old man's life." Arthur reacted before the other princes. He was planning to lead an army and conquer the Istarin Kingdom. By making military achievements, Arthur would easily gain the people's recognition. That would take him one step closer to becoming the next King.

"Now what should I do? Because of the old man, I will have to drop my plan." Arthur couldn't even risk assassinating his other brothers as this would bring the wrath of his old man. Arthur cannot afford to do anything that could make the old man dislike him.

Arthur walked out of the palace and was on his way to the library. 80% time the library was mostly empty. Arthur went to the library not because he liked to read books, in fact, he hated reading books. His reason for going to the library was because he was going to have an important meeting with a certain person belonging to a powerful organization.

When he opened the doors of the library, he found a person in a black hood whose entire body was covered in a black cloak, and the person was sitting on one of the chairs and reading a book in silence.

"So you came?" Arthur smiled as he walked to sit in front of the person in the hood. After sitting down, Arthur tried his best to see the face hidden beyond the hood, but some sort of spell seems to be blocking Arthur's vision and making everything look like a pitch endless void.

"I had to come. What did your Old Man say regarding attacking the Istarin Kingdom?" From the tone of the voice, it was clear that the person in black cloak and hood was a middle-aged man.

"My old man wants to stay out of the mess and not get involved in the war. All of my plans flopped because of him."

The man in the hood chuckled seeing the anger on Prince Arthur's face. "Do not worry. Like we promised as long as you give us the thing that we want, we shall give you the support that you need to make the throne yours. This is the promise of 'The League of the Black Tomb.'"

Arthur coldly looked at the man and replied. "Give me some more time to think about your offer."

"My prince, you have one month's time to decide. If you can't make up your mind even after one month, then we shall approach the other princes." After saying those words, the man closed the book and transformed into a black mist, and then disappeared from the library.

Scene change______

50,000 troops being led by Duke Easton. As the soldiers silently kept on marching towards the Istarin land. Following Duke Easton, his right-hand man noticed a messenger pigeon was flying in their direction.

"Your grace, look a messenger bird is coming." Duke Easton who was riding a white horse stopped making the 50,000 troops behind him stop as well. He waited for the bird to land on his left arm.

After taking the letter from the bird's leg, Easton let go of the messenger pigeon and began to read the letter that was sent from the King.

As Easton continued reading the letter, the more he read the more complicated his expression seemed to have become. After a certain point, his expression practically turned ugly as if he was forced to eat sh*t.

Noticing Duke Easton's ugly expression, his right-hand man Jerry couldn't help but ask. "Sire, did something happen?"

"Yes, it appears as we started our march, late King Sebastian also had attacked the Istarin forces in order to drive out the enemy from his territory."

"Sire, what do you mean by late King Sebastian? Did something happen to the King?" Easton sighed as he looked at the sky thinking how even heaven seems to be favoring King Aditya.

Sigh!

"Our enemy won the battle and has taken over the Zulux Dynasty."

"What?"

"But how?"

"How did they defeat two 3rd-order generals plus an army of 50,000?"

"Silent" Everyone shut their mouths and looked at Duke Easton. "The news is true. As much as I hate to say but we got to hurry up. If the Dragon King arrives on the battlefield it will be the end of us. That man is a demon. It was highlighted in the letter that when that Man arrived on the battlefield, even though his troops were on the verge of losing, they still managed to turn the whole tide of the battle."

"We can't possibly let the Kingdom take over the Zulux Dynasty territory. The Kingdom of Nyland and other small neighboring kingdoms on the borders also doesn't seem to have any intention of invading. Currently, our only option is to defeat Duke Sarlus and land a big blow to the Istarin Kingdom. Otherwise, the Istarin Kingdom will become the next big overlord of this part of the continent which is something that we have to prevent at any cost."

Another thing that was mentioned in the letter was that King Aditya was on his way to Vrane city. The King had strictly ordered Easton to hurry up and attack the Vrane city fortress as soon as possible. No one wanted to wait long enough for the Dragon King to arrive and turn the tide of the battle just as he did with the Zulux Dynasty.

While the Eastern part of the continent was in turmoil from the news of the Dragon King's unexpected win over a strong Dynasty with 100+ years of history, the news soon reached the ears of Aditya's other 5 wives who always kept their spies in the Istarin Kingdom to inform them about any even the smallest changes happening in the Kingdom. Everyone had different reactions. But everyone was happy to know that Aditya finally had changed.

On some part of the Dying Isle continent, there was a magnificent Castle. Fourteen thick, square towers have been built on various tactical spots for an ideal defense and are connected by high, thick walls made of basalt.

Rough windows are scattered generously across the walls in a seemingly random pattern, along with overhanging crenelations for archers and artillery.

A vast gate with huge metal doors, a draw bridge, and various artillery equipment guard the only place with water.

Various large houses are scattered outside the castle gates, surprisingly the rich are comfortable with living outside the gates as well. This castle has stood the test of time and despite knowing some very rough times, the castle still stands and it looks like it will do so for many years to come.

Sitting in the garden that was 5 times bigger than a football pitch, there was a man and woman who were enjoying their tea under the shade of a large tree.

"It looks like the winter will be on us within a few months." The woman with long purple hair that she had tied in a bun spoke as she took a sip of green tea.

"The tea would have tasted 1000 times better if our daughter was here." The man with short black hair said while looking at his wife.

"Yes, it has been a long time since we saw her here. I think it's about to time we call her back to return."

The man took a sip of green tea and then put the teacup on the table and spoke in an excited tone. "Very well, I shall send our head maid today itself to bring our daughter back. No, I think it would be much better for me to go there personally and bring our daughter back."

"Honey, calm down."

The woman with purple long hair looked at the different kinds of herbal plants that their daughtered planted in this garden. "Let's wait a month before asking her to return. Currently, our son-in-law is having war. Calling our daughter back would only bring trouble to our son-in-law."

"That alcoholic bastard is not our son-in-law." The man angrily slammed the table without using much of his strength.

"It's only because of the King that I agreed to marry my daughter to that man. At that time If I had known he would turn up to become this kind of man, then I would have never agreed to this marriage. I rather would have rebelled than give our precious daughter to that man."

"I am calling back my daughter today itself." The man stood up to leave. But his wife's next few words stopped him.

"Honey, why don't you sit down and calm yourself? Everyone makes a mistake. I can see that Aditya has changed. Give him some time. After he ends the war and deals with other things, we can call both of them here, and then we can decide whether he is worthy of our daughter or not."

"Hmph! I still don't recognize him as our son-in-law. I will wait only one more month." The lady with purple hair covered her mouth and smiled secretly. Both father and daughter did have a similar personality.

Support me with golden tickets!!!

Chapter 56

The army of the Nepoca Kingdom advanced on a path that was built between two mountains and a thick forest. As the troops of 50,000 marched forward on the 100 meters wide road, Duke Easton suddenly had a bad feeling.

'Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen today?' Shaking his head, Duke Easton continued with their march. After a good night of rest, Duke Easton urged the troops to move as fast as they could.

'We're only a few kilometers away from the Vrane city fortress.' Last night Duke Easton prioritized getting his troops proper rest before the battle. He didn't wish his troops to fight while being exhausted. Even if their troops were 50,000, almost double the size compared to the enemy troops, Easton didn't dare underestimate the enemy. This fight was far more important than any other fight that took place between the three Kingdoms over the last 100 years.

This war was going to decide the future of the Eastern part of the Dying Isle continent. If the Istarin Kingdom manages to win, then the Nepoca Kingdom will be suppressed and the Istarin Kingdom will become the new overlord replacing the Zulux Dynasty, having the power to rival the great Kingdom of Nyland which was a 4th-tier powerhouse. The Nepoca Kingdom cannot let that happen as the Istarin Kingdom becoming this powerful would harm them in many ways.

As Duke Easton was leading an army of 50,000 through the forest, suddenly he became alert hearing a noise from the bushes.

"Everyone stop" Duke Easton used his mana to look for any third party. After sensing that there was no one in the bushes, Duke Easton ordered the troops to resume their march.

"Who is there?" After another minute, Duke Easton and several other soldiers sensed the presence of a third party behind the bushes.

Bang!

Duke Easton easily deflected the dagger that came out from the bushes. Before he could fully understand the whole scope of the situation, he and others heard multiple footsteps around them.

"Everyone be careful." The whole army of 50,000 turned was alert and on their guard looking around in caution. Duke Easton wasn't afraid. In front of the 50,000 forces, even a Peak second-order has to think twice before daring to block their way.

As everyone waited for the people hiding in the shadows to attack, several minutes passed in silence. Only the sound of wind blowing and the leaves rustling could be heard.

"Sire, it looks like Duke Sarlus had set up an ambush in hope of killing you." Once the commander of the army died, there would be no one else to lead the army anymore. The 50,000 soldiers would have no choice but to retreat back. Without a commander, the 50,000 soldiers would be quickly defeated. In a battle having a capable commander can make a lot of difference.

Duke Easton and others mistakenly assumed that Duke Sarlus of the Istarin Kingdom had used cheap means to prevent the war with the Nepoca Kingdom. But in reality, Sarlus would never do something this low. Sarlus was a man of pride and honor. He would rather die in the battle than escape from a fight even if it meant his death.

Why would Duke Sarlus try to use underhanded means to take out the enemy commander? Duke Easton failed to understand this part. What Duke Sarlus and his general Haku had planned was something even more grand and big.

One of the soldiers who was standing among the infantry groups started feeling bored. He didn't wish to come here and fight. To him, his life was more valuable than anything. He only joined the army because of the good salary and benefits that he received as a soldier. "Man I really want to go back." Saying that the young soldier remembered his newly married wife.

His eyes glowed in lust as he remembered his wife. He couldn't wait to return home and spend more time with his dear wife.

Just as the random soldier was thinking about his dear wife, he suddenly felt a shadow blocking the sunlight. When he opened his eyes and looked up, his whole body suddenly cooled with a layer of sweat. The soldier felt as if he was seeing his own death. At that very second his entire body became stiff, and he felt his heart wildly begin beating.

"Lo.....Look.....up" Hearing those words, a few soldiers around looked up as they had nothing better to do. Just when they looked up, they too also had a similar reaction.

Duke Easton who was waiting for the assassins which he and others assumed were sent by Duke Sarlus suddenly felt something above him. When he raised his head to look up, others also followed the Duke and looked up. Everyone who looked up had their eyes widened in fear. Because what they were seeing in front of them was the arrival of death itself.

"Hahaha! So this is how we're going to die." No one knows who said those words but everyone silently agreed with whoever said those words in despair.

1000 meters above the ground, right above the 50,000 soldiers' heads, the whole sky had been covered with countless black needles. But those who have seen arrows before know exactly what those black finger sizes needless were.

Above the soldier's head, the whole sky has been covered with countless thousands of arrows. No one knows when those arrows were fired but the arrows were only a few seconds away from taking the lives of thousands of soldiers.

To the soldiers, this whole scene was like seeing heaven itself sending down divine punishment. Duke Easton's whole pale turned deadly pale as he looked at the horrifying scene in front of him. "Everyone take cover."

But It was too late. Piercing the air, countless thousands of arrows rained down on the 50,000 troops who were on their way to annihilate the Istarin army.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before any soldier could run into the forest to take cover, the countless thousands of arrows had rained down on them.

Ahhhh! Ah!

"Someone help me"

"Save me"

The thunderous roars of the soldiers sounded all over the battlefield. Unfortunately, not everyone soldier of the Nepoca Kingdom was given shields. Other than a few thousand luckily soldiers who had shields made from unrefined iron ore to protect themselves, almost everyone soldier was hit with multiple arrows that either directly hit their heads and chests or other parts of their bodies.

Giving shields to every soldier was very costly. Not to mention carrying iron shields on a battlefield would slow down a soldier's agility. Each shield weighed around 25 kg which was something that not every soldier was able to handle. Shields were only given to cavalry troops but that was also limited to only a few thousand troops.

Using a special kind of artifact which functioned as a binocular, Duke Sarlus smiled seeing the terrible state of the Nepoca troops.

After about 5 minutes,

The rain of countless arrows finally stopped, the 100 meters wide road was now dyed in red blood. The whole area was filled with a heavy smell of blood. The army which previously consisted of 50,000 troops now only had around a few thousand troops who somehow managed to keep difficult with the wounds on their legs or on their shoulders.

The road now had been covered with a layer of arrows.

"That bastard" Duke Easton who used a mana shield to protect himself and a few hundred soldiers around him couldn't help but curse out loudly seeing the disaster.

Each arrow was strong enough to break the mana barrier of a 1st order-order soldier. Under the constant and endless rain of arrows that lasted for whole 5 minutes, even the soldiers who were near reaching second-order perished after their mana shield was broken.

When Duke Easton looked back, the only thing that came to his view was red blood that was flowing like a water stream. Countless dead bodies of soldiers and horses lying on top of each other with countless arrows still stuck on the top of their bodies.

From the distance, Duke Sarlus and Haku both looked at the scene and couldn't help but admire his Majesty for coming up with each grand plan. "Good. Now that the enemy forces have fallen. It's time for us to strike. We cannot allow Duke Easton to flee and return to the Nepoca kingdom." Even Aditya had strictly warned Sarlus about Duke Easton and ordered him to use whatever means necessary to keep the 3rd-order Duke from escaping.

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 89 ? 100

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Crimson Blink, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision, Disturbance of Blessings, Mystic Surge, Charm of Inferno Rune, ? ([New]Lightning Dash)

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 209 ? 220

_Speed: - 377 + [100+] ? 388 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 209 ? 220

_Health: - 209 ? 220

_Mana: - 2,781 ? 2,792

_Free stats: - 68 ? 90 ]

Chapter 57

"What should we do now, Sire?" The soldiers who were near Duke Easton managed to survive this whole nightmare. When they saw 47,000 troops lying on the ground, with blood flowing like a river, their faces turned pale as their entire body shivered in fright. Some even started puking while some even directly lost their consciousness from seeing this scene.

"I.....I don't know." Duke Easton did not know what to do in this situation. Never he did think even in his worst nightmare that something like this would happen to his army. The mighty army of 50,000 which was capable enough to destroy a 2nd-tier Kingdom within a single night was slaughtered within 5 minutes.

Duke Easton, the beginner 3rd-order still can't believe what he was seeing in front of his eyes. For a moment he felt what he was seeing a nightmare. For the next few minutes, no one spoke anything. Everyone was in a deep state of shock.

Rumble!

Duke Easton face changed when he heard the sounds of thousands of footsteps. From this distance, he could hear the roars of the horses.

"It's the Istarin army"

The remaining 3,000 soldiers who were injured panicked seeing the Istarin army coming from the back. Duke Easton closed his eyes and tried to sense the foreign presence around them.

"We have been surrounded." Everyone's face turned very ugly hearing Easton's words.

Another minute later, everyone saw a lion man walking toward them while holding a greatsword in his hand. The lion-faced beastmen was a burly, muscular build and stood nearly two meters tall. He has the appearance of an experienced warrior who had weathered many battles. Even at the age of fifty, he looked fierce, and his presence would tense the atmosphere.

"Duke Sarlus" Duke Easton's eyes flashed in hatred seeing the lion beastmen walking in his direction and being followed by an army of thousands.

"Never did I imagine that Sir Sarlus would ambush us this way. What happened to the honor and pride that you always talked about?" Duke Easton asked in an angry and mocking tone.

Hearing the loud words of the Duke, Sir Sarlus did not lose his calm. If it was before then he would have lost his calm. Both dukes had met each other in battles or had meetings that happened under the previous King Ahmed. It was no secret that both dukes hated each other.

About a decade ago both Dukes had similar powers. Both dukes had clashed on the battlefield multiple times. Every time their battle always ended in a draw or they were interrupted and asked to retreat by their Kings. At that time both Dukes were in their prime. While Duke Easton was cunning and sly, Duke Sarlus was hot-blooded and prideful. While Sarlus cared more about his pride and honor, Easton was the exact opposite.

Over the years, Duke Sarlus has matured. Unlike Easton who still was the same as he was a decade ago, Sarlus has matured to become a man with dignity and calmness. Previously whenever he was provoked by Easton, Duke would always get furious but now he looked very calm.

"I don't know what are you talking about. But someone recently told me that in a war it was always about the survival of the fittest." Duke Sarlus had lots of hidden meanings. These words were said by Aditya when he asked Duke Sarlus to execute this plan. After talking with Aditya, Duke realized his pride and reputation had no meaning if they couldn't win the war.

"So you're telling me that you abandoned your pride and dignity." Easton sneered at the duke.

"A person who is corrupted, who is the very definition of what others call a snake, a person who only cares about himself, has no right to lecture me about pride and dignity. While you call our move an underhanded trick, we call this strategy." Knowing that clashing with his huge army would result in a massive loss for the Kingdom, Duke Sarlus quickly accepted the idea that Aditya proposed to him.

Hearing these words Easton's face turned ugly as if someone had forced him to eat a rotten egg. "Hmph! Whatever you and your Kingdom say, the whole world will condemn this move."

"Hahaha!" Sarlus suddenly laughed out loud hearing Duke's words. Duke Easton's words were like a criminal talking about justice while pretending to be innocent.

"Let me ask you this, do you think we care? Do you really think the world cares about your nonsense? If we cared about what the world had thought of us, then our Majesty would have never started this war in the first place."

"Don't you feel ashamed? Pretending to be the innocent here while we all know that you're the one who first started this whole war." Easton's body started trembling as his face turned red from embarrassment. No matter how much thick his skin was, Sarlus's words made him feel embarrassed in front of his soldiers.

Enough!

Duke Easton stopped holding back and released his aura as a third-order. Feeling the terrifying pressure the soldiers near Easton were forced to step back with pale faces. The soldiers were suddenly having a hard time even breathing properly. They felt as if a mountain was being pressed against their chests.

"I don't care if I have lost my whole army here. Today I will not leave until I get your head." Easton tore the brown cloak covering his body, revealing the 2-star black armor that he was wearing.

Sarlus said nothing. In response to the Aura pressure, he used his mana to protect the soldiers behind him from Duke Easton's Aura pressure. Each cultivator can release Aura pressure. The strength of the Aura pressure depends on the cultivator's order. For a 1st-order, the Aura pressure was the same as the being pressure by the weight of a mountain.

Sarlus managed to resist the Aura pressure to a certain extent only because he was a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. Using a little bit of his mana, he was able to reduce the pressure that he was feeling. That does not mean he wasn't feeling any pressure. He felt as if his entire body weight has been tripled. He was having a little trouble circulating his mana.

About 5 km behind duke Easton and his army, another army that was being led by general Haku was marching in their direction. "Even if you bring your whole army, that still won't save you from being killed today."

After saying that taking out the silver color sword that was hung on his waist, Easton dashed at Sarlus at his full speed. While the Nepoca kingdom was rich enough to get resources that pushed their Duke to reach the 3rd-order, Sarlus wasn't that lucky regarding that matter. Duke Sarlus reached Peak 2nd-order without using any external elixir or pills, something that not everyone can do.

Duke wasn't fast enough to match the speed of a beginner 3rd-order. Being a beastmen even though his speed and strength were a few times higher compared to normal human cultivators, in front of a beginner 3rd-order he was still lacking. Also, Easton's skills and class were mainly to support his agility. Being an agility-type cultivator, Easton was fast enough to match the speed of a mid-3rd-order.

Easton covered the 70 meters distance in the blink of an eye and was only a few meters away from Sarlus. Just when the silver color sword of Easton was about to land on Sarlus's neck, a crimson-orange bolt of lightning hit his chest and sent him flying like a cannonball.

Bang!

"I don't think you can even damage even a single hair on Sarlus's body under my watch." Hearing the voice, everyone raised their heads to find Aditya, the Dragon King standing 100 meters above the ground with his Crimson dragon wings.

Duke Easton who was sent flying almost 100 meters away, smashed the tree trunks that had fallen him and then stood up and looked at the sky. His eyes had turned red in anger. "Good. Very Good. I didn't expect that while hunting for gold, I would actually find the diamond." The diamond, that he was talking about was Aditya. If he can kill Aditya or even land a severe blow that would permanently cripple him, then the whole Kingdom would collapse without their king.

'Did he really lose his mind or what?' Aditya thought as he looked at Easton. Not to brag or anything, but within the span of 2 weeks, he has killed three 3rd-order generals and fought with five 3rd-orders. After fighting so many 3rd-orders, in Aditya's eyes, 3rd-order beings are no longer anything that special. Current Aditya can easily kill a beginner 3rd-order.

"Let's end this"

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 89 ? 100

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Crimson Blink, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision, Disturbance of Blessings, Mystic Surge, Charm of Inferno Rune, ? ([New]Lightning Dash)

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 209 ? 220

_Speed: - 377 + [100+] ? 388 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 209 ? 220

_Health: - 209 ? 220

_Mana: - 2,781 ? 2,792

_Free stats: - 68 ? 90 ]

Chapter 58

Looking at Aditya who was still standing 100 meters above the ground, Easton secretly prepared to activate his skills. 'I still can't understand how a beginner 2nd-order can kill mid-3rd-order. This should be against the laws of nature. I understand that one can increase their powers by equipping themselves with powerful artifacts and weapons, but that also has its limit.'

Knowing the financial condition of the kingdom, everyone knew that it was impossible for the Istarin Kingdom to have a 3-star weapon or artifact. Other than the Kingdom of Nyland, no other Kingdom in the eastern part of the Dying Isle continent currently had any 3-star artifact or weapon.

Aditya and Duke Sarlus both noticed the cracking sound. Everyone turned their heads in the east direction where they found Duke Easton standing with sparks of black lightning starting to flicker around his body. The flickers of black lightning continued increasing, after 10 seconds Duke Easton's whole body was covered in a layer of transparent black lightning.

'This move is almost like my lightning dash.' Aditya looked surprised seeing the Black lightning covering Easton's entire body like armor. 'Unlike my blue lightning, this black lightning feels more destructive.' While Aditya's blue lightning could increase his agility, the black lightning was more focused on destructive powers.

Black lightning dash!

Swoosh!

Bang!

The ground instantly cracked like a spider web when the Duke of the Nepoca Kingdom dashed in Aditya's direction like a fierce wild beast that had gone berserk. The enemy moved so fast that even Peak second-order duke couldn't see Easton anymore. He only felt a strong gust of wind passing by him.

Seeing how fast Easton was moving, Aditya didn't dare test the water. Without holding back he also used lightning dash causing blue lightning to start flickering around his body. However, unlike Easton whose entire body was covered with a transparent layer of lightning, Aditya's body only flickered in blue lightning showing the difference in the mastery of the same skill. 'He is fast. Undoubtfully the fastest person I have ever countered till now.'

Black Lighting strike!

40 meters away Easton used his sword which was a conductor of black lightning to fire a black bolt of lightning at the enemy Dragon King. Seeing the bolt of lightning that was even faster than Easton's speed, Aditya didn't waste even a millisecond and stepped aside to let the bolt of black lighting pass by with only a few inches distance between.

'Not bad. He is able to dodge my lightning bolt which even Mid 3rd-order cultivators cannot dodge. My lightning dash skills give me an additional [125+], yet he still managed to dodge my attack. But let's see how long you can keep dodging.' Easton assumed that his current speed was faster than Aditya's which gave him extra confidence.

Suddenly Easton dropped the sword that he was holding in his left hand which confused Aditya for a second. The Dragon King saw the duke take a deep breath as the black lightning around his body started condensing on his both fists.

Twilight Dragon Punching Rose!

Simultaneously, the enemy Duke punched the air with his fists releasing two black snakes that were entirely made up of black lightning.

Aditya sensed the two lightning snakes were filled with black lightning mana. Each snake was about 15 meters long and 2 meters wide. Both snakes curled around Aditya before attacking him. One attacked from the front while the other attacked from the back.

Booom!

Easton smiled seeing that the attack had successfully managed to hit the Dragon King. While Duke Sarlus and others' faces for a moment turned pale seeing the attack had managed to hit their king.

Swoosh!

A red crimson beam of light suddenly appeared behind Easton. From the corner of his eyes, the duke found that the red beam of light was actually the enemy king. 'Not good, I can't react in time.'

The fear of death flashed in Easton's eyes as he watched the Dragon King slashing the red Crimson sword.

Bang!

Drip!

Easton retreated back while holding his left shoulder. His face instantly turned pale. He was gritting his teeth and trying his best to endure the burning pain in his back. The attack had left a deep straight cut on Easton's back.

Drip!

The red blood soaked his clothes red. With each passing second, he was losing one health point. "How are you this fast?" Easton managed to squeeze these words out of his mouth while looking at Aditya with a painful expression.

"That's my little secret." Easton gritted his teeth in anger and in pain. He realized the sword that the enemy was holding was no ordinary sword. He could feel his flesh burning from the inside out which further intensified the pain he was feeling.

As a beginner 3rd-order cultivator, Easton was an agility-type fighter. His current speed would match the speed of mid-3rd order. Easton's base speed [375+] while using black lightning dash had given him a [125+] boost in his agility. His total agility had reached [500+] yet the dragon King was able to overpower him in agility.

Aditya put the Crimson Dragon wrath sword in his storage ring and looked at Easton as he massaged his left shoulder with his right hand. "You know these 2 weeks have been a headache for me. Waging war is no fun. I constantly had to make plans so that my Kingdom would always stay 2 steps ahead of everyone. I admit that I had narrow escapes and some luck that also helped me and my kingdom."

Suddenly the look on Aditya's face turned cold. He looked at Easton like he was looking at his biggest enemy. For a moment Easton forgot about the pain that he was feeling, he instead began trembling under those cold and terrifying eyes that seems to reflect his death.

"With your end, My Kingdom will finally see a period of peace."

Swoosh!

Aditya's figure became blurred. He suddenly appeared right in front of Duke Easton. Easton raised his hand, trying to attack Aditya. He was faster so he easily dodged the attack as he closed his left palm to form a fist while condensing almost half of his mana, he punched Easton's heart.

Bang!

The punch wasn't that powerful but when everyone heard the soft cracking sound that was followed by the howl of agony everyone unconsciously shivered in fright.

Ahhhhh!!!!!

Cough!

Aditya coldly looked at Easton as he rolled on the ground not caring about the dirt and mud, he tightly held his chest and was screaming in pain.

"The King just crippled Duke's mana heart." Everyone looked at each other in shock. Crippling the heart of a cultivator was the same as turning them into a mortal. Not to mention the horrifying pain that comes with it. The pain of the Mana heart being crippled was enough to make people commit suicide so that they can escape from this hellish pain.

The soldier that once was saved by Easton stood there frozen in utter shock. Haku who was leading an army from behind ordered the troops to capture the remaining 3,000 troops and take them away. These troops now will be turned into prisoners of war and used in other future battles.

While Easton was rolling on the ground in pain, Aditya took out a 3-star healing liquid which he poured on Easton's back to stop the bleeding.

"Your Majesty, should I kill him?" Sarlus asked as he walked from behind.

"No, he will be an important asset to my next plan." Aditya turned around and looked at Sarlus's eyes which were filled with endless admiration and respect for this King. "I don't want the world to know that I have crippled his mana heart. Make sure that our troops keep their mouth shut."

"Understood my King." Sarlus didn't question why Aditya wanted to suppress his news. For now, he decided to follow his King and see what he wants to do with Easton.

"Listen everyone it's time to clean up everything. Gather all the weapons and armors and then dispose of the bodies and clean the roads." Without Aditya or Sarlus's order, Haku was capable enough to know what he needs to do next.

"Your Majesty, what should we do next?" Now that they have taken over the Zulux Dynasty and also have defeated the marching troops of the Nepoca Kingdom, Sarlus wanted to know if his King was going to continue the war and take over the whole Nepoca Kingdom.

Sigh!

Even though it has been less than weeks since the war started, Aditya felt as if a long time had passed. "What do you think I should do Sarlus?"

"I am afraid I don't understand your question." Sarlus replied as he tied unconscious Easton who now had become completely powerless.

Aditya looked at the sky which now had cleared up. "We just took over the Zulux Dynasty. I have a lot of things to do. Just taking over the enemy territory won't be enough. Not to mention we share borders with the Kingdom of Nyland. If we aggressively keep on expanding and take over the Nepoca Kingdom, I am sure that a 4th-tier powerhouse like the Nyland Kingdom won't just sit around and watch us."

Aditya looked at Sarlus while continuing with his words. "It's already a fortune that the Kingdom of Nyland back out and refused to participate in this war otherwise our chances of surviving would have dropped. Also with the back-to-back four big battles, the Istarin army has been weakened even though the size of our troops only has increased. We will need time for the injured troops to recover."

"So what should we do now?" Sarlus asked as he stood behind Aditya. Ever since Sarlus recognized Aditya as his King, he swore in his heart to follow Aditya everywhere. If his King were to fight with the whole world, Sarlus would still stand behind his King and cover his back.

"Simple! For now, we shall wait. Send a letter to the Nepoca King telling him that if he wants his Duke back, he should agree to have a meeting with me." Sarlus raised an eyebrow, wondering what his King was thinking.

"Also don't mention the fact that I have crippled Duke Easton's mana heart." Hearing Aditya's words, Sarlus finally understood what his King was thinking. He couldn't help but feel pity for the Nepoca King knowing that he was about to be scammed.

Both Duke and the King stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before bursting out laughing confusing general Haku.

Hahahaha!

"Your Majesty, no one can match your intelligence"

"This is just advance planning." Sarlus shook his head knowing that his King was only being modest here.

"Majesty, are you planning on heading back to the Zulux dynasty capital? or Are you planning on returning to Azure city?"

Aditya suddenly grabbed Easton by his neck and flew in the air. "I am taking him back to the capital. He needs to spend some time in our prison and experience our sexy massage." Hearing Aditya's words Sarlus shivered in fear. He suddenly started feeling pity for Easton even though Easton was his enemy.

Sarlus has heard that this sexy massage was so horrifying that former prime minister Joseph had gone lost his senses after a whole day of torture.

Chapter 59

Not even an entire day had passed since the Istarin Kingdom had slaughtered 50,000 troops and captured Duke Easton, the news spread faster than wildfire. Throughout the eastern part of the Dying Isle continent, every King, duke, and faction was beyond shocked.

"Your Majesty, are we really going to stand aside and watch as the Istarin the Kingdom conquers more land and becomes the next overlord?" In the Kingdom of Nyland, the current King and his ministers were having a meeting regarding the issue.

"I understand your concerns. But you also have to understand that our current political structure is not stable enough. Soon I will pass the throne to one of my sons. This itself increases the chances of starting a civil war within the Kingdom."

The King also had some other reasons for staying out of the war. He did not mention those reasons in front of his ministers as some of them had started working for princes. "Send messages to both Kings that the Kingdom of Nyland will host both Kings for a meeting. The meeting shall take place in 3 days in the Kingdom of Thera."

Meanwhile, Aditya after flying for a few hours finally managed to return to Azure city. The guards looked at their King who had made an unexpected return.

"Your Majesty" Both guards kneeled to show their respect to their King. All the soldiers had immense respect for their king. All the things that Aditya has done this month gained him a lot of respect both from the people and the soldiers.

"You may rise. Take this man to the underground prison." Aditya threw Easton from the height of 3 meters. The guards caught the Duke who now looked like a beggar.

"Make sure he does not starve to death."

"Understood your Majesty." Two of the guards dragged Easton away while other soldiers continued guarding the King's palace.

Aditya then flew toward the training ground. As soon as he landed, Watson, his butler, and his wife, the Goddess of alchemy both rushed out of the palace to find Aditya.

"Aditya?" After retracting his dragon wings, he turned to Julia who looked at him with a mix of various emotions. Even though it has been less than 2 days since they separated, to them it felt like a year had passed.

"Julia you look beautiful as always." Today his wife was wearing a beautiful Light purple kimono that truly made her look like a goddess.

Julia slightly smiled as she slowly walked toward the person whom she considered her fiancé. Her each step was filled with elegance. She was like a fairy that had descended on the mortal world.

Today she had tied her purple hair in a bun which exposed her beautiful and seductive nape. Wearing sandals, she lightly walked in Aditya's direction.

Before Julia always dressed in simple clothes. This was the first time he was seeing her in a traditional outfit. He has to admit, she looked exceptionally good in this outfit that matched her hair color.

After walking in front of Aditya, she pouted which only made her look cuter. She was unhappy about the fact that Aditya did not tell her about the Nepoca Kingdom's invasion.

Aditya guessed her thoughts and smiled helplessly. "Thanks to the Blackheart, we managed to win both wars. If we are the body of the Istarin military then you're the internal organs of that body that allowed our military to function smoothly. Because of your hard work, our soldiers were able to heal quickly. Your contribution in this war is bigger than anyone."

Julia lowered her head trying to hide her smile. These words were more than enough to warm her heart. She felt happy that Aditya was appreciating her hard work. No amount of money or wealth can compare with this warm feeling that was making her heart as sweet as honey.

"Are you hurt?" Julia asked in a low tone.

"I am sorry what did you say?" Aditya couldn't hear what she just said.

She raised her head to look into his Crimson eyes and asked. "I asked if you're hurt anywhere."

"I am not hurt. Even if I was injured, I had your 3-star healing pills. It was all thanks to your pills that we managed to reduce your causalities. You're the backbone of your military."

Feeling happy she lowered her head with a smile that bloomed on her face. "I think you deserve a reward. Tell me, is there anything that you want? As long as it's within my powers, I shall try my best to give it to you."

"Can I really ask for anything?"

"As long as it's within my powers."

She directly into his eyes and asked boldly. "Then, I want you to come and meet my parents." Aditya's eyes widened in surprise hearing his wife's words.

Aditya knew that one day he will have to meet Julia's parents. He wasn't expecting that day to come this fast. 'But thinking back, Julia has been staying here for more than 2 years now. It's normal for her to miss her parents.'

'I am not sure how they will react once they meet me.' Aditya didn't have the best reputation. There were countless other men out there who were a hundred times better than him in terms of cultivator, influence, and looks. He felt if he went to meet her parents, then her parents would look down on him and will try to separate them.

'I was thinking of meeting Julia's parents once I had become worthy enough to hold Julia's hand in public without hiding our identities.' Aditya wasn't arrogant enough to think that he was worthy enough to deserve the most beautiful girl on this continent.

After spending some time with her, he began to feel that he needs to become someone who will make his wives proud. He did not want his wives to feel ashamed mentioning his name in the public.

Another reason why King Ahmed and Aditya never let anyone in this part of the continent know the fact that he was the husband of the 7 goddesses was because they knew that the public will ridicule Aditya. Although Aditya does not care about his reputation, he knew that these opinions would affect his wives.

"Julia, I...." Aditya was feeling a little conflicted. Julia was from a noble house that had thousands of years of history. Her father, who was the Duke of one of the strongest Kingdoms on the whole continent had the power to destroy even a 4th-tier Kingdom within a single night. The house of Onard had multiple 4th-order powerhouses under their command.

'Forget about Julia's identity as the Goddess of alchemy. Just her family background was something I can't compete with.' There was a huge difference between 3rd-order and 4th-order. It was like comparing an ant with an elephant.

"I understand your worries. But trust me, my parents are not the kind of people who looks down on others." Aditya smiled feeling a little relieved.

"I don't think I can visit your parents now. I have to deal with lots of administration work." In fact, Aditya was planning on heading to the Zulux dynasty capital tomorrow to officially take over the Kingdom.

"Then how about visiting my parents after a month's time?" Julia also received the letter that her mother send asking her to return home with her fiancé.

After a moment of thinking, Aditya realized that by one month he should be able to deal with all of his administrative work and should have some free time if the Nepoca Kingdom does not start another invasion. "Alright."

"Good" Julia smiled like a child which Aditya found very cute.

"Watson, you can come out now?" To not disturb them, Watson purposely didn't come out to greet his Majesty.

"Your Majesty, congratulations on winning two big battles."

"Hahaha! There is no need for much congratulations." Following Aditya, Julia stayed out of the conversation between Watson and Aditya. She was not interested in administration stuff. Politics always made her confused.

After a few hours of talking with Watson, the trio had dinner and then went to sleep.

Next morning,

Aditya woke up early in the morning. Last time had slept in his office. After quickly washing up, he left after letting Watson know about it.

While flying, Aditya finally took some time to check on his stats.

"My stats have significantly improved after. Now my level has reached 100 meaning that my cultivation has reached Mid phase of 2nd-order. If I continue with this speed, I should reach the Peak phase of 2nd-order within a few weeks."

[_Strength: - 209 ? 220

_Speed: - 377 + [100+] ? 388 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 209 ? 220

_Health: - 209 ? 220

_Mana: - 2,781 ? 2,792

_Free stats: - 68 ? 90 ]

"My biggest asset in a battle is my mana and my agility. My agility has allowed me to win against 3rd-order cultivators. Currently, my agility is [388+], and combining the [100+] agility boost that I get from the Bracelet of Wind Fairy, my agility is only [12+] away from reaching [500+] point." After some thinking, Aditya decided to put [12+] free stats points to his agility. He decided to put [8+] free stats in his mana to let his mana hit [2,800+] points. And then put the rest of his free points to his other stats which were lagging behind.

[_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Crimson Heavenly Dragon

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch

_Level: - 100

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation

_Passive skill: - Eruption Wave, Crimson Blink, Silence Mind, Blast of Divine Fury, Aura of Soul Fire, Lunar Vision, Disturbance of Blessings, Mystic Surge, Charm of Inferno Rune, Lightning Dash

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 220 ? 235

_Speed: - 388 + [100+] ? 400 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 220 ? 235

_Health: - 220 ? 235

_Mana: - 2,792 ? 2,800

_Free stats: - 90 ? 25]

Aditya decided to keep [25+] in case of an emergency. He liked to keep some free points for tough situations where his stats is not enough.

Lightning dash!

[100+ agility]

Now that he had [2,800+] mana, he could use his skills without worrying about his mana consumption. Just as he activated the passive skill Lightning dash his speed increased to [600+].

Booom!

Like a rocket, Aditya shot in the direction of Luneburg City which previously was the capital of the Zulux Dynasty.

Chapter 60

The morning sun just had brightened the sky of the Eastern part of the Dying Isle continent. Just like any normal day, the people woke up expecting the changes that were going to take place today. It was no secret that King Aditya was going to officially take over the Zulux Dynasty as part of his Istarin Kingdom.

After today, the Zulux Dynasty will become a thing of the past. The event that led to the demise of this dynasty with 100+ years will be passed down from generation to generation.

Today a new ruler will sit on the throne of the Zulux dynasty that now will be known as the part of the Istarin Kingdom. The people were a little concerned. Usually, when a new ruler replaces the old one, it comes with a lot of changes. The tax rate might be increased. New policies or rules might be introduced.

The old ruler, King Sebastian was a man who wanted to expand his Dynasty. As the Kingdom of Nyland shared borders with his Dynasty, he couldn't really make a move against the small Kingdoms that has allied themselves with the 4th-tier Kingdom. The Istarin Kingdom and the Nepoca Kingdom were the only two Kingdom in the eastern part of the Dying Isle continent that had not entered into an alliance with the Nyland Kingdom.

For decades, Sebastian has been using almost all of his Dynasty's income in trying to increase their military strength. Before Sebastian took the throne, the Zulux Dynasty was constantly pressured by the Nepoca Kingdom. Small conflicts or clashes between two Kingdoms kept happening all the time. At that time, the Nepoca kingdom had more military power and was considered the second strongest Kingdom in this part of the continent.

But with the combined efforts of the previous Prime Minister Joseph and Sebastian, within two decades the Zulux Dynasty became a powerhouse that was stronger than the Nepoca Kingdom.

Sebastian wasn't the type of King who was worried about his people. His main focus always has been increasing their military strength. As a result, under Sebastian, the common and middle-class families suffered a lot. During war times the King would increase the tax causing hardships for the middle class and lower class families.

Today everyone was only expecting the worse. If someone asked the people of the Zulux Dynasty what they thought of their King, everyone would say bad things about him. The people were assuming Aditya to be the type of ruler who does not care about his people.

Luneburg City is the heart of the Zulux Dynasty. The biggest and most prosperous city among the seven other cities. The city originally was a small town where traders and merchants from different parts of the Zulux Dynasty came to sell their goods. Later when the Zulux dynasty's first king conquered this land, he made Luneburg city the heart and the capital of his dynasty.

The city was built on the bank of the Evershifting Stream. The city is older than the age of the Zulux dynasty and the Istarin Kingdom combined. The city had well over 1 million people living in it, making it the most populated and biggest city of the Istarin Kingdom.

"The area near the Evershifting Stream is densely populated. Most towns and villages were built on the bank of the river. The bank of the river provides fertile land which is necessary for agriculture. Being near the sea, the whole Zulux Dynasty and the surrounding Kingdoms received a fair amount of rainfall." Aditya was currently flying above the Evershifting stream.

He already had flown past hundreds of small villages that were built on the bank of the Evershifting stream. "Rice is the most grown crop in the Zulux Dynasty." Rice was a daily food that everyone in this part of the continent ate. Even some nobles and knights had rice daily. It was one of those foods that were not expensive and enjoyable with other dishes.

Aditya heard from Watson that rice wasn't that popular in the other western part of the continent and was very rarely eaten by the people. "According to Watson, when Julia first came here she had kind of trouble having rice every day." Julia was from one of the richest noble houses on the continent. To someone like her having rice three times, a day was very uncomfortable.

With the speed that Aditya was moving, it did not take him long to reach Luneburg City.

"So this is Luneburg City" From this height, he was able to see the shape and size of the whole city.

The city was surrounded by 11 meters high walls on three sides. From the west side, the city was connected with the Evershifting Stream through a port. The port had hundreds of big and small ships. The medieval period houses and the roads gave a unique form of charm to the city.

"Almost as if I have traveled into medieval Europe." Having more than a million people, the city was almost 5 times bigger than Asharc city. The Azure city is like a baby in front of this city.

From the sky, Aditya can see his three Wyverns, each guarding three main entrances. Luneburg city had three main entrances. Each entrance was guarded and protected by at least a few hundred soldiers. The people had to wait in lines to get into the city.

As if sensing something the three Wyverns simultaneously raised their heads and looked up at the sky. Seeing that others also raised their heads only to find a man standing 500 meters above the sky with red pair of dragon wings on his back.

As the being with dragon wings kept descending, the 2nd-order cultivators who had better vision than 1st-order cultivators immediately recognized him after seeing his face. "His Majesty is here, hurry up and open the northern gate." Scott who happen to be talking with the soldiers shouted after seeing his Majesty.

In the next few seconds, Josh, Henry, and Tyler also noticed Aditya. The people who previously were standing in long lines to enter the city moved away quickly and made space for the King.

Under Scott's orders, the Northern gate which was half closed was now fully opened and all the people were made to stand aside. The soldiers stood before the people and formed a line to prevent anyone from reaching the King. All this happened before Aditya landed on the ground.

"Your Majesty" Scott, Henry, Tyler, and Josh all four of his generals come to welcome the arrival of their King.

"It looks like everything is under control. Good job."

"Your Majesty, we had no idea when you were going to arrive so we did not prepare any carriage for you. But if you wait...There is no need for carriage." Aditya interrupted Josh.

"I can just walk to the Palace. While walking, I can also take some time to check the whole city." Aditya wished to explore this big city. This would give him a better understanding of what the city is lacking and what things he should improve.

"Move out of the way. His majesty is coming." The people who were walking on the road were moved aside by a few hundred soldiers. Everyone stood on both sides of the roads and stared at the man with Crimson eyes who was being followed by at least hundreds of soldiers.

"Is he our new ruler?"

"He is so young. Even younger than my son."

"I think I am in love."

"He is prince charming."

Wearing a brown leather tunic and holding a sword on his waist, Aditya walked on the streets of Luneburg city with his chest raised. Aditya's dress was relatively simple and stylish.

Aditya was followed by Scott, Tyler, Josh, and Henry. The four of them looked very alert and were constantly looking here and there, fearing that someone might try to assassinate their King. However, Aditya wasn't that worried. With his agility, even a 3rd-order assassin cannot kill him.

'I heard the population of this city is a mix of different races. I guess those rumors are true then.' On side of the street, he could see Beast-men, Elves, Dwarves, Succubus, and even mermaids.

'If Sebastian had allowed other races to join the army or had allowed them to join the royal court, the condition of the Dynasty would have been much better.' It was not just king Sebastian, Many kings on the continent did not let other races join the military. Discrimination between humans and other races still existed.

Soon the news of King Aditya spread throughout the whole city. Many people rushed out to see what their new King looked like. Everyone has heard of the brilliant deeds that Aditya has done but they never had the fortune or the luck to see the man named Aditya.

After about walking 20 minutes, Aditya had to stop seeing a golden carriage. The carriage stopped 10 meters away from Aditya. A figure quickly jumped out of the carriage and kneeled before Aditya, not caring about the public.

"Your Majesty, it's not appropriate for the King to walk on the street. Please get in the royal carriage and let me escort you to the Palace."

"You're?"

"My apologies for the late introduction, my name is Carlos Lieven. I used to be the governor of Renestrae city."

"You may rise."

'If I remember correctly Renestrae City is located near the North-west part of the Kingdom; near the border of the Nyland Kingdom.'

"Move out of the way. Another royal carriage is coming." In the next few minutes, 5 more royal carriages appeared and fully blocked the road. In the end, Aditya took one of the royal carriages.

"Your Majesty this way" Carlos was familiar with the Royal Palace. After Aditya exited the royal carriage, Amber, Nathan, and Eleonor had come to greet their King.

After a long walk, Aditya finally reached the throne hall.

Additional Information: - Evershifting Stream, a river that originates from the Nyland Kingdom. The river flows through the Zulux Dynasty to reach the Istarin Kingdom and then later joins the sea.

Chapter 61

"Your Majesty, the throne awaits your arrival." Aditya lightly nodded and pushed the two golden giant doors apart to walk into the throne hall. When the doors were opened, Aditya could feel everything in the throne hall shining. For a moment he was stunned by how magnificent and glorious the throne hall looked.

Humble braziers hanging from each of the sixteen soapstone columns light up every part of the throne hall and cover the hall in warm oranges and dancing shadows. The relatively simple stonework on the domed ceiling dance in the flickering light while statues and marble icons look down upon the porcelain floor of this marvelous hall.

A beryl rug runs down from the throne and marks the closest spot people can stand when they address the royal highness while pointed banners with golden crowns droop from the walls. Between each banner hangs a torch, many of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the murals of divine beings below them.

Vast windows are enclosed by curtains colored the same beryl as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with jewels and fancy tassels.

A noble throne of onyx sits beneath an almost entirely close baldachin (canopy) and is adjoined by six similar, but smaller seats for visiting dignitaries.

The throne is covered in symmetric sculptures and fixed on each of the front legs is a lavish demon wing. The thin pillows are dark beryl and these too have been adorned with adorned ridges.

Those listening to their royal highness can do so on the plethora of lightly illuminated iron benches lined up perfectly symmetrical. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the embellished balustrades overlooking the entire hall.

"Your Majesty, do you like it?" Aditya nodded his head as he looked around.

"Yesterday I hired some men to do some renovation to the throne hall." Amber did not wish her King to sit on the throne that was used by Sebastian. So she asked for all the pillows and rugs and other things to be changed. She even went as far as to add a canopy above the throne.

Aditya secretly was very pleased with what Amber did.

Aditya slowly walked in and stepped toward the throne. Following Aditya, everyone also walked into the throne hall and stood right in front of the throne. He slowly climbed the stairs. He first touched the throne and then sat on the throne with his head raised.

Even though others did not notice it, in fact, Aditya was a little nervous about the whole thing. His movement was a little stiff. This was the first time he was sitting on the throne in front of so hundreds of people.

Amber took the golden crown that had multiple rubies embedded in it from the servant and then walked toward the throne. As she walked, she attracted the eyes of everyone. Many couldn't help but feel how beautiful Amber was.

Today was a special occasion, Amber made all of Aditya's generals dress up properly. Other than Aditya, everyone's dress was dazzling and radiating in elegance.

Today Amber wore a long beautiful white robe that covered her whole body. The white silk exposes her curves, giving the man a breathless, seductive feeling. Even though she had covered her body, her charm was leaving men breathless.

After Amber reached 2nd-order with her body cultivator, her powers increased and her charm and seductive powers increased. Every step she took was filled with a unique form of charm and seduction that seems to captivate the men's eyes. Every time she took a step holy mountains seemed to sway as if begging for some attention.

Gulp!

Even though Aditya pretended to be calm, in fact, he too as a man was affected by Amber's charm. But unlike others, he was able to resist his lust to a certain extent. 'Her beauty isn't anything less than Julia.'

In the whole throne hall, only the sound of footsteps of a single person could be heard. Amber slowly climbed the stairs and stood right before Aditya. From this close distance, he could smell her body's fragrance which seems to make him feel drunk.

Amber gently smiled as Aditya lowered his head. She then put the crown on his head, officially marking the end of the Zulux Dynasty. With the crown on his head, Aditya has officially taken over the Zulux Dynasty. From now on, there will be no more Zulux Dynasty, it will be known as a part of the Istarin Kingdom.

Clap!

Everyone clapped hands with smiles on their faces. Everyone in the throne hall was more than satisfied with their new ruler. As for the loyal men of Sebastian, Amber had eliminated them without leaving a trace.

After Amber stepped down, an old man stepped forward with a golden scroll in his hands. [The Zulux Dynasty will be a part of the Istarin Kingdom. All of the Zulux Dynasty land, towns, villages, and seven main cities which are Asharc city, Luneburg City, Renestrae City, Rosdorf city, Rodograd city, Nurburg City, Alenia City will be under King Aditya's rule.]

"I want the 6 former governors of Luneburg City, Renestrae City, Rosdorf city, Rodograd city, Nurburg City, and Alenia City to step forward and officially introduce themselves." With the word of the king, Carlos Lieven was the first one to step forward.

The former governor kneeled in front of his new ruler with his right hand placed on top of his right knee. He lowered his head and once again introduced himself.

"It's an honor to meet the ruler of the Istarin Kingdom. The servant's name is Carlos Lieven. I used to be the governor of Renestrae city."

Aditya carefully observed the man named Carlos. Carlos was a young handsome man in his 30s. He had honey blond hair that reached down his waist. He was slim and 5 feet 8 inches tall. Being a Mid 2nd-order cultivator, Carlos was considered one of the genius and rising stars of the Zulux Dynasty.

Following Carlos, one by one other 5 governors stepped forward and began introducing themselves.

"Your Majesty, I am Rayne Janson, the former governor of Rosdorf city. It's an honor to finally meet you." Rayne Janson was an old man in his late years. He had a gray beard and a bald head.

"I am John Gladstone. I was the governor of Rodograd city. I have long wanted to meet your Majesty. I am deeply fascinated by your Majesty's way of thinking." John Gladstone, the only demon among the Zulux Dynasty nobility. John is a vampire with red Crimson eyes and white hair. John was undoubtfully the most handsome man in the throne hall.

"I am Barbet de Vienne. I was the governor of Nurburg City, located in the south." Barbet was a fat middle-aged man. Among the 6 governors, he was the fattest and weakest governor.

"And I am Juan Arrazola. Former governor of Alenia City."

"I am Ivan Menshikov. I used to take care of Luneburg city. Though I mostly received orders from King Sebastian. I never was the official governor of the capital."

Yesterday when the 6 governors received the letters from the King asking them to surrender and submit, the idea of resisting and allying with other forces did come to their minds. Juan and Barbet, both governors even thought of revolting but they quickly discarded their idea after learning the horrifying fate of Duke Easton and his troops. Everyone knew in their hearts that going against Aditya would be the same as inviting death.

Also, the governors and their families finally managed to gain their freedom with the death of Sebastian. The contract that their ancestors were forced to sign which restricted their freedom was finally broken by Aditya. Everyone was very grateful to their new King.

"It's nice to meet you all. I know you have worked for the previous King. Under my rule, you all no longer have the rank of a noble. I can appoint new governors but I prefer that you all continue working under me. I won't force you to work under me. If you want to quit, then I won't stop you." Aditya was letting them know that he can always appoint new governors and run the Kingdom even without their help.

Hearing the words of the King, all 6 governors showed a look of hesitation. Before coming here, they knew in their hearts that there was a huge chance that the new king will replace them with new governors. The first thing that a king would do after taking over a Kingdom will be slaughtering all the nobles who once worked for the former King.

"Your Majesty, please allow us to continue working as the city governors. We, our parents, and our ancestors were forced to work for the generational rulers of the Zulux Dynasty. We never liked the king but due to the contract, we did not have any option of quitting either." It was Carlos who gathered his courage to speak.

"If you want to work under me then you will have to allow me to put their mark on your foreheads." Everyone stared at the Star shaped drawing on the piece of paper.

"If I may, can I know what this is?"

"This is also a contract." Hearing the word contract, the governor's bodies shook in fear. The contract that previously caged them was no different from being a slave to the King. They did not wish for another similar contract to take away their freedom.

"Fear not. This contract will prevent you all from betraying me and the Istarin Kingdom. As for how you govern your territory or the matters related to your personal life, I will not interfere."

Suddenly Aditya's eyes turned sharp and cold. Every governor started sweating looking at those Crimson eyes that seems to have a unique red shine. "If you dare to work with our enemies and plan to betray the Istarin Kingdom, the contract will rip your souls."

"We would never dare to even think of betraying the Istarin Kingdom." Even though Aditya's act might seem cruel, he still needed to do this to ensure the safety of his Kingdom. Aditya had thought of killing them and replacing them with new governors but that would take from weeks to even months time. Finding the right candidate would take a lot of time.

Aditya gave a satisfied nod. "Unlike the previous contract, this contract will be limited only to the governor. Meaning that the contract shall not bind your family members. If you accept my offer, then I will give you all the rank of viscount. If you wish to increase your ranks, you must earn a certain amount of merit points. I expect total loyalty toward the Kingdom. If you're not ready to do it, then I won't force you."

Carlos looked at other governors who were hesitating. 'This is my chance. I heard that his Majesty is really kind toward his two Dukes Zayne and Sarlus. If I miss this chance, then I will have endless regret.'

"Your Majesty, I want to continue my work as Renestrae city."

"Good. Carlos, I have big expectations from you. Do not disappoint me." With a wave of his hand, the paper with Crimson red drawn on it flew to Carlos's forehead. The next second, the red star glowed in red light. Carlos felt a burning sensation on his forehead. The next moment he felt something connecting him to his Majesty. He couldn't exactly point out what it was, the feeling was mysterious yet refreshing.

"Thank you Majesty, I promise to work hard for the better future of the Istarin Kingdom."

It was like the act Carlos gave the others the final push that they needed. Following Carlos, others also submitted themselves to Aditya.

"From now I give you all the rank of viscount. As long as you earn a certain amount of merit points, there are chances that you all might rise in your ranks to become Dukes of the Istarin Kingdom."

"Your Majesty, can you please tell us how we can earn merit points?" Carlos looked really excited. Sebastian did not give them any ranks. Now that they were given a chance to rise in ranks, everyone wanted to become Duke.

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!

Chapter 62

"Your Majesty, can you please tell us how we can earn merit points?" Carlos looked really excited. Sebastian did not give them any ranks. Now that they were given a chance to rise in ranks, everyone wanted to become Duke.

"There are many ways for you to earn merit points. But the easiest way of earning merit points would be by developing the territories which you respectively governor. Each month, I want you all the personally come to the capital and submit a report on your monthly earnings and spending."

"The second way of earning merit points would be by expanding the military power which is by recruiting more troops without burdening the earning. The third way is by capturing or killing wanted criminals. The fourth way would be by completing the missions that I will personally give to some of you in some cases."

"In case your territory discovers any mines, you will be directly promoted. Also if you don't wish to lose your title as the viscount and fall in the category of baron, you must earn at least 500 permit points per month." The whole system was completely new to everyone. It was more like the King was running a sect.

"Your Majesty, what else we can do with the permit points?"

Aditya smiled and replied. "Other than rank promotion, one can use permit points to buy 3-star cultivation pills."

"Seriously"

"Do you think I am joking?" With all the money Aditya has recently made, he can now afford to buy Julia higher quality alchemy materials that can allow her to make 3-star cultivation pills and many other 3-star pills.

A 3-star cultivation pill can increase the cultivation speed of a 3rd-order by 25%. But these kinds of pills are extremely expensive even for the dukes and Kings. But if they can use their permit points to get 3-star cultivation pills, in a few years, they would multiple 3-star cultivators under their command. Just thinking about that every governor felt tempted.

"Your Majesty, one last question, does Duke Zayne and Sarlus would also have to follow this merit earning system?"

"Yes. But the benefits that they will receive will be different from yours. As they hold the rank of Duke, they will receive monthly cultivation resources even without needing any permit points." By using this new system, all the nobles who are and will be a part of his empire will be loyal to him. By providing them with cultivation resources in exchange for permit points, Aditya was actually pushing the growth of his Empire.

'If everything goes according to the plan, before next year, the Istarin Kingdom will have at least five or six 3rd-order cultivators.'

'I am sorry Julia but it looks like you will have to work hard until we can find someone who is capable enough to replace you.' In fact, Julia already had begun looking for suitable people who can replace her. During this wartime, Julia has constantly been working. Sometimes she would work for more than 18 hours or even 22 hours. She would barely get any sleep.

"Disperse." All the governors felt relieved and very happy that their King was this different from Sebastian. Unlike Sebastian who wanted to control everything, Aditya gave them the freedom that they wanted. He added the merit point earning system which aligned perfectly with the governor's desires to become powerful individuals. This method ensured that only the hard-working ones would receive the most benefits.

As Carlos and other governors walked out of the throne hall, Carlos looked at others and said. "Just you watch. Soon, I will become the 3rd Duke and will have multiple 3rd-order under my control."

"Hahaha! Carlos, you're still inexperienced. I bet you would be the last one to rise in rank."

"We will see when the time comes."

"Zachary!" From Aditya's shadow, the old man Zachary appeared and kneeled behind the throne. Amber and others were surprised to see Zachary hiding in Aditya's shadow. This entire time, the old man has been guarding Aditya without anyone noticing.

"I don't fully trust these governors of mine. Send some of your men to keep a watch over them. If they find anything suspicious, report it to me at once. "

"Understood your Majesty."

Swoosh!

Once again Zachary disappeared into the shadow. Aditya then glanced at his 7 generals who has fought for him and had slaughtered countless enemies in these 2 weeks. Unlike the governors, Aditya can fully trust them.

"I think its' time to head back to...Knock! Knock!"

"Who is it?" Aditya asked calmly.

"Your Majesty, a messenger from the Nyland Kingdom has arrived."

Amber and others looked at each other in confusion. Why would the Nyland Kingdom send a messenger? "Let him in."

The golden doors were opened. A man wearing a 1-star leather vest walked into the throne hall. After walking in front of his Majesty, he kneeled and lowered his head. "Long live to his Majesty. I pray that Mother Goddess blesses the Istarin Land."

"Hmm. You may rise." The man looked like someone in his 30s. He was a late-stage 1st-order cultivator.

"Your Majesty, as you already have guessed, I have a message from his Majesty, the King of Nyland."

"Go ahead, I am listening."

[His Majesty has said the following. "As the neighboring Kingdom, the Kingdom of Nyland will oversee the meeting between the two Kingdoms and help them sort things. I shall personally attend this meeting. I humbly ask the Kings of both neighboring kingdoms to come as well. I hope both Kings will give the King of Nyland some face."]

'What does the King of Nyland is planning? What is he trying to gain by overseeing the meeting between two Kingdoms when the war had nothing to do with his Kingdom? Is he indirectly trying to help the Nepoca Kingdom during the meeting? If I don't attend this meeting, then this will be a huge slap to the Nyland King's face.' Aditya was a little confused. When he was taking over the Zulux Dynasty, the Nyland Kingdom did not show any movement or signs of attacking. They easily could have taken advantage of Sabastian's death to attack the Zulux Dynasty.

'Did the Nepoca King and Nyland King make some kind of secret deal to suppress the Istarin kingdom? This meeting is the most important phase of my plan to dominate the Eastern part of the Dying Isle continent. If the Nyland King supports the Nepoca Kingdom, then I can't demand the thing that I was going to ask for in exchange for Duke Easton.

'Geo-politically the current Istarin Kingdom shares borders with both the Nepoca and the Nyland Kingdom. Our sudden rise must have threatened both Kingdoms. This was originally why the Nepoca Kingdom attacked us. There is a chance that both Kingdoms have allied themselves against My Kingdom.'

[Also His Majesty has told me to add this point. "The Nyland Kingdom is not allying with neither the Istarin nor the Nepoca Kingdom. The Nyland Kingdom will stay neutral in any conflict or in any clash between two Kingdoms. It's my selfish wish to oversee the meeting between two Kingdoms."]

Hearing those words, half of Aditya's worries instantly disappeared. 'There was no need for me to get worried. Currently, the Nyland kingdom is facing a throne succession problem. If the Kingdom starts a war, then the whole Kingdom is will thrown in chaos as the princes have started pulling powerful nobles and King's advisor to their sides.'

"Very well. We, the Istarin Kingdom respect the Nyland King and Kingdom's wishes. In fact, I personally also wish to form friendly relations with our neighboring Kingdom. I hope that the incident with the Zulux Dynast won't be repeated another time. Also If possible, we hope to open trade routes between the two Kingdoms in the future." The messenger smiled.

"Then I will pass these words to his Majesty. The meeting shall take place in the capital of the Kingdom of Thera in 2 days' time."

'If I remember correctly the Kingdom of Thera is one of those small Kingdoms located between the Nyland and the Nepoca Kingdom. They also happen to share a border with our Empire. It looks like Nyland is serious when he said about staying neutral.' Nyland King could be arranged the meeting to take place in his Kingdom but he didn't do that. This itself showed that the Nyland King is not taking any sides here.

"If there isn't anything else, this humble servant shall excuse himself." After bowing to Aditya one more time, the messenger left the throne hall.

"Your Majesty, who are you planning on taking with you for the meeting?" In her heart, Amber wanted to go with Aditya and visit the small Kingdom of Thera.

"I was thinking of going alone. But Kings from both big Kingdoms are going to come, I can't just go there alone." Aditya can bet that both Kings are going to bring their strongest cultivators to the meeting.

"I will bring Morgan, Nathan, and Watson with me." Since Morgan was a necromancer with supporting skills, if in case any battle breaks out, she can help Aditya with her supporting skills. Nathan can gather information about the enemy while Watson can help him in negotiating.

Amber lowered her head. She was slightly disappointed. "Meanwhile, Amber, Nathan, and Tyler, you three can head back to the Capital with the Wyverns." These days Julia was been doing so hard. Maybe Amber's presence can make her feel a little relaxed. While he sent Nathan with them so that he can go and inform Watson about the meeting.

"Now it's time to office work." Aditya stood up from the throne as he stretched his body. "First of all, I want all the budget reports on the military and public sectors. I also want to know about the total amount of tax that was collected in the last 3 years. Hurry up and bring all the papers to the study room."

Chapter 63

The Kingdom of Thera, one of the smallest Kingdoms that shares borders with the Nepoca Kingdom in the east. In the south, the Kingdom shared borders with the Zulux Dynasty which is now known as the Istarin Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Thera is a small Kingdom that recently became a 3-tier powerhouse. In the past, when the Nepoca Kingdom and the Zulux Dynasty clashed, most of the time, their battles would take place on the border of the Kingdom of Thera.

The Kingdom of Thera was ruled by a storm dragon. Charles Bell, the king of Thera Kingdom was a Peak 2-star dragon. During the chaotic times when everyone's forces were fighting, Charles's father, the previous Storm Dragon who was a 4th order powerhouse managed to push off the enemies and secure land for their Kingdom establishment.

It was because of the 4th-order guardian that other big Kingdoms did not look at the Thera Kingdom. Unfortunately, good days did not last long as their guardian was attacked by a powerful curse that killed him around 70 years ago.

By that time, the chaotic situation in the Eastern part of the continent had calmed down. Everyone's kingdom became busy trying to rebuild its powers.

Thera Kingdom was currently the smallest Kingdom in the Eastern part of the continent. Before the Zulux Dynasty was conquered, after the Istarin Kingdom, the Kingdom of Thera was the second smallest Kingdom.

The Kingdom did not have a complex political structure. The King ruled everything and did not allow any corruption to exist in his Kingdom. Despite its small size, the Kingdom was richer than some bigger Kingdoms.

The Thera Kingdom was known as the land of cold irons. Cold irons are used to make 2-star or 3-star swords or armors. The Kingdom had over 4 cold iron mines. After learning this fact, Aditya wondered why the previous Zulux King and the Nepoca Kingdom had not attacked the Thera Kingdom. The answer was because of a contract.

In exchange for a certain amount, the Nuland Kingdom decided to offer its protection to the Thera Kingdom for 20 years. Neither Zulux King nor the Nepoca King wished to offend the Nyland Kingdom so they had to suppress their greediness and not look at the Thera Kingdom.

Another reason why the Nyland Kingdom decided to offer its protection to this small Kingdom was because of geopolitics. The Nyland King knew that without their intervention both Kingdoms would attack the Kingdom of Thera and inevitably start a war between the two neighboring Kingdoms. Once the sparks of war spread, other Kingdoms won't simply stand still. They would also surely jump in and join. This whole situation might result in another chaotic situation for the Eastern continent, which the Nyland Kingdom wished to avoid.

The Kingdom of Thera had 4 cities in it. Each city was located near the border. Located in the southern part of the Kingdom, near the border of the current Istarin Kingdom, the capital and heart of the Thera Kingdom; Vragos city.

Unlike other days, today Vragos city was on high alert. The security of the whole city has tripled. Not only that King Charles also summoned his 3rd-order general Ren as a countermeasure in case something went wrong during the meeting. King Charles might have a small Kingdom but when push comes to shove, he is not afraid of fighting for his Kingdom.

Standing at the top of the wall, both King Charles and his general and the commander of Thera Kingdom's army, Ren both looked into the distance in silence. "I only pray to Dragon God that everything goes well in the meeting."

"Your Majesty, I apologize but I personally feel that the chances of the three kings starting a fight are very high. This is the first time in centuries that the Kings of three big Kingdoms are having a meeting, that is also in a foreign land. Another reason why I think that a fight will start is because of the Istarin King."

"What made you concerned about the Istarin King? The storm dragon asked. But he already knew the answer deep in his heart.

"Among all the kings in this part of the continent, King Aditya is the most aggressive one. From the news I received, I also know a bit about his character. That dragon King is ruthless and very aggressive toward his enemies. The thing that I most admire about him is that he is not afraid of anyone. Knowing his personality, I wouldn't be surprised if he challenged the Nyland Kingdom."

"Now your Majesty might argue why would he challenge a 4th-tier Kingdom that is on the verge of becoming an Empire?"

"The answer is simple." Ren looked at the black dot that was coming in their direction. "It's his terrifying power to defeat a 3rd order general while still being a beginner 2nd-order. Give that man a few more months, I am sure he will become strong enough to butcher 4th-orders of Nyland Kingdom."

"Hahaha!" King Charles looked at the black dot that now had starting to get bigger. After laughing for a while, he looked at the black bird that was flying in their direction.

"Man like are born in once every thousand years. Ren, remember this, we can offend the Nepoca and the Nyland Kingdom but we cannot pay the price of offending a man like the Dragon King."

10 royal carriages which were surrounded by 1,000 knights approached in the direction of Vragos city from the west. "Your Majesty the Dragon King is also here."

The old king glanced in the southern direction. He saw 4 Wyverns flying in the direction of Vragos city. With his enhanced vision, he was able to see the figure standing on the back of 3rd-order Wyvern. "He is so young yet he looks so mature."

At the same time, from the east, 5 royal carriages were approaching Vragos city. Sitting inside the 3rd carriage, the Nepoca King also glanced in the southern direction where he saw King Aditya standing on a 3rd-order Wyvern.

"So this is the man who was responsible for Sebastian's fall and also defeated Easton." For a brief second, his eyes flashed in fear. Unlike other kings, Aditya was very aggressive. If today's meeting does not satisfy the Istarin King, then he was sure Aditya would personally lead an army to attack his Kingdom.

"If the current Nepoca King and the Istarin King fought who do you think is going to win?" Hearing the king's question, the Prime minister felt like rolling his eyes. Even without Aditya, at this point, the Istarin Kingdom has grown to the point where they can annihilate the Nepoca Kingdom in less than a week.

"Your Majesty, I believe you already know the answer in your heart. I admit that sending 50,000 troops and Duke Easton to attack the Istarin Kingdom was a mistake."

"Yes, who was expecting Aditya to travel from the Zulux Dynasty to the Vrane city within a day?"

"Your Majesty, I suggest you make peace with the Istarin Kingdom for now. We had a total of 110,00 troops. Losing 50,000 troops was a huge blow to your military power."

Sigh!

"I understand. As long as the Istarin King does not touch my bottom line, I will agree with anything he asks." This is how the world worked. The strong always get to dominate the weak. There were no such things as right or wrong. Before the war started, the Istarin Kingdom was dependent on them but now the whole situation has been reversed. It is the Nepoca Kingdom that was surviving on the Istarin Kingdom's mercy.

Nepoca King's eyes flashed in hatred and anger as he looked at the Wyvern who was about to reach the Vragos city. "Aditya, I swear one day I will kill and your Kingdom. Just you wait."

"They are here. Open the gates." Under King Charles's orders, the 3 gates of the Vragos city were opened up.

From the eastern gate, all five royal carriages entered the city after a small checking. Charles had sent his right-hand man, Lewis to receive the Nepoca King and lead him to the meeting room.

At the western gate, King Charles personally stood at the entrance to welcome their biggest ally the Nyland King.

Before the carriages could enter the city, the King ordered a thousand knights to wait outside the city. The carriages then stopped at the entrance.

"No need to do any checking." Saying that the King went to greet the Nyland King.

"Charles, it has been a while. You look stressed today."

"Your Majesty, this is an important event. As the King, I have to properly receive our three esteemed guests." As if sensing Charles's worries, the Nyland king smiled and assured him in a serious tone.

"Do not worry. The meeting will go peacefully. The Nyland kingdom is here to oversee the whole meeting. Our Kingdom shall not interfere with the conflict between two Kingdoms. If both Kings fight, I will stop them."

"Majesty, your words relieve me of my worries."

"Hahaha! I always keep my promise. I promise to protect your Kingdom. I shall do that until the contract expires."

Charles looked a little hesitant before speaking. "Your Majesty about the contract..."

"Since I am here, I will discuss the new contract after the meeting ends." Charles nodded feeling very relieved.

Bonus chapter is coming!!!

Chapter 64

At the southern entrance, the soldiers stared at the 4 Wyverns that just landed in front of them. Aditya, Watson, Morgan, and Nathan carrying Duke Easton with him got off from the Wyvern's back.

"You 4 stay here till we return." The Wyverns nodded and made some space next to the entrance and laid down there.

"Your Highness, it's an honor to finally meet you." A handsome young man slightly lowered his head to show his respect to the Istarin King. This man was the 3rd-order commander of the Thera Kingdom's army.

"I apologize for my sudden visit. The meeting was decided at the last minute so I couldn't prepare any gifts."

"Your Highness, your presence in this small Kingdom itself is a huge thing for us. I don't think we are worthy of receiving your gifts."

"Hahaha!" Aditya liked how sly this man was. From his words, his intentions were clear. The Kingdom of Thera was worried that Aditya might do something while staying in their Kingdom.

"I look forward to meeting King Charles. As neighbors, I would love to form diplomatic relations with your Kingdom. Maybe in the future, our Kingdom will become the biggest buyer of cold iron from your Kingdom." With these words, Aditya made it clear that he had no intention of invading the Kingdom of Thera. He wanted to form a friendly relationship with this small Kingdom.

"If his highness wants to form diplomatic relations with our Kingdom, I am sure my King would be more than happy." To the public, it would look like two men were praising each other and were being friendly but in reality, both men were testing each other.

"Your highness, I have prepared a royal carriage for you. Please get in." Ren personally opened the door of the carriage for Aditya.

"Thank you, Ren. Before coming here I had to go back to Azure city to get Duke Easton so I was a little late. I did not have enough time to prepare carriages for my travel." Both men knew that Aditya was lying. Aditya bought the 4 Wyverns to display his strength to other Kingdoms.

Following Aditya, Watson, Morgan, and Nathan who were carrying unconscious Easton got in the carriage.

The interior of the carriage was big a bedroom. The carriage had couches, a table even a luxurious bed. The floor was covered with a white carpet. The carriage even had a small bathroom and a kitchen.

"Your Highness, I am sure you all must be a little tired from your journey. Do you want some wine or juice or maybe some of our kingdom's snacks?"

"I would like a cup of tea." Aditya wanted to if Ren or the Kingdom of Thera had planned to take him out with poison. Nathan as an assassin would be able to tell if the food was poisoned or not.

Clap!

Ren who was sitting on the couch clapped his hand gently. The beautiful-looking maid opened the door and bowed her head.

"Give us 5 cups of tea. Sir Watson and Sir Nathan and Madam Morgan, would the two of you like to have some snacks with tea?"

"I would like to have a strawberry cake."

"I am fine with anything."

"I am also fine with anything."

Even though Morgan was a slave here, Ren did not look down on her. If a slave was with his Majesty, he had to show the slave respect. Not to mention the fact that Morgan was a Mid 3rd-order. Ren cannot defeat Morgan alone.

"Alright. 5 cups of tea and two strawberry cakes please." The maid wrote down the order and then excused herself.

"Your Highness, I have heard many rumors about you. These days, almost everyone in our Kingdom is talking about you. People were praising how you managed to bring a weak Kingdom to conquer the Zulux Dynasty."

"Hahaha! You flatter me, Sir Ren. I did what I had to do for Kingdom." Aditya liked how humble and gentle Ren was despite being the commander of Thera Kingdom's army. Unlike some pretentious people, Ren was being sincere here. Aditya liked his attitude.

Watson, Morgan, and Ren were a little surprised when Aditya addressed him using the Sir word. "If I may be bold, can I ask if his Majesty has any plans of conquering more lands?"

"Sir Ren, I am more than satisfied with what I have gained by conquering the Zulux Dynasty. I want to protect my land and develop my Kingdom to become one of the most powerful Kingdoms. While doing if some Kingdoms decides to provoke us, then we will have to reply back."

Aditya's intentions were clear here. Unless someone provoked them, the Istarin Kingdom had no reason to start another war.

"What about you Sir Ren? I heard the Thera Kingdom's princess and you have a thing?" Before coming here, Aditya has asked Zachary to gather information on the royal family and nobles of the Kingdom. Aditya knows many things that the general public is unaware of.

"Well...." The young man lowered his head feeling a little embarrassed. Who would thought that commander of a Kingdom would act like a 15 years old teenage boy in love?

"Hahaha! I understand. I won't ask anything. But if Sir Ren decides to get married someday, then be sure to invite this King as well."

If Ren becomes the next King, Aditya can easily form an alliance with him. After chatting with him for a while, he now understands Ren's character. Ren was an intelligent man. He was not arrogant about his power or position. He was humble and knew what his Kingdom's weaknesses are. In Aditya's eyes, Ren was the perfect candidate to become to next King.

"Of course. I promise. I will personally write a letter to invite his Majesty." Both Ren and Aditya talked for 10 more minutes while having tea. Both men understood each other's ambition and felt that both could form an alliance.

"Your Majesty, we are here." When the carriage doors were opened, Aditya was the first to come out. Watson, Morgan, and Nathan followed him from behind.

The guards hurriedly opened the doors to let the King of the Istarin Kingdom enter. "This way." Ren was told to just bring the King of the Istarin Kingdom to the meeting place. But after talking with Aditya, Ren's respect for the King only increased. So he personally leads the way for the King.

After one minute walk through the long corridor, Aditya and Ren arrived at the round hall where he found various 3rd-order cultivators belonging to the Nepoca and the Nyland Kingdom sitting.

The 3rd-order Dukes and generals of the Nepoca Kingdom instantly got angry seeing what the enemy King has done to their Duke Easton. Duke Easton has become useless. His mana heart has been crippled.

One of the 3rd-order couldn't control his anger and ended up releasing his 3rd-order Aura.

Booom!

Crack!

The wall started cracking due to the pressure.

"Calm down." Ren's words did a magical charm and stopped the 3rd-order before things go out of hand. After calming down, everyone from the Nepoca Kingdom realized that the Thera Kingdom's general looked very close to King Aditya. It was like they were great friends.

They mistakenly assumed that even the Thera Kingdom which publicly stated that they will be staying neutral was actually supporting the Istarin Kingdom.

Aditya ignored everyone in the whole room. Today he had bigger things in his hand. "You three can wait here. Watson, come with me."

"Sir, I apologize but Sir Watson is not allowed to enter the meeting room." The guards couldn't allow a butler to enter the meeting room.

Before Aditya could say anything, Ren coldly glared at the guard. "He is not a butler. He is King Aditya's unofficial Prime Minister." Since the Istarin Kingdom did not have any Prime minister, it was Watson who has been working as the unofficial prime Minister.

Seeing the great commander glaring at him, the guard's faces turned pale. They quickly opened the iron doors for Aditya and Watson.

Before entering the meeting room, Aditya coldly looked at all the 3rd-orders. For some reason when they looked at those Crimson eyes, their bodies trembled slightly. Even Ren was no exception to this.

"If anything happens, Just call the Wyverns outside the city." Aditya had created a special signaling talisman that could call his 4 Wyverns even from 100 km.

After saying those words, Aditya and Watson entered the meeting room. The doors were closed by the guards. Ren stood in front of the door with his back facing the door. If he sits next to Watson, then others would think that he was supporting the Istarin Kingdom which he did not want. So standing was the best option for him.

"Welcome Istarin King" The meeting room wasn't that big. The whole room was lit with bright white light.

There were 3 people sitting at the long rectangular table. The Thera King and the Nyland King were sitting together on the left side. The dining table was filled with hundreds of dishes from all 4 Kingdoms.

"Hello! I think this is the first time we have met face to face. I am Aditya, the Dragon King of the Istarin Kingdom." After introducing himself, Aditya sat opposite Nepoca King. Just like he expected, the Nepoca King looked like he would kill Aditya just with his glare.

Chapter 65

"First of all why don't we start off with the basics? Let's introduce ourselves. I am the Storm Dragon King of Thera Kingdom, Charles."

"I am the King of the Nyland Kingdom, Mark Vega." Unlike others, Mark Vega was an old man with a white beard and white short hair. Despite looking like 50 years old, King Vega was actually one hundred and fifty-one years. Unlike other kings in this meeting room, Vega's cultivation was the lowest here. He was only a beginner second-order.

"I am the Nepoca King, Ethan Scott." The Nepoca King was a middle age looking man with long black hair. King Ethan was about 6 feet tall and had a slim body. He was a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. Even in the meeting room, he was wearing armors which showed that he was a cautious man and was afraid of Aditya.

"Good. Now that everyone has introduced themselves let's start this meeting." Vega elegantly cut the steak and began eating it. His calmness and relaxed behavior surprised everyone.

Since King Vega of Nyland was eating without any fear of poison, Aditya also started eating. He took a sip of the red wine and then ate the fried chicken.

King Charles also relaxed and started eating. Only King Ethan didn't start eating. It's not that he did not want to eat, it's just that he wasn't in the mood of eating when he was in front of the Nyland King and the Istarin King.

In the past, there was a time when the Nyland and Nepoca Kingdoms almost went to war because of some disagreements. But later, Ethan's late father realized his mistake and apologized to the Nyland King which prevented the war between the two Kingdoms.

"Ethan, I have to say that I am disappointed." King Vega gulped down the wine and looked at Ethan whose face looked very ugly.

"Your father, the late King of the Nepoca Kingdom was a wise man. Under his rule, the Nepoca Kingdom reached its peak. The Kingdom surpassed the Zulux Dynasty in power and became the second strongest Kingdom in this part of the continent."

"Unfortunately, you were not capable enough. You could not hold on to your father's glory. Instead, under your ruler, the Kingdom's condition has been worsening. The military power has drastically decreased. Corruption level has increased and the common people are suffering."

Unable to hold his anger anymore, Ethan glared at old man Vega and shouted in loud voice. "Who are you to lecture me? I know how I should rule my Kingdom. I don't need others to teach me how to become a wise king."

If Vega was in his younger days, then the very instance Ethan had said those words, his head would have fallen to the ground. However, Vega was the oldest here. He simply ignored the words of Ethan and continued to eat.

After a while, Ethan calmed down and realized what he had just done. While everyone calmly ate, Ethan started sweating as he had insulted the Nyland King in front of other Kingdom kings.

"Your Majesty, I apologize I lost my calm there." Without caring about his image, Ethan stood up and bowed his head in apology. If he hesitated now and refused to apologize his Kingdom won't exist anymore. As offending the Nyland Kingdom was like inviting death itself.

"Apology accepted. But do remember that there will never be the next time. I may have become old but I have the power to rip off your head." Ethan's entire body slightly trembled when he heard those threatening words.

While this was happening, Aditya simply smiled and shook his head. He now understood why the Nepoca Kingdom has been in decline.

"Now, King Aditya, state your conditions for releasing my Duke."

Aditya stopped eating. He calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin and then looked at Ethan. Just a simple look made Ethan nervous. Aditya was too calm in his meeting. Even though he was less than 20 years old, he was very calm and mature.

"I don't want too many things."

"What do you want? Gold, wealth or artifact or troops, or siege weapons. I heard that the Istarin Kingdom is lacking in siege weapons." Ethan said the last part in mockery.

"What would I do with gold? I have enough artifacts in my royal treasury. I don't need your trashy artifacts. As for troops, King Ethan in case you forgot, out of one hundred and ten thousand troops that you previously had, you already have lost fifty thousand. You barely have enough troops to guard your territory yet you want to offer me, troops, as ransom." Aditya chuckled as he picked up the wine glass.

King Charles was listening to their conversation while King Vega was listening while eating. He ate like a hungry beast who hasn't eaten for months. He looked simply too busy eating. "I love this curry."

"Then what do you want? Don't play around." Ethan was becoming impatient.

"Simple, I want all of Duke Easton's territory."

"What?"

"No. Impossible."

King Charles and King Vega looked at each other in surprise and in shock. Both kings weren't expecting the Dragon King's ambition to be this high.

Duke Easton's territory was on the Istarin Kingdom's borders. If Aditya takes the Duke's territory then he would have 1/5 of the Nepoca Kingdom's total territory.

"Aditya, don't go too far. I am ready to give you any amount you ask for. But if you want Duke Easton's territory, then there is no point in continuing this meeting anymore." Aditya simply smiled as he looked at the little bit of wine remaining inside the glass. While everyone was shocked, Aditya was calmly playing his move. Without realizing he was getting under the enemy King's skin.

"You killed 50,000 of our troops. Not even a single of your troops survived in that fight. If that wasn't enough, now you even dare ask for territory. Where is the justice in that? King Vega, I ask for justice."

"Hehehe!" Aditya smiled as he looked at Ethan.

Seeing those red glowing eyes, Ethan had a bad feeling in his heart.

King Vega stayed silent as he looked at Aditya. "Before this whole war started, you increased the food price making countless people of our Kingdom suffer. When the war with the Zulux Dynasty began, you cut off the food supplies. When he tried to build our port city to start trading, your Kingdom threatened us with military power."

"When the war began, you even sent spies to my Kingdom. Did you really think that I wouldn't know about it? When we asked for an alliance, you never answered my calls. When I and my Kingdom was in one of the most important phases of this war, you decided to invade my territory with 50,000 troops." Aditya paused for a second and looked at King Vega and King Charles.

"From your point of view, I am the villain. And from my perspective, you're the bad guy here. This is simply just two sides of a coin. In war, there is no such thing as right and wrong."

"If you're Kingdom had succeeded in the invasion, then my Kingdom would fall. So stop pretending to be the victim when you're the real attacker." At this point, Ethan's face had turned red from embarrassment and anger. He did not dare look at King Vega and King Charles.

"I can change my demands and ask for something else. If you can't give me Duke Easton's territory I want the ownership of Eastern river city, Ancefield city, and Baymouth Piers city." Hearing the name of the three cities, King Vega and King Charles couldn't help but feel a little pity for Ethan. Meanwhile, Ethan's face simply turned pale as he heard the names of these three cities.

"No way." The Eastern river city, Ancefield city, and Baymouth Piers city, all three cities were important port cities that connected the Nepoca Kingdom to the sea. 80 percent of the Kingdom's whole earnings came from these three cities. Giving up these three cities would be the same as killing the Nepoca Kingdom from the inside out.

Unlike other Kingdoms, the Nepoca Kingdom only had one gold mine. Most of the Kingdom's earnings came from trading. The Kingdom bought food and other necessary items from the merchant that came to their port cities and re-sold these items at a higher price.

"Your both options have been denied. I cannot give up Duke Easton's territory nor I can give my Eastern river city, Ancefield city, and Baymouth Piers city." Ethan's mind was in chaos. Eastern river city, Ancefield city, and Baymouth Piers city were extremely important to his Kingdom, even more, important than Duke Easton's territory.

"That's not how things work King Ethan. You either give me Duke Easton's territory or give me the three cities or you can go back, prepare your army and wait for the Istarin Kingdom to completely take over the whole Kingdom." This is where the meeting got most serious. Aditya has managed to push King Ethan to the corner by demanding something this big.

Among all the Dukes in the Nepoca Kingdom, Duke Easton controlled the largest territory. With the Istarin Kingdom constantly expanding its territory to the Silver Meadow grove and after taking over the Zulux Dynasty, the current Istarin Kingdom was almost big as the Kingdom of Nyland. On top of that, if they managed to get Duke Easton's territory, The Nepoca Kingdom simply won't stand a chance.

Listening to Aditya's direct warning, Ethan's face turned pale. "At most, it would take his Majesty one week. By then the whole Nepoca Kingdom would fall in our hands. We simply could have attacked back after defeating the force of 50,000. But we didn't. His Majesty was kind enough to call for this meeting yet you're disrespecting his kindness." Watson's words added more pressure on King Ethan.

Chapter 66

Listening to Aditya's direct warning, Ethan's face turned pale. "At most, it would take his Majesty one week. By then the whole Nepoca Kingdom would fall in our hands. We simply could have attacked back after defeating the force of 50,000. But we didn't. His Majesty was kind enough to call for this meeting yet you're disrespecting his kindness." Watson's words added more pressure on King Ethan.

"So what are you going to do now King Ethan? Will you choose to give up a part of your territory or will you choose to lose your entire territory with your life?" Aditya drank the remaining wine inside the glass as he waited for Ethan to answer.

Both Watson and Aditya knew that they have managed to push King Ethan to the corner. By limiting his options, he would have no choice but to agree with Aditya's conditions.

Ethan gritted his teeth and glanced at King Vega for some help. His eyes were clearly pleading with King Vega to help him. However, the Nyland King ignored him as he continued to eat his food.

Seeing this, Ethan instantly knew that the Nyland king had no intention of taking his side. The Nyland king looked more interested in forming an alliance with Aditya and the Istarin Kingdom. 'Damn you, Aditya.'

"Fine"

"What did you say? I couldn't hear your words."

"I said Fine." Ethan glared at Aditya as he replied in a high-pitched tone.

"I agree to hand over Duke Easton's territory to the Istarin Kingdom. But I will only do that if you agree to sign a non-aggression pact under the watch of Nyland King."

'Smart man. He is using the Nyland King to make sure that the Istarin Kingdom does not break their promise and attack the Nepoca Kingdom. If the Istarin Kingdom attacks the Nepoca Kingdom, then the Nyland King will have to step up and protect the Nepoca Kingdom. I guess he wasn't totally a dumb person.' Aditya couldn't help but smile.

"If King Aditya is okay with it, then the Nyland kingdom shall guard the non-aggression pact and watch over both Kingdoms." With his pact, King Vega could gain certain control over the movements of both Kingdoms which will only benefit his Kingdom in the future. But he also didn't wish to offend Aditya while doing that. He wished to befriend the Dragon King and make him a powerful ally.

"Fine, I agree but the pact will have some conditions in it."

"What conditions?" Ethan was starting to feel that Aditya was going to trap him again.

Aditya raised his right hand and started stating the conditions of the pact. "Under normal circumstances, the Istarin Kingdom shall not attack the Nepoca Kingdom. But if the Nepoca Kingdom or the King breaks one of the following promises, then the Istarin Kingdom also shall strike back."

"First of all, if the Nepoca Kingdom is found guilty of trying to launch a secret attack on the Istarin Kingdom."

"If the Nepoca Kingdom is found guilty of attacking the Istarin Kingdom's economy in secret."

"Third, the Nepoca Kingdom cannot order any military drill 10 km near my borders."

"And lastly if the Nepoca Kingdom tries to attack the Kingdom of Thera, the Istarin Kingdom shall strike back."

Hearing the last part even both King Vega and King Charles were surprised. "I can follow the first three conditions but why I am not allowed to attack the Kingdom of Thera? The Kingdom of Thera is not yours. It's an independent Kingdom."

"One reason. the Kingdom of Thera is our ally" Another reason that made Aditya add the last condition was the ambition of King Ethan. Knowing Ethan's personality, he won't just stand around and let the Istarin Kingdom continue to suppress his Kingdom. If he can conquer this land, then he can attack the Istarin Kingdom from two sides which Aditya didn't want to let happen.

King Charles and King Vega were confused. Since when did the Istarin Kingdom become an ally of the Thera Kingdom? Both Kings nodded at each other and decided to not question Aditya for now. The last condition was also giving protection to the small kingdom of Thera. In the future, the Nepoca Kingdom will have to think twice before they attack his land. So King Charles was a little grateful to Aditya.

Ethan also understood the hidden reason why Aditya added the last part. He secretly gritted his teeth as his eyes flashed with murderous intent. He wanted to rip Aditya's head right here but considering how powerful the Dragon King was, he suppressed his anger for now. "Alright. I agree with all of your terms and conditions."

"Good." Then the royal legal team came and made the contract right in front of the Kings. Three contracts were made. Aditya, Ethan, and Vega signed all three contracts and kept each copy with them.

"Now that the meeting is over, I won't waste my time here. I apologize but I have a lot of work to do. I have to shift the Duke's family from his former territory." While saying that he once again glared at Aditya to which he replied with a nodding smile.

"It was a pleasuring meeting the King of Nyland." Ethan then left the room with a look of anger.

"Hehe! I wonder how he is going to react knowing that I have crippled his 3rd-order, Duke." Hearing Aditya's words King Charles slightly shivered. The Dragon King was more cunning than he originally thought. He was ruthless and merciless to his enemies.

"King Aditya!!!!" As expected everyone hear a loud roar from Ethan seeing the state of his Duke. One of the reasons why he agreed to this meeting was to get his 3rd-order Duke back. But now that his Duke has been crippled there was no use for Duke Easton anymore. Unable to handle his anger anymore, in front of everyone Ethan ripped off Easton's head and left.

"Now Gentlemen, shall we continue our meal." To others, this smile look handsome and cool but to King Charles, he felt like the devil was smiling at him. 'I should never offend this man.' The storm dragon swore in his heart to never get on the Dragon King's bad side.

'He is so young yet he is so experienced and cunning. His thoughts are way ahead of others. This whole time he was controlling Ethan's emotions through his words. He is terrifying. Unfortunately, non of my sons has an of King Aditya's abilities. Once I step down, the Nyland kingdom will also start declining. To keep the Kingdom from falling, I need allies like him.'

The Nyland King was a man in his last final years. He didn't have much time left. He wanted to make sure the Kingdom he and his forefathers built are not broken and conquered. Unfortunately, non of his sons were qualified to become King. 'Because of my negligence, they have become like King Ethan.'

This worries the Nyland King very much. Even though he had 3 sons, non of them were capable enough to take over the throne. 'Before I step down from the throne, I will have to befriend the Istarin Kingdom.' Knowing how fast Aditya conquered the Zulux Dynasty, he feared that once Aditya got stronger he would go after his Kingdom. Even if Aditya didn't go after his Kingdom, his foolish sons would surely try to attack the Largest Kingdom in this part of the continent and would end up being defeated in Aditya's hand.

Vega wasn't foolish enough to believe that his 4th-order cultivator could take Aditya down. According to the reports, Aditya has never really shown his true powers. He has enough power to kill Peak 3rd-order general with ease.

"Aditya, I hope three of our Kingdoms can become an ally and work together in the future." After some discussion, Aditya, Vega, and Charles agreed to form a triple alliance between their Kingdoms. If any foreign power attacked one Kingdom, it would be considered an attack on all three Kingdoms.

After the meeting ended soon every Kingdom in the eastern part of the continent learned of the contracts and new alliances. The sudden rise in the Istarin power was a huge shocking factor to everyone.

Meanwhile, Aditya returned to Azure city. He sent Watson, Nathan, and Tyler with 5,000 troops to governor Duke Easton's territory as part of the Istarin Kingdom. With Duke Easton's territory, the Istarin Kingdom has become the biggest Kingdom in the eastern part of the continent.

Naturally, this was followed by thousands of paper works. Aditya had some much work in his hand that he literally started staying at his own office.

Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into days, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Aditya was working on making new reforms, plans, improvements to the military, and trying to improve the public sector. At the same time, he was also keeping an eye on his Kingdom's nobles and his neighboring Kingdoms.

Aditya also started recruitment of the army. His 7 generals also returned and started training the soldiers of their division. All the new recruits were divided into 7 divisions. Aditya also gave the Majins a special rank. They were known as the shadows of the Dragon king.

Like this one month passed in the blink of an eye. Aditya was so busy this month that he sometimes even skipped meals or even stopped sleeping at night times.

[End of First Volume] Thank you for reading this far. I know I have been uploading less chapters this month but from next month, I will try to upload 2 chapters per day. I will also add more chapters to the privilege.

Thank you for all the support. The second volume will focus on William's journey and his background story.

Chapter 67

A special thank you to:- Zeko323, ZeroX0666, Immortal_Crimson, DaoistQwQ3BH and others for all the gifts.

"Julia you look so beautiful today. Are you perhaps using makeup today?"

"Hmph! I have never touched Makeup in my life. This princess doesn't need any makeup."

"Oh really?"

"What's with that look? Do you think I am lying to you?" Like a fierce kitten, she glared at the Dragon King. She is the only person on the whole continent who can glare at the Dragon king and still get away with it.

"How can I believe in you? You could have used beauty pills to enhance your beauty."

Instead of getting angry, she folded her arms on her chest and proudly smirked. "You know nothing. Beauty pills can only wash the body and remove the toxins and other waste products making the skin glow and smooth. Once a person has consumed beauty pills, their appearance will remain the same for hundreds of years. I believe I can grow more so I haven't consumed any beauty pills."

"But you used your pills to remove the toxins from your body."

"Hmph! You truly know nothing. Every noble and rich merchant's wife used beauty pills to enhance their beauty. This is a common thing in noble society."

"Really but how come your skin does not look smooth at all?"

Julia touched her face and looked at Aditya with a questioning gaze. "My skin feels smooth as ever. You can check if you want." Julia stretched out her right arm. Aditya wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste. He secretly smiled as his evil plan worked. He innocently touched her right arm to feel her touch.

Julia blushed when feeling the soft and gentle touch of his rouge hands. For a moment she wondered if Aditya was playing with her but seeing his serious look she discarded that thought. Aditya looked like he was appreciating a piece of art. There wasn't any hint of lust in his eyes. Without noticing, William closed the distance between them and sat right next to her.

"How is it?" She asked in a soft and low tone. His soft touch was giving him shivers and making her heart beat faster.

"I can't answer. I need some time for proper inspection. How about letting me touch your...." Aditya didn't need to say the rest as he stared directly into her eyes. Aditya bought his face closer to her.

Both of their faces were only a few inches from each other. Julia closed his eyes and waited to feel his lips but one minute passed and nothing happened. Annoyed, she opened her eyes and saw Aditya staring at her with a teasing smile.

"You dare to tease this princess." Like a wild kitten, jumped on Aditya and started punching his chest with her soft fists. Aditya's body was very strong. A normal punch can barely make him feel anything.

"Hahaha! okay, I am sorry." Aditya wrapped his arms around her soft and slim waist without Julia realizing it.

Seeing that Aditya was still laughing and not affected by her punches. The little kitten couldn't stop herself from biting his neck.

Ouch!

"Are you a dog? Why are you biting me?"

"You're a dragon dog." She started biting his neck and his collar bone.

Ouch!

Stop!

"No, I will bite you to death. How dare you tease this princess?" She again bit his collar bone. Unknown to Julia, as she was biting him, she was unconsciously rubbing her body against him.

Huff! huff!

Seeing Aditya breathing heavily, Julia stopped biting him and worriedly looked at his face. "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, he wrapped both his hands around her waist and said with a fake threatening smile. "Let's bite each other to death."

Ahhh!

"You hooligan" Julia then again bite him. This time she directly went for his right cheek.

Ouch!

"What are you doing?"

Bang!

Watson immediately opened the door while carrying a sword in his hand. "Your Majesty, I heard screaming. Are you...." His words got stuck in his throat. He realized that he had come at the wrong time.

Cough!

"Please enjoy yourselves. I was just checking if there are any clothes that need to be washed." Saying that Watson hurriedly ran out of the room.

"___" Aditya and Julia stared at each other in silence.

Julia now realized that while trying to bite this hooligan, she has been lying on his chest this entire time. Not to mention, his strong pair of arms were holding on that her slim waist. She could feel his heartbeat and temperature.

"How long are you going to grab my waist?" Julia instantly changed back to her fierce kitten form. She angrily glared at Aditya. She was staring at him in a way as if she owed him millions of money.

However, Aditya wasn't some beta male. In this situation, his skin was thicker than a whale shark. He hid his embarrassment and continued to hold her while looking at her face. Her face was only 20 cm away from his. Her round and big breast were pressed against his chest. He could feel the softness of her plump chest.

Instead of replying, Aditya seriously looked at her and said in a deep tone. "I want our first kiss to be special."

"Hmph! Who wants to kiss you?" Julia removed Aditya's arms from her waist and got up. She moved to the other side of the couch. Even though she said she did not want a kiss from him, she, in fact, was looking forward to it.

"You really don't want a kiss from me?" Aditya shamelessly asked. He pretended like he never took advantage of the earlier situation.

"No. This princess will only kiss her husband."

"But I am your husband?" Aditya innocently replied.

"You're my husband only in name. This princess can leave you at any time."

Sigh!

Aditya shook his head showing regret on his face. Seeing this Julia smiled as if she had won. However, Aditya's next words caught her unexpectedly. "I guess, I will have to do it with Amber."

Aditya looked at the transparent glass window and continued. "Her soft fox ears and tails, I am beginning to miss them."

"You....." Julia was trembling in anger. Amber was her best friend. She never was going to give her best friend to this hooligan.

Ouch!

"Are you really a dog?"

"You're a dog." This time Julia sat on top of his thighs and started biting his handsome face.

Ouch!

"Stop! Stop! Stop ruining my face. If you do that, no woman would marry this King." However, Julia did not listen and continued biting Aditya throughout the whole journey.

"I can't wait to hold his Majesty's child." In the other room, Watson grinned like an idiot as he imagined the day when he will get to hold Aditya's children and play with them.

Scene change______

"Your Majesty, you should come and take look." Watson got out of the royal carriage before Aditya and Julia as he knew both needed some time to come.

The High Tide City, is the port city that Aditya and Watson had planned to build. The city is only 9 km away from Azure city. This whole month, Aditya has been heavily investing money and men to complete the construction of the port city as soon as possible. Aditya even made reserved soldiers work to make 3 meters-wide roads from the high tide harbor city to the capital.

The city was surrounded by water from three sides. So the city did not require any walls. Or least for now no walls were required to be made. Around 5,000 soldiers were stationed in the city to maintain public order.

Even though the city was still undergoing construction, there were already more than 19,000 people living in the city. Aditya was also ordering a Mansion to be built in this city so that he and Julia can stay in this city whenever they want.

At first, it took a bit of convincing to make the fishermen settle down in the Hight tide harbor city. After Aditya promised them benefits like a free tax for one year, thousands of fishermen came to live in the city within one week. After the news spread throughout the kingdom, merchants and humans living in small villages near the capital decided to settle down in the city.

The poor could not afford houses so Aditya gave them a big discount. After the population problem was solved, by the 3rd week, thousands of new people were coming to the city.

Right now the city was only one-fifth of the size of the capital. Aditya estimates that in a few months, this big will become even bigger than the capital.

"Wow, the wind here feels so good." Julia looked at the sea and the city. She felt this city was more beautiful and relaxing than the capital. It was the perfect place for a vacation. Once the city grows, this place will become even more beautiful and magnificent.

"Your Majesty, what happened to your face?"

Sigh!

"Don't even ask. A certain untamed dog decided to bite me for hours." Aditya's face, neck, collar bone, and even his arms were full of bite marks.

The soldiers who were standing behind wondered what kind of untamed dog could bite the King like this.

Julia's face flushed red hearing Aditya's words. In the heat of the moment, she took things a little far.

"Let's go." Aditya, Julia, and Watson reentered the Royal carriage as the soldiers went back to their formation. Aditya didn't want to bring thousands of soldiers with him but Watson insisted. He said as the king as you bring soldiers with you for your protection.

A thousand soldiers were riding horses, wearing silver full-body armor and a sword on their waist. These are the trained soldiers from Henry's 7th division.

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!! I really appreciate it.

Chapter 68

"Watson, how is this month's total revenue?"

"I don't know the exact amount since we invested all the money in our treasury in various fields. But if I had to give you an estimated amount, then I would say about 500,000 royal coins."

Sigh!

"So I only have 10,000 royal golds in my treasury which were left for an emergency." Aditya felt like crying.

"Why did you use all of your money?" Julia asked while applying a special cream on his face which would heal the biting marks on his cheeks.

"Princess we just had expanded our territory. There were many times that needed to be improved. Also, King Sebastian hardly left any money to his governors. So I had to give some nobles money to start their plans to develop their cities. Of course, this would also mean that by investing, aside from tax, I would receive half of the profit."

"Why didn't you just sell the pills I made?"

"I plan to use your pills on the army. This month, King Ethan has contacted some of the neighboring Kingdoms in secret. I am sure he is trying to plot something against me."

"So you're preparing for another war."

"Yes and also no. If King Ethan violates any of the conditions written on the non-aggression pact, I will strike back and snatch his pathetic Kingdom from him. Even if he doesn't invade our Kingdom, I will still need a strong army to protect this Kingdom. Using your pills, the cultivation speed of the soldiers will be increased and some may be able to reach 2nd-order."

"But what if those soldiers decided to betray you or do not wants to work for you after reaching second-order?"

"For that reason, I only choose the 700 slaves that we bought about a month and a half ago. As for others, if they want your mana-gathering pills, they will have to form a contract with him. The contract forbids the soldier from leaving the army until the soldier has provided the Kingdom with 15 years of service. The contract also makes sure that they will never betray me."

"You're really using your rune knowledge to the max."

"Haha! This is necessary to maintain this Kingdom. I don't want anyone to backstab me. If the foundation of the Kingdom is solid, then it can withstand any storm."

"Yeah, Yeah, let's not talk about work. I don't understand politics. By the way, do you remember your promise?"

"How can I forget my promise to my dear lovely wife? Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we shall set out for our trip."

"Good" Julia nodded with a satisfied look. She did not deny it when Aditya called her his wife.

"Your Majesty, do you want me to come with you?"

"Unfortunately No. Currently, you're my unofficial Prime Minister. But as the Kingdom grows, soon or later I will have to find a suitable person who can hold the position of Prime Minister. And So far we are yet to find a person with that kind of qualities."

"No problem. I shall remain here and keep everything in running in his Majesty's place."

"Thank you, Watson." It was because of Watson's help that Aditya was able to finish his paperwork so quickly.

[Move out of the way. His Majesty is here]

The people moved out of the way as the royal carriage entered the High tide Harbor city.

"By the way, Julia you asked me to have a meeting with the Seeker of Impurity guild leader. I still haven't met her. With all the paperwork in my hand, I kind of forgot about her."

"No problem. You can just meet her here."

"The guild leader is here?"

"Yes, she told me that she came here to overcome the construction of their branch office."

"Finally we here" Aditya helped Julia get out of the carriage. They stood in front of the unfinished castle. Only 1/4th of the whole castle was constructed.

"Your majesty, I suggest that you two stay at the inn for the time being. This place is not suitable for the King to live in."

Sigh!

"Alright," Aditya would have no problem staying in this Mansion but Julia will not be comfortable staying here. As her husband, he has to think about his wife's comfort before anything.

"I and the soldiers will just camp around the castle and stay here for the night. Why don't the two of you go and walk around the city?" Watson was giving Aditya and Julia some time alone by not going with them.

Seeing Aditya still hesitating, Julia took his right arm and said. "Don't worry so much. In this place, no one can recognize you or me. This is the perfect chance to enjoy and relax."

"Alright." Before leaving Aditya gave Watson a Crimson red orb that had some kind of runes drawn over it.

"What is this?" Julia curiously asked.

"If there is any emergency situation just crush this Crimson orb using mana. Crushing this Crimson orb will send me a message. The range of this thing is limited to only 15 km. I will have to do some research before I can extend the range."

"I think 15 km is also a lot. I will keep this orb with me all the time. Have fun, your Majesty." Watson then left them alone.

Aditya looked at Julia who was still holding his right hand without realizing it. "Princess if you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just told me about it."

"Hmph! I don't want to hold your hand. I just did it impulsively." Saying that she began walking in a random direction.

Aditya looked at her back with a smile that was full of affection. 'The more time I spend with this fierce kitten, the more I came to like her as my wife. Even if her parents oppose our relationship, I won't leave her.'

"Hey! Are you coming?" Julia turned around and asked with a blush.

"Coming."

"But the way, do you have money with you?" Julia blushed while asking for money. When she was living with her parents, she never lacked pocket money but after coming here the money she received was limited to 1 gold which was her salary.

"I have enough money to buy you half of this city." Aditya felt a little embarrassed. In this past month, he was so busy that he forgot about giving his wife pocket money.

"Hmph! You and your shamelessness mouth know no bound." Julia rolled her eyes and continued to walk toward a jewelry shop.

Aditya caught up to her and began walking with her. It was evening time. The streets were crowded. The fishermen were returning after a full day of fishing. Everyone was preparing to go back to their houses.

Children were running here and there and playing on the street. Just like Aditya and Julia, there were many rich merchants who came to this city with their families. The merchants came here to see if they could find good money-making spots. While doing that they bought their families to tour around the city.

"Do you want to buy jewelry?" Aditya has never seen Julia wear any Jewelry before. He was sure that his wife had no interest in jewelry.

"Since we're going to visit our parents, I thought I would buy some local jewelry for my mother." Julia said as she entered the jewelry shop and was followed by Aditya.

"My mother has a huge collection of jewelry. She loves to collect jewelry from different regions and Kingdoms." She then turned to look at Aditya. "If she ever her whole jewelry collection, then she would have enough money to buy the whole Thera Kingdom.

'Wow to think my mother-in-law's jewelry collection was this big. I can't even begin to imagine how rich Julia's family is.'

"Are you shocked? Hehehe!" Julia's charming smile inevitably attracted the attention of the males in the shop.

"A little. But one day I will become the richest Emperor in the whole world." Julia smiled and said nothing. She was the type of woman who was not fascinated by money or wealth.

She believed that Aditya could keep his words and become the richest Emperor in the whole world. 45 days ago, Aditya didn't even have the money to pay salaries to his 100 soldiers. But now the situation has changed to the point where the Istarin Kingdom currently has nearly 110,000 troops and the number is still growing.

"Who is this girl?"

"She is so beautiful."

"I think she is new to this city."

Hearing the whispers of males around Aditya, the Dragon King became very jealous. The King went to hold his wife's hand and then glared at the men who previously were looking at her.

Julia's face blushed a little seeing Aditya publicly holding her hand. She didn't say anything. She continued to look through different jewelry while holding his hand.

"Good evening Ma'am. How can I help you today?"

"Can you please pack this jewelry?"

The shopkeeper was a little surprised. Most of his customers bought silver or copper-made jewelry. But these beautiful customers wanted to buy a whole set of jewelry. "Ma'am, I mean no offense but all these jewelry are gold. It will cost up to 100 gold coins."

"Do not worry about money. Just pack everything, brother." The shop was a young man who looked a few years older than Aditya.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, Without waved his hand and 110 gold coins appeared before the shopkeeper. "Keep the extra as a tip."

"Thank you, big brother." The shopkeeper bowed with a sincere smile.

"No worries. Can you tell me a little about the condition of this city? I am planning on moving to this city with my wife here." Julia secretly pinched his waist to remain him that she was not his wife. But Aditya endured the pain and kept his face straight.

"Big brother, I am sure how I should put this but the whole city is growing. So far a few bandit groups have tried to attack the city luckily our King had sent 5,000 troops to guard the city."

"This city is peaceful. The food prices are not as high as in other cities. We can get cheap fish from the fishermen. Not only that, but our King also has built a public school here. I think this city is the perfect place if you want to live here." Aditya nodded his satisfaction. He wanted to see how the people viewed him and also know if they were satisfied with the current development of the city.

As for schools, Aditya had made it compulsory for kids to go to public schools where they will be taught to write, read, and basic mathematics.

"Come again, big brother. Next time I will give you a big discount." Aditya and Julia walked out of the jewelry shop.

"What do my father-in-law likes?" Since they had bought something for Julia's mother, Aditya wanted to buy something for his father-in-law as well.

"Even I am not sure about that. My father does only two things. He either works or spends time with my mother. For now, let's buy some local street foods." Like an excited child, Julia pulled Aditya around.

After touring the city for 3 hours, finally both of them came to meet the Guild leader of Seeker of impurity. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"No. I will just wait in my room. When you're done, call me for dinner." Aditya and Julia booked two rooms in the same inn in which the guild leader was staying.

"Alright." After Julia left, a maid with neck-length hair came to Aditya.

"Please come with me, milady is waiting."

Can we get some power stones and golden tickets. I am planning on mass releasing on this Monday

Chapter 69

"You can come inside"

Click!

After opening the door, Aditya walked inside the room. Entering the room, he found the guild leader sitting on the couch with her face covered with a veil. Two cups of tea and some snacks were already served on the table that was in front of the couches.

"It's been a while. First of all, allow me to apologize for making you wait an entire month." Aditya was supposed to have a meeting with the guild leader of Seeker of impurity right after the war ended. But he was so busy with the administration work that he completely forgot about the meeting. If Julia had not reminded Aditya about the meeting he probably would have forgotten about it.

Aditya bent his body and properly bowed his head in apology. Apologizing to someone won't damage his reputation. No matter how powerful Aditya becomes, he always is ready to apologize if it's his mistake.

Unknown to Aditya, the guild leader couldn't help but slightly smile seeing the dragon king who is widely feared in the eastern part of the continent bowing his head to her. She had seen men who completely changed when they gained power and wealth. But Aditya surprisingly was still humble and respectful to her just like the first time they met in his Mansion.

"Dragon King, you may raise your head." The guild leader's tone was authoritative.

"Please sit down." Aditya nodded and sat on the couches while facing the guild leader.

"Before we start, allow me to once again express my deep and most sincere gratitude for giving me the heart of 6th-order lightning forest deer. I don't know how to explain it but it helped me a lot."

"That's fine. Given how intelligent and smart his Majesty is, the dragon king should know that I also want something in return for the heart of 6th-order lightning forest deer."

Aditya knew that a businesswoman like her wouldn't simply hand out the heart of 6th-order lightning forest deer to a poor king like him when she can literally sell this heart for billions of royal gold coins. He was not a fool to assume that the guild leader was just being kind and caring.

Seeing Aditya nod, she was satisfied. "Your Majesty, I am sure you will love this tea." Aditya picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"How is it?"

"It's really good." Aditya felt a cool and refreshing feeling spreading throughout his body.

"This tea is imported from the Main continent. Drinking this tea can increase the cultivation speed of 2nd and 3rd-order cultivators by 50%. Not only that, drinking this tea regularly can permanently increase the cultivation speed of a person by 5 to 10%." Aditya quietly listened as he took a second sip.

"Just one gram of this tea cost about 1000 royal gold coins." She was expecting Aditya to show some kind of surprised reaction but he was calmly drinking tea without showing any changes.

Aditya took the third sip and then put the teacup on the table and looked at the guild leader. "Guild Leader, why don't we stop hesitating and just directly tell each other what we want."

However, the guild leader still continued to drink tea under the veil. Just like Aditya, she looked totally calm and relaxed. "First of all, why don't we remove all the formalities? My name is Alicia. Your Majesty can call me Alicia or Miss Alicia."

"Alright, then you can call me Aditya. Miss Alicia now can you please tell me what exactly you want from me?" Aditya felt that calling her miss Alicia would be the best choice. He was not close enough to call the guild leader directly by her name.

"Sir Aditya, why are you so impatient? Just relax and enjoy the tea." Saying that Alicia took another sip.

"I thought Miss Alicia does not like to beat around the bush and liked to be straightforward."

"Since Mr. Aditya is so impatient then I won't beat around the bush any longer. But before I answer can I ask why the dragon king looks so impatient?"

Both Aditya and Alicia knew that both of them were playing mind games here. Alicia was trying to pressure Aditya by telling him about the tea that she gave him. She was trying to make him realize the difference between them by telling him about the cost of this tea. When he heard her talking about the tea, he knew that this woman was aiming for something.

"Miss Alicia, I don't like to owe people, especially not strangers. Please don't misunderstand, I can't express how grateful I am for giving me that heart of 6th-order lightning forest deer. Now that I am done with wars, I wish to settle the debt as long as possible." Repaying the debt would free Aditya's burdened heart.

Alicia noticed that Aditya had long stopped drinking the tea. She also understood that Aditya has seen through her. "I will be honest, these days men like Mr. Aditya are very rare. Mr. Aditya has no idea how many men I have seen who became an addict."

Aditya's right eye twitched a little. He felt Alicia was purposely targeting his past.

"I can feel Mr. Aditya's sincerity. I promise I won't ask for money or wealth or anything valuable. I already have countless money." Aditya understood that Alicia was using this chance to flex her wealth and indirectly was telling him that she was not interested in his money.

"Before I state what I want from Mr. Aditya, I will have to reintroduce myself." Under Aditya's confused stare, Alicia put the teacup on the table and stood up gracefully.

Aditya's crimson pupils contracted as the guild leader slowly removed the veil that was covering her face.

In the past, Aditya simply assumed that the guild leader's face was ugly and that's why she wore a veil over her face. But he just realized how wrong he was. Alicia kept her eyes on Aditya as she slowly pulled down the veil from her face, revealing the hidden rarest gem of the earth.

Her face was so beautiful that for a moment Aditya forgot to breathe. His heart nearly stopped.

Now that she had finally decided to remove the veil covering her face, he was able to look at her face.

She had emerald gems that seems to draw others towards her. Her long black hair was tied by a black-red ribbon with bangs/hair strands hanging on either side, thin eyebrows, and a slim and flexible body that was 1.6 meters tall.

She was wearing a black kimono that covered her sinful body. She couldn't hide her huge breasts, leaving a small cleavage that made her even more seductive. The kimono was sticking to her body like glue; highlighting all of her curves. Even though her face looked so beautiful and pure, her sinful body said something else.

"I am one of your 7 fiancés. My full name is Alicia Osburn. I believe this is the first time we are officially meeting." She put her hands together and slightly bowed her head.

Meanwhile, Aditya was beyond shocked. The gentle melodic words were like lightning strikes breaking down his mind. For a moment Aditya's mind stopped processing. The shock was just too big for him.

"Mr. Aditya?" Hearing his second wife calling his name, Aditya snapped out of his daze and looked at Alicia, the woman who was also known as the goddess of wealth.

"You're really my wi....I mean fiancé." Aditya was still having trouble believing in this whole situation.

"What do you think Mr. Aditya?" Alicia politely smiled and gave him some time to calm down first.

Aditya kept staring at Alicia for 10 seconds before going to pick up the tea cup.

Sip!

Aditya took a long sip. While he was drinking tea, he was trying his best to calm his mind and heart.

Cough!

After putting the tea cup on the table again, he glanced at his wife in contract, the very woman who was also known as the goddess of wealth. The very woman who was also considered the most beautiful girl in the continent of Westnia.

"I apologize. I was just too surprised."

"Mr. Aditya, you're my fiancé because of that damned contract." Alicia showed an angry look when talking about the contract.

Alicia proudly looked at Aditya. "Let me warn you from the beginning. I do not consider you as my husband. This entire contract thing is simply a political move. I will never recognize you as my husband. What I am going to ask you will be as the guild leader of the Seeker of Impurity, not as your fiancé."

"Alright, how can I pay my debt to Miss Alicia?" Aditya was more than happy with Julia on his side. This was the second time Alicia was meeting him. There was no love in this marriage. Before this meeting, he also had zero impressions of his other 6 fiancés. The only thing that was keeping the girls caged was the stupid contract. So if one day Aditya gets the chance, he will break off this contract.

Alicia was relieved to know that Aditya was still addressing her the same way as before. If he had called addressed by her name, this would mean that Aditya was using his rights as the fiancé and was okay with his marriage. "Nothing much, in 3 months' time, I want Mr. Aditya to come and meet my parents."

Every vote and golden tickets are greatly appreciated.

Chapter 70

"Nothing much, in 3 months' time, I want Mr. Aditya to come and meet my parents."

Pttt!...Cough!....Cough!

Aditya wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at Alicia. "Wh....what did you say?" Aditya was so shocked that he forget to address her formally.

"I said I need Mr. Aditya needs to come with me to meet my parent"

Aditya took a deep breath and calmed down. "Can I know the reason? After all, Miss Alicia even if we pretend that we are not married by a contract, meeting your parents seems a little out of the place."

Hearing Aditya's words it was then the proud woman finally showed a small blush on her face making her look even cuter than before. Alicia looked down and picked up the teacup to calm herself. After taking a sip she felt calmer.

"The thing is my family is a traditional family. My parents, uncles, and aunts got married before they turned 20 or at least had been engaged to someone. Soon I will turn 20. My family is pressuring me to get married or at least find a man and get engaged to him." Ever since Alicia was a small child, she was only allowed to wear Kimono which was a part of their family's tradition. Another tradition or rule of her family was that woman cannot show their face to anyone other than their husband.

Honestly, Alicia had no problem wearing a Kimono or covering her face with a veil. She was used to it and felt comfortable doing it. The only problem she had was with the marriage thing. Alicia's parents totally supported her love life but she has never found a man who could conquer her heart. Now that she was reaching the age of 20 soon, her parents were ordering her to return home and go on blind dates to find a correct partner.

Alicia then suddenly glared at Aditya and spoke with hidden anger in her tone. "Honestly, if a certain someone had not become an alcohol addict, then maybe things could have been different for me."

"When I and my family learned that you were expelled from your royal family, my parents were totally shocked. My angry father went to confront your father and ask him about the marriage. But your father refused to see my father and said that he had gone into seclusion. We asked our mother about the marriage contract. She said Aditya was no longer a part of the royal family, anything related to him had nothing to do with them."

Hearing that his mother was being mentioned, something triggered inside Aditya. He suddenly felt nostalgic and a little sad. He can remember the happy days he spent with his mother before everything changed. Unfortunately, their too much love had spoiled the previous Aditya rotten. 'I wonder how they are doing.'

Alicia took a second to observe the dragon King's facial expression. She could see a nostalgic look and a trace of sadness which was quickly erased.

"I understand your reasoning but why me out of all the people? I mean I am your fiancé in the name after all. Or unless are you planning to reveal my true identity to your parents." If Alicia wanted she could have convinced someone who is more handsome and powerful than Aditya for this role.

"I was looking for a suitable person. But I just don't feel comfortable letting another man get near me." Alicia has been shielded from her childhood. She very rarely played with boys. Not only that, while being busy creating her business empire, she never got the time to find look for someone special.

After she became the richest woman in her continent, hundreds of thousands of men wanted to marry her even though she have never seen her face. Kings, Emperors, and princes, all wanted to have a chance with her. They were not attracted to her beauty. They were attracted to her money. This only made her more cautious forward men and women. Now Alicia can't bring herself to trust a person easily. She is worried that her fake boyfriend would try to use this situation to use her.

"So you're saying that you're comfortable with me?"

"I am not saying that I am comfortable with you. Rather than letting some random male get near me, I would rather let you act as my fake boyfriend and meet my parents. I also you will be going there as Aditya, the Dragon King of Istarin Kingdom."

"Can I say no?" Aditya felt going to meet her parents would only bring him more trouble.

"Do you think after seeing my face you can just back out?" Alicia asked in a threatening tone.

Sigh!

"Fine. Let's say that even if we managed to fool your parents then what's next? How long are I will have to keep pretending?"

"Not too long. All of my family members live on the other continent. They will never come back. If you're worried that your private life will be disturbed by this, then you can rest assured as my family members will never come here."

By now both Aditya and Alicia stopped formally calling each other. When they talked to both Aditya's parents, they both subconsciously felt that there is no reason to formally address each other.

"I just need some time. One of the reasons I came to this continent was to expand my guild. My ambition hasn't been achieved yet. In a few years, given how fast we're currently expanding the Seeker of Impurity, in a few years, the whole continent will only have one guild."

Alicia ever since she was a child liked playing with money. She didn't care about the money itself. To her, the process of making money was like playing a game. She came to this continent in hope of a new challenge. The thrill of overcoming each challenge and making profits made her very excited.

Sigh!

"Alright, but you will have to wait. Tomorrow, I will head out to meet Julia's parents." This was just a one-time thing. Going to another continent sounds very fun and exciting.

"Good luck on seeing your father-in-law because you will need it. From what I have heard, he is a strict and serious man. Trust me, you don't want to mess with him." Aditya rolled his eyes. As if he wasn't nervous enough. This woman was trying to even him even more nervous.

"Alright, this concludes our little meeting. I hope you will keep your Promise, Mr. Aditya." Alicia had a small smile on her face. The purpose of this meeting has been achieved.

"Of course, I always keep my words." Aditya stood up with the intention of leaving. "Then I shall take my me."

"Wait"

"Hmm?" He turned around and looked at her.

"I heard that you have Heavenly Crimson dragon bloodline?"

'So Julia told her about my bloodline.'

"Don't worry I have a tight mouth. No one will ever know about your Bloodline." Aditya nodded feeling relieved.

"Do you know that you can use your heavenly dragon blood to turn humans into Dragonians?" Feeling confused by Alicia's words, Aditya couldn't help but ask. "What are Dragonians?"

"When a heavenly dragon gives a drop of its essence to humans, they transform into Dragonians. Dragonians are powerful and superior to humans in every single way."

"The concept of Dragonians slowly fades away as heavenly dragons disappeared with time. Once you have turned a human into Dragonians, they will never betray you. Not only that, dragonians cultivation speed, healing speed, mana recovery speed, and cultivation powers all are superior compared to humans. But the downside is that other than humans no other race can become dragonians."

"How do you know so much about Dragonians?"

"I have a hobby of reading books on various myths and legends. I have found pieces of evidence that Dragonians once existed. Maybe as the heavenly dragon, you can also do the same."

'For once I have never tried giving my essence to another person. If her words her true, maybe I can try it on, Watson.' Watson is the second closest person after Julia. He trusts the old man with his life. Making him the first dragonian would be the best choice.

Aditya stood there and thought for an entire minute. While Alicia tried to read his thoughts. She also wants to see if he will succeed.

"Is there anything else you know about Heavenly dragon?"

"I know a thing or two. Like Nature Flame. Which is a green type of flame that can be used to heal people. Only Heavenly flame dragons can possess Nature's flame. I will give you some books on heavenly dragons. It cost me a fortune to get these books.

There were three torn old books. After placing the books into his storage ring, Aditya once again thanked Alicia. "No need to thank me. I am doing this as I am going to use you as a shield later."

"Alright I will take my leave then." Alicia watched as Aditya walked out of the room.

After the door was closed, Alicia lay down on the couch. "I can't believe that idiot woman actually fell for him and now she is even taking him to see her parents."

Scene change___

Knock! Knock!

"Coming"

Click!

Julia opened the door and coldly looked into his eyes. "Did you like your second wife? Hmph!" Saying that the alchemy goddess simply walked past Aditya.

"Yes, I really liked her. Especially those green emerald eyes that seem to shine even in the darkness." The kitten turned around and fiercely glared at him as if someone had stepped on its tail.

But Aditya simply ignored her and continued. "Her face is cute but her body was....." Aditya stopped feeling he was about to cross the borderline.

Gulp!

"You were saying something?" Julia held a sword in her hand as she coldly looked at Aditya.

Cough!

"I can't wait to meet my father-in-law. I am hungry. Let's eat." After some teasing, both finally had dinner together and went back to their own rooms. While Julia went to sleep, Aditya couldn't stop thinking about dragonians.

Chapter 71

"So What did Alicia talk about with you?"

"She told me that in return for giving me the heart of Peak 6th-order Lightning Forest deer, she wanted me to prevent as her boyfriend and go to meet her parents." Aditya did not hide the truth from Julia. After all, no matter how beautiful or how wealthy Alicia was, Julia always was his first priority.

Knowing that hiding the truth from her would only create unnecessary drama, it was better to tell her the truth from the beginning. Aditya does not want to lose Julia. He had to protect what he had found at any cost. He wanted to be completely honest with her.

As expected, the alchemy goddess frowned hearing the Dragon King's words. She coldly looked at Aditya for a minute before asking. "Why does she wants you to come to see her parents?"

After meeting Alicia several times, it was clear that the goddess of wealth did not have any thoughts of Aditya. She did not even consider Aditya as her fiance.

"The thing is....." Without hiding anything Aditya fully explained everything to her.

Contrary to what Aditya expected, Julia did not lose her calm or anything. She continued to eat calmly making the Dragon King confused. "Julia are you mad?"

"Hmph! I am not mad." Julia snorted and sighed secretly. Given how gloriously Aditya was shining, it won't be long before some other vixen comes to seduce him and try to become his wife. In this world, it was normal for King, dukes, and nobles to have multiple wives and concubines. Julia was prepared to share Aditya. Even if she tried, due to the contract, she won't able to stop him from having multiple wives.

Even though she hates to admit it, sooner or later, her man was going to become the strongest King on the whole continent given how fast he was progressing. When that happens Julia can never keep Aditya from having multiple wives.

"Listen, Aditya, I will say this once." This was the first time he had seen Julia this serious.

"Yes?"

"You have 7 wives due to the marriage contract. Aside from 7 wives, I will not allow you to have any relationship with other women."

Seeing her serious face, Aditya unexpectedly laughed out loud. "Hahaha!"

"Why are you laughing?"

"Haha! Silly, do you really think I would have 7 wives?" Aditya's words only further made her confused.

"I am more than satisfied with what I have found. I admit that I currently have 7 wives in my name due to the contract. But as long as I managed to reach a certain height in the future, I am confident that I can break the contract. I will never force those girls to marry me."

"If you're thinking that I am going to marry another kingdom's princess or take the princess as my concubine to have more political connections with other Kingdoms, then you're wrong. I would never do that. I only have eyes for my woman." Saying those words, the alchemy goddess blushed. She lowered her head to hide the smile that blossomed on her face. Aditya could see her ears and even her neck was getting red.

After about 5 minutes of silence, Julia finally calmed down and raised her head to look at Aditya. "By the way, now that we're talking about our future, I think we should discuss how many children we're going to have in the future."

"Shameless! You're truly a pervert." Julia continued eating her steak.

Aditya innocently looked at Julia. "What's wrong with discussing my future with my wife?"

"Hmph! I never agreed to become your wife."

Sigh!

Next day,

"Your Majesty, why do you have new bit marks on your face?" Watson noticed the soldiers were trying their best to suppress their laughter seeing their King like that.

Sigh!

"....A certain dog barged into my room last time and kept biting me. I tried to fight back but the dog was simply too strong for me."

Watson glanced at Julia who was behind Aditya. Seeing her butler's gaze, she blushed and snorted. "Watson come with me."

Aditya bought Watson and Julia inside the royal carriage. "Majesty, do you have any orders for me?"

"Today, we're going to head out. I don't know for how many days I will be gone. Do not let anyone know about my absence. If they ask where I am, just say that I have gone behind closed doors to cultivate." There is a slim chance that the neighboring Kingdoms might try to attack once they learn Aditya has left the Kingdom.

"Understood Majesty."

"I already have ordered Scott, Amber, and others to listen to your orders. While I am gone, you will be in charge. Please take care of everything. If things start getting out of your hand, then send me a message, I will return as soon as possible."

His 7 generals and Watson were his most trusted people. Recently, Scott, Tyler, Nathan, and Henry all had broken through 2nd-order with the pills. While others were close to reaching 2nd-order. With the pills made by Julia, in a few months, they should reach mid or peak 2nd-order.

"Your Highness, what should I do about King Ethan and the Nepoca Kingdom?"

"For now we will remain quiet. If he does anything suspicious, let me know about it immediately."

"Understood."

"Watson I have something for you." Aditya bit his index finger and then put a drop of his blood on Watson's forehead.

"Your Majesty, what is this?" Instead of being red, the color of the blood was golden which surprised both Watson and Julia. The golden drop of blood on his forehead shined brightly.

"Do not resist it. Just accept it." Watson stopped resisting causing the golden blood to be absorbed.

A Crimson red light enveloped Watson. Under Julia and Aditya's shocked gaze, Watson's cultivation started rising from Mid 2nd-order to Peak 2nd-order and then all the way to Beginner 3rd-order.

Boom!

The strong Aura of beginner 3rd-order was released. The Aura was so strong that Julia almost fell to her knees if Aditya had not protected her. The aura of the 3rd-order caused all the soldiers who were waiting outside to fall to their knees. The soldiers felt suffocated. Their chest felt heavy and they were having trouble breathing.

"Watson, calm down." Aditya's words worked like a charm. The Crimson Aura around him disappeared.

"My King, this servant apologizes for his rudeness." Watson quickly got on one knee and kneeled before Aditya while lowering his head.

Aditya and Julia both felt the voice of Watson has slightly changed. It was not just his voice, Watson now looked 15 years younger. before he looked like an old grandpa, but now even though his hair still remained white, he looked like he was only 50 years old. The wrinkles on his skin had disappeared. Only a few wrinkles on his face remained.

If someone looked carefully they would be able to see the small light red dragon scales growing on Watson's arms and around his neck, collar bone, and throat.

"I can sense the Aura of a Dragon coming from Watson. What exactly did you do?" Watson also looked at Aditya for an answer.

"How much do we exactly know about the heavenly dragon bloodline?" Julia and Watson shared a look of confusion. "As the heavenly dragon, I have the power to turn humans into Dragonians. Watson, you're no longer a human but rather a Dragonian of Heavenly Crimson Dragon."

"Tell me the changes you feel in your body?"

"I can feel that my powers have been multiplied by 100 times. My cultivation has reached beginner 3rd-order which kind of feels unreal as my cultivation talent is not that high and even after hundred years of cultivating I still was stuck a mid-phase of 2nd order."

"Exactly. You currently have more strength, agility, stamina, health, and mana than an average beginner 3rd-order. Becoming a dragonian also has increased your cultivation speed, healing speed, and recovery speed, by a huge margin."

Hearing Aditya's words both Julia and Watson were left shocked. The fact Watson managed to jump from Mid phase of 2nd-order directly to beginner 3rd-order shocked them the most. "Your Majesty, in that case, can you also turn our soldiers into dragonians?" Just imagine how powerful the Istarin Kingdom would become once all of their troops turn into dragonians.

"That's now how things work. I had to give you a drop of essence. Currently, the amount of essence that my body can produce is limited to only 25." Aditya took out a golden bottle that was filled with golden blood.

"Take this."

"Give one drop of my golden blood to Nathan, Eleanor, Tyler, and Henry. As they are human, they will be able to become Dragonians. As for the other 20 golden drops, select the most loyal human soldiers in the army and let them become dragonians." Watson seriously nodded his head while putting the glass bottle in his storage ring.

"Give special privileges to all the dragonian soldiers. Those 20 dragonians will stay at the castle and train using the pills that Julia made. The dragonians will be the secret weapon of the Istarin King."

"Remember Watson, other than my 7 generals and the future dragonians no one should know about this."

"Even if I am killed, I will never reveal this secret to anybody. I will also make sure that the future 20 dragonians also keep their mouth shut." Whoever has become a dragonian won't be able to betray Aditya. The thought of going against him will never cross their minds. This is why Aditya wanted to secretly cultivate this special force.

"Alright, we shall take our leave now." Julia and Aditya put two pills in their mouth. Under Watson's surprised gaze, both of their hair colors started changing to white and blue.

"Since we're going to leave the Kingdom ins disguise there is no need to bring any soldier with us. I will leave everything in your hand."

"My King, I swear I won't disappoint you."

Two pairs of red wings appeared on his face.

"Ready princess." Julia shyly nodded her head. The next moment Aditya and Julia disappeared from the carriage. If one looks at the sky then one would see a man with wings carrying a woman in his arms and going above the clouds.

Chapter 72

"Bad wolf, are you not tired?"

"Princess even if I am tired, this is no place to stop. Just a little more and we should reach the nearest city."

"You know if you're concerned about me, you can always feed one or two mana recovery pills. And also maybe give me a kiss which would erase all of my exhaustion."

"Pervert, I am not doing any of that. I don't care if you drop dead." Aditya smiled and continued flying above the clouds.

After leaving Watson, early in the morning, Aditya with Julia in his arms flew off above the sky. In this part of the continent, only the Nyland Kingdom had a teleportation array. Meaning that both Aditya and Julia had to travel all the way to the Nyland Kingdom to get access to the teleportation array.

Normally traveling to the Kingdom of Nyland would at least take 6 to 7 days. Instead of slowly, the dragon king just decided to carry his woman in his arms and the sky above the clouds so that no one would be able to see them.

Under the light of the moon, as the cold breeze brushed off against both of their skins, Aditya continued carrying Julia at a steady pace. His face right now looked pale as if his face has been drained of blood.

He has been carrying the princess for more than 11 hours. Though both of them stopped for 15 minutes to have lunch. Even with the monstrous amount of mana Aditya had, flying for 11 hours while carrying a person put a great strain on his body. Right now his mana was nearly exhausted. His dragon wings were starting to feel slightly heavy.

Whenever he flapped his wings, he felt a slight pain in his backbone. He long would have run out of mana, if he had not eaten mana recovery pills.

Aditya moved his left hand to tightly hold Julia's waist while he took out a mana recovery pill from his storage ring. "Don't eat anymore mana recovery pills." Julia stopped him with a serious look on her face.

"Why?" If Aditya stopped then their speed would greatly slow down.

"Do you even remember how many pills you have consumed this entire day?"

Aditya didn't know what to answer. Rather than saving his mana, he continuously used his mana to use his skills to increase his flight speed. Whenever he was near exhausting his mana, he would take a mana recovery pill that would recover his mana in 15 minutes. The artifact of the wind fairy to gave him the ability to increase his flight speed but that wasn't enough.

Aditya used his dragon wings, then used the power of the Bracelet of Wind Fairy to slightly increase his speed, then occasionally he used lightning dash which gave him another [100+] boost in his flight speed. Using all these powers at once increased his speed up to [450+].

"I don't remember how many pills I have consumed so far. But why are you stopping me?" Aditya in a tried tone which he tried to hide.

"Idiot. If you take too many mana recovery pills or any kind of pills, taking too many of them at once is not good for your health. You can end up developing Black plague cancer a special type of parasite that will start you from the inside." Aditya forced a smile and looked at Julia. Hearing her words, he was feeling a little scared.

"Are you joking?"

"Do I look like I am joking?"

Julia took a deep breath to calm herself. When she was with Aditya, this bad villain would always find ways to irritate her and make her sure her tamper. "The pills we alchemists or pill masters make are not perfect. At the end of the day, they are just artificial products that cannot be compared with natural products. Taking too many pills has many sides affect. Such has developing cancer like the black plague. Dangerous diseases like the Flashing Cold, Skeleton Madness, Hex Fatigue, Transmutation Cramps, Aura Madness, and many more can."

"I always thought that cultivators cannot get any diseases." The term cultivation always has been associated with immortality.

"Of course not. As you keep progressing through higher orders, your body, your soul and everything about you keep getting stronger and stronger. But that does not mean that you're immune to diseases. Look the diseases that I am talking about are not normal diseases. We cultivators will never be affected by normal diseases. But there are hundreds of diseases which are developed naturally or either were made by some mad evil people that can only infect cultivators."

"Taking more than 5 mana recovery pills every day puts you at the risk of developing black plague. And today you have consumed more than 24 mana recovery pills. Even if you have the blood of the heavenly crimson dragon, the black plague won't spare you."

"So from next time don't take more than 5 pills unless you're in a life and death situation."

"Alright, I promise, Your husband will be careful in the future."

"How many times I will have to tell you, I am not your wife."

Aditya's suffering ended soon as he saw a medium-sized city in the distance. The city was built on the top of a 40 meters high mountain.

"Let's spend the night in his city." Given how fast Aditya traveled for 11 hours, he currently was only 300 km away from the Nyland Kingdom. Currently, they were in a small Kingdom that was located on the borders of the Istarin kingdom and the Nyland Kingdom.

In this region, there were more than 20 small Kingdoms. Each Kingdom regularly fought each other to gain more land and resources. But in front of the Nyland, Istarin, and the Nepoca kingdom, these Kingdoms were nothing.

Using fake identities that Aditya had made for Julia and himself, both of them quickly entered the city. The guards were half sleeping while drinking alcohol. Just from seeing the condition of the city, it was clear that the city was a hub of criminals. The guards were allowing any random person to enter the city as long as they paid one gold.

While walking on the streets, Julia held Aditya's hand seeing so many men staring at her. "Don't think much, this princess is only holding your hand to get not separated from you."

Aditya cautiously looked around. He can see that Julia's beauty even though they were in disguise had attracted the eyes of hundreds of men who looked more thugs and addicts.

Around 70% of the population was involved in some kind of criminal activity. The soldiers and the guards were considered dogs that can be bought with money. As for the rest 30%, they were the poor and the lowest class people that suffered from the bullying of the criminals. Even the governor of this city himself had multiple bandit groups that robbed travelers.

"Here wear this" Unable to handle the stares of other men at her, Aditya took out a black cloak and put it around her. He used the hood to hide her body face. Julia obediently wore the black cloak. But little did Aditya know that his little action had attracted the attention of some criminals.

"It looks like this man has a storage ring on him." To normal people, a storage ring was very expensive. Even the cheapest ring cost more than 100 gold coins while the princes of the storage ring could go up to 100,000 gold coins which were 10,000 royal gold coins.

The ring that Aditya had was given by late King Ahmed. The ring had 25 meters of space in it which was more than enough.

"Boss, the woman beside him also looks hot. Should we attack them?"

"No. I can't sense their cultivation rank. It means both of their cultivation should be in 2nd-order. Trying to attack them directly would only get us killed."

"So what should we do?"

"For now let's follow them. Since they are 2nd-order cultivators, I think both of them should have some good stuff."

Click!

"Welcome Blue Raspberry inn. Are you here to stay?" The receptionist was a young man who had a vertical scar on his forehead. The young man was about Aditya's age. He had short brown hair and tan skin.

"Yes, we need one room and also dinner." The young man looked a little excited when looking at Julia. But seeing her average face, he soon lost interest.

"One room would cost 100 gold. As for dinner, it depends on what you two order."

"100 gold coins for one night's stay. Are you crazy? Just look at your inn. This place is old shabby, broken, cracked and spider webs are everywhere." Julia couldn't control her anger anymore. Just like she had described this inn was in very bad shape.

"Leave if you don't have any money. I don't care. But let me remind you, it's already 1 o'clock, all the inns in the city are closed by now. If you want to stay you will have to pay 100 gold coins."

"Aditya, let's leave. I would rather stay in the wild." Julia was also extremely stubborn. Watson would usually deal with these kinds of pests and would never allow this kind of person to even come into her sight.

Seeing both of them were about to leave, the young man's face turned ugly as he stood up and shouted. "Who said you could leave?"

"What else do you want?" This time, Aditya leaked a little bit of his killing intent making the young men sweat as he felt like he was being preyed on by a wild dragon.

"The outside forest is filled with magical beasts. I heard there are even Peak 3rd-order magical beasts roaming in the forest. It wouldn't be safe for you to live in the wild."

Aditya coldly smiled as he looked at the young man. "Thank you for your kind words." How can Aditya not see that this young man was just trying to scar them and make them stay at this inn?

"Let go" After exiting the inn, Aditya and Julia decided to first find a restaurant to have dinner.

"Why did you stop?" Julia asked seeing Aditya suddenly stop walking.

"Because someone has been following us."

Chapter 73

"Please forgive me. I swear I will never show my face in this city." A man who was wearing cheap and torn clothes kneeled before the man wearing a black cloak that covered his body.

"You're the type of person who will kneel before the stronger and bully the weak. Give me a good solid reason why I should let you live."

"I.....I will take care of the children in the orphanage."

"orphanage...Hahaha!...."

Aditya coldly smiled and then glanced at the 21 children standing 20 meters away and staring at Aditya in a mix of fear and gratitude.

"You used those children to run your business. Just die." Aditya instantly burned the man who was kneeling before him to ash using the Crimson flame.

"You shouldn't have killed that man in front of the children. What if your action traumatizes them?" Julia said as she looked at the group of 21 children standing 20 meters away from them.

Long story cut, after exiting the inn some thugs followed them. Aditya and Julia took some time to deal with the thugs and attack their base where they found 21 children being locked in a cage. The children's age varied from 7 to 15. There were 13 girls and 8 boys. The power of these gangsters was just too low to give Aditya any experience points.

"Now what should we do with the children?" Julia asked. Leaving these children in this city would be extremely cruel. Sooner or later, another group of thugs will capture them and sell them as slaves.

Aditya glanced at the group of children and sighed. All of their bodies were severely malnourished.

"I have no idea. As much as I wish to send these children back to the Istarin Kingdom, the distance is just too far away. Leaving them here would be the same as abandoning them to die."

"Are you going to abandon use?"

"Brother, what are you doing?" From the group of children, a 15 years old boy stepped forward.

Julia and Aditya looked at the young malnourished and underdeveloped boy with blue hair and blue eyes. The boy was wearing dirty old clothes to cover his body. His face and body were covered in dirt.

"Do you sense it?" Aditya nodded in response.

"He is still at the beginner phase. The mana in his body is too low." Hearing their conversation the boy with blue hair was stunned as he had never told anyone, not even his little sister that he has learned to cultivate.

Aditya glanced at the boy and smiled. "What's your name?"

"My name is Leo Gallagher." The boy looked a little nervous. He was trying his best to reply without showing any nervousness.

"I have an idea. Why don't we just send a message to one of my governors? They send some men to take these children away from the city."

"That would take too much time. Besides, we're going to leave tomorrow. Maybe we can hire a group of adventurers to send these children back to the Istarin Kingdom." If Aditya and Julia leave, the children will have no security.

While Aditya and Julia were discussing, the boy took a deep breath and then did something which shocked everyone. "Master...?"

"What?"

Julia and Aditya stared at the blue-haired boy who was kneeling on the ground with his head lowered. "What are you doing? There is no need for you to kneel before me."

"Master, please take me as your student." Aditya took a deep breath to calm himself. He only knew the basics of cultivation. Unlike cultivators, Aditya was more like a player that constantly leveled up and became stronger. So How can he take a student when he doesn't even know much about cultivation? The thought of taking a student never crossed his mind.

"Why do you want to become my student?"

The children, Julia and Aditya stared at the boy with blue hair. Even in the darkness of night, the boy's blue pupils seem to shine in determination. "I want revenge. I know Master is very strong. I want master to teach me and help me with my revenge."

Aditya felt helpless. He looked at Julia as if asking for some help. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I don't know much about cultivation. I don't even have enough knowledge to teach anyone." Julia remained silent before looking at the boy's blue eyes.

After a moment Aditya understood that his boy only wanted to become his student so that he can get his revenge.

"I refuse to accept any students. Tell me, Leo, how desperate are you to get your revenge?" Leo stared at those crimson eyes that were shining even in the dark. He knew it was those eyes that can help him.

"I will do anything. I am ready to become a slave if it means getting my revenge."

"Brother what are you saying?" Aditya looked at another girl who exactly had blue hair and blue eyes as Leo. The girl was about 13 years old.

"I will give you an offer. If you agree to work for me and never betray me, then I will make you strong enough to get your revenge. Not just revenge, I will make you rich enough to live on mountain golds. You will never have to worry about food, shelter, clothes, or being bullied again. Do you...I accept" Even before Aditya could finish his words, Leo accept his offer.

"Twice, betraying me will be worse than living in hell." Saying that Aditya released a bit of his killing intent on Leo. Leo's face instantly turned pale as he felt like he was standing before the god of slaughter.

"I accept." Leo gritted his teeth. He was ready to do anything for revenge.

Under Julia's gaze, Aditya put a star-shaped talisman on Leo's forehead. The talisman shined before the golden light entered his forehead.

"This contract will prevent you from betraying me. In the future, if you do anything to betray me, your soul will be ripped apart and you will die." After saying that Aditya bit his right index finger. Under the shocked gaze of all the children, a drop of golden blood appeared. In the darkness of the night, the golden blood seems to be shining, radiating golden light.

"Take this." A golden drop of blood fell on Leo's forehead. The next moment a red Crimson Aura surrounded Leo. The crimson light from his body brightened the entire warehouse.

Ahhh!

Leo couldn't help but scream in pain as he rolled on the ground. "What did you do to him?" His little sister stepped out and angrily looked at Aditya, thinking that this man had done something bad to her big brother.

"Little sister, you can relax. In a minute you will know how lucky your big brother was." Hearing her words, the little sister calmed down a little bit and impatiently waited. Her eyes were already red from seeing her brother suffering this much.

Just like she said, one minute later, the Crimson light around Leo started dimming down. Leo suddenly opened his eyes and stood on his feet. As the crimson light around him started disappearing everyone was shocked by seeing the changes on Leo's body.

First of all, this Leo looked completely different. His height had increased to 5 feet 3 inches. The malnourished body of his had disappeared. There were very small light red dragon scales covering his arms, chest, neck, throat, collarbone, and some parts of his stomach. Even though Leo's body was still covered in dirt, there was an Aura of nobility around him.

"Congratulations on becoming the second or maybe the 26th dragonian. How do you feel?" Aditya asked with a smile on his face.

instead of answering, Leo sat on his knees and looked at Aditya with endless gratitude written in his eyes. "Mas....No My King, I don't know how will I ever repay you for this kind and generous gift." Only Leo can tell how strong he had become. Now he felt he can easily kill those thugs and criminals that regularly bullied him.

"You have reached beginner 2nd-order. Now you have the power to defeat anyone in 2nd-order. Though you will need some training and maybe learn some fighting techniques."

Now that Leo had become Dragonian, he could sense a connection with him. "My king, if it's not too much, can I also ask for another drop of golden blood for my sister? Knowing the great benefits of a drop of golden blood, Leo wanted his little sister to also become a dragonian.

"No, she is too young." Julia was having some thoughts about teaching this little girl.

"Alright let's leave this place. Leo, you can take all the money these people had with you."

After leaving the abandoned warehouse, Aditya and Julia, fortunately, found an inn. At first, the inn owner refused to let him in, but after threatening to kill him, he became an obedient puppy. Since the inn only had a few rooms, Aditya and Julia had to share a single room while the children stayed in the other 3 rooms.

"Aditya I think that boy also realized your intention."

"What intention?" Aditya pretended to play dumb and asked.

"If you had accepted the boy as a student, there was nothing you could have taught him as a teacher as your knowledge in cultivation is too low. But by letting the boy become a part of the Istarin Kingdom, he made him stronger by giving him the golden blood. Others might think that you're taking away that boy's freedom but in reality, you only helped him."

Lying on the floor, Aditya couldn't help but smile. He felt pity for the boy. Those blue eyes had touched his heart. Among the 21 children, only Leo had the will and determination to survive and become stronger. Even if Aditya hadn't helped him, sooner or later, Leo would have taken matters into his own hand and might have killed the thugs.

"By the way, why I am lying on the cold floor? I am the one who paid for this room. So as master, I should be the one who gets to sleep on the bed."

"Hmph! If the inn had an extra room, I never would have let you sleep in this room. Who knows what a pervert like you would do to me in the middle of the night?"

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!

Chapter 74

This Bonus Chapter is dedicated to the reader "Zeko323" for gifting a Dragon to this novel. Thank you very much for the gift, "Zeko323"

Next morning,

The morning sunlight fell on her eyes through the window. Feeling discomfort, the alchemy goddess opened her eyes. The first thing that she saw was the sleeping face of the pervert dragon king lying next to her.

"You pervert"

Bang!

Aditya fell to the floor from the sudden and unexpected kick from his wife who was more like a bully.

Ouch! "That hurts. Why did you do that?" Aditya rubbed his stomach while shamelessly exposing his abs.

"Why are you sleeping on my bed?"

"I was starting to feel cold and besides sleeping on the floor is no fun so I took a little space since the bed was very big." Aditya innocently explained. After 11 hours of flying, beating the thugs, and rescuing the children, he was very tired. He didn't even realize it when he moved onto the bed and slept there.

"Next if you do that, I will bit you to death." The kitten fiercely glared at him as if someone had invaded its territory.

Sigh!

"You know we will be sleeping in the same room when we go to your parent's house." Hearing this her face flushed for a second before she glared back at him.

"Even if we sleep in the same room, I never said that I was going to allow you to sleep on my bed. Letting you sleep on the floor is already too much. If you ever cross the line, I will never let you sleep in my room."

Aditya looked at her long legs which were exposed as she slept in her cute pajamas. He has to admit, touching those line slender and smooth legs will feel very satisfying. "Sooner or later, this little bunny will be eaten by this dragon."

"What did you say?" Feeling his eyes, Julia regretted wearing short pajamas. She quickly covered her legs with the blanket.

"Nothing" Aditya got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

"Alright, listen to me, Leo, the adventurers I have hired you will take you to the capital of Istarin Kingdom. After entering the Istarin Kingdom, if you ever find yourself in trouble, just show this letter to the guards they will take you to meet the nearest governor." The letter Aditya gave Leo had his dragon scale in it. In that letter, he had asked Watson to look after the children and also give cultivation resources to Leo.

By the time Aditya and Julia went to bed, it was already past midnight. Aditya and Julia slept very late and also woke up late. After waking up, they had breakfast and then bought some clothes for everyone.

"I adventurers that I have hired are all 2nd-order cultivators. The journey will take at least 1 week time. Make sure to use the money I gave to buy food supplies. Lastly, always stay cautious." Leo nodded his head.

"Then we will take our leave."

"Hey! How long till we reach the Kingdom of Nyland?" After leaving Leo, Aditya and Julia have been flying for another 5 hours straight. They only had a few hours of daylight.

"Princess we have flying at full speed for 5 hours now. You should see the Nyland border anytime soon." And just as Aditya said after 3 minutes, the Nyland border and fortress came into their view. After another hour of flying, Aditya and Julia reached the nearest city.

Being the strongest Kingdom in the eastern region of the Dying isle continent, the Nyland Kingdom was the only kingdom that had teleportation arrays. Each big city had a teleportation array connecting them.

"So this is Northriver city." From the sky, Aditya and Julia could see the entire city.

Just like any other city in this world, the North river city was also reinforced with high walls with guards constantly patrolling the city walls. The city is very bigger and had over 2 million people of different races living in it.

"Let's enter." With fake identities, Aditya and Julia successfully managed to enter the city and made their way to the teleportation array.

Just like Aditya, hundred of thousands of people from all big and small kingdoms in the eastern region traveled to this city to use the teleportation array. The teleportation array would take everyone to the capital and from there using the grand teleportation array, one can teleport to different regions of the dying Isle continent.

At the center of the city, more than ten thousand people were standing in lines. Whether it was noble or duke from other kingdoms, everyone regardless of their identity had to stand in the line and wait for their turn.

"How many people?"

"Two"

"Which city?"

"To the capital."

"Alright. VIP ticket or normal ticket"

"This is the first time we are actually using the teleportation array. So can you please tell us the difference between a VIP ticket and a normal ticket?"

Aditya asked the receptionist. To stand in lines, people had to get tickets. Julia and Aditya were also here to tickets. "Using a VIP ticket, you won't have to stand in line. But be warned the VIP tickets are very expensive."

"Alright give me VIP tickets?" The receptionist lady glanced at Aditya and Julia in surprise. Looking at their clothes they didn't really think that they would be rich enough to afford VIP tickets.

"Alright. I will need both of your names." The receptionist didn't change her expression even for a small second. She always had a professional smile on her face.

After telling her their fake names, the receptionist took out two jade slips and wrote their names on them. "Here. Take this. 2000 gold coins." After paying the money, Aditya took the jade slips. The Jade slips shined in bright green light when he took them in his hand.

"Next" While Aditya took Julia to stand in the line.

After a minute of standing, one of the guards came noticing the green glow on the jade slip. "Sir, can you please show me both of your tickets?"

"Please come with me." All the guards were strictly ordered to behave respectfully and politely to everyone.

Under the envious gazes of thousands of people who were standing in the long and never-ending line, Aditya and Julia were taken to the teleportation array.

At the center, there was a large rune circle. The rune circle was about 50 meters big. The circle was made from 4 big circles of runes. Aditya observed the runes for a second and felt dizzy. He realized this rune circle was at least 4th-star. At his current level, just looking at these complex runes felt like his head was getting dizzy.

[The teleportation array is going to start in the next 10 seconds. The array will take everyone to the capital. Those who do not wish to go there, please step down from the teleportation array.]

[10, 9, 8....] Aditya and Julia looked at each other and smiled. He took her right hand. He can feel with each passing second she was getting more and more excited and also impatient. It looks like she couldn't wait to see her parents.

[3....2....1] A 50 meters big green circular barrier formed around the rune circle. The next moment, Aditya felt the space around him is being twisted and bent.

[Welcome to the capital of Nyland Kingdom, the Adrapore city]

In the northwest region of the dying isle continent, there was a city called Apogale city. Apogale city was a part of the Kingdom of Echo Dominion. Kingdom of Echo Dominion was one of the biggest and most strongest kingdoms on the entire continent of the Dying Isle.

[Welcome to Apogale city.]

"Finally I have returned home." Like an excited child, Julia pulled Aditya's right hand. She ignored the words of the guards and kept jumping and running here and there. This was her birthplace. This was the city where she was born. How can she not be excited after returning to her home city after such a long time?

"Slow down, Julia." Since both Aditya and Julia were in disguise no one recognized them. The resident of Apogale city was very familiar with the one and only daughter of the Onard noble household.

While walking on the streets of Apogale city, Aditya took some time to observe the city. The city was built more advanced than the cities in the eastern region of the continent. Aditya had heard that the people in this region are most rich and cultivators were more powerful when compared to other regions.

Due to this, the northwest region is considered the capital or most important place of the Dying Isle continent. It is said that if the kingdoms of this region wanted, they easily could have conquered the entire continent given how strong their military powers is.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that the entire continent mostly revolved around the northwest region. When compared to other regions, the northwest region was more prosperous and had more population density. Around 50% of the continent's population lived in this region.

"Julia slow down." Julia didn't listen to Aditya at all. She excitedly runs all the way to her home.

Standing in front of the big Mansion, Julia's entire body trembled slightly with overwhelming emotions. She still remembers the day when she left this mansion with her butler Watson. That day was one of the saddest days of her life.

But now looking back, she didn't have a trace of regret in her heart. She found someone special. Someone who can make her feel safe and secure. "Shall we go in?" Aditya asked with a gentle smile.

Julia nodded feeling very warm in her heart.

"Stop who are you?"

Sigh!

"Here we go again"

Chapter 75

This Bonus Chapter is dedicated to the reader "Zeko323" for gifting 2 more Dragons to this novel. Thank you very much for the gift, "Zeko323"

"Stop! Without permission, no one is allowed to enter the Mansion of Lord Onard." Aditya was secretly a little surprised after sensing that both guards actually were Peak 3rd order cultivators.

"Did the two of you forget who I am?" Hearing the familiar voice, both guard's bodies trembled as quickly got on their knees the very next moment. How can they not recognize this voice when they have been hearing her voice for years now? Even though Julia left for a few years, everyone in the castle still remembered her.

While Aditya looked at the huge Castle in front of him. The Castle was the grandest and most luxurious Castle he has seen so far. Eleven massive, square towers form a protective barrier all around the castle and are connected by lower, thick walls made of yellow stone.

Elegant windows are scattered thinly around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with symmetric crenelations for archers and artillery.

"Are you not going to let us in?"

"Please accept our apologizes." A great gate with tall wooden doors was opened up for Aditya and Julia to enter. Just as Julia step foot inside the castle, a certain someone who was sitting at the dining table sensed the familiar Aura.

"My child has returned."

Boom!

While Julia led Aditya on a small path to arrive in front of a second door to the castle. Before she can push open the door, a figure opened the door faster than Aditya can react and hugged Julia.

"My child!!! I missed you so much." Under the moonlight, Aditya was shocked seeing the woman that literally looked like the mature version of Julia.

Just like her the woman also had long purple hair. Julia's mother was wearing a black long dress that perfectly hugged her curves. Compared to Julia, the woman's body was more developed and her figure was more seductive and breath-taking. Her breast and back were bigger than Julia's. While Julia had the charm of a beautiful virgin goddess, her mother had the mature Aura that gave her a unique charm.

While the mother and daughter hugged each other and looked lost in their own little world, Aditya's eyes fell on the man standing 5 meters away from him. The man was looking at Aditya like he was looking at his biggest enemy.

'He must be Julia's father.' Julia's father was 6 feet tall man with short black hair. The man had a muscular body. Standing in front of this man was like standing in front of thousands of enemies. The way this man looked at Aditya was like he owed him millions of gold coins.

'Why is he looking at him with so my hostility? I never even met him in my entire life.' Aditya also realized one thing he cannot sense the men's cultivation. This means that Julia's father was at least a 4th order or maybe he was a 5th order cultivator.

The man looked like a savage animal who couldn't wait to rip Aditya in half. He had this wild Aura around him that unconsciously made others feel afraid of him.

After a long Hug, Julia noticed her dear father was standing behind her mother. "Dad"

The wild savage lion melted down and became a cute puppet in front of his daughter. Aditya was shocked seeing how this man changed. One moment he was fiercely staring at Aditya like he was going to kill him, the next moment, he is hugging his daughter like it was the most gentle thing in the whole world.

'Why I am receiving glares?' Julia's father angrily glared at him and the next second his expression softened as a happily smiled while patting his daughter's head.

"My daughter, father has missed you so much. Next time please don't leave without informing papa."

Julia's mother observed Aditya for an entire minute. The more she looked at her son-in-law, the more satisfied she looked. Right now Aditya wasn't using his disguise, so her mother was able to see his real face.

"My apologies for the late introduction. I am Sophie Onard. You can just call me mother. And this is Adam Onard, Julia's father."

"There is no need to apologize aunty. My name is Aditya Bainnith." Aditya bowed his head while introducing himself.

Meanwhile, after hugging his daughter, Adam looked like he has been satisfied. He walked in front of Aditya. "So it was because of you that my daughter left home. Kid, it looks like we will need to talk in private."

"Honey, you can talk with Aditya later. They just arrived. Both of them just be tired." Sophie gently smiled at Aditya. "Please come in."

'Wow! What a gentle mother! If only Julia was gentle as her mother.' Aditya looked at Julia. She seems to have guessed his thoughts. She just coldly glared at him which again made him sigh. 'I guess she has inherited a part of her father's fierceness.'

Aditya was a little shocked seeing a man who exactly looked like Watson standing before him and bowing his head. "Aditya let me introduce you to Walter. He is Watson's twin brother."

"Good evening, young master." Aditya nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Aditya, why don't you take a shower and get changed before joining us for dinner? Since my daughter has returned with her fiance, I will make a feast tonight." For a moment Aditya was dazed by how kind Julia's mother was. She was the perfect wife material. Even though she was the wife of the duke, she was very humble, kind, and gentle.

"Knowing that you were going to come, I already have prepared a bedroom room for you. Walter, please show Aditya his bedroom."

"Young Master, please come with me." Aditya and Walter left.

"I suddenly remembered I have some work to do. I will be back before dinner." Before Adam could take the first step, Sophie grabbed his shoulder. "Honey, since I am going to make a feast, why don't you help me?" Knowing that his wife had already seen through his intention of bully....cough....meeting Aditya alone, Adam could only follow her to the kitchen.

"Where is Zak?" Julia asked while looking around.

"Your little brother already has gone to sleep. Should I send someone to wake him up?" Sophie asked her daughter.

"No. I can just wait till tomorrow and surprise him. Mom, I am also going to my room." Sophie and Adam walked to the kitchen. In the house of Onard, Sophie was responsible for cooking. No maid or servant was allowed to cook for her family. She felt as a mother and a wife, it was her responsibility to cook.

"Young master, do you mind telling me a little about my brother? It has been some time since I last saw him." Currently, Walter and Aditya were walking in the corridor.

"Watson is doing well. It was because of Watson that I can manage my Kingdom."

"Haha! My brother always has been talented when it came to management work."

"By the way, Does Watson have a family here?"

"Unfortunately no. Watson swore to follow lady Julia when she was born. I and Watson have been working as a butler for more than a century now. While I got married about 90 years ago, Watson stayed single." Just like Watson, Walter was also a Mid 2nd-order cultivator. It seems both brothers did not have much talent in cultivation.

"Young Master, this is your room."

"Thank you, Walter."

"Haha! Young Master doesn't have to thank me. By the way, the next bedroom is lady Julia's room. If there is nothing, I will take my leave now. If you need anything then just call me."

Seeing Walter leave, Aditya immediately did not enter his room. He instead stared at the room next to his. 'Did Julia's mother purposely arrange my room next to her daughter's?'

Click!

After entering his bedroom, Aditya took out two pairs of clothes and put them on the bed. His bedroom had a double bed, white cushions, a light red carpet laid on the floor, a table, a wardrobe, and a couch next to the window.

Grabbing the white towel, he entered the bathroom to take a long shower. After traveling for 2 days, he was finally getting time to take a long and relaxing shower.

"What do you think of Aditya?" Adam asked as he cut vegetables for his wife. Because of his fierce and wild nature, Adam was given the nickname Wild Lion. If outsiders saw that one of the strongest Duke on the continent, the man who was famously known as the Wild Lion, was cutting vegetables for his wife, they would end up having a heart attack.

"I think he is suitable for our daughter. Everyone makes mistakes. We can't just judge this Aditya based on his past actions. In just two months, that boy created chaos in the eastern region. Building a 3-tier kingdom in just 2 months. In my eyes, there is no one who is more suitable than Aditya."

Chapter 76

"Bad wolf, what are you doing next to my room?" Julia and Aditya came out of their rooms at the same time and saw each other.

"That is my room." Aditya innocently replied while pointing towards his room. Aditya's long blue hair was slightly wet and messy. He was wearing pant pants and a white shirt.

Julia couldn't help but feel dazed staring at his otherworldly handsome face. Julia has seen men who are even more handsome than him, but there is something unique about him that made her hard to resist this bad man. Maybe in others' eyes, he is not the best handsome-looking man out there but in her eyes, this hooligan was the best-looking man in the whole world.

"Why are you looking so nervous? Your face is slightly red" He took a step forward and asked as he bought his face near her.

thump! thump!

"I...." Aditya looked at her rosy lips. Her cheeks were slightly flushed making her look even cuter. Unlike normal times, tonight she had tied her hair in a bun exposing her seductive nape. Just looking at her nape, Aditya felt his throat was getting dry. Tonight her purple pupils seem to have a magnetic shine on them making him feel like wanting to stare at her forever.

While looking at each other's eyes, Aditya bought his face forward. Both of them seem to be lost in their romantic world, not caring about the outside world. Just when their faces were only 10 inches from each other, a sweet and gentle voice that felt like a loud thunderous roar at that moment woke up them.

"Both of you should stop standing there and come for dinner." Both of their bodies jerked up as they moved away. Julia's entire face flushed red while Aditya being the thick-skinned and shameless, he looked at Sophie and nodded his head. "We will be there in a minute."

Meanwhile, Sophie couldn't help but smile. There was an extra touch of satisfaction in her smile. There is no way an experienced woman like her would mistake what she just saw. "Hehe!"

"Did something made you happy?" Adam asked seeing his wife smiling happily.

"It's secret." Sophie mischievous winked her right eye at Adam. Adam couldn't stop himself from smiling as this was the wink that initially captured his heart in his younger days. If Sophie had not accepted him, the poor man still would have been a virgin given how fierce and wild he is.

But in front of his wife, he is like a tamed cat. If people saw the wild lion of the Kingdom of Echo Dominion acting like a tamed cat, they would call him a chicken. But Adam had no problem being called a chicken. In the house, he always listened to his wife's words. He had no problem listening to his wife's words as he doing it out of love. While other dukes had multiple wives to produce multiple heirs, Adam on the other hand feared that marrying someone else would break his family.

On the other hand, an entire minute passed no one said anything. Aditya gave her time to calm down. He knew if he said something at this moment, he would be labeled as the big bad bully.

"Shall we go?" Aditya asked gently to which the alchemy goddess replied with a small nod. Both of them quietly walked through the long corridor.

After reaching the dining table, Aditya was expecting to see a big dining table. But Sophie and Adam were sitting on a small table big enough for 4 or 5 people. "My mom thinks that it's more enjoyable to eat food in a small. It's easier to talk with family members and is more comfortable." If Adam is hosting any gathering or party or some big nobles are coming to visit him, only then the small table would be replaced with a big long dining table.

Aditya nodded while approaching the dining table. The more time he spent in this Castle, the more he realized just how much of a perfect wife Julia's mother, Sophie is. While he has been expecting to be looked down on by her parents given the huge gap between them, they were totally different from what he had expected. This made Aditya very relieved. Though he still cannot understand why Adam is always so hostile to me.

"Walter, have you eaten?" Julia asked as she sat opposite facing her mother.

"This humble servant has eaten a few hours ago. Thank you for asking." While it's considered rude and disrespectful for servants, maids, and butlers to have their food before their master, Sophie did the opposite.

Behind Julia Aditya also walked toward the dining table. As he approached the dining table, once again he found Adam glaring at him like he was looking at his biggest enemy.

Aditya sat next to Julia as Sophie started serving the food. "Walter, you can leave us alone."

"Understood, milady" After giving a small bow, Walter retreated without making any noise. For some reason after spending a little time here, Aditya was starting to feel that compared to Watson, Walter was a better butler. Walter looked, sounded, and acted more professionally.

After Walter the family along, Sophie turned her attention to the man whom she already considered her son-in-law. Aditya wasn't trying to pretend to be polite, in front of them he didn't have the Aura of a ruler.

In his previous life, Aditya has always followed the rule of not bringing politics into family matters. He was not to show off or flex his achievements. Aditya was doing the same in this life.

"Alright, let's start eating. Aditya, you can go first." He nodded his head as he looked at the small piece of magical beast's meat that has been fired. Just from the appetizing aroma, he knew that every dish on the table would be very delicious.

Using the pair of chopsticks, he put the meat in his mouth. "How is it?" Sophie gently asked with a smile.

"It's really good."

"Hmph! Of course, it would be good. The food was cooked by my wife after all." Adam snorted and also started eating.

'Oh! What do we have here? Hehe! It looks like just like the daughter, the father is also a tsundere. Now I know from whom Julia got her tsundere personality.' From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Julia who was elegantly having her food but on the other hand, her father's eating was far from elegance.

'It seems this tsundere personality runs deep in the Onard family bloodline. If it wasn't for Miss Sophie's teaching, Julia's personality might have become more fierce and wild just like her father.' Just imagining Julia with a wild and savage personality like her father, made him shiver.

"Aditya, why don't tell us a little bit about your Kingdom? I heard that the Istarin kingdom has been rapidly expanding and growing." Sophie started a conversation with Aditya while Julia and Adam remained quiet and ate their food. Occasionally she and Adam would make a comment or two.

"What about the merit system that you implemented in your Kingdom?" It was Adam who asked the question. Adam and Sophie have been keeping an eye on the changes going on in the Istarin Kingdom. When Aditya came up with the Merit point system, Adam and Sophie were greatly shocked as no Kingdom in the world had adopted this kind of system.

"In my opinion, the merit point system will greatly boost your Kingdom's military in short term. But in long term, I am not sure about that." Adam wanted to see if Aditya would know what problem he was talking about.

"If Uncle is talking about corruption then yes this will become a problem in the future. No matter what place, time, or era it is, corruption will always exist." Aditya said the latter part as a reference to all the corruption in his country and other foreign countries. Corruption can bring a nation to its knees by draining its wealth.

Adam and Sophie were secretly a little surprised given how calm Aditya was. "Since you look so calm, I assume that you already have a plan to prevent corruption in your Kingdom."

Aditya nodded his head in response. "As the King, I will need eyes to oversee the events happening in every corner of my Kingdom." Adam and Sophie what he meant by eyes. Aditya was calm because he had eyes all over his Kingdom even though he was away from his Kingdom. The Majins were doing their jobs pretty well. Every corrupt official was being monitored and then publicly executed for corruption which planted the seed of fear in other officials' hearts and kept them away from betraying the Kingdom.

Even though he wouldn't admit it, but Adam was already very impressed with Aditya. Aditya was so young yet he was so talented. "Okay. Let me ask you this, what would you do if one of your Duke became powerful enough to even threaten you?"

Aditya calmly ate another piece of magical beast-fired meat and looked at Adam with a small smile. "It depends. if the Duke is someone that I trust fully, then letting him become powerful is not a harmful thing. But if the Duke is someone who has the intention of going against the royal order and going against the King, then I have the means to deal with them before they could even think of taking any actions against me."

Aditya has made all of the governors accept the contract. With the contract, if they even think of going against him, the contract will rip their souls. Also, Aditya was thinking of giving his governors a drop of his blood and turning them into his dragonians. Even if the whole world turns against him, his dragonians will never even think of betraying him. Aditya knew for a fact that his Dragonians will become the main and strongest power point of his Kingdom.

"Let's stop with all this political nonsense and enjoy our dinner together. Julia, how have you been doing in the Istarin kingdom?"

Hearing the question, Aditya's body turned stiff. He nervously glanced at Julia. Aditya is not sure how Adam would react when he hears that his daughter has been working as a maid for 2 years.

Chapter 77

This Bonus Chapter is dedicated to the reader "SunChaos_210" for gifting a capsule to this novel. Thank you very much for the gift, "SunChaos_210"

"Let's stop with all this political nonsense and enjoy our dinner together. Julia, how have you been doing in the Istarin kingdom?"

Hearing the question, Aditya's body turned stiff. He nervously glanced at Julia. Aditya is not sure how Adam would react when he hears that his daughter has been working as a maid for 2 years.

"I have been doing fine. Living in the Istarin Kingdom has taught me many things. I was able to meet new kinds of people and learn many new things. At first, I guess I had some trouble adapting living to a new place. But with time, the Istarin Kingdom became my second home."

As a mother, Sophie can see just how much her daughter has matured as a person. When Julia left a few years ago, her father wanted to destroy the Istarin Kingdom to bring her daughter back. But Sophie convinced Adam that their daughter needs to face this alone. Julia has been living under her parent's protection her whole life. She needed real-life experience to mature as a person.

At first, she hated and cursed her fate. Whenever she looked at the drunken face of the man who was her husband in name, she always got angry. She hated every moment, every second of working seeing his drunken face. It made her sick.

But one day the man she looked down upon changed. It was like the man had shed his skin and become a person. His personality, his behavior, his way of thinking, everything about him changed. Though his face remained the same, his personality had completely changed.

"Here eat this fish. I can't finish it." Under the stunned gaze of Sophie and Adam, their daughter gave Aditya the fired fish. Aditya accepted the fish and continued eating. The way she just causally gave the fired fish to Aditya looked very natural.

"Aditya, do you have any plans of returning to your family one day?" Everyone at the table stopped eating and stared at Aditya. This question was a serious and sensitive question. Aditya has never shown any look of pain or anger for being kicked out of the royal family. If he had not been kicked out, then he would have become the King of the strongest Kingdom in the whole world.

In the past, Julia and Watson also have thought of asking the same question to the man who achieved so much in 2 months. They wanted to know how he felt being kicked out of his royal family.

Aditya put the chopsticks on the table and looked at Sophie. The expression on his face was cold and there was a trace of sadness in his eyes. "No. I have no plans of returning to the royal family. I was abandoned and thrown away so far away from home."

"Besides, I don't think my parents would be interested in raising a child that couldn't activate dragon bloodline."

"That's not true. You have awakened your Bloodline. Not just any bloodline, Heavenly dragon bloodline. In fact, it's the other way around. It's your parents who are not worthy of calling you their child."

"Heavenly dragon bloodline..." Adam and Sophie stared at each other in a deep state of shock. How many dragons in this whole world had a heavenly dragon bloodline? The answer is no one. Not even the dragon king had a heavenly bloodline.

Meanwhile, the alchemy goddess, the future queen of the Dragon King was fuming in anger. Yes, she hated the Aditya that drank alcohol all day long. But she also felt sad, angry, and pity for Aditya who was thrown from the top of the mountain to a wasteland. "If I ever see your parents, I will slap them to death."

The Dragon King smiled as his heart felt warm seeing the goddess getting angry for him. This showed just how much the alchemy goddess has come to care about him. "Calm down." Aditya patted her right shoulder.

"Aditya I apologize for asking you such questions." Sophie realized that she shouldn't have asked this kind of question at the dining table.

"Aunty, there is no need to apologize. I simply don't care." Julia looked at Aditya and then continued eating. She now had lost the appetite to continue eating.

"By the way, Uncle I have a request."

Adam put the rice bowl down. "What is it, kid?"

"Actually I am a runemaster. I was hoping if I can borrow some books advanced rune books."

Sophie and Adam were once again surprised. "Oh, you know rune spells?"

"Actually, Aditya is a 2-star runemaster. During the war with the Zulux Dynasty, his rune spells played a big role." The future queen looked very proud when she said those words.

"I didn't know you were so talented." Runes were the same as solving mathematics. Runemasters were very difficult to produce. Even the house of Onard only had only one 3-star runemaster and a few 2-star runemasters.

"I am not that talented. I have learned a bit under King Ahmed." Aditya lied since the previous king, his adopted father didn't know a thing about runes. But it was the only way he could answer how he learned about runes when he always was busy drinking.

"Kid, I have a 3-star runemaster working for me. If you want I can order him to teach you. If you wish to read books on runes, you can just head to the library." Aditya noticed the hostility in Adam's eyes has decreased significantly. It seems the man was beginning to accept him as his son-in-law.

"Thank you, Uncle."

"You can just call us father and mother."

"Ptttt!.....Cough...Cough!!!"

"Alright, you can continue to call us uncle and aunt." Seeing him looking so nervous, Sophie did not pursue this matter further.

"Now that our daughter has returned, it won't be long before the news spread throughout the kingdom. Should we take this chance to announce our daughter's engagement to Aditya?"

Aditya was expecting Julia to protest but instead, she lowered her head and continued eating. He can see that her ears were red.

"Isn't it too fast?" Everyone would expect the future husband of the Alchemy Goddess and the most beautiful woman on the continent to be a person with high status and social standing.

"Kid, what are you talking about? Are you playing with my daughter?" Aditya felt the killing intent in his eyes increasing.

"Calm down dear. Aditya, once the news of our daughter returning home spreads, many nobles, and kings will come with marriage proposals for their sons. Even when she left home a few years ago, every day many big nobles came to ask for Julia's hand in marriage."

"Do you understand what that means?" Aditya nodded in response. When the news of Aditya being kicked out of the royal family spread, all the people in the continent danced in happiness. Without the royal family backing him up, the contract had no meaning to them. They can have some chances of marrying one of the goddesses. This is what was happening with Julia.

"By announcing her engagement, even though there is a chance that the Onard family might end up offending some people, at least no one will come to ask for our daughter's hand."

"Of course I understand, that by letting your name be known, some jealous people will try to take revenge on you by attacking your Kingdom. So for now, we will use a different identity. You will be Aditya, a 2-star runemaster whom the princess of the Onard family has liked and picked as her future husband."

Aditya lacked nothing. He had a heavenly dragon bloodline which meant that as long as he was given time he would reach the 7th order in the far future. Besides having a heavenly dragon bloodline, the way he was developing his kingdom, it won't be long before the Istarin Kingdom becomes of the biggest and strongest Kingdom on the whole continent.

Others might think that Aditya wasn't worthy, but in Sophie and Adam's eyes, he was the worthiest man in the world. Most important of all, their daughter also loved her fiance which was the biggest reason why Sophie and Adam even though he didn't want to, had accepted him.

"That's perfect. In half month, Julia's birthday is also coming. I think it would be the perfect time to introduce Aditya as her fiance." Adam nodded. Even though he didn't want to admit it but compared to those trash sons of dukes and nobles, Aditya's character was 100 times better.

The dinner went on for almost 2 hours as Sophie and Adam continued asking many things to Julia and Aditya. As time passed, Aditya noticed that Adam's hostility toward him was also decreasing which was a good thing.

"Kid, if you want to learn from a runemaster you better get up early in the morning."

"Good Night Aditya."

"Good Night Aunty"

"Mom, I am going to take a look after my lab." Julia was away from home for a few years. She has been dying to see the condition of her lab.

"Sure, but don't stay up late." While Julia went to her lab, Aditya returned to his bedroom and laid down after wearing his pajamas.

"Before 15 days, I will have to reach 3rd-order."

Chapter 78

The next day, Aditya woke up very early in the morning. Repeatedly waking up at the same time, he has developed a natural alarming system. Back in his castle, he usually would get up very early in the morning and practice sword arts for an hour or two.

The reason Aditya did this was that he sucked at using a sword. Most of his battles were won with agility. In terms of sword skills, Aditya barely comes in the basic mastery category. So every morning, while others slept, he got up and practiced sword arts with some guidance from Watson.

After practicing for an hour or two, he would take a cold shower and then practice his rune skills. Being a 2-star runemaster, there was a lot of things that Aditya still needed to try. He still wants to try making a mana gathering formation or defense formation and all kinds of stuff. Only by practicing, Aditya can become an expert.

After an hour of rune practice, he would have breakfast with Julia, Watson, and his generals. No one would have complained if Aditya did not share his dining table with his generals. But he did that to forge a close bond with everyone. Also, the food tastes extra better when it's shared with other people.

After having breakfast, Aditya would assume his role as the Dragon King. He would go through various papers, documents, and all. 90% of his time was always spent in his office.

"I guess it's not a bad thing to take a break or two." The work was so intense that many times Aditya had to skip sleeping at night. Now finally after a whole month of endless work, Aditya was finally having a break and time to focus on building himself.

"Should I just go back to sleep?" For some hesitation, Aditya decided to continue practicing his sword skills.

[Today is difficult. Tomorrow will be even more difficult. But The Day After Tomorrow Is Beautiful.] Whenever Aditya felt lazy and unmotivated, he would always say these words in his mind. Disciple and hard work were necessary to achieve success in life.

After washing up, he changed his clothes and went out of his bedroom. Since it was very early in the morning, the whole castle was very quiet. Without trying to make any noise, Aditya reached the living where he found Walter and the maids cleaning and talking among themselves.

Walter noticed Aditya. He walked up to him and slightly bent his body to bow to Aditya. "Good morning, young Master."

"Good morning Walter. Do you usually get up this early?"

"Yes. As the servant of the house of Onard, it is my duty to get up very early in the morning." The maids stopped cleaning and stared at Aditya for a few seconds before they saw Walter's cold glare. The maids quickly resumed their work but occasionally they would take a peak to look at the face of Miss Julia's fiance.

"Young Master, do you need anything? To be honest I am a little surprised to see you wake up this early in the morning." Walter has met many people in his almost 2 century-long old life. In his opinion, Aditya was the most humble and kind young master he has ever met. Walter can kind of understand why his twin brother Watson stayed behind to serve this man.

"Haha! I am used to waking up very early in the morning to practice my sword skills. Walter, can you please show me where the training ground is?" Hearing Aditya's words Walter was kind of stunned.

Aditya was only 19 years old. Considering how young he is, he can already be considered a genius for reaching Mid 2nd-order. His talent was enough to give him the title of a genius yet he was waking up very early in the morning just to practice his sword skills. This made Walter respect Aditya from the bottom of his heart.

There was countless genius born on the continent but not everyone had the same determination as Aditya to leave the comfy bed and get up very early in the morning just to practice sword skills.

"Young Master, would you like to train alone or would you like to train with others?" Because at this time the soldiers would also get up to train. The soldiers had to wake up at this time and train for several hours before they were given breakfast.

"To be honest, I am not that good at using swords, so I guess having a guide or partner would greatly help me." Aditya felt a little embarrassed to say these words. If only his past self had not been a lazy person, then Aditya wouldn't have to learn this kind of thing.

"Alright, come with me, young master."

"Walter, why are you here?" Seeing Walter at the training ground, a man with a red mustache stepped forward.

Aditya glanced at the man who stood in front of Walter. The man was 5 feet 9 inches tall, the same height as Aditya. The man had short spiky red hair and a long scar on his right cheek. The man had pointy ears. His body was muscular and he was holding a black greatsword in his right hand.

"Before I say anything, this is Lady Julia's fiance. His name is Aditya. Young Master wants to spar and wants to learn."

The man narrowed his eyes hearing that his man with long blue hair was Lady Julia's fiance. The news was too sudden even for him. "Walter, are you lying?"

"Of course not. Master said that on the upcoming princess's birthday, he will announce the engagement to the whole world." The man took a deep breath and nodded his head. The news was just too sudden for him.

"What?"

Hearing Watson's words, the soldiers who were training also stopped. They all looked like they have been struck by a bolt of lightning. Their mouths were wide enough to fit an egg inside.

The training ground was similar to the training ground that Aditya had built for his troops to train. Except this one was almost 4 times bigger. There were more than 5,000 soldiers training, sparring against each other. And right now everyone in the training ground was looking at Aditya in a deep state of shock.

The princess of Onard Noble Household, the most beautiful woman on the continent, the alchemy goddess, was engaged to a man. The news was just too shocking for them to digest.

The half-elf stared at Aditya for an entire minute. No matter how much he looked he still couldn't understand why this man was the princess's future husband. Given how beautiful, how talented, and how big Julia's background is, even the continent's biggest genius wouldn't be worthy of standing beside her.

'I don't understand what uniqueness this man has that made Lord Adam choose him as her daughter's fiance. If we are talking about cultivation, then yes reaching Mid 2nd-order by the age of 19 is a feat of a genius. But there are hundreds of geniuses who are 100 times better than this man. This continent's best geniuses who stand at the top already have reached 3rd-order or above, if those geniuses are not given a chance of marrying lady Julia then why a man like him is given the chance of marrying Lady Julia?'

"My name is Eddie Wood." Eddie was not convinced. He has been watching and looking after Lady Julia as she grew up. In Eddie's opinion, Aditya is simply not worthy of becoming Lady Julia's husband. Compared to the princes, and sons of Dukes, what background did this man have?

Aditya sensed the hostility in Eddie's eyes. Aditya instantly understood why this man looked so unhappy and slightly angry with Aditya. He has been expecting to face this kind of situation from the moment Julia asked him to meet her parents.

Eddie addressed Aditya by his name without any formality. Showing that he didn't respect Aditya. "Aditya, if you want to learn from me, first I will need to face just how good you're. Do you mind if we have a small spar?" Aditya inwardly smiled. There was no way he can't feel the fighting intent in Eddie's eyes. At this point, Eddie wasn't even bothering to hide the contempt and disdain in his eyes.

'So he wants to test me. Bring it on.' Aditya was not afraid. As a dragon, he welcomed challenges with open arms.

"Alright."

Walter became nervous. He can see the dissatisfaction in Eddie's eyes. Knowing Eddie's personality, the half-elf was looking to bully Aditya in the name of a spar. "Young Master, please reconsider, Sir Eddie is a beginner 4th-order cultivator, while you're a mid-2nd-order cultivator. I mean no disrespect but you cannot fight him." Walter did not want to see Aditya being humiliated by Eddie in front of so many soldiers.

"Don't worry, for this fight, I will lower my strength to match yours." Eddie said quickly fearing that Aditya will back out from the fight after hearing his cultivation level.

"Walter, I appreciate your concerning words but I will be fine." Aditya looked around. Even a fool can see the dissatisfaction in the soldier's faces. Just like Eddie, they too also thought that Aditya was not worthy. He needed to display his strength to prove that he was indeed worthy of standing together with Julia.

"Are you ready?"

Thank you for all the golden tickets and gifts. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 79

This Bonus Chapter is dedicated to the reader "Zeko323" for gifting a Dragon to this novel. Thank you very much for the gift, "Zeko323"

Under Walter's nervous and concerned gaze, Aditya and Eddie stood opposite facing each other. The soldiers also stopped sparring and moved back to give space for Sir Eddie and Aditya to fight.

"Are you ready?" Eddie asked as his eyes radiated killing intent. He couldn't wait to beat the hell out of Aditya.

"Yes, I am ready." Under everyone's shocked gaze, Aditya's both arms transformed into dragon claws.

His arms were covered in red Crimson scales that seems to have a unique shine. His fingers turned into a dragon-sharp and long dragon claws. Both of his arms were shining in Crimson light.

'So he is a dragon.' Eddie and others realized that the future husband of the princess is actually a dragon. Even Walter also looked very surprised. He did not know that Aditya was a dragon.

'What kind of dragon is he? He suppressed his bloodline to the extent that I assumed that he was a human.' Walter wondered as stared at his arms.

Not every dragon had the power to suppress its bloodline. Even beginner 4th order Eddie, couldn't sense Aditya's bloodline even though he was only a few meters away from him. Ignoring everyone's surprised gazes, Aditya took out his Peak 2-star sword that he had enchanted with runes.

"I am ready"

Booom!

The ground beneath Eddie and Aditya shattered into pieces as they charged at each other.

Clang!

Everyone heard the clunking sound of sword and greatsword colliding.

Clang! Clang!

After a few clashes, both of them retreated back and waited for the other party to attack. Eddie was a little impressed. Though he suppressed his speed to mid 2nd-order, he did not hold back in using his strength. Each of his strikes was enough to kill a beginner 3rd-order, yet Aditya managed to defend without taking any injuries.

Aditya stared at Eddie. He could feel his arms getting numb. Each strike of the greatsword was filled with power that even a 3rd order would have trouble defending against. If he had not transformed his arms into dragon claws, just the shockwave of their clashes would have cracked his arms bones if not broken his arms bones.

Crack!

Everyone on the training ground heard the lightning cracking sound that came from Aditya. When they closely looked at his body, they found dark blue lightning was flickering around his body. With each passing second, the blue lightning around his body kept on increasing.

Lightning Dash!

Booom!

Under everyone's shocked gaze, Aditya disappeared as they kept hearing lightning cracking sounds. Even Walter rubbed his eyes several times in shock seeing how just Aditya moved. He no longer can see Aditya. The only thing he and others saw was a circle of blue flashes of lightning moving around Eddie.

Swoosh!

'He is fast. His speed is even higher than some Peak 3rd-order.' At this moment Eddie might look calm outside, but his heart wasn't calm at all. A mid 2nd-order moving at the speed faster than most Peak 3rd-order is unheard of.

Eddie tightly gripped the black greatsword as he waited for his attack. This battle long had passed the mark of second order.

Aditya moved 10 meters radius around Eddie. At this moment he was moving at the speed of [600+]. With each step he took, the ground beneath him slightly trembled.

'Here it comes.' Eddie felt the ground beneath him tremble for a small second. To his shock, the ground itself suddenly turned into magma. But before the magma touched his feet, he had jumped using all of his strength.

Booom!

The strength of a beginner 4th-order cannot be underestimated. Eddie easily was able to jump 15 meters in the air.

Aditya did not stop running in a circle even though Eddie had jumped in the air. Just as Eddie jumped from the ground, seven red crimson bolts of lightning headed toward him from 7 directions.

Crimson Blink!

The attack took Eddie off guard. After all, he wasn't prepared for anything like this. He still managed to react in time and block one of the crimson lightning bolts using his black greatsword.

Booom!

Everyone in the training ground couldn't believe it. Some of their bodies even trembled in fear. As the dust settled down, they found their teacher and also their commander with several injuries. The Shirt that Eddie was previously wearing was burned. Everyone saw several deep burning marks on his chest, back, shoulders, and on his thighs. The burning mark on his back was the worse, as some part of his flesh was also burned.

"No way, the commander was actually injured by a Mid-2nd-order."

"This should be impossible."

"This is in fact impossible. What we're seeing is not less than a miracle."

Neither party was holding back. Eddie at first simply wanted to teach William a lesson by using his strength. But who would have thought that the lady Julia's future husband would be this powerful? Powerful enough to harm a beginner 4th-order.

Swoosh!

Aditya appeared 20 meters away from Eddie. 'To think my Crimson blink can only do this much damage to him shows just how strong a 4th-order really is.' If Aditya had used the same move against Peak 3rd-order, he was 100% sure that 3rd-order would have instantly died. But Eddie was able to take on his attack only to end up with some 3rd-degree burns.

Eddie did not say a word rather the killing intent in his eyes only increased. A mid 2nd-order managing to land injuries on a beginner 4th order is unheard of. Right now Eddie wanted nothing more than to fight Aditya without holding back at all.

Eddie was the general and also the commander of Lord Adam. He has led troops to many battles and has managed to win all of them. He even forgot how long it has been since the last time he was injured. Now that he finally has found an opponent that could injure him, he wanted to fight. He totally forgot that Aditya was Lord Adam's guest and most importantly Lady Julia's husband.

Eddie raised the 1 meters long black greatsword above his head as he began condensing more and more of his mana in his greatsword, causing a faint blue Aura to surround the black greatsword. The faint blue Aura that was surrounding the black great sword started expanding in length.

Aditya, Walter, and other soldiers looked up and were horrified to see a 20 meters long blue transparent energy spiraling around the black greatsword.

"Eddie, stop. You're going too far." Walter desperately shouted as he believed that there was no way Aditya could take the attack. This attack would also damage a large of the castle itself.

However, Eddie was deeply immersed in the battle. He does not know how long it has been since he found someone who can give him a good fight.

Great Calamity Slash!

If Walter had the strength, the power, the agility, then he would have rushed to save Aditya from this horrifying attack.

The attack descended on Aditya at lightning speed.

Booooooooooooooom!

A thunderous sound shook the entire city of Apogale. All the citizens who were sleeping peacefully were instantly awakened by the thunderous roar of heaven. The castle and the areas around the castle began shaking as if some great earthquake had come.

"Young Master." Walter and all the soldiers were blown away from the shockwave of the attack. If someone looked in the direction of the Onard family castle, then they would see a giant mushroom cloud rising in the air.

The roar of heaven also awakened Julia, Zak, Adam, and his wife Sophie from their sleep. "Did someone attack our Castle?" Adam instantly rushed out of his room while Sophie and Julia hurriedly changed their pajamas before also running out of their rooms.

Meanwhile, the entire training ground which was 5 km big, and a big part of the castle were destroyed by the attack. All the soldiers who were standing at the side were blown away by the explosion of shockwave-like leaves.

The only person who was still standing in the middle of the shockwave was Eddie himself. Dust and pebbles were flying around, making it difficult for him to see anything. He simply stood still as he can still feel that Aditya was still alive.

"What happened here?" Adam, Sophie, Julia, and her little brother Zak arrived near the training ground. The only thing they saw was dust flying everywhere. Because of the dust, no one was able to see what just had happened.

"Walter" Sophie noticed Walter lying next to the wall. His face looked pale. Sophie runs to Walter's side and hurriedly fed him a healing potion.

Cough! Cough!

Walter coughed out a mouthful of blood.

"What happened here?" Adam asked while barely restraining his killing intent. He has known as the Savage Lion for no reason. Not even the Emperor has the balls to just directly attack his Castle.

Cough!

"Young master and Eddie....." Before Walter could finish the rest of the sentence, he lost his consciousness and fell to the ground.

But from these 3 words, everyone instantly understood what was happening. Julia's face turned pale as her body began to shiver in fright. Her eyes instantly turned red as tears filled her eyes.

Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!

Chapter 80

This Bonus Chapter is dedicated to the reader "donotwatchme1" for gifting a Dragon to this novel. Thank you very much for the gift, "donotwatchme1"

But from these 3 words, everyone instantly understood what was happening. Julia's face turned pale as her body began to shiver in fright. Her eyes instantly turned red as tears filled her eyes. Julia suddenly felt her head was getting heavy. She nearly fell down if Sophie had not supported her body.

"Daughter won't worry."

"But Aditya..." Julia felt choked. Even though she bite that bad man, fought with him, and sometimes even punched him, she deeply loved that bad wolf.

"Don't worry, your man is still alive." As a 4th-order Adam still can sense Aditya. Even though the cloud of dust was pretending him from seeing anything else.

Her dad's words worked like medicine. She instantly felt relieved. The burden in her heart instantly disappeared. "Dad, is he alright?" Meanwhile, the little brother of Julia wondered who this man was. He wanted to see the face of the man for whom his dear sister shed tears for.

"I am not sure. But he is alive." Adam also calmed down a little knowing that bastard was still alive. Sophie also sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Aditya could be seen standing on the ground and breathing heavily.

Huff! Huff!

His upper wear was burned from the shockwave. The shockwave itself was more dangerous than he assumed. Despite protecting his body using mana and his dragon scales, he still suffered some burns and injuries from the shockwave of the attack.

Right before Eddie launched his attack, the dragon king had used one of his passive skill

Blast of Divine Fury!

[All of the host stats except for Mana will be temporarily increased by 50%]

Activating the skill increased Aditya's stats by 50%. Meaning that his agility which had reached [600+] after activating Lightning dash was further increased by 50%. Before the Great Calamity slash fell on him, he was able to barely dodge the attack using his [900+] agility.

Huff! Huff!

"Even if my stats increase because of my skills, my physical body is simply not strong enough to handle the shockwave of a 4th-order attack." If Aditya had not used mana to protect his body, his entire body would have exploded in a bloody mist. Even then he still suffered a lot of injuries.

His upper body was burned and was bleeding. He wanted to scream as loud as he can. The pain was just too much.

"Aditya, I know you're still alive. Since you have pushed me this far. Let's continue this battle, till we have a real winner." Eddie sounded super excited as he said those words.

Adam and Sophie instantly frowned hearing Eddie's voice. Julia also felt hatred for Eddie. "You should him before things get out of hand. He already has destroyed a large part of the castle."

"No, I say we let them continue. Aditya still can hold his ground against a 4th-order." Just as Adam said those words, the training ground which was covered with clouds of dust was dispersed by a wave of Crimson red flame.

"What is that?" Sophie felt fear seeing the Crimson red flame. She instinctively pulled Zak and Julia behind her to protect them.

"This is the Crimson flame. The most powerful flame in the whole world. Just how did this kid have the Crimson flame?" Adam never saw the Crimson flame with his eyes but he had heard that this flame was terrifying. The flame's temperature was even higher than the temperature of magma.

Eddie standing 50 meters away from Aditya saw the wave of Crimson flame rising in the air.

"Hahaha! This is what I am talking about." Eddie no longer had that calm look on his face. He laughed and behaved like a crazy person. Being trained under Adam, Eddie also was a battle maniac.

Eddie closed his right palm and formed a fist. He then condensed all of his Mana in his right fist and punched the ground that now had become a huge crater. The previous explosion had turned the entire training ground into a giant crater more than 500 meters deep.

Boom!

"Mom, what is that?" Zak was clearly frightened by the wave of water that rose behind Eddie.

"That bastard, why is he using this kind of attack here?" Even though Adam said these words in anger, he failed to realize that he was also showing an excited smile on his face. He simply couldn't wait to see how just powerful Aditya.

Great Tsunami!

Boooom!

In just 5 seconds a huge wave of water formed behind Eddie. "Aditya, you better give all in this attack otherwise you will die."

Eddie stood on the top of the water.

"Goooo"

The tsunami was 30 meters tall, taller than the entire castle, and 100 meters wide.

Adam's face changed as he hurriedly used his mana to protect the soldiers who already had lost consciousness from the previous explosion. Some soldiers who were standing near instantly died from the shockwave, while most of them suffered serious burns.

"Sophie protect the children." Sophie nodded as she also created a while mana barrier around them. Julia also used her power to create another extra layer of mana barrier. While Zak shrunk down and hid behind his mother's legs.

"This Crimson King will never back out from a fight." Two pairs of red Crimson wings appeared on Aditya's back. He flew 30 meters above the ground as he used Crimson Blaze.

Bang!

Breaking the ground, the Crimson flame started rising in the air. The Crimson flame wave was 30 meters big and 50 meters wide. Just the high temperature of the flame caused the Castle to start burning. Even though Adam and his family were standing almost 1.9 km away from Aditya, they still can feel the terrifying temperature of those Crimson flames.

Boooooom!

Two great forces of nature clashed. When the tsunami hit the Crimson flame, everyone noticed that the temperature of the Crimson flame was so high that just from a single touch, the water was evaporating, turning into mist.

Even though Eddie tried to overcome and defeat Aditya's flames, his greatest attack was turned into mist which instantly covered half of the city along with the castle and the training ground.

Huff! Huff!

"I am out of mana." While standing 500 meters deep in the middle of the crater, Eddie looked at the Crimson flame that still looked the same as before. If he had clashed against a normal fire-type cultivator, then he would have won. But what he faced was the strongest flame in the whole world.

Before clouds of dust were covering the training ground but now a thick layer of mist was covering the entire castle and half of the city.

"It looks like Aditya won." Adam was still shocked. How can a mere mid-2nd-order defeat a beginner 4th-order?

"Eddie, you gave your strongest attack, now allow me to present you my strongest attack." Hearing the loud voice, everyone raised their heads. Adam with a wave of his hand cleared the mist that was blocking their view.

When the mist was cleared, Eddie nearly lost his consciousness from shock seeing 50 meters big sphere made of Crimson flame rapidly descending toward him. The Crimson orb was 1 km above the sky. Everyone in the city was able to see the crimson orb and was frightened to death.

"What is he doing? This attack.....will destroy the whole city." Adam felt his throat getting dry. His heart beat wildly. Even he was not sure if he can defend against this kind of attack.

In the middle of the 50 meters giant sphere of Crimson flame, everyone saw a person rapidly descending toward Onard noble house's castle.

"Just how much mana does this kid has?" The only reason Aditya was able to keep on fighting this long was because of his mana. The black heart provided him with a huge supply of mana.

Eddie bitterly smiled seeing the 50 meters giant Crimson sphere descending toward him. There was no way he can stop or defend against this kind of attack. "I give up. I lose this battle."

Silence!

It was as if the entire city had heard those words. A beginner 4th-order surrendering in front of a mid 2nd-order. This kind of thing has never happened. Adam and Sophie were also frightened. If Aditya was this horrifying strong being still being at Mid 2nd-order, how powerful he will become once he reaches 4th-order?

"I win." Aditya extended his Crimson dragon wings and stopped when he was 500 meters above the ground. The Crimson flame around him started disappearing. From this height, he can see how just big the crater was.

The crater was 500 meters deep and more than 1000 meters wide. In the middle of the crater, Eddie was kneeling on the ground as he stared at Aditya with endless respect and admiration in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Julia treated Walter with a healing pill. When he regained his consciousness, the first thing he saw was Aditya standing 500 meters above the sky and looking down like a true overlord.

"If he is not worthy, then no one else is worthy."

3rd chapter of the day!!! Thank you for all the golden tickets!!!!

Chapter 81

Eddie stared at the sky while kneeling on the ground. For a moment he felt like he was staring at God. In the next few seconds, he lost consciousness due to the lack of mana. Meanwhile, Adam and everyone in the city stared at the figure with red crimson wings flying standing in the air.

Huff! Huff!

By now Aditya was also starting to feel weak. His stats might be significantly improved but his body was not strong enough to take on the attack of 4th-order. While breathing heavily he flew down.

"It looks like in the heat of the battle, we have gone too far." 80% of the castle was either destroyed or burned because of his Crimson flames.

Aditya landed right before Adam and his family. He knew he would have to explain a lot of things. He was even ready to be scolded by Adam. But before anyone could say anything, Aditya nearly fell down when a figure jumped on him and tightly hugged his wounded body.

"You were too reckless."

Sigh!

"This was just a spar."

Adam and Sophie looked at each other and smiled. Others might have not noticed it but Aditya never transformed into a dragon while fighting Eddie. This told that he was still holding back while fighting Eddie.

"Walter tell me what happened here?" Adam cannot ignore this huge commotion. 80% of the castle was burned and destroyed. A few hundred soldiers died and the whole training ground had become a deep crater.

"Early in the morning, the Young master asked me if I can show him where the training ground was."

Meanwhile, Aditya was looking at the small boy who was also looking at him while hiding behind his mother. This boy little boy was Zak, Julia's little brother. Julia often talked about her little brother.

"This was supposed to be a small spar, but never did I expect that this small spar would turn into a life and death battle." After hearing the whole story, Adam did not look good. He felt so angry that if he could he would have torn Eddie with his bare hands.

"Walter, give Eddie a healing potion. bring him to me. I will personally punish that man for insulting my daughter's fiance. Aditya is part of the family. I will not tolerate it if someone insults my family."

Meanwhile, Julia stopped hugging him. She took out a 3-star healing potion and gave it to Aditya. "Seriously why do you even have to fight him?" Julia sounded angry. She was looking to see if he had any other wounds on his body.

Aditya couldn't help but smile. Even though he won't say it, in this fight, he had to prove that he was worthy of Julia. He was fighting with her. 'With my current stats, I can even fight against a beginner 4th-order. Maybe in my dragon transformation, I can fight a Mid-4th-order.'

A moment later, Eddie kneeling before Adam.

"Eddie, tell me why you did this?" Before the wild Lion, even Eddie felt scared. He lowered his head as his body slightly trembled in fear.

"I thought that Aditya wasn't worthy."

"Eddie, are you questioning me?"

"No, my lord. I wouldn't dare."

"Then why do you feel that Aditya is unworthy when I have accepted him as my daughter's fiance?"

Eddie's face turned pale as he realized his mistakes. "My lord, I have made a mistake. I would to redeem myself."

"Tell me what do you think of Aditya after this battle?" Adam asked instead of replying.

Eddie glanced at Aditya who standing next to Julia. "If he is not worthy, then no one is worthy."

"You will receive no salary for the next 5 years. Your salary will be used to reconstruct the castle. Now as punishment, I want you to cut off your right arm and right leg."

Eddie gritted his teeth and nodded. He had no regret. This fight bought him satisfaction and made him realize that there were many things that he needed to improve on.

Julia covered Zak's eyes as she didn't wish her little brother to see this kind of scene.

With a swing, Eddie cut off his left arm and left arm. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep his consciousness. He felt his mind was going to stop working from the pain itself. "Give him a 5-star healing pill."

After taking the 5-star healing pill, Aditya was shocked to see Eddie's left arm and left arm leg were regrowing. He heard that a 5-star healing pill can even bring a person from the brink of death. As long as a person has one single breath left in him, that person could be healed using a 5-star healing pill.

"Since you have dared to insult Aditya, from now on you will be Aditya's bodyguard as long as he stays here. You shall protect him all the time." Aditya raised an eyebrow. What Julia's father was thinking? Why would he need a bodyguard when he can even take on 4th-order?

"Understood my lord."

"Walter take Eddie with you and heal all the soldiers."

"Honey, I will have to go out for an hour." Adam needed to contact the construction team and also give an explanation to the citizen of this city.

"Alright." Adam then disappeared almost as if he had teleported.

"Are you alright?" Sophie worriedly glanced at Aditya.

"I am doing fine now." His skin was healing at rapid speed. In the next few hours, he should be completely recovered.

"Aditya, let me introduce you to the next head of the house of Onard. Come on don't be shy." The little boy came out of hiding and innocently looked at Aditya. The little boy looked very much like younger Adam. Except that he had purple color hair and purple color pupil. The boy was still wearing a cute set of pajamas.

"Zak, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Zak looked at Aditya for a few seconds before bowing his head. "Hello! My name is Zak Onard. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello, Zak! I am Aditya. You can just call me big brother." Zak shyly nodded his head.

Sophie was a little worried that Zak might not like Aditya but it seems she was worried for nothing. "Alright, Since we're awake I will go to make breakfast. Why don't the two of you play with Zak for a while?"

"Alright"

After Sophie left, Julia bought them to the garden where she used to play in her free time. The garden was located on the other side of the training ground. Fortunately, only a small part of the garden was destroyed.

"Welcome to the garden."

"This is a garden...?"

The garden was more like a forest with thick and long trees growing. "I thought mostly grew your herbs in the garden."

Julia rolled her eyes hearing his words. "I don't have time for gardening. And why should I try gardening herbs when I can buy them with money." What Julia said was true. Money was the only thing that Julia never lacked.

"Besides if I start gardening most of my free time will be wasted and I wouldn't have gotten time to play with my lovely brother." Saying that Julia rubbed Zak's purple hair making the little boy very happy.

"How old is he?"

"He should have turned 7 this year."

Even though the little boy looked like Adam. His character and personality were very different from his father's. Unlike that Savage man, he was more like Julia's mother. 'So the daughter has mother's appearance and father's fierce personality while the son was father's appearance but mother's personality.'

"Aditya, why don't you play with Zak for a while? I will be back in 5 minutes." Julia still hasn't washed her face or anything. Because of the explosion she just directly got up and run to if everything was alright.

"Alright." Aditya knew the reason. He did not stop her. He instead paid his attention to the little boy who was also curiously looking at him.

"Big brother, are you Big sister's boyfriend?"

Aditya smiled as he sat under the giant tree. He rested his back on the tree trunk while signaling the boy to sit next to him.

"Yes, I am your Big sister's boyfriend and also her future husband."

"Big brother, did you fight with Uncle Eddie?" Zak looked excited for some reason.

"Yes. Not just did I fight with him, but I also defeated your Uncle." Even Aditya himself was feeling a little proud of his accomplishment. He beat someone who was 2 orders above him. Something which is normally impossible to accomplish.

"Big brother, can you please show me some magic?"

"What kind of Magic?"

"I want to see those red Crimson flames. They looked so beautiful."

"Alright. But careful." With a snap of his finger, a fist size orb of crimson flame appeared 2 meters away from Aditya. He purposely lowered the temperature of the flame so that Zak wouldn't be harmed in any way.

After playing with Zak for a few minutes, Aditya couldn't help but ask. "Zak, do you know where your grandfather is? Have you ever met him?" Aditya asked curiously as neither Sophie nor Adam mentioned anything about their parents.

"I heard that my grandfather died while fighting the bad guys. As for my grandmother, I heard that she is in seclusion." Zak replied while chasing after the small wisps of crimson flames.

"Have you ever met your grandpa?"

"Nope. I only heard about her from my mother."

I have some internet issues so I will upload only one chapter today.

Chapter 82

Aditya played with Zak for 15 minutes. At first, Zak was a little shy and reserved toward him at the beginning. But as they played together, the little boy started telling him many things about Julia and about their family.

"Sorry, if I made you wait." Julia now had changed her clothes. Right now she was wearing a knee-length black long-sleeved V-neck dress, giving her a youthful vibe. Today she had tied her long purple hair in a ponytail, exposing her nape. Seeing her nape exposed, Aditya felt his throat getting a little dry. He felt his heart eagerly itching to kiss that place. She undoubtfully looked very pretty in that dress.

"You're later. You told us to wait 5 minutes but you ended up being 16 minutes late."

"Wow, big sister you look beautiful." Julia rubbed Zak's purple hair with a smile as they ignored Aditya as if he wasn't there at all.

"Mom asked me to wear this dress." Julia replied after playing with Zak for a few minutes.

"You indeed look very beautiful."

"Hmph! Of course, this princess looks pretty." Julia had a hidden smile as she played with Zak.

"Zak, don't you have school today?" Aditya raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Sister, I took a week's leave since you have returned home. I want to spend more time with you."

"Good Job. But you better not do it again."

"Of course. Hehe!"

"My parents wanted Zak to go to school and make friends. I also did the same thing when I was Zak's age. Of course, no one in the school, other than Zak's teachers and the principal knows about his real identity. To Zak's classmate, he is the son of a rich merchant." The common class people tend to keep a certain distance from nobles. It was mainly because of the noble's behavior.

Most nobles consider middle-class people as low-class people and wouldn't normally talk with them. They would always look down on middle-class people. Sophie and Adam wanted their children to be humble, kind, and gentle. They did not want their children to become arrogant like other noble children. This is also why she did not allow Zak to interact much with other noble children fearing that they will also influence Zak.

After Julia came the duo played with Zak for a while. While playing Aditya also learned many things about her family. Julia's two uncles. One of uncles was still unmarried as her uncle was focusing on reaching the peak of cultivation. Compared to two brothers, the 2nd uncle did not had much talent in cultivation. So became a merchant and after few years, he found someone that he liked. After getting married, Julia's 2nd uncle settled down in the beast continent.

"The last time I saw my 2nd uncle was when Zak was born. You know traveling from one continent to another takes a lot of time not to mention the dangers one has to face while traveling between two continents. So my uncle very rarely comes to see us." She deeply respected her 2nd uncle but she feel that family bond with 2nd uncle and his family. To her, 2nd uncle and his family is like a distant relative.

"Speaking of continent, I have some plans of traveling to other continents in near future. Maybe in a few month." Julia stopped playing with Zak. She raised her head and looked at Aditya to see what he was exactly thinking.

Seeing Julia's stare, Aditya decided to explain. "Julia this world is very big. Don't you also want to explore the world. Go to different continents and meet new people."

"So which continents are you planning on visiting in the near future?" Julia curiously asked. Even the Goddess of Alchemy has never went to another continent. Her parents felt that it would be too dangerous for someone like Julia to go to other continent. They feared if the people of that continent learned about her identity as the Goddess of Alchemy, they would try to capture her. Sometimes parents worries too much.

"Currently I have two continents in my head. First is the Westnia continent which I will have to visit with Alicia. And second is the Beast continent." In a few month he will have to go to Westnia continent with Alicia, the goddess of wealth. But before his trip, Aditya has to increase the power of his Kingdom so that even in his absence, others can protect and defend the kingdom from foreign attacks.

"I can understand that you're reason for going to Westnia continent but what about Beast continent." Zak had stopped playing and was paying attention to what Aditya and Julia was talking about. The little boy had an curious and adventurous mind. He also have dreamed of traveling to other continents.

"The beast continent has more than hundred variety of races inhabiting it. I want to explore that continent and also if possible, bring some beast men with me." Being beast men, their bodies was much stronger than humans. While an average human has the strength of [10], an average beastmen has the strength of [15] to [20]. Compared to an army of human soldiers, an army of beastmen would double if not triple the military strength of the kingdom. Beside beastmen are known for their undying loyalty. Once they considers someone has their friend, they won't even hesitate to give up their life for that friend.

From what Aditya has heard, the beastmen does not like other races especially the humans. Among all the races living in this world, humans are considered to be most cunning. All beastmen hates humans and does not like to interact with them. This is also why marriage between beastmen and human are very rare.

"When are you planning on going to the beast continent?" Julia curiously asked.

"Not sure. But I am planning on making this trip after I return from Westnia continent."

"Big brother! Big brother! Can I also come with you?" Zak excitedly asked as his eyes sparkled in stars.

Julia and Aditya looked at each other. Aditya does not want to break little Zak's heart by saying no. Even if Aditya wanted to take Zak with him, there was no way Sophie and Adam would allow Zak to visit a different continent. Aditya has seen just how protective Adam was about his family. If Aditya even asks Adam about taking Zak to a different continent, he was sure that his father-in-law would beat his ass.

"When I visit the beast continent, I will take you with me." Aditya couldn't bring himself to say no and break this child's heart.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

After a while, breakfast was finally ready. Everyone sat on the table. Zak was sitting in the middle with his big sister on his right and his big brother on his left.

"Kid, you wanted to learn from a runemaster right? Well, guess what he is here. After breakfast you can go and meet him. I also have convinced him to train you for next 14 days."

"Thank you Uncle." Given how useful and valuable runemasters are, no faction would let their runemaster teach a person from different faction. Aditya was very grateful to Adam and Sophie. Ever since the moment he came to this house, both of them have been treating him like their own family member.

"There is no need to thank a family member." Aditya nodded looking at Sophie.

"By the way kid, I have already told the whole city about you. After what you did, I thought it would be perfect time to tell the city about you. Now there are all sorts of rumor about you. When you go outside, you better be a little careful if you don't want any trouble. Even if get into trouble, don't worry I have your back." There was no way Adam would let anyone bully Aditya in his territory.

"Alright." Aditya did not cared about rumors or anything.

Before Adam and Sophie was worried that the nobles would try to bully Aditya after the engagement announcement is made. But now seeing how powerful he was, the Julia's parents no longer would have to worry about him being bullied. Aditya was more than strong enough to stand up for himself.

"Mom, I will be going out for a while."

"Where are you going?"

"I am going to meet my old friends. Its been ages since I last saw them. I would like to spend some time with them."

"Do you want to come with me?" Julia wanted to show her fiance to her friends but she was embarrassed to say it.

"I can meet them later. You should take this time to have some girls talk." Aditya knew from experience that girls talked about various things. Even a whole day of talking might not be enough for them.

"Hmph! I will just take Zak with me." Julia snorted and ate her food in a way like she was punishing them.

Aditya and Sophie looked at each other and sighed. Sophie and Aditya both knew this personality was inherited from Adam.

Sigh!

'I guess I should have agreed to go with her.' The main reason Aditya didn't go with her was because he was planning on spending the whole day on improving his rune skills. Unlike his War dancer class, the Rune Monarch class won't evolve to 3rd-order even if he levels up to 3rd-order. The only way to level up Rune Monarch class to 3rd-order would be through learning and practicing runes.

After breakfast, Julia and Aditya was going back to their rooms. While walking on the corridor, Aditya couldn't handle the awkward silence. The goddess refused to talk with him after he rejected her and was only giving her cold shoulder.

Sigh!

"When are you going to return?" Aditya asked after a long silence.

"I will return before dinner."

After an another minute of silence, Aditya opened his mouth. "I was thinking if we could meet up during evening."

Julia stopped walking. She looked at Aditya and smiled. "Sure we can meet up. 4 in the evening come to the western plaza,"

"Alright, I will be there in time." Since he was here, it wouldn't harm to have some fun and make some memories.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

For the next 4 days, I will be releasing one chapter and from next month, I will upload 2 chapters. I hope you guys will have some patience.

Chapter 83

Click!

Opening the door to the underground training room, Aditya found an old man sitting on the floor and drinking tea. The old man was wearing a simple white shirt and pants. The most eye-catching thing about the old man was his dark red eyes which looked very similar to his eyes. With a glance, Aditya knew that this old man was a vampire. The old man looked like he was about 60 years old or above. He had a long white beard on his chin and short white hair. The old man had a katana placed on his thighs.

Hearing the door opening sound, he put the teacup on the floor and then raised his head to look at the young man with long blue hair and a handsome face. "You must be Aditya, princess Julia's fiance."

"Yes, I am Aditya. It's nice to meet you." Since this old man was going to be teaching him, Aditya slightly bowed his head in respect.

"My name is Tobias. You can call me grandpa." Julia also called Tobias grandpa. Tobias was one of Adam's most trusted generals and the only runemaster of the Onard family. Tobias has been serving the Onard family for 3 generations now. In the Onard family, Tobias is considered an elder. Even Adam has to give some respect to him.

"Come and sit here." With a wave of his hand, a small table appeared before Tobias. Aditya nodded and sat on the other side of the table while facing Tobias.

"You want to learn advance rune spells right?" The Dragon king nodded his head in response.

"You're currently someone who has mastered the basics and now will start learning the advanced rune spells. How much do you exactly know about runes?"

This question itself made him feel a little confused. But after several seconds of thinking, he decided to answer the question using the knowledge he had of runes. "Runes are like mathematics. Just like with mathematics runes also keeps getting difficult with each level. Runes are a unique language that is used to control different forces of this world."

"Hmmmm…Anything else"

"At my current level, I can make mana gathering formation, 2-star defensive formation, 2-star attacking formation, paper explosions, basic weapon enchantment, soul contract, and also fire attribute rune spells."

"Alright, what do you think of runes?" This question only further increased his confusion.

"I guess I have made you confused. Let's rephrase my question. How do you use runes in battles? Do you think that runes are meant for support or for combat?"

"I always have used runes are supportive tools." Aditya used his knowledge to give runic enhancement to all the 2-star weapons in his treasury.

"This is where you're wrong."

Seeing Aditya's confused look, the old man smiled and said. "Let me explain. There are all kinds of runes. Runes can be used for attacking, defense, and supporting. Supporting runes are the easiest to learn. While formation runes are the hardest to learn."

"If you want to reach make 3-star runes you will need to choose what kind of rune expert you want to become."

"You got 3 paths, supportive runes, formation runes, and weapon enchantment runes. Supportive runes are the easiest but it gets very difficult to master supportive runes after a certain level. As for formation runes and weapon enchantment runes, these two paths are very difficult to master."

After thinking for a while, Aditya couldn't help but ask. "Why I can't learn all 3 paths at the same time?"

"Hahaha!" Instead of answering his question, the old vampire started laughing as if he had heard the funniest joke of the year.

After laughing for 5 minutes, the old man finally stopped. At this point, Aditya was frowning. He was confident that with his instant learning and adaptation skill and Rune Monarch class title, he can master all 3 paths.

"Boy, it's impossible. Every 3 paths are like trees. Each tree will open new branches and leaves. Forget about mastering all 3 paths. If you can master even one path, you would become one of the most powerful runemasters in the whole world. I never have heard of anyone who can master all 3 paths."

'But unlike others, I have Instant learning and adaptation innate skill and Rune Monarch class. I don't think anyone in this world has even heard of Rune Monarch class before.'

"Grandpa Tobias, can you tell me the name of your class?"

"My class is Rune Master."

"Have you ever heard of a class named Rune Monarch?" It was then Aditya enjoyed the change in Tobias's facial expression. He looked like someone who has been struck by a bolt of lightning.

"Wh….What did you say?"

"I asked if you know about Rune Monarch's class?"

For the next 5 minutes, Tobias did not say anything. Aditya observed the changes in his expression. In the end, he looked disappointed and sad.

Sigh!

"Boy, from where did you heard this name from?" Tobias old eyes suddenly looked very sharp. Almost as if he wouldn't hesitate to kill Aditya if he lied.

"I heard the name from reading an old book." Of course it was a big lie. There was no way he would smile like an idiot and tell him about his second class.

"Rune Monarch is a mythical class. In the history, one one person ever had this class. But before that person could reach the peak, he was betrayed and then killed. If he had reached the peak by mastering all the 3 paths, he would have become the most powerful being in the entire world. That time was also considered a golden period of runemasters. It is said that person taught thousands of people about runes. But with his death the golden period eventually came to end end."

'I never knew this Rune Monarch had such deep history.' Aditya felt kind of weird. He already had a heavenly dragon bloodline which no one in the whole world has. He now had a class that had the potential to make him the strongest being in the entire world. The system was very generous with its rewards.

"Enough talking. Since you want to master all 3 paths, I won't stop you. But aside from weapon enchantment, I don't have much knowledge about the other 2 paths. I have collected some books on other paths which I have kept in the library. You can take a look at those books when you have time."

"I will be teaching you about advance weapon enchantment." With the wave of his several 3-star weapons appeared in front of Aditya.

"There are many kinds of enchantment. Today

Just like any other day, Apogale city was lively as always. People were busy with their lives. But today was a little different. Unlike other days the citizen of the city had awakened by a noise of a thunderous explosion.

In front of a fancy restaurant, several girls were waiting with their boyfriends. "Do you know anything about the explosion that was heard all over the city?"

"I heard that general Eddie fought with Lord Adam's guest. The fight was so intense that almost 80% of the castle was destroyed. I even heard that General Eddie was strictly punished by Julia's father."

"Speaking of Julia, I have so many questions that I want to ask her."

"Yeah me too." 3 girls chatted with each other while their boyfriends stood together waiting for Julia.

Everyone stopped talking as they heard the sound of a carriage coming toward them. The golden carriage eventually stopped and a figure in a dark green dress came out of the carriage. For a moment everyone on the street forgot to speak as they were stunned by seeing just how beautiful she was.

After getting out of the carriage, Julia and the girls hugged each other. "How have you been?"

"It's been a long time."

"You suddenly left without informing us."

While the girls talked with each other, the boyfriends of those girls looked at each other. They haven't seen Julia for 2 years and now she has become even more beautiful. She deserves to be called the Goddess. Neither of their girlfriends could even come near Julia in terms of beauty.

"Julia, let me introduce you to our boyfriends." –

Aditya under the guidance of Tobias practiced for hours before Sophie called them to have lunch. Since the old man Tobias was a vampire, he did not join Aditya for lunch. He instead went to drink fresh blood from his human slaves.

"It looks like Julia won't be joining us from lunch." This was the first time Aditya was having food with Julia's parents alone. He was kind of nervous and also a little awkward.

"Where is Zak?" He curiously asked.

"He is having a training session" Adam replied while eating.

"Even though Zak is only 7 years old, we're making sure he at least gets some basic training from a young age which would help him build a strong foundation" Sophie explained the reason.

"By the way, is it hard to learn runes?" Sophie asked.

"No, it's actually easier. Since I can ask any doubt I have to Grandpa Tobias."

"That's good. I am sorry Aditya but these two weeks we will be a little busy. Since Julia's birthday is coming up, we have to prepare everything."

"There is no need to apologize for that."

After having lunch, Aditya offered to help Sophie in washing the dishes. But she refused and told him to just focus on learning runes.

After lunch, Aditya trained under old man Tobias' guidance for a few hours before Tobias left as he had some work. "You keep practicing. Your current speed is too slow. You should be able to finish enchanting a 3-star weapon in an hour." The current Aditya was taking almost 2 and a half hours to do the same thing.

Before leaving the room, Tobias turned around and looked at Aditya. Even though he looked very calm outside, his heart was like a violent tornado. When he was young, Tobias was called a rune genius by everyone. But today, he finally met someone that made him realize that there are bigger geniuses out there. Compared to those heavenly geniuses, his talent in rune could be considered average.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 84

Looking at how focused Aditya was when Tobias couldn't help but sigh. 'Compare to Aditya calling myself a genius feels like a funny joke.'

Sitting on the floor, with a special pen that was made from rare metal, Aditya carefully engraved runes on the golden spear. His movements were a little stiff but very elegant to watch. Watching him draw runes on the spear gave Tobias a peaceful feeling.

Over the years Tobias had hundreds of students but non of them could even come near Aditya. Just in one day, he has learned more than what his students can learn in 3 months. His progression speed even terrified Tobias.

Tobias was an old Vampire who has lived long enough to serve 3 generations of the Onard noble household. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he has experienced what life has to offer. He has seen countless geniuses who rose and fell. He has seen countless Kingdoms fall in his long age. He has met an uncountable number of people. Living such a long life, Tobias thought that nothing in this world can shock or surprise him anymore. But he was wrong.

Teaching Aditya was like a complete new experience to him. He has seen just how fast his mind was. 'If he continues to learn at this frightening speed, it won't be long before he advances to 3rd-order and even reaches higher-order.'

Tobias managed to master 3-star rune spells a few centuries ago. Even after a few centuries of learning, he was still far away from being able to make 4-star rune spells.

Sigh!

'I guess this is the difference between a heavenly genius and an average talent.' In fact, Tobias was not sad. He was rather excited. With the frightening speed at which Aditya was comprehending rune spells, in a few years he will reach 4-star. 'At that time, maybe I can ask him to teach me and guide me.'

"I will leave now. Tomorrow, come to this same room after having breakfast." Aditya nodded his head without paying any attention to Tobias. His full focus was on drawing runes on the golden spear.

Tobias once again sighed. If only he had the same comprehension ability as Aditya then he could have reached his peak a long time ago.

After leaving Aditya alone, Tobias on his way to the destroyed training ground met Adam. "Uncle Tobias, are you done with teaching the kid?" The team of 100 earth mages was fixing the destroyed training ground so that the soldiers could resume their training as soon as possible.

"Yes, Aditya told me that he was going somewhere."

"How is that kid? Does he really have a talent for runes?" Adam casually asked. Adam respected Tobias like his real uncle. The man had taken care of Adam when his father was away. Tobias was one of those people that Adam trusted with his whole life as he knew Tobias would never betray him or his family.

Sigh!

"Why are you sighing?" Adam asked with a confused look.

"You know I always used to think that I was the greatest rune genius that this era had ever produced but today I found out just how naïve my thoughts were."

"What exactly happened?" This was the first time Adam had seen his uncle sighing in depression.

Instead of replying he put his right hand on Adam's left shoulder and said. "You have no idea how just lucky you were to find this boy as your daughter's future husband."

"Uncle, can you please explain?"

"That boy's talent in rune even surpasses mine by a wide margin. How should I even describe it? That boy is like an abyss or some sort of black hole. No matter how much you feed him, he will keep asking for more. He was learning so fast it was almost as if he was devouring knowledge. He learned the things that would normally take 3 months or maybe even more for my students to learn."

At this moment even Adam didn't know how much his heart was shocked. "At this rate, forget about 14 days, 10 days would be more than enough for him to able to make 3-star rune spells."

Both men for a long time said nothing. They simply just stood there. Even though both of them looked very calm, their hearts were in turmoil, in a deep state of shock. After about 10 minutes of silence, Adam sighed. "Uncle Tobias, please make sure no one learns of this news." Given how frightening his talent in rune was, Aditya could potentially be targeted by Adam's enemies.

"Don't worry. Even if I lose my life, I won't utter even a single word about Aditya."

Meanwhile, Aditya had no idea what sort of genius he was. Even if he did, he wouldn't even care about it.

After about 2 hours, he finally was done with engraving the runes on the 3-star golden spear. "Finally I am done." Aditya held the golden spear in his hand as he looked at the small runes that he engraved on the golden spear.

[Rune Monarch class Progression to 3rd order: - 9.1%]

"Wonderful." With instant learning and adaptation combined with the Rune Monarch class, Aditya was able to comprehend runes at a speed that no one in the whole world can compare to.

"I should stop now." Aditya remembered his appointment with the princess. After stretching his body he returned to his room and took a long shower before getting ready. Since Aditya was going on a date with her, he had to put some extra afford into his clothes.

"Who is he?"

"He is hot"

"I bet he already has a girlfriend. A man like him would have hundreds of females chasing after him."

"No matter what you say, you have to admit that he looks very handsome." Standing before a 9 meters big statue of a man who was holding a sword, Aditya was waiting for Julia.

He had come 20 minutes earlier and now he was simply waiting for the princess to come. He wasn't bothered about the attention he was receiving.

"Move out of the way."

The people moved out of the way to make space for the carriage to come. No one dared block the carriage as the carriage had the symbol of Onard's noble household on it. The carriage stopped in front of Aditya.

"You're early" Julia said as she opened the carriage window and looked at Aditya.

She was very satisfied with the way Aditya dressed. Today he was wearing a black suit and leather shoes.

"Hop on." Aditya nodded and entered the carriage while the crowd stared at Aditya with a dumbfounded look.

After entering the carriage, Aditya found 3 girls and 3 handsome-looking men inside the carriage. Everyone was staring at him.

The interior of the carriage was big as a normal room. The interior had several couches placed on it. The floor was covered with a white carpet. In the middle, there was a table that had various kinds of snacks placed on top of it.

"Come and sit here." Aditya raised an eyebrow and secretly wondered what this girl was thinking. He went ahead and sat next to Julia on one of the couches.

"Everyone this is Aditya, my fiance."

"Aditya, let me introduce you to my friends. Her name is Kayla and the person sitting next to her is her boyfriend. His name is David." Sitting on the right side, Aditya looked at the girl named Kayla.

She had short shoulder-length orange color hair that she tied in a ponytail. Just like Julia, she was also wearing a half-sleeved orange color dress that reached her knee. She had orange pupils and she was around the same height as Julia.

Her boyfriend a 6 feet tall elf. His long pointy elf ears kind of attracted Aditya's attention. David had blond hair. He was slim and was wearing a white suit. He has around 25 years old.

"This is Monica, my childhood friend. And this is her boyfriend Lukas." Sitting on the opposite couch, Monica and her boyfriend Lukas nodded their heads at Aditya with small smiles on their faces.

Lukas was a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. He just like David was also an elf. But while David had blond hair, Lukas had pitch black hair and black pupils.

Sitting next to Lukas, Monica was a beautiful-looking girl with tan skin. She also had long black hair that she tied in a ponytail just like Layla and Julia.

"And this is Naomi and her boyfriend Luis."

"Hello!" Aditya politely greeted them.

Just like Kayla and Monica, Naomi was also around 20 years old. She had white pale skin and red eyes. With a glance, Aditya knew that Naomi was a pure-blooded vampire. She had long hair red that matched her red pupils.

Pure-blooded Vampires are stronger compared to normal Vampires. Aditya heard that every Pure blooded vampire with born with racial skills that keep getting stronger with each level. In the society of Vampires, it is said the Pure Blooded vampires have the second highest position after Royal Vampires.

Her boyfriend Luis was around the same height as Aditya. Luis had pale blue eyes and black hair. Among everyone, Luis's cultivation was above everyone. He was a beginner 3rd-order cultivator.

'Luis looks around my age but he is already a beginner 3rd-order cultivator. I guess he is one of those geniuses of the northwestern region of the continent.' Aditya was more interested in knowing why Lukas had black hair and black pupils while normal elves have blond hair and green pupils.

"I apologize in advance if my question hurts anyone's feelings. I am just asking it because I am curious. Why are Mr. Lukas's hair and pupil color black?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is yesterday's chapter. I had written the chapter but I forgot to upload it in time. I apologize for not uploading. I will make sure this kind of thing never happens.

Chapter 85

"I apologize in advance if my question hurts anyone's feelings. I am just asking it because I am curious. Why are Mr. Lukas's hair and pupil color black?"

"That's because I am Night Elf."

"Night elf?" Aditya has never heard of this term before. He knew that just like the beast race, the elves also had some variations. He had heard of Moon Elf, Sea Elf, High Elf, Royal Elf, and Elven King or queen. But he never had heard of Night elf before.

"Night elves are extremely rare these days. It is said that all the different variations of elves have the same origin. Hundreds of thousands of years ago new variations of elves began appearing. While most of those elf variations disappeared over time, some remained to this day. Night elf is one of those variations."

"Being Night elf, every one of us has the racial power to see in the darkness. In fact, at night times, our powers, stats, healing speed, cultivation speed, everything is boosted by 25%. While normal elves have blond hair and green pupils, we Night elf has black hair and black pupils."

"Lukas is from the beast continent. Many years ago he and his family moved to the Dying Isle continent and settled down in this city. In this age, not many people know about Night elves as Night elves are considered an extinct race. In this whole world, only a few thousand-night elves are left." Julia explained the rest.

'Since all elves have a low birth ratio, the Night elves if even if wanted to would probably take them thousand years if not more than ten thousand years to grow in numbers.' All elves, dragons, Vampires, dwarves, and other powerful races had low birth rates. Only humans had the highest birth rate while dragons had the lowest.

'I don't even want to know how hard I will have to work to produce a child. Since my dragon bloodline is heavenly, it will be even more difficult for more to get a child.' And there was a chance that upon reaching 3rd-order his bloodline will evolve once again. Just thinking about the whole thing Aditya was already having a headache.

"I see. By the way, where are we going?" Aditya asked.

"Hehe! Today we're going to the most expensive restaurant in the city. We must celebrate. Finally, our sister got a fiancé. Here I was starting to think that she will remain single her whole life." Kayla had a big smile on her face.

In the noble circle, most tend to get engaged before the age of 15 and get married when they reach the age of 18 or 20. Although Julia got hundreds of marriage offers, her parents rejected them even without wasting a second.

"If we're going to the most expensive restaurant in the whole city, you're the one who is going to pay." Monica wasn't going to allow anyone other than Kayla to pay.

"Kayla is the daughter of the richest merchant in the kingdom" Julia leaned on his chest and whispered into his right ear.

"I see."

To Aditya and Julia, this act might not look too much but her friends could see just close both Aditya and Julia were.

On the way, everyone talked about various things. It was mostly the girls who spoke while the boyfriend kept quiet and let their girlfriends enjoy their girl time.

After some time Aditya learned after everyone here had an extraordinary background. Kayla was the daughter of the richest merchant in this kingdom. Monica was the daughter of a marquess. Naomi's father owned a chain of hundreds of restaurants spread all over the Kingdom of Echo Dominion.

As for their boyfriends, David was the son of the marquess. Lukas the next ruler of Night Elf. While Luis was the son of a rich merchant. Luis was considered a cultivation genius to be able to reach beginner 3rd-order in such shortage.

"My carriage is here. I apologize but today we will have to take our leave." Naomi, the daughter of the viscount had to take her to leave as her carriage had arrived.

"Goodbye, Julia. I will see you on your birthday." Naomi gave a simple hug to Aditya while Aditya and Luis shook hands with smiles on their faces.

After spending a few hours and having dinner with everyone, Aditya had a good impression of everyone. Each of her friends had a unique and interesting personality. Aditya always thought that socializing with nobles would be showing off, but today he learned how wrong he was. He genuinely enjoyed his time.

One by one everyone left the restaurant in their carriages. "Shall we head home?" Julia nodded.

After getting inside the carriage, Aditya simply sat on the couch feeling a little exhausted. to him socializing always has been exhausting. Aditya had to make sure to not embarrass Julia in front of her friend.

"You did well today."

Aditya looked at Julia, today she had drunk a little wine. She was lazily leaning on the couch while keeping her eyes on him. In her eyes, he always looked the most handsome.

"I think you deserve a reward for being a good boy." Aditya gulped seeing her red lips. She slowly bought her body toward him. Aditya excitedly leaned forward and closed his eyes.

Bite!

Instead of getting kissed, what he received was a bite. In an instant, all of his fantasies shattered like glass. "Why are you biting me?"

"Hmph! You deserve it."

"You know what let me bite you as well."

"Kyaaa!!! You hooligan" Ignoring her protest, he made her sit on his lap.

"I will kill you 100 times."

With his strong arms, he held her soft and slim waist so that she does not fall down while trying to bite him. "Princess, can you please stop? I am not a Masochist."

Bite!

"Hey! Stop ruining my face." Aditya's protests did not work at all.

After an hour, Aditya and Julia waited for the door to be opened.

Click!

"We're home"

"Welcome back."

"Oh my, Aditya what happened to your face? You look horrible." There were bite marks all over his face. At this point, he didn't even feel any pain from her bites.

Hearing her mother's words, Julia lowered her head feeling guilty. Aditya glanced at Julia for a second before replying. "Well, some wild dog decided to bite my face 100 times."

Seeing her daughter's red face, Sophie instantly understood what was going on. "Did the two of you have dinner yet?" It was already 9 o'clock. By this time, Sophie, Adam, and Zak must have also had their dinner.

"If you're hungry I can cook you something delicious."

"No aunty. We had dinner." Aditya couldn't help but sigh secretly. If only Julia had the same gentleness as her mother.

"Alright, then you should go to bed."

"Goodnight mom." Julia was about to leave but her mother stopped her. "You wait here." Aditya quickly returned to his room. For some reason, he knew that Julia was going to be scolded.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in"

Click!

Opening the door, the princess could be seen standing with a glass bowl filled with some strange green cream. "Hmph!" She angrily snorted before walking in.

Aditya was currently in his pajamas. He currently was drawing runes on a golden shield. Julia sat on the bed and observed him. This was the first time she had seen him engraving runes on weapons.

She has to admit seeing his drawn runes on the golden shield gave her a peaceful feeling. She began feeling calm. She started to feel dazed watching Aditya elegantly drawing runes. Even though she cannot understand a single thing about runes, Julia strangely felt like she could keep watching him drawing runes forever.

30 minutes passed very quickly. While Aditya was very focused on drawing runes, Julia was dazed watching him.

Aditya put the golden shield down and glanced at Julia. "Why are you here?"

"Mom ordered me to apply this cream on his face. It would help in quickly healing those bite marks." Without waiting for Aditya to say anything, she started applying the green cream to his right cheek. At first, her movement was stiff and slow. After a minute, she found a natural flow.

"Are you going to be busy tomorrow?" Aditya randomly asked feeling the awkward silence.

"Maybe I am not sure. Actually, it was mom's idea to go out with my friends."

Both of them looked at each other. "In the noble circle, socializing is a very important factor. Mom wanted me to introduce you to my friends so that you can build your own connections with the nobles and rich people."

For now, Aditya cannot reveal the fact that he was the king of the Istarin Kingdom located in the eastern region of the continent. If he did that, then some jealous men or enemies of the Onard family might try to destroy the Istarin kingdom. Though Aditya can fight a beginner 4th-order cultivator, he is not sure about fighting a group of 4th-orders. Or if some 4th-order attacked his Kingdom, he wouldn't able to defend it.

Sophie's idea was to help Aditya build a different identity. After today's meeting, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Aditya has gained connections in the noble circle. Forming connections is another form of political power. "You don't look so surprised."

"I already have thought of this possibility."

"By now, I am pretty sure almost all the nobles and the king must have heard of the rumor of the Onard noble household princess being engaged. I am pretty sure he will come to cause trouble tomorrow."

"Who.....?

"Let me explain."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 86

The return of the alchemy Goddess who had disappeared 2 years ago spread all over the northwestern region of the continent. The news spread faster than wildfire. Every big faction was very happy with the return of the alchemy Goddess.

About 2 and half years ago, the princess of the Onard noble household, the woman known to be the Alchemy Goddess, suddenly disappeared. At first, everyone thought that the princess was only taking a break. But when that break lasted for more than 3 months, once by one everyone began asking Adam and Sophie about Julia.

For a brief period of time, the whole northwestern region of the continent was in turmoil. Many thoughts that the Goddess has been kidnapped by a foreign powerhouse. Many even went far as to say that the Goddess has lost her ability to make pills. Hundreds of bizarre rumors were going around the kingdom.

To stop all the rumors, Adam had to step up and make a fake lie. He told everyone that Julia has gone to travel to other continents and won't return for the next few years. But even after Adam said those words, those rumors never stopped. Some even said that Adam had sent Julia to the beast continent, to his 2nd brother who also lived in the beast continent.

Some crazy men even went as far as to go to the beast continent in search of Julia. Meanwhile, Julia was in the eastern region of the continent. Compared to all other regions, the eastern region was the poorest region of all. The eastern region was also considered a wasteland as the resources found in that region is very low and also expensive.

No one would ever think that the goddess was in the eastern region. While people made baseless rumors about Julia, she on the other hand was working as a maid.

When everyone was starting to think that the goddess would never return to the Dying isle continent, suddenly the news of the goddess returning with a fiance spread in all directions.

Knock! Knock!

"What is it?"

"Lord Adam, viscount Ronan is requesting an audience with you."

"Let me in."

Click!

"Good Morning, Lord Adam, I hope I am not disturbing you with my sudden presence." Viscount Ronan who looked like he was 50 years old but in reality, his actual age was above 150 years. The man was 6 feet 2 inches tall in height and had a muscular body. He had a bald head and a clean shaved face. He was wearing black armor and was carrying a Katana on his waist.

Adam took a deep breath while looking at Ronan. Ronan and the house of Onard had close ties. Adam's father and viscount Ronan were like brothers from different mothers. Both families had a close relationship. Even after Adam's father passed away, Adam made sure to keep close ties with Ronan and his family.

"Uncle Ronan, please take a sit." Since Adam's father and Viscount Ronan was so close, Adam also greatly respected this man. Even though Adam was the Duke here, he made sure to address Ronan as his uncle.

Viscount Ronan sat down opposite facing Adam. "Lord Adam, I heard that Lady Julia has recently returned." Adam secretly frowned as he felt a little strange with Viscount Ronan's behavior.

"Yes, Julia returned a day before yesterday. Does uncle need anything from Julia?" Big nobles, rich merchants, and genius cultivators, all wanted pills from Julia as her pills were more effective and powerful. Before Julia left, every day a huge line of crowd used to gather in front of the castle. Everyone wanted pills made by Julia.

Instead of answering, the beginner 4th-order viscount Ronan sharply glanced at Adam and asked in a deep and serious tone. "I heard that Lady Julia has been engaged to a man named Aditya."

Adam instantly understood why the hell, Viscount Ronan rushed to meet him early in the morning. The old man was here to ask him if the rumor regarding his daughter's engagement was true or not.

Adam certainly did not like the way Viscount Ronan spoke to me or looked at him. But he did not show any displeasure as he respected this man who was called his father's stepbrother. "I will not deny your words. I am going to make an official announcement on Julia's upcoming birthday."

Ronan instantly understood that by not denying his words, Adam was hinting to him that his daughter has been engaged. Adam was going to officially announce his daughter's engagement on her birthday.

Ronan's face instantly turned dark. "Why did you suddenly decide to engage your daughter to some nobody?"

Adam frowned as his eyes started turning cold and sharp. "Uncle I found a great man. Both love each other and care about each other. I don't see a reason to get in their way."

Bang!

Viscount Ronan shattered the wooden table with a punch. "Adam, have you lost your mind? You're marrying your daughter to someone with no background and no name just because they love each other. I thought you wanted to forge close connections with our family. I have been preparing my son to marry your daughter for ages."

Enough!!!!!

The Wild Lion has heard enough. Adam no longer restrained his Peak 4th-order Aura.

Boooooom!

Ronan's face instantly turned pale. His old body started shivering in fright.

Crack!

The walls of the meeting room started cracking from the horrifying pressure of Peak 4th-order. Ronan realized that in anger, he had messed with the wrong man. Adam was anything but calm. In anger, he forgot that the one he was talking to was the wild Lion.

"I called you uncle because I greatly respected you. For years, I turned blind to all the illegal criminal activities that you and your men kept doing. Because my father called you little brother from another mother, I always made sure to give you the respect of a real uncle. But that ends from this moment."

Ronan felt his very soul shivering in fear looking at those savage cold eyes threatening to tear up. "Unlike you bastards, I will never sell my children for political power. I will never sacrifice my children's happiness with political marriage."

Adam took a step forward while Ronan took a few backs in fear and then fell on the couch and looked at Adam in fear. "Not even I once, I have ever said that I wanted to marry my daughter to that trash son of yours. Yes, he might be a genius when it comes to cultivation but I am not blind. I know all the things your son does. Your so-called son is a playboy who sleeps with hundreds of women."

"You said something about preparing your son to marry my daughter, don't bullshit with me. I am not as greedy as you. I choose my son-in-law. Do you think I give a shit about your opinion? Your son is nothing but a useless piece of trash that only knows how to sleep with women." Adam stopped as he took a deep breath to calm himself. Right now his heart was screaming at him to tear this man apart.

"Do you think I don't know that behind our back, you and your family have been using my name to have your way? Well, guess what, that ends today. From this moment onward, you're no longer the viscount of the Kingdom of Echo Dominion." Saying that Adam grabbed Ronan and landed a right fist on his jaw.

Eddie!!!!!!!

Adam loudly shouted Eddie's name. In a minute, Eddie came and kneeled before Adam. Seeing how angry the wild lion was, Eddie had a bad feeling in his heart. However, what has made Adam this angry was f**ked up for sure.

"Take 10,000 Knight riders and go attack Ronan's house. Before 24 hours pass, I want Ronan's entire family executed."

"But Sire, attacking a viscount without a proper reason might backfire on us." The King of the Kingdom of Echo Dominion won't sit still when one of his dukes attacks a viscount without a proper reason.

"I already have a reason and also evidence. Just do what I have ordered you. Don't make me repeat myself." Hearing the cold voice, Eddie also shivered as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. No one was more dangerous than Adam when it comes to his family matter. Everyone in the Kingdom knew that his family was his sensitive nerve. Anyone who even thinks of messing with his family should be prepared to take the full wrath of the savage lion.

"Understood" Eddie was about to leave the room but then he heard a bone-shattering sound. Lowering his head, he found unconscious Ronan lying before his feet. Adam had kicked Ronan which sent the former viscount flying at Eddie's feet.

"Take this bastard with you and lock him in the cell. Make sure this bastard is properly treated as I am going to slaughter him in a few hours." Eddie, a beginner 4th-order cultivator trembled seeing how cold Adam looked right now. His legs already had started shivering. He dare waste no time and dragged his old man out.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 87

This chapter is dedicated to all those who have sent gifts in these last few days.

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Thank you very much, everyone.

"What happened here?" Sophie arrived in the meeting room to find the mess that her husband made. Seeing Sophie, Adam's red eyes instantly cooled down. His wife was the only thing that could calm him down. Even though Adam is called the Wild Lion, he never has lost his temper in front of his wife.

"That bastard Ronan was talking shi*ts about marrying our daughter to his son." Sophie understood why her husband got so angry. If she was in her husband's place, even she also would have gotten angry.

"Where is he?" Sophie with a frown on her face. She felt like slapping that old man.

"I sent him to prison. I also have sent 10,000 knight riders along with Eddie to execute Ronan's entire family." The whole family was corrupted. Adam didn't even have a shred of mercy when he ordered Eddie to execute Ronan's family members.

"Where are the children?" Adam asked while walking out of the meeting room with his wife.

"Julia is working in her laboratory, Zak is studying in his room while Aditya is learning runes under Uncle Tobias."

"Tell the kids that I might not be able to join them for lunch. I will go and meet the king and report all the crimes that Ronan." If Ronan had not touched his bottom line, Adam still would have spared Ronan. But now he was hell-bent on destroying Ronan and his entire family.

Under Adam's orders, his spies have been collecting information on Ronan for years. Before he never planned on using those pieces of evidence against Ronan, but now things have changed. Ronan had messed with the wrong person and now he will pay the price.

"Alright."

On the other hand, outside the castle, more than hundreds of people were standing in a single long line.

"Send the next person." The guards nodded and walked out of the laboratory. The two guards were Peak 3rd-order bodyguards that were assigned to protect Julia in case anyone tries to attack her.

The guards allowed the next person to enter Julia's laboratory. "What do you need?" While making pills, Julia asked.

"My lady I need an Elixir of Fire Resistance." The man stood at the entrance of the laboratory. No one was allowed to walk inside the laboratory without permission. Anyone to tries to get in will be killed immediately.

"Elixir of Fire Resistance.....?" Julia raised her head and looked at the man for a second before continuing to do what she was doing.

"Sister Paige can you check if he has the materials to make an Elixir of Fire resistance." Paige was a twenty-seven years old girl who has been learning under Julia for years now.

Julia found Paige walking in the streets. At first, she felt pity for her so she bought her home. Paige having no other place to live, decided to live in the castle as Julia's maid. It was later that they found Paige also had a talent for alchemy. Julia decided to teach her alchemy for a year before she left home. Even after Julia left, Paige continued to practice her alchemy skills. Even though her talent cannot be compared to the goddess herself, Paige could be considered a genius who can make 3-star pills.

Paige had very long black hair that reached down her thighs. She was wearing a white lab coat. She was a cold beauty. Paige very rarely showed any emotions on her face. The only time that Paige nearly broke down was when Julia suddenly left home without even informing her.

Seeing her walking up to him, the man nervously gulped. In everyone's heart, Lady Julia was the goddess that they can only dream of. Many had a crush on Paige but she never responded to any of the men.

Paige coldly stared at the man. The man understood what he needed to do. From his storage ring, he carefully took out the alchemy ingredients and put them on the table that was blocking the entrance.

Paige inspected the alchemy ingredients to check the quality of the ingredients. "My Lady, with these ingredients you can only make a 2-star Elixir of Fire Resistance."

"But I need at least a 3-star Elixir of Fire Resistance." The man sounded desperate.

"If you want a 3-star Elixir of Fire Resistance, then bring better ingredients. If you don't want any pills, you can leave now." Paige's voice was cold as ice.

"I will take the 2-star Elixir of Fire Resistance." The man had no other choice. These alchemy ingredients cost him a fortune to get.

"Alright." Paige took the ingredients along with a jade bottle.

"My lady we have a new order." Julia who just finished making the elixir of Brew of Curing took the ingredients from Paige and started making the Elixir of Fire Resistance.

Meanwhile, Paige coldly turned to the man. "You can wait outside. Your elixir will be ready in 5 minutes." After saying that she poured the elixir of Brew of Curing into a jade bottle and gave it to the guard. The guard took the jade bottle and handed it to another man waiting outside.

"Send the next person." And this is how Julia spends her days. Before she left her, she usually spend most of her time practicing her alchemy skills. At the same time, she would usually also teach other students who worked for the Onard family.

The goddess was so focused on her work that she didn't notice when it was time for lunch.

"Can I come in?" Hearing the familiar voice, a smile appeared on her face as she heated the alchemy ingredients. Unfortunately, no one was able to see her smile as she lowered her face.

Paige walked up to the entrance and coldly look at Aditya. "It's okay sister, let him in." Paige moved the table and allowed Aditya to walk inside her laboratory.

"Wow, this laboratory is even bigger than the one I built back home."

"You built.....?"

"Cough! I mean the construction workers built"

Julia stopped what she was doing and walked up to Aditya. "Let me introduce you to my big sister. Her name is Paige and she is a 3-star alchemy genius."

"Big sister, this is Aditya. I am sure you must have heard about him." Paige glanced at Aditya and nodded her head before going back to her work.

"Big sister is not good with words. She mostly spends all of her time in the laboratory or in her bedroom cultivating." Paige always kept quiet and would only talk when she needed to.

"By the way, what's all this big line outside the laboratory?" When Aditya came here, he saw about 500 people standing in lines. The people didn't look least bothered to stand under the sunlight for hours.

"They are here for requesting pills and elixir. I can practice alchemy."

"Why are you doing this? I mean you can just ask your uncle to buy you ingredients using which you can practice your skills."

Julia smiled as she looked outside the window. "As an alchemist, I also need to constantly practice. There are 1000 different pills and elixirs out there. Just like a runemaster, an alchemist also needs practice. What I need was ingredients while the people needed alchemy pills. So basically I am earning money while also practicing Alchemy skills." Aditya rolled his eyes. Given how rich and powerful Duke Adam was, Julia never had to worry about money.

"How are you earning?"

"Each star pill has a fixed price. For example, a 3-star pill will cost 1000 royal cold coins. A 4-star pill will cost 10,000 to 50,000 royal cold coins depending on the type of pill."

"What about a 5-star pill? Can you make them?"

Julia proudly raised her chest and smiled. "Of course. I can make any 5-star pills. But if you want 6-star or higher star pills then I cannot make them at the current moment."

"Why?"

"Creating 4-star, 5-star and 6-star pills take a lot of mana. Unlike certain someone who has a huge mana reserve, my mana reserve is not that big. It's already a miracle that I can create a 5-star pill while still being at Peak 2nd-order."

"You don't sell 5-star pills?" Aditya asked.

"No. In this continent, 5-star pills are considered national treasures. Father has ordered me to not create 5-star pills for any outsider as this would create huge chaos on the continent. Even if the emperor requested me to create a 5-star pill, I still won't make it." From what Aditya has heard it is extremely difficult to reach 6-order. Among all the rare cultivator geniuses who manage to reach the 5th order, only less than 1 percent of them can actually touch the 6th order.

"Why are you here?"

"It's already lunchtime. I came to call you."

"Big sister, why don't you also join us for lunch?"

Paige looked at Julia not knowing how she should reject her. Paige did not like to be bothered when she was practicing alchemy. This is also why in most cases, she would just stay hungry the whole day and only eat after she is done with her work.

"Alright." Paige decided to tag along. It has been a while since she last ate with others.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 88

While Aditya, Julia, and others had lunch together and then went back to their work, the outside world wasn't exactly calm. A large army led by Eddie attacked Viscount Ronan's Mansion.

It was a bloody battle. The knight riders destroyed Viscount Ronan's army. In less than an hour, Viscount Ronan's Mansion, his family members, servants, slaves, maids, butlers, commanders, and generals were killed or turned into a slave. Eddie did his best to spare the innocent ones.

The king also did not question Duke Adam's action after he was presented with clear pieces of evidence. The King ordered public execution for Viscount Ronan. On the very same day, Adam returned. The first thing he did after returning was to execute Ronan in front of a large crowd.

It was then Adam, the wild lion began calming down. His cruel actions were also to send a message to his enemies. He was indirectly telling them if someone messed with him, he won't wait for the King's orders.

Meanwhile, Aditya was drawing runes on a greatsword while old Vampire Tobias guided him and cleared any doubts he had.

"Since your fighting style is more focused on speed, I think you should learn this rune spell. This rune spell can decrease the weight of armor or greatsword by half." Aditya stopped drawing runes as he put the greatsword down. The greatsword was a Peak 3-star weapon. The weapon was about 200kg in weight.

"Grandpa, my armors are lightweight. Also, I don't normally use a greatsword. I prefer to stick with a sword." Aditya was an agility-based fighter. His fighting style was quick and agile like assassins. He always refrained from using heavyweight armor or weapons.

"Sometimes just having high agility is not enough Aditya. Suppose you're facing an army of 10,000 2nd-order all by yourself, at that time, your agility won't be of much use. Yes, you can use your agility to keep dodging the enemy's attack or you can also use your agility to kill your enemies in an instant. But in a fight where you're forced to face a huge army, you will need something that is destructive and has to power to take out hundreds of soldiers at the same time."

"I can just use my Crimson Blaze to annihilate the enemies in an instant." It's not like Aditya was lacking in mana, so he can keep using his Crimson Blaze for a long time.

"....I guess I forgot about your other powers." For a moment the old Vampire forgot that Aditya was a dragon, not some human.

'Well, considering the red flame and a huge pool of mana, he can even fight against a beginner 4th order. I guess I was just overthinking.' The old vampire secretly thought.

"Alright, I will learn it."

"Huh....?"

"It wouldn't hurt to learn one more spell." Aditya kind of liked the idea of using a destructive type of attack. Even though he is currently an agility-type fighter, he can slowly change his fighting style.

As a heavenly dragon, Aditya was born with extraordinary strength. And his strength would only keep on increasing as he levels up. 'In the future, I should give some attention to increasing my strength.'

"Alright. The spell is not that big. You can learn it within a few minutes given how fast your compression abilities are." Inwardly Tobias was cursing his bad luck. It took him more than a week time to master this spell while Aditya here can learn it within a few minutes. Sometimes fate can be cruel.

After another 4 hours of teaching, the old man finally decided to end today's session. He can't give all of his attention to Aditya. His other students also needed some attention. Not to mention he still had to put an enchantment on some 4th-star weapons.

"Alright if you have any doubts, you can ask me tomorrow." Tobias got up and was about to leave. He was getting hungry. He wanted to drink some human blood.

"Grandpa, I have a question." Tobias stopped and turned around.

"What is it?"

"How much do you think it would cost me to get a 4th-star or 3-star weapon or armor?" Aditya wanted to buy high-quality weapons and armor and bring them back to his Kingdom. If possible he wished to buy a bunch of 3-star weapons at the same time.

"A 3-star weapon or armor costs somewhere from 30,000 royal gold to 100,000 royal gold coins. While a 4-star weapon and armor cannot be bought. 4-star and 5-star weapons are not sold openly. Only if you have some connections with a highly skilled blacksmith can get you a 4-star weapon or armor." Tobias felt strange. Everyone knows this kind of information. But then he realized that Aditya originally came from the Eastern region of the continent. From what he heard, there are only a few 3-star weapons in that region.

"A 4th-star weapon is like having a 4th-star bodyguard. Even a 4-star blacksmith has less than a 30% chance of successfully creating a 4th-star weapon. If I had to give you a rough estimation then I would say, a low-tier 4th-star weapon costs somewhere between 1,000,000 to 10,000,000." Aditya nearly coughed out blood hearing the outrageous price. But then again he also understood why would a faction or a powerhouse even sell a 4-star weapon in the first place.

Every big faction, powerhouse, or Kingdom had a high-ranked alchemist, blacksmith, and runemaster. A blacksmith's role was to create powerful weapons for the faction or the kingdom to use. Of course, there are some rare situations where 4-star weapons are auctioned.

'I already have the alchemy goddess in my faction. As for runes, I can create them. So we're only lacking a highly skilled blacksmith." In the previous war, Aditya either had to buy 2-star weapons or rob them from his enemies. Buying a 2-star weapon can be very costly in the long run. Aditya would be able to save tons of money by finding a blacksmith.

Tobias understood why Aditya wanted to know about weapons and armor prices. After a bit of thinking, Tobias came up with a suggestion. "Why don't you head to the slave market?"

"Slave market.....?" Aditya seems to understand what Tobias wanted to say.

"Yeah. With a few hundred extra gold coins, you can buy a slave who used to be a blacksmith. Sooner or later, you will eventually need a blacksmith in your kingdom so why not nurture talents from the beginning? You can order the blacksmiths who now have become slaves to teach others."

On the other hand, Aditya had a completely different idea. The idea itself would freak Tobias out. Aditya decided to not say anything.

"Thank you, Grandpa." Tobias was dumbfounded seeing Aditya excitedly walk out of the room.

After leaving the room, he went to find Julia in her laboratory.

"What happened?" Julia asked. Right now she and Paige were enjoying some spicy street foods.

"Are you finished?" Aditya asked seeing that the 100 meters long line had finally ended.

"Yeah. I finished it a long time ago. By the way, do you want some?" Aditya looked down and found her eating tamarind mixed with chili pepper salt.

"No, thank you. If you're done. Would you like to come with me?" Aditya did not like Tamarind that much even though he was fond of spicy food.

"Where?" Julia had a happy smile on her face while eating the tamarind.

"To the slave market."

"Alright. Give me 5 minutes."

Aditya nodded and then walked out of the laboratory.

The slave market in this region of the continent was even bigger than in the eastern region. Slaves from different continents came to this region. There was a wide variety of slaves from different races. As long as one had enough money, one can even buy a dragon as a slave.

Whenever a kingdom or a powerhouse went to war, the slave numbers in the market would see a drastic rise. Sometimes soldiers, generals, and even kings were turned into slaves and sold off. Slavery was a cruel thing. At first, the system of slaves was invented to turn criminals into slaves. But later the system changed. Nowadays one can even buy a former king as a slave.

"Why are we suddenly heading to the slave market?" While sitting beside Aditya inside the royal carriage, Julia asked while drinking a glass of water.

It was evening. Most people are either returning home after a long day of hard work or some people are going out to enjoy this time with their friends and families. Apogale city did not lack entertainment.

"I plan on buying some slaves."

"We can just ask Watson to buy slaves that way you don't have to worry about sending them back to the Istarin Kingdom." Sending slaves to the Istarin Kingdom would take a lot of time and money. In her opinion, it would be better to just ask Watson to buy slaves from the local market.

"For now let's go and see if we can find any slave worth buying." Now that Aditya can turn humans into dragonians, he did not need slaves. There was a time when he lacked troops so he thoughts of using slaves. But right now, the Istarin Kingdom had over 100,000 troops. The number would only increase if Aditya were to add the troops that were being raised by the nobles of his Kingdom.

It took them 43 minutes to reach the slave market. The slave Market was located on the bank of the river that flowed beside Apogale city. There was a time when slave trading was banned but later this ban was lifted.

"Miss, we have reached the Slave market." The royal carriage stopped in front of the slave market.

Aditya and Julia nodded and walked out of the carriage. "It looks like the slave market only has become bigger." The last time Julia was here, the slave market wasn't big as now.

"Let go."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 89

This Bonus Chapter is dedicated to the readers "Yam_Van_5538", "EnergyDao", "whispersinwind" for sending gifts to this novel. Thank you very much to readers "Yam_Van_5538", "EnergyDao", "whispersinwind"ift,

Aditya told the guards to wait outside. They did not want to attract too much attention by bringing the guards with them. After walking to the slave market, Aditya felt he had come to the slum.

Small slave traders were standing on the side of the roads and calling out to sell slaves. Looking around, Aditya felt a little pity for the slaves. The slaves were malnourished and skinny. Their eyes looked dead as if they had lost all hope in their life.

"Boss, I want that boy? How much?"

"You can take him for 5 gold coins."

"That's too expensive. Look how weak and skinny he is. I will give you 2 gold coins. Give or I will leave."

The slave merchant gritted his teeth. "Ok. Deal."

And just like that, the boy was taken away by a farmer. The boy will be forced to work in fields all day long till he dies of old age or dies of hunger.

Aditya being a man from another world felt that this kind of thing was very cruel. Everyone deserved freedom. There were some people who naively believed that equality existed. But the concept of equality did not exist in the world of cultivation.

"This is normal. Everyone ten thousand slaves are either sold or bought. If you're looking to buy high-quality slaves, then I suggest you take a look at the big slave houses."

"Alright."

Soon Julia led Aditya in front of a shop that was named the Golden Slave trading house.

Ding!

"Welcome" The one who welcomed them was unexpectedly a woman in her late 30s. The woman was tall as Aditya. Her tight dress seductively hugged her body and exposed her curves.

"What kind of slave do you want Sir?' The woman asked while offering them to sit on the couch which was placed 5 meters away from the receptionist's desk.

"Do you have slaves who previously were cultivators?" This question surprised both Julia and the sexy female receptionist. Wasn't Aditya here to slaves who know blacksmithing skills?

"I do. Our slave trading house has more than 100,000 slaves. We have all kinds of slaves." Inwardly Aditya was surprised to hear this big number.

"I am looking for slaves that used to be a 2nd-order or 3rd-order cultivators." After coming to the slave market, Aditya realized that he has been wasting a huge opportunity. Julia was the goddess of alchemy. With her, he can heal the mana-crippled heart. Just like Amber and his 7 generals, those slaves will also recover their former cultivation in a few months. This method would double if not triple the military power of the Istarin Kingdom.

While Nobles and Kings refrained from using slaves in the military, Aditya's thinking was the exact opposite. To him, this slave market was like a huge reserve of resources. Even though every kingdom has it, no one can fully use these resources.

"We do some slaves that previously were 2nd-order and 3rd-order cultivators. Though I don't understand the reason why Sir is looking to buy slaves with mana crippled hearts." Why would someone look for slaves with Mana crippled hearts? Compared to normal slaves, those slaves were even cheaper as they cannot cultivate.

"I am planning on sending these slaves to the eastern region of the Kingdom. I have a small business in that region." Aditya did not explain too much. He purposely kept his answer vague.

Seeing that the customers weren't interested in answering the female receptionist also stopped asking these kinds of questions. She also does not care about how her customers use the slaves. Since the customer was the owner, they had every right to do whatever they wished. "How many slaves does Sir wants?"

Aditya pretended to think while in reality he already knew how many slaves he wanted. "I want 500 slaves." This big number once again shocked Julia. By now she also understands what Aditya was planning to do with the slaves. She secretly pinched his waist as this bad wolf was planning on making her work for a long time.

"Alright. Sir, do you need anything else? We have all types of elves, beastmen, and demon race slaves. I am sure Sir will be interested."

"Do you have Night elf?" Aditya asked while secretly holding Julia's right hand. He did not want to be pinched repeatedly.

"Night elf.....I apologize sir but Night elves are too rare." Aditya wasn't too surprised. From Lukas, he also heard that Night elves' numbers are too small. Only about a few thousand-night elves are left in this world.

"We only buy slaves if someone wants to sell us. We don't force people to become slaves. This is the iron rule of our slave trading house. And we all have been following this rule for generations. A few days ago someone sold us 500 Sea elves, maybe Sir would like to have them."

"Sea elf" This was new. As the name implied, Sea elves lived under the ocean and seawater. They very rarely came in contact with the races living on the land. It was not just the sea Elves, even other intelligent races living under the ocean never bothered to forge connections with races living on the land.

"Aditya you should buy them." Aditya was surprised to see Julia giving suggestions.

"Getting to see Sea elves are an extremely rare thing not to mention having the opportunity to actually buy Sea elves. Sea elves are useful in many ways. Even if their mana heart is crippled, underwater they still can move fast as some Peak 1st-order cultivators."

It was Aditya's luck that he found Sea elves. If some other faction had learned about this, then they wouldn't have hesitated to pay even 10,000 royal cold coins to buy those slaves.

"We still haven't contacted any big factions yet. If Sir is interested, our slave trading house is more than happy to sell the Sea elves at a discount price." The reason the female receptionist was willing even to go as far as to give a discount to Aditya, was because of the Onard family. She would a big idiot if she cannot even recognize the princess of the Onard family.

'If the rumors are correct then this man should be lady Julia's future husband.' In fact, the golden slave trading house regularly sold slaves to the Onard family. The female receptionist had met Adam a few times in the past.

"Alright I will take them." Aditya also had some thoughts of exploring the sea. The sea was a vast place. 2/3 of the total land was under seawater. The sea was a place with endless resources. Aditya felt it would be a huge waste to not use those resources. Maybe he can start an exploration team with the sea elves. He also had a big advantage that others did not have. His Kingdom was located right next to the sea itself. This would allow him to access the sea without anyone's interference.

"Sir, do you want anything else?"

"Do you have any slaves with blacksmithing skills?"

"In fact, we do have some dwarves. One of the dwarfs was a 3-star blacksmith. Unfortunately, he offended the wrong person and ended up losing his cultivation and his power to forge weapons. But I believe he is still very valuable given the knowledge he has about forging."

Aditya tightly clenched his fists to not show any excited expression on his face. "I want to meet this person. Can I?"

"Of course." The female receptionist gently smiled and then clapped..

Clap!

Click!

A female elf wearing a maid outfit and white stockings walked inside the room. The elf surprisingly had white hair which surprised Aditya. "Her name is Mila. As you can see she is a Half High Elf. We have some High elves."

Aditya felt this woman was shameless. She purposely introduced this beautiful-looking half High elf to tempt him to buy female High elves. This woman was clearly trying to make him spend more money. 'She is a pure businesswoman.'

"Milady, do you have any orders for me?" The half-high elf female named Mila asked.

"Can you bring the slave number 292006?"

"Please give me a few minutes." Even though most of the slaves that were owned by the golden slave trading house were in another location, this building still had more than five thousand slaves in it.

After the maid left, the sexy female receptionist glanced at Aditya and Julia. "Does sir need anything else? Maybe some beastmen or maybe some hot virgin fox race woman?"

Aditya quickly shook his head as he felt a chill running down his spine. He felt if had turned around, then he would see his worst night nightmare. He already had started sweating from the pressure coming from behind.

"No thank you. Can you please calculate the total price?" Aditya quickly changed the subject.

Hmph!

Julia snorted and then she secretly pinched his waist. She was very satisfied with Aditya's performance.

"Let's see, Sir has ordered for 500 slaves whose mana heart was crippled. Should I get you 500 human slaves or should I mix slaves from other races? If mister decides to get slaves from other races, then that would be a little costly compared to human slaves."

"No, I will take 500 human slaves?" Aditya was planning on turning these 500 human slaves into his loyal dragonians after Julia restores their mana-crippled hearts. Aditya had a feeling that once he evolves his bloodline, he would be able to turn not just humans but also warriors from other races into his dragonians. But for now, he decided to not make a gamble and instead nurture these 500 slaves.

"Alright, that would be 1 gold coin for every human slave. Sir let me tell you in advance that the Sea elves would be a little more expensive. Each sea elf would cost 10 gold coins."

"Alright." Right now Aditya did not lack money. Although he had used 99% of his Kingdom's money on new projects and the military, he still had enough money with him. From the beginning, knowing that this region of the continent will have more advanced star weapons, he had somehow managed to squeeze 50,000 gold coins from the budget.

While the receptionist was calculating, the maid returned with a short-sized man. Aditya and Julia curiously looked at the man. He was about 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimeters) tall. His body was muscular and strong built. He had long brown color hair and bread. He was currently wearing some cheap clean clothes.

Compared to what Aditya and Julia had expected, the dwarf did not look malnourished at all. As if knowing what was going on in the couple's head, the receptionist proudly smiled and said. "We take care of our slaves. All of our slaves are well fed, given clean clothes, and proper sanitation. Our slaves would have to work in the farming lands which are located outside Apogale city."

'So along with slave trading business, they also have other businesses. Using the slaves that are not bought in the farming lands gives them access to free labor. So in the end, they can generate profits from both sides. While doing that, they are also making sure to feed their slaves well and give them proper clothing and shelter. What a genius strategy.' Inwardly Aditya was very impressed. This kind of business model almost had no disadvantages.

All the slave traders usually only feed their slaves one time in two or three days. This resulted in the slaves being very skinny and malnourished. By well maintaining the slaves, the golden slave trading house also built a kind of brand image. They ensured that their slaves will be better than the ones in the market.

"What is your name?" Aditya asked curiously.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 90

"What is your name?" Aditya asked while observing the look on the dwarf's face. This was the first time he was actually seeing a dwarf even though he knew what dwarves looked like from the memory of the previous owner.

Just like Aditya, the dwarf observed Aditya, the face of the man who might become his master. "My name is Percy Lowe."

For some reason, Aditya sensed the loneliness and emptiness in his words. If Aditya had to describe Percy then he would say depressed. The man looked very depressed as if he had lost his will to live.

"Percy used to be a 3-star blacksmith. Some things happened and unfortunately, he ended up becoming a slave." When the receptionist said those words, Aditya noticed Percy gritting his teeth as anger flashed in his eyes.

"Although his mana heard has been crippled, I believe Mister can use the experience he has." Aditya understood that this woman was only saying this to make Aditya know that she is going to charge a high price for Percy and other blacksmiths.

"Alright. Do you have any more blacksmiths with mana crippled hearts?"

This question made the female receptionist think about what exactly Aditya would do with multiple blacksmiths whose mana hearts has been crippled. Other than passing down the knowledge and experience, she couldn't find any other real use for these blacksmiths. Since their mana hearts has been crippled, they were just like ordinary slaves.

"Of course, we have 9 more dwarves. But among everyone, only Percy has the knowledge of how to forge 3-star weapons." Percy stood behind the female receptionist and quietly listened. Every time he heard about forging weapons, he felt countless daggers being stabbed at his heart.

"Does Mister wants anything else?"

"Nope. At least not that moment. If I need anything, then I will send someone or if I am free then maybe I will personally come."

"Alright. The total price is 5,600. I charged 10 gold coins for each dwarf. Mister can just pay me 5,500 gold coins." Aditya's mouth twitched a little. It was not like giving a discount of 100 gold coins would make any big difference.

"By the way, does Mister needs the slaves to be sent to the Eastern region of the continent? Our Trading house also has a few big ships which we use for transportation." After a moment of thinking, Aditya also felt it would be too much of a hassle to bring all the slaves back with him using a teleportation array. Not to mention the huge sum of money that will be consumed to get 1010 people teleported at the same time. Also since he was currently living another identity, it would be best if he did not connect himself with the Eastern region of the continent, not at least while he was in public.

Seeing that Aditya was agreeing, the female receptionist smiled beautifully. Aditya noticed that this woman only smiled when she talked about money or business. "That would be 6,000 gold coins after adding shipping charges. And also don't worry, our trading house will make sure that all of the mister's properties are properly taken care of and safely reach the destination."

After a bit of talking, Aditya hesitantly told her about Watson and the Hightide City. After paying 60 royal gold coins which were 6,000 gold coins, Aditya and Julia left the slave market and got in the carriage to return home.

"You should start collecting the necessary alchemy ingredients to repair all of their mana hearts." Aditya felt a little guilty for making Julia work this hard.

"It won't be much of a problem to get the alchemy ingredients." Compared to the Eastern region or any other region in the continent, the northwest region of the continent was richer in resources. Especially rich in alchemy ingredients. Even the quality of the alchemy ingredients was better.

"I was thinking, do you have any plans of building a teleportation array in the Istarin Kingdom?" Julia curiously asked. If the Istarin Kingdom had a teleportation array, then it would become very convenient for Julia. She and Aditya would no longer have to go all the way to the Kingdom of Nyland.

"After we go back, I will make personally make a teleportation array."

"Alright." Julia had heard from her father just how good Aditya was at runes. Aditya's talents in runes even outshined the best rune geniuses on the continent.

About an hour later, Aditya and Julia finally returned home. After returning home both went back to their bedrooms to wash up. Shortly after 30 minutes, Walter came to call both of them for dinner.

Sitting at the dining table, everyone was enjoying dinner. As always the food cooked by Sophie was always delicious.

It was only has been 2 days since Aditya came. In just 2 days, he no longer felt that he was a guest of this house. He felt that he had become a core part of the family. This was the first time Aditya was experiencing this kind of family love.

In his previous life, he had spent almost all of his time either studying or either working under politicians. When he was young he hated politics more than anything but as he grew up without even realizing Aditya became the type of person he hated.

Aditya very rarely shared meals with his family. Most of his family members lived alone in different cities, pursuing their own careers. Over time Aditya became used to having meals alone while watching some videos on geopolitics.

But it was different here. He found that meals he can taste extra delicious when eaten with family and friends. As time passed, Aditya was increasingly becoming more and more fond of gentle, kind, and motherly Sophie.

"Aditya, why are you not eating? Is there anything you don't like about the food?" Today Sophie had cooked spicy fried chicken which was his favorite.

"No, just some old things came to my mind." Being a politician, Aditya also learned to control his expressions very well. In front of the public, he always needed to appear confident and strong. He quickly controlled his emotions and continued eating.

"I see, do you like the food? I heard from Julia that you looked like spicy fried chicken." Aditya glanced at Julia in surprise. He had said these words to her a long time ago, back when their relationship had not developed.

'She actually remembered.' Here he was assuming that she had forgotten about these kinds of small details.

Seeing Aditya looking at her, her eyes snorted, and continued to eat. "Don't think too much, I happen to have a good memory."

Aditya smiled and did not reply back. But inwardly he was very happy to have found someone like her.

The next day, after waking up very early in the morning, the first thing that he did was take out a glass jar. He bit his index finger and then started dropping 25 drops of golden blood into the glass jar. Every single day, Aditya has been doing this.

He has been collecting 25 drops of his golden blood in a glass jar ever since he learned that his golden blood can turn humans into Dragonians. So far Aditya has collected over 75 drops of golden blood. He has been planning on using these golden blood drops to turn his human soldiers into his Dragonians.

"I should also send a letter to Watson about the slaves." Aditya then sat down and started writing a letter to Watson explaining why he bought the slaves and what do to with them.

Knock! Knock!

"Young Master, the son of Duke Elliott Campbell has come to see you. He is standing outside the Castle, waiting for you." Aditya put the pen down. He just had finished writing the letter.

'Why does the son of Duke Elliott Campbell wants to see me?' Aditya wondered.

"Walter, tell him to keep waiting for another 5 minutes."

"Alright."

Normally if a noble wants to come to another noble's house for a meeting, the noble would have to ask for an appointment or at least let the other noble know that he is coming. A low-rank noble might even have to wait for weeks to get an appointment if that noble wants to meet a high-rank noble.

Even though Aditya was not a noble or a royalty, as the son-in-law of Duke Adam, even if the son of Duke Elliott Campbell wanted to meet him, he still would have to let Aditya know in advance or at least come at an appropriate time.

Aditya frowned looking outside the window. It was still dawn yet the son of Duke was here to meet him. It was more like the son of Duke Elliott Campbell was ordering him to come out.

"He can keep waiting." Aditya preferred to train early morning. It was a habit that he had from his previous life. He did not like to do any work or meet anyone at this time.

Aditya entered the washroom to clean his body. Last night he had a good sleep and a naughty dream which dirtied his pants.

Meanwhile, standing outside the Castle, the son of Duke Elliott Campbell was getting more and more impatient with waiting. No one has ever dared to make the son of Duke Elliott Campbell wait.

"Where is he?"

"Young Master Aditya said he will be there in 5 minutes."

"I guess 5 minutes will never pass." The son of Duke Elliott Campbell replied sarcastically. He has been standing in this place for over 47 minutes now.

Click!

Walter sighed in relief seeing Aditya finally walking out. "Walter, what are you doing here?" Aditya asked walking out of the castle. He pretended to not know the man standing beside Walter. He focused entirely on Watson.

"Young Master let me introduce you. This man is the son of Duke Elliott Campbell. His name is Lucian Campbell." Instead of replying Watson instead introduced Aditya to the son of Duke Elliott Campbell.

"I thought you would never show you and hide in that little cave of yours."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 91

"Young Master let me introduce you. This man is the son of Duke Elliott Campbell. His name is Lucian Campbell." Instead of replying Watson instead introduced Aditya to the son of Duke Elliott Campbell.

"I thought you would never show you and hide in that little cave of yours." Aditya stopped 5 meters away from the man named Lucian. He carefully observed Lucian's appearance for a minute.

Lucian looked like he was about 25 years old even though he was more than [50+] years old. Lucian had light blue hair and beautiful blue eyes that can make any female captivated. He had a gentle appearance. His blue messy hair was covering his forehead and gave him a unique handsome charm.

He was about 1.9 meters, around the same height as Aditya. His body was neither too muscular nor too slim. He had fair skin. He was wearing a White shirt and black pants which was very different from what the nobles normally wore.

His charming face was enough to capture the hearts of millions. Even though his age was over [50+] no one would think that he is 50.

"What does the young master of Campbell house wants?" Since this man showed Aditya no respect, why the hell he would show him any respect? He was not a bootlicker. He did not care if this man was the son of a duke. Even if the prince, the son of the King himself had done this kind of act, Aditya wouldn't have given any respect to the price either. Aditya was also pissed that Lucian had come to see him at 5 in the morning.

Just like Aditya, Lucian also checked on Aditya's appearance for a few seconds before replying. "Are you engaged to Lady Julia?"

"If you don't believe in me, then you can just wait till Julia's birthday. Any other questions." Aditya looked really impatient.

"Aditya, I challenge you to a fight. Do you dare to accept?"

"Now that's interesting." Aditya's lips curled up hearing the words of Lucian. The son of Duke Campbell also had a crush on Julia. Now after hearing the rumors of Julia being married, he simply couldn't wait and ended up coming here to meet Aditya at 5 in the morning.

Aditya found that Lucian's cultivation was at least 4th-order or maybe even above. 'The Aura around him is strong as Eddie. Maybe even stronger than Eddie.' Aditya guess Lucian's cultivation was at least mid-4th order.

"Now that's interesting, a mid-4th-order challenging a Mid-2nd-order!"

"Are you afraid?" Aditya instantly saw through his attempt to provoke him and then make him accept his challenge.

"It's not about if I am afraid or not. It's about if I can seriously stand against a mid-4th-order." Though he had managed to defeat a beginner 4th-order, Aditya had not confident about beating a mid-4th-order. Aditya had an advantage with his Crimson Flame. When he fought with Eddie, his Crimson Flame's high temperature helped him by dealing with general Eddie's water attacks.

Aditya is not sure if he can achieve the same result if he fought against an earth user or maybe a lightning user.

"I know you defeated general Eddie who is beginner 4th-order a few days ago." Lucian pointed at the large destroyed part of the castle.

"Why do you even want to fight me so much?" Aditya understood that by defeating him, the son of the duke wanted to prove that he was more worthy of Julia and all that nonsense. But Adam, Sophie, and Julia clearly weren't the type of people who would care about worthiness. Aditya knew that after spending time with them.

"If I win, I want something from you. If you win, you can ask for anything." Aditya narrowed his eyes as his eyes flashed with killing intent. He can clearly see what Lucian was trying to do here.

"Can I know what thing you want from me?" Lucian failed to notice the killing intent in Aditya's eyes.

He proudly raised his chest and looked at his Crimson eyes. "If I win, you will hand over Julia to me. You will immediately break off the engagement and leave the house of Onard." Hearing those words, Aditya's heart was like a volcano that was about to erupt. Without even realizing it, his body temperature started rising rapidly. His Crimson eyes started glowing even in red light.

Walter who was standing beside Lucian saw the changes in Aditya. Even from the 5 meters distance, he could feel the temperature around Aditya rising. Before Aditya could release his killing intent, Walter appeared behind Aditya and put his right hand on his shoulder.

"Young Master, this is not the place to get angry." Walter whispered in his ear. If Lucian wasn't the son of Duke, then Walter personally would be butchered him. Even he was angry with Lucians' words.

Aditya got some control over his emotions thanks to Walter's words. After taking a deep breath, he coldly stared at Lucian and said in a deep tone. "Listen to me you piece of shit, first of all, Julia is not an object that I will hand over to anyone. If you want a fight, I will fight you. Don't think that you can use this fight to make me break this engagement."

Lucian's face changed when he was called a piece of shit. He someone held his anger as he knew getting angry here would only create unnecessary trouble. He also realized that he had hit Aditya's sensitive nerve. "Alright, let's change the price. You put 10 million royal gold coins. I put in 10 million royal gold coins. The winner of this fight gets to take it all."

"Alright, I accept your challenge."

"The fight will take place on Lady Julia's birthday." Saying that Lucian stepped into the royal carriage and left.

After Lucian left, Aditya finally calmed down.

Walter couldn't help but ask. "Young Master, why did you accept the fight? Lucian is even stronger than general Eddie."

"Why should I refuse free 10 million royal gold coins?" Aditya smiled as asked back. he still had 12 days left. And 12 days would give him more than enough time to prepare for this fight.

Hearing Aditya's answer Walter was stunned. He was going to face a mid-4th-order, yet this man was so calm and spoke like he already had won the fight. Walter couldn't understand from where this confidence came from.

'Unless young Master is planning on using his dragon transformation.' Thinking about Aditya transforming into a dragon made the old butler Walter very excited. He was curious and also excited to see Aditya in his dragon form.

"Let's go back" While walking inside he looked at the sky. There were dark clouds hovering around in the sky. It looked like it was going to rain soon.

Meanwhile, a large amount of mana was gathering 20 km away from Apogale city. The mana in the atmosphere was being sucked toward the outside of Apogale city. No one had any idea what was going to happen.

At the dining table

"Why did you agree to fight Lucian?" Julia angrily asked.

"Well, I couldn't say no to free 10 million royal gold coins." Aditya simply smiled and continued eating without being bothered.

"Mom.....?" Julia looked at her mother for some help. Even though she might act like she does not care about Aditya, deep down she was really worried about him.

"Julia calm down. I think Aditya did the right thing." Julia looked at her father.

Adam also looked very calm. Seeing how strong Aditya was, he did not see a reason to be worried. "All the nobles in the kingdom will attend Julia's upcoming birthday. Many are dissatisfied with Aditya. Even though no one would dare to say it in front of me. I think this fight would allow Aditya to display his powers in front of the nobles."

"Big brother will definitely win." Aditya smiled while patting Julia's little brother's head.

"See even Zak believes that I will win." Julia rolled her eyes. Fighting a beginner 4th order and fighting a mid-4th-order are completely different.

"You worry too much. Even if I lose, I won't go down without seriously injuring him."

"Hmph! Who said I was worried about you?" Julia snorted and pretended to not be worried.

"Hehe! Big sister is being a tsundere again." Julia glared at Zak and then continued eating. Meanwhile, Aditya and Zak looked at each other and smiled.

After eating breakfast,

"Boy wait a minute." Under everyone's confused gaze, Adam took out a black sword from his storage ring.

"Here take this." Aditya took the black sword from Adam. When he took the sword in his right hand, he instantly felt like he was being forced to carry an entire mountain in his right hand. The black sword fell to the ground as Aditya couldn't keep holding this sword.

"This is a Mid-5-star black sword. I was planning on giving you this sword on Julia's birthday as an engagement gift. This black sword weighs almost 3 tons. The sword was forged for me but I choose a greatsword as my main weapon so the sword was left unused. From now on, this sword is yours." After saying those words Adam left. Meanwhile, Aditya was still shocked. To think Adam would gift him a mid 5th-order black sword.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 92

Adam went to drop Zak to school while Sophie went to wash the dishes. Julia and Aditya on the other hand were staring at the black sword.

"Can you pick it up?" Even the floor had cracked like a spider web when the black sword fell down.

'System add my remaining free stats points to my strength.'

[Ding! Strength- 235 → 260]

Dragon transformation!

Aditya left arm transformed into a dragon claw. He then grabbed the tilt of the black sword which was lightly curved.

"Still too heavy." Aditya's left arm started bulging as veins started showing all over his right arm. He gritted his gritted and used his power to the maximum.

Julia was surprised to see Aditya slowly lifting up the 3 tons black sword.

[Adamantite Doomblade]

[Mid 5-star]

"You're late."

"Sorry grandpa, I was trying to lift a 3 tons sword."

"So he really gave you the Adamantite Doomblade." Previously Adam had discussed giving the Adamantite Doomblade to Aditya with Tobias. The Onard family only had seven 5-star weapons yet Adam did not hesitate to give one of the 5-star weapons to his son-in-law.

"Alright, let's resume where we had stopped yesterday." Aditya nodded. After receiving the Adamantite Doomblade, he was thinking of engraving the black sword with runes which would make the sword even more powerful.

Just like yesterday Julia also opened her laboratory. People were willing to stand in this rain to get to request pills. Compared to yesterday, today the number of people that stood in a line had doubled. From Peak 1st-order cultivators all the way to Peak 3rd-order cultivators, every cultivator was here to request a pill from the Goddess of alchemy. The line was only getting bigger with each passing minute.

The rain showed no signs of stopping. The rain continued without the people noticing what actually was going on. More and more mana was being sucked. As time passed, the mana suction only continued to increase. At some point, all the mana within the 20km range was rapidly moving in a single direction.

"Lord Adam, I have some urgent news."

"What is it?" Adam asked while writing a letter of invitation. As his daughter's birthday was approaching, Adam was writing personal letters to invite all the nobles of the Empire. Since Adam was going to announce his daughter's engagement, he wanted to invite every noble regardless of whether they are his friends or his enemies.

"A huge vortex has formed 20 km away from Apogale city. The vortex is sucking a huge amount of mana from the atmosphere."

Drop!

Adam dropped the pen he was holding. He widened his eyes. He looked at Eddie like he was looking at his worst nightmare.

"This is really bad." Adam hurriedly walked out of the room leaving Eddie confused. "Eddie, call Aditya."

About 30 minutes later, the whole family was standing on the walls that surrounded the entire Apogale city. "Adam, why did you call us here?"

Instead of replying, Adam pointed in the direction of the west. Aditya instantly frowned feeling all the mana in the atmosphere was rapidly moving in the direction of the west. "Uncle, do you know what is happening?" Aditya has never heard of this kind of strange phenomenon.

Adam also looked in the direction of the west. "I don't know. I have a feeling that this is not a good sign."

"Let me check it." Two pairs of red wings appeared on his back. The next moment Julia and Zak found Aditya feeling in the direction of the west.

"Aditya wait." Julia tried to stop him but he didn't stop.

"I will also go and take a look. Eddie, you wait here. Close the city gates and do not allow anyone to neither enter or exit the city. Shut down the teleportation array as well. Also, make sure to keep the defensive barrier activated." After saying those words, Adam also ran off in the direction of the west.

It did not take Adam to catch up to Aditya. "Uncle do you know why this phenomenon is happening?"

"I am not sure. Let's ask uncle Tobias." Tobias was an old Vampire who has lived for a long time. He must know what is going on.

Both Aditya and Adam traveled 20 km in an hour. Adam adjusted his speed to match Aditya's speed. Both father and son-in-law moved through the forest and finally reached the area where all the mana was being sucked.

"What the hell is this?" Aditya and Adam looked up at the giant vortex that was rapidly sucking all the mana. Aditya and Adam realized that mana near the vortex was several times denser. They could see the spiraling ripples around the vortex.

"Uncle, did you notice one thing?" Aditya asked while looking at the gigantic vortex. The vortex was at least 50 meters.

"What is it, kid?"

"Even though this is a forest where magical beasts live, we did not encounter even a single magical beast on our way. It's almost as if all the magical beasts in the forest had disappeared."

"Or maybe they have left this forest knowing that something dangerous is coming." Magical beasts had much better senses of their surroundings compared to other intelligent beings. It is believed that Magical beasts can sense if any natural calamity or disaster is coming.

Aditya and Adam were still standing 1 km away from the vortex. Even from his distance, they felt a strong force pulling their body. "Even if a Peak 5th-order steps near the vortex, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw that 5th-order cultivator's body is torn into pieces. Fortunately, this vortex did not open anywhere near the cities, otherwise, it would be been a huge disaster."

Aditya looked at the 50 meters giant vortex which was 100 meters above the ground. The mana from the surroundings was rapidly being sucked. The closer Aditya got to the vortex, the denser the mana kept on becoming.

"Alright let's go back." After taking one more look at the vortex, Aditya realized that the vortex has been expanding. Even though the expansion was really slow. The spiraling ripples around the vortex were expanding.

Swoosh!!!

"Uncle Tobias, you know anything about the mana vortex?" In the evening, Adam, Aditya, Tobias, and Eddie were holding a meeting. By now the 50 meters sized mana vortex had become 60.5 meters. With each passing hour, the size of the vortex was increasing by 2.1 meters.

Sitting on the same couch as Aditya, the old Vampire sighed in depression. "Whenever a mana vortex has appeared in this world, millions of people always have died because of it. I even lost my father because of the mana vortex." Silence descended upon the living room.

Everyone had their eyes on old man Tobias. "No one really knows what triggers a mana vortex to be formed. What I do know is that whenever a mana vortex is formed, after sucking a colossal amount of mana from the atmosphere, the mana vortex will either give birth to world treasure or give birth to a dungeon or maybe even form a labyrinth."

No one dared to speak as the elder's words were like a golden revelation to them. "About 9 centuries ago, at the beast continent, a similar event took place. A mana vortex that was 300 meters in size shook the entire continent. The mana vortex gave birth to a world treasure."

"Countless tribes, kingdoms, and factions fought to get their hands on the world treasure. Even after the mana vortex disappeared, beast race people continued fighting over the world's treasure until finally one day the treasure was lost or was either hidden by someone. No one really knows what happened with the treasure. Among all that bloodshed, the Treasure seems to have disappeared like it never existed."

Aditya could only imagine what kind of artifact is called a World treasure. "Grandpa, do you know anything about the power of this World treasure?

Tobias unfortunately shook his head in disappointment. "I don't know. What I do know is that the appearance of world treasure had great a continental war which took the lives of nearly 500,000,000 million beast race people died in that war. Even after the world treasure disappeared, tribes continued fighting among themselves to get revenge for their fallen brothers and sisters."

'500 million.' Aditya gasped as he repeated this number in his head. It was not just Aditya, everyone sitting in the room had a similar reaction. To think a world treasure would become the reason for 500,000,000 beast race people to die.

"When the continental war ended, around 1/3 of the beastmen already had been killed. Some ways in a way this war also was a blessing for the beast continent."

"How can a war that has taken the lives of 1/3 of the beastmen population can be considered as a blessing?" Eddie couldn't help but ask back. Adam and Aditya also had the same question.

"As you, all know that almost all of the beast continent is only endless prairie. It was increasingly becoming more and more difficult for the beastmen to find food. Before the continental war, an estimation of 1.5 billion beastmen lived in the beast continent. It was also at that time when a large number of beastmen started migrating to other continents." Almost 99% of the beast continent's land is not suitable for farming. The continent's only food source was either imports or fishing or raising livestock.

"So the dying of 500,000,000 beast race people solved the hunger issues of other 1 billion. It left enough food for the other 1 billion." Aditya continued the last part. He had seen similar things even on earth before. On earth, things had become so worse that some people even had started cannibalism. To live they were ready to eat anything.

Tobias replied with a smile "That's correct."

'No matter which world it is. Food shortage is always a problem.' Aditya thought as he closed his eyes for a second.

"Now coming back to our discussion on mana vortex, when the mana vortex gives birth to Labyrinth, that is a blessing for the land and the continent. Labyrinths are generally made up of 10 or even 100 floors. Each floor is like a sub-world or small world where monsters live and resources can be found."

"Each labyrinth floor has a boss monster. If the highest floor boss monster is not killed the labyrinth will continue to exist. Not just continue to exist, but also continue to spawn monsters on each floor. The labyrinth will continue to respawn monsters until the final boss is not killed."

"The reason a labyrinth can bring huge fortune to the land is because of the endless number of resources found inside the labyrinth. Each floor is a small world and each small world has mines, herbs, and alchemy ingredients. Just like monster respawns, the trees, mines, herbs, water, air, in short everything inside the Labyrinth will continue to respawn endlessly." Hearing Tobias's words, Aditya felt a little greedy. If a Labyrinth were to form in his Kingdom then his Kingdom would become one of the most powerful kingdoms on the continent.

"And last we have dungeons. Most of the time a mana vortex would give birth to a dungeon. Unlike a Labyrinth, a dungeon does not have any floors. Dungeons generally contain a horde of monsters, which are led by a boss, and remain open until the boss is killed. As for how many monsters a dungeon has, I am not sure. It depends on the amount of mana that the mana vortex has sucked from the atmosphere."

Suddenly the atmosphere inside the living room becomes tense. "Since the mana vortex gives birth to the dungeon and the monsters living inside the dungeon, you can expect the number of the monsters to be at least above 1 million."

"1,000,000...." Just this colossal number itself made Adam and others' faces turn pale.

"The monster mostly has either 1st-order or 2nd-order cultivation power. But I am not sure how strong the boss monster is."

'Facing an army of 1 million 1st-order and 2nd-order monsters.' Aditya couldn't see how the Onard family was going to fight this huge wave of monsters. Even if the whole Kingdom and the nobles come forward to kill the monster horde, Aditya is still not sure if that would be enough.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 93

This chapter is dedicated to readers [wisecat], [yulric564], [KidSage], [EnergyDao], for sending gifts to this novel.

Thank you very much, readers [wisecat], [yulric564], [KidSage], [EnergyDao]

The current atmosphere of the living was very tense. Everyone had a serious expression on their faces. Everyone was looking at the man whose facial expression was constantly changing.

Adam was in deep thought. No one dared to interrupt him knowing that he was currently in the process of making a very important decision. Depending on his decision, the fate of millions will change.

At this moment, Adam was holding the lives of countless people. A single wrong decision from his side could get countless people killed.

In this situation, Aditya's mind also couldn't think of any useful solution. Adam's choice was greatly limited. He had only two options, the first option will be to fight with everything he has. The second option will be to flee which he cannot do either.

The main problem was that neither Adam nor anyone had any idea of the number of monsters that they are going to face. If he had even a rough estimation of the number of monsters that were going to come out of the dungeon, then maybe he could have done something to prepare.

10 minutes quietly passed. Those 10 minutes felt like an eternity. Everyone was tense and very worried. After about 10 minutes of silence, Adam sighed as he looked down.

Sigh!

"I think from the beginning our options were limited to only one and that is to fight. Abandoning the place that I called home is not an option. I would rather die than live to see that happen. I will protect my territory with everything I have got."

After a short pause, Adam glanced at Aditya, Eddie, and Tobias and continued. "That being said, I don't think you all need to fight. If a dungeon does appear and when the situation reaches the most critical, I want all of you to retreat and flee from this city."

"There is no way I am doing that." Eddie was the first one to reject. Eddie thought of Adam as his big brother. This family, this castle, this city, and this land was the place that he swore to protect. There was no way he would just flee. He would rather die on the battlefield. Rather than living a life of cowardness, Eddie would die as a warrior.

"Master, you must have lost your mind. We have followed you everywhere. We won't betray you. Besides this old man has lived long enough. I believe a battlefield would be the perfect place for this old man to die. Hahaha!" No one was in the mood to laugh with old man Tobias.

Aditya simply remained quiet. He was willing to give his everything in this fight but he was not ready to die here. Aditya still had a Kingdom. Ha still had to look after millions of people. If the King himself suddenly disappeared what would happen to the Kingdom? To make matters worse, he did not even have a successor yet. Besides knowing Julia, Sophie, and Zak's personalities, they would never leave Adam here.

Adam focused in attention on Aditya. "Aditya, please promise me this. If things start to get out of hand, you will take Julia, Zak, and Sophie with you and go back to the Eastern region of the continent."

Aditya took a deep breath and seriously nodded his head. "I promise. I will use my own life to keep them safe." After all, Aditya had become a part of the family. Even if Adam didn't ask him, he still would have taken Julia, Zak, and Sophie with him to the Istarin Kingdom.

"That's good to know." Adam weakly smiled and then looked down. At first, Adam did not like Aditya at all. Which father would want to marry his daughter to a drunk, poor, useless, and untalented man? Adam has even asked Julia hundreds of times to return. But she refused and continued staying with Aditya.

But his recent change and the things he has done with his Kingdom changed his opinion of Aditya. Adam knew that Aditya was an even better leader than he was. Unlike Adam who had everything when he became the Duke, Aditya build the Istarin Kingdom. Even if things go wrong, if Aditya takes his family with him, Adam can die in peace knowing that nothing can happen to the Istarin kingdom and his family can live a peaceful life.

Aditya hesitated for a moment before asking. "Uncle, why don't you ask for reinforcement from the King himself?"

Hearing Aditya's question, a bitter smile appeared on Adam, Eddie, and Tobias's faces. "It will at least take a week for the army to arrive. I don't think we have this much time. In case you're wondering why not just use the teleportation array, there is a limit to how many people the teleportation array can teleport in a single day not to mention the huge cost."

The Empire of Echo Dominion was almost 3 to 4 times larger than the current Istarin Kingdom. The Onard noble house contributed around 15% of the Empire's total military powers which made Adam the strongest Duke in the Empire of Echo Dominion. The King had control over 50% of the military powers. The house of Campbell contributed around 10% of military strength. The rest 25% of military power was contributed by all other nobles.

When Adam succeeded his father and became the Duke, the military power of the Onard family sharply increased. The Onard family and the Campbell family are the two oldest families of the Echo Dominion Empire. Even if the King wanted to, he wouldn't able to take all the powers these two houses held.

For generations, there seems to be some sort of rivalry between the house of Onard and the house of Campbell. Before Adam's father became the Duke, the Campbell house had the most military power after the King. But heaven seems to be favoring the Onard house. With Julia's birth, the status of the two houses completely changed.

Of course, the Campbell noble household was greatly tempted. Their desire to bring the goddess of alchemy to their family only increased. After Julia started showing her talents, the house of Campbell tried to get close to Adam and his family in many ways. But Adam and Sophie clearly saw through their intention and purposely kept a certain distance from them.

Over the years, the Head of the Campbell household also the person who was the current Duke pushed Lucian toward Julia even though he was above 50+ years old. At first, Lucian only pursued Julia because of her talent but later when he first saw her, his heart was instantly captured by her angelic beauty.

Sigh!

"Anyway, I already have sent a letter to his Majesty explaining our current situation. Reinforcement should start coming in a few hours." After getting Adam's letter, the King personally sent an order to all the nobles in the Empire to send troops to help Adam. If the Onard family fails to stop the monster outbreak, the entire Empire will suffer great losses. In severe cases, the Empire might even collapse.

Knowing the seriousness of the situation, every noble regardless of whether they liked the Onard family or not had to send their army to Apogale city. Even though the teleportation arrays had a limit, the King had allowed all the nobles to use the teleportation arrays in this dire situation for free. However, the teleportation arrays can only be used to teleport troops.

"I also have recalled our troops. They should be here in 5 to 6 hours." The Onard family had around 300,000 first-order soldiers, 50,000 second-order soldiers, and 11 third-order captains. Each captain had around 30,000 soldiers under their command. Including Adam and Eddie, the Onard family had 4 fourth-order cultivators.

This huge number should be more than enough to crush a 4-tier Kingdom or a powerhouse in a few hours. Comparing the Istarin Kingdom or the Kingdom of Nyland to the Onard house military power is like comparing an adult man with a 5 years old boy. The difference was too huge. Forget about 350,000 troops, just the 11 third-order cultivators would be enough to crush the Kingdom of Nyland.

With a bit more discussion, the meeting finally ended. Aditya and Tobias returned to their training room. Tobias continued to guide Aditya. Aditya noticed a trace of urgency in Tobias. It was probably because Tobias wanted to teach as much as he can to Aditya before time run out.

"Grandpa, there is no need to hurry." Even Aditya wasn't able to keep up.

"You don't understand. Among all the students I had, you're the most talented one. If in case I die in this fight, I at least want my knowledge to be passed down. You're the perfect person for that. I don't know when the mana vortex will stop, I want to use every single second to teach you so that you can learn to make 3-star rune spells as soon as possible." Compared to normal times, the old vampire Tobias looked very serious. His voice left Aditya with no room for further discussion.

The more time the mana vortex takes, the more mana will continue to suck. The more mana it sucks, the more stronger the Dungeon or the Labyrinth will be. If in case of lady lucky decided to favor them with a World treasure, then all the mana will be used to create a super powerful World treasure.

But according to old man Tobias, the chances of a World Treasure appearing is very low. Most of the time the Mana vortex gave birth to the dungeon. When the dungeon is born a colossal number of monsters will break out and attack any living being in their sight.

Meanwhile, Sophie looked a little dazed and sad as she made dinner. She no longer had that cheerful Aura around her. Zak sensed the change in her mother. Even though the little boy couldn't understand what was happening, he still looked very worried about his mother.

"Big sister, what happened to mother and father? They did not even come to pick me up from school." Either Sophie or Adam always made sure to drop off and pick up Zak from his school. But today it was Julia who went to pick up Zak. The boy was happy that his big sister came to pick him up but deep down he also wondered why didn't his father come to pick him up.

Sigh!

"Zak, mom, and Dad, both are currently busy. A big monster is trying to make a nest in our city so dad and mom are planning to drive out that monster. By the way, why don't I help you with your homework?" Julia had succeeded in diverting little Zak's attention.

With the appearance of the mana vortex, for the first time, Julia did not feel like practicing her alchemy skills. Instead, she wished to spend time with her family. When the news of the Mana vortex was revealed all the cultivators who previously were standing in line to see the Goddess, also quickly left. So cultivators hurriedly left the Empire while some prepared to defend their homeland.

The dining table was gloomy. Unlike normal times no one wanted to say anything. No one had the appetite to have food. If not for little Zak, no one would have even bothered to have any food in the first place.

After Dinner, Sophie and Julia went to Zak's room while Adam was busy preparing for the monster outbreak. Unlike other times when Tobias only taught Aditya for 6 to 7 hours, today Tobias did not stop even after Aditya had dinner. Fortunately, Tobias had prepared notes that he was going to use to teach his students. Aditya was able to use those notes to further quicken his learning speed.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 94

This chapter is dedicated to readers [Zeko323], [Yam_Van_5538] for gifting a Luxury car and an Ice cola to this novel.

Thank you very much [Zeko323], [Yam_Van_5538]

Click!

Sliding opening the wooden door, Julia and Zak walked inside the traditional Japanese fashioned room. Sitting on the ground, a man with long blue hair was carefully drawing runes on a Peak 3-star Bow.

The old Vampire Tobias was sitting opposite Aditya and observing him. From time to time, he would correct the mistakes that Aditya made. When the future queen and her little brother entered, Tobias nodded at them and then signaled them to sit near him.

Julia and Zak sat 3 meters away from Aditya. He was so focused on drawing runs that he did not even notice it when Julia and Zak arrived. It was like he was immersed in his own little world.

He was holding a golden color pen that had a large and long tip. The pen was made from a special raze material. This pen is used for drawing runes on any weapon or armor or artifact.

The golden bow was on his thighs. He was carefully drawing small runes on the lower limb of the golden bow. Compared to a few days, his movement now was very fluid and rapid. Over the few days of continuous practice, Aditya's drawing speed has tremendously increased.

Each of his strokes looked very elegant. Watching this scene Julia and Zak for some reason started to feel very calm and relaxed. All the worries and nervousness that Julia previously had seemed to have instantly disappeared. Her mind started feeling peaceful. Julia and Zak felt they could keep looking for hours.

Seeing how beautifully Aditya drew runes on the bow, Julia felt dazed. His movement was flexible and filled with elegance. Added to how focused he was when drawing runes, at this moment Aditya looked very handsome.

Just like Julia and Zak, the old man Tobias was also dazed watching Aditya draw runes. Watching this boy draw runes, Tobias had a proud face. Compared to a few ago when he started, Aditya had improved tremendously. As his teacher, the old vampire felt very proud.

Around 9 minutes later, Aditya finally was done drawing one of the 3-star spells. Under Tobias, Aditya learned that he can modify each spell and combine multiple spells when drawing runes. At this moment he had just finished drawing a 3-star rune spell that will increase the damage of normal arrow shots by [30%].

After finishing drawing the first spell, he wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead as he sighed in relief. When drawing runes, he had to be extremely careful. Even a small mistake could end up resulting in an error. Sometimes a small mistake could end up potentially ruining the weapon or armor.

"Aditya that's enough for now. You can take a rest." Aditya put the golden pen down and looked at Tobias. Before this old man was hell-bent on teaching him everything before the dungeon was born but now he was asking him to rest.

It has been 3 days since the mana vortex appeared. After those 3 days, now the size of the mana vortex has become 211.7 meters. With the increase in size, the mana suction force of the vortex also increased tremendously. At this point, one can see the Mana vortex even from 20 km away.

Now whoever goes 15 km near the mana vortex will instantly die from the tremendous pressure of the mana near the mana vortex. Several 2-order soldiers like this. A powerful gust of winds was constantly blowing toward the west, in the direction of the mana vortex.

During these 3 days, the rain and the storm never stopped. The rain only continued to get stronger and stronger. The rain already had drowned the farming lands in the water. The people who lived near the river had to move away because of the flood. According to the report, several towns that were built in valleys were flooded with water. The situation was only getting worse. Even though the Empire has dispatched several thousand soldiers to help the normal people, the situation only continues to get worse with the increase in death rates.

Now with the increase in size, Adam and everyone was worried about another thing. If the mana vortex consciously increases in size like this, in a day or so, this city will become uninhabitable. The dense mana pressure will reach the city and will instantly crush all the normal people and the 1st order cultivators.

Now Adam and everyone was praying that the Mana vortex will stop sucking mana from the atmosphere.

During these 3 days, an army of 600,000 thousand came to Apogale city. More troops are on their way. The King has sent food supplies, healing potions, and mana stones to help Adam. One by one along with the huge army, the nobles of the Empire were also coming to join the battle.

All the soldiers were made to set up tents outside the city while the nobles were allowed to stay in luxurious inns. Adam did not invite the low-rank nobles to his house. Normally he would have let the nobles stay in his castle since 80% of the castle was destroyed, and he did not have enough rooms for everyone. Also letting the nobles stay in his castle would mean that he would also have to sacrifice his and his family's privacy.

At that same time, Adam also allowed ordinary people to escape the city. When the battle starts even he is not sure if he will be able to keep the citizen of this city safe. A huge number of people left the city, making the whole Apogale city empty.

Meanwhile, Julia and Paige spent their whole days making all kinds of healing potions, mana recovery potions, life-saving potions, body strengthening potions, etc. Since both Paige and Julia was alchemist, they wanted to contribute with potions. Adam also allowed them to use all the reserved alchemy ingredients to make potions.

During these 3 days, Aditya did not sleep even for a second. He was only allowed to stop if he needed to go to the washroom or if he needed to eat. The old man Tobias left Aditya with no room for discussion. But Aditya has to admit that drawing runes seems to make his mind peaceful and make his heart calm.

By now dark circles had appeared under his eyes. His eyes were slightly red. There was a tired look on his face even though he didn't show his exhausted side to anyone.

"Grandpa, let me finish drawing runes to this bow." Drawing runes requires continuous use of Mana.

Normally Aditya would have run out of mana in a few hours. But with the black heart, he had a huge amount of mana. Even after 3 sleepless nights of constantly drawing runes, Aditya still had over [100+] mana. The old man knew about this and perfectly took advantage of this.

Even if Aditya did not have this huge pool of mana, the old man would have forced him to drink mana recovery potions and continue with his practice.

"Aditya, don't push yourself." This time Tobias raised his voice a little. His words left no room for discussion.

"You're not a machine. If you do not get enough rest then you won't be able to fight. Besides, by now you almost have learned everything. As long as you keep practicing and go through the notes that I gave you, you will become a 3-star runemaster." It was Tobias' selfish intent to teach Aditya before the fight started. He at least wants Aditya to take proper rest before the fight begins.

"Aditya, Grandpa Tobias is right. You need some rest. Come with me." Without waiting for Aditya to reply, she pulled his right hand and walked out of the room leaving Tobias and Zak behind.

Sigh!

Aditya opened the system and looked at his progression.

[Rune Monarch class Progression to 3rd order: - 90.1%]

'72 hours of nonstop hard work finally paid off.' Aditya was a little happy with his progress.

Julia bought Aditya all the way to his bedroom. He hasn't returned to his bedroom for the last 3 days. Without waiting for him to say anything, she simply pushed him onto the bed.

"Sleep" Julia was then about to leave.

"Where are you going?" Aditya asked back.

"Going back to my room." Julia also needed some time to rest. She and Paige have been working for 3 days without any breaks.

Just when Julia opened the door to leave, Aditya's words stopped her. "Can I sleep on your thighs?" Even Aditya is not sure how or why he requested this kind of thing. Maybe he just wanted to feel her warmth before the battle started or maybe he desired to spend some time with her before the battle began.

Whatever the reason was, Julia did not mind. She turned around and looked at Aditya with a hidden blush. She did not say anything. After looking at his eyes for a few seconds, she closed the door.

'I thought she was seriously going to reject.' Given Julia's personality, she normally would have rejected him.

Gulp!

Aditya was slightly nervous and also very excited about being able to lay on her lap. A moment later, Aditya found his head on her lap. He couldn't describe the emotions he currently felt.

Feeling the warmth of her body, he suddenly began feeling very sleepy. Unable to keep his eyelids open anymore, after closing his eyes, he did not realize when he fell asleep.

"Sleep well." Even if Julia wanted to, her dad forbade her from joining this battle. She, her mother, and Zak were asked to stay in the castle. If Aditya was in Adam's place, even he would have done the same thing.

She smiled as she gently stroked his dark blue long hair.

About 15 minutes later, Julia who hasn't gotten to sleep for 3 days straight also started to feel sleepy. She put Aditya's head on the pillow and without even realizing she just laid next to him and fell asleep.

About 30 minutes later, Julia's mother, Sophie came to call Aditya for dinner.

Knock! Knock!

"Aditya, dinner is ready." Seeing Aditya not answering, Sophie opened the door.

Click!

She was stunned to see both Aditya and Julia sleeping on the same bed. She couldn't help but smile seeing this scene.

"Sleep well. Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for both of you." Sophie did not disturb them and left after closing the door.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 95

This chapter is dedicated to readers [yulric564], [ErjasD] and [EnergyDao] for gifting a Massage chair, Ice cola, and Inspiration capsule to this novel.

Thank you very much [yulric564], [ErjasD] and [EnergyDao]. Your gifts mean a lot to this novel.

Next morning,

Unlike normal days, these 4 days the sky has been covered by black clouds as continuous nonstop rain kept on pouring down on the land. It seems heaven had no intention of stopping the rain. The cries and the miseries of normal people were not answered.

Over the 4 days of continuous rain, Aditya had gotten used to the sound of rain. It seems the sound of the rain had a calming effect on him. He was strangely calm even though today might be the day that the mana vortex finally stops sucking mana. Once that happens, a huge catastrophe awaits them. An event that would get millions killed.

Aditya slowly opened his eyes feeling a weight on his right arm. Opening his eyes the first thing that came into his view was long purple hair. He knew this familiar fragrance that entered his nostrils. This natural fragrance of her body seems to have started a morning fire in his dragon body.

He looked down a little to find the sleeping Goddess lying on his right arm. The weight of her soft body did not make his arm feel sore. It rather felt good. He realized that she must have fallen asleep with him.

He couldn't help but smile seeing how she was sleeping. She had no hesitation in using his right arm as her pillow. In fact, she looked like she was feeling comfortable sleeping on his right arm.

Her messy purple long hair was coloring her right eye and her left cheek. She was sleeping without any defense. For the next 5 minutes, Aditya did not do anything other than keep staring at her sleeping face. He has to admit she looked beautiful even when she was sleeping.

'The news must have shaken her more than it did to me. I can't imagine the same thing happening to my homeland. Knowing that this event was going to change her family, and her life, she still remained strong.' Aditya realized just how brave and mentally strong Julia was. Instead of giving up in despair, Julia chooses to fight alongside everyone.

Aditya smiled as he moved his right hand, gently bringing her soft body toward him. He then held her slim and soft waist using his left hand while burying her face in his chest. He held her like he was holding the most delicate thing in the whole world.

If possible he wanted to hold her like this forever. Unfortunately, this had to come to an end. Around an hour later, the princess frowned in her sleep feeling the big pillow. She thought of Aditya as a big pillow. When she was young she used to sleep while holding a pillow so she had a habit of the past.

She put her left arm on his waist while using her left arm to hold him. Her sudden bold move left Aditya dumbfounded for a second. He did not move nor did he dare to breathe too fast. He remained frozen in one place and kept staring at her face.

'Dammit.' Her soft and bouncy chest was pressed against his chest. The softness and the natural fragrance of her body only added more fuel to the fire. Aditya suddenly felt the tightness in his crotch. It felt like little Aditya was very eager to get out of the cage.

He bit his lips. The pain seems to have reduced the lust. He focused his attention on the sleeping Goddess. Right now Aditya could take advantage of her defenselessness but he avoided doing that as he wanted to wait for the right moment and the right atmosphere.

He used his right hand to gently stroke her purple hair. Being with her made him temporarily forget about the worries in his heart.

Knock! Knock!

'Dammit, what should I do?' Hearing the sudden knock, Aditya's entire body jerked up. He panicked for a moment. He knew it would be bad if her mother saw them like this.

"Aditya, Julia wake up." Without even waiting for Aditya to respond, Sophie opened the door.

"Mom, why are you yelling?" Julia was annoyed. She finally was having a comfortable sleep but she was woken up by her mother.

"Wait a minute..." The Goddess of alchemy realized that something was wrong here. She found her face buried in a man's chest. For a second she panicked but that wariness disappeared as she inhale the familiar fragrance of his body.

Julia look down to find that she was hugging Aditya like a pillow. Her left leg was on her waist while his right hand was holding her waist. She then saw the figure of her mom standing at the door.

Julia slowly raised her head and looked at Aditya's face. Aditya also met her gaze. "Good morning." Julia's whole face instantly turned red like tomato.

The Goddess was super embarrassed by the whole situation. On one hand, she found that this bad wolf was taking advantage of her. While on other hand, her mother had found them sleeping like this which might make her misunderstand.

"Fufufu! It looks like I came at the wrong time. You two can take your time. We don't mind waiting." After saying those words Sophie closed the door with a smile on her face. After closing the door, she couldn't stop smiling.

'Hehe! It looks like I won't have to wait long to hold my first grandchild.'

After the door was closed, Julia suddenly changed her form. Without waiting she went to wait for his neck.

"Hey! Stop biting me." Aditya did not want her to ruin his handsome face with bites. He quickly got up and moved to the other side of the bed and stared at Julia while rubbing the place that she bit previously.

"You Hooligan! You took advantage of me. How dare you?" Julia went for a kick which Aditya grabbed with his right hand.

Grabbing her left leg, Aditya took a few seconds to admire those slender and seductive long legs of her. However, this only made her feel more embarrassed.

"Jerk! Let me go." Her cheeks flushed red while she angrily glared at him.

"What if I don't" Now that Aditya had finally found her weak spot, he wasn't going to let her go just like that.

Seeing that this bad hooligan was not releasing her left leg, she went to kick him with her right left which was again grabbed by Aditya. Since Julia did not use any mana in her attacks, Aditya was easily able to grab her leg.

"How dare you take advantage of me?"

"I didn't take advantage. In case you forgot, this was my room."

"So what? This entire castle belongs to me. I can sleep anywhere I like."

"hehe! Now that I have caught your beautiful legs, I am going to appreciate them."

"If you don't release my legs, I am going to call mom for help." Seeing that she was on the verge of losing, the sly Goddess decided to take her mom's help.

"Hmph! Do you think I will release your legs just because you are going to call your mother?" Aditya also did not give up.

"MOM!"

"Big brother, what happened to your face?" Little Zak innocently asked. On the other hand, Sophie sighed. She wasn't even surprised at this point.

"Are you alright Aditya?" Sophie glared at her daughter for a second before asking Aditya. Julia felt betrayed when her mother and little brother took Aditya's side.

"It seems some mosquitoes had bitten your face last night? Hahaha! I guess this is natural considering that it has been raining for 4 days now." Hearing Adam's words, Aditya's face instantly went dark.

"Hahaha! Yes, those mosquitoes also tried to bite me but I slapped them away." Julia and Adam looked at each other and smiled.

'So father and daughter are working together now.' Aditya sighed while rubbing the bite marks on his face.

Meanwhile, little Zak secretly wondered what type of mosquitoes can have big teethes.

Unlike the previous 3 days, the atmosphere at the dining table was not tense as before. Everyone left their worries in the back of their minds and enjoyed the breakfast. But it seems fate wasn't going to allow this happy moment to last too long. As just as they finished their breakfast, Eddie came running.

"Sire, the Mana vortex has stopped sucking mana." Just one sentence seems to have the power to turn everyone's mood worse. Adam and Aditya looked at each other and nodded. The next moment, along with Eddie, the three males disappeared from the living room leaving worried Julia, Sophie, and little Zak.

A few minutes later, Aditya, Adam, Eddie, and old man Tobias were standing on the western walls that surrounded the city and looked at the giant vortex that finally had stopped sucking mana. The spiraling ripples around that vortex no longer could be seen.

Aditya looked at the 211.7 meters giant vortex. Even though the vortex had stopped sucking mana, it was like a ticking bomb that could explode at any time.

"The mana vortex stopped sucking mana about 10 minutes ago. If my estimation is right before the now the mana vortex will explode releasing a huge wave of mana." Everyone turned their attention to the old man Tobias. Whether it was young or old, everyone carefully listened to the old Vampire's words.

"The mana wave released by the explosion of the mana vortex will be super powerful. It will literally destroy everything in 100km if not protected. If we don't block the mana wave, then it will destroy this city along with everyone living in the city." Just as the old man Tobias finished his words, everyone's face turned pale hearing lightning cracking sound.

Roar!

It felt as if heaven itself was roaring. The earth also started shaking a little. Aditya even felt the walls were slightly shaking as well. His dragon instinct was screaming at him to run away from this place as soon as possible. "Everyone, prepare yourself. The mana vortex is about to explode." The old Man Tobias' words were heard throughout the entire city.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 96

This chapter is dedicated to readers [carlos123995], [Zomzy17] and [EnergyDao] for gifting two Ice colas, and an Inspiration capsule to this novel.

Thank you very much to readers [carlos123995], [Zomzy17] and [EnergyDao] .

The Apogale city was built in the middle of the forest. The whole city was surrounded by thick forest. The high walls around the city kept the magical beasts from entering the city. Under general Eddie, a group of thousand soldiers was sent every day to drive out or kill the magical monster that comes near the city.

The city has never experienced monster attacks as Duke Adam made sure to keep the area surrounding the forest clear. But that was a thing of the past. Right now more than 1,000,000 soldiers were standing outside the western wall of the city.

In these 4 days' time, all the nobles had sent reinforcement to Duke Adam. Even rivals and haters of Duke Adam had no choice but to send reinforcement. Duke Adam was the strongest Duke in the whole Empire. If Duke Adam cannot hold the attack from the monsters, then the entire Empire will be doomed. That's why all the nobles who did not like Adam had to set their animosity aside and send reinforcement without holding back.

Outside the western walls that stretched more than 400 meters long, one million soldiers were ready standing looking at the mana vortex that now had stopped sucking mana. It was not just the soldiers, the King personally even requested all the adventurers of the Empire to help out as well. Aside from 1 million soldiers, there were about 100,000 adventurers joining this fight. These adventurers called this Empire their home and were ready to shed blood for their homeland. Also not to mention the fact that the King himself has promised rewards to adventurers.

Among 1,000,000 troops, there were some soldiers that were sitting on magical mounts. Magical mounts are magical beasts that are tamed to become mounts. There were many kinds of magical mounts. There were Snow wolves, Lunar wolves, red horses, black horses, white horses, Wild Bulls, Dessert Bulls, Horned Bulls, King Horned Bulls, and Desert Wolves. Not every soldier could afford to buy a mount.

A mount could cost somewhere around 500 gold coins to 10,000 gold coins depending on the type of mount. There were also some mythical rank mounts that were so rare that even 1 million royal gold wouldn't be enough to buy them.

Only around 50,000 soldiers had mounts with them. This was Aditya's first time seeing soldiers sitting on mounts. This was a concept that was not followed in the eastern region of the continent.

"Are you curious about mounts?" Aditya nodded hearing Adam's voice.

"All mounts here except for the magical horses are beginner 2nd-order magical animals. Except for the horse-type magical mounts, all other mounts can attack, defend and also kill monsters. The horse-type mounts are known for their fast speed. Even though their cultivation is in Peak 1st-order, they can move fast as some beginner 3rd-order cultivators."

Aditya nodded in understanding. He was a little interested in the magical horses. Each horse was about 2 meters tall and 2.5 meters long. "Uncle do you know how I can get my hands on those magical horses?"

The idea of breeding magical horses came to his mind. Magical horses cannot be found in the Eastern region of the continent. But by breeding the horses, the Istarin Kingdom will become the first Kingdom to have magical mounts in the Eastern region.

"Alright, let's talk about it later." Aditya nodded in response.

"Everyone, prepare yourself. The mana vortex is about to explode." The old Man Tobias' words were heard throughout the entire city.

Aditya and Adam's faces turned serious. Everyone had their eyes on the mana vortex. By now the mana vortex had become so huge that it can be seen even from 50 km away.

Crack!

Many soldiers fell down when the earth started shaking. Even Aditya and others who were standing at top of the walls felt the walls shaking ever so slightly. "It's coming."

Booooooooooom!

The next second everyone heard a thunderous sound. With that sound, a huge wave of mana was released from the mana vortex. "Everyone use your mana to create a mana barrier."

"Increase the range of the defensive barrier." With Adam's loud words, the energy dome that was previously covering the entire city started expanding. In a few seconds, a gigantic white transparent energy dome was covering 5km around the city.

"It's coming." Aditya's pupils contracted to the size of a needle as he watched the mana wave destroy everything in its mana while heading in their direction.

The mana wave spread out in every direction. With the wave, a terrifying strong gust of wind also headed toward the city. Everyone's faces turned pale as they watched the mana wave approaching them at a rapid speed.

"Get the mana barrier ready." No one held back at that moment. Everyone circulated their mana. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of mana barriers started forming. Aditya watched the scene in a mix of amazement and shock, one by one with each passing millisecond, hundreds of mana barrier was formed behind the big energy dome.

The mana wave approached them like an avalanche. Even normal people can see a huge cloud of dust and pebbles approaching in their direction.

Without any hesitation, Aditya increased the range of this mana barrier which consumed [100+] mana per second.

Boooooooooooooooooom!

Right after the mana wave hit them, the city's defensive energy dome started cracking at rapid speed. Everyone looked at the glass-like cracks that were appearing on the energy dome in fear.

bang!

After 2 seconds the energy dome shattered like glass. The mana wave hit the hundred thousand mana barriers created by everyone. But in front of the mana wave, the mana barriers created by more than one million cultivators were like an ant.

Crack!

One by one every mana barrier was breaking like fragile glass. Even the barriers made the peak 4th-order cultivators couldn't hold on more than a second. In a few seconds, the mana wave easily shattered a hundred thousand mana barriers. Seeing death approaching them everyone's faces turned pale from fear.

"This is really the end for us?" In front of their eyes, all the mana barriers kept shattering. At that time, it was as if time had slowed down. Everyone could see what was happening but their bodies were not fast enough to react at that speed.

Crack!

With each cracking sound, everyone felt their death approaching them.

"It's over....." The mana wave had significantly weakened by now but it was still powerful enough to kill almost everyone here.

When the mana wave hit the last few remaining mana barriers, in less than a second all the mana barriers broke except for one mana barrier.

Crack!

Just like the energy dome, the 400 meters huge mana barrier started cracking at a rapid speed. Right now everyone wished from the bottom of their hearts that the mana wave would stop.

"It's him." One by one everyone turned to look at Aditya. Almost everyone here knew who this handsome young man was.

Crack!

The crack continued increasing. In a few seconds, the 400 meters mana barrier was full of cracks.

"Aditya everything rests on your shoulder now." Aditya's face turned pale as he began pouring more of his mana into holding the mana barrier. The cracks that were all over the mana barrier started disappearing. It was as if time has been reversed.

"Just how much mana does he has?" At this moment everyone had respect for Aditya.

"I am out of mana." Almost everyone heard had used all of their mana to make large mana barriers. While the 1st-order cultivators had no choice but to reinforce the mana barrier of others with their little mana reserve. Compared to other high-order cultivators, the 1st-orders only had 100+ mana.

Meanwhile, Aditya's face started turning more and more paler with each passing second. Right now he was using [300+] mana per second to keep the 400 meters long mana barrier. If his mana barrier fell, it would be over.

"Aditya hold it for a few more seconds." Fortunately, the mana wave has been getting weaker. After breaking the city energy dome and hundreds of thousands of mana barriers, the mana wave has weakened a lot.

"I can't hold it anymore." Aditya was starting to feel his consciousness fading from overusing his mana. Even with his [2800+] huge reserve of mana, making a huge barrier of 400 meters long and 30 meters tall and keeping the barrier running when a powerful external force was trying to break the barrier, a huge amount of mana was being consumed each passing second.

Bang!

The next second Aditya fell to his knees as he witnessed the 400 meters of mana barrier breaking like glass. Fortunately, by then, the mana wave had greatly weakened. Other than feeling a strong gust of wind, nothing happened to anyone. Aditya managed to save everyone at the last second.

"We survived." Some soldiers couldn't believe that they had survived the mana wave. For a few seconds, they thought they were doomed.

"We survived because of him." Everyone turned their eyes to look at the person who was on his knees and panting heavily. His face look pale as if someone had squeezed out all the blood from his body.

All the 4th-order cultivators stared at each other with shocked expressions. Just how much mana does this kid have? Even the 4th-order cultivators were able to last only a second before the mana wave broke their mana barriers.

"So this is the rumored Son-in-law of Duke Adam." A man standing next to Lucian carefully observed Aditya for turning his attention to the mana vortex.

Meanwhile, Lucian had newfound respect and admiration for Aditya. This man had not only saved his life but also saved the lives of his father and also millions of cultivators and adventurers. "Before I wanted to fight him to test out his strength but now I want to fight him as a cultivator."

Adam, Eddie, and Tobias all three had smiles on their faces. Adam patted Aditya's right shoulder and said with a smile. "Good job, kid. It is because of you that we managed to survive."

Aditya replied with a small nod before taking a few mana recovery pills. Not just Aditya, everyone had mana recovery pills with them. Adam had ordered mana recovery pills, health recovery pills, and stamina recovery pills to be handed to every person who has come to join this battle. While doing that, he also used up all the reserved pills that his daughter and his daughter's maid Paige had made in a few years.

Aditya felt a little better after taking the mana recovery pills. He looked at the mana vortex and was instantly shocked. The mana vortex now had turned into a huge dark blue portal.

Old man Tobias's face turned ugly seeing this portal. He knew what was about to come. Compared to what they were about to face, the mana wave was more like a teaser as the main show was about to begin now.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 97

This chapter is dedicated to readers [Yam_Van_5538] and [wisecat] for gifting Pizza and an Ice cola to this novel.

Thank you very much to the readers [Yam_Van_5538] and [wisecat]

"What the hell is that?" The million of warriors and mages did not get time to celebrate as their attention was eventually drawn to the 100 meters huge dark blue portal. It was impossible to see beyond the portal. No one knew what type of monsters were inside the dungeon.

"Given the size of the portal, this dungeon is easily a [SS] tier dungeon. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of monsters exceeds 10 million." Tobias did not say these words in a loud tone. As he knew if the soldiers learned about this, they would lose their morals in fights.

Aditya and Adam shared a look. Both men stared into each other's eyes. At this moment words weren't necessary. With a single look, Aditya instantly understood what Adam wanted to remind him. Adam was reminding Aditya about the promise that he made to Adam.

"Don't worry, we will win this fight." Adam shook his head and said nothing. Only he knew how anxious he was in his heart.

For a moment no one said anything. They held their breaths and kept on staring at the gigantic 100 meters size dark blue portal. Everyone was nervous about this fight. Even the Peak 4th-order cultivators were having a hard time keeping themselves calm. They may be a powerhouse but in front of an army of millions of monsters, even they were not so sure.

"It's coming." Aditya will remember this scene forever. From the huge portal, he saw a green being walking out. He instantly recognized this being.

The being was 1.2 meters tall and had green skin. The being had bat-like ears and either a flat or long and hooked nose. The being had dark red pupils and an ugly hideous face.

"It's a goblin." The monster that they were going to face turned out to be a monster of demonic origin.

The 1.2 meters tall green-skinned goblin was wearing silver armor covering his chest and ribcage. The monster had covered its lower part with wolf skin. The goblin had a pair of shoes made out of leather. The goblin was holding a short black sword.

Following the goblin, this time a thousand goblins started walking out of the portal. With each passing second, more and more goblins walked out of the portal.

"The goblins number is increasing." Within a minute, more than 10,000 goblins were widely running at the 1 million soldiers.

The mana wave had instantly destroyed all the trees and objects in its path. At this moment, there were no signs of trees or any objects in the 20 km distance between Apogale city and the Dungeon. it was a plain field, a perfect place for battle.

Adam and other 4th-order cultivators appeared in front of the 1 million armies. Adam then raised his greatsword and spoke in a loud tone. "Everyone, it's time to protect this land. Do not fear death. Charge forward the enemies and slaughter them."

"Kill the goblins."

Standing above the wall, Aditya watched the army of 1,100,000 charging to kill the seemingly endless number of goblins.

"So that guy is here." Aditya glanced at Lucian, the son of Duke Campbell who challenge in a fight around 5 days ago. He wasn't expecting the son of Duke Campbell to participate in this fight.

For the next few seconds Aditya curiously kept his eyes on Lucian.

At the front, standing 20 meters away from Adam, Lucian charged at the goblins at his full speed. Right when the goblins were only 100 meters away from him, the silver sword in his hand started shining in white light.

Ice Blizzard Slash!

Bang!

A wave of cold ice mana was released from the 5th-tier silver sword. The attack instantly froze two thousand 1st-order goblins to death.

Seeing his large-scale attack, the soldiers behind him also felt their blood boiling. With a loud roar, Adam, Eddie, Tobias, and everyone started their fights against the goblins.

However, Aditya soon discovered another problem. The number of goblins that were being killed each second was really low compared to the number of goblins coming out of the dungeon. In a few minutes, the goblin number went from 10,000 to 50,000. There seems to be no end to the goblins.

"There are Royal Goblins, Goblin Mages, Goblin Warriors, half-Goblins, High-Goblins." There were all kinds of Goblins mixed. But the most common one was the Goblins. Except for a hundred, most goblins' cultivation was either in Peak 1st-order or 2nd-order.

Two pairs of red wings appeared on his back. Dark blue lightning started flickering around his body. The next moment the Dagon King also disappeared as if he had teleported.

Under Adam's orders, the 1 million armies had begun surrounding the goblins from 3 sides. All the 4th-order powerhouses were fighting at the frontline while the mages fought from behind. All kinds of siege weapons were constantly attacking the goblins.

"Just die already." While being surrounded by thousands of 2nd-order goblins, Adam madly swung his greatsword. Each time he swung his greatsword, hundreds of goblins would die. He wasn't using his mana. His raw strength was more than enough to slaughter the goblins like cabbage.

The other side also had Goblin Mages. The Goblin mages were wearing a black hats and covering their bodies with black cloaks. One of the 3rd-order goblin mage's attention was drawn to Adam.

The female Goblin mage was momentarily left stunned seeing hundreds of bodies of Goblins flying. Each time this man swung his greatsword, it generated a shockwave that sent hundreds of goblins flying.

"Keke! This human looks strong. I wonder if the King will allow me to mate with him." The female Goblin mage raised her wooden staff and started casting a 3-star spell at Adam.

Illusion Demon!

The wooden staff shined brightly as the female Goblin mage almost released her spell but at the last moment a sword pierced her body and appeared between her breasts.

Cough!

The female Goblin mage coughed out a mouth full of blood as the wooden staff fell from her hand. She somehow looked back to find a handsome man with long dark blue hair coldly staring at her.

"Human..." Aditya did not have even a shred of mercy as he witnessed the female Goblin mage fall on her knees and then slowly lose consciousness.

"I am a Dragon." The next second, Aditya snapped his fingers.

?Ding! The host has killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin Mage.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

Swoosh!

For a second everyone on the battlefield stopped fighting as they stared at the enormous looking red dragon that descended from the cloud. The red dragon was made up of fire flames. The red dragon was about 100 meters tall and 25 meters wide. Just the appearance of the red dragon created fear in the hearts of the hundred thousands of goblins.

"This is the legendary red flame."

"But how does this man has this legendary flame?"

"Why I haven't heard of his name before?"

"I am beginning to understand on why the Duke chose this man as his daughter's future husband."

The soldiers couldn't help but stop for a moment and look at the majestic-looking 100-meter tall red eastern dragon. The eastern red dragon descended from heaven. As soon as the red dragon came 30 meters above the ground, all the 1st-order goblins who were below the red dragon felt their bodies burning.

Ahhh!

"What is happening?"

"I don't know."

"Someone save me."

The 1st-order goblins howled in pain. Their painful cries sent chills down other goblins' spines. They immediately started making distance from this human.

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Goblin Mage.?

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Goblin Warrior.?

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Half-Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Goblin Archer.?

?Ding! The host has killed a...?

Without waiting, Aditya sent the red dragon on a straight path. Just the terrifying temperature of the flame was enough to burn any 1st-order goblins who were near 25 meters range of the eastern red dragon.

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Half-Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a 1st order Goblin Archer.?

?Ding! The host has killed a...?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

Booom!

A powerful attack suddenly destroyed the red dragon.

"Let me handle this human." Hearing the voice, Aditya turned to his left to find a 1.5 meters tall Goblin. Unlike other Goblins, this Goblin was very different. This goblin had red skin, almost human looking like muscular body, and was 1.5 meters tall.

"So this is a mutant Goblins." Aditya felt the strength of this goblin was at least beginner 4th-order.

"My name is Xia Wu." Seeing 4th-order handling this human, the other goblins tactfully moved aside and continued attacking the other humans.

"That's a Chinese name." Aditya raised an eyebrow. From the beginning, he has noticed several things. The first thing was that all the goblins had the same intelligence as an adult humans which is really weird. As far as he knew, Goblin at most had the intelligence of a 9 years child. Goblins were monsters that kidnapped girls to have **x with them. Aditya has heard that Goblins usually target small villages and r*p* all the girls within the village until they die.

Secondly, even if the goblins are born inside a dungeon from where did the goblins got forged weapons and clothes? The mana wouldn't possibly make weapons for the goblins. Aditya was starting to feel that this mana vortex had some other purpose.

"What is your name human?" Since Aditya had suppressed his bloodline, everyone thought of him as human.

"I am Aditya."

Xia Wu slyly smiled as he licked his curved dagger. "Prepare to die."

Swoosh!

Xia Wu instantly covered 100 meters distance and appeared in front of Aditya.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 98

Swoosh!

Xia Wu instantly covered 100 meters distance and appeared in front of Aditya. Aditya's face was reflected in the sharp and polished steel sword that headed for his neck.

Clang!

"Ohh!" The red goblin named Xia Wu was surprised when Aditya surprisingly managed to block his attack.

After blocking the attack with the Crimson Dragon Wrath sword, the Dragon King used his right leg to land a kick on the red goblin.

Bang!

The kick forced the red goblin to retreat 10 meters. He held his stomach in pain. He felt his internal organs were being crushed from the punch. Compared to normal humans, goblins' bodies weren't that strong. Goblins were more of an agility-type fighter because of their light body. The red mutant goblin Xia Xu was a mutant goblin. He was born with extraordinary strength.

"What a powerful attack!" Never did he expect, he would meet a human whose raw strength was even higher than his. This is where he was wrong. He did not know that Aditya was a dragon whose raw strength was high even for a dragon's standard.

"It's a shame but our tribe's female goblins would have loved to taste you." Hearing these words, Aditya utterly felt disgusted. Suddenly the coldness in his eyes only increased.

Both red goblin and Aditya dashed at each other. When Aditya was only 4 meters away from Xia Wu, he activated one of his most lethal skills.

Crimson Blink!

When the red goblin blinked his eyes for a second, the next second he found instead of seeing a human, he found a red bolt of lightning almost was about to hit his chest.

Not understanding what was going on, the goblin put his hands together before his chest to protect his body from the attack.

Booom!

Once again Xia Wu was pushed back. This time smokes were coming out of his muscular and strong arms. Xia Wu gritted his teeth in pain as he literally felt his both arms has been shattered. He felt his skin was burning. Never did he experience this kind of horrifying pain.

"Time to die." The next second the red goblin was greeted with a 5 meters spiraling orb that hit his body.

Ahhhhh!!!!

With his scream, his body burned to black and the beginner 4th-order red goblin named Xia Wu died. Leaving other goblins in a complete state of shock.

?Ding! The host has killed a Beginner 4th-order Mutated Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

Aditya cracked his neck as he looked at the other goblins with a threatening and cold smile. "That was a good warm-up. Now it's time to start the hunt."

Swoosh!

The Dragon King disappeared from his place. The soldiers who were fighting the 1st-order goblins, suddenly felt the temperature around them rising rapidly. "Look to your right." When others looked to their right, they suddenly found the sky was covered with hundreds of 10 meters of big spiraling orbs of red flames.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

It was like they were witnessing a meteor shower. One by one hundred spiraling orbs that were made up of red flames rained down on the goblins that came out of the portal.

?Ding! The host has killed a Beginner 2nd-order Mutated Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak 1st-order Goblin mage.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak 1st-order Goblin warrior.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak 1st-order Goblin archer .?

?Ding! The host has killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin mage.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak...?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

"With the mana that I currently have, I can keep using this kind of attack many times before I ran out of mana." Aditya decided to not waste his mana at this early stage of this fight. The real winner of this fight will be the ones who preserve their strength from the beginning and last till the very end.

"Let's do some physical exercise." Aditya landed in the middle of the horde of goblins monsters. No matter which direction he looked at, he can only see an endless sea of goblins.

Crimson Blaze!

A red ring of flame formed around Aditya. The ring was about 5 meters in size. As just as the ring of flame formed around, it instantly burned hundreds of goblins to ashes. Under Aditya's control, the ring of red flame started expanding in size. It went from being 5 meters to 10 meters and then to 20 meters. The red flame ring just continued to expand. About 5 seconds later, the ring of flame had expanded up to 50 meters.

From the sky, if someone looked down then they would see a huge ring of red flame that was over 50 meters in size. Every goblin in 50 meters radius was burned by the Crimson Flame.

?Ding! The host has killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin mage.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak...?

On the other side, Adam just like his son-in-law was also going full berserk. He was called the wild Lion for no reason. Today everyone got to see why he was called Savage. His fighting style was just too cruel and brutal. With one hand he madly kept on swinging his greatsword with his other hand he kept on casting various types of elemental spells.

"Come F******!" From behind a beginner, a 3rd-order Goblin warrior jumped at Adam intending to land an attack on Adam's back with his sword.

But to his shock, Adam suddenly threw the greatsword in a certain direction before turning around to grab the beginner 3rd-order goblin.

"You....Ahhhhhh!!!!" The Wild lion grabbed the beginner 3rd-order goblin warrior with his both hands. What happened the next second made other goblins' blood go cold. They were petrified when Adam ripped off the beginner 3rd-order goblins head with his bare hands.

"What kind of animal is he?" Another 3rd-order goblin stared at Adam in fear. That goblin that Adam just killed was his brother. Seeing his brother get killed this brutally the 3rd-order goblin's body couldn't stop shaking in fear.

Meanwhile, Adam grabbed the chain that was wrapped around his left hand. With a single pull, the greatsword that weighed 5 tons flew back at Adam. While flying back, any goblin that came in its way instantly exploded.

"Dirty animals" Adam then grabbed the black chain that was tied on the hilt of the greatsword with both of his hands. The next moment he started spinning his body, causing the 5-ton greatsword to rotate with him like the rotor blades of a helicopter.

Misty Vengeance Fall!

Bang!

No goblin was able to stop the rotating greatsword that weighed 5 tons. Even Peak 3rd-order goblins were cut like cabbage.

"Dammit"

"We have to deal with these two humans. His flame is too dangerous. Our soldiers can't even get near him because of that Crimson Flame. And the other one is fighting more like a savage. At this rate, these two will become a big problem."

"Don't worry, for now, let's wait. I don't mind if a few hundred thousand of our goblins die. Those who died were just trash. Let those two humans have some fun. I am sure it won't be long before both get exhausted."

"For now, let's observe and see if the enemy has any trump cards."

"Alright."

This was just the early phase of the battle. The battle still hadn't entered the main phase. By now more than one hundred thousand goblins had come out of the portal. The number just kept on increasing. At this rate, within another 5 to 10 minutes, the goblin's number will increase to two hundred and fifty thousand.

Right now the armies of 1 million were having no problem overwhelming the goblins. For every 1 goblin, there were at least one 10 soldiers. At the back, the soldiers and adventurers with healing and supportive classes were constantly healing and also supporting the soldiers who were fighting at the front line.

Not only that, the siege weapons owned by the Onard family were way more advanced than the siege weapons used by the Kingdoms in the eastern region of the continent. Each siege weapon attack was strong enough to kill hundreds of 3rd-order goblins. It's unfortunate that it takes almost 10 minutes to prepare a single attack. Each siege attack cost the Onard family around 10,000 royal gold coins.

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak 2nd-order Mutated Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin mage.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak 3rd-order Royal Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin archer.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Mid 3rd-order Royal Goblin.?

?Ding! The host has killed a Peak...?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

At this point, he had practically lost the count of the number of goblins that he had killed. "No matter how many goblins we keep on killing, their number doesn't seem to end. Instead, their numbers only have been increasing."

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has reached level 140.?

Hearing the message Aditya stopped for a moment. It only has been around 10 minutes since he joined the battle. Yet killed so many goblins that he went from level 100 to level 140 in just 10 minutes.

"This place is perfect for farming experience points." The Dragon king felt very happy about the whole situation. At this rate, it won't be long before he reaches 3rd-order. His cultivation speed was out of his world. Even the greatest genius in the history of this world cannot compare to him.

"Fufu! little brother why don't you play with us instead?"

"Instead of playing with these lowly goblins just play with us. Hehe! I am sure you will love it."

Aditya stopped as he noticed the 1st-order and 2nd-order goblins were avoiding him. He turned around to find a group of females standing 100 meters away from him. Seeing their ugly faces and the glowing lust in their eyes, Aditya instantly frowned.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 99

"Fufu! little brother why don't you play with us instead?"

"Instead of playing with these lowly goblins just play with us. Hehe! I am sure you will love it."

Aditya stopped as he noticed the 1st-order and 2nd-order goblins were avoiding him. He turned around to find a group of females standing 100 meters away from him. Seeing their ugly faces and the glowing lust in their eyes, Aditya instantly frowned.

'All of them are Peak 3rd-order royal goblins.' Unlike normal goblins, Royal goblins were born a little taller and had bigger bodies. Royal goblins had bodies that almost made them look like humans but their faces were very ugly. Their skin was dark green compared to normal goblins. Compared to goblins, they were wearing pretty expensive-looking clothes.

The one Aditya was going to face was a group of female royal goblins. To be more specific, it was a group that consists of 7 Peak 3rd-order goblins. Among them two of the royal goblins were archers, three were mages, one was a melee fighter and the last one was a goblin warrior with a black sword.

"Little brother, why don't you just surrender and submit to us? I promise we will make sure to feed you 3 times a day." Aditya felt very disgusted seeing feeling their lustful gazes on his body. He somehow felt that the faces of these royal goblins were even uglier than the normal goblins.

"Let's end this quickly." Aditya didn't wish to keep looking at their ugly faces. There was no need to waste time by talking with these monsters that only thought of s*e.

Scene change_____

"Mom, hurry up." Sophie nodded her head. Currently, Sophie and Zak was sitting on the couches. On the table in front of them, there was a fist size square-shaped dark purple crystal. The dark purple crystal was an artifact of the Onard family.

Sophie put condensed her mana inside the crystal causing the artifact to start glowing in purple color. The light from the artifact started intensifying with each passing second until it reached a point where both Julia and Sophie couldn't keep their eyes open because of the bright light.

5 seconds later, the bright purple light coming from the crystal started dimming down. When Sophie and Julia opened their eyes, they saw a 10 meters big transparent screen in front of the square-shaped crystal.

The transparent screen showed them the current state of the battlefield. Unlike Sophie, this was the first time Julia was seeing the cruelty of a battlefield. This is also why Aditya did not take Julia to any battlefield and asked her to stay in the castle. Sophie remained calm but Julia started feeling anxious about Aditya.

The screen showed how goblins endlessly kept coming out of the portal. The millions of soldiers fought with their lives on the line. Both mother and daughter saw the old man Tobias, using his vampire powers to kill hundreds of goblins with each passing second. Eddie using his water elemental powers to fight against multiple 3rd-order goblins.

"It's Dad" Both Sophie and Julia looked at their dad who fought more like a wild animal. By now, Adam's entire body was covered in the blood of his enemies. He did not care about anything. If he couldn't kill his enemy with his greatsword, then he would use his bare hands to rip them apart.

Rather than feeling scared of seeing a different side of Adam, the mother and daughter felt excited seeing Adam fight like this.

"Dad is so cool."

"Yeah, this is why I fell for him in the first place."

"What?" The alchemy Goddess looked at her mother in surprise.

"N....nothing. Let's focus on the battlefield." Sophie slightly blushed. She clearly remembers the day when she saw Adam on the battlefield for the first time.

"Mom, I want to see Aditya." Sophie helplessly nodded. Even though she wanted to keep watching her husband fight, she also realized that her daughter also desired the same for Aditya. Sophie was also curious about Aditya's powers so she controlled the crystal and soon Aditya appeared on the screen.

Unlike Adam, there wasn't even a single drop of blood on Aditya's flesh. Whereas dead bodies of goblins lay around Adam, there wasn't even a single dead body around him. The only thing that both mother and daughter saw was dust and ashes.

"I guess we have no choice but to force you to come with us." The goblin named Fang Zhen playfully licked her lips thinking that her action would seduce Aditya. But in reality, it made him want to throw up.

Lightning Dash!

[Agility 100+]

Swoosh!

The female Goblins were surprised to see how fast Aditya moved. All of them thought that Aditya was a mage-type fighter. But it seems their assumptions were wrong.

With [600+] total agility, Aditya moved faster than the wind. Seeing how fast the human moved, the goblin mages had fear in their eyes.

"Take this"

Arrow of Paralyzing orb!

Arrow of deteriorating health!

Two kinds of arrows, one was dark purple in color while the other was dark green in color were fired by the two royal goblin archers.

Seeing two 1 meters size arrows heading in his direction, Aditya waved his free hand summoning A 5 meters big red eastern dragon of Crimson flame in front of him. The five meters big red dragon destroyed two arrows and headed for the female royal goblins.

"Big sister, do something."

"Hurry little sister."

The three royal mages hurriedly cast earth elemental spells to create three 5 meters thick walls of mud in front of them. Each mud wall was around 10 meters wide and 10 meters in length.

Booom!

The royal female goblins sighed in relief seeing that they had successfully managed to stop this Crimson flame.

"You girls shouldn't forget about me." Hearing the cold voice, all 7 female goblin's bodies shuddered in fear. Before they could even turn around a wave of crimson flame surrounded them from all four sides before engulfing their entire bodies in Crimson flames.

Ahhhh!!!!

"Someone save us."

Aditya coldly watched as the female goblins screamed in pain. Since their bodies were Peak 3rd-order, they were strong enough to handle the crimson flame and not get turned to ash like those 1st and 2nd-order goblins.

Unlike 1st and 2nd-order goblins who experienced no pain and were instantly turned to ash, these royal goblins experienced the full pain of getting burned alive.

The goblins who were in 100 meters range watched Aditya burn the royal goblins in fear. After seeing this no 1st and 2nd-order goblins had the courage to even come near Aditya.

?Ding! The host has killed Peak 3rd-order Royal Goblin Archer.?

?Ding! The host has killed Peak 3rd-order Royal Goblin Mage.?

?Ding! The host has killed Peak 3rd-order Royal Goblin Warrior.?

?Ding! The host has killed Peak 3rd-order Royal Goblin...?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Ding! The host has leveled up. The host stats have been increased by one 1 point. The host has received 2 free points.?

?Aura of Soul Fire: - 90%?

Seeing this Aditya frowned slightly. 'It seems the difficulty in leveling up is only increasing. Before killing a Peak 3rd-order was enough for me to level 9 to 10 times. But now even after killing 7 peak 3rd-order goblins, I only leveled up 2 times.' By now Aditya had stopped receiving any experience from killing 1st order beings. He received very low experience points from killing 2nd-order beings. His only option of leveling up was to kill 3rd-order goblins or 4th-order goblins. But so far he hasn't sensed any 4th-order goblin coming out of the portal.

Aditya looked down to see the wooden staff, armor, and weapons that were previously used by the royal goblins. The weapons and armor were slightly burned from his Crimson Flame but this armor and weapons still looked useable.

"Let's see." Since no goblin dared to even approach him, Aditya stopped fighting and vent down to pick up the black sword that one of the ugly-looking royal goblins used.

[Warped Etcher]

[Mid-3-star weapon]

[Description: - Increases the power of wind elemental attacks by [50%].

"Good sword." While holding the sword, the King of the Istarin Kingdom suddenly had another idea in his head. The idea was a little crazy but he still hoped that this idea of his would work.

He looked around. The only thing that he can see was an endless sea of goblins. No matter where he looked, he only saw green goblins. For the first time in his life, Aditya hated this green color so much.

However, he wasn't looking for goblins. He instead looked down. He couldn't help but smile seeing the countless weapons falling on the ground. "I don't know from where these goblins got such high star weapons and armor but it would be a great waste to not take these high star weapons and armor with me."

Before Aditya even had bought slaves to forge weapons and armor for this Kingdom. But there is a limit on how many weapons and armor few slaves can make in a single day. Buying high-star weapons and armor wasn't an option either. The most cheapest and useful option will be to loot all the weapons and armor that the goblins dropped.

With the wave of his hand, all the weapons and armor that were lying on the ground around him were instantly stored in his space ring. It didn't matter if the weapon or armor was still covered in blood. He can wash them later when he returns to his Kingdom.

"What is he doing?" Julia and Sophie were stunned to see Aditya collecting weapons and armor. Both mother and daughter looked at each other with various emotions. Suddenly both of them started laughing while seeing what Aditya was doing.

Meanwhile, Aditya happily collected all the weapons and armors around him. Since he had killed these goblins, no one had any right of stopping him. It did not matter whether the weapon or armor was 1-star or 2-star, he put everything in his storage ring.

[Wit's End]

[Peak 2-star sword]

[Description: - Increases the power of the user by [20%]

"Hehe! I am getting richer." Just as Aditya was about to put the 2-star sword in his space ring, he suddenly felt danger coming from behind. Without any hesitation, he activated the lightning dash and moved to his right side.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed another Peak 3rd-order goblin attacking him using a 3-star sword. For some reason, he looked very angry at Aditya. Aditya however managed to dodge the attack.

"Just die." The goblin roared in anger before charging at Aditya once again.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 100

"Just die." The goblin roared in anger before charging at Aditya once again.

"Who the hell are you?" Aditya asked as he side-stepped to the right and dodged the attack.

"You killed my sisters." Aditya remembered the 7 ugly-looking royal goblins that he previously slaughtered.

Suddenly a cold smile appeared on Aditya's face as his Crimson pupils started shining in red color. "I remember those ugly b*t*hes. It was quite fun to kill them."

Hearing those provoking words, the goblin named Zi Heng suddenly stopped. Aditya watched as the male goblin's body started shaking while his eyes turned red from anger. The goblin named Zi Heng was standing only 2 meters away from Aditya. Just like Aditya expected, the male goblin roared before going to attack.

However this time, instead of dodging his attacks, Aditya coldly smiled as he deflected his attack before Aditya's sword pierced the goblin's chest.

"Idiot, since your sisters couldn't survive against me. What made you think that you can defeat me?"

Cough!

"You..." The goblin looked like he wanted to say something but Aditya stopped him.

"Let me tell you one thing. You sisters were the ugliest b*t*** in the whole world." The next second the royal goblin named Zi Heng's head fell to the ground. This time Aditya did not turn his body to ash. He instead put the sword that this royal goblin was using before walking away.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order royal Goblin Prince.?

?Aura of Soul Fire: - 91%?

"Now that my level has increased to level 142, my current strength should be more than enough to wield this." Aditya couldn't help but smile in excitement. He has been waiting to get strong so that he can finally use that bad boy.

[Adamantite Doomblade]

Aditya's heart started beating faster as he held the Adamantite Doomblade, the black sword which weighed 3 tons in his right hand. Right now Aditya had no problem holding and using his sword as his strength had reached [300+].

On his left hand, Aditya had his Crimson Dragon wrath, the Peak 2-star sword with a fire affinity.

"Let's try out my new partner."

Swoosh!

The next second Aditya disappeared from his position. Goblins who were previously keeping a distance from Aditya felt panicked seeing Aditya disappear.

"So Aditya finally is going to use that sword." Julia couldn't help but feel excited. Meanwhile, her mother had a surprised look on her face. She knew the black sword weighed around 3 tons. Adam couldn't lift the sword till he reached Peak 3rd-order. And here Aditya was using it while still being Mid 2nd-order.

Aditya was still around 7 km away from the gigantic dark blue portal from which goblins endlessly kept on coming out. The goblins had kept a 100 meters distance from Aditya. They didn't dare cross the 100 meters line knowing full well that this devil was going to kill them the next moment.

Bang!

The Peak 2nd-order goblin saw a dark red flash before its whole body exploded into blood mist. A similar thing happened to other nearby goblins. One by one their bodies exploded into blood mist.

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin .?

?Aura of Soul Fire: - 93%?

The human soldiers who were fighting 3km away suddenly noticed the red blood mist in the air. When they looked closely they found the bodies of the goblins were exploding like water balloons.

"What is happening there?"

"I have no idea." But the soldiers did not have to wait long as after killing hundreds of goblins Aditya finally stopped. When he crouched down to pick up the swords from the ground, others were finally able to see his body which by now was covered in the blood of goblins.

"As expected of a Mid-5-star sword." Aditya used his high agility to pick up all the weapons and armors that were lying on the ground.

"Doing this is going to take a lot of time. I need someone who can pick up weapons and armor for me instead." Aditya did not like stopping in the middle of the fighting. He looked around to see if he can find any good candidates.

But the next second his attention was drawn toward another being that had just come out of the portal. "What are they?"

Similarly, Adam, Tobias, Eddie, and other 4-order cultivators also stopped fighting and looked at the sky.

"They are finally here."

"Hehe! Now nothing is going to stop us from crushing the humans and other races."

"Finally our sufferings are going to end."

Aditya was able to hear these words with his heightened senses. He couldn't help but frown.

From the portal hundreds of blackbirds that strangely resembled a crow started flying out. However, unlike normal crows, these crows were about 5 meters in size. They had large black wings and red eyes.

What shocked everyone was when they saw goblins wearing full body armor sitting on the back of the crows.

Swoosh!

Bang!

Next second, all thousands of goblins in the area near Aditya were cleared up leaving a river of blood.

"Kid, those birds are called Devil Crow." It was Adam who instantly killed 1,000 goblins before appearing next to Aditya.

"Devil Crow?"

"They are demonic beings that can be found in the demon world or places with high corrupted mana. An average Devil crow is about 5 meters in size. These birds have a flight speed comparable to a Peak 3rd-order. While an average Devil crow is strong as a Peak 2nd-order cultivator."

After hundreds of Devil Crows carrying thousands of goblins flew out of the portal, another group of Devil crows started coming out.

"Normally even a peak 2nd-order can kill these crows. But the problem is that only 5th-order cultivators can fly. While some of us can fly using rare artifacts, that will also consume a lot of mana."

Aditya understood what Adam wanted him to do. "Don't worry, uncle I will take care of these Devil Crows."

Adam patted his right shoulder. "If do not put your life in danger. I don't want my daughter to become a widow even before getting married."

Two pairs of Crimson wings came out of his back surprising all goblins who previously thought that Aditya was a human. Aditya's fingers transformed into dragon claws with red hard scales covering his arms.

Swoosh!

Adam felt a gust of wind when Aditya flew off to the sky. Seeing Aditya flying in the sky, all the goblins who were sitting on devil crow's back were shocked.

"So they have a few dragons among them." Following Aditya, 11 other dragon men and women also flew off to the sky. Their speeds were not fast as Aditya's.

Aditya turned his attention to the 11 other dragons. Before he also had sensed the presence of other dragons in the army. Aditya and the other 11 dragons looked at each other and nodded their heads simultaneously.

'It looks like those other dragons are from one single family.' All dragons had the similar color of dragon wings. Their wings were light blue in color. The light blue color represented water, so those dragons were water dragons.

"Hehe! Today we're going to slay dragons." Aditya turned his attention to the goblins sitting on the back of the devil crow. Each devil crow was carrying 15 goblins on their back. Since goblin's bodies are much smaller than humans, they had no problem carrying 15 goblins on their backs.

He noticed that all the goblins that were sitting on the Devil Crow's back were either 2nd-order or 3rd-order goblins.

Lightning Dash!

[100+ agility]

Boom!

Holding two swords in his hand, the Dragon king moved in the direction of the devil crows. His sudden increase in speed shocked the other dragons who were following him. They realized that despite having lower cultivation this dragon was able to beat them in speed.

Seeing the enemy moving in their direction, the devil crows released a dark red mist from their mouth. All the dark red mist joined together to form a mist screen in front of Aditya.

Seeing this he suddenly changed his flight path and started flying up. Using his wings to control his movement, he up at a terrifying speed. Within 15 seconds, he was 500 meters above the Devil crows.

Crimson Blaze!

The goblins and the Devil crows saw the sky above them was getting covered by a huge wave of Crimson flame. The crimson flame extended over 1000 meters, hovering above hundreds of devil crows like a net. They felt as if the sky itself had turned red, replacing the clouds with red flame.

The dragons who were following Aditya, the millions of soldiers who were fighting goblins, the goblins, Adam, Eddie, Tobias, Julia, and her mother Sophie all looked at the whole scene in a state of deep shock.

"What the hell?" The 3rd-order goblins who rode the devil crows felt their blood go cold from looking at the Crimson blaze that was over their head. What kind of attack was this? Even if they used all of their mana, at most they can cover around 100 meters.

Even a beginner 4th-order wouldn't be able to release this kind of horrifying attack unless that cultivator has a massive pool of mana. Julia knew that Aditya's mana pool has largely increased because of the black heart but never did she think his mana has increased that much.

"Hahaha! This is called Nightmare of Goblins. Now die." With a wave of his hand, the Crimson flame that covered 1000 meters area of the sky started raining down on the goblins and on the devil crows.

Everyone held their breaths as they watched the sea of crimson flame devour more than 300+ devil crows and 4,500+ 3rd-order and 2nd-order goblins.

?Ding! You have burned a Peak 3rd-order Goblin to death.?

?Ding! You have burned a Peak 2nd-order Goblin to death.?

?Ding! You have burned a Peak 2nd-order Devil Crow to death.?

?Ding! You have burned a Peak 2nd-order Devil Crow to death.?

?Ding! You have burned a Peak 2nd-order Devil Crow to death.?

?Ding! You have burned a Peak 2nd-order....?

?Ding!?

?Ding!?

?Ding!?

?Di....?

Hearing thousands of messages from the system, Aditya felt a headache. At this moment he had a huge smile on his face. The continuously ringing from the system was only making his body more and more excited.

?Ding! You have leveled up. All of your stats have been increased by 1 point. You have obtained two free stats points.?

?Ding! You have leveled up. All of your stats have been increased by 1 point. You have obtained two free stats points.?

?Ding! You have reached level 150.?

?Aura of Soul Fire: - 100%?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 101

?Ding! You have leveled up. All of your stats have been increased by 1 point. You have obtained two free stats points.?

?Ding! You have reached level 150.?

?Ding! Does the host wishes to break through beginner 3rd-order??

?Yes??No?

?Aura of Soul Fire: - 100%?

?Ding! The aura of Soul Fire has reached 100%.?

?Ding! For the next 10 minutes, all of the host's stats have been increased by 40%.?

Aditya's focus wasn't on the system. He suddenly felt a sudden increase in his powers. His body felt much lighter and more tougher than before. He felt now he can kill a beginner 3rd-order with a single punch.

Right now the Dragon king's attention was on the sea of crimson flames that extended over 1000 meters. After burning all the devil crows and the goblins to ashes, he controlled the sea of crimson flame to descend from heaven.

Meanwhile, the entire battlefield was in uproar and turmoil. While the goblins felt they are witnessing their nightmare, the 1 million soldiers and adventurers felt extremely lucky and fortunate that Aditya was on their side.

"Not good. That bastard is controlling the flames towards." All the goblins panicked as their faces paled seeing the crimson flame that covered an area of 1000 meters descending from the sky, with the intention of reducing them to ashes.

"Everyone run. Run as far as you can."

"We cannot fight this."

Meanwhile, some goblin mages who had water affinity tried launching various types of water spells.

Water Shuriken!

Ice Beam!

Water ball!

Water blast!

All kinds of water spells were launched to stop the sea of flames that threatened to devour them. At this moment if someone looked at the sky, then they would find the sky was dyed with crimson flame. No matter what kind of water spells were launched towards the sea of 1000 meters of crimson flame, all the water spells were useless. Even before the water spells could even hit the crimson flame, the terrifying temperature of the flame would start turning the water attacks to evaporate.

From the distance, Adam, Eddie, Tobias, Lucian, and many other mighty powerhouses of the Empire witnessed this scene. It was like the end had come. The sky had painted blood red. From the distance, some even thought that this red crimson flame was red blood that had covered the sky.

No one can describe the emotions that they were feeling. They felt jealous and envious that such a mighty powerhouse was the son-in-law of Duke Adam. The enemies of Adam felt relieved that they did not take any actions against Adam or his family, otherwise they would have to bear the wrath of the Crimson dragon.

The goblins who watched this scene from afar only had one thought in their minds. And that was fear. They began fearing this mad Dragon.

"We must eliminate that Dragon."

"But how? No one of our Peak 3rd-order could even stand against him. Even a group of Peak 3rd-order couldn't land even a single attack on him."

"I will take care of him." Hearing the voice, the two Peak 2nd-order royal goblin's bodies shuddered in fear. They turned around to find a 2 meters tall muscular goblin with blue skin looking at the sea of Crimson flame with his hands folded on his chest.

Meanwhile, in less than 15 seconds, the huge sea of crimson flame that extended over 1000 meters descended on the ground. The loud and howling roars and painful screams of the goblins who were burned alive were heard all over the battlefield.

"Ahhhhh"

"Someone please save us."

"Help me!"

"Stop"

"Ahhhh"

However, no one came to save these goblins who were caught in the sea of crimson flame. Just when the sea of crimson flame fell on the ground, extending over 1000 meters, all the 1st and 2nd=order goblins were instantly turned to ashes. While the 3rd-order goblins were able to resist for a few seconds before being burned to death. Another few seconds later, their bodies were turned to ashes as well.

"As expected of the Red flame. Even though I am 2 km away from the sea of crimson flame, I still can feel its high temperature." The old man Tobias sighed in relief.

Julia and Sophie who were watching Aditya using a special artifact looked very happy. "As expected of my husband." In a state of excitement, the Goddess of alchemy did not realize what she just said.

Her mother decided not to tease her daughter. Her heart was also filled with happiness. Having Aditya on the battlefield greatly relieved her worries.

By the time, the Crimson flame started dimming down and losing its strength, this large-scale attack had directly killed more than 5000 goblins while indirectly severely injuring another 4000 goblins. His attack nearly took out the lives of more than 10,000 goblins. Among his victims, there were countless 1st-order, 2nd-order, and 3rd-order cultivators.

?Ding! You have killed a beginner 2nd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin mage. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a beginner 2nd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved.....?

Sigh!

"That was awesome." His Crimson blaze was limited to his imagination. This was the first time he had ever tried something like this. The reason Aditya kept on repeatedly using his Crimson flame was because of its very low consumption. With his current mana, he can release another 2 or 3 of these large-scale attacks before running out of mana.

"My mana also has been increased....?" Aditya opened the system quickly to check the system logs.

?Ding! You have reached level 150.?

?Ding! Does the host wishes to break through beginner 3rd-order??

?Yes??No?

"I have reached level 150. So this is why my experience points were being saved." It would have been a huge waste if his experience points were not saved.

"Breaking through 3rd-order would be the same as evolving my bloodline. If I evolve my bloodline now, I wouldn't be able to suppress my bloodline in that time. Meaning that everyone will know that I have heavenly dragon bloodline." In front of 1 million, Aditya wasn't willing to expose his secret. Thus, he choose to not break through 3rd-order now and wait till he was done with the goblins.

[Aura of Soul Fire: -

[Description] - A special type of skill that can be learned by both body and magical path cultivators. There is no requirement to learn this skill. This skill itself is a passive skill that will increase the user's stats after reaching a certain limit.

[Function] - Since this skill is a passive skill, the user won't have to spend any mana to activate this skill. This skill works by collecting a small part of the enemy's soul killed by the host. When a certain amount of soul energy is collected by the user, this skill will increase the user's stats by 40% for a temporary period of time. The boost in the user's stats will disappear after 10 minutes.

Note: - This skill is totally passive. The activation of this Skill cannot be decided by the user.]

?Aura of Soul Fire: - 100%?

?Ding! The aura of Soul Fire has reached 100%.?

?Ding! For the next 10 minutes, all of the host's stats have been increased by 40%.?

"Status"

?_Strength: - 260 ? 310

_Speed: - 400 + [100+] ? 450 + [100+]

_Stamina: - 235 ? 285

_Health: - 235 ? 285

_Mana: - 2,800 ? 2,850

_Free stats: - 0 ? 100?

[Adding 40% to my current stats]

?_Strength: - 310 ? 434

_Speed: - 450 + [100+] ? 770

_Stamina: - 285 ? 399

_Health: - 285 ? 399

_Mana: - 2,850 ? 3,990

_Free stats: - 0 ? 100?

Aditya took a deep breath feeling the huge increase in his mana. Those crimson eyes started glowing red. The Dragon King coldly smiled looking at the remaining devil crow and the goblins who were sitting on the thousands of devil crow's backs.

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 9:27?

Right now the thousands of devil crow was covering a part of the sky. Neither the devil crows nor the goblins had the courage to fly toward. They kept a 1.5 km distance from the being with Crimson dragon wings.

Every goblin and every Devil crow has seen what this Dragon just did. Even though the devil crow couldn't speak, they were intelligent enough to understand just how powerful this man was. Their demonic instinct was screaming at them to flee from this place.

While the other dragons who were 800 meters away from Aditya were still frozen from shock. Even the strongest ones in their rank did not have the capacity to launch this kind of large-scale attack. Right now they were convinced at the man who was 800 meters away from and currently was looking at the goblins was the strongest Dragon.

Meanwhile, Aditya noticed the number of Devil crows and goblins was only increasing. The Devil crow's number had exceeded a thousand. Soon the number would break through the 2 thousand mark.

Aditya tightly gripped the two swords in his hands before disappearing. Right now he moved so fast that none of the Peak 3rd-order goblins or soldiers were able to keep up with Aditya's movement.

"Where did he go?"

"Did you he just teleport?"

Meanwhile, a certain 2 meters tall goblin with blue skin stared at Aditya.

Swish.....!

Around 7 seconds later when the goblins and the soldiers spotted Aditya, he was about 1.4 km away. What happened next shocked everyone to their core. It was as if Aditya had teleported 1.4 forward.

The entire battlefield descended into a pin-drop silence seeing hundreds of devil crows and goblins' bodies leaking red blood and simply falling from the sky. If one looked closely then one would see that each goblin's head were not attached to the body.

Each devil crow had around 15 goblins on their back. When some looked closely they found that those goblins did not have any armor or weapons with them either.

Aditya became so fast that he was able to kill 7,200 beings in a span of just 7 seconds.

?Ding! You have killed a beginner 2nd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 2nd-order Goblin mage. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a beginner 2nd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved.....?

Ignoring the constant ringing noises from the system, the Dragon King once again disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Julia and Sophie both stared at each other in shock. It was not just Sophie and Julia, Eddie, Adam, Tobias, Lucian, and many 4th-order cultivators stared at the sky with a dumbfounded look. With each passing second, they would see hundreds of bodies of devil crows and goblins falling from the sky.

Even the Goblins whose number now had almost increased to 500,000 stared at the scene with a dumbfounded look. They came out of the portal expecting to destroy the enemies. But contrary to their expectations, the only thing that they witnessed was the headless bodies of goblins and devil crows falling from the sky without showing any signs of stopping.

?Ding! You have killed a Mid-3rd-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved.....?

Around 30 seconds later, Aditya finally stopped. The mid-5-star black sword in his hand has been painted with fresh red blood. Behind him, thousands of bodies continued to fall from the sky. In just 30 seconds, he had killed around 17,000 goblins and devil crows combined.

Right now he was directly in front of the gigantic 100 meters big portal. Any Devil crow that came out of the portal was instantly killed by him. Those goblins died without even knowing who killed them.

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved.....?

"How long are you going to stand there and watch?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 102

"How long are you going to stand there and watch?" Aditya indifferently asked while easily killing another 20 devil crows that just came out of the portal carrying 300 goblins with them.

"Hehe! I am surprised that you noticed me. Human or should I say Dragon." Aditya lowered his head and looked at the 2 meters tall goblin with blue skin that easily stood out from the horde of goblins. The goblin was very different looking compared to normal goblins. It had a muscular built body. It almost looked like a human if not for its ugly and nasty-looking face that can traumatize a child.

This mutated goblin with blue skin has been observing Aditya ever since he walked out of the portal. Aditya's Crimson flame had caught his attention. At first, he thought that Aditya was a human. But his assumption turned out to be wrong as he found that Aditya was actually a Dragon. Given how well, Aditya was able to control flames, he thought Aditya was a fire Dragon.

"It looks like you have been observing me for a while now." Aditya was able to feel this goblin's cultivation when his stats increased by 40%. With the increase in his stats, his body also improved in many ways. His senses also had become shaper than before.

'I wonder why he still hasn't attacked me yet?' Aditya thought while coldly killing another group of goblins that came out of the portal.

"Since you have found me, why don't we have a fight? We all know how this is going to end anyway." His plan was to wait till Aditya was exhausted. Even though this goblin was a Peak 4th-order, he did not underestimate his enemy. If he had fought exhausted Aditya, then his chances of winning will only further increased.

The 2-meters tall blue-skin mutated goblin was wearing a black Cuirass. Two green pauldrons that had small spikes on them covered his right and left shoulders; where the body piece and arm piece joined. The goblin wore green vambraces to cover his forearms. Beneath all the armors, the goblin wore black clothes. He also had a swordbelt around his waist where he kept his sword.

Compared to the goblin, Aditya wasn't anything any armor at all. Aditya was not that fond of wearing armor. Most of the time he would always fight enemies without needing any armor.

"My name is Seth Barrett. Before we start the fight, I would like to know your name." Aditya raised his right eyebrow in surprise. He thought all goblins had some Chinese names.

"My name is Aditya."

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 8:49?

'I don't have much time. I will have to finish this Goblin before my Aura of soul fire deactivates.' The Aura of Soul fire had given Aditya a 40% boost in his stats. This boost in his stats would allow him to go against the Peak 4th-order goblin named Seth.

Aditya and Seth stared at each other for a second before both disappeared. No one knew where they went. Both beings moved so fast that almost on one in the battlefield could tell where they went or which direction they went.

Far away, about almost 8 km away from the portal, in the northern part of the battlefield, two powerful being's first attacks collided.

Bang!

The first attack was more thing testing each other's strength. After the first exchange, Aditya and Seth both retreated back.

'His strength is amazing.' Aditya secretly looked down and found his left hand trembling slightly. Although he acted calm like he did not feel any pain, his whole left arm was aching in pain. The attack almost would have broken his left arm if he had not transformed both of his arms into dragon claws.

The attack impact slowed down his left arm movement by 30%. There were even a few small cracks on his bones.

'I guess I was overestimating my ability a little too much. In the end, this goblin is a Peak 4th-order powerhouse.' Aditya realized his mistake. Other than his mana, Aditya's other stats cannot be compared with Peak 4th-order Goblin Seth's stats.

Eruption Wave!

Knowing that his mana was way higher than Seth's, Aditya was going to take full advantage of that. He lightly tapped the ground with his right foot causing the earth under Aditya to turn magma. He wasn't affected by the magma.

Like soundwaves, the magma began spreading in all directions. Seth easily jumped in the air seeing the earth around him beginning to turn into magma. "That's an interesting ability you have."

With his strength, he can easily jump more than 50 meters above the ground.

In a few seconds, the ground around Aditya was turned into magma. The sudden change caused many goblins who were fighting nearby to die in an instant but Seth and Aditya didn't seem to care about those Goblins.

The Dragon King did not reply. He coldly looked at Seth. Aditya lightly tapped the magma with his right step. Seth widened his eyes in disbelief as he watched a glob of red hot liquid that was even hotter than flame being shot towards him.

The blue-skinned Goblin grabbed the sword from his waist. He then diagonally swung his sword releasing a sharp wind blade that instantly cut the glob of red hot magma in a half.

From this exchange, both of them now had a better understanding of each other's abilities. Seth understood that aside from Crimson Flame, Aditya can also control magma. While he found that this nasty-looking goblin can use wind element.

Boom!

Seeing his attack had failed, Aditya did not show any disappointment. He instead got ready to use another attack. Meanwhile, Seth had reached 50 meters above the ground. He did not dare take his eyes off his opponent as he had seen what this Dragon can do.

'Eruption wave and Crimson Blaze, are both attacks powers are limited to my imagination.' Aditya frequently used his Crimson blaze to try coming up with new kinds of attacks. This is what he was doing with his Eruption Wave.

In the next second under Aditya's control, hundreds of 7 cm thick and 1 meter long red spikes were shot from the magma around Aditya. The magma spikes cut through the air and headed toward Seth.

Seth, who now was beginning to descend back to the ground looked at the hundreds of magma spikes with a little fear in his eyes. Even a Peak 4th-order like him did not have resistance against Magma. Not to mention the magma that Aditya was using was even more dangerous than normal magma. The temperature of the magma was really frightening.

The gravity was pulling Seth toward the earth. Each second his falling speed seems to be increasing. Hundreds of magma spikes were on their way to attack him from three sides.

Bang!

When the magma spikes were about to hit him, he thin transparent white barrier appeared around his body, protecting the Peak 4th-order goblin from Aditya's attacks.

'What is this ability? I don't think he used his mana to form this barrier.' Aditya's eyes fell on the armor that Seth was wearing. Those armors definitely were 3-star or maybe even 4-star.

"Wind Slash" While descending from the sky, Seth diagonally slashed his sword at Aditya. He did this to buy himself time to land on the ground. Unlike Aditya, he did not have the ability to fly. He was weak in the air as his movement was restricted.

10 meters large wind blade headed toward the Dragon King. Aditya moved to his right and dodged the wind blade, causing it to hit the magma behind Aditya.

Boom!

At this time Seth was about 20 meters above the ground. Before he could land, a human-like hand came out of Magma to grab his left leg.

'What the hell' Seth instinctively moved his left leg to avoid getting caught by the hand that was made by magma. Before he can sigh in relief, he widened his eyes seeing hundreds of hands coming out of the magma around.

'Shit!' Seth had no choice but to activate the circular, round thin transparent barrier around himself.

'This bastard is forcing me to use my 4-star breastplate ability.' The breastplate that Seth wore had the ability to form a barrier around his body. The barrier was strong enough to witness the attack of any 4th-order cultivator. However, he can only use this barrier 10 times a day. The 4-star armor also gave him a few more abilities, which could save him life in critical moments.

Seth managed to land on the ground which now had turned into a magma. Before he landed on the ground, he had covered his legs with his mana. Thus, he was able to walk and run while standing on magma.

After Seth landed, Aditya and Seth both rushed at the each other. Aditya had put the Peak 2-star Crimson dragon Wrath sword in his space ring as he only wanted to use the Adamantite Doomblade.

Clang!

Both of their swords clashed before Seth was forced to take a step back. He then looked at Aditya in surprise.

Aditya did not give Seth any chances, seeing that he had forced the blue skin goblin to take a step back, he gained some confidence and took the initiative to attack again. He once again diagonally swung the Adamantite Doomblade.

Clang!

Seth managed to block his attack this time. 'Even though the weight of his sword is frightening, I should be fine as long as I don't take direct attacks.' Aditya then noticed that instead of blocking his attacks, Seth was now deflecting his attacks.

After deflecting Aditya's attacks a few more times, Seth now was beginning to comprehend Aditya's sword swings. His swings followed a certain pattern which Seth soon understood. After exchanging 25 moves, during which Seth was mainly deflecting Aditya's attacks, the goblin was ready to take the aggressive stand.

Clang!

Clang!

'His fighting style has changed.' Aditya was secretly shocked in his heart. Before Seth was deflecting but now he was pushing Aditya. The dragon king now was barely defending against Seth.

'I guess he is naturally gifted in using sword.' Aditya's talent in swords was average. It was because of his Instant learning and adaptation skill that he managed to learn this far in such a short time. In fact, he regularly trained to improve his skills. Compared to Adtiya, Seth was the genius who was able to find flaws in Aditya's attacks within a minute.

Clang!

Clang!

If someone noticed then they would find the man who previously slaughtered thousands of goblins in matters of seconds was now being pushed by a mutated goblin.

Clang!

'Since I can't injure him with sword attacks, let's try this.' Right now as much as Aditya wanted to continue their sword fights, he did not have time. Aditya wouldn't deny the fact that after exchanging so many moves with Seth, his sword skills had greatly improved. With his instant learning and adaptation skill, Aditya felt if they continued exchanging moves for a few more hours, then he would reach a level where he can rival Seth in sword skills.

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 7:59?

He had to finish this before he ran out of time.

Aditya and Seth were fighting at their normal speed. But to others, they couldn't see Aditya and Seth. The only thing that they heard was constant metal colliding sounds. Sparks are few everywhere. No one dared to approach the area that was covered with magma. Almost 150 meters of the area had been turned into magma. The boiling magma flowed in that area.

The goblins and the humans kept their distance. They kept at least 500 meters distance from the area with magma as the high temperature of the magma was too much for the 1st-order and 2nd-order cultivators.

'He is improving.' Seth was a little scared given how fast Aditya was improving. A minute ago, he was able to read Aditya's attacking patterns and find his flaws. When he started attacking aggressively, Aditya barely was able to defend but now not only Aditya was able to defend comfortably, he even was able to counter back.

Aditya had no idea what was going on in Seth's head.

Clang!

Once again both of their swords clashed, creating sparks. It was then Seth felt something coming from behind. Being a Peak 4th-order his senses was very sharp. From the corner of his eyes, what he saw had his pupils contract to the size of the needle.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 103

'He is improving.' Seth was a little scared given how fast Aditya was improving. A minute ago, he was able to read Aditya's attacking patterns and find his flaws. When he started attacking aggressively, Aditya barely was able to defend but now not only Aditya was able to defend comfortably, he even was able to counter back.

Aditya had no idea what was going on in Seth's head.

Clang!

Once again both of their swords clashed, creating sparks. It was then Seth felt something coming from behind. Being a Peak 4th-order his senses was very sharp. From the corner of his eyes, what he saw had his pupils contract to the size of the needle.

About 3 km away, Adam cut the Peak 3rd-order goblin in half. After dealing with the last of the 3rd-order goblins that had grouped on him, he turned his attention to the north. In the north, he saw a red-orange color of the magma.

Boooom!

Suddenly he and others heard a loud explosion sound. When the black smoke of the explosion disappeared, Aditya gritted his teeth seeing Seth protected by a thin round barrier.

'Damn, this barrier saved him again.' This was the 3rd time this damn barrier had stopped Aditya's attack from hitting Seth.

"You're the first person whom I have known to have the power to control and manipulate Magma. But that won't be enough to end my life. Many have come to kill me but always have ended up getting killed instead." The 2 meters tall blue-skinned Goblin showed a sly smile.

Aditya replied with a calm smile. "We will see." Inside the Dragon King wasn't calm at all. Previously he wanted to kill Seth in a few minutes before taking advantage of the effect of the Aura of soul fire to kill as many goblins as he can. But now Aditya was having doubted if he can kill this goblin before he ran out of time.

"I will be honest, I was quite enjoying exchanging sword moves with you. But that has to come to an end." Seth had a cruel smile on his face as he charged at Aditya.

Aditya also had no sympathy for this blue-skinned Goblin. His hate for the goblins was very deep. After all, it was the goblin that had invaded their land and caused this big battle where hundreds of thousands of people will inevitably die.

Blue lightning started cracking and flickering around Aditya's body as he charged at Seth at his full speed which had reached [870+] after he activated lightning dash.

Clang!

'He is fast' Seth gritted his teeth as Aditya was overwhelming him. Before their speed was the same. The only reason that Seth managed to push him was because of his genius level sword skills. But now that Aditya's agility had suddenly increased by [100+], Seth was barely able to see follow Aditya's fast movement.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Over the next 10 seconds, Aditya continued to overwhelm Seth. The only reason the goblin was able to barely able to defend Aditya's moves was that he was able to predict where Aditya was going to try to hit him. Even though he can't defend against Aditya's every attacking move, he was able to stop the life-threatening strikes.

After 10 seconds. Seth was panting heavily while tightly holding his sword. There were many cuts on his forearms, cheeks, thighs, ribs, and shoulders. Blood was dripping on the magma. He looked tired from the overwhelming pressure. Being attacked by Aditya, he was required to maintain his full focus. If he lost his focus even for a millisecond that could have ended his life.

Clang!

'He is too fast. Should I use that skill? At this rate, I might become too exhausted to continue. I have no other choice.' While going to attack Seth, Aditya suddenly noticed that the Aura around Seth was changing.

Aditya did not pay too much attention to that. He horizontally swung the mid-5-star sword aiming to slice Seth's throat in one slash.

Bang!

Once again this damn barrier saved Seth by blocking Aditya's attacks. Aditya moved a few steps back.

Over the next 10 seconds, Seth wasn't able to defend against Aditya's moves. However every time he aimed to slice his throat or stab his heart or his head, the thin transparent barrier saved him.

'Dammit. How the hell I am supposed to defeat him like this?' This was the 10th time the barrier had protected Seth. 'There has to be some sort of limit on how many times the barrier can be used in a battle.' No armor, no skill, and no cultivator were invincible. Aditya believed that his armor should have some sort of limits or restrictions.

Clang!

Seth managed to defend against another attack from Aditya. At this point, he was out of stamina. How can a goblin have the same stamina as a Dragon? Not to mention the fact that Seth's opponent was irregular. An abnormal being that was able to push him, injure him and make him bleed even though he was only a Peak 2nd-order cultivator.

'Not good, I am starting to lose sight of him.' Seth panted heavily as he was running out of mana. He was standing on a river of magma that was 10 times if not 100 times hotter than normal magma. Even though being a peak 4th-order cultivator gave him resistance to normal flames, the magma was still powerful enough to severely hurt him. To protect his body, he had to cover his whole body with a layer of mana.

Unlike Aditya who had a vast reserve of mana, Seth only had around [400+] mana. His main weapon was his sword. After constant clashes with Aditya, he only had around [190+] mana.

Meanwhile, Aditya noticed that Seth was beginning to lose his former speed. Aditya saw this as a chance and immediately used the skill that he has been wanting to use.

At the same time, Seth also had the same thoughts in his mind. Since he was beginning to run out of mana and stamina, he wanted to end this.

"Aditya, get ready, this will be my final attack." Seth jumped and retreated 50 meters away from Aditya. The dragon king also did the same and moved away.

Aditya saw Seth raising his sword before slashing the air diagonally.

"Calamity of hundred wind blades."

Seth's face turned pale. His blue skin started losing its blue color. At the same time, Aditya found hundreds of wind blades heading in his direction.

The dragon king looked at Seth in disappointment. He was expecting more than that. Each wind blade was about 10 meters long and 4 meters wide. The wind blades were heading in his direction from 3 sides.

Aditya lightly tapped the magma with his front stop. Before the wind blades could come anywhere near Aditya, a huge wall that was made of magma defended him. The wall was like a great separation, dividing the whole world into two.

Boooom!

The wind blades exploded after hitting the wall of magma.

At the same time, just when Seth lowered his guard while coughing out a large mouthful of blood. At this point, his blue skin had turned grey. Suddenly a figure appeared behind him like a shadow.

Bang!

Cough!!!!

Seth coughed out another large mouthful of blood. He looked down glancing at the black sword that just pierced his heart. It was Aditya who just landed the attack. He had flown behind Seth while both of their attacks exploded. With his Mid-5-star black sword, it was very easy to penetrate the 4-star armor.

"That was a nice fight.....Be careful of them....Cough!...They will target you." Seth weakly spoke as he began losing consciousness.

Huff!

Aditya took a deep breath watching Seth take his last breath. Seth's skin had turned grey. Aditya sighed before using his right hand to close his eyes. This was the least he can do to respect him. The magma beneath them started devouring Seth as he no longer protected his body with mana.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! The system has detected that you have saved up many experience points. Does the host wish to break through 3rd-order??

Aditya did not reply. He instead put Seth's armor which was damaged and his sword in his space ring.

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 5:39?

Before Aditya can reply, he felt a strong gust of wind before he was sent flying with a powerful kick.

Aditya was sent flying like a cannonball.

Fortunately, Aditya was able to use the wings to prevent himself from crashing to the ground. From the sky, he looked at the area where his magma flowed. He found three royal goblins standing on flowing magma and also looking at Aditya.

The dragon felt as if his ribs had cracked from the kick. Enduring the pain, he coldly looked at the three royal goblins and found that all of them are Peak 4th-order cultivators.

"It looks like my slave failed to eliminate you."

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Chapter 104

Meanwhile, Adam also sensed the presence of 4th-order goblins on the battlefield. He quickly finished killing the goblins on his side and was about to rush to help Aditya.

"I am sorry but I don't think you will be going anywhere." From the sky, another Peak 4th-order goblin jumped in front of Adam.

Adam coldly glanced at the royal goblin who too had a greatsword on his back. He then looked at Aditya. 'I will have to hurry. Boy, you better not end up dying. Just give me a few minutes.'

Also at the same time, from the portal, many 4th-order goblins came out and targeted the 4th-orders. Eddie, Tobias, Lucian, and all other 4th-order were now facing opponents who had the same power as them.

"Mom, what dad is doing? Aditya cannot fight three Peak 4th-order goblins at the same time." The goddess of alchemy panicked seeing the situation of Aditya.

"Julia calm down. As long as Aditya can hold three of them for a few minutes, Adam should be able to come to give him support." From her words, it was clear that even Sophie wasn't sure if Adam would be able to finish the Peak 4th-order goblin.

Right now the situation on the battlefield had changed. With all the powerful individuals forced to confront 4th-order goblins, the army of 1 million suddenly had lost the backup and the support that they were getting from the 4th-order powerhouses.

From the sky, hundreds of devil crow birds carrying goblins were coming out and dropping the goblins on the battlefield. To make matters worse, the goblin's number had increased to almost half a million by now. Right now, the army of 1 million was also facing constant attacks from the devil crows. Even though Devil crows were only Peak 2nd-order, it was difficult to kill them when they can fly.

Aditya stood about 200 meters away from the three Peak 3rd-order goblins. "Dragon, why don't you just surrender and become our slave? We will take good care of you."

"I will make sure to give you three meals per day. Hahaha!"

Instead of replying, Aditya condensed his mana on his right foot. The next second, he lightly tapped the ground with his right foot. The three goblins stopped laughing seeing his actions. Before they could understand what he was doing, the ground under Aditya began cracking.

Crack!

The small crack continued to expand in all directions. The spider web-like cracks spread an area of 500 meters and then stopped. Before anyone could understand what was happening, suddenly magma started bursting out of the cracks, turning the ground into a pond of magma.

"What?"

"Jin He and Jia Xue, use your mana to protect your bodies. This magma is no way normal. It you can potentially even kill us if we don't protect ourselves."

The three goblins didn't dare waste a second. After covering their bodies, they looked at Aditya but found that he already had disappeared.

"Where did he go?" One of the Peak 4th-order goblins panicked. Before they could understand what was happening, suddenly a large 5 meters long and 3 meters wide hand from the magma tried to grab the goblins.

In a moment of fear, all of them jumped back to dodge the hand that was formed of magma. They jumped back 30 meters away.

Just when they landed on the ground, suddenly a hand come out of the magma, behind them and grabbed the leg of one of the goblins named Jin He.

Ahhhhh!

The two other goblins moved away seeing the hand that was covered in red dragon scale.

Jin He tried to take away his left leg but to his horror, he found that no matter how much he tried his leg wasn't even moving an inch.

Aditya who was holding the goblin's left leg from the magma suddenly used all of his strength to pull the goblin named Jin He inside the pool of magma.

Ahhhh!

"Jia Xue, Su Tai, please save me." The other two goblins watched the scene in fear as they saw their best friend getting dragged inside the pool of magma. Both goblins did not have the courage to dive inside the magma. Knowing full well, that diving inside this pool of magma would be the same as committing suicide. Given the terrifying temperature of this magma, even if they cover their bodies with mana, they will still be fried.

Meanwhile, Aditya who was inside the pool of magma dragged one of the goblins inside. The goblin named Jin He looked at the demon with Crimson eyes of vengeance in fear. Without saying any words, Aditya's right-hand claws shot at super fast speed and struck the goblin's chest.

Inside the magma, the goblin couldn't even scream as the magma already had begun killing him. Aditya grabbed his beating heart with his right hand and then ripped off his heart out of his chest. As soon as the heart was taken out, the magma immediately devoured the heart.

At the last moment, the Peak 4th-order goblin kept staring at Aditya in fear before his entire body melted. He will never forget the appearance of the demon that ripped off his heart. The demon's entire body was covered in magma. Yet his red crimson eyes seem to shine even inside the pool of magma.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

"What the hell happening here?"

"Su Tai, let's get out of this place. Fighting this monster in this territory is like calling out for death. It seems he can control magma." The two goblins now had a look of fear. The arrogant expression on their faces was nowhere to be seen anymore.

It was only has been a few seconds since Aditya dragged one of the goblins inside the pool of magma. The reason Aditya was able to overpower the goblins by a huge margin was that he had activated one of his skills.

Divine Blast of Fury!

?All of the host stats except for Mana will be temporarily increased by 50%.?With the combined effect of the Aura of Soul Fire and the divine blast of fury, all of Aditya's stats except for mana have been increased by 90%. The current Aditya was in a berserk state. Meaning that he was no longer calm as before.

"Let's get out of this place." Jia Xue and Su Tai, both Peak 4th-order goblins began running at their full speed. They did not want to be swallowed up by the magma. Just thinking of that made both of them shiver in fear.

However, how can Aditya let these two goblins get away so easily?

"Not so fast." Julia and Sophie who was watching Aditya's battle suddenly gasped seeing Aditya jumping out of the pool of magma. For a moment his entire body was covered in magma. The only thing that was visible about him was his red crimson eyes. Those eyes looked like the eyes of a predator. Just looking at those eyes could make one's soul tremble in fear.

Moving faster than the wind itself, Aditya chased after the two goblins at his full speed. The two goblins were already 50 meters away from him. To prevent them from leaving the area which now had turned into the pool of magma, Aditya suddenly tapped the magma beneath him with his right foot.

In the next second, both Su Tia and Jia Xue saw a 50 meters tall wall of magma in front of them. Both cursed their luck without realizing that Aditya was after them. "Jia Xue, use earth magic to make a path."

However, before the goblin named Jia Xue could finish chanting his earth elemental spell, he and Su tai both heard a cold, frost voice.

"I don't think so." Jia Xue widened his eyes in fear as he saw from the corner of his eyes that the black sword approached his neck.

Bang!

The next second Aditya left hand pierced the third and last goblin's chest from behind.

Cough!

Su Tai, entire body trembled fiercely as he experienced why people feared death so much. He looked down and saw his beating heart that was still pumping blood being held by the hand that just made a hole in his chest.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

Both Julia and Sophie stared at the rectangular-shaped screen in front of them in shock. Of course, both mother and daughter were extremely happy that Aditya managed to not only hold but also kill the Peak 4th-order goblins. But what shocked them the most was Aditya's performance.

When Aditya defeated Eddie, they assumed that he was only capable of defeating beginner 4th-order. But in this battle, his power has been putting all the 4th-order powerhouses in the army of one million to shame. It was more like Aditya was fighting for supremacy and dominance.

"Now, its time to clean all the other Peak 4th-order cultivators." The next second Aditya disappeared.

Adam was engaging a Peak 4th-order in a battle with his full power. The Wild Lion wanted to hurry up and finish this before going to assist his son-in-law.

Clang!

Both his and the goblin's great swords clashes. Before Adam could do anything, he suddenly noticed a small trail of blood coming out of the goblin's neck. The next second he couldn't just believe what he saw. The goblin dropped the greatsword and tried to keep his head together. But eventually, his head fell from his body.

This kind of similar thing kept on happening all over the battlefield. After Adam, Aditya went on to kill the 4th-order that Tobias was facing. Old man Tobias already looked severely injured as he wasn't made for battles. His specialty lay in runes.

After Tobias, he helped Eddie and went to help Lucian. The young genius of the Empire looked like he was being pushed back. Without anyone noticing, like an assassin he sneaked behind the goblin and killed him with one strike.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

Seeing the goblin falling to the ground, Lucian sighed in relief. He was already out of mana. He sat down on the ground and breath heavily.

"Are you alright?" Aditya asked while searching for the location of other 4th-order goblins.

Huff! Huff!

"Yeah, I am fine. Thank you." Lucian couldn't help but feel ashamed. He taunted Aditya. He disrespected him. Yet this man did not hesitate to save him. Lucian felt that he owed Aditya a big apology.

Aditya had no idea what was going on in Lucian's head. The only reason he saved him is that if a 4th-order like him died, it would be a huge loss for them. Their winning probability might be affected by his or any 4th-order powerhouse's deaths. Otherwise, Aditya had no other reason for saving him. Why would the Dragon king go on to save someone who was behaving very rudely and arrogantly with him?

Swoosh!

After nodding his head to Lucian, Aditya again disappeared. He moved at a speed that shocked Lucian again. He couldn't help but smile bitterly thinking how naïve he was when he challenge Aditya.

The next moment one by one many 4th-order goblins kept on falling.

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a beginner 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Royal Goblin. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Royal Goblin.....?

"Finally done."

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 3:39?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 105

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 3:39?

After dealing with all the 4th-order, Aditya stopped looking at the sky. While he was dealing with the 4th order, the number of devil crows increased to 10,000. Each devil crow was dropping 15 goblins on the battlefield. Meaning in his absence, the devil crows had dropped 150,000+ goblins on the battlefield.

"I will have to clean the sky first." Saying that the dragon king flew off to the sky.

Booooom!

When everyone looked up they found thousands of bodies of devil crows simply falling from the sky.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Devil Crow. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Devil Crow. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Devil Crow...?

After killing all the devil crows, Aditya focused his attention on the ever-growing goblins on the battlefield.

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 3:19?

'I still have 3 minutes in my hand.' Aditya wanted to reduce the goblin number before he started his evolution. He had a feeling his evolution to 3rd-order is going to take some time.

Aditya condensed his mana on his both feet before stomping on the ground and disappearing in thin air.

Lightning Dash!

[100+ agility]

With Divine blast of fury and Aura of Soul Fire, Aditya's agility, stamina, health, and strength all were increased to 90%. His current agility had reached [855+]. Adding [100+] agility boost from using the lightning dash, his current agility was monstrously high.

Swoosh!

He was covering 265.278 meters distance per second which was simply ridiculous for someone with Peak 2nd-order cultivation.

A human soldier and two adventurers, the trio who used to be friends was fighting together on the frontlines. The trio was beginner 3rd-order powerful cultivators who had no problem dealing with goblins.

"Their number is only increasing."

"In about an hour's time, I will run out of mana."

"Me too. I am getting exhausted from using my sword."

Swoosh!

The trio suddenly felt a strong gust of wind blowing past them. When they blinked their eyes, more than 200+ bodies of goblins were lying on the ground. A second later, another 200+ goblins were killed and fell to the ground as goblins' blood flowed like a river.

Adam watched the scene where he saw with each passing second more than 200+ goblins kept on falling to the ground. He couldn't see how fast Aditya moved. He could only feel the strong gust of wind. At this point, his heart was already numb from all the shocks that Aditya had given him since the start of this battle.

For the next 3 minutes and 19 seconds, The dragon king ran at his full speed. Each time he ran past a goblin, he would kill the goblin without wasting a second and then go for the next one.

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 0:3?

Seeing that his time was running out, Aditya used all of his remaining mana to summon magma from the ground. He used his left fist to strongly punch the ground causing the ground to crack before a small crater formed around him.

Bang!

From the cracks, once again magma started coming out. The magma came out and began spreading in all directions. This time about 1000 meters of the area was covered in a river of magma. In the process, another thousand or two thousand goblins were instantly melted.

?Time until Aura of Soul Fire will remain activated: - 0:00?

?Ding! Aura of Soul Fire has been deactivated.?

Aditya's face turned seriously pale as if he had lost all of his blood. He gasped heavily trying to breathe as much as air he can. He felt his vision was getting weak and blurred from the sudden loss of all of his mana. This was the first time since getting the black heart, Aditya had consumed all of his mana in such a short time.

He had [3.990] mana which he used to kill goblins. Aditya gritted his teeth as he wanted to do one big move before he took some time to rest.

He tapped the magma beneath him with his right foot. For the next 5 seconds, nothing really happened. Then the ground itself started shaking. All the goblins stopped fighting as they were horrified to find from magma ten thousand magma snakes were coming at them.

Each magma snake was like tentacles. The magma snakes rose from the magma that was spread over an area of 1000 meters. The thousand magma snakes spread in different directions under Aditya's orders.

What happened next was a disaster for the goblins. Each magma snake stretched over 5000 meters. The magma-like tentacles moved in all directions. Each time the bodies of the goblins touched one of the magma snakes, their bodies instantly melted.

Within the next 10 seconds, the magma snakes killed every goblin within 5000 meters radius of the magma pool that spread across 1000 meters.

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! Y....?

?Ding!.....

Aditya heard was been buzzing non-stop. The system kept on sending him records about the goblins that he just killed. Over an area of 5000 meters, there were at least 150,000 goblins. All of them were killed within 10 seconds. In the last 3 minutes, Aditya had killed a combined number of 200,000 goblins.

Aditya simply fell to his knees. The magma did not harm him. He felt like his head was going to stop working. Controlling 10,000 magma snakes at once gave him huge pressure. His head was paining so badly. It was like his brain itself has been fried.

With Aditya's large-scale slaughtering of goblins, the number of goblins on that battlefield dropped a lot. There were around only 100,000 goblins left. This made things very easy for the army of 1 million and the adventurers who joined the battle. Everyone was finally able to take some rest.

For the next one hour, All the 4th-order took the frontline. Even though they kept on killing goblins, after a certain period of time the goblins number had also reached 1 million.

After one hour and 30 minutes, since the invasion of the goblins had begun. More than 1.3 million goblins were already slaughtered. Yet the number showed no signs of stopping.

During that hour, Aditya did not do anything except for taking a rest. The sea of magma that he created across an area of 1000 meters kept the other powerful goblins away from him. Any goblin that approached near his magma was killed by tentacles made out of magma.

Another hour later, the goblin's number increased to 1.5 million. Right now the army of 1 million was under constant pressure. In the last hour, many soldiers have run out of mana or stamina and died before they could retreat.

Adam, Tobias, Eddie, and other 4th-order still continued to fight. But compared to before the pressure on them increased a lot. While the mage 4th-order cultivators used long-ranged attacks. The warrior 4th-order cultivators like Adam used their speed to their advantage. No goblins were able to counter against their speeds. They used their speeds to kill 120+ enemies per second.

After about 2 hours of rest, Aditya had recovered 2/3 of his mana. He did not take mana recovery pills in this situation. Instead, he waited to see if any 4th-order goblins would come out of the portal. If any 4th-order goblins had come out, then he would have taken the mana recovery pill and fought with the 4th-order goblins. With his magma, he can easily kill hundreds of goblins per second without needing to use more than [2+] mana.

This long battle has taught Aditya mana things. While fighting against goblins he has learned many new ways of using his powers.

One thing he discovered was that it takes more mana to summon magma than use it in battle. Now that he had created a sea of magma in an area of 1000 meters, the mana he needed to control the mana and use it was too low.

Like this, another 5 hours passed, in those 5 hours nothing major happened except for the ever-lasting and not-ending invasion of the goblins. In that time period, more than 4 million goblins died. Aditya alone was responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million goblins deaths.

At this point, the area of 20km which had become the battlefield had dyed with blood. Every corner of the battlefield was dyed with blood. The soil has turned red, losing its original color. Rivers of blood flowed in the direction of the west. Bodies of goblins and soldiers lay almost everywhere on the battlefield.

Anywhere Aditya looked, he would find a missing leg or head or arm. After Aditya, it was Duke Adam that killed the most goblins. The Savage Lion had managed to slaughter around 500,000 goblins which was a huge feat given he did not have a high mana reserve like Aditya. Just with his raw stamina, he kept on fighting non-stop while other 4th-orders had to take rests in between.

The third most kills were done by the genius of Campbell house, Lucian. Lucian had killed over 100,000 enemies. But unlike Aditya and Adam, Lucian used several powerful artifacts to increase his killing counts.

"Just how many goblins are there?" Aditya had a tired look on his face as he glanced at the portal from which goblins endlessly kept on coming out. Aditya has been killing goblins for 7 and half hours. His killing count probably had surpassed the 2 million mark a long time ago.

By now Aditya's side had lost more than 200,000 soldiers and adventurers. This only increased the pressure on others. If things continue like this within a few more hours, the army will fall.

"I can't continue like this. I will have to break through beginner 3rd-order."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 106

"I will break through 3rd-order." The Dragon king flew up using his wings. He continued flying up till he was about 500 meters above the ground.

?Ding! Does the host wishes to break through beginner 3rd-order??

?Yes??No?

Roar!!!!!

Before Aditya could choose yes, his attention was taken by the loud roar that shook the battlefield.

"What the...." Aditya's words got stuck in his throat as he watched the scene in a horror. His crimson pupils contracted to the size of a needle. His eyes continued trembling as he looked at the 100 meters gigantic portal in disbelief.

It was not that Aditya, but also Adam, Eddie, Tobias, Lucian, and everyone who was fighting and also watching the battlefield looked horrified.

Suddenly the 100 meters size portal which already was gigantic in size started expanding. Aditya and others were shocked beyond words. No words can explain the shock that everyone was currently feeling.

"The dungeon gate is expanding."

"This means more goblins can come out of the gate."

"The goblin numbers will increase."

"This is our end."

All the soldiers felt the taste of despair when their hopes of ending this long-lasting battle and their dreams of safely returning homes were crushed.

'I will have to advance to 3rd-order.' Aditya was able to sense some powerful Aura coming from the portal. He instantly knew that as soon as the gate expansion stopped he was going to be facing some strong enemies.

?Ding! Does the host wishes to break through beginner 3rd-order??

?Yes??No?

"Yes" Aditya closed his eyes while taking a deep breath. He needed this power.

?Ding! The host has decided to break through level 150. The host has decided to break through Peak 2nd-order.?

?Ding! The system has detected the presence of Lightning element in the host's body?

"Lightning element?" Aditya was shocked. He then felt the beating of his other heart. The black heart is located on the right side of his chest. He put his hand on his right chest and felt the beating of his black heart.

"I have the heart of Peak 6th-order Lightning Forest deer. Did having the heart of lightning forest deer give me lightning nature affinity?" Aditya remembered the lightning dash skill which he got after planting the black heart in his body.

?Ding! Mixing two elements to create a new dragon bloodline...1%.....99%...?

?Ding! The host's bloodline will now start evolving.?

Suddenly the sky above Aditya started turning dark. Dark clouds containing red lightning started appearing above his head. For a moment everyone was confused about the sudden change in the weather.

Strong gusts of wind started blowing from all directions. It was as if a storm was coming. No one understood who was responsible for this sudden change.

"Maybe this change is related to the sudden expansion of the dungeon gate's size?" Adam and others had this theory in their hearts.

Meanwhile blue lightning cracked around Aditya's body. Blue lightning was like tentacles moving around his body like snakes. At that moment if one noticed closely then they would see the blue lightning around Aditya was slowly losing its blue color.

"What is happening to Aditya?" Julia and Sophie exchanged a look of confusion. Both mother and daughter have been observing Aditya for nearly 7 hours now. Both had no idea what Aditya was doing.

It was not just Sophie and Julia, the Emperor of Echo Dominion Empire, the goddess of wealth, and other prominent figures of this continent who were silently watching this whole battle unfold that had the same confused look. No one clearly knew why the weather suddenly started changing.

More than thousands of kilometers away, Alicia Osburn, the goddess of wealth, the richest woman on the entire planet, and the most beautiful woman on the continent of Westnia, suddenly looked up at the sky.

Alicia couldn't help but frown as she looked at the dark clouds covering the sky. The dark clouds contained red lightning in them.

"What is happening?" Alicia, when she heard the news of the mana portal, she immediately had her men do some preparations. She has been watching the battle from the beginning. All the time her eyes were on one person. That person was her husband in the name.

On the other side of the continent, the Emperor of Echo Dominion Empire who was sitting in the garden also frowned while looking at the sky. In front of the Emperor, there was a large rectangular screen that showed the battlefield.

The emperor glanced at the dark clouds containing red lightning. This was the first time in his long life he had seen something like this.

Meanwhile, the blue lightning around Aditya had changed to white before starting to turn red. Any goblin or devil crow or any being that came 50 meters near him was instantly killed by the red bolt of lightning.

Unknown to Aditya, his blood evolution had caused dark clouds to cover the whole continent of the Dying isle. No had one any idea what was going on. Why the clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds containing red lightning bolts?

About 5 minutes later, the dungeon gate finally stopped expanding. Right now the dungeon gate had gone from being 100 meters in size to being 500 meters in size. The dungeon gate now looked simply colossal. Even from 100 km away, people would still be able to see the dungeon gate.

While the lightning around Aditya kept on changing its color, from the 500 meters colossal size dungeon gate, a huge army of goblins marched outside. This time all the goblins that came out of the dungeon gate were 2nd-orders to 4th-orders. There were no 1st-order goblins.

The army of goblins marched in formation. Seeing the huge number of goblins coming out of the dungeon gate, Adam and everyone's faces instantly turned ugly.

The Emperor of Echo Dominion couldn't sit still anymore. "Quickly tell elder Anthony and elder Evan to provide their assistance."

Seeing a large number of goblins coming out, all the goblins suddenly stopped fighting. Adam frowned seeing the large smiles on the goblin's faces. The army of goblins marched out of the dungeon gate and then stopped in front of the gate.

In just 10 minutes, around 100,000 goblins troops came out. Then the goblins moved aside making a path for someone.

Seeing the wild and lust-natured goblins behaving so formally and in an orderly manner, Adam gulped as he felt someone very important was going to come out of the portal.

Adam's assumptions turned out to be true. His eyes started trembling as he felt the Aura of a higher being. It was Aura that he only felt when he visited the royal palace.

"A 5th-order...." No one needed to hear Adam's words to know who was coming out. Because all the 3rd-order and 4th-order cultivators were clearly able to feel this Aura. While the 1st and 2nd-order cultivators suddenly started feeling suffocated.

From the portal, a dark green-skinned goblin wearing a black gold crown on his head walked out of the portal. The goblin had 2.1 meters in height and had a muscular body. The dark-skinned goblin had a katana on his waist.

Following the dark-skinned goblin 10 more peak 4th-order goblins came out of the portal.

"This is the Goblin King?" Adam gulped. He only had heard of the Goblin King's existence in bedtime stories that his mother often used to tell him. Never did imagine that even in his wildest dreams he would come across a Goblin rare.

The goblin king looked at the battlefield. There were no emotions on his face. He then briefly glanced at Adam and Lucian. Eventually, he raised his head and glanced at the being that was surrounded by crimson red lightning.

"That's interesting. Never thought I would see a dragon evolving his bloodline while breaking through 2nd-order at the same time." Although the Goblin King's words weren't that loud. Strangely everyone single individual on the battlefield was able to hear his words.

"Aditya is evolving his bloodline?" Julia was the first one to stand up in shock. It was not just the Goddess of alchemy, but the emperor of the Echo Dominion, the goddess of wealth, and other prominent figures on the continent also couldn't remain calm.

It was then everyone turned their attention to Aditya. Aditya was standing 500 meters above the ground. He stood there like a statue, not moving even an inch. Under the watch of millions, his long blue hair started changing to Crimson red. The dragon scales on his body started getting even thicker and stronger than before.

The red lightning on the dark clouds cracked fiercely as if announcing the birth of their king. The thunderous sounds of lightning were heard all over the continent. Whoever got near the red lightning regardless of what cultivation or artifact or armor they had, all were destroyed and instantly reduced to ashes.

ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 107

This chapter is dedicated to the readers [EnergyDao], and [DredPyratWesley] for gifting Inspiration capsule and Ice cola to this novel.

Thank you very much to the readers [EnergyDao], and [DredPyratWesley]

It was then everyone turned their attention to Aditya. Aditya was standing 500 meters above the ground. He stood there like a statue, not moving even an inch. Under the watch of millions, his long blue hair started changing to Crimson red. The dragon scales on his body started getting even thicker and stronger than before.

The red lightning on the dark clouds cracked fiercely as if announcing the birth of their king. The thunderous sounds of lightning were heard all over the continent. Whoever got near the red lightning regardless of their cultivation, artifact, or armor, was destroyed and instantly reduced to ashes.

ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!

The faces of the millions of goblins and hundreds of thousands of soldiers changed instantly hearing the thunderous roar. Not even a second had passed, when bright golden and crimson rays of light started penetrating the dark clouds.

"What is happening now?" At this point, no one was able to remain calm anymore. It was as if heaven was welcoming the evolution of Heavenly Crimson Dragon.

The bright golden and crimson rays of light penetrated the cloud from all directions. Under everyone's shocked and disbelieved gazes, the rays of light joined together and took the transparent shape of a dragon. Even the Goblin king who was the most powerful being on the battlefield couldn't resist the fear that made him shiver in fear something that he had forgotten many centuries ago.

The dragon had red Crimson eyes. Its body was a mix of crimson and golden rays of light. The dragon had two large wings that extended over 50 meters. Its entire body was over 150 meters in size. The dragon was behind Aditya like it was protecting him from any kind of attack.

The black heart in Aditya's right chest began beating violently as the mana in Aditya's body continued increasing.

Loud thunderous red lightning flickered over the dark clouds. The red lightning of heaven seems to be dancing in the excitement.

[A new page of the history is going to be written.]

No one knew who said those words but everyone in their hearts secretly agreed. Some even went far as to believe that a new page of history already had been written when Aditya was born.

The 150 meters gigantic image of a dragon that was made from crimson and golden light rays moved a little. The light rays that made up the body of the dragon started entering Aditya's body from behind. This itself shocked many individuals.

As the light rays entered his body, the image of the dragon behind Aditya also started shrinking in size. A minute later, all the golden and crimson light rays had entered his body.

The next second everything suddenly went quiet. No one dared to say any words. Everyone silently stared at the man who was standing 500 meters above the ground. The silence lasted for 5 seconds when Aditya, the dragon king opened his eyes.

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully evolving?

?Ding! The host has evolved into Divine Crimson Storm Dragon.?

?Ding! The presence of a foreign element has influenced the host's dragon bloodline.?

At this moment Aditya had no idea what sort of disaster he had caused all over the continent of Dying Isle. Aditya felt that his entire body was full of power. Each cell in his body was filled with power. He felt he can kill anyone at this moment.

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for officially stepping on the path of becoming the Dragon Monarch.?

?Ding! The host has gained a new title, Dragon Monarch?

?Ding! The host's mana has been increased by [1000+]?

Aditya felt something burning in his chest. The next second he let out a huge dragon roar.

Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boooom!

The roar was so powerful that it instantly pushed away all the dark clouds above his head. In an instant, all the dark clouds covering the 20 km big battlefield were pushed away just from the roar.

The roar was so strong that it spread more than 100 kilometers radius. All the dragons and races possessing a little bit of dragon bloodline instinctively kneeled facing Aditya.

Everyone was shocked when the dragons who were fighting and dealing with the devil crows suddenly changed to their dragon form. Those dragons lowered their heads while looking in the direction of Aditya, it was as if they were bowing their heads to the Dragon Monarch.

?Ding! The host has triggered a new function of the system. Please check out the new function of the system later.?

?Ding! The host has acquired new innate skills?

?Ding! The host has learned a new innate skill Dragon Roar?

?Ding! The host has learned a new innate skill Crimson Lightning Manipulation?

?Ding! The host has learned a new innate skill Dragon Monarch blessing?

?Ding! The host has learned a new passive skill Enraged Lightning Spell?

?Ding! The host has learned ....

Aditya ignored other messages of the system. He was waiting to see what class he would receive.

?Ding! A random mythical class will be chosen for the host.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting mythical class Storm Marshall?

?Ding! All of the host's stats have been increased by [50+]?

?Ding! Mythical class Storm Marshall has been upgraded to 3rd-order?

?Ding! Mythical class War dancer class has been upgraded to 3rd-order?

?Ding! The host has learned an innate skill, Storm Summoner?

?Ding! The host has learned a passive skill, Acid Rain?

?Ding! The host has learned a passive skill, Storm Flight?

?Ding! All of the host's passive skills have been evolved?

'Because I have the black heart which was the heart of peak 6th-order lightning forest deer, now I have gained Crimson Lightning Manipulation.' Aditya looked back and found that his Crimson wings also have changed. His wings' size had increased. Not only that his Crimson scales now looked much more durable and thicker than before.

'I have become the Dragon Monarch.' Aditya knew that this is the peak of his bloodline. The word divine itself was something that was out of this world. Right now even if Aditya stopped killing people for experience points, he still can beat all the genius on the continent with his cultivation speed.

Aditya's cultivation speed, mana recovery speed, stamina recovery speed, and health recovery speed all have increased.

About 10 km away from Aditya, a certain someone was watching him. That person couldn't help but smile seeing the man whose hair was starting to return to its original blue color.

"I guess I was worried for nothing." Another woman in disguise walked up to that person.

"Fufu! Our husband is really strong. I can't wait to meet him."

"He is not my husband yet. Let's get out of here. I can feel that the dungeon portal won't last long. With his new powers, I am sure he will be able to take care of this." The two women disappeared from the army as if they never existed in the first place.

Everyone had their eyes on Aditya. They looked at him as if he was the most priceless treasure in the whole world.

"Let's finish this" Aditya looked at Adam. It seems the wild lion understood what his son-in-law wanted to do. Deep down he was starting to feel that his son-in-law deserved the title of savage more than he did.

[Everyone, retreat if you don't want to die.]

No one understood what was happening. For a second no one moved from their places. After a few seconds seeing that Adam and other 4th-orders were retreating back, all the soldiers moved back as well.

Meanwhile, the goblin king frowned seeing that the other party had suddenly started retreating.

"I admit that after evolving your bloodline you have become very strong. But dragon at the end of the day you're just a beginner 3rd-order which I can crush at any time. Don't you dare assume that just because you have evolved your bloodline, you can kill all of us in a single attack?"

All the goblins and some soldiers agreed with what the goblin king said. But those who knew Aditya and those who have been closely watching him kill goblins had faith in Aditya. They did not doubt his abilities.

Aditya showed a small smile in response to the goblin king's words. Aditya's exhausted mana had recovered after he had evolved and broke through beginner 3rd-order. Aditya's current mana had reached 3,900 without using any skills.

Right now he was using all of his mana in his next attack. The sky which was cleared by Aditya's dragon roar suddenly started turning dark once again.

Dark clouds with red lightning flickering hovered over his head.

"What is he doing?" The goblin king did not have to wait long as the next moment intense bright red light penetrated the clouds and for a second made everyone unconsciously close their eyes.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I will release today's 2nd chapter tomorrow as I am a little busy today. I apologize.

Chapter 108

"What is he doing?" The goblin king did not have to wait long as the next moment intense bright red light penetrated the clouds and for a second made everyone unconsciously close their eyes.

Everyone did not have to wait long to find out what he was doing. In the next second millions of people saw something that they will never forget in their lives. A bright crimson flash of light for a second blinded everyone. What followed next was a thunderous roar from heaven.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooom!

Before anyone could understand what was going on, a thunderous sound almost broke their eardrums. Many 1st soldiers instantly lost their consciousness from the loud sound of the lightning strike.

The sound was so loud that even from 200 km away, people were still able to hear it. When the crimson light ended, Adam opened his eyes. When he looked at the battlefield, he and others only saw an endless mist of blood mixed with dust covering the entire battlefield.

Meanwhile, Aditya's face did not look good at all. This was the second time in a single day that he was completely exhausted his huge mana reserve. His face was white as a sheet of paper. Aditya's lips looked dry as if all the blood from his face has been drained. Beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead. He breathed heavily trying to take in as much as oxygen he can.

If one looked close enough then they would find a small smile that was barely visible on his pale white face. This smile was the smile of pure happiness and excitement. The reason behind this weak yet so happy-looking smile was because of the countless number of system notifications that was ringing in his head.

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Goblin warrior. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid-4th-order Goblin warrior....?

?Ding! Soul Blaze has reached 100%?

?Ding! For the next 10 seconds, all of the host stats will be increased by 40%.?

Soul Blaze was a passive skill that evolved from Aura of Soul Fire after Aditya reached beginner 3rd-order.

Aditya chose not to advance his cultivator for various reasons. The first and foremost reason was the people. The crowd would definitely get suspicious if he, the person who just had broken through 3rd-order suddenly reached Mid 3rd-order or even Peak 3rd-order. The second reason was that Aditya wanted to take some time to familiarize himself with his new powers and skills. Those saved-up experience points were like his ultimate life-saving trump cards.

Aditya was feeling very weak right now. He was having trouble even keeping himself standing in the air. He slowly began descending from the sky.

Meanwhile, Adam was the first one to recover from his shocked state. With the wave of his hand, all the dust and the mist of blood that was covering the battlefield like a blanket was pushed away.

What Adam and others saw next left them terrified. Especially the nobles and the people who were Adam's enemies felt as if they had seen their worst nightmares. It was as if what they were seeing right now was a silent threat to all of them. It was warning them to not mess with Adam otherwise this monster will definitely reduce them to dust.

Alicia, Julia, Sophie, the emperor, and other prominent figures of the continent who were secretly observing this battle using an artifact gasped as they looked at the mess that a mere beginner 3rd-order has created. This wasn't something that even a Peak 5th-order would be capable of doing.

The millions of goblins that once took most parts of the battlefield were nowhere to be seen anymore. The 500 meters gigantic dungeon gate that created fear in the hearts of millions was nowhere to be seen as well, it was as if the dungeon gate never existed in the first place.

As if this wasn't enough, there was a huge crater that covered more than 18km area of the battlefield. If Adam and other 4th-order had not used their mana to protect everyone, many would have been fired from the high temperature of the crimson lightning that descended from heaven.

Previously the battlefield was covered in a river of blood, flesh, bodies, soldiers' and adventurers' bodies. But right now, there wasn't even a trace of blood left. The crater that was 18 km in size was also 1500 meters deep.

While descending from the sky, Aditya widened his eyes in horror when his gaze landed on the figure that once looked very majestic and noble. Right now he looked like nothing but a beggar on the street. The previously calm and noble aura around him was long gone. Right now he only had that crazy expression on his face.

"How is he still alive?" Aditya couldn't help but sigh seeing that the goblin king was still alive. Even though the goblin king had lost one of his arms and was bleeding from many places, he still looked like he can continue this battle. Aditya noticed that all the armor and the weapon that the Goblin king had also was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his dark green-skinned body was now pitch black as if his skin had been roasted.

The goblin king had his eyes set on the figure with crimson wings. There was a trace of fear in his eyes that no one was able to notice. "If I had not sacrificed my battle armor and my 5-star weapon, I would have died there. I must kill that dragon before he comes after me."

Aditya saw the goblin king step out of the crater. 'I guess it's not easy to kill a 5th-order.' A 5th-order was completely different from a 4th-order cultivator. 'At my current state, I cannot fight him. I guess I will leave things to others. I already have done more than enough.'

In this long battle, Aditya's killing count was more than a few million. If not for him, the goblin would have overwhelmed the army of 1 million and the battle would have ended with the goblins winning. From time to time, Aditya kept on using his powers to kill and kept the goblin's number under check. Even though he could not save hundreds of thousands of soldiers and adventurers who died in this battle, because more than 800,000 soldiers and adventurers were able to survive. Aditya had saved the lives of millions of people. He was the hero of this battle.

Seeing Aditya leaving, the goblin king roared using his remaining strength. "Dragon, don't even think of running away. I swear I will kill you today no matter what happens." Everyone felt goosebumps hearing the loud voice of the goblin king.

"How the hell did that bastard even survive this kind of attack?" Adam and Tobias looked at each other in shock.

"He must have used a life-saving artifact. He looks seriously injured now. Even if he is a 5th-order, right now he had lost an arm, and he is seriously injured from the earlier attack, I think all of us combined should have the strength to kill him."

Just as all the 4th-orders were preparing to face the goblin king, they heard a voice. [There is no need. You all have fought very bravely today. I will take it from here.]

Aditya shivered hearing the voice. He could not even feel the presence of another being. When he turned his head, he found an old man with a long beard silently flying past him. While flying past Aditya, the old man gave him a small smile which only Aditya noticed.

The goblin king's face turned very ugly as if he was forced to eat rotten meat. "The other side has a 5th-order with him." Right now there is no way the goblin king could take on a 5th-order. He started thinking of a plan to escape. Now that the dungeon gate has been closed, he had no escape routes left.

"Elder Evan, just kill him." Once again Aditya was startled to hear another voice. When he turned his head to his right, he saw another old man. This old man was bald and was 5.7 meters tall in height. He silently stood in the air beside Aditya.

"Boy, I have watched your performance. You have a bright future ahead of you. If you keep hard-working, I am sure in a decade.....no maybe in a few years, you will be able to the main continent."

Meanwhile, the old man named Evan silently killed the goblin king, ending the invasion.

"Thank you for the kind words. I will do my best." Aditya had no interest in the main continent. The only reason he pursued power was that he needed it to protect his loved ones and his kingdom.

Once a cultivator reaches Peak 5th-order, that cultivator is allowed to go to the main continent. The mana density in the main continent was said to be very high compared to the other 6 continents. The main continent was like a heaven for the cultivators.

"Alright now that our work is done, we shall take our leave." In the next second both 5th-order cultivators disappeared.

Aditya landed on the ground. He was still shocked about everything. What an ending!

"Are you alright?" Adam walked up to Aditya and asked him. Aditya somehow nodded his pale face. With each passing second, he could feel his body getting heavier.

"I think I kind of over-pushed myself." Aditya replied while breathing heavily.

Adam put his hand on Aditya's right should and smiled. "I cannot thank you enough for what you did today."

Aditya gave a weak smile as he looked at the wild lion's eyes. "Uncle we're a family, there is no need to thank me. I was only looking out for my family member. Besides I can't make Julia sad by letting you die." Adam's right eye twitched uncontrollably.

Adam and Aditya smiled after a moment of silence. Adam knew that Aditya was only joking. "Boy, since you have saved my ass today, I won't say anything. You can take some rest."

"Uncle, I have one last question. If we had two powerful 5th-order cultivators, why we did not use them from the beginning?" This could have prevented all of those hundred thousand soldiers and adventurers from dying.

Sigh!

"Those old leaves are already nearing the end of their life. If they participated in a battle, their conditions only would have deteriorated. His majesty kept those two elders as a last resort."

"Aditya" Hearing the familiar voice that was filled with warmth, concern, care, and various deep emotions, Aditya felt help but smile from the bottom of his heart. Without being bothered about the hundred thousand soldiers and adventurers who had their eyes on one person, she ran at full speed.

The next second, Aditya, the Dragon Monarch, the King of the Istarin Kingdom found himself being hugged. His cold heart warmed up. This was the warmth that Aditya fought so hard to protect.

"You were so reckless today." Right now the goddess of alchemy did not care about being stared at by a hundred thousand soldiers and adventurers. To her, all these people did not matter at all. She did not care about her image nor about her reputation. The goddess only wanted to hug the person who had managed to curve his name in her heart.

Aditya ignored the cold glare that he was getting from Adam. He wrapped his hand around her waist as a warm and gentle smile bloomed on his face. "Princess, I am covered in blood right." Although all the blood of the goblins that were on his body already have been dried up, the dragon king did not want his woman to hug him while he was covered in blood.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 109

"I don't care." The goddess cried in his embrace.

Aditya slowly relaxed his body. When he was in the battlefield he had to be in high alert of his surroundings as he did not wanted to get back stabbed by a goblin. Now that his woman was here, the person that he trusted the most was here, he finally let his guard down.

"Princess, I don't think I can hold on for much longer. I will leave the rest to you." The final thing that Aditya saw before falling asleep was the gentle looking Sophie nodding her head at him. Aditya is not sure if there was any tear in her eyes or not.

Julia smiled looking at the peaceful sleeping face of the Dragon King who now had become the Dragon Monarch. She was concerned about his white pale face.

Meanwhile, Sophie walked up to her husband. Just like her daughter, the mother also did not shy away from giving her husband a big hug. Adam deserved a warm hug after all the hardship he went through today. Adam welcomed the hug. In front of his wife, nothing else mattered to him.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" The mother of the goddess asked in a choked tone. She was barely restraining her tears.

When this huge mana portal appeared near their home, Sophie seems to have lost her sleep. She did not knew how her husband will protect everything. Her husband was carrying the burden of millions of people. At first Sophie was hell vent on joining Adam in this fight. If Adam was going to die here, she too would have fought till the end. But then Adam's words changed her mind.

Even if Adam and everyone died in this battle, he made sure that Sophie would have there to look after this children. When this battle had began the chances of Adam returning was less than 50%. All this time Sophie held her tears as she did not wanted to worry as daughter and her son.

But now all of those locked up emotions was on the verge of breaking out. Adam sighed as he understood what his dear wife was going through.

"Don't worry. My condition is at least better than that boy. Thanks to this bastard, I will no longer have to spend weeks on cleaning this battlefield." Aditya's lightning attack practically had reduced all the dead bodies to ashes which were probably buried under the ground.

Hearing her husband's words, Sophie smiled and said nothing. But she and Adam knew if not for Aditya, then they wouldn't have been hugging each other right now.

The dark clouds that Aditya had summoned when using his final attack still remained covering the sky. Soon drops of rain started falling from the sky.

Patter! Patter!

Unlike before, this rain was much gentle. The rain seems to be washing the fatigue of all the soldiers and the adventurers. The soldiers and the adventurers used this chance to clean their bodies. While the women restrained themselves. Even if they wanted to clean themselves, they couldn't do it in front of such large crowd of males.

From the top of the city walls, Adam hugged Sophie's waist and watched the scene where all the soldiers and adventurers celebrated.

[Everyone, I won't say much words since I am not good with speeches. But tonight all the drinks and foods will be on the Onard house. Drink as much as you can.]

That night, Apogale city did not sleep at all. All the soldiers drank alcohol to their heart content. While some soldiers and adventurers mourned the deaths of their fallen comrades.

In the Istarin Kingdom,

Alicia lied on the bed with a smile on her face. Today she had prepared herself to for the worst. Little she knew that she was going for a massive surprise and shock. Aditya's performance was what that surprised and impressed her the most.

"Never thought that just within 2 and half months, I would see someone change this much."

"Hehe! I wonder what King Ethan would think if he heard of this. Don't those foolish kings realized that they cannot go against the dragon King?"

Onard Castle,

The family finally returned home after a long day. Fortunately before the battle had started, Sophie had put Zak in a long sleep. No one in the house wanted the little one to witness this kind of things at such early age.

"I will go and take a bath first." Just like Aditya, Adam's body was also covered in goblins blood.

"I will prepare dinner for us." Sophie quickly went to the kitchen. Today she was beyond happy. The catastrophic event passed and fortunately her family still managed to survive this event. She head of the house wanted to prepare something extra delicious and special for this event.

"Mom, where is Walter?" Julia looked at Aditya who was deep in his sleep.

"I don't think it will be best to call Walter right now. Why don't you wash Aditya's body by yourself?" Walter had joined the battle. The old butler refused to sit in the castle when his master fought against the goblins.

"This....." Julia's face instantly turned red hearing her mother's words.

"What? If you can't do it, then shall I call the maids to wash Aditya's body?" Sophie asked with a smile on her face.

Her mother's words seems to have touched her sensitive nerve. There was no way the goddess would allow a maid to wash her husband's body. Only she and his future wives had that right. "There is no need to call any maids. I will clean his body by myself." Julia declared in a cold tone before carrying Aditya walking back to his bedroom.

Watching her daughter leave, Sophie shook her head with a smile before going to the kitchen.

"Look at his sleeping face. Why do I have to clean his body?" The Goddess of alchemy complained while holding a wet towel.

"First let' remove his upper wear." Julia bit her lips as she put her hands to remove the T-shirt that tightly glued to his body, highlighting his abs and muscles. Right now she was feeling embarrassed and also a little bit of excited. Even though this shameless dragon had teased her in the past, he never showed his naked body to her.

Julia slowly pulled the T-shirt, revealing his abs and stomach which were covered in blood. Julia did not mind the blood on his body. It did not disgust her even a bit. Instead she was somewhat happy about being able to clean his body, of course the goddess wouldn't admit it to anyone.

As Julia finished removing the T-shirt, she couldn't help but stop for a moment noticing the small crimson scales covering his chest, neck, throat, collar bone and his shoulders. These scales acted as an armor and has protected Aditya many times.

"Come to think of it, I never have seen Aditya in his dragon form." Julia murmured in a low tone as she used the wet towel to gently clean his chest.

The way she moved her hands, it was as if she was cleaning the most delicate thing in the whole world. She moved as slow as possible to not wake him from his deep sleeping state. She knew that her man needed a few days of rest after all the things that he did today.

While cleaning the goddess has to admit that her man's body was very sexy. He had a lean muscular body with a perfect 6 abs. It felt really good to touch his abs but Julia never admit such thing to another soul.

Julia took her time to clean his body. After she was done with the upper part, she now had to clean the lower part.

The goddess's face turned red as a tomato as she slowly pulled his pant down. Fortunately Aditya was deep in his sleep. Fortunately no one was watching her. Otherwise she would have been too embarrassed to continue.

Even though no one was watching her, the goddess's heart beat very fast. She felt as if she was committing some kind of crime. She was feeling a mix of nervousness and excited.

After a long time, Julia was finally done with cleaning Aditya's body. As his clothes were soaked in blood of those filthy goblins she had to threw away those clothes and also change the bed sheet which also was stained with blood.

Knowing that she cannot leave him naked, she took out a set of pajamas and put them on his body. All this took almost an hour. After she was done, she finally sighed in relief. After taking one last look after Aditya, she left the room.

"Where is Zak?" Julia returned to the living room after taking a bath to clean her body as well.

"He is sleeping. He won't wake up until tomorrow morning. What about Aditya?" Sophie asked as she put the bowl of soup on the table.

"I don't think he is going to wake up anytime soon. I guess he will be sleeping till tomorrow or maybe day after tomorrow." Ever since the starting of this battle, Aditya had consumed his mana many times. Even though his body was not injured, his mental health was very exhausted. Given his sudden break through and also his blood line evolving, Aditya's body will take some time to adjust.

"It looks we the three of us are going to have dinner together."

"Yeah."

The family started having their dinner. Adam ate more than usual. Recovering mana takes a lot of energy. He was super hungry after a whole day of fight. It was normal for a cultivator to eat more food than an ordinary people.

"All the nobles are using the teleportation array to head back to their respective territories."

"What about Grandpa Tobias and Uncle Eddie?" Julia asked.

"Both of them are fine. They are celebrating with the soldiers. I guess for the next few days, they will be taking it easy." Adam did not blame them. After that battle, everyone deserved a few days of rest. In fact he was also planning on taking a few days off.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about our daughter's birthday." Sophie reminded Adam. Only 7 more days are left.

"Don't worry about it. I already have finished inviting all the nobles and all our allies from neighboring kingdoms. I am also planning on hiring 10,000 2nd and 3rd-order mercenaries to increase security of the city. So Everything should be fine."

Sophie nodded with a relieved smile. "But we still have one problem."

"That is....."

"Our Castle is still broken."

"____"

After a moment of silence, Adam sighed. "Don't worry, tomorrow I will ask the construction team to resume their work."

2 days later,

The Dragon Monarch, finally decided to open his eyes. After opening his eyes, he looked around to find himself in his bedroom. Aditya relaxed his body and his muscles. He stared at the ceiling for a while before opening the system to learn about all the changes that took place.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 110

2 days later,

The Dragon Monarch finally decided to open his eyes. After opening his eyes, he looked around to find himself in his bedroom. Aditya relaxed his body and his muscles. He stared at the ceiling for a while before opening the system to learn about all the changes that took place.

"System log"

?Ding! The host has evolved into Divine Crimson Storm Dragon.?

"So because of the new bloodline, I can fully manipulate fire, lightning, and storm." Aditya's bloodline had reached divine rank. The highest rank bloodline that anyone has ever awakened.

"What is this?"

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for officially stepping on the path of becoming the Dragon Monarch.?

?Ding! The host has gained a new title, Dragon Monarch?

?Ding! The host's mana has been increased by [1000+]?

"Come to think of it, the system's name is Dragon Monarch system. I guess from the beginning the purpose of the system has to make me the Dragon Monarch. Not that I hate this idea or anything." Aditya continued reading through the system logs.

?Ding! The host has triggered a new function of the system. Please check out the new function of the system later.?

"I will check out this new function later."

?Ding! The host has learned a new innate skill Dragon Roar?

?Ding! The host has learned a new innate skill Crimson Lightning Manipulation?

?Ding! The host has learned a new innate skill Dragon Monarch blessing?

?Ding! The host has learned a new passive skill Enraged Lightning Spell?

?Ding! The host has learned lightning armor.?

"So these are the skills that I got for evolving my bloodline." Aditya wasn't sure how long it would take him to adapt to using new elemental power with his existing fighting style. "I wonder if I can combine lightning with fire."

?Ding! A random mythical class will be chosen for the host.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting mythical class Storm Marshall?

"Storm Marshall? Did the system purposely choose this mythical class to help me in controlling my lightning powers?" Aditya wondered out loud.

?Ding! All of the host's stats have been increased by [50+]?

?Ding! Mythical class Storm Marshall has been upgraded to 3rd-order?

?Ding! Mythical class War dancer class has been upgraded to 3rd-order?

"My Rune Monarch class is also near breakthrough 3rd-order. By today or by tomorrow, I should be able to break through 3rd-order."

?Ding! The host has learned an innate skill, Storm Summoner?

?Ding! The host has learned a passive skill, Acid Rain?

?Ding! The host has learned a passive skill, Storm Flight?

?Ding! All of the host's passive skills have evolved?

?Ding! Passive skill Blast of Divine Fury has evolved into inferno Overdrive?

?Ding! Passive skill Crimson Blink has evolved into Crimson Lightning Blink?

?Ding! Passive skill Lunar Vision has evolved into Fiery Eyes?

?Ding! Passive skill Aura of Soul Fire has evolved into Soul Blaze?

?Ding! Passive skill Disturbance of Blessings has evolved into Curse of the Heaven?

?Ding! Passive skill Mystic Surge has evolved into Blessing of Crimson?

?Ding! Passive skill Charm of Inferno Rune has evolved into Charm Of Plasma?

?Ding! Passive skill Silence Mind has evolved into Mental Defense?

?Ding! Passive skill Lightning Dash has evolved into Crimson Lightning Dash?

"Just like before, all of my passive skills have evolved again. I wonder if this will continue when the breath through 4th-order."

?Ding! Due to special conditions, the Passive skill Eruption Wave has evolved into the innate skill Magma Manipulation?

?Ding! All of the innate skills have been upgraded to 3rd-order?

"Status"

?_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Divine Crimson Storm Dragon

Title: - Dragon Monarch

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch, Storm Marshall

_Level: - 100 ? 151

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation,

? [New skills]

Dragon Roar,

Crimson Lightning Manipulation,

Dragon Monarch blessing,

Storm Summoner,

Eruption Wave ? Magma Manipulation

_Passive skill: - Crimson Blink ? Crimson Lightning Blink

Silence Mind ? Mental Defense

Blast of Divine Fury ? Inferno Overdrive

Aura of Soul Fire ? Soul Blaze

Lunar Vision ? Fiery Eyes

Disturbance of Blessings ? Curse of the Heaven

Mystic Surge ? Blessing of Crimson

Charm of Inferno Rune ? Charm Of Plasma

Lightning Dash ? Crimson Lightning Dash

? [New skills]

Enraged Lightning Spell

Lightning Armor

Storm Flight

Acid Rain

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 260 ? 311 + 50 ? 361

_Speed: - 400 + [100+] ? 451 + 50 + [100+] ? 501 + [100]

_Stamina: - 235 ? 286 + 50 ? 336

_Health: - 235 ? 286 + 50 ? 336

_Mana: - 2,800 ? 2,851 + 1000 + 50 ? 3,901

_Free stats: - 0 ? 102?

"Click"

When Aditya was busy reading the system logs, Julia opened the door and walked in. Hearing the door opening noise, he raised his head to see the Goddess entering his room.

"You're finally awake." Julia had a small gentle smile on her face.

"What do you mean by finally?" Aditya asked back.

Sigh!

Julia put her hands on her waist and sighed. "My dragon King, you have been sleeping for 2 days now. I was starting to worry that you might never wake up. "

"2 days." Aditya was not that shocked. Only he knew how mental and physically exhausted he was.

"How is everything?"

Julia walked up to Aditya and sat on the edge of the bed. "Everything is going very well. During these two days his Majesty had rewarded every adventurer who participated in this fight with golds and cultivation resources. Dad has been taking care of everything."

Aditya nodded with a relieved smile. Fortunately they managed to withstand this calamity without losing too many lives.

"One more thing, His Majesty, the Emperor of Echo Dominion has praised your bravery and said that he was going to attend my birthday party."

"Now that's surprising." Previously Adam had invited the king and the whole royal family. Aditya and everyone were sure that the King wouldn't attend this event. He instead would send one of the princes or princesses in his place.

"Not only that his Majesty also has sent a reward of 10 million royal gold coins to the Onard Household for successfully stopping the invasion." During this invasion, the Onard Household used all of its resources. All the pills that Julia made over the years, all the weapons and the expense of teleportation arrays, everything was on the Onard house.

It could be said that in this invasion the Onard family had lost almost half of their military powers. It was only right for the King to reward Duke Adam with 10 million royal gold coins. The king did this to prevent the power balance within the nobles from changing. After this invasion there was a chance that the house of Campbell might overtake the Onard house, becoming the strongest Duke in the Empire. This change would have come with lots of unnecessary troubles for the Emperor.

'That means Julia's birthday is going to be after 5 days. And I still haven't prepared a birthday gift for her.' Aditya moved the blanket that was covering his body aside and stood up to enter the washroom. But then he stopped noticing the different clothes he was currently wearing.

Seeing Aditya look at his clothes, the princess instantly blushed. For some reason, the image of his strong naked body came to her mind.

How can the Dragon Monarch not understand the meaning of her flushed red face?

Aditya smiled as he gently raised the Goddess's face to meet his gaze with his right hand. "My Princess, it looks like you really took advantage of my deep sleeping state."

"I....." The princess didn't dare look in his eyes. Right now her cheeks were red making her look cuter.

Aditya grinned as he bought his face near her and gently whispered in her right ear. "Did you like my body?" When his hot breath hit her neck and right ear, her face instantly turned red. Even her ears were slightly red at this point.

Seeing the princess like this, Aditya decided to stop teasing her. Meanwhile, Julia wondered what was wrong with her. She knew this shameless man was going to tease her like this. But she did not push him away. Instead, her heart was expecting something.

Aditya without being bothered started removing his Pajamas. When Aditya finished removing his upper wear, Julia looked at his abs before turning her head away. She covered her eyes with her hands as she spoke in a shuttering tone. "Wha...What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? I am changing of course. You already saw me naked, so why are you feeling embarrassed?" Aditya casually asked.

"You..." Seeing Aditya so calm Julia suddenly very very dissatisfied.

"Hmph! I am not interested in seeing your perverted body." Saying the Goddess was about to walk out of his bedroom.

Seeing this Aditya chuckled before replying. "Last time I remember, it was you who cleaned this perverted body." Aditya got a cold glare from the princess before she walked out of his room.

Bang!

She closed the door. Aditya smiled before taking the towel that was kept on the couch.

"Don't be late for breakfast. Everyone is waiting for you."

"Alright."

?Dragon Monarch?

?Description: - The Dragon Monarch is the king of all Dragons. All dragons will unconsciously submit to and obey the dragon Monarch. The Dragon Monarch was born to rule. The Dragon Monarch was born to become one of the supreme existence in the universe.?

?Title effect 1: - Any dragon, no matter which cultivation order it has, will submit to and obey the Dragon Monarch's will.

Title effect 2: - Increases the fighting power of the Dragon Monarchs' subordinates, comrades, and soldiers by 25% during battle.?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

My dear readers, I apologize for uploading only one chapter today. Today is my friend's birthday, so I will be hanging out with him. I hope you all can understand.

Chapter 111

?Dragon Monarch?

?Description: - The Dragon Monarch is the king of all Dragons. All dragons will unconsciously submit to and obey the dragon Monarch. The Dragon Monarch was born to rule. The Dragon Monarch was born to become one of the supreme existence in the universe.?

?Title effect 1: - Any dragon, no matter which cultivation order it has, will submit to and obey the Dragon Monarch's will.

Title effect 2: - Increases the fighting power of the Dragon Monarchs' subordinates, comrades, and soldiers by 25% during battle.?

"I still have a long way to go if I want to truly become the Dragon Monarch." Aditya knew right now he only had taken the first step in becoming the Dragon Monarch. Just evolving his bloodline to divine rank won't be enough.

"But still to able to increase the fighting powers of soldiers during battle times by 25% is going to be a big thing. My soldiers would be easily able to overwhelm the enemy soldiers." Aditya remembered that he had one or two passive skills which also gave his soldiers a significant power boost during battles.

"My bloodline allows me to make all dragons obey me." Aditya thought for a moment. He was thinking about the possibility of taming the dragon clans that lived on this continent and bring them to his Kingdom. Unlike normal nobles, the chances of dragons betraying him would be less than 0.000001%.

"Maybe I should head deeper into the Silver Meadow Grove and find more Wyverns." Aditya already had three Wyverns that followed him everywhere. It was because of these three Wyverns that Aditya had managed to win the battles with the Zulux Dynasty so easily and so quickly.

"Also now that my bloodline has evolved maybe, I can give a drop of the golden blood to the Wyverns and see if they undergo any evolutional changes." Before When Aditya gave his golden blood to Watson and other trusted humans who worked under him, they were able to become his dragonians. Now that his bloodline had evolved maybe there is a possibility that Aditya's golden blood now can also turn people from other races into his dragonians.

"Speaking of dragonians, I wonder how they are doing." Aditya wondered if his dragonians had gone through changes when his heavenly bloodline evolved into Divine bloodline.

?Storm Marshall?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - In ancient times, the sky was dominated by Storm Marshall class holders. In front of mighty Storm Marshall class holders, even the Gods and the Goddess had to bow their heads. The mythical class gives the host the ability to freely manipulate storms and the weather to a certain extent. The Storm Marshall works best with Lightning and wind nature.?

?Passive powers: - Having this mythical class, the host will be able to predict when the weather is going to change. The host will have a natural affinity toward storms. During the storms, the host's mana will be increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind types attacks will be increased by 50%. The host's agility will be increased by [300+].?

"This class is very powerful. Undoubtfully one of the most powerful mythical classes in the whole world." Aditya already could feel excited just thinking of getting a huge boost of a 50% increase in his mana. Currently, he had around [3,901+] mana, if his mana suddenly increases by 50%, he would have a total of [5851+] mana which is really huge. Aditya can't even begin to imagine how powerful a lightning attack made by using [5,851+] mana would be.

"I can't also ignore the [300+] agility passive stats that I am receiving from this class." Aditya suddenly started to feel that the goblin Invasion was a blessing in disguise. Because of killing millions of goblins, Aditya now won't have to go out to hunt to level up.

After about 20 minutes, Aditya arrived at the dining table to find that everyone was waiting for him.

"Good Morning, uncle, Aunty, and Zak."

"Good Morning Aditya."

"Big brother, you're finally awake." Little Zak, Julia's little brother looked very happy to see Aditya finally awake. These days the little boy has been wanting to play with his big brother. He also wanted his big brother to teach him some fighting moves as he had heard from the soldiers and the citizens of Apogale city about how cool his big brother was. After learning about all the heroic deeds that his brother had done, Aditya had become his hero and his idol.

"Hello, Zak. Do you have school today?" Aditya asked while taking his seat between Zak and Julia. The princess pouted as she remembered how this shameless man teased her.

"Unfortunately I have school today. But I will be back a few hours early. Big brother after I come back from school, will you play with me?" Seeing those sparkling eyes of the little boy, Aditya couldn't bring himself to say no.

'I still haven't found a gift for the princess. And her birthday is right around the corner. I was planning on finding a unique gift for her today.' Aditya has not good at choosing gifts. But considering that Julia was a very important person to him, he at least wanted his gift to be unique.

'Maybe Zak can help me.' Julia's brother surely would know what she likes and what she dislikes.

"Instead of playing, why don't I take you out to play around the city?" Aditya asked with a smile. He then glanced at Sophie and Adam as if asking for their permission. After all the safety of the prince was a big matter as he was the next head of the Onard household.

"You can take Zak with you. But don't stay out late." Aditya lightly nodded his head and then started eating. For some reason talking with Sophie made him remember an old woman who always said the same words. Unfortunately, she passed away at an early age. Aditya can barely recall what she looked like.

After having breakfast, Adam left to do his duties as the Duke. Sophie meanwhile returned to her room and was slowly getting ready. Today she and Julia were invited to a party held by the noble women of the Empire. These kinds of parties were very normal among the noble circle. Though it looked like neither Sophie nor Julia looked the least bit interested in going to that party.

According to Julia, these parties are excellent ways of forming connections with other nobles. These kinds of parties were very popular in this region of the continent.

"What should I do now?" Aditya was left alone. He went and searched for old man Tobias, he had not seen that old vampire since the goblin invasion.

"I am sorry Kid but right now I am busy." Aditya found the old vampire engraving runes on the city walls. He was making another defensive formation. The previous city's defensive formation was destroyed by the mana wave.

"At this point, I don't think you will need my help. Just study the notes that I had given you. With your talent eventually, you will learn to make 3rd-order rune spells in a few days without failing." Right now Aditya had reached a point where the chances of his 3-star rune spells working were above 90%. But the dragon Monarch wasn't satisfied. He wanted to reach 100% which is why he came to the old men.

Hearing the words of the old vampire, some students of the old men stared at Aditya in admiration. Before they only had heard of the genius from the old man Tobias. This was the first time they were seeing him.

During the goblin invasion, the old man did not allow his students to participate in the big battle as he knew that his students had no talent for fighting. Sending his students to the battlefield was like sacrificing them to die.

"Alright. If I have any doubts, can I still come to you?"

"Anytime kid. Also if you have time, be sure to head to the library and read the books on advanced rune spells. I had collected those books with a lot of effort."

"Alright." Aditya then disappeared from the top of the western walls of the city.

Around 5 km away from Apogale city, in the forest, there was a young man whose body was covered by a black cloak. The man had long dark blue hair and attractive Crimson eyes and a handsome face.

Right now the Dragon Monarch had come out of the city to look for a rare metal that was being smuggled by some bandits. After talking with old man Tobias, Aditya went back to the castle. He then happen to meet his father-in-law, who wanted him to care take of the bandits. It was more like a request from Adam's side. The damage done by the mana mortal, mana wave, and the goblin invasion kept Adam's hands full. It will take him weeks if not months to deal with everything.

Julia's father had no choice but to ask Aditya to deal with this bandit group since he was free right now. Aditya agreed after learning that these bandits were supposed to be smuggling some rare metal from another Empire. Adam also agreed to let Aditya keep a small percentage of the smuggled rare metals.

"This is also a perfect opportunity to test out some of my new skills." Two pairs of red dragon wings appeared on his back. The next second, the Dragon Monarch flew off to the sky and vanished.

?Storm Flight?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - A special type of skill granted only because of possessing the mythical class Storm Marshall. The skill is related to storms. The power of this skill can be enhanced using wind elements.?

?Function 1: - When this skill is activated, the speed of the user will be increased by [100+]. It will consume [20+] per minute to keep the first function activated.

Function 2: - When there is a storm, the agility of the user will be increased to [200+].?

"Storm flight is a really good skill." Aditya smiled as he can imagine how beneficial this skill would become during tough situations.

?Lightning Armor?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - A special type of skill that can be used by those who can freely Manipulate lightning nature.?

?Function 1: - The user can make a transparent lightning armor using lightning element. It will consume [20+] mana per second to keep the lightning armor activated. When the lightning armor is made, the user's defense will be highly increased.

Function 2: - When the first function of this skill is used, the user's strength will be increased by [100+]?

Aditya nodded with a satisfied smile. With this skill, he now had an extra layer of defense. As he had a huge reserve of mana, he can simultaneously use multiple skills without having to worry about exhausting his mana.

?Acid Rain?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - Another special skill that was learned because of having Storm Marshall class. The skill gives the user the ability to manipulate the weather to a certain extent.?

?Function 1: - By exhausting [500+] mana, the user can summon powerful acid rain that can kill even a Peak 3rd-order. The cultivators whose cultivation is one order high than the host's cultivation has 50% chances of not getting hurt by this acid rain. The power of the acid rain decrease with high-order beings. For every 100 meter area, [50+] mana is required.

Function 2: - The host can control the size, power and the intensity of the acid rain.

Function 3: - By consuming [500+], the host can also summon normal rain.?

"Now this is skill that is meant for pure killing." If Aditya had this skill when he was fighting the goblins, he was sure that his killing count would have been doubled. Not to mention the fact that he could have saved a lot of lives.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 112

"Brother Finn, I think we should have taken the second path. This path is more exposed and the chances of us encountering people on this path is very high."

"Idiot! You always worry too much. We have five two 4th-order cultivators and all of us are third-order powerhouses. Even if we encounter someone or some party, we can easily deal with them."

"Also don't forget that as long as we managed to sell these rare metals in a foreign Empire, we will become richer than some lower ranking nobles in this Empire. Just imagine the things you can do with that much money."

"I guess you're right. I should stop worrying too much."

"Good. But I still think we should have taken the second route even if taking the second route would have taken us a few extra days. After all, we're currently in the territory of Duke Adam who is also known as the Wild Lion. If that man got even the scent of a group of smugglers passing through his territory, he will do anything to find us."

"Hehe! Fear not. Even though Duke Adam and his rumored Son-in-law had managed to stop the mana wave from destroying Apogale city, I heard that the surrounding cities and villages weren't that lucky. Also, the damage caused by the heavy rain before the dungeon gate opened and the damage from the goblin invasion, all this would keep Duke Adam super busy for the next few months."

"By the way, I heard that the rumored Son-in-law of Duke Adam was the one who was responsible for stopping the goblin invasion. It was said that despite being Peak 2nd-order, he was able to kill Peak 4th-order goblins which is absolutely horrifying. Only the Goddess of War was able to accomplish this kind of thing before."

"Though no one has an exact estimation, it is said that that man alone had slaughtered more than 4 million goblins. Right now I beginning to doubt if the Goddess of War can do the same."

"Yeah. Right after he broke through 3rd-order, he used a super powerful attack that wiped out all the remaining goblins. The attack was so strong that, some weak 1st-order cultivators even lost their consciousness just from the lightning striking sound."

"I do wonder from where Duke Adam found this young man. If he was this impressive, then his name should have spread every corner of this continent."

"I am guessing he is someone from other continents. Maybe he is from Westnia."

"If Lady Julia and that man do get married then they would be known as the super couple on this continent. While the wife is the Goddess of alchemy the husband is a beast that can match the Goddess of War in terms of strength."

"Bro, say whatever you want but I refuse to believe that man can beat the Goddess of War. Have you all forgotten the Goddess of War alone had slaughtered 9 fifth-order cultivators? If I remember correctly she still has not reached the fifth order yet. Just imagine how powerful she will be when she reaches 5th order."

13 bandits, who were rogue cultivators had come together to do stealing and robbing. The 13 rogue cultivators did not belong to any faction or any powerhouse. They needed resources to cultivate which they obtained from robbing merchants. 13 bandits have killed thousands of people. The only thing that these 13 bandits cared about was money.

Currently, the bandits were going in the northern direction. They wanted to exit Duke Adam's territory as soon as possible knowing how frightening the Wild Lion was. Who in their right mind would want to provoke the Savage Lion?

Enraged Lightning!

Suddenly an intensely bright light blinded everything in the area for a second. Following the intensely bright light, every magical beast and people within a 10 km radius heard a powerful lightning striking sound.

?Ding! You have killed Mid 4th-order cultivators. Experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed Mid 4th-order cultivators....?

?Enraged Lightning Spell?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - Another special skill that was learned because of having Storm Marshall class. This is a special skill that once even harmed powerful gods and goddesses. This skill was said to be lost. Currently the host is the only one possessing this skill?

?Function 1: - By consuming [1000+] mana, the user can summon a powerful bolt of chaotic lightning. Chaotic lightning is twice more powerful as regular lightning. Note: - this can be used once every 4 hours.?

"This is a nice skill." A figure landed right before the carriage which was being pulled by a Fire horse.

"Now that I am done with the bandits, I get to keep a small percentage of the rare metals that these bandits were smuggling." Aditya found that his attack had turned the bodies of the bandits to ashes. He picked up the storage ring that was lying on the side of the carriage in which he found the rare metals smuggled by these bandits.

"They are very rich." When Aditya peeked inside the storage ring, he was surprised by the number of rare metals inside the storage. There were different kinds of rare metals that had different types of properties.

Scene change____

Knock! Knock!

"Who is it?" Aditya heard an irritated voice.

"Can you open the door first?" Aditya asked back.

"If you're someone who is looking to get a new weapon forged, then you can leave. I don't make weapons for outsiders." Right now Aditya had come to the Onard house blacksmith. The blacksmiths were only allowed to make weapons and armors for the faction to which they belonged to.

After a few seconds of silence, the old man opened his eyes hearing what Aditya said. "My name is Aditya."

For the next few seconds, Aditya heard no reply.

Click!

Opening the iron doors, Aditya found an old dwarf who was only 1.2 meters tall and had a muscular body. The dwarf had a long beard and bald hair. He was holding an alcohol bottle in his right hand. Aditya instantly knew that this old man was drinking when he knocked on the door and this was why he sounded so irritated.

After opening the door the old dwarf did not say anything. He instead kept on staring at Aditya's face. These days he has been hearing the name Aditya hundreds of times a day. As the blacksmith of the Onard family, the old man also kept an eye on the things happening around the castle.

"So you're Lady Julia's fiance. Brat, you better take care of Princess Julia, otherwise, this old man will personally beat the crap out of you."

"Don't worry, under my watch, she will never shed a tear."

The old dwarf has heard of the things that this young man has done. Even though he wouldn't show it on his face, deep down he was very impressed with Aditya. He knew that the Onard family owned him a lot.

"So what do you want today? Do you want to get an armor or weapon forged?" The old dwarf asked to which Aditya shook his head.

Instead of replying, Aditya took out a small square-shaped piece of dark blue crystal. "This is a 4-star mana crystal. From where did you get such rare metal?" The old dwarf looked very excited seeing this crystal in Aditya's hand.

Aditya mysteriously smiled in response. "Let's just say I earned this 4-star mana crystal with a little bit of hard work. Anyway, do you think you can make me a pendant using this mana crystal?"

The old dwarf took the mana crystal from Aditya's hand and checked the quality of the crystal for an entire minute. "Of course, I can. I can make a 4-star pendant with this mana crystal. As long as you add rune enchantment, this 4-star pendant will also work as a 4-star artifact."

Aditya smiled as this was what he also had in his mind. "Great. How long would it take you to make this pendant?"

The old dwarf narrowed his eyes instead of replying. He observed Aditya's face for a moment. "You're planning on giving this pendant to Lady Julia?"

Aditya nodded as he had nothing to hide here. "Yes. please keep this a secret."

"Hahaha! Kid, you remind me of my younger self. Don't worry, I will make the best pendant with this 4-star mana crystal. You can return tomorrow to get the pendant." After saying this thanks to the old dwarf, Aditya left.

The remaining 5 days passed very quickly. In those 5 days, everyone was busy with work. Aditya focused on practicing his rune skills. Julia and her maid Paige were constantly making pills, increasing their reserve of pills. Adam and Sophie were busy with Julia's birthday. This year, nobles from the Empire and also from outside the Empire were going to attend Julia's birthday. Adam and Sophie needed to make sure that everything went well, especially with the security of the city.

Early in the morning,

"Aditya, I have prepared what you're going to wear today. Why don't you go and check it out?"

"Alright. What about Julia?"

"She has gone out spend some time with her friends. She will be back before evening." The party was going to start late in the evening.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 113

Early in the morning,

"Aditya, I have prepared what you're going to wear today. Why don't you go and check it out?"

"Alright. What about Julia?"

"She had gone out to spend some time with her friends. She will be back before evening." The party was going to start late in the evening. Aditya still had many hours in his hands.

"Alright, I will go and practice some sword moves with general Eddie." Since had had nothing else to do, he might as well go to the training ground and do some training. It was kind of fun and enjoyable to fight someone like general Eddie. Aditya knew that he can learn many things from sparring with Eddie.

"Aditya, I want to tell you something."

"Yes?" Sophie sat on the couch and then signaled Aditya to sit down on the other couch.

After he sat down, Sophie looked at Aditya as if she was looking at her own son. Aditya can feel the motherly love and warmth in her eyes. After staying in this castle for 15 days, Aditya had come very close to the Onard family.

"Previously when we had invited all the nobles and our allies for Julia's birthday party, we had expected almost all the invited persons to attend this party. But the sudden appearance of the mana portal and the goblin invasion has changed many things. You might not realize it but currently, your name has spread almost every north of this northwestern region of the continent."

After giving a few seconds of silence to let Aditya digest the information, Sophie continued. "Before everyone knew you as the future fiance of the Goddess of alchemy. But after your heroic deeds to stop the goblin invasion, right now you have a unique identity of your own. Not to mention the fact that almost everyone in the northwestern region of the continent knows that you're a divine Dragon. Though I am pretty sure that this news will soon spread throughout the whole world."

"Aunty, are you worried that some powerful noble might try to eliminate me?" Aditya asked understanding Sophie's concerns.

"I am not worried. Your powers are well known to everyone. Even after knowing about your ability, some idiot does try to eliminate you, the Onard house and the Emperor himself have your back." Aditya might not realize but even the Emperor held a favorable impression of Aditya.

Knowing that Aditya was a divine dragon, the Emperor wouldn't hesitate to use his powers and resources to help out Aditya. The emperor was willing to go as far as to offend the neighboring Empires for Aditya's safety. The reason the Emperor was willing to go so far as to protect Aditya was that he was a divine dragon. Having the bloodline of divine bloodline confirmed that sooner or later, Aditya will reach 7th-order even if he stops cultivating. Which Kingdom wouldn't want to ally itself with a future 7th-order powerhouse?

"Then..."

"Let me explain."

"The Onard noble house held great influence inside and outside the Empire. When you went on a date with Julia, I am sure pretty much every noble and big figure who had their eyes on my daughter also had learned about you. At first, those big figures did not care about you thinking that they can deal with you at any given time. But now that you have shown your powers and your bloodline was revealed, almost everyone has changed their thoughts of you."

Aditya understood what Sophie was saying. Julia was the Goddess of Alchemy. She was the golden goose that everyone had their eyes on. Whoever managed to get this golden goose would have a way of becoming the supreme powerhouse on the continent. This was why almost everyone faction on the continent wanted Julia. When Julia reached the age of 14, many emperors, kings, and dukes from the continent and also from outside the continent asked for Julia's hand in marriage.

It was because of Julia that Aditya's generals managed to reach 2nd-order so quickly. It was because of her pills, that the Istarin army was able to rapidly rise. Her pills healed countlessly injured and fallen soldiers. Her pills have helped thousands of soldiers in reaching a new height. She did all these when she only had the lowest-grade herbs and alchemy ingredients.

This was the northwestern region of the Dying Isle continent. This region of the continent was considered the richest, most prosperous, and most developed part of the continent. This region of the continent had the most number of 5th-order cultivators. The northwestern region of the continent had the highest quality herbs, cultivation resources, and alchemy ingredients. Compared to other regions on the continent, this region was simply heaven to the cultivators.

If some faction managed to bring Julia to their side. Julia would be given high-quality alchemy ingredients to make pills which would only keep on increasing that faction's military powers.

At some point, even the Emperor of Echo Dominion had thought of asking Julia's hand for the crown prince. But fortunately, Adam was sharp enough to guess what his Majesty wanted to do. So before the Emperor could bring that topic, Adam already had indirectly rejected the Emperor's offer.

Of course, the emperor could have pressured Adam by using political and military powers to give his daughter to the crown prince, but that simply would have backfired on him knowing that the Onard household held the most military power after the Emperor. This whole thing could have started a civil war which the King wanted to prevent from happening.

Also, the King did not want to lose the loyalty of the Onard house. For generations, the Onard house has been standing behind the King and supporting the Empire. Taking action against the Onard house would be a great loss for the Empire.

"Meaning right now almost everyone is attending this party to see me."

"Yes. Among every noble and big merchant who is going to attend this party, you should keep your eyes on a certain noble."

"Who is that noble?" If Sophie is being careful of that noble, that noble must be someone who has great strength rivaling the Onard family or maybe even surpassing the Onard noble house.

"House of Addison"

"House of Addison?" Aditya frowned at hearing this name.

"The Addison noble house is a family with almost 5 centuries of a long history. The Addison noble house is our biggest ally outside the Echo Dominion Empire. It was the house of Addison that stood with the Onard house for more than 300 years. Both houses had always remained allies."

Sophie couldn't help but sigh. She was starting to feel bad for involving Aditya in this political game. "The house of Addison is our biggest trading partner as well. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the Addison house had some hand in the Onard family's rise in military powers."

Sigh!

Sophie sighed another time before looking at Aditya. "But recently the relationship between both houses has been on a decline. If it was before the Addison house would have sent reinforcement to help the Onard family in fighting the goblin invasion. The Addison House did not send any reinforcements even when Adam had personally written a letter and asked for their help. They pretended as if they never got the letter."

"Actually the relationship between both houses had a big crack when Duke Addison asked Julia's hand in marriage. Adam refused Duke Addison without even taking a second."

"Even if Adam had not refused, the Emperor simply wouldn't have allowed this marriage to happen." The Addison house was a part of another Empire located on the border of the Echo Dominion Empire. If a foreign Empire gets the Goddess of alchemy, even though both Empires are currently neutral and have a friendly relationship, within a few decades, it wouldn't be surprising if the other Empire rises in power and takes over the Echo Dominion Empire. So in a way by declining Duke Addison's offer, Adam avoided a major international conflict from taking place.

"From the beginning, the House of Addison had a strong interest in Julia. They even went far as to send the young master, also known as the next and future head of the Addison house to Apogale city so that the young master could make Julia fall in love."

"Adam and I, both of us love our daughter. We don't care about the fact that she is the Goddess of alchemy. Even if she was a normal girl, we still wouldn't have sold her off as political marriage. We wanted Julia to find the person she loved. The reason why Adam remained quiet when Julia left the northwester region of the continent, was because he and I wanted to use this chance to let everyone cool off as the marriage proposals and pressure. were getting out of hand."

Aditya dryly laughed hearing the last part. Given Adam's character, if not for the current situation he simply would have went to the Istarin Kingdom and killed Aditya before returning with his daughter.

"I think the decision to let you live alone helped her mature. As a mother, I am very proud of my daughter's character. She and Zak is the best gifts we ever got. I hope you will also take care of her." At the end Sophie bowed her head a little.

"Aunty there is no need to bow your head. I will protect her using my own life."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Second chapter will come 6 or 7 hours later. I just come home after writing exam so I did not got time to write a second chapter. I hope you all can understand.

Chapter 114

"Aunty there is no need to bow your head. I will protect her using my own life." These words were simply not said in the heat of the moment. When Aditya came into this world, Watson and Julia were the first two people whom he saw and met. They were the people who stood in the shadows and continued to support him even when his previous self had given up on everything.

There was no way the Dragon Monarch is going to let anything happen to the woman whom he has come to love.

"Thank you, Aditya." Sophie even though she did not say it out, deep down she and Adam both knew in their hearts that they were extremely lucky to have Aditya as their son-in-law.

"Alright, I will head to the kitchen. I am going to make a cake for Julia."

After Sophie left, the expression on Aditya's face changed as he opened the system and explored its new function of the system.

?Ding! The host has triggered a new function of the system. Please check out the new function of the system later.?

?Ding! The Dragon Monarch needs to have his own Dragon Palace and his own territory. In order to reach the second step of becoming the true Dragon Monarch, the host must complete some requirements.?

?Ding! There are currently two requirements that the host needs to complete to advance on his path to becoming the true Dragon Monarch.

?1. Expand the host's territory over an area of 500,000 km².?

?173,000 km²/500,000 km²?

?2. Gather the materials needed to build the legendary Dragon Palace. ?

?Required materials: - 100 tons of gold, 50 tons of silver, 50,000 spirit stones, 100 tons of refined iron?

"I can easily expand my territory but how I am supposed to get all these materials? Forgot about getting 100 tons of gold, just getting 50 tons of silver would be extremely difficult." Right now the Istarin Kingdom was in the middle of being developed. In the last month, Aditya had used almost all the gold coins in his treasury to launch many new projects in different cities. It would take some time before those projects could earn him profits. Even if he uses all revenue, it still wouldn't be enough to get 50 tons of silver. Aditya has to look for some other method.

"Although I have opened the port city, the city is still far from being completed. It will at least another month before the port city can finish the construction work." Right now Watson in Aditya's place was negotiating with foreign merchants and bringing foreign goods to the Istarin Kingdom.

As soon as the construction of the port city was finished, Aditya won't have to worry about money. At that time his Kingdom's revenue will be increased by almost 3 times.

"But I don't want to wait that long. The fastest way of getting rich was to plunder from others." Aditya closed his eyes as he began to look for a target that he can plunder right after returning to his Kingdom.

"Because of the peace treaty agreement with the Nepoca Kingdom, I cannot attack them. As I have forged an alliance with the Kingdom of Thera and the Kingdom of Nyland, there are also out of question. So my only choice would be to look beyond the Nepoca and the Thera Kingdom." What lay beyond the Nepoca and the Thera Kingdom was a chain of 2nd-tier Kingdoms that constantly fought among each other.

"I can conquer those 2n-tier Kingdoms in a month. But this act of mine might bring a crack to our alliance with Nyland and Thera Kingdom." Conquering those Kingdoms would mean that the Istarin Kingdom will surround the Kingdom of Thera and the Nyland from 2 sides. It was not that Aditya cared much about the alliance from the beginning. Given his current powers, he can deal with the Nyland Kingdom as well.

What worried Aditya a little was an alliance between the Nyland, Thera, and the Nepoca Kingdom. If Aditya breaks off the alliance by offending the Nyland or the Thera kingdom he was sure that these three Kingdoms would immediately join hands to take down the Istarin Kingdom.

There were no true friends in politics. Everyone fought for their best interest. If the Nyland Kingdom had not seen the Istarin Kingdom as the rising power, they would have continued silently supporting the Nepoca Kingdom. The Nyland Kingdom only forged an alliance to prevent Aditya from attacking the Nyland Kingdom when the current King steps down from the throne.

"The succession civil war between the princes of the Nyland Kingdom is inevitable. Even if the old King did not want it to happen, things already have been set in that direction. When that happens, the Nyland Kingdom will be at its most vulnerable period."

"At least for the next few months, I don't see any Kingdom starting a war." Even the Nepoca Kingdom's King, King Ethan has been strangely remaining quiet. This was especially weird given that he was a hot-blooded man.

"Another place that I am not paying enough attention to is the sea." The Istarin Kingdom was extremely lucky that the Kingdom was located right next to the sea.

"The sea is full of treasures." Aditya closed his eyes as a plan of exploring the sea near his territory began forming in his mind. Aditya can use the 500 Sea elves that he bought from the slave merchant.

"Maybe I can also fight underwater." Aditya was not sure about this possibility but he felt after his bloodline evolved to divine rank, he can live underwater as well.

After about 10 minutes of silently thinking, Aditya shook his head as he stood up to leave the living room. "Sooner or later, there is will another war. As soon as the old Nyland king passes away or when King Ethan runs out of patience, another war will start. At that time, I will have the chance of expanding my Kingdom and finally, I will have a chance of turning my Kingdom into an Empire."

It was evening, the sky had turned red-orange color. The Apogale city seems to have recovered from the Mana wave and Goblin Invasion. The citizen looked happy and the city was lively as before. Multi-color lights were bustling around the city.

Only the people who are residents of this city can tell that today Apogale city was more crowded than usual. The whole city was full of people. Not just that, the whole city was beautifully decorated with paints, murals were drawn on the walls, and hundreds of soldiers could be seen giving free food to the poor and needy ones.

Today, in every class people had big smiles on their faces. Whether it was poor or the rich, everyone was smiling, looking very happy. Today was a special day. Today was like a festival. Today was the birthday of the Goddess of Alchemy, the princess of the Onard family, and the birthday of the most beautiful woman on the continent.

Every year Adam and Sophie made sure to spend a huge sum of their revenue on celebrating their daughter's birthday. It was Julia and Sophie's idea to give food to the poor and needy ones. Every year on this date, the people of this city would get to experience a festival that brings them joy and happiness.

The whole city was patrolled and guarded by more than ten thousand soldiers. Neither Adam nor Sophie wanted anyone to interrupt their daughter's birthday. Adam did not care about money when it came to the security of this city. Not to mention the fact, that tonight many powerful and prominent figures of the continent and also from outside the continent were going to attend the goddess's birthday. Adam had to make sure that the safety of all the VIPs.

The Castle of the Onard family which stood at the center of the city was the main place of attraction. Everything around the castle was glowing in light golden color. Hundreds of royal carriages were parked outside the Onard family castle. For this special occasion, the entrance of the castle was fully opened.

Standing outside the gate, Adam personally welcomed every guest. The party had started around an hour ago. Nobles from all the over the Empire and also from outside the Empire kept on coming one after another. Adam has made sure to invite all of their allies.

"Lord Campbell is coming." Adam looked at the golden royal carriage that stopped in front of the entrance of the Castle. Two servants opened the royal carriage doors. Adam's eyes turned a little cold when Lucian the very same man who challenge Aditya walked out of the carriage. Behind him, another old man with short white hair and shaved beard came out.

This old man was around 5 feet tall and had a muscular built body. This old man was the second strongest duke of Echo Dominion Empire. The head of the Campbell family, also known as Duke Campbell looked at the Wild Lion also known as Adam.

When both Dukes stared at each other, everyone in the surroundings felt the temperature was dropping. There seem to be some invisible sparks that both were throwing at each other. The Onard noble house and the Campbell noble house, both were rivals for generations. And this rivalry was going to continue along the future generation. Both Dukes held respect for each other even though neither of them would show it on their faces.

When the Mana portal appeared, even though the Onard family was Campbell's rival, Duke Campbell did not hesitate to order half of this army to assist and help the Onard family. Both Duke Campbell and Duke Adam were extremely loyal to the Empire. For the sake of the Empire, both dukes are always willing to put behind their rivalry and work together.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 115

Shout out to Yam_Van_5538 for gifting a Pizza to this novel.

"Adam, it seems you have gotten uglier." The first word that came out of Duke Campbell's mouth was the mocking words that Adam had gotten used.

"Old man, it seems you have lost a few of your teethes. Are you sure you don't want to lay on the bed and announce your retirement?" Adam did not understand why this old man insisted on working as the Duke when his son was one of the best and top geniuses on the continent. Adam felt the old man should just retire and pass things to the next generation.

"Hmph! This old man's body is still stronger than yours. I can take on multiple women at the same time which you can never do." The old man mocked him back fully knowing that this was Adam's weakest point. Since Adam loved Sophie, he devoted himself to a single woman.

No one on the Empire or on the continent has heard of Adam sleeping with another woman besides his own wife. The man was extremely loyal to this wife which was extremely rare as most noble men considered it to be normal to sleep around with multiple women.

Adam's right eye twitched hearing the old man's words. "Unlike you whose one foot is already in the grave, I am still young and full of energy. My d**k is not cheap as yours. It's only available for one person."

"What did you say?" The old man finally lost this anger and hissed at Adam like a snake.

Lucian "___"

Meanwhile, Lucian and others could watch the scene in silence. Both of them were adults yet they were arguing with each other like some children. The guards and the soldiers were having a hard time holding back their laughter.

'Sleeping with multiple women....? My foot. Old man, you can't even handle a single woman.' Lucian secretly mocked his old man for bragging about such nonsense. He wondered if he should expose his old man. But considering that his old man was his father, Lucian decided to remain quiet and not meddle in the two Duke's conversations which sounded more like an argument.

"Anyway, I will head inside for now. For now, I don't have the time to argue with you." Feeling that Campbell was going to lose the argument he quickly decided to enter the castle not wanting to embarrass himself in front of the guests.

"What a coward!" Adam snorted as he resumed welcoming the guests as if nothing happened. But he was to admit deep down Adam was finally feeling a little better after winning the argument.

Another one or two minutes later, three golden carriages stopped. Adam narrowed his eyes as the coldness in his eyes increased. Compared to this man, Duke Campbell was a straightforward man and Adam liked and also admired Campbell's personality. But this man was the total opposite of Duke Campbell. He was cunning, sly as a fox, and venous as a snake. In the public, this man would put the face of gentlemen. Only a rare few knew what face was hidden behind that gentle and happy mask.

If possible Adam wouldn't have even invited this man to this party but he had no choice as technically both of them were still allies. But soon this was going to change as Adam was planning on stopping all types of trade and friendly relations with this man in the future. Adam already had found a replacement who has a 100 times better personality than this man.

When the gate of the carriage was opened, a man wearing decorative, luxurious clothes stepped out of the carriage and stopped in front of Adam. The man was also 6 feet tall in height. He had short blond hair with bangs covering his forehead. He had a handsome face that could charm most ladies' hearts with a single smile.

"Good evening Lord Adam. I hope I am not late for the birthday party." The man had a gentle smile on his face. But Adam knew that this smile was anything but gentle.

The man stretched out his right hand for a handshake. "Good evening Lord Addison." Addison, the Duke of a neighboring Empire sensed the coldness in Adam's voice. He pretended to not notice the coldness and shook hands with Adam.

"Lord Adam, my condolences to all your fallen soldiers who died in the goblin invasion." The way this man spoke as it was as if he was the most innocent man on the planet. Addison had a sad smile on his face when he said those words. Deep Down Adam knew this sad face was nothing but an illusion. Unfortunately, The wild lion already had seen through this illusion a long time ago. But for now, Adam decided to play along with Addison.

"It was thanks to my son-in-law that we were able to avoid a big causality." Knowing Aditya was the reason why Addison came here tonight, Adam did not hesitate to rub salt on Duke Addison's wounds by talking about Aditya especially referring to him as his son-in-law. As expected, Addison's face turned ugly which remained for only a brief second. But that small second was more than enough to make Adam feel satisfied.

"Lord Adam, regarding the goblin invasion, I deeply apologize. I wanted to send an army to help you out in his Invasion but recently a group of bandits has been causing trouble in my territory. I had to put my attention on the bandits." Everyone here knew that Addison was lying. There was another hidden meaning in Addison's words. Addison cared more about taking care of bandits than sending reinforcement to help out his ally Adam in fighting the goblins.

"Lord Addison, there is no need for you to apologize. If I was in your position then I would have done the same thing." Indirectly Adam was also replying to Addison back. Adam was telling him that he also wouldn't have sent reinforcement.

At this point, both Dukes knew deep down in their hearts that the alliance that once was envied by many nobles and dukes has been broken.

'I was planning on getting my son married to Julia but my plans have failed.' When the news of Julia coming back home reached Addison's ears, he was planning on sending his son to the Onard castle to meet Julia. But his plans were forced to be stopped when a strange rumor of Adam selecting his son-in-law started going circulating in the noble circle.

After a bit of research, Addison was furious to find out about the boy with whom Julia went on a date. It was at that moment that Addison decided to not help the Onard family during the goblin invasion.

The Addison family was expecting Adam to die in this invasion given how many millions of goblins he had to face. When Adam died, Addison was planning on kidnapping Julia and Sophie easily. But his plans once again failed as an unexpected factor emerged during the goblin invasion.

Addison was one of those people who secretly was watching the whole battle. He was eagerly waiting for the moment when Adam would fall. But instead of seeing Adam fall, Addison saw something that made him feel threatened. It was that small, pathetic, and weak man whom he thought he can crush at any given moment who emerged as the most powerful and most brutal warrior on the battlefield.

Addison and his son felt as if their entire views of the world has been changed when that man whom he had underestimated turned out to be a dragon. Not just any, dragon it was Divine Dragon. Addison has watched the whole battle with his very own eyes. He saw how a mere Peak 2nd-order slaughtered hundreds of Peak 4th-orders. This was completely against the law of this world. That dragon kept on defying the laws of this world and kept on killing without showing any exhaustion.

When that man revealed his bloodline, Addison nearly died of a heart attack. What he saw next almost shook his very own soul. Right after that man reached beginner 3rd-order, he used a very powerful attack which severely injured a 5th-order monster like the goblin king who stood at the top of all goblins. This was beyond the logic of this world. After this great battle, Addison began having nightmares.

He felt regret for not helping the Onard family. Addison is not sure from where Adam found someone Like Aditya but he was sure that with both the goddess of alchemy and a dragon with a divine bloodline, the Onard family will become untouchable.

Right now Addison had come to this party not because he wanted his son to seek an opportunity with the goddess. It was because he felt threatened and fearful of the unknown dragon that slaughtered millions of goblins alone. Addison right now had one goal in his mind and that was to know more about Aditya. If possible he wanted to eliminate Aditya so that his son could have a chance with Julia but he felt a divine dragon would have big background. If he carelessly messed with someone out of his reach, this would only mean the end of this family.

"Lord Addison, why don't you head inside? The party is going to start in a few more minutes." Addison gloomily nodded his head and walked inside the castle. Meanwhile watching him walk back, Adam viciously smiled. The Wild Lion wasn't going to let a big threat like Duke Addison remain much longer. Sooner or later, Adam was going to take care of that man.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 116

Knock! Knock!

"Come in."

Click!

Opening the door, Sophie and Zak walked inside Aditya's bedroom. Zak and Sophie's eyes fell on Aditya who was sitting in front of a large mirror. Several maids and a butler were helping him with his hair and his black suit.

"Big brother, you look so handsome today." The innocent brother of Julia praised Aditya.

"Do I?" Aditya chuckled seeing Zak's reaction.

"You look completely different in this black tuxedo." Sophie also has to admit that today Aditya looked very dashing and handsome. His appearance surely was going to capture the eyes of the ladies.

In most normal times, Aditya did not pay much attention to his clothes. He preferred to wear simple and ordinary fashioned clothes. It seems his handsome face matched perfectly with his black suit, making him even more charming today.

Just like Aditya, little Zak was also wearing a black tuxedo. Both brothers wore matching clothes.

"Aunty, you're also looking very beautiful today." From the corner of his eyes, Aditya saw that Sophie was wearing a velvet A-Line maxi long-sleeved dark green dress. Even though the mother of the goddess modestly covered almost all of her skin, the curves were still exposed. The dark green dress tightly stuck to her body; highlighting her curves.

Any man would feel their throat go dry just from looking at Sophie. The body of the Goddess's mother cannot be underestimated. If Julia had the Aura of beauty and cuteness, her mother had the Aura of charm and seductiveness.

Aditya looked at Sophie for no more than a few seconds. He quickly looked away fearing that looking too much at her body might be misunderstood and he could be seen as a pervert. Aditya secretly wondered if Julia in future will also become a beauty like her mother.

"Thank you for your kind praise, Aditya. It took me some time to choose what type of dress I am going to wear on my daughter's birthday." In reality, it took Sophie nearly three days to find a dress. In her free time, she visited almost all the big clothing brands in the Empire. Though she might not say it she is someone who deeply cared about her beauty.

Aside from the dark green dress, she put on light make up which made her look even more stunning.

"Aunty, where is Uncle Adam?" Aditya curiously asked.

"Adam is personally welcoming the guests." Just like her daughter Sophie also did not like political games. So she refrained from going with Adam as she did not want to deal with the nobles. Sometimes dealing with some sly and cunning nobles can be very exhausting.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in"

When the door was pushed apart, revealing the fairy that stood outside the room, Aditya suddenly forgot to breathe as he looked at her. He looked at her without daring to blink his eyes as he felt like he can keep on looking at the Goddess forever in a daze. He was so engrossed in staring at her that, he completely forgot about Sophie, Zak, and the maids who were standing behind him.

The first thing that came to Julia's eyes was the figure of Aditya in front of a mirror. He was looking very handsome today. Looking at him in a black tuxedo, Julia couldn't help but blush slightly.

"Wow! Sister, you look absolutely stunning" Zak excitedly run up to Julia meanwhile Sophie nodded her head. Even though her daughter has not properly developed in certain areas, her beauty and her charm had already on par with Sophie if not above.

Hearing her brother's words, Julia snapped out of her daze as she elegantly walked into his bedroom. Meanwhile, Aditya was still looking at Julia like an idiot.

Feeling his intense stare, the Goddess couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "How long are you planning on staring at me?" Julia snorted as she stood beside her mother. Deep down she was very happy that her man was looking at her like that.

Julia's words bought Aditya back to reality. He snapped out of his daze.

"Well, Aditya shouldn't you tell Julia something?" Sophie hinted that as the man he should praise Julia. Every woman felt happy and proud when they are praised especially by the person they love.

"Tonight, you're shining even brighter than the moon. Even the prettiest object in the world would lose in front of your heavenly beauty." Aditya being thick-skinned, did not hesitate to say the words that directly came into his mind. These two sentences made the goddess even more embarrassed. She lowered her head and paid attention to Zak, purposely ignoring that shameful man to avoid feeling embarrassed in front of her mother.

Tonight Julia was wearing a sleeveless dark green silk gown. Both mother and daughter wore the same color dresses. The gown perfectly covered her body. Tonight she had tied her hair in a braided bun; exposing her sexy nape. Julia was destined to be the main attraction of tonight's event.

By now almost all the guests have arrived. No one wanted to miss this event for two simple reasons. The first reason was to form strengthen their relationship with the noble house of Onard and the alchemy Goddess Julia. The second reason was that everyone wanted to meet the Goddess's future husband and try becoming his friend. Forming close connections with the Princess and the Princess's fiance would benefit them in numerous ways. Even though Aditya did not have any noble background, his power and his bloodline were enough to convince the nobles that becoming Aditya's friends would benefit them. Not to mention the fact that even the emperor himself favored Aditya.

A soft romantic melody was being played. Butlers and Maids were busy serving drinks and various kinds of famous and expensive wines to the guest. Some nobles sat across the round tables and chatted with each other while some were dancing with their partners. Mostly the lower-ranking nobles would go up to the high-ranking nobles from various empires and greet them in hope of leaving a good impression.

"Lord Adam, I hope I am not late." Adam who was silently sipping some wine while talking with another person turned his attention to the noble who came to greet him.

"Sir Ivan, you're here. It's nice to meet you. You're not late Sir Ivan. Would you like to have some wine?" Ivan was a lower-ranking noble. But Adam, unlike other high-ranking nobles, did not look down on lower-ranking nobles.

Ivan had recently become a noble of the Empire because he had managed to please the emperor by killing one of the most wanted criminals of the Empire. Ivan was only 33 years old, yet he had reached Beginner 4th-order. The Emperor wanted to nurture this kind of talent who were loyal to the Empire.

"I will have some wine later. By the way, thank you very much for helping me with my territory's economy. In the future, if there is anything that I can do to repay your kindness please don't hesitate to ask me." Adam nodded with a smile satisfied smile. Adam likes people like Ivan. Unfortunately in this cold world, people like Ivan were very rare. Most people lose themselves when they gain power. They start thinking that they stand at the top of the world.

"It's lady Sophie."

"She looks stunning as ever."

"Even after so many years, she still looks the same."

Ivan, Adam, and other nobles stopped talking and turned their attention to Sophie who elegantly walked toward Adam. Even Adam's haters also have to admit that Adam had managed to get the golden butterfly. If Julia was the most beautiful girl on the continent, her mother undoubtfully would be the most beautiful in the whole empire.

Seeing Lady Sophie, many noble women walked up to her. Even though Sophie does not show it, she also had a big influence over the noble circle. In her free time, she actively participates in female noble gatherings and parties to make more connections. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Sophie was even more influential than the Royal queen.

[His Majesty, the Emperor of Echo Dominion is coming.] Suddenly the whole place descended into silence. The nobles who were sitting and drinking wine stood up to greet the Emperor.

When the golden doors were pushed open, the first thing that everyone saw was the face of the Emperor himself. Who would have thought that the Emperor of Echo Dominion would personally attend this birthday party? But this also goes to show just how much value the Emperor himself puts on Julia and her future husband Aditya.

As the emperor who was followed by a bunch of his royal guards who always stay around the Emperor walked in, Adam and Sophie had serious expressions on their faces. To be honest, neither Sophie nor Adam wanted the Emperor to attend this event as his presence would make the whole situation tense. No one would be able to enjoy the birthday party.

The Emperor gently smiled as he walked in Adam and Sophie's direction. Right now both of them were the center of the attraction.

"Adam, I hope I am not too late. Where is princess Julia, I don't see her anywhere?" The Emperor looked around while asking.

[Lady Julia and young master Aditya is going to enter now.] Adam, Sophie, the emperor, Ivan, Campbell, Addison, and every other guest turned their attention to another door. The golden doors which were previously closed were opened by the two guards, allowing everyone to see the faces of two people.

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Chapter 117

[Lady Julia and young master Aditya is going to enter now.] Adam, Sophie, the emperor, Ivan, Campbell, Addison, and every other guest turned their attention to another door. The golden doors which were previously closed were opened by the two guards, allowing everyone to see the faces of two people.

When the golden doors were opened, Aditya instantly felt hundreds of gazes. Being a divine dragon he was sensitive to gazes. Although he cannot feel people's emotions, he is sensitive toward malicious gazes.

Right now, Julia, the Goddess of alchemy had locked her left arm with Aditya's right arm. The couple slowly and elegantly started walking in Adam's direction.

In front of so many high-class people, Aditya did not feel the least bit of nervousness. In his past life, as a politician, he has met hundreds of billionaires. Also, the Aditya of the past also had experience as he had attended many parties as the prince before.

Each of their steps was taken at the same time. While holding Aditya's right arm, the princess had a proud smile on her face. She of course can see the jealous look on some female nobles' faces.

Meanwhile, Aditya's focus was completely on one man who was standing beside Adam. The man was wearing luxurious clothes and a golden cape was covering his back. Just from a glance, Aditya knew that his golden cape wasn't some ordinary cape. The golden cape was some sort of artifact made to defend the Emperor in case some assassin sneaks up on the Emperor and tries to kill him.

The man who was about 20 meters from Aditya was about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He had a lean body and fair skin. He had short black spiky hair. He had a slightly above-average, handsome-looking face. The most noticeable thing about him was the golden crown that had 9 different color jewels on it.

Aditya was sure that his crown was also some sort of artifact. 'So he is the Emperor of Echo Dominion Empire. He looks like he is only around 25 years old but I am sure he is much much older than he looks.' Aditya neither had a good nor bad impression of the Emperor. In his last life, Aditya had learned one thing that he still remembers in his heart. Other than a few politicians, every politician in the world was corrupted in some way. Even Aditya himself wasn't a good man, to begin with. In order to gain the upper hand and to protect his interests, Aditya has done things that were cruel and evil.

As the Emperor who holds this immense power and directly or indirectly controls the lives of millions, Aditya was sure that no human would want to give up or lose this kind of power. The Emperor might look like a gentleman, but he knew that among everyone the Emperor could turn out to be one of the most dangerous venomous snakes.

This is also why Aditya did not completely trust the Nyland King nor the Thera Kingdom King. He had made Zachary send the Majins to keep a watch on two kings in secret.

Aditya finally walked up to the Emperor. "Good evening your Majesty, my name is Aditya. It's an honor to finally meet the great emperor of Echo Dominion." Aditya gave a small bow after introducing himself. Unlike the nobles and the ordinary people, who have to kneel before the king, Aditya did not do it. Firstly he was the king of another Kingdom. It would be a huge slap to the Istarin Kingdom if he kneeled in front of another King. Secondly, Aditya was neither a part of the Echo Dominion Empire nor someone who worked for the King, so he saw no reason to kneel before the King. In fact, Addison, who was the Duke of the neighboring Kingdom also did not kneel in front of the King because of this reason.

Even if Aditya now had become Julia's fiance, this does not mean he was going to kneel. Only the King's men and his people had to kneel before the king. Otherwise, a simple and small bow was more than enough.

The Emperor nodded back his head as he observed Aditya's face for the next few seconds before replying. "It's my pleasure to meet a dragon with divine Bloodline. Divine Dragons only existed in the mythologies. Divine dragons are considered strong as Gods. Never did I imagine that I and my Empire would have the fortune of getting assistance from a Divine dragon himself." Aditya smiled and nodded his head.

"Princess Julia, as always thank you for all the cultivation pills. Without your pills, the Empire wouldn't be this powerful."

"Your Majesty, there is no need to thank me. I was only doing my practice." Julia remained modest in front of the Emperor. Adam has sold a big chunk of pills that Julia made to the Emperor at a very low price. Of course, Adam gave the money to Julia.

After some light talks, Adam felt it was time to announce.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to draw your attention. Today, on the day of my daughter's birthday, I have an announcement to make." Everyone knew in their hearts what Adam was going to announce today. Some loyal friends of Adam smiled being happy for their friend, some felt jealous and envious, and some even cursed how lucky Adam was.

Even the Emperor couldn't help but sigh secretly thinking how lucky Adam was. He was not only blessed to have the alchemy Goddess as his daughter but he also found someone with a Divine Dragon bloodline as his son-in-law. If only he was half-lucky was Adam.

Adam did not care what the people were thinking about him. He currently has a proud face. Sophie, who was standing beside him, also smiled, feeling very happy and fortunate that her daughter had found such a capable man. She was sure that Julia would be able to live her life in peace with Aditya.

"My daughter Julia has been engaged to Aditya." With the engagement officially being announced, everyone whether they liked Adam or not had to clap their hands, at least for the sake of their public image.

Clap!!!

As the people clapped while looking at them, Julia felt a little shy but she was very happy in her heart. Now that she was engaged to Aditya, she was going to be Aditya's first wife and also would have the authority of controlling Aditya's harem, meaning if he decides to marry the other 6 goddesses.

But as of now, Aditya is yet to show any interest in any other Goddess besides Julia. This of course made the Alchemy Goddess very happy and pleased with her man.

After the announcement, the Emperor stepped out as he had something to announce as well. The Emperor walked up to Aditya and then stood next to him. Everyone looked at the emperor wondering what he was going to say.

"First of all congratulations to Aditya and Julia on officially getting engaged." The Emperor nodded his head at Aditya before continuing.

"Every one of us here knows the contribution that Aditya made during the Goblin invasion and also during the mana wave. Time after time, he continued saving the soldiers' and adventurers' lives. I fear without Aditya, the goblin invasion wouldn't have ended within a single day. It might have taken us multiple days along with countless more lives of our soldiers and adventurers to end the goblin invasion."

The emperor paused for a second before continuing while looking around. "There is no denying the fact that Aditya is the hero of this Goblin invasion. He was not a citizen or a part of the Echo Dominion Empire yet he fought very bravely with his life on the line. As the Emperor and the protector of this land, I will reward the person who defended my land and protected my people."

Aditya wondered what the Emperor was thinking. He knew that the Emperor was trying to do something here.

"This being said, I will reward Aditya with 5,000,000 royal gold coins along with the title of Crimson Emperor."

"What?" Even Aditya himself was shocked. He wasn't expecting the Emperor to be this generous. Never did he think that he would directly get 5 million royal gold coins along with the title of Crimson Emperor. The title was not what shocked Aditya and others. Even though it was very rare for the Emperor to give a title to someone, to give this kind of title to an outsider was simply unheard of. What shocked almost everyone was when his Majesty offered to give Aditya 5 million royal gold which is 500,000,000 gold coins. Not even the Campbell noble house earned that much money in a year.

However, the Emperor looked calm and was a little satisfied seeing Aditya's reaction. He was trying to gain Aditya's favor and pull him to his side so that in the future Aditya would have close ties with the Echo Dominion Empire. Being a divine dragon, it was almost confirmed that Aditya was going to reach 7th-order, maybe even higher order. If the King can befriend such a powerful figure, his Empire will benefit immensely in the future. To him, these 5 million royal gold coins were investments that were going to ensure his Empire's safety.

However, the Emperor did not stop there.

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Chapter 118

However, the Emperor looked calm and was a little satisfied seeing Aditya's reaction. He was trying to gain Aditya's favor and pull him to his side so that in the future Aditya would have close ties with the Echo Dominion Empire. Being a divine dragon, it was almost confirmed that Aditya was going to reach 7th-order, maybe even higher order. If the King can befriend such a powerful figure, his Empire will benefit immensely in the future. To him, these 5 million royal gold coins were investments that were going to ensure his Empire's safety.

However, the Emperor did not stop there. "If in future Aditya decides to open any kind of business in my Empire, he won't have to pay any taxes. Not only that, if Aditya wishes to become a noble of this Empire, he will be immediately given the rank of Duke along with a small territory to manage."

Adam and Sophie looked at each other's faces in shock. It did not take Adam, Sophie, Aditya, and other intelligent and sharp nobles to understand what the Emperor was doing. At this point, the Emperor was ready to give Aditya anything. Adam and Sophie feared that if Julia was not engaged to Aditya, the Emperor wouldn't have hesitated in trying to marry his daughter, the princess, to Aditya so that the emperor could tie Aditya to the royal family.

"Your Majesty, thank you for such a generous reward and offer. But unfortunately, I already have a home. I cannot abandon my homeland to come and live here. But I will make sure to keep on visiting the Echo Dominion Empire." Aditya was super happy to get 5 million royal gold coins. With these coins, he no longer had to worry about money. As for the other rewards that the Emperor promised, he simply wasn't interested in them. He can see that the Emperor was trying to tempt him by making him stay in this Empire.

"There is no need to apologize, Aditya. But do remember that the Echo Dominion Empire will always be open for you and your family." The Emperor wasn't disappointed when Aditya rejected his offer sincerely. He knew that a being who has a divine dragon bloodline also should have a strong background. Even though the Emperor tried to learn about the Crimson Emperor's background, he really couldn't find anything. This made him wonder if Aditya was from the main continent.

Seeing that the Emperor was highly favoring Aditya, Duke Addison did not feel good. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, drawing out fresh blood. Fortunately, no one noticed this.

'I was thinking of learning more about Aditya and then making plans on eliminating him but this Emperor got in my way. Now even if I kill him, the Emperor will find this excuse to start a war. What should I do now?' Addison always followed these words. If I can't obtain this fruit, then I won't let anyone else have it either. Now that the goddess of alchemy has been taken away from him and also the divine dragon was on Adam's side, Addison felt a great threat from the future Onard family. Even a fool that with Aditya's backing the Onard family was only going to rise in power. Before Aditya or the Onard family got even stronger and started suppressing his family, Addison wanted to take out Aditya and then slowly start destroying the Onard family.

'Maybe I should have sent some reinforcements.' Somewhere in his heart, Addison felt a sense of regret. He was being too greedy. He wanted to see his old friend die so that he could take his daughter and use her for his family's benefit. But now his plan has backfired on him. If he had kept their close relationship, then maybe the Addison family also could have gotten some benefits from Aditya and Julia.

At this point, he knew that it was impossible to heal the large crack that has separated the two families apart. 'What is done is done. There is no use of crying over spilled milk. I should focus on my and my family's future.' Addison's eyes flashed in cold light as a plan of taking out Aditya began forming in his mind.

'As long as I kill Aditya in silence, then no one is going to suspect me and my family.'

"Your majesty, I will forever remember your kind words." Even though Aditya had the divine bloodline, he did not lose himself in power. He was still being respectful and polite to the elders. He did not let power change his character.

The party continued going on. One by one, all the guests walked up to Julia and Aditya and congratulated them while handing Julia expensive gifts. Adam had invited more than hundreds of guests to this party.

"Happy birthday Lady Julia." Lucian then looked at Aditya who was standing beside Julia. "Do you want to fight?" Aditya asked with a smile.

Lucian let out a depressed smile and shook his head. "We all know that I will just humiliate myself if I fight you. That being said, I would also like to express my gratitude and also apologize for my behavior."

Lucian gave a small bow of apology to Aditya. He was apologizing to Aditya for the disrespect that he was shown to Aditya that day.

"You saved my life. I will forever remember this debt in my heart. If in the future you ever need anything as long as I can get it with my powers, I will try my best to get it for you."

Seeing Lucian leaving, Julia leaned forward and whispered in Aditya's right ear. "He has changed. I don't know what happened but Lucian looks like a completely different person. Even the way he looks at me has also changed." Even Aditya is not sure how or why Lucian's personality has changed. Maybe this has something to do with Aditya saving his life from a Peak 4th-order goblin. Either way, this was a good thing for Lucian.

"Congratulations on getting engaged princess Julia." Aditya's instantly frowned hearing the voice.

"Julia, he is...."

"Oh, he is Duke Addison."

Addison coldly smiled as he looked at Aditya like a snake staring at its prey. But little did he know that the prey which he thought to be a weak sheep is actually a dragon in disguise. "So, it's nice to meet you." Both of them shook hands.

After Duke Addison left, Aditya kept on staring at his back. In their small exchange, the only thing that Aditya sensed from this man was killing intent. 'This man is definitely going to plan something against me or the Onard family.'

After about 3 and half hours, one by one all the guests began taking their leave. The party was coming to an end. Everyone had different kinds of thoughts in their minds. But one thing that everything thoughts had in common was that everyone was thinking about the Onard family. Even the Emperor felt a headache knowing with the support of Aditya and Julia, the Onard family might even become stronger than him and gain more influence than the royal family. But then again knowing Adam's character, the emperor did not fear that Adam was going to use his powers to take over the throne.

After sending off the last guest, Adam and Sophie looked at each other and sighed in relief. Fortunately, nothing went wrong in this event. Everything went perfectly. It was just that after dealing with the nobles, both Sophie and Adam were mentally feeling exhausted.

"Where is Julia and Aditya?" Adam asked when he couldn't find them anywhere in the living room. By now Little Zak also had fallen asleep.

"Leave them alone. Let's just get some sleep. I am already feeling very tired." Adam sighed knowing that his wife was right. He should leave the couple alone in their own world.

"Aditya, where have you bought me?" Currently, Julia has closed her eyes. While closing her eyes, because of her strong senses, she can feel that Aditya has taken her out somewhere. The wind was a little chilly but not cold enough to affect Julia or Aditya.

"You can open your eyes now." When Julia opened her eyes, she was stunned to find herself right above the clouds. The crescent-shaped moon light reflected on the clouds, making her feel like they had come to some fairyland. She did not expect the night above the clouds to be this beautiful and stunning.

Right now Julia's cheeks were a little rosy from drinking alcohol. Even Aditya also had drunk a few glasses of wine even though he preferred to not touch wine or alcoholic stuff at all, as the previous Aditya had left some bad and traumatic memories that were associated with alcohol. But to entertain the guests, both had to drink a few glasses of wine.

"You know I was waiting for my birthday." Out of everyone that gave Julia birthday gifts, the Goddess was eagerly anticipating what kind of gift she would get from the man who stole her heart. But during the whole day, much to the Goddess's disappointment, she never received any gifts.

"Princess, you already have received hundreds of gifts. Even the Emperor has gifted you a 4-star artifact. Why would you need my gift?" Aditya asked in a teasing voice.

"Hmph! This princess wasn't waiting for your gift or anything. I don't need your gift." After snorting, the princess looked away, clearly expressing her anger and dissatisfaction with Aditya.

"Hahaha! You know I don't mind giving you a gift….." Hearing his words, the princess's eyes lit up as she looked at Aditya. She did not even try to hide the excitement in her sparkling eyes.

"Of course, I will give you a memorable gift only if you let me sleep with you tonight." Hearing the shameless man's words, the virgin goddess's face instantly went red. Aditya is not sure if her face was red from embarrassment or anger.

"I see, so this was what you were after from the beginning." Hearing the dark and cold tone, Aditya's body suddenly shivered. He did not feel this fear even when he was facing the 5th-order goblin king.

"You bad wolf, do you really think that I care about your gift?" Without any warning, the princess gave Aditya a strong bite on his neck.

Ouch!

"Stop biting me."

"Princess you call me wolf, but you're the one who is acting like a wolf. Are you sure your bloodline does not have any wolf race blood mixed in it?" Given how many times Julia has bitten him till now, Aditya felt his words might be true.

"Alright, alright. Stop messing around and look at your neck." The princess only then noticed something slightly cold around her neck. When she looked down, she widened her eyes in shock looking at the light blue crescent-shaped crystal pendant on her neck.

"This….." Julia did not know when he put this pendant on her neck.

"I hope you like my present. I have personally engraved the runs on his pendant."

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Chapter 119

"This pendant has a mana gathering formation which can increase your cultivation speed by 2 times and also increase your mana recovery speed. Not only that, but this 4-star pendant can also act as a defensive shield that is capable of stopping any attacks from 4th-order cultivators. Another function of this pendant is that this pendant can temporarily increase your agility by 50%. I wanted to add more runes on the pendant but my current skills limit me. When I learn to make 4-star rune spells, I will make you something even more special."

Julia tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. This has to be one of the best gifts that she has ever received. This gift was not special because it was a 4-star artifact. To her, it was special because Aditya gave it on their engagement night.

"Thank you, Aditya, I will cherish this gift forever." Julia had a very happy smile that bloomed on her face. Seeing this Aditya could not stop himself from stopping his face from approaching her.

Noticing his head moving, the Goddess under the crescent-shaped moonlight reflecting on her face showed her flushed face. She also slowly moved her face. In a few seconds, both of their faces were only a few inches away from each other. Both could feel each other's warm breaths.

When their lips were only two inches away, both looked into each other's eyes. Those Crimson and purple eyes seem to contain endless emotions in them. From this close distance, both could inhale each other's body fragrance. At this moment as the north wind blew, their heartbeat was in sync. Under the peaceful night of the crescent moon, above the clouds which acted as a blanket for the couples, covering them from the rest of the world, both of their lips eventually touched.

When Aditya's lips gently pressed against her rosy lips. The Goddess's body slightly shivered as she felt a jolt of electricity pass through her body. At this moment neither the goddess nor the Monarch was able to understand this new kind of sensation and the feeling that was born in their hearts. Both of their hearts beat very fast in sync as if both had become one person at this moment.

Just when their lips pressed, they experienced something new. The Dragon Monarch felt a kind of excitement that cannot be described in words. He was excited and also felt addicted to this soft, warm, and sweet sensation. He wanted to taste more of it.

When the cold breeze hit them, the Dragon Monarch tightly wrapped his arms around his slim and soft waist. Without any hesitation, Aditya gently bit her lips making the Goddess who was known to be the most beautiful woman on the dying Isle continent moan slightly.

Mmm~

For a few seconds, Aditya continued gently biting, nibbling on her lips. With each passing second, the goddess felt her body rapidly getting hotter even though the cold breeze continued to gently hit their bodies. Her breathing was getting ragged.

Finally unable to bear it anymore, the Goddess opened her mouth. Aditya finding the chance quickly entered her mouth. As soon as his tongue reached in her mouth, once again the virgin Goddess who never even kissed anyone before trembled slightly. She let go of the restraints that she had and embraced the man that took her first kiss.

While her soft body pressed against his body, Julia and Aditya continued with their first kiss. Aditya's tongue continued moving around her mouth, exploring each and every corner of her mouth.

Mmm…~

Julia soon learned that she also needed to fight back. Soon both of their tongues coiled around each other exchanging fluids. To Aditya, her saliva tastes more like sweet nectar. He felt he could get addicted to this.

Their kissing continued for nearly 11 minutes. Being cultivators both of them can easily hold their breath. Nearly after 11 minutes and 49 seconds, both of their wet lips which were covered in saliva reluctantly separated.

Huff! Huff!

Julia breathed heavily as she put her forehead against his. Both looked into each other's eyes. Unlike Aditya who had the body of a dragon, Julia was a normal human. Unlike Aditya who can almost hold his breath for about an hour mainly because of his dragon bloodline, the goddess, unfortunately, can only hold on for 15 minutes.

After taking a deep breath, Aditya put his right palm on her right cheek and said something which Julia will never forget till the day she dies.

"I love you."

The tsundere Goddess's eyes trembled in emotions. This time she could not stop herself from taking the initiative and giving another kiss to her Dragon Monarch.

The Goddess and the Dragon Monarch continued flying above the clouds. Under the Crescent moon, both of them continued to kiss each other for a long long time. If Aditya wanted he could have beyond kissing, but today, this was more than enough.

After about 3 hours of non-stop kissing, Julia touched her wet rosy lips while breathing heavily.

"My wife, did you like it?" Before today Aditya never knew that a kiss can feel this good. Kissing was important for a healthy and long-lasting relationship.

The Goddess buried her face in his chest while she left herself to be held by Aditya. She breathed heavily and weakly replied. "Yes."

Looking around, Aditya realized it was already midnight. Both of them were so lost in kissing each other, that they did not realize how fast time passed.

"Shall we head back?" Julia weakly nodded her head.

Both of them flew back to the Castle. Aditya landed in the garden. He then carried Julia all the way to her bedroom. As much as Aditya wanted to sleep with Julia, he held himself tonight. "Good night, Julia."

The next day, the whole family woke up very late. At 10 in the morning, Sophie hurriedly made a simple breakfast for everyone. After having breakfast, Julia announced that they were going to leave today.

"Julia, are you sure you want to go with me? You can spend a few more weeks with your family." Aditya was going to take this leave. Now that spent nearly 16 days, half a month in this region of the continent, he right now needs to go back so that he can take things from Watson and give the poor old man who was supposed to be his butler but now was working as his temporary prime minister a few days of rest.

"That's right. My princess, you can stay here as long as you want." Adam almost did not want Julia to leave. He felt these 16 days that they spent together were too little. He wanted his cute daughter to stay here for at least a few more months.

"Julia, can you please stay here at least for another 2 weeks?" Even Sophie could not hold herself from asking her daughter to stay. After all, her daughter just returned home after 2 years. The Goddess's mother did not want to part with her lovely daughter this soon. They had many things that they needed to talk about. Sophie still wanted to go shopping and do more girl activities with her daughter. Because of the mana portal and Julia's birthday, Sophie was busy and did not get enough time to spend with her daughter.

"Big sister, can you please stay? I want you to teach me about cultivation."

"This….." Seeing that her whole family was asking her to stay, Julia finally showed a hesitant look. If possible she also wished to spend more time here. But now that Aditya is going to leave, she wants to come with him and help him with her alchemy skills.

Julia finally showed a helpless look. The Goddess also wanted to spend some time with her family. She looked at Aditya as if asking for a solution.

Aditya smiled in response and said. "You should stay here for the next few months. In the upcoming months of winter, I will be busy with many things. Also with the large number of pills that you made for the Kingdom, I don't think we will be needing any pills at least for the next 6 months." Aditya knew how hard his woman had worked for this Kingdom. He wanted her to take a few months of break. It was not like Aditya was going to start another war. Right now his only focus was to develop and upgrade the Istarin military.

"Alright. I will stay here for the next few months." But deep down, the goddess was reluctant to leave Aditya. After seeing him regularly for almost 2 and half years, Julia was going to miss Aditya greatly. Aditya also felt the same.

"Boy, take this with you." Adam threw a storage ring at Aditya.

"This….?"

"This storage ring has all the materials that you need to build a teleportation array." Knowing that Aditya now can make 3-star rune spells, Adam knew his son-in-law can also make teleportation arrays in his Kingdom. This will save Julia a lot of time and allow her to easily come back.

After putting the storage ring in his pocket, Aditya bowed his head to Adam and Sophie. "Aunty and Uncle thank you very much for everything. If you have time, please don't hesitate to visit the Istarin Kingdom."

Both Adam and Sophie at this point treated Aditya like their own biological son. Aditya experienced the warmth of a family, something which he had forgotten a long time ago. He was able to smile more often because of them. Deep down, Aditya was respecting Adam and Sophie like his own parents.

"Don't worry as soon as you finish making the teleportation array, I will be sure to visit you along with little Zak."

Speaking of little Zak, his eyes were full of tears as he was unwilling to part with his big brother. Aditya patted the little boy on his head. "I am not leaving forever. From now on you can come and see me anytime. Just wait till I finish making the teleportation array."

"I have asked Eddie to prepare the teleportation array. No one will know which region of the continent you will be teleporting to." Aditya nodded at Adam with a grateful look. It was not the correct time to reveal his background to the whole world.

After giving one last look to Julia, when Zak blinked his eyes and opened them, he saw that Aditya had already vanished as if he had teleported somewhere else.

Sigh!

"I am already starting to miss Aditya." Sophie sighed. For some reason, their castle felt kind of empty without his presence. In these 16 days, Aditya had become a core part of their family.

Meanwhile, after using the teleportation array, Aditya managed to return to the Eastern region of the continent, to the capital of Nayland Kingdom. Aditya did not reveal his identity. He quietly exited the city and flew off in the direction of the Istarin Kingdom. Right now his speed was [601] without using any skills. Without having to carry someone, he was able to move even faster. Aditya managed to return to his Kingdom within 14 and half hours.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 120

The month of summer already had passed by. It was fall. The temperature was slowly beginning to get colder. The temperature of this world is different from earth. In a world where everything single matter is influenced by mana, the weather of this world is harsher than on Earth. No human on the earth can adapt to this world's harsh weather. But the animals, plants, humans, and other races had no problem with this weather. As being born in a world with mana, every people regardless of whether they are a cultivator or not has a stronger body compared to humans from the earth.

That being said, it does not mean that ordinary humans can bear the extreme cold of the winter. The winter was also called a month of nightmares by ordinary people. Every year hundreds of thousands of people died just from the harsh cold winter. Under Aditya's rule, the first two winter seasons were especially hard for ordinary people. At that time the food prices had gone through the roof. For ordinary people affording three times, a meal was nearly impossible.

During winter seasons, in order to maintain the body temperature, the body uses more energy than in other seasons. Thus, the food requirement for the people also increases. But with very high food prices, it was not impossible for many families to afford food.

For the people, it was either do or die situation. They had two choices. It was either leave the Istarin Kingdom and settle down in some other neighboring Kingdoms or stay in the Istarin Kingdom which was their birthplace and starve to death. This is why during winter times almost 70 to 90 % of the ordinary people leave the Istarin kingdom. After winter passes some people decide to return back to their homeland while some decide to continue living in neighboring Kingdoms.

But this year, the situation of the Istarin Kingdom has completely changed. The food prices have down gone, making it possible for ordinary people to afford three meals per day. The king has introduced new reforms and plans which reduced the unemployment percentage to less than 10%. This all happened within the span of 2 months.

Nowadays the people of the Istarin Kingdom wake up with a sense of peace. They no longer have to worry about feeding their children. The Istarin Kingdom which previously was an undesirable place to live had become a golden paradise for ordinary people.

The crime rate and the corruption in the Kingdom were way lower compared to other neighboring Kingdoms. This made it an ideal place for ordinary people to settle down. Merchants from various other kingdoms started coming to the Istarin kingdom. Overall, the condition of the Kingdom has significantly improved.

Of course, not everyone was happy with this improvement. Those people wanted nothing but to see the Istarin Kingdom get burned to ash.

After flying for more than 14 hours, the Dragon King finally returned to this Kingdom. Flying above the Azure city, Aditya looked at the changes that has taken place. The size of the city has expanded by almost 2 times. The city now had almost one hundred and fifty thousand people calling it home. Right now the whole Azure city was divided into 4 wards or zones. They were known as the Eastern Zone, northern zone, southern zone, and western zone. The King's Castle, the troop's training ground, and other important offices were built at the center of the city.

"It looks like Watson has finished constructing the moat." 25 meters thick and 30 meters deep moat surrounded the entire Azure City. Aditya built this moat to prevent enemies from easily entering the city.

Huge 15 meters tall and 5 meters thick walls were made from thick stones. The walls were strong enough to withstand attacks from 2nd-order cultivators and from low-grade siege weapons which is used by almost all of the neighboring Kingdoms.

There were more than 2,500 soldiers actively patrolling the whole city. While another 2,500 soldiers were guarding the city walls. The Azure city had four big gates, each gate was located in one ward or zone.

"I can sense the presence of some powerful adventurers in the city." After breaking through 3rd-order and also evolving his bloodline to divine rank, Aditya's senses have improved by almost 10 times. Without even using his mana his natural senses were strong enough to cover the entire city.

"I guess the decision to let Alicia open a branch office of her guild in the Kingdom also had a role in increasing this Kingdom's economy." Because of the guild branch, thousands of new jobs were created. Because of the increase in adventurers, new inns, new taverns, restaurants, new public baths, new clothing shops, and many other kinds of shops were created.

"But the city is still lacking in its defense." After visiting Apogale city, Aditya realized how far and how undeveloped his and other Kingdoms in the Eastern region were. For example, all the cities in the northwestern region had city defensive barriers covering entire cities like a dome that stopped any intruder from entering the city.

But These kinds of barriers did not exist in this region. This meant that anyone can easily sneak inside the city. For example, Aditya unlike other cultivators can fly using his wings. He can enter any city by flying. But with a mana barrier covering the entire city, no one would be able to enter the city from the sky.

While flying 50 meters above the sky, Aditya noticed that new roads were being constructed outside the city. The plan was to make roads to connect Vrane City, Zraka city, High Tide Harbor City, and Azure city. These roads were going to be made through the mountain ranges. After this project is completed, it will make transportation between these four cities even faster.

"It looks like Watson has been doing well in my absence." Before Aditya left, he had shared his future plans with Watson. In his absence, Watson has been continuing to complete those projects that were going to transform the Istarin Kingdom.

"I will have to find myself a prime minister." Watson was not the Prime minister of this Kingdom. Aditya did not find time to look for a person with enough capabilities to handle the role of his prime minister.

Aditya landed in the garden of his castle. In these 16 days of absence, the whole broken and old palace has been transformed into a new, luxurious-looking royal palace.

As soon as Aditya landed, a figure moved at its full speed and appeared in front of Aditya.

The person then placed one knee on the ground and welcomed his King's return. "Welcome back, Your Majesty." Watson's had almost become unrecognizable. He now looked even younger than before. Those few wrinkles on his face and his white hair rather gave him a unique handsomeness. Compared to Walter, Watson now looked like someone who had returned back to their prime.

"Watson, you know there is no need for you to kneel when we're alone." Aditya already had said those words many times. But Watson never changed.

Watson stood up from with ground and looked at Aditya with a happy smile. He was extremely happy about the fact that Aditya had managed to reach beginner 3rd-order. When Aditya left, he was mid-2nd-order. In just 16 days Aditya managed to break through 3rd-order which again showed how terrifying his cultivation speed was.

"Congratulations on breaking through 3rd-order, your Majesty."

"When we're alone just call me young master." Aditya felt when the people close to him called him Majesty, they were creating a distance from him.

"Watson, it looks like you also have become more powerful." Aditya senses the changes in Watson and his other draconian bodies when he reached Azure city.

"Your Majesty, I am sure by now you already know of this. I have managed to evolve into a Dragon." Watson was Aditya's dragonian. When his bloodline evolved, the golden drop of blood that had merged with Watson's body also evolved.

There were two types of dragons in this world. Dragons were a being that can be classified as magical animals and also as humans. The wild Dragons were pure magical animals. Wild dragons do not have the power to transform into a human. But when a magical animal reached the 5th order, that magical animal will obtain the power to transform into a human. There was also a second type of dragon-like Aditya that are born in their human form and are able to transform into dragons.

But the second type of dragon cannot exist without the first type. When two dragons mate after reaching the 5th order, the dragon child will be born with the natural ability to transform into a dragon and a human. However, there are some special cases. Among Wild dragons, there is some dragon who has a special bloodline.

When two 5th-order Wild dragons possess special bloodline mates, the child born will have the special dragon bloodline. But in certain extreme unfortunate cases, the child born between two dragons won't be able to activate the dragon bloodline in them. This means that the child cannot transform into a dragon either. This is what happened with Aditya. He could not activate his dragon bloodline even after reaching the age of 12.

Watson has become a dragon in a third and the most special way. A divine dragon has the power to turn humans into dragons. So all of Aditya's dragonians also evolved into dragons on the day when his bloodline evolved.

Though Watson and others do not possess any special dragon bloodline. But Aditya is sure that compared to Dragonians, those who have evolved from dragonians to become a dragon are more stronger and powerful.

"Let's head inside the Castle. Tell me about the events that took place in my absence." Watson as he began following Aditya. It was already late night, almost everyone in the Castle had gone to sleep so no one sensed Aditya's presence.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 121

This chapter is dedicated to the readers [Tom_Breitenborn], [EnergyDao] and [Brandon_Brisco] for gifting this novel with two ice cola and an Inspiration capsule.

Thank you very much to the readers [Tom_Breitenborn], [EnergyDao] and [Brandon_Brisco]. Your gifts are my driving force.

"Nothing major happened in the young master's absence. Maybe one or two exceptions. The Nyland King has suddenly fallen ill which has created a tense situation in the Nyland kingdom. Yet the next ruler of the Kingdom has not been decided yet. All the princes of the Nyland Kingdom are doing their utter best to gain more political power so that they can rise up to become Kings. In fact, all the princes have secretly sent letters to the young master, the Istarin King asking for political support."

"What did you do with the letters?" Aditya couldn't help but frown. The last time he saw the Nyland King, the old man looked very well and healthy. What could have possibly happened that has made the King fall ill?

"I read the letters. I replied that currently, his Majesty is cultivating closed doors. His Majesty has asked no one to interrupt him."

"Nicely done, Watson. We need to handle the matter of Nyland Kingdom with utmost care. We will have to remember that our interest comes before anyone." Watson nodded his agreement.

"Young Master, do you have any plans of starting a war with the Nyland Kingdom in the future?" Watson can never guess what his King is thinking. To him, Aditya is always unpredictable.

Aditya did not reply immediately. Watson continued to follow Aditya in silence. After about an entire minute of silence, Aditya finally opened his mouth. "For now, I will take a neutral stance in this throne succession fight. We will continue to treat them as allies. But this alliance might get broken if the old king's successor turns out to be an idiot." When a new ruler takes over the throne, new reforms, new rules, and a new taxation system are introduced. The new ruler might not share the vision that the old king had. This is what exactly concerns Aditya.

According to the rumor, none of the old King's sons has the quality to become a wise kings. His sons are either too greedy or too bloodthirsty to expand their territory. Aditya is sure that when a new king takes over the throne, there is a 90% chance that the new king might set his eyes on the Istarin Kingdom.

Right now while the Nyland Kingdom is considered the strongest Kingdom in this region, it was the Istarin Kingdom that had the largest land under its control. The bigger the land was the more resources that land will have. In the future, it is guaranteed that the Istarin Kingdom will grow stronger than the Nyland Kingdom given the large number of resources they have. There is no way the new king would let one of its neighboring kingdoms become stronger than its own Kingdom.

"Unfortunately, I don't think the old King's successor will follow the Old King's vision. While the current Nyland King formed an alliance with my kingdom especially after knowing our potential, his successor might have a different approach on his matter." The reason why the current Nyland King did not attack the Istarin Kingdom was because of the political instability in his Kingdom. Another reason was that he needed a strong ally to fight off against the powerful Kingdom that lies on the northern edge of this region. That Kingdom connected the Eastern region of the continent with the northern region.

"Your Majesty, should we start sending more soldiers on our borders?" Watson worriedly asked.

"No. I don't think there will be any conflict in the next few months. While the old king is alive, I don't think he will allow his successor to even think of harming the Istarin Kingdom. But that might change when the Old king dies."

"So in this time, we will have to increase our military strength to match the Nyland Kingdom." Aditya was not sure how many 4th-order cultivators the Nyland Kingdom had. It was rumored that the Nyland Kingdom had only one 4th-order, but Aditya is beginning to feel that this rumor was fake.

"Your...young Master, are you planning on turning more of our soldiers into Dragonians?" This was the fastest way Watson felt they can increase their military powers.

"I have few plans that will quickly improve our military strength. By the way, can you please prepare me something to eat? I am starving." Watson nodded with a smile. This all started when one night Aditya come and asked him for dinner. Since that night everything has been changing for good. Even though Watson does not know what exactly changed Aditya, he was very happy with Aditya's changes.

"Your majesty, while you were away, we have to kill a few corrupted officials who secretly was selling sensitive information to one of the neighboring Kingdoms. I have to admit, that Nathan's assassination skills are top-notch. In a single night, he managed to kill all the corrupted nobles."

"Good job. This should also serve as a good example. Anyone who betrays the Istarin Kingdom is to be killed." Aditya did not have any mercy for those who betrayed him and his Kingdom.

"Do you have anything else to major to report?" Aditya asked as he sat at the dining table. While Watson began to prepare the leftover food for Aditya. The Dragon King did not care what he ate. He was alright having leftover food.

"I don't know if this is important or not, but recently the Nepoca Kingdom's King has ordered a new batch of siege weapons. At first, I also assumed that the Nepoca Kingdom is getting ready for war but they stated that these siege weapons were ordered to increase their defense."

Aditya smirked and coldly asked. "And you believed in their words?"

"Young master, even a child knows which kingdom is currently stronger. Our military power has been almost tripled in these one and half months' time. It would be extremely foolish of King Ethan if he decides to wage war against us. I don't think that King Ethan is that stupid."

"Watson, what if they have some other kinds of plans?" Hearing Aditya's words, the butler went quiet. He and Aditya shared a look of silence.

"I guess we will have to look deeper into this matter." Watson also nodded his head in agreement.

"Did anything else happen?" Aditya asked while pouring himself a glass of water.

"Well.....some of our soldiers have spotted some weird movements near the High Tide Harbor City. Some of our soldiers were even injured. I am not sure what exactly happened as I have yet to send an investigation there. This incident happened yesterday night."

"Don't worry, I will personally look into this matter."

"What about the slaves?" Aditya asked.

"I made them live in the castle for now. I have been giving them 3 meals and pills that will restore their malnourished bodies."

"Good. What about Leo and his little sister?" Last time, Aditya had sent Leo and his sister along with some other children to the Istarin Kingdom. He had met the brother and sister pair when he and Julia were traveling to the Nyland Kingdom to use the teleportation array.

"Surprisingly Leo is very talented. In such a short time, he has managed to reach Peak 2nd-order."

"So how is his character? Aditya asked.

"The kid is cold. I can't imagine what he had to went through to become this cold. I can sense his hunger for strength. It seems he has a backstory. I tried to make Leo open himself which did not happen. The Kid always kept a distance from everyone. Fortunately, his little sister has a lively personality. If not for him, I am afraid Leo would have been totally consumed by darkness."

Aditya and Watson continued to chat about various things for the next two hours. Aditya realized that he needed a few hours of sleep especially after flying for 14 hours. So the meeting came to an end.

The next day, before the morning sunlight could fall on the Istarin Kingdom, the Istarin troops were already awake. Even in Aditya's absence, the seven generals kept on with their training. Every day they and the soldiers would wake up at 5 in the morning. If any soldier was late for training, that soldier would be punished severely.

"Bro, wake up already otherwise we will be late for the training." Inside one of the training camps, in one of the rooms, 3 soldiers looked at the 4th soldier who was lying on the bed and sleeping without a care in the world.

Zzzz! Zzzz! Zzzz!

"What the hell?" The second soldier whose name was Green felt his blood boiling. This was the 3rd time in a month that they were late all because of this snoring pig.

"Let's pour water on his face. I don't want to be punished because of Ewan." The Green also nodded in agreement. In this half-month time, their team has been punished 3 times because of pig Ewan. And each time the punishment only gets severe.

The training camp was separated into 7 parts. Right now the training camp had over 21,000 thousand recruited soldiers who were currently training under the 7 generals. Aditya had built the training camp with the capacity to hold well over 50,000 soldiers. Each part of the training camp was headed by one of the generals who were known as captains inside the training camp.

Ewan, Smith, Green, and Carlos all four were all part of the fifth division. Amber had made the 3,000 soldiers under her into 4 man team. Each room had four beds. The recruits were required to share the rooms. If a single recruit from a room was late, then his other three roommates would also be punished. Amber made this rule to make sure that no recruit is late for training.

"Let me wake him up." Green and Smith moved out of the way to let Carlos the third soldier wake up Ewan.

Carlos felt anger seeing his snoring face. Without any hesitation, he condensed mana in his right fist and punched Ewan's stomach.

Ahhhh!!!!

All the recruits in the fifth division heard a painful scream. They looked at each other in a mix of confusion.

All the 3,000 recruits of the fifth division stood in formation. Amber, the golden fox queen as usual came 9 minutes late. As Amber walked in front of all the recruits, many males gulped seeing the famous fox queen. Almost all of the recruits in the 5th division had a crush on Amber. Even the recruits from other divisions couldn't stop themselves from falling for the 5th division captain.

Amber looked at the faces that she has been seeing for the last one and half months. By now she had memorized all of their faces.

"Was anyone late today?" While asking that Amber's eyes fell on Ewan. She had punished this man 3 times this month. Because of him, his roommates were also punished.

Another fox woman stood behind Amber. This fox woman was the vice-captain of the 5th division. Amber had chosen someone from her race to be the vice-captain. She did not care if she was being criticized for being biased. Her name was Ella.

Ella had bob-cut blue hair. Although Ella was not beautiful as Amber, she also had a fair number of fans in the training camp. What attracted the male's attention was her big bouncy mountains that giggled every time she took a step.

"No, one was late today." Hearing Ella's words, Amber was slightly relieved in her heart. She wanted discipline from her soldiers. Discipline was more important than anything.

"Alright, let's start today's training. Let's start with warm....Captain His Majesty has asked for your presence."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 122

This chapter is dedicated to the readers [Tom_Breitenborn] and[Brandon_Brisco] for gifting this novel with an Inspiration capsule and an ice cola

Thank you very much to the readers [Tom_Breitenborn], and [Brandon_Brisco]. Your gifts are my driving force.

"Alright, let's start today's training. Let's start with warm....Captain His Majesty has asked for your presence." Amber couldn't help but smile hearing these words. These 16 days, Amber has been wanting to meet Aditya and show him the progress that she has made.

"Alright, I am coming. Ella, you take over."

Scene change___

"Your Majesty, I am extremely happy to see you back." Currently, Aditya was sitting at the dining table. Watson was sitting on his right side. The maids have begun preparing breakfast for their King and everyone.

"Tyler, Nathan, Eleanor, and Henry, I am happy to see that all of you have reached beginner 3rd-order."

"It was all thanks to his Majesty's dragon blood. It would have taken us months to reach this level." Even with the pills that Julia had made for them, it would have taken them at least 4 to 7 months to reach 3rd-order; maybe even more time.

"Tyler, there is no need to thank me. The seven of you are my generals. In the future, each of you will be burdened with heavy responsibilities. Each of you will have to lead armies on the battlefield. As my most trusted subordinate, you all deserved it."

It was not just Tyler, Nathan, Eleanor, and Henry who had reached the 3rd-order, but Josh, Amber, and Scott also had reached the beginner 3rd-order. Amber's situation is a little special. Because of her Royal Fox bloodline, she can cultivate body warrior and mage paths. In the warrior path, she had reached beginner 3rd-order while in the Mage path she has broken through Peak 2nd-order.

Aditya was special. Because of having a dragon bloodline, he only had to cultivate one path. His dragon bloodline gave him a three-element manipulation ability, a mage ability. While his dragon body put his physical stats way above warrior cultivators who have the same cultivation as Aditya.

"Don't just stand there. Sit down and have breakfast with me." This was not the first time Aditya had invited them to have breakfast with him. Everyone took a chair and seat down.

"How is the recruit's training going on?" Aditya asked.

"Your Majesty in another half month or a month's time, the troops in my division would be ready to enter the battlefield." All the recruits were given special pills that Julia had made. With these pills even a person with ordinary talent can break reached mid-1st-order in just one month and a half.

"Except for 534 recruits, all other recruits in my 7th division have reached Peak 1st-order. While a few talented recruits have managed recently breakthrough 2nd-order." Henry looked proud reporting his progress to his Majesty. Unlike other division captains, it would have been wrong to say that Henry's training regime is one of the most brutal ones out there.

Every day he would make the recruits in his division train for 10 hours. After having dinner, he would force them to spend another extra 5 hours cultivating. While the captains of other divisions allowed the new recruits to rest and do whatever they wanted after 10 hours of training, Henry did not give them this freedom. When it came to training no one was more strict than Henry.

"Wonderful. But be sure to not push the recruits too much. After all, they are not machines. They are living beings who also need rest." Henry silently nodded his head. His majesty's words made him realize that he has been too harsh on his recruits.

"From no one, I will give them half day rest every at Friday." When the recruit's training ended, they were free to leave training camp and roam around Azure city. But after a certain time, all the recruits had to come back otherwise they will be punished. And also during the training phase, no recruits are allowed to leave the city or take out the cultivation pills.

"What about you Nathan?" Previously Aditya had placed most of the Majins who were willing to work in Division 3.

"Out of 3,000 recruits in my division, all the Majins already have progressed to beginner 2nd-order. While around 30% of the remaining recruits are yet to reach Peak 1st-order. Except for the Majins, none of the recruits in my division are ready to take missions." Compared to other divisions, the training to make assassins was way more complex. While other division can complete their training within 2 to 3 months, the recruits in Nathan's Division needed at least 6 months.

After a small moment of silence, Aditya looked at Nathan and suggested. "Why don't we try training the recruits by sending them to deal with low-level thugs and criminals?" Low-level thugs and criminals were ordinary people who bullied, robbed, and even killed other people.

Hearing Aditya's words, Nathan's eyes lit up in hope. "Your Majesty, I think this might be possible. Since our target will be low-level criminals my recruits should be able to take care of them. This will also give them some experience about their assassin life."

"Alright, I will leave this matter in your hands. Do not disappoint me." Nathan nodded his head.

The meeting went on for 5 more hours. In that meeting, all of the generals reported their progress in training new division troops. After their reports ended, Aditya gave them some suggestions.

The meeting went on while everyone had breakfast. Watson reported about the various changes that took within the Istarin Kingdom because of the merit earning system. He also reported to him about foreign affairs. Aditya then talked about the things that he had planned for his Kingdom.

After a long discussion, the generals went back to their respective training camps. But before leaving, Aditya asked them to remove the slave collar from the 700 slaves that he had previously bought. The slaves were totally loyal to the Istarin Kingdom. Aditya was not worried about the slaves running away or betraying him.

Right now, Watson and Aditya were on the other side of the castle to meet certain people who he has not seen for half a month.

"Young Master, are you planning on turning those 500 human slaves with mana crippled hearts into dragonians?"

"That's the plan. I am also thinking of introducing a new division that will only have dragonians." Leaving, Watson, Tyler, Nathan, Henry, and Eleanor aside, Aditya currently had 25 dragonians who were secretly training in the castle. The existence of the dragonians was only known to the generals and a few more people. All of those people were someone whom Aditya trusted with his life.

"Watson right now I am a divine dragon. Right now I cannot show the world that I have a divine dragon otherwise I will attract the attention of many powerful beings from all over the world." Aditya had a different identity in the northwestern region. Even if his divine dragon bloodline awakening had caught the attention of some big powerhouse, they cannot investigate and find the husband of the Goddess of alchemy as his identity was fake. But the same thing won't happen if the world learns that the Istarin King has the Divine dragon bloodline.

Forget about the divine dragon part, if the people learn that the Goddess's husband is the King of the Istarin Kingdom, many powerful factions from the northwestern region won't hesitate to plot and scheme to destroy his Kingdom.

The identity of a dragon who has managed to awaken the divine dragon bloodline is too sensitive. Having the Divine dragon bloodline means that Aditya was destined to reach 7th-order or maybe even high order. The most powerful factions that stood at the top of the world would take this news either as a threat or as an opportunity. Some would use this opportunity to befriend a future 7th-order powerhouse; just like what the Emperor of Echo Dominion did. Some factions who are feeling threatened would want to eliminate Aditya before he can reach the 7th order.

"But young master, you did not change your name? What if someone finds you with your name?" Watson worriedly asked.

The husband of the Goddess and the Istarin King had the same name. What if people realize that both are the same person?

"That won't happen. You will find thousands of males on this continent who have the exact same name as me. The probability of that happening is too small." Besides Aditya was not planning on hiding forever. As long as his Kingdom manages to become a 5th-tier powerhouse, then he has nothing to worry about. Given how fast his Kingdom was developing, it won't take the Istarin kingdom to become a 5th-tier powerhouse.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in." Aditya couldn't help but smile hearing the familiar voice.

Click!

After opening the door, Aditya saw a person who completely looked unrecognizable.

"You have changed a lot Leo."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I apologize for uploading one chapter today. I had to got out for some important work.

Chapter 123

"Leo, you have changed." Aditya, seeing the fragile, weak and malnourished looking boy whom he had taken under his wing grew up this quickly. The Leo of the present looked nothing like his past self. He had grown a little taller. He no longer looked malnourished or skinny. Instead his body was showing signs of developing muscles. Even though he was only 14 years old, he looked like he was around 16 or 17 years old.

"Your Majesty, welcome back." Leo got on his one knee and lowered his head to greet his King. After getting dragon bloodline, Leo had completely submitted himself to Aditya and considered him as his King.

"Get up. Where is your little sister?" Aditya thought Leo's little sister would be with Leo.

Leo was about to reply but Watson replied first. "Your Majesty, I have sent all the children to school. Leo's sister is also currently attending School."

"Hmm. Good Job. Leo, why are you not going to school?" Aditya asked. Before leaving to meet Julia's parents, Aditya had spent a few days making plans to build public schools all over the Istarin Kingdom. As someone who was from the 21st century, Aditya felt that every citizen needed to have writing and learning skills.

Not just writing and learning but also basic mathematics and other basic subjects. In this world, schools and education were only reserved for the rich and the noble. Aditya wanted to change that and set a system where everyone had equal rights of education. Even though he can't bring the concept of equality to a world where the weak became the victim while the rich and powerful were untouchable; at least he can give everyone an equal start. By knowing how to write and read, ordinary people will have more career options in their lives.

Not only that, the increase of literacy rate in the Kingdom will improve the economy, will create more jobs, promote gender equality, build self-esteem and improve overall quality of life.

Around 20 days ago, the Istarin King had announced a new rule. That is every child from the age of 7 to 15 must go to school and complete their basic education. When the ordinary people learned that their children can go to schools for free and receive basic education, they were more than happy to send their children to schools.

But not everyone in the Kingdom saw this as positive news. Some middle class and lower class families thought that going to school was a waste of time. They thought it would be better for their child to spend time working instead of going to school. To change the minds of these people, Aditya had to run several campaigns; public awareness events.

"Why should I go to school? I already know how to read and write. I just want to focus on cultivating." Leo coldly replied.

"I see. What is your current cultivation rank?" Aditya curiously asked. Aditya did not force Leo to go to school. Since Leo already knew how to read and write, it was enough. It was not like Leo was going to become a royal official or anything.

Leo showed a proud smile as he released a bit of his Aura. "I have reached Peak 2nd-order. It will take a few months to reach beginner 3rd-order."

"I see, Good job. If you need anything then don't hesitate to ask Watson."

After leaving Leo's room, Watson who was following Aditya couldn't help but ask. "Young Master, why didn't you order Leo to go to school?" In these past 10 days, Watson has been trying to make Leo go to school but the boy was hell bent on cultivating and did not want any distraction.

Watson felt a child of Leo's age should go to school.

"Given his cold personality, I don't think any of his classmates would want to even approach him. Even if I send him to school, he will end up feeling more lonely and isolated."

"That's true." The only thing that was keeping Leo sane was his little sister's lively personality. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the siblings were totally dependent on each other. Neither can live without each other. Leo wanted to become strong to protect his little sister while his sister's love is what worked as his driving force.

"Watson, Leo is someone who has the eyes of vengeance. When I met him that day, his eyes had the hunger for strength. I am sure he wouldn't hesitate to even trade his soul to the devil for strength.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Currently Aditya and Watson are in a large circular room. The room was more than 20 meters in size. The floor of the room was made from black marble. The walls were painted white.

"You're me calling Majesty again?"

"I apologize, but it has become a habit. I like addressing the young master as his Majesty. As the Dragon King, the young master deserves to be called his Majesty."

Sigh!

"Fine, have it your way."

"I am going to make a personal teleportation array."

"Teleportation array? Don't tell me...?"

Aditya chuckled seeing Watson's reaction. "Yes, now I can make 3-star rune spells. I am going to make two teleportation arrays." The materials that Adam gave Aditya were enough to make two teleportation arrays.

"Your Majesty, what did you mean by personal teleportation array?"

"This teleportation array is going to be personal to the King and the people close to the King. I don't even want anyone other than the people living in the Castle to know about this teleportation array."

The main reason to build this personal teleportation array was that he wanted to make things easier for Julia. Before leaving, Aditya has convinced old man Tobias to make a similar teleportation array inside the castle. In the future, Aditya was also planning on making similar teleportation arrays in all of the Istarin cities. This will connect the entire Istarin kingdom. Within a day, Aditya would be able to teleport anywhere in the Istarin kingdom.

"Let's start" Since this was Aditya's first time making an actual teleportation array, he was slightly nervous. This was not training. Making even a small mistake wasn't an option. Even a mistake would make the teleportation array not functional.

Aditya took a deep breath as he took a few steps forward while Watson closely observed his Majesty. But then someone comes with a piece of news.

"Your Majesty." Both Watson and Aditya turned their heads to look at the black haired maid.

"What happened? Can't you see that his Majesty is currently in the middle of doing something very important?" Watson slightly got angry at the maid.

"My apologizes." The maid hurriedly bowed his head. The maid's body slightly trembled in fear. She has heard that even a small mistake could end up with her life being taken away. She was afraid if his Majesty was also going to do the same.

"Watson, there is no need to be angry. It's not like she knew what I was going to do." Hearing Aditya's words, the maid sighed in relief.

Watson nodded back at Aditya. "Tell me what happened?" Watson asked in a stern tone.

"Master, the head of Deep Sea merchant are here for your audience."

"Bring them to the living room. Tell them, I will there in a minute." The maid simply bowed her head and hurriedly left the room.

"What happened?" Aditya was curious about this Deep Sea merchant group. He never has heard of his name before.

"It's nothing important. After His Highness left, a new merchant group came to the Istarin kingdom. At first, I had no problem with the Deep sea merchant group but a few days ago, I found that the Deep sea merchant was using soldiers to attack other merchant groups. Not only that but also the Deep sea merchant group had over 10,000 troops which also violates the laws of the Istarin Kingdom."

Aditya had made new laws and reforms to his Kingdom. One of those laws was that a merchant group cannot have more than 5,000 troops. The law also stated that fights between two merchant groups are strictly forbidden. The merchant groups had to solve their matters in court instead.

In this age and this world, it was not uncommon when two big merchant groups fought. But whenever a big fight between two big merchants happened, the people also suffered as a result of it. Aditya wanted the merchants to solve their problems peacefully or through the royal court.

"As a result, I had sent Tyler to kill some of their troops and caught the rest of their troops. I also had ordered the head of the head deep merchant group to come and give a proper explanation. Based on what the deep merchant group was going to say, I was planning on giving them a big fine and some penalties."

"Let's go then. I am curious to know why the deep sea merchant group has the courage to openly break one of my laws?" Watson and Aditya went to meet the head of the deep Sea merchant group.

Sitting in the living room, two people were waiting for the unofficial prime minister. "Young Master, please restrain your anger in front of the prime minister. I heard that the prime minister has almost the same power as the Istarin king. If we want to keep our business running in the Istarin Kingdom, then we cannot afford to offend them."

"Hmph! That old man is just an unofficial Prime Minister. I am not afraid of the Istarin King. So why I should feel afraid of that old man? Today I will also let the Istarin Kingdom know the consequence of messing with the Deep Sea merchant group."

"Young Master, please don't do that. We're here to complete our mission. I think it would be bad to expose our identity. Our whole plan could end up failing."

"So what?"

"I am well aware of the current military strength of the Istarin Kingdom. We can crush this Kingdom within a few days."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I have some net problems at home. I will another chapter a few more hours later.

Chapter 124

"Young Master, please don't do that. We're here to complete our mission. I think it would be bad to expose our identity. Our whole plan could end up failing."

"So what?"

"I am well aware of the current military strength of the Istarin Kingdom. We can crush this Kingdom within a few days."

A few minutes later,

Following both Aditya and Watson came to the living room. Seeing them both the head of the Deep Sea merchant group and the butler who stood behind the couch all turned their attention to Watson and Aditya.

Richard and Gorge, both paid special attention to the young man with long blue hair. The young man followed Watson and sat down sat next to him.

Seeing the handsome-looking young man sitting next to Watson, Gorge and Richard both exchanged a look of surprise. Both obviously had no idea who this young man was. If only they had known that this young man is the king of the Istarin Kingdom.

Meanwhile, after sitting down, the dragon monarch began observing their guests. The man who sat on the couch had a slightly ugly and fat-looking face. The man had short blond hair. He was wearing luxurious clothes and gold chains around his neck. What pissed Aditya about this man was his arrogant and prideful look. Not even the Emperor of Echo Dominion had that arrogance yet a mere merchant was looking at Watson and Aditya like he owned the whole world.

Behind the fat young master, there was 5 feet 11 inches tall man in his 40s. The man had a few wrinkles on his face. The man was wearing a butler outfit.

"Good afternoon, Sir Watson. My name is Gorge and this is my personal butler Richard." Meanwhile, a maid carrying many delicious snacks and tea entered the room. While the maid poured tea for the guests, Watson introduced himself.

"My name is Watson. I am currently the unofficial Prime Minister of the Istarin Kingdom. Sitting beside me is the newly appointed student of mine, his name is Itsuki."

"Sir Watson, I like to keep things simple and straightforward. Why my soldiers were attacked and also detained? We did not do any illegal activities nor did we offend anyone while doing business. I demand that you release my remaining soldiers and pay compensation for the dead soldiers."

Before Watson could reply, Aditya raised his right leg over his left thigh. He then folded his arms on his chest and coldly stared at the head of the Deep Sea Merchant group.

"Sir Gorge, in case you forgot, let me remind you again. The Istarin Law says that no merchant group is allowed to keep more than 5,000 soldiers. Despite sending repetitive warnings, you crossed the limit and went on to keep 10,000 soldiers. When the royal officials went to announce your punishment and penalty, you even humiliated them. I had no choice but to use violence to suppress my personal troops. Around 5,000 troops have been captured while the rest has been killed. Now, what do you have to say in your defense?"

Gorge and Richard both frowned seeing the way Aditya was sitting. When Watson spoke, Aditya did not even blink his eyes. Those cold crimson eyes of the dragon kept on staring at Gorge making him feel scared and unsafe for some reason.

"Sir Watson, you will have to understand that the Deep Sea Merchant group is currently one of the biggest merchant groups in the Istarin Kingdom. Just having 5,000 personal soldiers is not enough." It was Richard, Gorge's butler who replied to Watson's question.

"In that case, why didn't you hire the adventurers? I am sure there were thousands of adventurers who would be more than willing to accept your escort and guarding missions." Watson was still trying to resolve things in a peaceful way. But if Gorge keeps on being stubborn, Watson fears that this might not end well for Gorge and his Deep Sea merchant group.

"That being said. You not only have broken the Istarin Law but also have ignored the warnings and also have insulted one of the royal officials. The Deep Sea merchant group will be fined and will have to penalties for their crime." Watson was about to announce the penalties but Gorge could not hold his anger anymore.

"Bullsh**!" Gorge suddenly kicked the table that was between the two couches.

Bang!

"Who do you think you're?"

Watson frowned as he looked at Gorge. Meanwhile, the coldness in Aditya's eyes only increased. Gorge might not have noticed it but Richard being smart was able to notice this. He put his hand on his master's shoulder and tried to calm him but Gorge did not stop there.

"I ran the Deep Sea, merchant group. Do you think just because the Istarin Kingdom had defeated the Zulux Dynasty, you can do whatever do want? I am warning you. Don't challenge the Deep Sea Merchant group. You won't be able to handle the consequence."

"I order you to release my remaining man and also handsomely compensate for killing other 5,000 troops. Otherwise....."

"Otherwise...What?" Aditya could not sit around and watch this unfold. He stood up and looked directly into Gorge's eyes.

"Th.....t" Gorge began trembling when looking at those crimson eyes that were glowing in blood red color. Gorge felt as if he was staring at the eyes of God of War. Even though Aditya did not release his killing intent yet, Gorge felt paralyzed just by staring at those crimson eyes that seems to have an endless thirst for blood.

"From now on, I, Aditya, as the king of the Istarin Kingdom revoking the right that the Istarin Kingdom had given to the Deep Sea merchant group to trade. Furthermore, all of the Deep Sea merchant group assets will be seized by the Istarin Kingdom." It was then both Richard and Gorge realized their grave mistake. Both realized this whole time, they were in the presence of the Istarin King.

"No, you can't do this to me."

"I am King and I get to do what I want. As punishment for disrespecting the royal official and the unofficial prime minister of the Istarin kingdom, I announce that you and every one who is working for the Deep Sea merchant group will be sentenced to death."

Without not even waiting for Gorge to say anything, Aditya raised his left foot and kicked Gorge's chest which sent him flying to the other side of the living room.

Bang!

Seeing this Richard, Gorge's butler's face turned pale. "Your Majesty, please forgive us. We made a big mistake."

"Too late." Aditya summoned his Crimson flame and burned Richard's whole body to ashes.

"Watson"

"yes, Your Majesty"

"Send out an order to capture all the employees of the Deep Sea merchant group. After capturing them, leaving the innocent ones, others to be killed. Also seize all the assets and property owned by the Deep Sea merchant group." Aditya then walked up to Gorge who now looked at Aditya in fear.

"Istarin King, you will regret doing this. The Eastern Sea Elven won't let you go." However Aditya was not affected by Gorge's words.

Aditya grabbed Gorge by his throat and lifted him in the air. "This Monarch was never afraid of making enemies. I already have hundreds of enemies. Adding one more is not going to change anything." Aditya then applied more pressure in his right arm.

Watson watched the whole scene with a stunned face. He saw how Aditya crushed Gorge's throat and then threw him like he was some garbage.

"Watson, send a investigation party to Gorge's residence." After giving some orders to Watson, Aditya went back to make the teleportation array in the Castle basement.

Somewhere in the eastern region of the Kingdom,

"It has been more than one and half months, yet we still couldn't find the crown of Seven Seas. Did you all stop working or what?"

"Leader, we are 99% percent sure that it was King Aditya who has taken the Crown of Seven seas. He also killed one of our members named Ash."

"The Crown Of Seven seas, a magical artifact that cannot be replicated. It took us hundreds of years that locate the Crown of Seven Seas. When we found its location, why did you send a weak and pathetic member of our organization? Why you didn't send the strongest member of our organization? If you had no made that mistake, by now the Crown would have been in our hands."

"My..My apologizes, Sire."

"I am sorry but in this organization, apologies do not work. I wanted results. Even though you allowed a weak King to take the crown with him, I had ordered you to take back the crown. You guys still failed. Failure is the only thing that you guys are capable of."

"Leader, we have secretly tried sneaking inside the Castle to find the crown but it seems the crown is with King Aditya."

"Then what are you guys waiting for. Don't waste my time. Hurry up and get me the crown of seven seas otherwise, I don't mind killing all of you and feed you to sharks."

"Don't worry, Sire. I have spent the last month making a plan. I am sure my plan will succeeded. Just give me two more weeks time."

"Alright. I will trust you in this for one last time. If you fail, then you better run because I am going to hunt you down to the ends of this world."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 125

While Aditya was busy making a teleportation array, the news of the King personally killing the head of the Deep Sea merchant group spread like wildfire. Not just killing the head of the Deep Sea Merchant group, but also completely taking over every existing store that was owned by the Deep Sea Merchant group. The news bought fear in other merchant groups. They had no idea why the king did something like this. Some small merchant groups were even planning on stopping all of their business in the Istarin Kingdom and were planning on leaving.

Fortunately, a few more hours later, an official statement came from the King himself. The statement shocked and surprised many people. They never thought that the Deep Sea Merchant group's head was this kind of person. Some people who knew Gorge's character weren't surprised or shocked. But even they were not expecting Gorge to be bold enough to even threaten the Istarin Kingdom in front of the King himself

.

[The Deep Sea Merchant group has broken the Istarin Law several times. Has insulted the royal officials and also the unofficial prime minister of the Istarin Kingdom. Above that, he even dared to threaten the Istarin Kingdom. His Majesty has punished the Deep Sea Merchant group and has decided to seize all the properties and stores owned by the group.]

[His Majesty has personally promised that as long as all the other merchant groups follow the Istarin Laws, they won't have anything to worry about.]

These words immediately calmed the merchants who were planning on stopping their business and leaving the Kingdom.

While all these were happening, Aditya was in the Royal castle basement. In a circular room, Aditya could be seen drawing runes with a special pen on the floor. Aditya looked very focused. He was deeply immersed in his own world.

By now Aditya has finished drawing 8 circles of runes. Each circle contained one phase of the spell. The teleportation array had 9 rune phases. Each phase needed one circle to draw. The first phase was the biggest one while the 9th rune phase was the smallest one.

If someone looked at the room, they would see 8 large circles. Each circle was bigger than the other. If someone looks carefully then they would see that what looked like a circle actually had countless complex characters of runes. All the complex rune characters are made up to look like a circle.

"King Ethan, are you sure about it? This is the Istarin Kingdom that we're talking about. Even when the Istarin Kingdom was only a 2nd-tier Kingdom, it still managed to defeat the mighty Zulux Dynasty that stood and had a long history of 100 years. When you attacked the Istarin Kingdom with 50,000 troops and with your 3rd-order Duke, the Istarin Kingdom managed to slaughter all of your 50,000 troops without losing a single army. Not only that, they even outsmarted you by crippling your Duke's mana heart."

Right now in a meeting room, King Ethan was sitting along with other kings and their representatives from other kingdoms. King Ethan had secretly arranged for this meeting as knowing that the Istarin King had his eyes fully locked on the Nepoca Kingdom. If for not those men, he wouldn't have been able to arrange this meeting without King Aditya knowing about it.

"King Ethan, are you sure you want to start another war against the Istarin Kingdom? Though I haven't met the Istarin King, I have heard that King Aditya is very calculative and smart. He is a sly fox. He is someone that always thinks outside the box. It was mainly because of his geniuses that the Zulux Dynasty fell this quickly." King Ethan clenched his fists under the table. he gritted his teeth in anger. Right now Ethan's throat was dry for blood. He wanted to quench his thirst with the blood of the Dragon king.

"King Liam, no offense but we are not here to praise the Istarin Kingdom." Others who were sitting around the round table also nodded their heads in agreement.

"The Istarin Kingdom has tricked me. He kept the fact that he had crippled my Duke and forcefully took a large part of my territory. It's just a matter of time before that demon comes after the other small kingdom. Aditya is an ambitious person. He wants to expand his Kingdom." Everyone around the table secretly sneered at Ethan. They might not have been invited to the meeting, but they knew that Aditya demanded Ethan's territory otherwise he was going to fully launch a war against the Nepoca Kingdom and take over the whole Kingdom.

King Ethan was given two choices. Either give up this part of his territory or give up three of his cities. If he did not make any choice, Aditya told Ethan to be ready to face the Istarin army and lose his life along with his Kingdom. Anyone in Aditya's position would have done the same thing.

The only reason that these kings had come to this meeting is that they all had similar ambitions. The northern part of this region was made up of many small kingdoms. Everyone put their past differences aside and came here to form a secret alliance to attack the Istarin Kingdom. While King Ethan wanted his territory back, these kings wanted a small piece of the Istarin Kingdom for themselves.

"Currently The Nyland King is very sick. I don't think he will make it. When the Nyland King dies, that will be our chance to attack the Istarin Kingdom. Without the Nyland King, his successor wouldn't send an army to reinforce the Istarin Kingdom. Meaning that the Istarin Kingdom will be truly alone. I refuse to believe that the Istarin King can win against the combined force of 13 Kingdoms."

Ethan's words seem to have given the ray of hope that every King needed. The last bit of hesitation that they had in their hearts had disappeared. In their logic, why they should refuse a free meal? After defeating the Istarin Kingdom, these Kings are guaranteed to receive a small chunk of that huge fortune that the Istarin Kingdom possesses. No one thought that the Istarin Kingdom can fight against the combined forces of 13 kings.

"So when are we going to attack? Should we start making preparation for the war?" One of the greedy kings excitedly asked.

Ethan nodded with a pleased smile on his face. He was relieved that he had managed to convince everyone to attack the Istarin Kingdom. "King Aditya has planted spies and keeping watch on my Nepoca Kingdom's military. Even the slightest movement from my side will make the Istarin King suspicious. For now, it would be better to not alert the Istarin King. Let's keep everything dark for now."

"You all should war preparing for the war. We will crush the Istarin Kingdom with a single attack." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"What about the Thera Kingdom? I heard that the Thera Kingdom has a close connection with the Istarin Kingdom. In this war, the Thera Kingdom will support the Istarin kingdom." Ethan frowned. When he visited the Thera Kingdom, he has been holding a grudge against the Thera King.

"After declaring our war against the Istarin Kingdom, I will send a warning to the Thera Kingdom. If they do not back out from helping the Istarin Kingdom, the Thera Kingdom will suffer the consequences."

"I don't understand. Even if Nyland King Mark Vega dies and one of the prince's succeeds the throne, why wouldn't the next king send reinforcement to the Istarin Kingdom?"

"There are two reasons. First reason, when the Princes sent letters asking for the Istarin Kingdom's political support, the Istarin Kingdom remained neutral. And second reason with the rapid growth of the Istarin Kingdom, the next King would feel threatened. So when the war starts, the King would just turn a blind eye and not help the Istarin Kingdom."

Ethan grinned while looking at the map of the Istarin Kingdom. "Besides, one of the Nyland Kingdom princes is my friend. He has promised to attack the Istarin Kingdom instead."

The meeting then continued going on for another 1 hour. After making a plan, all of the Kings who had attended this meeting in disguise began taking their leave. One by one all of the Kings left, leaving only King Ethan in the dining room.

After Ethan left, a man in a butler outfit walked in and stood behind Ethan. "Your Majesty, are you sure about this plan? We still don't know how powerful the current Istarin King or the Kingdom's military is. From what I have heard even though the Istarin Kingdom has been actively recruiting more soldiers."

"Hahaha! Even if the Istarin King has a powerful 5th-order in their military then also the Istarin Kingdom will fall. Just a little more time and the Nyland King will finally die."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 126

Knock! Knock!

"Watson, you can come in." The butler who now was working as the unofficial butler of the Istarin Kingdom walked inside.

"Young master, what are you doing?" Watson was left confused seeing Aditya using red blood to paint the 9 circles that he had drawn in the circular room.

"Oh, this is the blood of a Holy Unicorn. Holy unicorn has one of the purest forms of blood. This blood belongs to a Peak 4th-order holy unicorn. To activate the teleportation arrays, I will need to paint the 9 circles of the teleportation arrays with unicorn blood."

"I see." Watson stood at the door. He did not step inside the room to give space to Aditya.

"You came at the perfect time. I was about to activate the teleportation array. Why don't you try using the teleportation array and teleport to Apogale city? I am sure Walter would be very happy to see you."

Hearing the name of his brother being mentioned, Watson suddenly felt very nostalgic. He and his brother have spent their childhood together. In their difficult times, his brother has been there to support each other. From training to sleeping to even bathing, both brothers have done it together.

"It has been a few years since I last saw my brother." As Watson and Julia have to travel all the way to the Nyland Kingdom to use the teleportation array, he simply did not feel that traveling for an entire week just to see his brother will be worth it. Also if he left, who is going to serve the young master? Unless Aditya gave him a few weeks of holiday, he couldn't really go to see his brother.

"If you want, you can take a few days off. I don't mind. Now that I have returned, you can leave everything in my hands. These past two months have been really tough for you. I won't mind if you take a few days or maybe even a week's break. You deserve it." Watson nodded his head with a grateful smile. During the war, Aditya had left Watson to take care of the administration work; meaning that Watson had to spend countless hours sitting and writing and signing documents.

"You know, I can also ask Walter to set a blind date for you. I think it's about time you also find someone and get married." Hearing Aditya's words, Watson laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! Young Master, I am already this old I don't think anyone would be willing to marry me. Please don't forget that this old man is already a century old. I simply have run out of time to get married. My only wish is to serve young Master and see the Istarin Kingdom touch the greatest height of the sky."

Aditya looked at Watson's appearance. "I don't think anything is wrong with your appearance. As you have restarted cultivating and after breaking through 3rd-order your appearance has changed. You have de-aged. You look like some 40 years old man." When a cultivator breaks through higher-order, their life spans also increase. Also, dragons naturally have more lifespans than humans. It was normal for a dragon to live a few thousands year. With Watson's cultivation, his life span would be around 15,000; maybe even more.

Watson was a handsome man. After reaching 3rd-order and after becoming a dragon, he has become even more handsome. His physical appearance has changed a lot. If Watson starts looking for a wife, then it wouldn't be that hard for him. All he has to do is give it a try.

"Don't use your age as an excuse."

"Your majesty, can we please not talk about this topic?" Watson even though he was already this old, had practically no experience with women besides his mother who also passed away when Watson was only 5 years old.

"Look Watson, Walter also has settled down with a family of his own. I don't see what is holding you back from finding a partner and getting married." After spending so much time with his butler, Aditya began seeing Watson as his real family. He respected Watson like his real grandfather. Aditya does not want Watson to spend his life alone.

"Your Majesty, when Lady Julia was born I was assigned to serve Lady Julia. Lady Julia and the Dragon King, are and will be the only two persons whom I have sworn to serve with my heart and life. If I get married, my marriage life might get in the way of my professional life." Watson's professional life was his identity.

"Don't tell me you swing that way?"

"Of course not. I am perfectly a healthy young man."

"Whatever you say." After talking to Watson, Aditya realized that it was useless to discuss this matter with his butler.

'I will have to discuss this matter with Walter. I will ask him to find a blind date for Watson.'

While talking with Watson Aditya finished covering the rune circles with unicorn blood. Aditya then stood at the center of the 9 circles. Looking at the nine circles, a satisfied appeared on his face. This was his first time drawing a teleportation rune, yet Aditya managed to make it without making any mistakes. During the whole process, Aditya was slightly nervous. Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the process.

Aditya began condensing his mana in his both fists. After condensing a certain amount of mana in his fists, Aditya touched the floor with his both palms and released all of the mana towards the rune circles.

Boooom!

For a moment Watson felt like he had gone blind. The only thing that he saw was an intensely bright light. Fortunately, after a few seconds, everything returned to dimmed down. When he looked at the 9 circles, Watson was shocked to find 9 circles that were made up of complex rune characters in the air.

Aditya was standing in the middle of the rune circles. The 9 circles were glowing in 9 different colors. The color of each circle kept on changing with each passing second. The whole scene was quite spectacular to watch.

After around 1 minute, the lights coming from the 9 circles began dimming down before completely disappearing.

"Majesty, what happened?" There was a trace of fear in Watson's tone.

"No to panic Watson, the teleportation array has been activated." Aditya then walked up to Watson.

"Go and stand in the middle of the circle. I will send you to Apogale city." Before Leaving Apogale city, Aditya has left a bit of his mana in the Apogale city teleportation rune. By using his mana to activate the teleportation array, he had basically connected with this TA to the TA of Apogale city. The TA in Apogale city was already connected to all other teleportation arrays in and outside the continent. Meaning that this teleportation array can be used to teleport to any continent, as long as one has the exact latitude and longitude of the location.

[TA: - Teleportation array. It's very annoying to type TA words every time.]

Watson nervously nodded his head. He for some reason felt that he was being used as a guinea pig. Aditya was using him to test if the teleportation array works or not.

"Your Majesty is it alright if I step on the teleportation circles?"

"Nothing will happen. Your step won't damage the runes on the floor." Watson stood at the center of the teleportation array and then looked at Aditya.

"Alright, I will send you to Apogale city. Once you go there, ask Julia to make pills that can heal the mana crippled hearts. She will understand what she needs to do." Watson nodded his head.

"Now go." Aditya used his mana to activate the teleportation array. Once again the whole array started shining bright multi colors. The colors were so bright that neither Aditya nor Watson could keep their eyes open.

When the bright light dimmed down, Watson had been teleported. After Watson left, Aditya almost fell down from the overuse of his mana. Normally a teleportation array would need mana stones to function. But Aditya instead had used his huge mana reserve to teleport Watson. He did not think single teleportation would nearly consume almost all of his mana.

"It looks like I will need mana stones." Aditya looked at the TA one last time before leaving the room. Now that Watson has also left, for the first time since arriving in this world, Aditya is truly left alone. Julia and Watson had become a part of his life. Without them, he felt he was missing something from his life.

"Watson should return within a few days at most." Aditya now was planning on meeting a certain someone who was going to help him with all the weapons and armor that he collected while fighting goblins. Even Aditya is not sure how many weapons and armor he has managed to collect. The number was simply too big.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 127

Thank you for all the gifts and golden tickets.

In a certain part of the royal castle, Aditya came to meet the blacksmith that bought it. His name was Percy Lowe. He is a 3-star blacksmith whose age was above 100+. Percy was a dwarf who used to work under a certain faction which was destroyed by the enemy and Percy was sold as a slave after his mana heart was crippled.

"You're doing it wrong. You should control your strength. Your movements are too balanced."

"Keep harming before it cools down."

Clang! Clang!

Walking in the forge room, Aditya found Percy instructing other fellow dwarves. After getting Percy, Watson bought a few dwarves and let Percy teach them. Percy was very happy with being able to teach and pass down his forging skills to other young dwarves.

Knock! Knock!

Aditya gently knocked on the door to draw Percy's attention.

"This humble servant greets the king." Following Percy, all other dwarves stopped their work and bow their heads to the King. This was everyone except for Percy who had seen the King of the Istarin Kingdom.

"Continue with what you guys were doing. Percy, come with me, I want to show you something." Percy nodded and walked out of the room after giving one or two more instructions to the young dwarves.

"Are you having any problem living here?" Aditya asked while walking forward. Percy was keeping a meter distance from the King and following him from behind.

"Your Majesty, it would be a great sin for me to say that I am not happy even after all the things that Sir Watson has provided me with." Aditya looked around and looked at Percy's eyes to see if the dwarf was lying or not.

When he turned around Aditya saw Percy's sincere eyes. Feeling Percy's sincerity, Aditya was very satisfied.

"Percy, what would you do if I told you that the Istarin kingdom has the power to heal your Mana crippled heart." Hearing these words Percy's body slightly trembled in overwhelming emotions. He stopped walking and looked at the man who was also his Master with various emotions. Percy wasn't sure if Aditya can heal his mana-crippled heart. In his knowledge in this world, no one has the power to heal mana's, crippled heart.

"I am not lying." Aditya turned around and looked at Percy who was standing 6 meters away from Aditya.

"I can give you back what you have lost."

"You have been living in this palace for more than a week now. I am sure you have met at least one of my generals." Percy just nodded his head as he has seen Tyler and Amber in the castle.

"Let me tell you, all of my generals were slaves with mana crippled hearts. I healed them and now they are working as my generals. If you still don't believe in my words, then you can wait for a few more days till I get the pill that will cure your crippled heart." Aditya wanted to earn Percy's trust and loyalty. Gaining these two things was very important. Aditya does not want his subordinate to be a slave. Percy was someone who was going to be a very important part of the Istarin kingdom. Even the dwarf did not know that the moment Aditya saw him, he had become Aditya's subordinate.

Aditya not only wanted Percy to teach his blacksmithing skills to other young dwarves, but he also wanted the dwarf to progress his blacksmithing skills and become a blacksmith capable of making 5-star weapons and armors.

At this moment Percy did not know if the King is lying or saying the truth. Logically speaking there is no such thing as a cure for a crippled heart. But there was a small ray of hope and expectation in Percy's heart. He was afraid that having too many expectations would only lead him to disappointment and depression.

"Your Majesty, you have no idea how much forging means to me. When my heart was crippled, I lost my ability to forge weapons. But If I can regain what I have lost, then I promise that I will forever serve his majesty till the end. I will live and die with the Istarin Kingdom."

"Come with me." Aditya did not show his happiness. He instead asked Percy to follow him to the storage room which was located in the basement of the castle.

"Your Highness, why are we here?" In Percy's knowledge, Aditya is the most different and unique king that he had ever seen. After living in this palace for 10 days, Percy has never heard anyone in the palace disrespecting the King. Everyone in the palace has endless respect and admiration for the King.

"Before I tell you why I have bought you here, first I want to give you something. Don't try to resist. At first, it might be painful but I assure you that this will only benefit you. There is a chance that this will also cure your Mana crippled heart." Suddenly Percy started to feel nervous after hearing Aditya's words.

Aditya bit his thumb finger, drawing out golden blood which shocked Percy once again as he did not know how Aditya has golden blood. Though Percy has heard that Aditya was a dragon, he did not know that Percy has golden blood.

"Take this." Aditya put a drop of golden blood on Percy's forehead. Suddenly the whole room was brightened by the Crimson and golden light that started coming from Percy's body. The dwarf's entire body trembled violently as he fell to his knees with his hands on his knees.

Right now Percy felt as if his muscles, his blood, his organs, everything was being filled with an endless amount of energy. Every part of his body was changing from the inside. He can feel the change that was rapidly taking place in his body.

Ahhh!!!!!

Percy couldn't stop himself from screaming out in pain when the endless energy entered his crippled heart. After having his mana heart crippled, Percy was always in constant pain. Whenever his heartbeat rose, he would feel endless pain. But now that foreign energy was forcefully entering his heart, he felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out.

Percy couldn't handle it anymore. The dwarf started rolling around in pain. At this moment Percy did not out what Aditya was seeing. Aditya frowned seeing Percy in this much pain. The process shouldn't be this painful. But after a few seconds, he saw crimson and golden bright Aura surrounding Percy.

Percy's height started growing. His black skin started getting a little brighter. The size of his body also grew with his muscles. After around 5 minutes of endless pain, Percy's consciousness was on the verge of collapsing.

Fortunately, the pain started disappearing. When it did, Percy without even needing to open his eyes felt the strange yet familiar energy around him. "This....." His lips trembled as he for a moment thought it was nothing but an illusion. His mind almost refused to believe what he just sensed.

"Congratulations Percy, it looks like my divine bloodline has healed your crippled heart. Not only that now, but you have also become half dragon and half dwarf. Your cultivation also has reached Peak 1st-order." Aditya was sure that if Percy's mana heart wasn't crippled, his cultivation directly would have reached 2nd-order.

Percy opened his eyes as a drop of tear rolled down his right cheek. Right now, no words can express the amount of happiness Percy felt. Without needing to say any words, he got on his knees and kneeled before Aditya with his head touching the ground.

"My King, no words can describe my gratitude toward you. His Highness has returned to me something which was a part of my life for more than a hundred years. Thank your majesty."

"Get up. No need to bow your head to me." After wiping the tears on his cheeks, Percy stood up.

"As for the reason why I bought you this room..." With a wave of his hand, the whole storage room was suddenly filled with mountains of weapons and armors.

"This....." Percy felt like his eyes were going to pop out of their socket. What he was seeing right now was no different from seeing the impossible. The storage room was 20 meters long and 15 meters wide. Right now the whole room was filled with an uncountable number of weapons and armor.

"Your Majesty, can you please tell me from where you got all these weapons and armor?" Percy's voice trembled in excitement. For a blacksmith, nothing was more spectacular than seeing a mountain of armor and weapons.

"I got these armor and weapons during the goblin invasion. These armor and weapons belonged to the goblins whom I had killed during the invasion." Percy gulped down. He took a few steps forward and picked up a 3-star sword.

With a single glance, Percy realized that this sword was damaged. When he looked carefully he again realized that almost every weapons and armor here was damaged. "Your Majesty, do you want me to repair all these damaged weapons and armor?" Percy asked in a slightly nervous tone.

"What do you think?" Aditya asked with a smile. What he has shown is just 1/4th of what he had in his storage ring. If the storage room was big enough, Aditya would have taken out all of the weapons and armor from his ring.

"This is just 1/4th of what I currently have. I had to put extra hours into picking up and storing these weapons and armor. If I had not picked any of these weapons and armor, then I could have killed another million goblins." Percy's jaw dropped on the ground hearing his Majesty's words. Although he was super happy to see this many armor and weapons together. It was a different story if he was ordered to repair all of these armor and weapons.

"Percy, can you do it?" Aditya asked in a serious tone. Aditya had a feeling that with the Nyland King's death, another war is going to break out. Before that happened, he wanted to upgrade his soldier's powers to have the best weapons and armor.

"Your Majesty, it will take me a long time to finish repairing all everything in this storage room. I am sure you have noticed that most of the weapons here are just slightly damaged while most armors are very badly damaged."

"Then start by repairing the weapons." Percy seriously nodded his head. He picked up 15 swords and then left the room.

Meanwhile,

Today the sea for some reason looked very calm and quiet. But the situation under the sea was anything but calm.

A 6 feet and 3 inches tall man holding a trident was sitting on a throne that was made from thousands of pearls. Before the man, there were three mermaids who were on their knees. The three mermaids did not dare stare look at the man who was sitting on the throne that was made from Pearls.

"Tell me what happened to Gorge?"

"Majesty, we had sent Gorge to the surface. He went to the nearest Kingdom in a disguise of being a rich merchant. In a short time, using the precious resources that we have given him, he rose up to become one of the most wealthiest merchants. After becoming merchant. under our orders Gorge began expanding his business. Not only that he secretly began digging more information on the a kingdom named the Istarin."

"How powerful is the Istarin kingdom?" The man who was sitting on the throne made from countless pearl directly asked.

"According to our information, the Istarin military has multiple 3rd-order powerhouse. Before we heard that their King was capable of killing 3rd-orders when he was just a 2nd-order. Right now, no one knows how powerful the Istarin King was."

The man for a moment remained quiet which made the three mermaids slightly nervous. After 5 minutes of dead silence, the man opened his mouth to speak. "Start preparing the army, we will start the Istarin Kingdom. This will be our first step in taking over the land."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 128

"Your Majesty, did you call me?" At this moment Aditya was engraving runes on a 4-star bow. He was adding runic enchantment to this 4-star bow for Scott who mainly used a bow to fight.

"Alex, come inside." Almost 2 months ago Aditya had saved Alex and his family from getting killed. He killed the thugs who wanted to kill Alex and his family. After saving them Aditya has given Alex the chance to work as a royal official in the royal castle. Alex directly worked as the unofficial prime minister. Now that Watson had taken a few days of leave, Aditya had ordered Alex to come and help him with the mountain of paperwork that was lying on his table.

"Alex, how have you been doing?" Alex is the first royal official of the Istarin Kingdom. This itself gave Alex more privilege and more power than other royal officials. Currently, there were more than thousands of royal officials working directly under Alex.

2 months ago, Alex was nothing but a poor man who had a mountain of debt. His financial condition had gotten so worse that Alex did not even have enough money to afford 3 times meals for his family. If Aditya had not saved him that night, Alex and his family would have either died from starvation or would have been killed by the thugs from whom Alex borrowed money.

Alex closed the door and walked inside the King's study room. Even though this room was called the King's study room, it was used more by Alex and Watson. There are times when Alex and Watson would spend days in this room.

"I have been doing very well. Thank you for asking your Highness."

"Alex, can you please take look at these documents and find out the best candidates." Aditya was planning on recruiting 100 more royal officials. The current Istarin Kingdom was just too big. 1000 officials were not enough.

"Your Majesty, I think you should take things a little easy and take some rest." Next to Aditya's table, there were 19 various kinds of weapons. Aditya has spent the remaining day engraving runes on these weapons. He had planned these weapons to be used by his generals and his dragonians. All of these weapons were 4-star weapons.

"Alex, I can't do that. Since you have been working under Watson for almost two months now, you should know that a storm is going to come." Alex seriously nodded his head.

When the war with the Zulux Dynasty ended. Something strange was happening in the northern part of this region.

The northern part which was made up of numerous small 2nd-tier kingdoms stopped fighting. No one knew the reason for these Kingdoms to suddenly stop the war. At first, Aditya thought that these small kingdoms are taking a break to recover their military forces.

But when Aditya left, Watson got some serious news from the Majins who were secretly spying in those Kingdoms. Aditya had spread his spies to every Kingdom in the Eastern region. Several of his spies reported that all of these small Kingdoms were preparing for a big war. The hostility and animosity that previously existed between all these small Kingdoms now disappeared. Each of these small Kingdoms was starting to share its resources with each other.

"Your Majesty, I feel that these small Kingdoms on the north have secretly forged some alliance between themselves. In the last 100 years, these small kingdoms have never stopped fighting among themselves. I feel that these small Kingdom kings have a bigger aim this time." Aditya also agreed with Alex. The news concerned Aditya even more knowing that the Nyland King's health suddenly started deteriorating.

"I don't understand why would these kingdoms suddenly put behind their differences and start preparing for war. Are they planning on attacking the Nyland Kingdom?" Even if these small kingdoms joined hands and attacked the Nyland Kingdom, the Nyland Kingdom would still win as they have a 4th-order powerhouse protecting their Kingdom.

"Or maybe they have some ambition of conquering the Istarin Land?" Aditya's crimson red eyes turned cold. If those Kingdoms have planned something like this, he won't end the war till he conquers each of these small kingdoms.

Aditya and Alex were soon immersed in their own world. Both men were focused on their work and had no time to chat.

After about another 30 minutes, Aditya finally put the pen down as he looked at the golden bow with a satisfied smile.

"Finally done."

[Venomous Serpent]

[Rank: - Mid 4-star]

[Description: - A special type of weapon that has deadly poison powers. Whenever the Venomous Serpent is used to shoot arrows, the arrows will have poisonous powers. The poison is potent enough to instantly kill even a Mid 3rd-order cultivator. The Venomous Serpent has been enchanted with runic magic making the bow even stronger. The poison won't work on the owner of the Venomous Serpent. The power of the poison won't work on Peak 4th-order or any higher-order cultivators. ]

[Abilities 1: - When the Venomous Serpent is used to shoot arrows, the power and the speed of each normal arrow is increased by [300+].

Abilities 2: - Once the Venomous Serpent has been marked by the blood of the user, the bow cannot be used by anyone other than the user himself.

Abilities 3: - Using the Venomous Serpent the user can shoot up 4 arrows at the same time.

Abilities 4: - Increases the chances of landing a critical strike on a 4th-order powerhouse by 20%. Increase the chances of landing a critical strike on a 3rd-order powerhouse by 40%. There is a 100% chance of landing a critical strike on a 1st-order.]

'Simply too powerful. 4-star weapons are already deadly enough. Now that I have added runic enchantment on his 4-star Venomous Serpent bow, Scott now holds the weapon to take down a beginner or mid-phase 4th-order cultivator despite being only a 2nd-order cultivator. But then again, the speed, reaction speed, and reflex, vision, and power of a 4th-order is something that a 2nd-order can never compare against. Scott will have to find a way of landing his arrows on a 4th-order.'

A few hours later,

Aditya was tightly clenching the bedsheets. His whole body was covered in a layer of sweat. His eyes slightly trembled. His heart was beating too fast. His dragon blood was boiling in anger.

"Price Arthur, I would have expected you to betray me in the end. You always have been a greedy person. It was my fault for trusting you in the first place."

"Hahaha! Don't blame anyone Aditya, Istarin King, Aditya. If you want to blame anyone, then blame yourself for offending the wrong faction. Your existence is a threat to my Kingdom. The Nepoca King, Sir Ethan wants his territory back. The Deep Sea Palace wants to take revenge on your Kingdom for killing their men. You bought this on yourself."

Right now Aditya could be seen on his knees. Blood was covering his chest. There were many deep wounds and cuts all over his body. The Istarin king seems to have lost one of his eyes and also one of his arms. There was also a 3 inches big hole on his left thigh. Behind Aditya, the whole city was in flames. A sea of flames was devouring the whole city.

The royal castle of the Istarin Kingdom was completely destroyed. Behind Aditya, the bodies of his 7 generals, the bodies of the King of Thera Kingdom, and the Thera Kingdom's general, the dead body of Alex, all the servants and the maids who worked in the castle, and the bodies of hundred thousand soldiers were lying dead.

Right now the entire Istarin Kingdom was in flames. All of the royal officials and nobles of the Kingdom were slaughtered.

Aditya breathed heavily. Right now his eyes were filled with endless killing intent for these men who took away everything from him. These men were responsible for the deaths of millions. The whole Istarin Kingdom had become a graveyard for millions of innocent people. It did not matter whether it was an elder or a woman or a child, everyone regardless of their age, gender, or race, was mercilessly killed.

"Arthur, since things have come this far. Since I have lost everything, I will also take away everything you all held dear. I respected your father, the previous Nyland King but even your dad won't be able to save you from the wrath of the dragon Monarch." Suddenly a bright crimson red Aura surrounded Aditya's entire body.

"What is happening?" Arthur and other kings who were standing together took a few steps back in fear as the killing intent from Aditya made them feel suffocated.

"I think he is going into a berserk state. Even a 5th-order wouldn't be able to stop him in this form." The Deep Sea palace king cleared everyone's doubt. But when he spoke, everyone sensed the fear and the panic in his voice.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Guys these few days I am having trouble with the internet. I apologize but I can only write one chapter today. Hopefully from tomorrow, I can continue to upload 2 chapters each day.

Chapter 129

"What is happening?" Arthur and other kings who were standing together took a few steps back in fear as the killing intent from Aditya made them feel suffocated.

"I think he is going into a berserk state. Even a 5th-order wouldn't be able to stop him in this form." The Deep Sea palace king cleared everyone's doubt. But when he spoke, everyone sensed the fear and the panic in his voice.

While transforming into a dragon, Aditya noticed some people wearing black cloaks and hiding their faces under hoods standing 1000 meters away and looking in his direction.

"This dragon Monarch won't die here alone. I am going to kill you all and then I am going to burn your children, your families, your relatives, your people to death. I am the Dragon Monarch. I shall show the world the consequences of offending the Dragon Monarch." An endless amount of killing intent surged out of Aditya's body. His body shape slowly started changing.

"He is turning into a dragon." At this moment the Deep Sea palace king had fear and regret in his eyes. Without realizing he had provoked the dragon.

ROAR!!!!!!!!

"What was that?"

Huff! Huff!

Aditya directly stood while breathing heavily. Everything that just happened to him felt so real. Even the pain and the anger in his heart were too real to him to think that all this was just a dream.

Aditya wiped the sweat on his forehead. Right now, his whole body was covered in a layer of sweat. "Did I see the future again?" The last time Aditya had seen a glimpse of the future. In that future version, the Zulux dynasty and the Nepoca King combined their powers to destroy the Istarin Kingdom. Fortunately, he managed to change the future but this time the threat that he was going to face was even way bigger.

Without him realizing it, he was surrounded by enemies. Aditya got up from the bed and then opened the window and looked outside.

Opening the window, he caught the beautiful view of Azure city. Right now except for a few people, almost everyone in the city was sleeping. From Aditya's bedroom, he can see the northern walls and the gates of the city.

The Azure city of the past cannot compare itself to the Azure city of the present. The city not only expanded in size but also prospered. Now so many people call this place their home.

Aditya could feel the cold breeze that seems to warn him about the upcoming cold and harsh winter. Aditya's eyes turned terrifyingly cold. His sharp and cold eyes looked like the eyes of a predator. Those crimson eyes seem to shine in the bright red color of the blood. Anyone who at those eyes would feel a chill down their spine. This time Aditya felt thirsty. He wanted to blood. His crimson eyes were hungry for blood.

"It seems I have gone a little soft after my win with the Zulux Dynasty. From the beginning, I shouldn't have stopped after taking care of the Zulux Dynasty. The Nepoca Kingdom did not appreciate my kindness. Instead, King Ethan spit on it."

Aditya tightly clenched his fist while looking at the night sky. "Before the first snow of the winter falls on the Istarin land, I will slaughter all of my enemies. No one shall be spared. I won't stop even if I have to kill children, women, or the innocent. This was the war they started, I will be the one to finish it."

This time Aditya was going to become the tyrant. In his nightmare, he has seen and felt the anger of his future self. Since those people have decided to attack him, Aditya is going to strike first.

If possible Aditya would have preferred not to kill the children, women, and innocent ones. But since his enemies did not spare anyone from his Kingdom. Since they did not hesitate to kill his Kingdom's children, women, and the innocent, why should the Dragon Monarch show mercy to his enemies?

"Hahaha!" Aditya suddenly started laughing without caring if his laughter awakes up others in the royal palace.

"This is also a good thing. Before I was having doubts about whether I should attack the Nyland Kingdom. Since your son has attacked me in the future, then don't blame me if I suddenly break this alliance and attack your Kingdom. This time no one shall be spared. After dealing with the Kingdoms, I will be going after them." In his nightmare, Aditya has seen

"First and most importantly, I will take care of the Deep Sea palace." Two pairs of Crimson wings appeared on Aditya's back. The next moment he jumped out of the window and disappeared. No one exactly knew where the Istarin King was heading.

Deep inside the Silver Meadow Grove,

The silver meadow grove was one of those big forests where the magical monster lived. Even though the Istarin Kingdom is located right next to the silver Meadow grove, the Kingdom has never been attacked by the Magical animals that live in this forest. It seems the magical monsters are not interested in coming out of the forest. Even if the magical monsters happen to roam out of the forest, they are generally weak 1st-order monsters. These monsters are killed by the soldiers and sold in the food market. This was one of the ways of keeping a constant supply of meat without needing to reply to other Kingdoms.

Aditya has sent many soldier teams led by one of his generals to hunt monsters without going to the inner part of the Silver Meadow Grove. Even Aditya is not sure what lies in the inner part of the Silver Meadow Grove. But it was rumored that strong dragons and other mythical Magical monsters inhabit the inner and core part of the Silver Meadow Grove.

Aditya was not afraid of entering the inner part as he had the blood of a Divine dragon which gave him the power to control other Dragons. Not to mention the fact that current Aditya is powerful to easily kill any Peak 4th-order.

The inner region of the Silver Meadow grove had taller and thicker trees. The tree barely let any sunlight enter the deep region of the forest. Anywhere Aditya looked, the only thing he saw was the thick green trees that were covering everything.

The reason Aditya came to the Silver Meadow Grove was to find Wild Dragons or Wyverns that live here. Aditya can easily head to the Nepoca Kingdom and start destroying the Nepoca Kingdom. But that is only an ordinary solution. Today even if he destroys the threat of the Nepoca, the deep sea palace, and the Nyland Kingdom that was hovering over his Kingdom. In the future, another big powerful might try to do the same.

Aditya wanted his Kingdom to become independent without relying too much on his powers. His military cannot defeat the Nyland Kingdom without him. If Aditya wants to become the true overlord of the Eastern region, he will need the Kingdom's military to become even stronger. The fastest way of doing it would be to either by creating more dragonians by giving his soldiers powerful weapons and armor or by taming powerful Wild dragons and Wyverns. Aditya already had done half of the first two options. Right now he wanted to find a few Wild dragons.

"Should I use my Dragon Roar to alert all the dragons?" It has been almost an hour since Aditya came into the inner region of the Silver Meadow Grove.

After some hesitation, Aditya decided to use Dragon Roar!

After taking a deep breath, Aditya used his mana to amplify his voice and let out a loud roar that almost covered 1/4th of the total inner region of the Silver Meadow Grove.

Roar!!!!!!

Around 50 km away,

A family of Wild dragons was currently having their lunch. The mother dragon had just hunted a Rainbow Bird which was a Mid-3rd-order magical bird. The bird was known for its strength and agility. But in front of a dragon, the bird was nothing. The dragon mother easily hunted the magical bird and bought it to feed her little dragon children.

"Look Mother is back."

Inside the big cave, two little dragons could be seen excitedly looking at their mother who just has returned.

"I am back." The mother dragon put the dead body of the rainbow magical bird on the ground. As soon as the body of the magical beast was put in front of the baby dragons, both baby dragons started eating the 5 meters big rainbow bird.

"How is it?" The mother dragon asked while looking at her babies with endless love in her eyes. For dragons, it was extremely hard for them to have children. It's a miracle that she managed to give birth to twin dragons.

Roar!!!!!

Suddenly hearing a loud, the mother and both of her children looked in the direction of the east.

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Chapter 130

Roar!

The roar of a divine dragon was so strong that it produced a shockwave destroying all the trees and instantly killing all the Mid 1st-order magical animals in an area of 100 meters. After the roar, Aditya kept standing in the air waiting for the wild dragons and the Wyverns and the magical animals with dragon bloodline to answer his call.

For the next 5 minutes, nothing major happened. This made Aditya doubt if his dragon roar worked or not. "I guess the roar did not do anything except scare off the magical animals. It looks like I will personally have to search for Wild Dragons and Wyverns."

Aditya was about to fly off but then he stopped as he heard some sounds. "What is that sound?"

Rustle!

Rumble!

The dragon Monarch did not have to wait long enough to find out the answer himself. As seconds passed, the soft rustling sounds got even stronger. The trees and ground began trembling. All the magical animals around 5000 meters began running away. It was as if the Silver Meadow grove itself was shaking.

Aditya then sensed the presence of some strong and powerful magical animals. From the west, a few giant figures were flying in Aditya's direction. From this distance Aditya can only see those giants' body outlines but if was not difficult for him to know that these giants looking birds were Wild dragons.

Roar!

From the north, A group of Wyvern that was being led by a dark blue Wyvern approached Aditya's direction. At the same time, from the forest, many Wyverns and Wild dragons jumped out and flew in front of the Dragon Monarch.

When Aditya let out the divine Dragon Roar, he also stopped suppressing his bloodline which he normally kept suppressing. When his Aura was unleashed and with the roar of the divine dragon, every magical animal started running in Aditya's direction regardless of how strong they were. To them this feeling was very difficult to express. But the call of Divine Dragon was considered as the call of Dragon God himself. Their bloodline itself screamed, their instinct told them to go in a certain direction to meet the Dragon monarch.

Around 5 minutes later, Aditya was still standing 300 meters above the ground. Except that unlike before, this time he was surrounded by hundreds of magical animals with dragon bloodline. Right now no magical animal dared to even approach 10 km around this area knowing that almost all of the strongest beings in the Silver Meadow grove were gathered here.

"Greetings to the Dragon King."

"Greetings to the Dragon Monarch."

"Greetings to the Divine Dragon."

"Greetings to the Crimson Dragon."

In the presence of Aditya, everyone felt their dragon bloodline boiling in excitement. The female Wyverns and the female Wild Dragons felt their bodies were getting especially hot. Female dragons by instinct seek out strong mates. In front of the Dragon King, they instinctively knew their King was their best mate. Having them able to bear his child would be a great blessing for them.

Dragons were completely different creatures from other intelligent races. Dragons respected and did not hesitate to worship the strongest one among them. While Aditya was only a beginner 3rd-order, because of his divine bloodline, every Dragon worshipped Aditya like their God and they would not even hesitate to kill themselves if the Dragon King orders them.

Aditya looked at all the dragons with a small smile on his face. There were hundreds of Wyverns, hundreds of Wild Dragons, half dragon goblins, and half dragon wolf pups.

'It seems these goblins have acquired dragon bloodline due to some special conditions. But what about this half-dragon wolf pup? I never knew that a wolf pup could possess dragon bloodline.' Aditya's knowledge of magical animals was lacking a lot. He only knew the basics.

With a glance, Aditya counted that there were around 399 magical animals. Among them, the number of the Wyverns was the highest. There were 249 Wyverns of different types, 93 wild dragons with different elemental powers while the rest was goblins who somehow managed to acquire dragon bloodline and the last one was a wolf pup with half dragon bloodline.

Aditya silently looked at the Wild Dragon before his eyes landed on a female dragon who was carrying two small child dragons on her back.

"What is your name?"

"Your Majesty, my name is Emma. I have managed to awaken the Earth Dragon bloodline. My twin dragon children also have managed to inherit my Earth dragon bloodline." The female dragon who has managed to awaken the Earth Dragon bloodline was around 25 meters in size. Her teethes were almost 2 meters long. She had large black eyes with vertical slits. Her whole body was covered in black and brown scales. The two small dragon twins on her back looked the same as her. Both twins were already 2 meters long and were Peak's 1st-order powerhouse.

'It seems awakening Earth dragon bloodline has increased her powers. Among all the beings here, she is the strongest one. Her powers are close to reaching 5th-order.' the Female Earth dragon was a Peak 4th-order powerhouse. Because the female dragon had to lay her eggs and look after her babies, she could not focus on her cultivation. Aditya estimates that even without cultivating in a few years she will break through the 5th order.

While if she does start cultivating, in a few months she will become a 5th-order powerhouse. 'But if she uses the pills made by Julia, she can achieve the same results in a few weeks.'

Seeing that everyone was staring at Aditya, he decided to state his purpose for summoning them.

Cough!

"Everyone, I apologize for suddenly calling you all here." Hearing the Dragon Monarch apologizing, all the Wyverns, Wild dragons, and goblins all looked at each other in astonishment. No one would have minded if Aditya had not apologized. But his few words won the hearts of almost everyone.

"I am sure some of you already know that there is a Kingdom that lies near the Silver meadow grove." Some Wild Dragons and Wyverns nodded their heads as they knew about this. Every 10 to 25 years, one or two Wyverns would go out of the Silver Meadow grove to know about the changes happening outside.

"In case you don't know, there is a kingdom located next to the Silver Meadow grove. The Kingdom's name is the Istarin Kingdom and I am the King of the Istarin Kingdom. I will not waste any more of your time. Today I have come here with a proposal. I want some Wild Dragons and some Wyverns to come and protect the Istarin Kingdom."

Aditya looked around and added before anyone could say anything. "Before you guys reply let me add this, I am not ordering you. But know this, if you choose to follow me, I promise you that I will take you to the Peak. We will stand at the top of this world. No, maybe at the top of this universe. As the Dragon Monarch, I have this power and ability." With the system, Aditya can grow endlessly. He was confident that he and his subordinates can stand at the very top.

Everyone here would have agreed to work for Aditya. As he had the most superior dragon bloodline, every dragon or dragonkin considered Aditya as their god. And every dragon respected and obey their dragon Gods. To them, being able to serve the Dragon Monarch is itself a great honor.

Just as Aditya finished his words, everyone shouted. "We agree to follow the Dragon King and follow the Dragon king for life." Even Aditya himself was not expecting these words. He was expecting some of the dragons or Wyverns to back out and continue staying here.

'Well suddenly bringing all the Wild Dragons and this many Wyverns in the Istarin Kingdom will cause a big commotion that will spread all over the continent. Also, this will also alert my enemies not that care if they knew about this. But I want to surprise them.' After thinking for a while, Aditya finally decided to take 33 Wild dragons and Wyverns. Among them, 15 of them were Wyverns while the other 18 were wild dragons.

All the Wild Dragons and the Wyverns that Aditya choose were either Peak 3rd-order or 4th-order powerhouse. "Others all can remain in living here for a little longer. Now except the ones I have chosen, others all can go back but remember that you guys are forbidden from fighting among each other."

The remaining dragons, Wyverns, and goblins nodded before going back.

The ones who remained were Emma and her twin dragon children, the half-wolf pup, the wild dragons, and the Wyverns.

After everyone left, Aditya kept on staring at the half-wolf pup. The cute white wolf cutely blinked its eyes at Aditya. The wolf pup was only around a month old and was very weak. It's already a miracle that other magical animals have not attacked it and killed this baby pup.

Aditya landed in front of the baby pup. Aditya can tell it was a female wolf pup. The pup's whole body was silver-white while its eyes resembled the eyes of a dragon.

"Come here." Aditya is not sure if the baby wolf can understand his words. But after cutely tilting his head, the pup walked up to Aditya. Aditya gently patted the pup's head before carrying it in his arms.

"Let's go."

Woof!

As if understanding what Aditya had said, the baby wolf barked in excitement. The pup was excited to fly first time in her life.

Aditya flew above the clouds while covering the baby pup's entire body with a mana shield as he knew that the pup's weak body cannot handle the strong wind pressure. The pup remained calm while excitedly looking around. Aditya and his fellow Wild Dragons and Wyverns flew in the direction of Azure city.

"What should I do with the half-dragon goblins?" After killing millions of goblins, Aditya kind of had developed some sort of negative view toward the entire goblin race. This is why Aditya did not buy the half-dragon goblins as he was afraid that the goblins would fall for their lust and try to force themselves on some females.

"Jack, can you please stop skipping work? Man, this is the ninth time I am covering for you. If the higher-ups were to know about this, they would immediately fire you."

"Sorry brother. I just got married so you know it's kind of hard to leave my wife home alone." The soldier replied with a satisfied smile.

The 1st soldier rolled his eyes at the second soldier who had just returned from home. "I wish I could also get married. But I cannot as I have to pay my family's debts before I get married. Before I start a family, I want to finish paying all of my debts and then live a happy life in this Kingdom."

"Just how much debt you have left anyway?"

"I already have paid 1/5th of my family's total debt by working extra hours. I was able to save a lot of money when the food prices went down and also the benefits that we get as soldiers."

"Yeah. I heard the soldiers from neighboring Kingdoms don't get that many benefits. Even their monthly salaries are lower than ours."

"Not one can become as great as His Majesty. Not only he passed a law to give a 10% discount to all the soldiers and their families, but he also increased our salaries which previously was 1 gold coin. Now our salaries are 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins."

The second soldier leaned against the wall and looked at the clear blue sky. "I can't believe how many the Istarin Kingdom has changed. I guess surrendering to the Istarin Kingdom was the best choice. His Majesty turned all the war prisoners into soldiers of the Istarin Kingdom. Aside from getting a 10 percent discount, we also get monthly grains, free health care, and also a pension of 100 royal gold coins after a service of 15 years."

"Under his Majesty, everyone is happy. When we worked as soldiers of the Zulux Dynasty, the job of being soldiers felt more like a duty. We were only doing it because we had no other option of earning monthly income but ever since I became a part of the Istarin Kingdom, I have had this deep desire to protect this Kingdom. I am sure that even if I end up dead, his Majesty will take care of my family and make sure that my family never starves."

Just like any other day the soldiers were busy guarding the city walls. Right now everyone was relaxing, talking to each other and some even played games as they knew no one would be bold enough to attack the capital of the Istarin Kingdom in broad day light. No one in the city had expected this even in their wildest dreams.

Suddenly a giant shadow blocked the sunlight. This made one of the soldiers glance up. When he looked up, his face turned deadly pale as his entire body trembled.

"Everyone, we're under attack."

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Chapter 131

"So basically, Your Majesty went to the Silver Meadow Grove and captured these wild Dragons and Wyverns?" Aditya nodded in response. After nodding his head, he glanced around once again only to see everyone's shocked faces.

A few minutes ago, when Aditya suddenly returned with 33 Wild dragons and Wyverns, the whole Azure city was in an uproar. No one knew what was happening. Many thought that Azure city was being attacked. The soldiers who were guarding the walls prepared for the battle after blowing the war trumpet.

All of his generals, all the dragonians who were in the city, and even some of the adventurers came out to fight. By the time Aditya realized that the sudden appearance of 33 Wild dragons and Wyverns has alerted everyone, the whole city was in a state of turmoil. Aditya had to come out and explain everything to Watson and others.

"Your Majesty, What are you planning on doing with all these Wild Dragons and Wyverns?" Watson asked in a low tone. He did not want anyone to hear their conversation.

Aditya mysteriously smiled before he started walking towards the eastern entrance. "I will tell you later."

Watson nodded before ordering everyone to go back to their posts. As for the wild dragons and the Wyverns, their Dragon Monarch had ordered them to stay outside the city for now and not attack anyone unless they were provoked.

Who knows some dumb adventurer might try to attack one of the Wyverns as Wyvern's body parts had high value in the market.

"Your Majesty, you're saying that we are surrounded by enemies." Aditya did not tell Watson anything about his dream of the future nightmare. Watson being the smart butler, easily was able to pick on the clues that Aditya left in his words. He did not have to explain things too deeply.

"Pretty much. Everything is ready. The death of the current Nyland king will give this war the final push it needs. But this time, I am not interested in engaging these pathetic beings in a war. I will take matters into my own hands. But before that, I will have to ensure the safety of my Kingdom. Also, one more thing, increase the security around the High Tide Harbor City."

"Keep on sending scouts. If they find any strange movement from the sea, let me know as soon as possible." Watson simply nodded his head.

"By the way,...." Aditya walked back into the royal palace and sat down on the couch in the living room. While Watson naturally began pouring his King a cup of tea.

"I thought you have taken a few days off." Watson smiled as he elegantly poured the hot tea into the cup.

"Your Majesty, It was lady Julia who asked me to return with the pills that she had made. These pills can heal the mana hearts of all the new slaves that his Highness has bought a while ago. I was planning on returning after giving these pills to you but I could not find you anywhere in the royal palace. When I asked the maids and the servants if they knew where his Highness was, no one could reply. I was so worried."

After knowing about the threat that was surrounding the Istarin kingdom from three sides, Watson had discarded the plan of taking a few days off. To him, his Majesty and the Istarin Kingdom came first.

"How are Julia and others?" Even though it only has been a few days since Aditya left, he felt as if a long time passed.

"Everyone is doing fine. Little Zak even pleaded to Lord Adam to come here with me, but Lord Adam refused to let him go." Aditya chuckled remembering the little Zak.

"Your Majesty, can you please tell me what you were planning on doing with the Wild Dragon and Wyverns?" Watson was Aditya's right hand. Aditya had no problem telling his right-hand man his future plans.

"The Istarin Kingdom currently has 11 major cities adding the newest High Tide Harbor City. The Zraka city already has 4 Wyverns One of the Wyverns happens to be a beginner 4th-order powerhouse." The Wyverns that previously swore their allegiance to Aditya were now protecting the Zraka city and were working under Duke Zayne. The 3rd-order Wyvern had now managed to reach beginner 4th-order with the high-level resources and pills that Aditya had given to the Wyverns.

"The Zraka city already has a high defense with 4 Wyverns protecting it. As for the other 10 cities, I am going to use the Wild Dragons and the Wyverns to enhance those cities' defense." These 11 cities were the main bone structure of the Istarin Kingdom. he safety of those cities was a great concern to Aditya. He cannot always be there to protect his Kingdom, so his dragons are going to protect the city in his absence.

"Your Highness, I can sense dragon bloodline in this baby pup." Watson noticed that Aditya was been carrying this little white wolf pup in his arms ever since he returned.

"Yes, this baby wolf pup will be staying in the royal palace. I felt it would be dangerous to leave this little fellow outside in the wild. I am sure once this little fellow grows up, she will become a strong mighty wolf of the Istarin Kingdom."

Whoof!

As if understanding what Aditya was saying, the wolf pup barked in excitement.

"It looks like this she is very intelligent." Watson was surprised when he found that this little wolf was intelligent enough to comprehend their words. Normally only a Peak 2nd-order magical animal has the intelligence of an adult human.

"Watson, can you please go to the Seeker of impurity guild and ask the guild leader to come and see me for a meeting?"

"Alright." Watson then left the room while Aditya silently sipped the tea. When he was done with the whole cup of tea, he went to the training grounds and called Henry and other generals.

"How can I help you, Your Majesty?" Right now Henry, Aditya, Amber, and other generals were overseeing the training of 7th division soldiers.

"I want you all to select the most loyal ones from your divisions. Before you select anyone, ask them if they are ready to gain this power and if they can handle the responsibility that comes with this great power."

"Understood."

"You all may now leave." Previously Aditya only wanted to give this opportunity to the most loyal soldiers. He had no plans of giving his golden blood to any of his recruits. but after his nightmare, he again realized that his Kingdom was relying too much on him and that without him, anyone can defeat his Kingdom. Although in a few more months, the power of the Istarin Kingdom will grow several folds, it was not enough.

In a month and a half time, Aditya was going to leave this continent with the Goddess of wealth who is also the guild leader of the seeker of Impurity. At that time, he won't be there to protect his Kingdom. If he does not plant the seeds right now, then the safety of this Kingdom will be threatened. The decision to give create more dragonians was made to nurture more strong cultivators. No dragonians can betray Aditya. Meaning that he won't have to worry about getting backstabbed either.

Scene change_____

An extremely handsome-looking man emerged from the seawater. The man was so handsome every female who saw him instantly froze as their hearts began beating wildly. The women felt as if they were falling in love with their men. Some women even began blushing and panting just from looking at this man.

The man had a gentle smile on his face. Even though he had just risen from the seawater, his body wasn't wet at all. In fact, pale white skin was dry.

As the man walked toward the land, hundreds of soldiers stood opposite facing each other, forming a path for the man to walk. At the end of the path, the King of the Nepoca Kingdom was standing with a smile on his face.

As the man from the sea stepped on the Nepoca Kingdom land, all the soldiers bowed their heads. They did not rise their heads till the man had passed past them. At this moment no one dared to make any noise. Even the male soldiers felt this man was too beautiful.

"Welcome to the Nepoca Kingdom, Your Majesty." The Nepoca Kingdom King, Ethan gave a small bow to greet the king of the Deep Sea palace. King Lewis returned the greeting with a small bow.

"Sir Lewis, please come this way." King Ethan personally lead the Lewis of Deep Sea palace to the luxurious royal carriage.

After getting inside the royal carriage, King Ethan ordered his maid to bring the best wine in his kingdom.

"Sir Ethan, I am sure you pretty much know the reason for my sudden visit." Ethan nodded his head with a smile.

"We, too have been bothered by the Istarin Kingdom. Our meeting will mark the alliance between two of our factions." Lewis also nodded his head with a gentle smile but deep down he was having different thoughts.

'Foolish, greedy King I never said that I was going to become your alley. I am only joining your hands to gain my footing on the land. Once I deal with the Istarin Kingdom, it won't be long before I snatch your Kingdom as well.' No one knew what lay behind that gentle smile on his face.

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Chapter 132

This chapter is dedicated to the readers who have sent gifts to this novel.

'Foolish, greedy King I never said that I was going to become your alley. I am only joining your hands to gain my footing on the land. Once I deal with the Istarin Kingdom, it won't be long before I snatch your Kingdom as well.' No one knew what lay behind that gentle smile on his face.

"King Ethan, have you ever thought of taking over the Nyland Kingdom?" These words from King Lewis froze the smile that King Ethan had on his face. King Ethan stopped smiling while trying to find what Lewis was thinking.

"I will be straight. The reason I want to form an alliance with you is that I want the Istarin Kingdom. I want my revenge from the Istarin Kingdom for killing my men. I want to bring justice to my people. Of course, I plan to return you the territories that the Istarin kingdom has forcefully taken from you." Lewis stopped speaking and looked outside the carriage. Lewis added the last part to keep King Ethan satisfied and also listen to what he was going to say next.

"As you have said, if that idiot becomes the successor of the Nyland Kingdom, it won't be very difficult for us to take over the Nyland Kingdom."

King Ethan looked at Lewis in shock. "Your majesty, no offense, but a 4th-order is protecting the Nyland Kingdom." Ethan tried to remind Lewis that he cannot against a 4th-order.

Lewis smiled and took a sip of red wine that was served by the maid after they entered the carriage. "King Ethan, I think you're underestimating the power of deep Sea Palace. Since I will be taking the Istarin Kingdom, I will compensate you by helping you take over the Nyland Kingdom. That idiot Arthur cannot defend the throne when I personally kill the 4th-order powerhouse that is protecting their Kingdom."

"King Lewis.....?" King Ethan might be greedy and angry, but he wasn't stupid. He could not understand why the deep Sea palace wanted to allow the Nepoca Kingdom to take over the Nyland Kingdom. Doing that will surround the Istarin Kingdom which will become a territory of the Deep Sea palace from two sides by the Nepoca Kingdom. Ethan was sure that no King would want that to happen.

Lewis smiled as if he understood what King Ethan was thinking. "If Sir Ethan is worried that I am going to attack your Kingdom, then his Majesty is being worried for no reason. We the mermaid race of the Deep sea palace will never betray our friends. My interest only lies in the Istarin Kingdom and the Silver Meadow Grove. If I wanted the Nepoca Kingdom, then I would have attacked your Kingdom a long time ago."

King Ethan realized what King Lewis just said right now was true. If King Lewis himself is strong enough to kill a 4th-order powerhouse, then just how powerful the Deep Sea palace will be? Just king Lewis himself could have taken over the entire Nepoca Kingdom but he did not do it.

The way King Ethan looked at Lewis changed. King Lewis also felt the change and inwardly chuckled knowing that his plan had worked.

"I can only thank His Highness."

'Hmph! As long as I have the backing of those people, even you can't do anything to me.' Both Kings had different plans and thoughts in their minds. One thing was sure from this upcoming war, the hidden party is going to benefit the most.

While King Ethan of the Nepoca Kingdom and the King Lewis of Deep Sea Palace was having a meeting that would benefit both of them in this war, The dragon King was going to do something that was going to shake the whole Eastern region of the continent.

"The Paladin Dynasty."

Right now the Dragon Monarch was 1000 meters above the capital city of the Paladin Dynasty. The Paladin Dynasty was one of the 13 kingdoms that had planned to attack the Istarin Kingdom. The Paladin Kingdom was located north of the Thera Kingdom.

"The name Paladin came when 12 Paladins joined together to form this Dynasty. It is said that the Paladin of this Dynasty was way stronger than regular soldiers. The only thing that this Dynasty lacked was the money to train more paladins. Currently, the Dynasty had over 1000 Paladins. Each paladin was a Peak 1st-order cultivator.

"Today I am here to drown this Dynasty in blood." In the Nightmare that Aditya had seen, he remembered the faces of every King that stood behind King Ethan. Each time he thought of sparing the innocent and the civilians, the images of countless dead bodies from his nightmare flashed before his eyes.

Storm Manipulation!!!!

"Today the weather is perfect. Why don't we go out drinking tonight?"

"Sure I don't mind going with you as long as you're paying."

"Why? You have no money."

"You already should know the answer man. We barely get enough money to feed our families. Unlike you, my entire family is dependent on my earnings. Each month, all of my salaries are sent to my family. Sometimes I wish, I could become the of the Istarin or the Nyland Kingdom. I heard that the soldiers from both Kingdoms get high salaries each month along with benefits."

"I feel your pain. Compared to those big Kingdoms, our Kingdom is still underdeveloped in many ways. Becoming a soldier is probably the easiest and most popular job for men. if only the King changed his policies, then I would have started my own business instead of becoming a soldier."

"What would never happen? Do you even have any idea how much money the King receives each year from the corrupt nobles? The King knows that his nobles are doing illegal businesses but he does not care as long as a percentage of the money is coming to his pocket."

Life in the Paladin Dynasty was very hard. The same thing could be said happening in other surrounding Kingdoms and Dynasties. These small Kingdoms constantly waged war against each other mainly to keep the population in check so that these kingdoms never run out of food supplies and never had to buy food from other Kingdoms. The Paladin Dynasty's King was just like the other Kings who now had joined to attack the Istarin Kingdom in hope of getting a piece of that large chunk of wealth that the Istarin Kingdom has.

The territories of these small kingdoms regularly keep on changing. Today the Paladin Kingdom extends its borders. A week later, it wouldn't be surprising if the Paladin Kingdom loses its territories. This part of the region was always at war. As a result these 13 Kingdoms never got the chance or the money to develop their kingdoms.

Some of the Kings did want to develop their territories knowing the benefits of having an advanced Kingdom. Even if one King did not want a war, the neighboring Kingdoms would not stop attacking them. This kept the flames of war going for many decades.

It wouldn't be wrong to call these 13 Kingdoms chaotic lands. The land of war. Because of the never-ending looking wars and conflicts between these small kingdoms, the 13 kingdoms became a place where criminals from big Kingdoms like the Istarin or the Nyland, or the Nepoca Kingdom fled. Even some of the Kings supported the criminal activities for their personal gain.

Today was just like every other day. The people of the Paladin Dynasty were working hard. It had become mandatory for normal people to also pay a small number of their earnings if they wanted to survive. The people that refused to pay money to the gangs were captured and sold off as slaves.

"Hey! You should look at the sky. It seems a storm is going to come." The sky of the Paladin Dynasty started getting covered with black clouds containing red lightning. Strong winds from the east were blowing over the Dynasty.

At this moment no one had any idea that their Paladin Dynasty was under attack. In a few minutes, the dark clouds containing red lightning took over the sky. The sunlight was blocked. The blue azure sky disappeared. Now the entire sky was filled with red lightning and dark clouds. Strong eastern winds from the sea were making things even worse.

"Your Majesty" One of the personal and most trusted butlers of the Paladin Dynasty king opened the door to the King's bedroom without the King's permission.

Bang!

"Kairo, why are you bothering me during my private times? You better have a good reason for coming in otherwise today I am going to personally kill you." The butler looked at the naked woman who was covering herself with a white blanket. The butler bowed his head to the King.

"I apologize for interrupting you but your Majesty you must see this." Seeing this butler this serious, the King felt something was wrong.

The fat king who was only wearing pink shorts walked to the balcony with his butler. "I don't see anything wrong here." The King looked here and there and found nothing was wrong. His Kingdom was standing, the people were working, his money was coming, and not only that he was having his best time with his general's wife. Nothing was wrong.

"Your Majesty, please look up." The butler's face already had turned pale as if he had seen the God of death. His entire body was trembling. It was taking his all to just say these words.

"Do you think there is a dragon in the sky?" The king mocked his butler seeing him looking so shaken up.

When the king raised his head to look up, his fat legs become weak. He felt as if his entire body had lost the strength to keep standing.

"What...when did we offend the Gods?" If not his butler had supported his back, the fat king would have fallen down. Right now both he and his butler was looking at the sky with a terrified look.

"I think the Gods are punishing us." The butler replied.

Both refused to even think of the possibility of someone controlling what they were seeing. This has to be the wrath of heaven. To their logic, even the strongest cultivator in the world cannot do something like this.

At this moment it was not just the King, the soldiers, the proud paladins, slaves, maids, servants, nobles, criminals, thugs, gangsters, ordinary peoples, merchants, adventurers....no where who it was they all looked pale and completely frightened.

The Dragon Monarch stood 1000 meters above the sky. As the dragon Monarch raised his right hand to command his attack to descend and destroy.

"Feel Pain."

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Chapter 133

Huge bolts of red lightning started joining together. At this moment hundred thousand had set their eyes on the sky. The people were trembling, praying to every god they could think of, running in every direction just to escape from this calamity. The situation was so worse that the soldiers, the guards, and even the criminal that previously said that they were going to offer their protection to the people were running away.

From the sky, the Dragon King could see ant size beings running here and there. Behind him, a thousand bolts of red lightning had started taking the shape of a dragon. The dragon's body looked like the body of a snake. The red lightning constantly created cracking sounds which were heard even in the neighboring Kingdoms.

The strong gust of air that blew from the east and the black clouds that had covered the sky of the Paladin Dynasty made the people think if the day of judgment had arrived. No matter where they run or how much they run no one was able to escape from the wrath of the heavens. No matter where they hide, even the most safest place in the capital felt unsafe.

The magical beast that was used for domestic purposes seems to have gone crazy. They shook their bodies. They desperately jumped here and there, trying to tear the rope that tied them and escape. The mighty and proud Paladin army that had the second most power after the King himself, was looking pale and weak in front of the wrath of heaven.

A few seconds later, a humongous size dragon was standing behind the Dragon Monarch. The dragon's entire body was made from crimson lightning that directly came from heaven itself. The dragon did not have wings rather it had the body of a snake. The crimson lightning dragon excitedly moved its giant and long tail as if showing everyone that it was alive.

[ From this day onward, there will be no more of the Paladin Dynasty. ] Everyone in the entire Paladin Dynasty clearly heard these words that seemingly have come from heaven.

[ This is the Wrath of the Dragon Monarch. ]

Go!

"Its' coming."

We're dead for sure."

The last thing that the people of the Paladin Dynasty capital saw was a crimson bright flash of light that blinded their sight for a second. In the next second, something hit them which had shaken the entire Eastern region of the continent.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooom!

The neighboring Kingdoms that shared borders with the Paladin Dynasty were the Iverian Dynasty, Driral Kingdom, the Thera Kingdom, and the Cura Dynasty, all four Kingdoms' people were able to hear the loud explosion. Iverian Dynasty, Driral Kingdom, Thera Kingdom, and the Cura Dynasty, the four kingdoms' land started shaking as if a great earthquake has come.

In a few seconds, the explosion reached the ears of millions of beings that lived in these four small kingdoms.

Meanwhile, the condition of the Paladin Dynasty was completely at the hand of nature. When the 1000 meters long giant crimson lightning dragon struck the capital city of the Paladin Dynasty, a loud thunderous explosion took place. Following the explosion, a huge mushroom cloud of smoke and dust rose in the air. The mushroom cloud was so big that even people from other Kingdoms were able to see it clearly.

The shockwave from the attack itself killed more than ten thousand. All the small villages and towns that were built within a 15 km radius of the capital were instantly destroyed by the shockwave.

�Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Paladin. Your experience points have been saved.?

�Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Paladin. Your experience points have been saved.?

�Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 2nd-order Paladin. Your experience points have been saved.?

�Ding! You have killed a Peak phase 2nd-order Paladin. Your experience points have been saved.?

�Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Paladin. Your experience points have been saved.?

�Ding!...?

Aditya simply ignored the constant messages from the system. He stood 1000 meters above the sky and coldly looked at the deep crater which used to be a big bustling city a few minutes ago. There wasn't any emotion on his face. The dragon Monarch killed the people as if he was crushing insects.

"There is no mercy in war. You did the same thing to my people. I just repaid the favor." Aditya was never a hero from the beginning. Being a politician, his hands were already dirty from the beginning even though he always tried to not involve the innocent. He was never trying to become the Hero. He was a selfish person who put his interest and his kingdom above all.

Before breaking through beginner 3rd-order and obtaining the divine bloodline, Aditya simply had no interest in attacking one of the 13 small kingdoms that lay beyond the Thera Kingdom. Aditya also wouldn't have touched the Nepoca Kingdom as he had given King Ethan his promise that he won't take any initiative to start a war against his Kingdom.

"I said I wasn't going to take the initiative. Knowing your character, I knew back then that you were going to start a war. This is the end of the Paladin Dynasty. 12....actually 15 more to go." Aditya included the Nyland, the Nepoca, and the Deep Sea Palace, all three forces in his hit list.

Scene change___

"Where is he? I can't believe he is making me wait 2 hours now."

"Milady, please calm down. I apologize on behalf of his Majesty. I think his Majesty must have a good reason to suddenly leave the royal palace without informing anyone." Watson tried his best to calm Alicia.

At this moment the Goddess of wealth did not look happy at all. The reason for her unhappiness was obviously because of her husband in name, the man who changed the entire Istarin Kingdom.

"Watson, do you even know just how valuable my time is? Kings will have to wait days just to get the opportunity to meet me. My time is extremely valuable." As the Goddess of wealth, Alicia valued every single second. Just to meet her for a few minutes, even 5th-tier faction leaders would have to wait for days. Yet this man named Aditya had made her wait for more than 2 hours.

Alicia was furious about it. She has never waited for anyone this long. If any of her business partners had dared to make her wait this long, she would simply cancel their deals and would never work with that party again. To Alicia, time is wealth.

"Milady, I once again deeply apologize. Please wait a little longer, I am sure his Majesty should return soon."

Alicia rolled her eyes at Watson. "You have been saying the same lines to me for the last 2 hours." Alicia clearly was dissatisfied. Even if the person that she was supposed to meet happened to be her husband in name, Alicia simply wasn't willing to waste that much time.

'What should I do?' Watson wiped the sweat on his forehead. Right now Alicia had tensed Watson so much that even a 3rd-order like him was sweating nervously.

"I am back." Hearing the familiar voice, Watson suddenly felt as if the weight on his shoulders have been lifted. He relaxed as he smiled looking at Alicia. His master was in charge of handling the goddess's anger. His duty here was done.

Watson silently without making even a little bit of noise left the living room while Aditya just entered the room.

"Mr. Aditya, you got some nerves making the leader of the Seeker of Impurity wait for 2 long hours." Looking at her cold smile, Aditya knew that he was screwed. Aditya had completely forgotten about the meeting and had left to take care of the Paladin Dynasty.

However, as a former politician, the Dragon King knew how to handle this kind of situation. He looked calm. He normally sat on the opposite couch while giving Alicia a gentle smile. "I apologize for making you wait."

"I wonder what sort of excuse you're going to give me for being late." Alicia knew that this man won't tell her where he had gone.

Aditya picked up the teacup after pouring himself a cup of tea. "My goddess, I had gone to Silver Meadow Grove to the miraculous heart-shaped herb that will make your heart only mine."

Ptff!!!

"Hahaha! Now that was actually a nice joke." The goddess could not stop herself from laughing. Without her even realizing it, the anger that she previously held against Aditya had vanished from her heart.

"What? I am being serious. I really went to find the Miraculous heart-shaped herb for my wife." This time Alicia froze. She stopped smiling and seriously looked at Aditya.

"I am not your wife," Alicia replied back in a cold and in a threatening tone.

Seeing the Goddess of wealth this serious, Aditya felt like rolling his eyes. He obviously was joking with her. "Guild leader, I never call you my wife. Besides, who would want someone like you as a wife? Don't misunderstand me, you really lack the feminine touch that a girl needs to have to attract men. My Julia is a hundred times better looking than you."

"You...you....." Aditya suddenly felt that he had said too much seeing the Goddess trembling while trying to hold her anger.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 134

"I am not your wife," Alicia replied back in a cold and in a threatening tone.

Seeing the Goddess of wealth this serious, Aditya felt like rolling his eyes. He obviously was joking with her. "Guild leader, I never call you my wife. Besides, who would want someone like you as a wife? Don't misunderstand me, you really lack the feminine touch that a girl needs to have to attract men. My Julia is a hundred times better looking than you."

"You...you....." Aditya suddenly felt that he had said too much seeing the Goddess trembling while trying to hold her anger.

"Guild Leader, please calm down. Getting angry is not good for a girl's health. I heard that those who easily get angry, develop wrinkles on their faces at an early age." Alicia took a deep breath to calm herself. She was the most beautiful woman on the continent of Westnia. The Goddess of wealth's beauty isn't anything less than Julia's. Both girls were exceptionally beautiful.

Alicia knew that Aditya was only joking with her. But for some reason when he indirectly called her ugly, she could not stop herself from getting angry.

"Your Majesty, I am sure you must have a reason for asking me to come today." In other words, the Goddess of wealth was holding a grudge against the Dragon King. He understood that given how formally she was addressing him. Alicia was also indirectly telling him to not waste any more time and tell her what he wants.

But Aditya did not reply immediately. He sipped some tea while looking at Alicia with a small smile. Never did he think that his joking would anger the seemingly perfect-looking goddess Alicia this much. At first, when Aditya met her, he felt Alicia was someone who had complete control over her emotion given the way she controlled her emotions and kept herself calm and collected all the time.

This meeting was their third meeting. Aditya realized that his second wife in the name is not just a cold workaholic president. Alicia had other emotions that she did not show to others. For example, the guild leader getting angry is a very rare thing.

"Miss Alicia, why don't you try this tea? I am sure you will love it." Alicia felt like leaving hearing his question. While waiting for 2 hours, she had more than 5 cups of tea. Now this man dared to ask her to drink more tea.

"Your Highness, I would really appreciate it if you just tell me what you want. I have other works to do." Alicia's tone was impatient. She wanted to go back. Wasting 2 hours was already too much for her. She did not wish to waste more time.

"Since the guild leader is in hurry then I won't waste your time any longer," Aditya said as he put the teacup on the table.

'Finally.....' Alicia sighed in relief.

"I want 11 Satyr Horn, one hundred top-grade mana stones, 11 liters of unicorn's fresh blood." Hearing the name of the things that the King wanted, Alicia couldn't help but raise her eyebrow in surprise.

"Your Majesty, are you perhaps planning on building city defensive barriers?" Alicia knew that these items were used to build city defensive barriers and to make teleportation arrays.

Aditya noticed that Alicia now had regained her former calmness. "Yes. I am planning on building defensive barriers and also teleportation arrays." Aditya did not hide this from Alicia. He was planning on upgrading the Istarin Kingdom with defensive barriers. Using teleportation arrays to connect all the cities of the Istarin Kingdom.

"Can I ask a personal question?"

"Go ahead."

"Who is going to make defensive barriers and teleportation arrays?" Alicia had heard from Julia that Aditya was good at runes. But his rune skills weren't good enough to draw 3-star rune spells.

"What if I said I am going to build defensive barriers and teleportation arrays?" This time the goddess could not remain calm.

"But I heard you were a 2-star runemaster around a month ago." Alicia knew that even the genius runemaster would take an entire year to reach a 3-star rank. But here this man was claiming that he can make 3-star rune spells.

"Believe it or not. I am not lying." Aditya did not explain anything in detail. Whether she believes in his words or not, Aditya does not care.

"Alright, but getting those materials will take some time."

Aditya did not reply. He stared at the goddess with a smile. As seconds passed in silence, his stare was starting to make the goddess uncomfortable.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Miss Alicia, your guild is spread almost every corner of the continent. I am sure your guild has personal teleportation arrays that allow you and your guild members to move around. Getting those materials should be the easiest thing for you." Aditya suspected that the Seeker of Impurity had private teleportation arrays when he heard that Alicia managed to get the heart of the Peak 6th-order Lightning forest deer within a day.

"You knew?" Alicia asked in a surprised tone.

"I was 80% sure of it. But now I am 100% sure."

"Alright. But using the teleportation array to get these materials will going to cost more."

"I don't mind. Right now I am not lacking in money. I want all the materials before tomorrow afternoon."

"Hmm. It will be a little difficult to complete the task in a such short time but I will do it. But know this I am not giving you any discount just because we know each other. Business is business." Aditya nodded his head. Right now he had millions in his pocket. The safety of his Kingdom mattered more than money. Rather than saving his money, he would invest it to make his kingdom even stronger.

"Alright. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Alicia was about to leave but then Aditya's words stopped her.

"Goddess, since I have promised you to help you. Why don't you help me a little?" The Goddess instantly understood what he wanted.

"If you're looking for information about other kingdoms, then I have to apologize. The Seeker of Impurity does not work for any Kingdom." Aditya was not the first king to ask her for something like this. Many other kings and nobles also have tried to gain the support of the guild but all have failed. Julia's purpose was to do business not get involved in politics.

"Goddess, why don't you help me this time? I will help you out in the future when you need my help. I only need you to keep an eye on the Nyland Kingdom. I want you to inform me of the changes taking place within that Kingdom." Aditya was not surprised when Alicia rejected his offer without even wanting to listen to his words. But he still wanted to give it a try.

"Aditya, can you please stop addressing me using goddess?"

"Alright. I want to know your answer."

For the next five minutes, the goddess fell into deep silence. After thinking for a while, the goddess shook her head. "Aditya, I mean no disrespect but neither I nor the seeker of impurity guild will get involved in any politics. My intention is to do business."

"What if I tell you that some secret forces are targeting me and my kingdom? What if I tell you that as soon as the Nyland King dies, 15 kingdoms are going to attack the Istarin Kingdom?" Alicia widened her eyes hearing Aditya's words.

The next day, the news of what that has happened to the Paladin dynasty spread in every direction. All the kings were frightened by what had happened to the Paladin dynasty. It was found that one 1/3 of the total paladin dynasty was destroyed and turned into a gigantic crater. Some people claimed that more than half a million of people have been killed.

No one knew anything about the culprit. The only thing that everyone knew was the crimson lightning that descended from heaven in the form of a dragon.

The news was so shocking that King Ethan, King Lewis, and other kings who secretly had formed an alliance had to call for an urgent meeting. No one suspected Aditya to do this as everyone knew that the Istarin King did not have crimson lightning power.

One other thing that made King Ethan and King Lewis call for the urgent meeting was the fact that King Aditya had bought 33 powerful wild dragons and Wyverns. According to the news, more than half of the Wild dragons and the Wyverns were beginner 4th-order. This news worried everyone except for the Deep Sea Palace king.

The Nyland king also got the news. He sent a letter to Aditya to explain about these Wild Dragons and Wyverns. Aditya of coursed lied. He came up with a lame excuse. Even if the Nyland King knew that Aditya was lying, they had no choice but to accept it as the current Istarin Kingdom had surpassed them in military power.

Meanwhile, Aditya got busy in making defensive barriers and teleportation arrays in all of his 11 cities. It took him a total of 15 days to complete the whole project. On the 15th day, Aditya got some unfortunate news from the Nyland Kingdom.

Honestly, the news did not surprise him. The Nyland king who has ruled the Nyland Kingdom and protected it for many decades has passed away. Just like Aditya had seen in his nightmare, it seems Nyland king's son prince Arthur managed to become the next King.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 135

Nyland Kingdom___

"Now I shall officially place the Nyland Kingdom crown on King Arthur's head." Sitting on the throne which previously belonged to his father, the throne which previously had many owners in the past was now owned by Arthur Berry, prince, and son of Mark Vega, the deceased Nyland King.

Sitting on the golden throne, Prince Arthur, the handsome man looked at the others with a small smile on his face. Right now his dream of becoming the King was going to be fulfilled. He had become the official king of the Nyland Kingdom. And with that, no one was going to stop him anymore.

'I already have asked them to take care of my other brothers. While I sit on the throne of Nyland King and get the crown of the King, my brothers are dying in the hands of those people.' Now one knew what was going on in King Arthur's head. No one had expected King Arthur to become the next king. Even if the people knew what King Arthur did to become the king, they can't do anything to him now.

'Though I kind of regret it, for my bright future, I had to kill my father.' Prince Arthur had poisoned his father to death. It was a strong type of poison bought from the main continent. The poison could even kill a Peak 5th-order. To make people believe that his father had a natural death, Arthur asked those people to place some powerful curses on his father.

If he had not placed those curses on the former Nyland King, the old man could have easily gone on to live for another 100 years. But Arthur simply did not want to wait that long. He got the opportunity. The death of his father not only gave him the throne but also removed the alliance that the Nyland Kingdom had with the Istarin Kingdom. With the death of the Nyland King, everyone is going to target the Istarin Kingdom.

'When the Nepoca and other allied kingdoms will attack the Istarin Kingdom, I will also send my troops from the west. I bet King Aditya wasn't going to expect this betrayal from the Nyland Kingdom.' Inwardly Arthur could only imagine the look on King Aditya's face when he learns that the Nyland Kingdom has betrayed them.

'I will also ask my men to get rid of the nobles that were previously supported by brothers. I cannot let those snakes live like that. I will kill them and their family.' Arthur previously had asked those nobles to switch sides and work for him but they refused and kept on supporting his brothers.

Arthur watched as the prime minister walked the stairs with the golden crown with a smile. This was his dream. How many times he had imagined himself getting crowned as the King of the Nyland Kingdom? How many sleepless nights he has spent trying to come up with a perfect plan to eliminate his brothers and become the king?

'Today I get to enjoy the result of my years of hard work.'

While remembering about the people who helped him behind the scenes, Arthur's eyes turned colder. 'Those people have dared to treat like slaves. The King of the Nyland Kingdom was treated like slaves by a bunch of nobodies. After I deal with those nobles, soon I will deal with The League of the Black Tomb.'

Arthur closed his eyes as his entire body trembled in emotions. He cannot describe how excited he felt today. On the path to becoming the king, he had to make some personal sacrifices. Like the death of his father and his brothers. All this was worth it, as he finally had managed to accomplish his dream.

Mark Vega, the former Nyland King passed away last night. Prince Arthur did not even wait a full day. He soon announced himself as the king. No one questioned Arthur's rule. As the powerful people who were dissatisfied with Arthur being the king were secretly killed by the members of The League of the Black Tomb.

At the same time, the army of the Nepoca Kingdom, the Deep Sea Palace Kingdom, and the other 12 kingdoms began to march forward to the Istarin Kingdom. The Paladin Dynasty was already in ruins. The Dynasty no longer existed. Aditya's attack had killed all the members of the dynasty. The paladin Dynasty's land was also very badly destroyed. No kingdom or dynasty wanted to take over that former Paladin Dynasty's land.

"Hahaha! The Istarin King will have no choice but to kneel and surrender himself."

"We will not stop until we take over every corner of the Istarin Kingdom."

"No one can stop us now."

King Ethan and King Lewis followed by the other 12 kings were currently riding horses. While riding horses, the kings heard the words of the soldiers. The soldiers were full of confidence. The combined army of 14 factions was over a million.

Just the Deep Sea Palace Kingdom had bought over half a million troops. While the Nepoca Kingdom had the second highest number of troops which was 150,000 troops. King Ethan did not stop there. Aside from bringing all of his troops, he also used his money to hire 100,000 troops from the State of Mercenaries.

The State of Mercenaries was an independent powerhouse that mainly trained soldiers and lent them to kingdoms in exchange for money. The State of Mercenaries had sent 100,000 soldiers to help him with the war against the Istarin Kingdom. Honestly, the State of Mercenaries felt that bringing more than 1 million troops just to face a 3rd-tier kingdom is too much. Even a half million troops would be more than enough to crush the Istarin Kingdom that just recently rose.

Of course, the State of Mercenaries did not share their thoughts with King Ethan. To them, money is what mattered the most. The State of Mercenaries was one of those factions that earned big profits during the time of the warfare.

However, there was one major flaw in using the soldiers from the State of Mercenaries. Unlike regularly trained soldiers, the soldiers from the State of Mercenaries were not loyal. it was normal for them to flee from the battle if they find themselves in a disadvantageous situation. This is what made many kings hesitate from buying soldiers from the State of Mercenaries.

But King Ethan wasn't worried at all. He knew that the soldiers he had bought from flee but he wasn't too worried. Even if the Istarin Kingdom has gotten stronger, can the Dragon King fight against an army of more than millions? Can the Istarin King take on their 4th and 5th-order powerhouse? How long the Istarin troops will last against an army of more than millions?

So in total, right now the Nepoca Kingdom had over two hundred and fifty thousand troops. Almost all of the troops were highly trained and were Peak 1st-order cultivators. All the troops were provided with the best armor and weapon.

While the combined army of 12 kingdoms was around four hundred and eighty thousand. So the total number of troops that the Istarin Kingdom was going to face was one million two hundred and thirty thousand (1,230,000). Not only that the half million troops that King Lewis bought were far superior and stronger compared to other troops. There were thousands of second-orders and hundreds of 3rd-orders.

In the history of the Eastern region, this is the first time that 14 factions have formed an alliance together just to take down on Kingdom that is not even a 4th-tier powerhouse. This has never happened even in the whole history of the Dying Isle continent.

"I would really like to see how the Istarin Kingdom that now rumored to have over two hundred thousand (200,000) troops will stand against the army of one million two hundred and thirty thousand (1,230,000)?" King Ethan had an arrogant expression on his face. Everyone except King Lewis felt that king Ethan had every right to be arrogant.

"Sir Ethan, I think you have asked the wrong question. The question should be, how the Istarin Kingdom will survive an attack from one million two hundred and thirty thousand (1,230,000) troops?" King Ethan couldn't help but smile hearing King Lewis's words. Over the 15 days, the relationship between the two Kings has gotten really well.

King Lewis has helped the Nepoca Kingdom in many ways. The Deep Sea Palace has sold rare materials that are found under the sea to the Nepoca Kingdom at a cheap price. King Lewis personally sent several powerful 3rd-orders to protect the Nepoca Kingdom. King Ethan felt King Lewis and the Deep Sea Palace kingdom's sincerity. Right now the Nepoca Kingdom had no problem with the Deep Sea Palace taking over the Istarin Kingdom.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 136

The movement of such a massive army will naturally gain the attraction of the whole eastern region. Every other faction that was not involved neither with the Istarin Kingdom nor with the Nepoca Kingdom had their eyes on the war. No one, literally not even a single person in the eastern region of the continent believed that the Istarin Kingdom can come out of this fight unless some external factor helps them. They doubted that even if the Nyland Land and the Thera Kingdom send all of their forces to help the Istarin Kingdom, it will still not be enough.

The army of one million and two hundred thousand was currently in the Nepoca Kingdom. The army was going to attack the Eastcliff region which previously belonged to the Nepoca Kingdom. Under the pressure of King Vega and Aditya, Ethan had no choice but to give up a large chunk of his territory to the Istarin Kingdom.

Everyone regardless of their social status or their class or their race knew that the Eastcliff region is going to become the center of the war. Obviously, before the army came, the civilians started evacuating to the Vrane city which was ruled by Duke Sarlus Marvin, one of Aditya's most trusted men. The distance between the Eastcliff region and Vrane city was big. It would take more than 7 days of walking to reach Vrane city.

Aditya had no choice let the public use the teleportation array to take refuge in the Vrane city. Knowing that a large population was going to head to the Vrane city, Aditya had sent large amounts of food, water, and tents for the people. The city obviously wasn't big enough to give a home to hundreds of thousand. Instead, Aditya had no choice but to let the migrated people stay outside the city. Of course, the civilian was going to be given three meals per day with water and shelter.

The process of sending more than one hundred thousand people to Vrane city was anything but easy. One night before King Vega was about to die, Aditya's spies found that a big army was moving toward the Nepoca Kingdom. He instantly knew what the enemy was aiming for. They had planned on starting with the Eastcliff region. After taking over the Eastcliff region, they wanted to take over the Vrane city under Duke Sarlus and then the capital; the Azure city.

Of course, Aditya wasn't going to allow that to happen. The very same night, he marched all of his troops. to the Eastcliff region. Aditya also ordered Duke Sarlus, Duke Zayne, and other nobles to send their armies through teleportation arrays. As for how his nobles will defend their territory if in case the Nyland Kingdom decides to attack, for that very reason Aditya had sent 20 4th-order wild dragons and Wyverns combined.

"Reporting, Your Majesty by now almost 80% of the civilians living in the Eastcliff was been evacuated." Aditya nodded while looking at the map of the Eastcliff region. The Eastcliff region had a population of over 140,000. However, the region did not have any major big cities. Rather the region had over 3 newly formed cities and 11 towns and many; almost thousands of scattered villages.

Sigh!

"If possible I would have liked to evacuate 100% of the civilians." The people that lived in Aditya's kingdom were under his protection. It was his duty as the King to protect and also provide for his people.

"Your Majesty, it not like we could do anything about it. We couldn't have evacuated more than one hundred thousand people if you had not made a teleportation array. The main problem is that we could not evacuate the people living in the villages. It was impossible for the army to go to every village in the Eastcliff region and bring them here to evacuate within this short time." Aditya nodded his head with a helpless smile.

Currently, Aditya and most of his troops were waiting in Graycott city. When Aditya took over the Eastcliff region, he planted the seeds to turn Graycott city into one of the major cities of the Istarin Kingdom. Adding Graycott city to the list of 11 major cities of the Istarin Kingdom.

He expanded the size of Graycott city almost by 4 times. To attract more people he had to make some special rules and reforms for this city. Not only that, Aditya even placed an army of 10,000 to guard and also maintain the order of the city. Over the last 15 days, Aditya was busy building defensive barriers and teleportation arrays for the 11 major cities.

As soon as he came to Graycott city, he sent out an announcement to his people to evacuate. While his troops helped in bringing people from faraway places, Aditya managed to build a teleportation array.

"I just hope we can keep the casualties number minimum." In a war, it was inevitable that people from both sides are going to die. Especially in these kinds of wars, where the number of soldiers that were going to participate in this war is almost 1.5 million. Regardless of which side won the war, a huge number of troops were going to die today.

"You have done everything in your power to help the people. During these 15 days, you worked day and night to build protective barriers for your people. I just hope that this war ends soon so that you can take some rest." The one who spoke these words was obviously the Goddess of alchemy.

Julia returned once she heard that another war is going to happen. Even when Aditya and others tried to pursue her to stay back and not come, the stubborn goddess came anyway. Right after she returned, she healed the crippled hearts of the slaves Aditya previously bought. She also started making various kinds of pills with the high-quality ingredients that she bought with her.

Now that Aditya had built teleportation arrays, traveling has been very easy for her. If she needs any materials, she can just go back and buy them from there. Not only that, but when Julia returned, Adam made sure to give his son-in-law and his daughter tons of alchemy resources. With these resources, it wouldn't be hard for Julia to make at least 100,000 2-star healing pills.

Right now Aditya, his generals, Watson, Duke Sarlus, Duke Zayne, Alicia, and Julia were having a meeting in a room.

Aditya, Watson, Duke Sarlus, and Duke Zayne all helplessly smiled hearing the princess's words. Obviously, the princess did not know that the real paperwork is going to start once this war ends. Even if Aditya wanted to take a rest, he simply couldn't. "Don't worry, I am taking good care of my health."

Aditya was lying of course. Watson knew it very well. After all, his first duty was to serve his master. If Aditya was still a normal human from the earth, then his body already would have collapsed from working day and night without taking any rest. Ever since he had the nightmare of the future, he stopped sleeping. While during day time Aditya went through paper works, at night time he was busy with enchanting armor and weapons with runes. These armor and weapons were going to be used by his generals and his dragonians.

"Can you guys stop flirting? We're having an important meeting here." To the eyes of others, it looked like Julia and Aditya were being romantic. Since the majority of the members sitting in this room were single, they felt sour feeling the King openly being romantic.

"Hmph! I was just worried about Aditya. By the way, who invited you to this meeting?" Others also had the same question. Who was this woman and why did the king allow her to attend this meeting? As far as they can remember this woman wasn't a part of the Istarin Kingdom.

"Her name is Alicia. She is the guild leader of Seeker of Impurity." Aditya explained while looking at the map.

"What she is the owner and also the founder of the Seeker of the Impurity guild?" Duke Sarlus and Zayne had a shocked reaction. As for Aditya's generals, only Amber had met seen her in the past when Alicia had come to meet Aditya. At that time, Amber only assumed that she was a normal merchant or something like that. She wasn't even that interested in knowing the identity of the woman who covered her face with a veil all the time.

"I don't want anything that we have discussed in this room to be heard by others. The identity of the guild leader is also a top secret. I only that you all as I have come to trust you." Everyone except for Julia and Watson seriously nodded their heads.

Only Julia was rolling her eyes. She looked at Alicia who was sitting next to her and wondered what reaction they will have if they learn that she is the goddess of alchemy wile this woman who hides her face under a veil is the goddess of wealth.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 137

"I don't want anything that we have discussed in this room to be heard by others. The identity of the guild leader is also a top secret. I only that you all as I have come to trust you." Everyone except for Julia and Watson seriously nodded their heads.

Only Julia was rolling her eyes. She looked at Alicia who was sitting next to her and wondered what reaction they will have if they learn that she is the goddess of alchemy while this woman who hides her face under a veil is the goddess of wealth.

Aditya hasn't told anyone about Julia's identity. To them, Julia is a mysterious alchemist who is in love with the King even though she tries her best to deny it or show it in front of others. At this point, even the soldiers who guard the royal palace know that Lady Julia is in love with the King. They had seen the King and the alchemist, Lady Julia walk out of the royal palace many times before.

"By the way, where is Leo?" Just as Aditya asked Watson about Leo, the whole room descended into silence until someone pushed open the door and walked in.

"Your majesty, I have returned." Compare to the past, Leo has grown a lot. The boy who had the same hair color as Aditya and made others doubt if Leo was really Aditya's little brother kneeled before the King.

"Stand up and Report what you have found?" For some reason, Leo today looked very excited. He was so excited that his body was slightly shaking while kneeling in front of Aditya.

Looking at this boy, Julia couldn't help but sigh. This boy was too thirsty for blood. His desire for revenge was turning him into a bloodthirsty machine. Julia is sure that only the existence of his sister is what that was keeping him from becoming a devil.

Meanwhile, Sarlus, Zayne, and other generals looked at each other seeing Leo. They have seen Leo many times in the royal palace and around his Majesty. They all looked at each other and wondered. 'Maybe Leo is his Majesty's little brother?' Both men had the same hair color. While Aditya's hair was dark blue, Leo's hair was light blue.

"The Graycott city has been cleared. Though some people were reluctant to leave. But in the end, we have completed our task." In Leo's eyes, there was only one emotion and that was coldness. It was very rare for the boy to show some other emotion besides being cold and stern.

"Good job. Now you can take your seat." After nodding his head, Leo took the seat next to Watson. Everyone noticed that Leo was close to the old man even though his expression remained cold. Even his little sister was very friendly with Watson and always asked the butler to play with her.

"Alicia, do you have any idea what is going on in the Nyland Kingdom?" That day when Aditya had asked Alicia to work with him, she refused his offer. But after he explained about the enemies that were aiming to bury the Istarin Kingdom, the goddess finally was convinced. The Seeker of Impurity was present in Nyland, Nepoca, and other 12 kingdoms. With Alicia's help, Aditya easily knew what was going on within the other neighboring kingdoms.

"I heard that Price Arthur is going to take the throne today and will be crowned as the Nyland King. Not only that, but I also heard that today morning, one of his brothers has been killed from being poisoned." Since Alicia and Aditya were working today, Aditya naturally included her in the meeting room.

Even a fool can tell that it was Arthur who killed his brother. Aditya wouldn't be surprised if he heard that in the following days, his other siblings also has been found dead. "But I want to know how a prince who had the lowest political support in the Nyland Kingdom managed to become the King?"

"As far as I knew, Prince Arthur actually was the least favorite to become the next King. I even heard strong rumors regarding the king having a strong interest in making his 3rd son the next king." Duke Sarlus also had kept an eye on the Nyland Kingdom knowing that the 4-tier Kingdom could become a threat to them.

"I have heard that when the Zulux Dynasty was taken over, it was Arthur who proposed the idea of attacking the Istarin Kingdom and taking over all the territories of your kingdom. The king obviously rejected the idea. As he knew that starting a war right when he is in a critical stage of finding a suitable successor, might not be the best idea for his Kingdom's future."

"The Kingdom was already divided internally. Each prince had the support of some of the nobles, so it was not difficult to know why Mark Vege refused to start a war."

"Actually, King Arthur is doing me a big favor by eliminating his brothers. I will personally attack the Nyland Kingdom and rip off his head. This is a promise." Aditya had three main targets. One was King Lewis, the second was King Ethan, and the third was Arthur, the new king of the Nyland Kingdom.

Watson knew that his master was dead serious this time. He would have asked his king to rethink twice but he knows how mighty his king is. When he went back to the Onard family, he learned the crazy things that his King has done. Right now Watson believed that as long as his king was here, everything was possible.

"Nathan, when will the army step inside the Eastcliff region?" Aditya coldly asked. Unlike Leo's coldness, Aditya's coldness was filled with murderous intent. The killing intent in his tone made Nathan slightly shiver.

"Your Majesty, the army will step in the Eastcliff region probably in an hour."

"I see. Then I shall personally prepare to welcome them. I swear on my Dragon bloodline, not even a single soldier will be spared." Without Aditya and others realizing it, the sky above them started turning dark as dark clouds covered the sky. It seems Aditya's emotions were influencing the weather. However, after a few minutes, all the dark clouds started disappearing.

After a moment Aditya calmed down. Losing his calm wasn't really the best way to tackle this kind of situation. "Alright. Let's continue with our meeting."

"Your Majesty...."

The supreme commander of this huge army was none other than King Ethan. All the joined powers agreed to let King Ethan lead this army. However, this wouldn't have been possible if King Lewis had not supported Ethan first. Many kings had even thought of making king Lewis the supreme commander as he had bought half a million troops alone. They felt that King Lewis deserved to become the Supreme commander because of his strength.

"We're going to step inside the Istarin border." Normally the border would have been heavily guarded but this time, the border was not guarded. There was no guard as Aditya called all the guards to participate in the war.

Just as the army stepped into the Eastcliff region, King Lewis started feeling as if someone was watching. He had this uneasy feeling. His gut was telling him that something was wrong here.

Seeing King Lewis looking restless and uneasy, King Ethan couldn't help but feel worried. After all, he wouldn't want to lose his precious alley.

"Sir Lewis, are you feeling okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Since King Lewis was from the mermen race and belonged to the sea, Ethan felt Lewis was feeling uncomfortable mainly because of staying away from the water.

"Sir Ethan, I am not feeling uncomfortable or anything. My instinct is telling me that something is coming. But I can't sense anything." King Lewis's instincts are what that has helped to survive hundreds of life and death situations. Whenever he is in danger, he would feel restless.

It was also at the same time, the Dragon Monarch was around 9000 meters above the sky. The dragon Monarch could be seen wearing black armor covering his chest, stomach, and shoulders. This was the first time Aditya had ever worn armor during a battle.

Using his storm flight, Aditya was standing somewhere around 9,000 meters above the sky. Right now his vision was blocked because of the white clouds. But the white clouds weren't going to prevent him from using his attack.

[Your majesty, the army has stepped inside the Eastcliff region.] Aditya was using the earring to communicate with Watson and his other generals. He made replicated the original three earrings into 15 earrings. The earrings had a range of 100 km.

[Got it. As soon as I am done with my part, take command and bring the whole army. This time, we're not going to capture war prisoners. Every single soldier will be slaughtered.]

[Understood your Majesty.]

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 138

After ending his communication with Watson, Aditya took out a 5 meters giant golden spear from his storage ring. The golden spear had rune engravings on its body making the golden spear even more majestic looking.

[ Doomsday of Heaven ]

[ Peak 3-star weapon ]

[ Description: - This spear has an affinity with Crimson Flame. The Crimson flame won't harm this spear.... ]

"Not bad." Aditya had asked his blacksmith, Percy Lowe to forge this spear for a special purpose.

"If only I had gravity Manipulation then I could have made my attack even more powerful." Aditya held the 5 meters long golden spear. In the next moment, a crimson flame devours the entire golden spear; surrounding it with a layer of crimson flame. The crimson flame flickered leaving small wisps of crimson flames.

At the same time, crimson sparks of lightning cracked around the golden spear. Aditya had added both fire and lightning elements to the spear making the Peak 3-star weapon even more dangerous.

"Let's start."

Aditya stopped flying; allowing gravity to pull his body down earth. As he began falling, he simply held the spear in front of him. After a few seconds, he used his wings and storm flight to accelerate his falling speed.

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Adding crimson lightning dash, his falling speed increased once again. Right now Aditya's falling speed had broken the [1000+] agility mark. Making him so fast that no Peak 4th-order cultivator can even come near him.

As Aditya kept on falling from a height of 10,000 meters, he kept on increasing on using more of his mana, increasing the crimson flame that now enveloped him. Fortunately, the armor he wore was preventing his crimson flame from burning off his clothes.

"Man, I can't wait for this war to end. I want to go home and cuddle with my wife."

"Man, you sure love your wife, don't you?"

"I think you got the incorrect form here. Instead of wife, you should use wives."

"What? Just how many wives do you have?"

"I have three wives and 8 children."

The soldiers looked at each other in astonishment. For them having one child was hard enough, having 9 children was beyond them. In a middle-class family, if the family member of the family increases even by one, it puts more restraint on the budget. Having children meant that the soldiers would have one extra mouth to feed and one extra child to raise.

"Dude, just how the hell do you get enough money to feed your entire family?" One of the soldiers couldn't help but ask.

"Hehe! Actually, A part of me is Incubus. My father was the same. He had 9 wives and 27 children. Our family is very big. All of our family lives in a village together. We mostly rely on fishing and agriculture so it's not that difficult for us to feed everyone in our family."

All the soldiers looked at him with jealousy. An incubus had more stamina than a human. In fact, even a normal incubus can keep going for at least 3 to 4 hours whereas a human can hardly last till one hour.

"Why don't you just make it 9? You will have a triple hattrick."

"Hahaha!!!!! Actually, my 9th child is on the way."

"____" The soldiers

"What happens if you die on the battlefield?" One of the soldiers curiously asked.

"Well, in that case, one of my brothers can take care of my wives."

"Are you sure about that?" The soldiers would never let their woman sleep with another man.

"Well, my family's bloodline has a small part of incubus origin so it is pretty normal in our big family to sleep with each other. There are over 100 family members."

"____" The soldiers

"Hey! Are you guys feeling hot? For some reason, I feel as if my body is burning." One of the soldiers from Deep Sea Palace asked. This soldier was from the mermen race and had spent all of his life under the sea.

"No, we don't feel hot. I think this is maybe because you're from the sea and not used to this temperature."

"You're maybe right." The mermen race soldier nodded in agreement. He just used some water to make his body wet which cooled down body.

A few more seconds passed, and more and more mermen race soldiers began to feel their bodies burning. About a minute later, now all the soldiers were beginning to feel very hot. Some soldiers could not even stand the high temperature and fainted.

The knights who were wearing heavy armor felt as if they were being suffocated from the inside out. Without having any choice some of the knights took off their helmets and their breastplate.

However, this was just the start. Only the 1st-order cultivators were feeling these changes, The second-order and third-orders did not feel anything.

Around 20 more seconds later, even the second-order soldiers felt extremely hot. They felt as if their entire bodies were burning. It was finally then the Kings noticed the changes as well. Many of the Kings were also 2nd-order cultivators.

"Why is the temperature suddenly rising so much?" Ethan couldn't ask feeling his body sweating a lot. Normally a 3rd-order would have great resistance to cold and hot weather. But this temperature was hot enough to make even 3rd-order sweat like their bodies were drenched by rainwater.

While all others kings and soldiers felt uncomfortable, King Lewis remained silent. "I think this is Aditya's doing." King Lewis has heard that Aditya had a terrifying flame under his control. It was the legendary crimson flame that has been lost for countless ages. No one knew how the king managed to gain control of such a powerful flame. It is said that the Crimson flame had the potential to even burn the whole and turn it into a black orb.

"Haha! Sir Lewis, Aditya does not have...King Ethan's words got choked into his throat as the sky suddenly turned red.

As the sky suddenly turned red, the yellow sun suddenly vanished. To the soldiers, it was as if the whole sky has been turned crimson red. The terrifying temperature only continued rising until many of the 1st-order soldiers couldn't handle it anymore and just died because of heatstroke. While the rest used mana to cover their bodies which reduced the burning sensation on their skins.

All the white clouds that hovered over the blue sky making it very peaceful and gentle looking had been replaced with a sea of crimson flames. It was not just the soldiers from Ethan's side who saw this, but also the marching soldiers of the Istarin kingdom also saw.

Right now every single person who saw this scene was deeply shocked. More than 2000 meters of the sky was covered in a sea of flames, making it look like the crimson flame had devoured the sky.

However, after 10 more seconds, the temperature in the Eastcliff region reached a terrifying level. Surpassing the temperature of magma itself. Things had become so hot that the tree grasses, trees, and insects started burning.

Lewis kept a close look at what was going on. After a few seconds, he finally understood what was going on. Realizing what this mad king was doing, his pupils contracted as his entire body trembled. His teeth clattered while his blood turned even colder. His heartbeat nearly stopped when he looked at the sea of crimson flames that extended over 2000 meters and was currently descending toward them.

"Ev....eve.....everyone, use water magic. Otherwise, this crimson flame is going to devour us." Before today the King of Deep Sea Palace has been pushed to the edge of death many times. Yet whenever he was pushed near death, he fought fiercely without caring much about his health. Whenever he met an enemy, he crushed them. Till now, the Deep Sea palace king hasn't found an enemy that could stand against him.

But right now, the king who has won went through hundreds of life and death battles looked deadly pale. His body did not stop shaking no matter what he did. His cold heart beat fiercely as if trying to warn him to run away.

With King Lewis's command, every soldier who had water elemental spells used them. Hundred thousand spells were cast at the same time. Even king Lewis also used a Water dragon. All the water spells combined formed a gigantic water dragon whose body was over 10,000 meters big.

The gigantic-looking water dragon's appearance started cooling down the battlefield. King Lewis and all the mermen soldiers used their mana to move the 10,000 meters big water dragon to stop the crimson sea of flames.

At this time, the army of the Istarin kingdom stopped marching without any orders. Everyone stared at the scene in astonishment and in a deep state of shock. Whatever they were seeing today will go down the history for hundreds of ages. The soldiers will never forget this scene in their whole lives.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 139

This chapter is dedicated to the readers [Tom_Breitenborn] and [Sazukii_Hachiga] for gifting this novel with a pizza and a dragon

Thank you very much to the readers [Tom_Breitenborn] and [Sazukii_Hachiga]

At this time, the army of the Istarin kingdom stopped marching without any orders. Everyone stared at the scene in astonishment and in a deep state of shock. Whatever they were seeing today will go down the history for hundreds of ages. The soldiers will never forget this scene in their whole lives.

Even before the giant water dragon could collide against the sea of crimson flames, the intense temperature of the flame already had started evaporating the water dragon. King Lewis misunderstood one part and that was, it was not just any sea of flame, it was a meteoric crimson flame that was going to hit them.

As Aditya kept on descending, his falling speed had reached [1500+] Right now his speed was so fast that even if he wanted to, he cannot stop at this point. Not only that with each passing second his falling speed only increased.

Boooom!!!!!!!

The water dragon finally collided with the sea of crimson flames. Just when the soldiers were about to celebrate, their faces turned pale as despair took over their eyes seeing the water dragon turning into white smoke right before their eyes. Before they could compare the whole situation, white clouds of smoke covered the entire area making it impossible for them to see anything.

"Sir Lewis, please do something." King Ethan once had heard that a similar kind of attack had killed 5,000 soldiers of Duke Ryan. The very same duke that betrayed Aditya and had decided to take shelter with the Zulux Dynasty.

King Lewis gritted his teeth as he looked at the huge orb which was over 2000 meters rapidly coming at them. If this attack hits their army, then their whole army will be wiped out.

"It looks like I have no choice but to use that artifact." Just when the Aditya was only 500 meters away, King Lewis activated a 5-star artifact.

Watson, Julia, Alicia, Amber, Tyler, Henry, Nathan, Scott, Josh, Eleanor, Leo, and all other soldiers saw a faint golden color transparent glass-like barrier forming over the army of million. The golden glass-like transparent barrier took the shape of a dome and covered the whole army of one million and two hundred thousand.

Meanwhile, Aditya's falling speed was about to reach [2000+]. Falling from the sky at such frightening speed while using crimson flames and crimson lightning with a 3-star golden spear, Aditya realized that even he wouldn't be able to escape the explosion that will be caused by the attack.

Right now Aditya's speed had reached a point where it was close to breaking the sound barrier.

bang!!!!!!

The Meteoric Crimson Sea of flame hit the golden dome-like barrier. The barrier of the 5-star artifact could not even hold the attack even for a millisecond before the whole barrier collapsed as the 5-star star-shaped artifact itself broke down. When King Lewis saw the golden dome, the 5-star artifact the most powerful artifact in his possession failing to defend him his heart stopped beating.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooom!

A thunderous, earthshaking, continent-destroying explosion shook every corner of the eastern region. All the 2nd-order higher-order beings who lived in the Eastern region of the continent felt this explosion.

Far away, Watson, Julia, Alicia, Amber, Tyler, Henry, Nathan, Scott, Josh, Eleanor, Zachery, Leo, and two hundred fifty thousand soldiers all witnessed what chaos truly looked like. Right before their eyes, the whole eastern region of the continent was lit in crimson flames. From every corner of the eastern region, everyone was able to see the crimson flames that hovered in the sky painting the blue sky with the color of blood.

The destruction was something that no one had expected to see even in their wildest dreams. It was utter chaos. Crimson flames spread everywhere. Watson was sure that after today, that part of the Eastcliff region won't be useable again.

With the continent shaking explosion, it releases a powerful shockwave. The shockwave of crimson flames spread in every single direction. The shockwave was so strong that any soldier regardless of what cultivation or what artifact they had were immediately killed and burned to death.

The terrifying temperature of the flames had turned the ground black as if the soil had been turned into volcanic ash. Every blade of grass, every leaf on a tree, every insect regardless of their type, even the earthworms that hide under the ground had completely been turned to ashes.

That day the sky did not stop rumbling. The smell of blood and ashes spread in every single corner of the Nepoca Kingdom. The damage that was done to this land will never be forgotten even if thousand ten thousand years pass. This land will become the place from where the nickname Graveyard of Empires has given the Istarin Kingdom....no the Istarin Empire.

About 10 minutes later, the chaos finally showed signs of slowing down. Watson, Julia, Alicia, Amber, Tyler, Henry, Nathan, Scott, Josh, Eleanor, Leo, and two hundred fifty thousand soldiers blankly stared at the miserable fate of the 1 million 230 thousand soldiers in silence. No words were needed. Actions spoke louder than words.

Whether it was the Goddess of alchemy or the goddess of wealth, no one was able to keep themselves calm. Aditya was only a beginner 3rd-order for god fucking sake yet he did something that even a 5th-order might never be able to do.

After more than 15 minutes passed since the continent-shaking explosion took place, an explosion that will be remembered forever by the people, Julia snapped out of the shocked state. She suddenly realized something. Her eyes desperately looked here and there, searching for the image of the figure who had done all this. But no matter which direction, which angle she looked into, she could not find the man who had also stolen her heart.

The goddess also known as the princess of the Onard family could not find her man. She began to get anxious. Her throat got dry just thinking about anything bad happening to her man who was the Dragon Monarch. "Whe....Where is Aditya?" Julia's shaky words were heard by everyone.

Watson, Alicia, and Amber were the first three persons to snap out of their shocked state and realize that they could not find Aditya no matter which direction they looked. Everyone realized that their King and protector was nowhere to be seen even though he has done such frightening damage to the enemy.

"Grandpa, did something happen to Aditya?" Like a little girl who has lost her parents, the Goddess of alchemy looked at Watson with tears in the corner of her eyes. It seems Watson's reply will determine whether Julia will cry or not.

"My lady, I can assure you that his Majesty is still alive. If he was dead then we dragonians could have felt it." All the dragonians were connected to Dragon Monarch through a link. If one of the dragonians died, Aditya would know about it. The same could be said if something happens to their Dragon Monarch.

Watson's words calmed the heart of the maiden in love. She nodded her head. "Let's go there and see what has happened to the army." Everyone agreed with Alicia's suggestion. Under Watson's command, the Istarin troops began moving forward.

Meanwhile, lying deep in a crater that was more than 20 km wide, Aditya also known as the Dragon Monarch was seen lying on the ground. Blood was oozing out of his arms, shoulders, legs, and thighs. His skin was covered in mud and dust. Around him, small pieces of his armor and his dragon scales were lying on the ground.

The crate that Aditya had created with such a frightening attack was more than 13 km meters deep. The whole crater was black as if the crater was made in an area with volcanic ash. But the truth was that the ground simply has been burned black from Aditya's attack.

Ahh!!!

Right now Aditya's whole body was in pain. Every fiber and every bone in his body was aching in pain. It's a big miracle that he still hasn't lost any parts of his body, even though the 4-star armor that he was wearing was completely destroyed in pieces. Aditya's left arm was broken in many places. His ribs had 9 fractures and many cracks. His shoulders were also cracked.

Even though he wasn't bleeding a lot, his body was in miserable condition. This was the first time that he was injured like this.

"It looks like I have miscalculated things. Instead of letting falling with the spear, I just should have thrown the spear. Even though doing that would have reduced the attacking power, at least I wouldn't have gotten injured like this." The Istarin King groaned feeling the pain in his body. He did not feel like moving at all.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order royal mermen guard.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order royal mermen guard.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order lion men.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order royal mermen.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Human.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order royal Goblin Prince.?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 140

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order royal mermen guard. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order royal mermen guard. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order lion man. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order royal mermen. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order Human. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order royal Goblin Prince. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak ... ?

"If not for the Peak 4-star armor that I was wearing and my dragon scales, the explosion itself would have killed me." To survive the explosion in addition to having armor and dragon scales, Aditya also used his mana to cast Lightning armor to add an extra layer of protection. Even with all that, he still was injured to this extent.

? Stamina: - 286 out of 336

_Health: - 91 out of 336

_Mana: - 1,301 out of 3,901 ?

? Ding! Soul Blaze has reached 100%. ?

? Ding! For the next 20 minutes, all of the host's stats will be increased by 45%. ?

"This is the first time my health has dropped this much after reaching 2nd-order. From next time, I shouldn't use this attack unless I have no other option." Aditya sighed as he tried to get up but then he noticed something.

When he looked on his right side, he found a man with half burned face lying on the ground. The right side of his face was burned while the left side of his face was covered in black mud and dirt. Blood was coming out of his body from many places. Mainly from his nose, mouth, and ears.

"So he is the Deep Sea Palace King, Lewis." Aditya's coldly looked at the man who was lying unconscious 20 meters away from him.

"My story with the Deep Sea Palace is not over yet. Since this man had bought 500,000 troops, he should at least have another half million troops. Maybe even more."

Aditya slowly got up to kill King Lewis. "After I kill you, your Deep Sea Palace will become my next target."

Ignoring the pain that was making him feel like fell unconscious, he walked up to King Lewis. Without any hesitation, Aditya killed him by stepping on his throat and crushing his throat.

Just as Aditya finished killing Lewis, he noticed that he did not receive any notification from the system.

Suddenly Aditya's instincts flared up. He hurriedly moved to his right but it was too late.

Bang!

Ahh!!!!

Aditya looked down only to see a blade piercing his heart. When he stared at the dead body of King Lewis, the dead body disappeared. Aditya instantly understood what was happening

Cough!

"Never thought that I would fall for this kind of illusion." Aditya would easily see through illusions but he got careless and fell for Lewis's trap.

"Hahaha! You f**king bastard. Just because of you, I have lost half a million of my troops, I lost my 5-star artifact, I lost my precious armor. My royal guards died just to protect me. If that wasn't enough I even lost my left arm. All this happened because of you."

Cough!

Aditya couldn't help but smile. He can feel the regret, pain, and sadness in Lewis's tone. Seeing his enemy going through these emotions even though he was winning, made Aditya very happy. "Thank you for the compliment."

Lewis felt pissed hearing Aditya's reply. He kicked Aditya, sending the Dragon King flying more than 20 meters away.

Ah!!!

"That hurts" Aditya fell to the ground and groaned in pain.

"Yeah. I want you to suffer. The more you suffer the more I will enjoy myself." Aditya looked at the man who was walking at him with his half-burned face. His right hand was missing. Lewis's entire body was burned and filled with wounds.

Right now the right side of Aditya's heart was bleeding. Without Lewis realizing the bleeding stopped after 30 seconds as Aditya's black heart took control and started pumping blood. Lewis did not realize this. He failed to notice the black heart that was implanted in Aditya's body.

"Unfortunately for you, I am not planning on dying anytime soon." The next moment Aditya vanished and reappeared behind Lewis with a black sword in his hand.

Clang!

Lewis somehow managed to block the strike. But seeing how fast Aditya moved his heart was again filled with shock. This was the second time that Aditya had shocked him. He thought that Aditya would be dead after he stabbed him in the heart but instead, this injured-looking man somehow got the power to continue fighting.

? Ding! Soul Blaze has reached 100%. ?

? Ding! For the next 20 minutes, all of the host's stats will be increased by 45%. ?

? Soul Blaze: -

? 3rd-order Passive skill ?

? Description ? - A special type of skill that can be learned by both body and magical path cultivators. There is no requirement to learn this skill. This skill itself is a passive skill that will increase the user's stats after reaching a certain limit.

? Function?- Since this skill is a passive skill, the user won't have to spend any mana to activate this skill. This skill works by collecting a small part of the enemy's soul killed by the host. When a certain amount of soul energy is collected by the user, this skill will increase the user's stats by 45% for a temporary period of time. The boost in the user's stats will disappear after 10 minutes.

Note: - This skill is totally passive. The activation of this Skill cannot be decided by the user. ?

Clang!

"How did you suddenly get become so strong?" Lewis sensed the sudden rise in Aditya's Aura.

? Soul Blaze - 19:45 ?

"That's a secret." Aditya replied without being bothered about the wound in his heart. Right now even though he wasn't showing, every time he moved his body every single fiber on his body ached in pain. But he knew that he cannot stop. His opponent was a beginner 5th-order. Even though Lewis was seriously injured, the power of the 5th-order is something that shouldn't be underestimated.

When Aditya evolved to 3rd-order, all of his passive skills also reached 3rd-order. The Aura of Soul fire now had evolved to Soul Blaze; he kind of liked the old name. Before he only got a 40% increase in his stats but now he got a 45% increase in his stats and that was also for 20 minutes.

So right now Aditya's stats had reached a terrifying level.

?_Strength: - 361 [45% increase] ? 523

_Speed: - 501 + [100] [45% increase] ? 726 + [100]

_Stamina: - 336 [45% increase] ? 387

_Health: - 336 [45% increase] ? 387

_Mana: - 3,901 [45% increase] ? 5,656?

Along with the increase in his stats by 45% percent, Aditya's injuries were slowly beginning to heal because of the increase in his stamina and health. Right now his speed had reached [800+] making Aditya faster than 4th-order cultivators.

"You might have gotten faster and stronger but it's still not enough to defeat me." Lewis roared while dodging Aditya's attack and sending him flying with another kick on his stomach.

bang!

Lightning Armor!

Storm Flight!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Swoosh!!!!!

Suddenly Aditya disappeared from Lewis's view. Aditya moved so fast that Lewis could not follow his movements anymore.

"Damn you, bastard." Lewis took out a Peak 3-star pendant from his pocket. The pendant started shining as Lewis poured his remaining mana into the pendant. The shine of the pendant gradually increased. Reaching a point where the bright light forced Aditya to stop moving as he could not see anything because of the intensely bright light.

When the bright light disappeared, Aditya found himself sitting on his throne. "What is happening?" When he looked down, he found that he was wearing luxurious clothes and a beautiful golden crown today.

"Your Majesty?" Aditya looked at the man who was walking with a beautiful woman.

"Watson, who is that woman?" Aditya couldn't help but ask. His butler was so reluctant to get a woman but he was holding a woman's arm and looking at her like he was looking at his wife. This confused Aditya for a moment until he heard Watson's next words.

"Your wives now shall now enter." The golden doors were pushed apart revealing 7 figures wearing wedding dresses and looking at Aditya with beautiful smiles that could charm even the heavens. But for some reason other than seeing the face of Julia and Alicia, Aditya could not see the faces of his other 5 wives.

"Boy, you better take care of my daughter. If you dare to neglect my daughter, I will personally settle matters with you." Behind Julia, Aditya saw Adam and Sophie.

"Aditya, I hope you will give me my grandchild in a year. I can't wait to play with my grandson." Behind Alicia, he could see some blurry figures. While behind his other 5 wives, he only saw white clouds instead of seeing their parents. It was as if someone was hiding their faces and their parents from him.

"What the hell is happening?" Aditya was totally confused. He felt he should remember something very important but for some reason, he couldn't.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 141

"Yes, just stand like this and let you kill you already." Lewis had used the 3-star artifact to trap Aditya in a world of illusions. This artifact was strong enough to even trap 4th-orders in illusions. Lewis wouldn't have carried this artifact with him but he ended up bringing it because his gut told him that his artifact was going to be useful to him.

Lewis slowly walked up to Aditya. Just like Aditya, his body was filled with pain. He just wanted to kill Aditya and leave. "I will come back after recovering my injuries. Though I am not sure if I can regrow my left arm."

Looking at his missing left arm, Lewis felt his heart boil in anger. He never thought that he would have to sacrifice this much just to capture a 3-tier Kingdom. "As long as you're gone, I can easily take over your Kingdom."

Lewis was about to pierce Aditya's head but just before the sword could touch his forehead, Aditya's body became blurry. He disappeared and then reappeared behind Lewis.

Bang!

"Why I am flying?" Lewis felt the world around him was rotating. But when he saw his headless body and the cold eyes of the crimson dragon, he understood what happened.

Bang!

Lewis's head fell to the ground. He kept on staring at the Aditya till he gradually lost his consciousness which was full of regret and unwillingness.

? Ding! The host has killed a beginner 5th-order mermen king. ?

? Ding! Experience points have been saved. Does the host wish to use the saved-up experience points to level up? ?

Aditya thought for a moment and decided not to level up. Without leveling up, he was able to take on a beginner 5th-order. Aditya felt that he still needed time to master his current powers before he moved on to the next level.

"I am so tired." After killing Lewis, Aditya simply lay in the middle of the crater. Not caring about the dead body of King Lewis. Right now he just wanted to rest. Aditya felt his eyes getting heavier, it seems that he was falling asleep.

Before Aditya used Lightning Armor, Storm Flight, and Crimson Lightning Dash. These three skills increased his agility and strength to a level where he was able to move faster than a beginner 5th-order.

?Lightning Armor?

?3rd-order Passive spell?

?Description: - A special type of skill that can be used by those who can freely Manipulate lightning nature.?

?Function 1: - The user can make a transparent lightning armor using lightning elements. It will consume [20+] mana per second to keep the lightning armor activated. When the lightning armor is made, the user's defense will be highly increased.

Function 2: - When the first function of this skill is used, the user's strength will be increased by [100+]?

?Storm Flight?

?3rd-order Passive spell?

?Description: - A special type of skill granted only because of possessing the mythical class Storm Marshall. The skill is related to storms. The power of this skill can be enhanced using wind elements.?

?Function 1: - When this skill is activated, the speed of the user will be increased by [100+]. It will consume [20+] per minute to keep the first function activated.

Function 2: - When there is a storm, the agility of the user will be increased to [200+].?

?Crimson Lightning Dash?

?3rd-order Passive spell?

?Description?: - A special type of skill that was gained from having the heart of Peak 6th-order lightning forest deer implanted into the user's heart.

?Function 1?: - This skill relies on lightning nature. Using lightning nature the user's speed can be increased by 25 seconds. Each time lightning dash is used, the user's speed will be increased by [200+], and it will consume [20+] mana per second to keep the skill activated.?

"Aditya wake up"

"Wake up."

"Where am I?"

The Dragon Monarch slowly opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by soldiers. When he looked to his right he found the Goddess of wealth, Alicia looking at him with a concerned look. Right now the goddess looked nothing like the usually confident, calm businesswoman. She looked like a fragile girl. She looked like she was somehow holding back her tears.

Aditya then looked up only to find the tsundere princess looking at him with tears filling her eyes. It looked like those eyes of hers wanted to convey many feelings. But Julia held them back in front of the crowd.

"Your Majesty, you're finally awake." Watson was standing a few meters away from Aditya. Next to Watson, there was Leo who looked a little concerned even though he still had the cold look on his face. There was Amber who was also looking at him with a concerned look. Everyone that Aditya knew looked at him with a concerned face.

"It's a good thing that you did not die, otherwise I and others also would have died." Alicia spoke in an uncaring tone. She had recovered her usual calmness.

To others, her words meant that with the Istarin King dying the whole Kingdom will break down. But to Aditya, Watson, and Julia, her words meant that if Aditya died, then due to the contract she and the other goddesses will also die.

"Honestly, you should stop being this reckless. You're putting our lives in danger as well."

Aditya dryly laughed and then looked at the sky which now had returned to normal color. "Haha! I can stop being reckless if I have two of the seven goddesses accompanying me." Since no one other than Watson knew the identity of the goddesses, everyone thought that Aditya was joking.

Ouch!

"Why are you pinching?" Aditya looked at Julia who had suddenly pinched his waist.

"Hmph! For no reason." The alchemy goddess snorted and then looked away.

"Dragon king, you're being too greedy. There is a saying, Being too greedy is not good." Aditya just smiled and said nothing. He had made these jokes to make the atmosphere lively again.

Sigh!

'I wonder if her tsundere character will ever change. Not that I hate her tsundere character. I find her character very refreshing and entertaining.' Aditya found that his previous injuries have been recovered by 1/4th. It must be because Julia had given him some healing pills.

Julia then helped Aditya stand up. "What about the enemy?" Aditya's tone turned serious again.

"Everyone is dead. I couldn't even find the bodies of even a single soldier. Everyone has been burned to ashes."

"Good." Aditya then turned his attention to his seven generals.

"The 7 of you will divide the army into 7 groups. I want you all to capture the Nepoca Kingdom and the other 13 kingdoms including the paladin Dynasty. Form now, all these 14 kingdoms will become a part of the Istarin Kingdom." After some instruction, the army of 250,000 was divided into 7 groups.

Each group was going to be led by one of Aditya's generals. Aditya has made things easier. Now his generals will only need to claim those territories.

"Watson, how many dragonians do we have?"

"Your Majesty, we have around 700 dragonians." These 15 days, Aditya has been increasing the number of dragonians. All of the dragonians were either Peak 2nd-order or 3rd-order powerhouse.

"100 dragonians will be given to each group. I want each of you to be done with your tasks within one week. Not more than that. If the enemy refuses to surrender, then don't hesitate to use violence. There is no room for negotiations."

Since the 14 kingdoms have dared to attack his kingdom, Aditya wasn't going to let them go. He was going to conquer all of the 14 Kingdoms. Every royal member of those 14 kingdoms was ordered to be killed without any mercy.

"Morgan, I want you to go with Eleanor and help her." Morgan was one of the commanders of the Zulux Dynasty. Aditya had turned her into his slave and then later made her one of his dragonians.

Morgan is a powerful and skilled necromancer. It was because of her, that the Istarin Kingdom has managed to nurture several necromancers.

"Understood your Majesty." Morgan has no regrets about becoming the slave of the Istarin King. It was rather the opposite. Becoming the slave of the Istarin Kingdom was her life's turning point. After she joined the Istarin Kingdom, because she was the slave of the King no one dared to order her. She wasn't treated like a slave. Instead, she became an instructor and was given resources to cultivate. Later she was given a chance of becoming a dragonian which increased her cultivation to beginner 4th-order.

The reason Aditya was sending Morgan with Eleanor is that the captain of the sixth division was lacking in experience and had no knowledge of commanding. Eleanor has a shy and quiet type personality. Aditya felt that she might make some mistakes. This is why he is sending Morgan with her.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 142

"Your Majesty, I was thinking how about organizing a cooking competition. This event will be a great way for you to gain more popularity. I say you become one of the judges. This event can earn us a lot of money."

"Not a bad idea. Tell more." Right now Arthur, the current King of the Nyland Kingdom, and the prime minister both were having some conversation.

"Please don't take any offense but currently the King's reputation is not that high. If your highness wishes to overtake your father, then the best way to do it would be to by interacting more with the public so that the public will support you even if you're no longer the king."

"I don't understand how the public's support will help me in the future?" Arthur asked in a confused tone. To him, this kind of thing felt unnecessary and boring. He would rather play with some woman in his bedroom. He felt kind of annoyed when he was told to act like a kind and rightful kind. Why should he do it? He is the king and he has the right to decide how he is going to rule his Kingdom.

"Your majesty, I have worked as the prime minister for 93 years. This is my 94th year. Over 9 decades of working in this position, I have learned that the public also holds a lot of power. Having the support of the public is like having your backup secured. Not only that having the public favor would prevent riots from rising and also would motivate the young ones to become soldiers."

"The public is the ultimate workforce. If you don't keep them happy there is a chance that our population might migrate to other kingdoms or regions. A middle-class family only needs a good standard of living. If the public is not happy with the King, then no one will respect the King." The prime minister was also a shy fox. Without Arthur realizing it, he was dancing in the prime minister's palms. He was being manipulated without even realizing it.

While every royal official and noble took sides in this throne succession race, only the prime minister remained loyal and never took the sides of anyone. The previous Nyland King was wise and intelligent. He knew what was best for his people and also his kingdom. While Arthur gave value to the Kingdom, he did not understand the importance of his people. This is one of the reasons why the previous king did not want Arthur to become the next king as his son was too blinded by power.

However, to the prime minister, Arthur was the perfect tool that can be manipulated. He couldn't manipulate the previous Nyland King but manipulating Arthur was just too easy. It was also he who manipulated Arthur to take out all brothers.

'Hehe! I never thought that King Vega's son would be this stupid. The brat only cares about power and nothing else. Now that he had eliminated his brothers, I can finally have a chance of sitting on the throne. But for the next few years, I will allow you to be the King. Since I am already manipulating him, indirectly I am the King here.'

'Once I have managed to eliminate those nobles that are loyal supporters of Arthur, I will finally make my move and assassinate him. And finally, take the throne of the Nyland Kingdom.'

Everyone was greedy for the Nyland throne. Arthur and the prime minister wanted this throne as this was the throne of the strongest kingdom in the Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent. However little did Arthur and the prime minister know that the title of the strongest Kingdom already has been taken away by the Istarin Kingdom. It's just that neither Aditya ever showed his powers to anyone.

At the current moment, Aditya had over 30 fourth-order cultivators. The Nyland Kingdom was calling themselves the strongest kingdom because Aditya had allowed them to do so. Aditya knows when to hide or when to reveal his strength.

"Alright, you have convinced me. I am starting to feel a little tired. Send two new slaves to my bedroom."

"Your Highness, do you have any preferences?" The prime minister was obviously disgusted with Arthur's this type of behavior. No matter how shy or calculative he was, the prime minister has never taken advantage of his powers to sleep with another woman besides his wife. His wife was the partner that he can trust even in his life. In the end unlike the king the prime minister was loyal.

"Is there any fox race woman? I have been getting curious about fox race women for a while now."

"Understood. I will send two fox race slaves. But please don't try to kill them." The prime minister felt pity for those girls. He also had a daughter so seeing those slaves, he always remembered about his daughter. His heart ached every time he sees the miserable condition of those girls.

"I will try but no promises." Just as Arthur was about to get up from his throne, a messenger came with urgent messages.

"Your Majesty, this is bad news." The male soldier was panting heavily; trying to catch his breath.

Arthur and the prime minister both frowned at the same time. "What bad news?" Deep down Arthur felt the bad news this soldier was going to tell them about was the fall of the Istarin Kingdom. 'So finally the Istarin Kingdom has fallen. Now that I have kept my promise not to interfere with those men, I guess I am free now. The deal has been completed from both sides.'

"The Istarin King has alone defeated an army of one million two hundred and thirty thousand alone. After defeating the army, he sent his soldiers and his generals to take over the Nepoca Kingdom and other 13 kingdoms including the Paladin Dynasty that was destroyed by some mysterious cultivator 15 days ago."

King Arthur and the Prime minister exchange looks before looking at the male soldiers. "Can you please repeat what you just said?" Right now Arthur's mind was a mess. Inside he was screaming no, no, no. He refused to believe that King Aditya is strong enough to kill one million two hundred and thirty thousand troops alone. He refused to believe that even the combined strength of 14 kingdoms has failed to defeat the Istarin Kingdom.

"Even the King of the Deep Sea Palace was killed by Aditya. According to the news, not even a single soldier among the one million two hundred and thirty thousand troops has managed to survive. Even the dead bodies of the soldiers and the kings were not found. It was as if everything had been turned to ash."

"What?" Hearing these words, Arthur felt as if his legs lost their strength to stand. His butt fell on the throne. While the prime minister felt his mind had stopped working. He just blankly stood there staring at the messenger soldier.

Scene change_____

It was the night that Mark Vega, the former Nyland king was about to die. Only Arthur knew that his father was going to die tonight. So he had come to see his father one last time.

"Arthur is that you?" The current Nyland King looked like a 100 years old man. His skin was wrinkled. The king could not even open his mouth nor had the strength to move his body. Even if Arthur had not used poison to kill the King, Mark Vega would have died in a week or two.

"Yes, father. It's me." Arthur felt a little sad for killing his father. Arthur lost his mother at a young age. Despite being the king, his father personally taught him and his brothers together without being biased. If possible he wanted to keep his father alive but he knew that it was either give his dream or the life of his father.

"Arthur, my son I have chosen you as my successor. Before I leave this world, I want you to remember something." At that time Arthur did not pay much attention to his father's words. He only listened because of the last remaining respect that he had for his old man.

The Nyland advised Arthur on what to and what not to do. In the end, the king ended his conversation with a few sentences that Arthur could not ignore. "And lastly I choose King Aditya as an alley as I know that being his ally would bring us more benefits than being his enemy. That young man is sharp and clever, he clearly knows when he needs to strike. If you want the Nyland Kingdom to keep on standing never break the alliance that I have forged with him."

"Also never offend that man. Trust me, being that man's enemy will become your life's greatest regret."

"I am now starting to regret it." A drop of tear rolled down Arthur's cheeks. In search of gold, he lost the diamond.

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Chapter 143

"Your Majesty, this is bad news. More than hundreds of wild dragons and Wyverns are attacking the Nyland Kingdom from the east. The attack is personally being led by King Aditya."

"What?" Arthur weakly sat down on the throne. It was the glorious throne that his father and the past rulers of the Nyland Kingdom sat down on. But to him, this throne no longer looked glorious. It was as if when he wore the crown, the throne had lost the majestic glory that it once had.

With the death of his father, everything went in the wrong direction. The only thing that King Arthur can do is run for his life.

After returning to the Istarin Kingdom, Aditya did not even bother to heal himself. He gathered all the Wild Dragons and the wyverns who had submitted to him. Without any hesitation, Aditya attacked the Nyland Kingdom.

For the next 7 days, Aditya did not stop. He alone was a force that could kill millions. He has grown powerful to the point that nothing in the Nyland Kingdom was able to stop him. Even when the ancestor who was a 4th-order cultivator tried to defeat Aditya, nothing worked against him.

Aditya killed the guardian of the Nyland Kingdom and soon one by one all of the major cities and the territories of the Nyland Kingdom began falling.

Aditya did not even ask the soldiers if they wanted to surrender or not. The thought of taking war prisoners did not exist in his dictionary. Whether it was men or women, those who blocked his path were slaughtered.

The blood of the soldiers was painted on the city walls. Dead bodies of the soldiers were lying around; rooting away. The smell of blood had covered cities. Fresh blood changed the color of the ground rea.

Aditya did not hurry at all. He took his time. Of course, he did not kill or even touched the people that lived inside the city. This was the fight between the Nyland Kingdom and the Istarin Kingdom, the normal people shouldn't be killed.

"Your Majesty, all the cities except for the capital have fallen. By now, we have lost hundreds of 3rd-order cultivators, one 4th-order, and almost half a million soldiers. Some of the remaining soldiers even fled in fear of King Aditya. What should we do now?" Ask the prime minister whose name was John.

"What do you think we should do? Dance?" In these 7 days, King Arthur did not even get a wink of sleep. All this time he was anxious and afraid. In just 7 days, his face looked much older than before. It was as if he had gotten older by a few years. But in reality, the stress and pressure had made him look older.

"Of course, we're going to escape before that man attacks this city. We will be leaving the Nyland Kingdom in an hour." Arthur stood up and threw away the crown for which he had even killed his father and brothers. This crown now had lost its value. Even if Aditya stops now, the entire Nyland Kingdom was in flames. The glorious Kingdom that stood as the strongest Kingdom in the Eastern region has been crippled. This was not the Kingdom that Arthur wanted to rule.

In just 7 days, his Kingdom went from being the strongest Kingdom to being the weakest. And all this happened because of Aditya.

"Your Majesty, what about the Nyland Kingdom?" John pretended to look worried. In reality, he would have fled anyway even if Arthur had decided to remain.

Instead of replying, Arthur gave a sad look to the throne on which he only sat for not more than 7 days. Right before his eyes, he watched as his dreams and hopes were crushed. Now that the Nyland Kingdom had become like this, he wasn't confident about rebuilding it.

"We will take all the gold with us and leave the Nyland Kingdom. I am planning on going to the Beast continent or the continent of Westnia. I don't want to stay on this continent anymore. Using the gold in our possession, we should be able to live a good life." The thought of revenge never crossed his mind knowing that he can never defeat Aditya or the Istarin kingdom.

"Understood." John left and went to the treasury. But when he got there, he found the guards who were supposed to guard the treasury lying on the ground dead. Seeing this John had a bad feeling in his heart.

Click!

Opening the door of the treasury, John nearly lost his consciousness seeing all the gold and other treasures that the Nyland Kingdom had gone. The entire treasury was very clean. Not even a single piece of gold was left.

"Your Majesty" John came running to Arthur.

"What happened?" Arthur asked in an impatient tone.

"This is bad. Someone sneaked into the treasury after killing our guards. Now the whole treasury is clean. Not even a single piece of gold was left inside."

Hearing the news, Arthur nearly coughed out blood and fainted. But then Arthur realized something. "If someone is strong enough to kill two of our Mid-3rd-order guards, then we're in danger."

John also widened his eyes as his body began shaking in panic. The treasury was something that must be protected at any cost. As a result, the strongest guards were placed to keep the treasury secure and safe from enemies' hands. The enemy is strong enough to kill two of our Mid-3rd-order guards, then it was confirmed that no other guards can protect them anymore.

"Let's hurry up and leave this Palace before the culprit comes for our life." Arthur and John wanted to use the teleportation array and leave this place as soon as possible. Right now their first priority was to survive.

"King Arthur, you seem to be in a hurry." Arthurs and John's bodies shuddered in fear hearing the cold voice.

Turning around, Arthur found Aditya sitting on the throne that belonged to him. Aditya sat down on the throne with his legs crossed. He was looking at Arthur like he was looking at an insignificant ant.

"Aditya, you traitor." Arthur seems to have lost his mind.

"Me and a traitor?" Aditya looked at Arthur with an innocent and confused look.

"We were supposed to be allies yet you attacked the Nyland Kingdom. Now the whole Kingdom has collapsed because of you. You broke the promise that you made to my father. God will never forgive you."

"Hahaha!!!! Do you think I need your forgiveness?" Aditya laughed while holding his stomach. Behind Aditya, one by one his Majins started appearing out of the shadows.

"Your Majesty, we have killed everyone in the royal palace." Zachary reported while standing behind the golden throne.

"Yes, we were allies. But you broke the alliance first. The agreement stated that if any member of the triple alliance was in danger, the other two must send troops to protect their allies. When an army of one million and two hundred thousand attacked the Istarin Kingdom, the Nyland Kingdom did nothing."

"That was because I had assumed the throne on that day." Arthur tried to justify himself.

Aditya coldly stared at Arthur making the new King feel as if a mountain was pressing him. His legs had started trembling while sweat rolled down his neck. At this moment he was experiencing fear.

"I know that you and the Nepoca king had exchanged letters and secretly agreed to take down my Kingdom. Besides I am not here to justify myself or allow others to justify themselves."

Since Arthur and John both were going to die, Arthur decided to reveal the name of the organization that helped him. "I and that bastard Ethan, both of us were approached by an organization that is aiming for you and your Kingdom. Their name is 'The League of the Black Tomb."'

"Why are you telling me about my enemies?" Aditya asked. Deep down he was very furious. He did not show his anger on his face.

"Since my kingdom and I are going to die, I might as well drag my allies to death and wait for them in hell."

Aditya closed his eyes to prevent killing intent from leaking out of his body. He took a deep breath to calm himself before ordering. "Zachery, please end their misery."

"As you wish your Majesty."

Bang!

Arthur suddenly found blood gushing out of his throat. He tried to stop the bleeding by tightly pressing his throat with his hands. Regardless of how much he struggled in the end, he fell to the ground and died.

Sigh!

"Unfortunately, I could not learn anything about those men who were pulling the strings from the shadow. Sooner or later, I will find you people and kill you.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[End of volume 2]

Chapter 144

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" After having breakfast with Julia and Watson, the Dragon King was now having a meeting with the goddess of wealth.

"We might have to leave in 3 days." Alicia bit her lips and said with a struggling look.

"Sure. No problem. I am almost done with my work." Watson who was standing behind Aditya rolled his eyes. Aditya was practically dumping his work on Watson. He did it when he left with Julia and now he was going to do with again.

'At this rate, I might as well become the official Prime Minister and work myself to death.' Just like Aditya, Watson barely got any sleep. It was not easy to maintain this big territory. There were still hundreds of things that needed to be taken care of. On top of the administration work, Aditya was also planning on building new infrastructure all over his Empire.

"By the way, exactly how much do I currently owe you?"

"Somewhere around 1 million royal gold coins."

If Aditya had heard this huge number before, he would faint after coughing up blood. But after the invasion, Aditya obtained a large chunk of money. He also had the money that the Emperor of Echo Dominion had given him. For him, money was not a problem anymore.

"That's a lot of money. Miss Guild Leader, you should give me a discount, we're friends and business partners after all. If I suddenly pay this big money to you, then how am I going to take care of my people? Do you want to starve my people to death?" Watson and Alicia, both rolled their eyes at Aditya. It was not surprising how shameless Aditya can be.

"Sir Emperor, I think you're forgetting the fact that you got 5 million royal gold coins from the Emperor of Echo Dominion Empire is more than enough to cover the bills."

"But I thought we were friends. At least give me some discount."

Alicia calmly took a sip of tea. "I already have given you a big discount. Originally the total amount that you were supposed to pay was 1.3 million royal gold coins. Because of our friendship, I have cut 300,000 from the total amount. If you pay me 1 million royal gold coins, I am not making any profits here. This money is enough to cover the cost of the materials."

Aditya knew that the latter part of her words were lies. As a businesswoman, Alicia certainly knew how to make profits while also keeping a good relationship with her clients.

Sigh!

"I can't win against you." Aditya took out a golden ring and handed it to Alicia. "This storage ring has 1 million royal gold coins."

Alicia took the ring and put it in her storage ring without even checking the amount. This showed how much trust she had in Aditya.

"Thank you for doing business with the Seeker of Impurity guild. I look forward to our next business deal."

"By the way, do you mind if I borrow Julia for a while?"

"Can I know the reason?" Julia had told Aditya that she and Alicia has been friends. It was not surprising for them to hang out together.

"Actually, my aunt wants me to give her a beauty pill. In case, if you don't know what is a beauty pill. A beauty pill is a rare alchemy product that can keep the appearance of a woman the same till she dies. Whoever consumes these pills will never lose their beauty and would always look the same. To women, this pill is a priceless treasure. Noble women would go as far as to pay 1 million for this pill."

"I remember Julia telling me about this beauty pill thing a long time ago. Sure you can take Julia with you but not today. Unfortunately" Aditya added the last part with a grin on his face.

"Can I know the reason?"

"Well, today Julia is going to recruit some female alchemist for the Istarin Empire. Also, we're going on date."

"Then I will wait till tomorrow."

"Do you have the ingredients to make the beauty pill? The ingredients needed to make a beauty pill are very hard to find."

"Yes, I have. But how do you know about the ingredients?"

"Naturally, I learned it from Julia. She told me this during one of our dates." When you have to date the goddess of alchemy, as her boyfriend, the goddess will naturally tell you many things about alchemy. Aditya was able to remember them because of his skills.

"Aditya, can you tell me what you plan on doing with the 500 sea elves that you have bought 2 months ago?" From Julia, Alicia has heard about the 500 sea elves that Aditya bought.

"Why are you so concerned about my slaves?" Aditya asked her back with a smile.

"As half-mermaid, I just felt curious."

"You're half-mermaid?" Aditya asked while widening his eyes.

"Why are you so surprised? Don't tell me, you did not know?"

"I....Watson, did you know about it?" Instead of replying Aditya turned to his butler and asked.

"Yes."

"And here this whole time, I was assuming that you were a human-like Julia."

"Haha!!! The world does not know that the goddess of wealth is half-mermaid. Only the people who are close to me know this fact."

"Since you're half-mermaid, does that mean you and your family live under the seawater?" Speaking of half-mermaid, Aditya was remembered about a certain mermen king whom he fought 2 months ago.

"Of course not. I am also half-human. My parents and I have been living on the land for as long as I can remember. Though I have heard from my parents that they have a secret palace under the seawater. But I never got the chance to visit it."

"Alright, I will take my leave now. Please don't mistreat the sea elves. If possible, I would have liked to buy them from you and send them back to my father. The sea elves and the mermaids in Westnia are very close allies." Alicia stood up to leave.

"Don't worry. I never mistreat any of my slaves. Currently, they are doing some important work for me. In fact, in the future, I don't mind removing the slave status and making those 500 sea elves the citizen of the Istarin Empire." After his clash with the mermen king, Aditya decided to expand his territory under the sea and ocean as well. The sea elves are going to play a very important part in his future plans.

After Alicia left, Aditya and Watson went to their office which now had become their second home. In the last 2 months, 80% of their time was spent in this room. Besides Aditya and Watson, there were 10 more royal officials who were writing budget reports. The room was full of chairs, tables, and papers.

After Aditya sat down, he opened the system to check his progress.

?Ding! There are currently two requirements that the host needs to complete to advance on his path to becoming the true Dragon Monarch.

?1. Expand the host's territory over an area of 500,000 km².?

?Completed?

?2. Gather the materials needed to build the legendary Dragon Palace. ?

?Required materials: - 100 tons of gold, 50 tons of silver, 50,000 spirit stones, 100 tons of refined iron?

'If I had decided to use all the golds that I have found in Nyland Kingdom treasury, the gold requirements would have been fulfilled. But I needed that money to launch my plan which will transform the entire Istarin Empire.'

First of all, Aditya was building new and improved roads which will last longer. The roads were going to connect all the major cities of the Istarin Empire and will make transportation safe and faster. He had ordered the construction of new public baths, washrooms, and wells. The current Istarin Empire was so big that an army of 250,000 would not be enough. This is why, Aditya had ordered Duke Sarlus, Duke Zayne, and his other nobles to start recruiting more soldiers.

The third thing that Aditya was tackling in these 2 months was, taking care of the corruption. Fortunately for this job, Nathan and his men and Zachery and his Majins were there. While Nathan and his men were dealing with the corrupted nobles in the northern region. Zachery and his village Majins were in the Nyland Kingdom.

Over the last two months, because of the combined efforts of Nathan, Zachery, and their subordinates, the Istarin Empire was able to collect nearly 1 million royal gold coins which came out of the pockets of the corrupted nobles and the nobles who fled after their Kingdoms were attacked by the Istarin Empire.

Aditya had also introduced new farming methods which were currently being tested out in some villages located near Vrane city. Watson and other officials have been revising the new policies, laws, and reforms that Aditya introduced. It was their job to report it to Aditya if any of his policies or reforms failed and backfired. But so far nothing like this has happened.

"Watson, how many mines the current Istarin Empire has?" Aditya suddenly asked.

"Your Majesty, till now we have found around 13 mines. Out of which, three of them were gold mines, four of them were silver mines, five iron mines, and one mana stone mine."

Aditya rubbed his forehead while closing his eyes. 'Where can I find 50,000 spirit stones? What are spirit stones in the first place?' Aditya can easily find gold, silver, and refined iron. Though it might take a while, it wasn't impossible to gather these materials. But what about spirit stones?

'Even Watson does not know anything about it. Whom should I ask? Maybe Alicia? or maybe Uncle Adam?'

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 145

"Aditya, stop sleeping and wake up already." Julia was here in Aditya's room to wake him up.

"5 for minutes" Aditya replied in a sleepy tone before covering his face with the blanket.

"You have said the same line more than ten times. It's already 9 in the morning." However, Aditya did not care what Julia was saying. He was sleeping comfortably under the warm blanket.

"It looks like I have no choice but to force you to get up." Julia leaned forward and just when she was about to grab the blanket, a hand suddenly shot out under the blanket and grabbed her hand before pulling her.

Ah.....

Julia cried out in surprise. The next second she found herself on the bed with this bad wolf. "Let me go, you wolf." However, instead of listening to the Goddess's words, Aditya put his left hand on her slim and soft waist and pulled her close to his body.

When her back touched his chest, she felt the warmth that was radiating from his body. "What are you doing?" Julia shyly asked while struggling to get out of bed. With each passing second, her struggle was getting weaker and weaker.

"I am holding my dear wife. Am I not allowed to cuddle?" Aditya tenderly asked. Her body slightly shivered hearing his warm voice which was filled with love.

Hearing these words, the goddess could not stop a smile from appearing on her face as her cheeks slightly blushed. Meanwhile, Aditya took this chance to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. It felt so good to kiss and bite her cheeks. But right now Aditya went for the kiss, knowing that his wife will be triggered if he bites her cheeks.

"I wonder what would the people say seeing that the great Istarin Emperor is acting like a spoiled child." Without even realizing it, Julia's head was resting on his right arm. The dragon king did not feel any discomfort.

"They would say that I am a caring, kind, gentle, husband who loves and adores his wife." Aditya replied after giving her another kiss.

"Hmph! This princess hasn't agreed to marry you yet. But if you manage to make me happy and win my heart, then I don't mind giving you a chance."

"Wife, how can you say that after all the things that we have done together?" Aditya pretended to be heartbroken.

"We only held hands, went on 2 dates, hugged and cuddled and.....kissed." The last part was barely audible to Aditya. Even with his enhanced senses, he barely was able to hear her words.

"You don't have to feel shy you know. We have kissed each other so many times." Aditya did not understand when will her shy princess will stop being shy. What lies behind her tsundere personality was a shy girl who wants to do all the things that a couple does. But she was too shy to express it out.

Julia did not say anything in response. She instead pinched his left arm and snorted.

"Wife, are you mad at me?"

"No."

"Really"

"Really"

"I am sorry this 2 months I hardly was able to give you any time or attention. Most of the time I was locked in my office." Two months and 9 days have passed since the Istarin Kingdom has taken over the Nyland Kingdom. In these two months, a lot has happened. The whole Istarin Kingdom went through changes. Also now the Istarin Kingdom has officially become the Istarin Empire.

An Empire that controls 90% of the total land of the Eastern region. Other than the Istarin Empire, there were only two kingdoms that existed in the Eastern region. One was the Thera Kingdom which was currently surrounded by the Istarin Kingdom from all sides.

The other was a kingdom located far northern edge of the Eastern region. It was a big kingdom located beyond the 13 kingdoms that previously joined hands with the Nepoca Kingdom. This kingdom was known as the Storm Isle Dynasty.

The Storm Isle Dynasty was the oldest Dynasty in the eastern region. It was one of the oldest Dynasties in the entire continent of the Dying Isle. The Storm Isle was surrounded by water from three sides. The Dynasty only shared borders with the Istarin Empire. Being surrounded by water from 3 sides made it extremely difficult to attack this Dynasty. In the past, any faction or any foreign Kingdom that has tried to attack this Dynasty has always failed. It is said that the Storm Isle dynasty has one of the most powerful water mages on the whole continent.

The Water mages have big advantages when fighting against foreign forces because of being surrounded by water from three sides. Not only that, the Storm Isle has one of the biggest ports in the Eastern region but that record is about to be broken by the Istarin Empire. The Storm Isle nearly has trade relations with all of the continents.

Despite being around only 4 times bigger than the Thera Kingdom, the Storm Isle's wealth is even higher than the Istarin Empire. Their vast wealth is what attracted other kings in the past to attack them. Even 7 months ago, a foolish king from the Westnia continent tried to attack the Storm Isle, only to be defeated and humiliated badly.

The current Storm Isle ruler was an Empress. The Empress was a mysterious woman who never showed her face to anyone. But rumor has it that the Empress is equally beautiful as the 7 goddesses.

Right after the Istarin Empire take over the Nyland Kingdom, the Empress personally wrote a letter to King Aditya. Thus, an agreement was made. All three remaining rulers in the Eastern region decided to meet. It was mainly the Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress and the Thera Kingdom's king who wanted to meet Aditya.

After the Istarin Empire took over 15 Kingdoms within a week time, both rulers were afraid that the Istarin Empire might target their territories. This was especially true for the Thera Kingdom which was currently surrounded by Istarin Land from all sides. If in case of some sort of attack, the Thera kingdom would have nowhere to escape.

Aditya agreed to meet two rulers. The meeting was held in Azure city which was the capital of the vast Istarin Empire after 5 days. During the meeting, Aditya promised and even signed an agreement to not attack the Thera kingdom or the Storm Isle dynasty. However, he also added that if he found that any of the two parties are working against his enemies or secretly trying to harm his Empire in any way, the Istarin Empire won't hesitate to strike back.

Both rulers agreed with Aditya's demand and the agreement was signed. After the agreement was signed, the Thera King was most relieved. Aditya also had promised the Thera king that their trade relations will continue like before.

What came next was endless work for Aditya. Aditya went through long hours of paper and finally decided to give the dragonians who helped him immensely in this war with the rank of noble. All the captured territories were divided and disturbed. The dragonians had his blood and there was no possibility of the dragonians betraying him. Naturally, all the nobles of his Empire had to follow the merit-earning point system. All the dragonians were given the rank of Viscount.

Just appointing the dragonians to take care of his territories wasn't enough. As most of the dragonians were slaves or soldiers from lower-class families, they had no knowledge of how they should govern their territories.

So Aditya had large work in his hands. He spend countless sleepless nights writing detailed plans on how they should govern their territories. What necessary steps they should take to improve the condition of their territories?

After the matter of the dragonians was taken care of. Aditya then focused his attention on increasing the defense of his Empire. Since the cities of Nyland had teleportation arrays, Aditya did not need to make any teleportation arrays. He only needed a few hours to make defensive arrays that were powerful enough to even stop a 4th-order from entering the city.

As for his territories that were located beyond the Thera Kingdom, there was no need to build any teleportation arrays or any defensive arrays. First of all, the territories in the north were very poorly developed and weren't that rich. So the enemies weren't going to attack that part of the territory. Second of all, those territories of his were protected by his dragonians. And the third reason was that it would take Aditya at least an entire month just to make teleportation arrays in all the cities in the north.

He at least made sure to distribute his soldiers to each city. Each city had 1,000 soldiers protecting it. He also made sure to send Nathan and his whole division to kill a large number of thugs and criminals that were hiding in his northern territory. Nathan perfectly completed his job. After becoming a dragonian he had managed to reach beginner 3rd-order. Right now he was the best assassin in the entire Eastern region.

Aside from hunting the criminals and thugs, Nathan was also tasked to kill the nobles who worked for the kings of those 13 kingdoms. Aditya was sure that those nobles will become a headache if he lets them live. Also, the nobles must have fled with a large number of gold coins. Aditya wanted those gold coins to develop his territories.

In these two months, Nathan has killed over 10,000 criminals, thugs, and nobles. But knowing that there were still some more rats left to be cleaned, Aditya did not call Nathan back.

Along with the increase in his territories, Aditya also had to recruit a large number of soldiers. He also turned a large number of them into his dragonians. The dragonians were his personal army. This time more soldiers agreed to become dragonians knowing that dragonians have a chance of becoming noble. For a normal soldier, becoming a noble is like a dream.

Ever since the day Aditya killed the Deep Sea palace king, he had placed all the Wild Dragon and Wyverns in the High tide Harbor city. If the Deep Sea palace did dare to attack the Istarin Empire for revenge, the combined powers of more than a few hundred powerful Wild dragons and Wyverns should be more than enough to deal with them.

Unfortunately, there was no attack or not news from the Deep Sea Palace. The Deep Sea Palace acted as if they did not care about the loss of half of million mermen soldiers and their King. Their silence worried Aditya. Aditya felt that the Deep Sea palace was secretly planning something. Or Maybe he was just overthinking. Regardless, Aditya handled this matter with utter importance. Not knowing the power of his enemy, Aditya remained on his guard.

"Get up. It's already late. Your duties as the Emperor are waiting to be completed."

Sigh!

"I feel very tired." Not physically tried, it was mental exhaustion. There is a limit on how much Aditya and Watson can together do.

"Why don't you appoint someone as your prime minister?"

"I just can't find anyone who meets my expectations." Julia rolled her eyes.

"Did you ever try looking for a prime minister?"

Sigh!

Aditya sighed again. These days he was so busy that he barely had time to see his woman not to mention finding a prime minister. The only time that Aditya ever saw Julia was when they were having their meals. "I just did not get time to do it."

"Having a trusted prime minister can let you have more free time."

"Speaking of time, maybe in a few more days, I will have to leave with Alicia."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 146

Sigh!

Aditya sighed again. These days he was so busy that he barely had time to see his woman not to mention finding a prime minister. The only time that Aditya ever saw Julia was when they were having their meals. "I just did not get time to do it."

"Having a trusted prime minister can let you have more free time."

"Speaking of time, maybe in a few more days, I will have to leave with Alicia." Instead of hearing Julia's reply on the matter, what Aditya got was a pinch on his wrist.

"I apologize but I have to keep my promise to her." Aditya felt a little guilty. In these two months, he had barely spent any time with his wife. Now he was going to leave in a few days with another woman. It was normal for Julia to feel jealous and maybe sad as well.

"Hmph!"

"Also, it's not like I am leaving forever. I will be staying there for not more than 15 days at most. Besides, I can return any time using the teleportation array."

"I am pretty much done with my work. Why don't we have a date today?" Before leaving Aditya wanted to spend as much time as possible with Julia.

"No, I have important work today. Sister Paige and I will be recruiting some female alchemist." Two months ago just when the war ended, Julia called Paige here. Paige was made the vice assistant of Goddess Julia. Being taught by Julia herself, Paige was a capable alchemist that many factions sought out.

"Paige can do all that by herself. She is very capable." Julia pushed Aditya aside and got up.

"No, this is an important matter. We're recruiting alchemists for the Istarin Kingdom so I will need to be there. There are more than 1000 female cultivators who are applying to become an official alchemist of the Istarin Kingdom. I have to make sure that only the talented and hard-working ones are selected."

When it came to things related to Alchemy, Julia was always very serious about it. It's not that she did not trust Sister Paige, rather she felt Paige was not made for this kind of task. Paige was a quiet type of person. She will only speak when necessary.

"When are you going to be free?" Aditya also got up and then removed the blanket that was covering his body. Aditya's upper body was naked. He was shamelessly flexing his upper naked body in front of Julia.

However, Julia did not look the least bit disturbed as she had seen his upper naked body many times. This was not the first time he was sleeping like this.

"I should be free by evening." Julia got up from the bed.

"Alright. Then our date will start in the late evening. Be ready."

Julia did not reply. Instead, she walked out of his bedroom. "I will consider." Aditya heard her reply after she walked out of his room.

When Julia walked out of his bedroom, the maids who were walking in the hallway giggled seeing Lady Julia walking out of his Majesty's room. By now, everyone in the castle knew Aditya's relationship with Lady Julia.

"Thank you for working hard as always." As Julia had worked as a Maid for 2 years, she knew how difficult the life of a maid was. She had a deep respect for Maids. Whenever she saw a maid, she would always greet them and praise them. Her small act can make the maid's days brighter.

As Julia walked past the maids, the maids bowed to Julia.

"Lady Julia is so kind to us."

"I want to become just like her."

"Did you know that Lady Julia used to work as a Maid back when the Istarin Empire was still the smallest Kingdom in the Eastern region?"

"There is no way I will believe that." The new maid refused to accept it. Everyone knew how high Lady Julia's position was. She had the second most authority after the King himself. So the thought of Lady Julia working as a maid felt more like a joke to the new maid.

"Really? Lady Julia is the head of the alchemist division. She was in charge of making pills for the soldiers."

"Since you're new here, let me explain. Lady Julia was made the alchemist division head around 2 and a half months ago. Before that, her status was just like ours. But no one in the royal palace dares to look down on Lady Julia."

"In the future, it wouldn't be surprising if Lady Julia becomes the Empress."

Julia did not know what the maids were talking about. After leaving Aditya's room, the goddess was heading to the living room. She was planning on waiting for Aditya to wash up before they can have breakfast together.

"To think in 5 months, the small castle where I once worked would change this much." Compared to that small, old, gloomy, and dark castle, the royal palace was around 10 times bigger. There were more than hundreds of maids working in the royal palace. They made sure to keep the royal palace clean.

After walking to the living room, Julia was surprised to see an unexpected guest waiting for them. This guest was nonother than Alicia. Right now Alicia was sitting on the couch and silently enjoying her tea. Behind the couch, Alicia's maid was silently standing. Seeing Julia coming, she politely nodded her head.

After heading her head back to the maid, Julia turned to Alicia. "I wasn't expecting you to come here."

Alicia put the tea cup on the table and looked at Julia with a smile. Right now the goddess wasn't hiding her face so Julia was able to see her smile. "Good morning, Julia. I had some business with Aditya. But it turned out that he is sleeping. I thought it wouldn't hurt to wait for him while enjoying this expensive tea that he bought." Alicia then picked up the teacup and took a sip with her eyes closed.

Julia was surprised to hear Alicia's reply. Alicia hated waiting for others. But now Julia found her long-known friend changing a little. Julia wondered why Alicia was alright with waiting for Aditya. She suppressed the questions in her heart before greeting her back with a smile. "Good morning, Alicia. If you did not have breakfast yet then why don't you join us for a light breakfast? I will order the chef to cook something delicious for you."

"I will pass. By the way, is he awake yet? Normally he would be awake by 5 in the morning." Aditya and the Guild leader had many transactions in the past two months. In their meetings, Alicia learned how hard-working Aditya really was. Aditya was not a lazy type of person. He was the type of Emperor who would get up earliest in the whole royal palace.

Aditya had to buy materials to make mana gathering formations, teleportation arrays, defensive arrays, and illusion arrays. "Well, today Aditya decided to take a break. For the last three weeks, Aditya did not get a wink of sleep. Even if he is a beginner 3rd-order cultivator, staying sleepless for so many nights can harm his body and also making his brain function slower. I and Watson managed to convince him to take some rest. Who would have thought that he would end up sleeping more than 12 hours?"

Sigh!

"It seems he was mentally exhausted." Julia sat on the opposite couch facing Alicia.

"By the way, when are you planning on taking Aditya with you to Westnia continent?" Julia curiously asked. Alicia was like a friend to her. A few years back, when Julia was still living in Apogale city with her parents, she happened to meet the Goddess of wealth. Apparently, the goddess of wealth wanted some pills which Julia gladly made. From there both became friends. Alicia helped Julia many times when she was in need. The same could be said for Alicia. Alicia even met Julia's mother once. Both were close enough to call each other's names without using any formalities.

"Before I answer, let me tell you this. I have no intention of taking away your men. If possible I don't want to take this path at all. These two months I have been doing my best to get more time. Unfortunately, my parents had reached their limit. They said that if I did not introduce my boyfriend within 3 days, they will come to Dying Isle continent to find me. Not only that, my mother even threatened me to say that she is going to expose my fake identity in Dying Isle if I don't bring my boyfriend home." Alicia had a helpless smile on her face.

She had no romantic feelings for Aditya. Alicia felt very happy that Julia, one of her only a few friends has found a life partner. If possible, Alicia rather not separate Aditya from Julia knowing that this could potentially hurt her.

"Alicia, do I look angry to you?"

"huh?"

"Look I understand the situation of your home. Besides, as that bad man's wife, you also have the equal right to possess him. From the moment, Aditya had defeated the Zulux dynasty, I knew that he was destined to attract women like magnets. I won't be mad even if you learn to love him and decide to become one of his wives."

Alicia was touched by Julia's words however she felt that her friend was misunderstanding her. "Julia, I will never fall for Aditya. I am not his wife and I will never become his wife."

Seeing her serious face, Julia only shrugged her shoulders and nodded. 'Only time will tell'

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 147

I accidently released the in the volume two section. Please check out chapter 146 if you haven't read it.

High Tide Harbor City__

"This humble servant greets the Emperor." Aditya glanced at the man who was temporarily put in charge of taking care of the High tide Harbor city. The man named William was one of Aditya's dragonians. William had long waist-length black hair. Just like Aditya, he also had light red pupils. William looked to be around 21 years old while in reality, he was 62.

William was wearing simple pants and a white T-shirt. He had a sword belt around his waist and was carrying a doubled edged sword with him. Everyone in the High Tide Harbor city knew who exactly William was.

"You may rise."

Aditya had made a teleportation array in High Tide Harbor city as well. Through the teleportation arrays, he can freely teleport almost anywhere in his big Empire. "Did anything strange happened or was there any movement from the Deep Sea Palace?"

The matter of the Deep Sea palace was very concerning. He had to handle this matter with utmost care. It has been 2 months since Aditya had placed his 7 generals, a big part of his troops, and all of his wyverns, and wild dragons. If the Deep Sea Palace did attack, Aditya wanted his Istarin Empire to be ready to counter at any given moment. But strangely even after knowing that their King was killed by the Istarin Emperor, the Deep Sea palace did not show any movements. Almost as if they did not even care about their king.

Aditya did not feel comfortable seeing his next big potential enemy being so calm and quiet. He felt the enemy was planning something.

"Your Highness, everything is going calm. There has been no problem with trade. We have no zero movements from the Deep Sea palace. Not only that, but they also cut all the connections that their people had with the races that lives on Land. It was almost as if after their King's death, the Deep Sea palace had entered into isolation."

"Our troops are regularly patrolling the coast. So far everything is calm and quiet." Aditya and William walked out of the small castle which was specially built for the Emperor to live in. The teleportation array was built at the center of the castle.

Compared to two and half months ago, the small High tide Harbor city has grown a lot. Right now the city was almost 3 times the size of Azure city which was the capital of the Istarin Empire. The city had people from various regions of the continent. A few days ago, a merchant ship from the Westnia continent arrived at the dock as well. The city currently was home to elves, beast races, vampires, succubi, and Incubi.

"How is everything going around the city? Are you having any problem?"

"Highness, everything is going smoothly. The construction of the watch towers is nearly finished. The hot spring and the garden are also near completion. It will probably take another two weeks for the hot spring and the garden to be ready."

"Good job." Aditya lightly praised William before walking out of the palace. As soon as the guards saw him, they bowed their heads to greet the King.

Meanwhile, William felt his chest swelling up feeling proud. He was extremely happy that the Emperor himself had personally praised him. To Aditya, these two simple words might not mean too much. But to William, these words had a lot of weight in them. Just hearing these two words, he felt all of his hard work has paid off.

Aditya and William walked out of the palace and then got on a carriage. The carriage then took both of them outside the city.

Scene change

5 km away from the city, the carriage finally stopped. The door was opened by a soldier. As soon as Aditya stepped out of the carriage everyone present bowed their heads and greeted the Emperor.

"Stand up. Zara, give me a report on what you and your fellow mermaids discovered?" Zara was a sea elf. She and the other 499 sea elves were bought by Aditya when he was in Apogale city. Right after Aditya returned, he healed the mana-crippled hearts of the 500 sea elves with the pills that Julia gave him.

When Istarin Empire won the war, Aditya had waited for 2 months before deciding to send Zara and 499 other sea elves to the sea in hope of learning more about the Deep Sea Palace Kingdom. In those two months, Aditya provided Zara and her race members with 3-star cultivation pills. The resources Aditya spent on the sea elves worked. Right now all the sea elves had managed to break through 1st-order and reach 2nd-order while Zara had managed to reach Peak 2nd-order.

Aditya had thought of giving Zara and some of the sea elves with his golden blood and turning them into half-dragons and half-sea elves. Turning them into dragonians would have quickly increased their powers. Aditya did not go with this plan. Since Zara and her fellow sea elven race members were going to infiltrate the Deep Sea palace Kingdom, it would be better if Aditya did not turn them into half-dragons.

After all, he was sure that if the Deep Sea palace saw half-dragons and half-sea elves, they would associate Zara and other sea elves with the Istarin Empire. This might put the lives of Zara and other sea elves in danger.

Zara was a beautiful woman with long light blue hair that had reached down her waist. Her pupils had the same color as the seawater. Zara had elongated ears as elves have. She was fair-skinned and had a voluptuous body. Right now she was wearing a black kimono and wooden sandals.

Just like Zara, all the members of the Sea elven race were very beautiful looking. The sea elf race was powerful water mages. In water, they can even take on beginner 3rd-order cultivators.

"After a few days of hard work and a bunch of lies, we have managed to get a map of the Deep Sea palace." Zara took out a wooden table. She then took out a scroll. Opening the scroll, Aditya for the first time saw the territories that the Deep Sea Palace Kingdom controlled.

The entire territory of the Deep Sea palace kingdom was bigger than Nyland and Zulux Dynasty combined. The enemy kingdom controlled a vast territory.

"The Deep Sea palace Kingdom is located 50 km away from the land. The Kingdom has a population of 50 million. 96% of the population is mermaids and mermen. The sea elves and other intelligent races were a group of minorities. It is normal for a mermaid or merman to bully other races. All the top position of the Deep Sea palace kingdom was held by either mermaids or mermen."

"Unlike how things work at land, in Deep Sea palace, only the strongest merman or mermaid gets to be the Emperor or the Empress."

"Do you know how many 5th-order the enemy Kingdom....no.....Empire has?" The existence of the 5th order confirmed that the Deep Sea palace was not a Kingdom. It was an Empire.

"Yes, there are some 5th-order mermen and mermaids. Lewis was the youngest 5th-order in the Deep Sea palace Empire's history. He was able to succeed to the throne without even needing to prove his strength. Everyone believed that Lewis would be able to break the shackle of the 5th order and finally reach 6th order. This is why nobody came to challenge Lewis for the throne."

"So the enemy has multiple powerhouses which are even more powerful than Lewis." Aditya took this as a piece of bad news. If Lewis was this strong then what about others?

"Your Highness, actually there are some political debates going on in the Deep Sea palace Empire. Almost 90% of the mermaids and the mermen did not like the fact that King Lewis was taking half a million troops to conquer the territories of the Land."

"Mermaids and mermen were a race that always lived hundreds of meters beneath the seawater or in the deepest parts of the ocean. The factions that live under the sea or the ocean water always keep a clear distance from the land. This always has been the case with the Deep Sea palace Empire. The Empire never has tried to contact any of the Kingdoms on land. Whether everyone on land died or lives, the races that live below the sea never cares."

"So now that Lewis was dead, 90% of those who did not like what he was doing voiced out their opinion while the remaining 10% used to be Lewis's loyal followers." Aditya finally understood the reason why the Deep Sea Palace Empire never attacked back even though their King died.

"Yes. this is the case. Also while almost everyone supported Lewis when he was chosen to become the King, in his reign as the Emperor, he did some things which made him one of the most unpopular emperors of the Deep Sea Palace Empire's history. Especially the fact that because of King Lewis over half a million of their soldiers were lost trying to conquer land territory infuriated everyone.

"While those who are supporting Lewis said that he did the right thing. They said that the Deep Sea Palace needed to expand to land as well. They called Lewis' actions an act of revolutionary. Almost 90% of the population disagreed with what the loyal followers of Lewis said in response. The Deep Sea Palace Empire is a place where the population values their culture and their beliefs. The people do not welcome changes."

"Now this is interesting." Aditya couldn't but help smile. Aditya had seen similar types of cases back on earth as well.

"What about the next Emperor or the Empress? Do you know who is going to sit on the throne?" The next Emperor or the Empress will determine the future between the Istarin Empire and the Deep Sea palace Empire. If the next ruler is someone who supported Lewis, then there is no doubt that there will be a big war between the two Empires.

But if the next ruler is someone who did not like what Lewis did, then there may be some room for negotiations. But the possibility of war in both scenarios still existed. After all, the Deep Sea palace won't forget the fact that the Istarin empire had killed half a million of their soldiers.

"I heard that there is going to be a competition. All the strongest mermen and the mermaids of the Empire can join the competition. The winner will become the next ruler."

"What about other intelligent races besides mermen and mermaids?"

"No race besides mermen and mermaids are allowed to join the participate. Forgot about participating, no race besides the mermen, and mermaids are not even allowed to become officials or hold important positions. All the privileges are given to the mermen and the mermaids while sea elves and other races are the victims of injustice and inequality."

"Sea elves are not even allowed to open shops. The Deep Sea Palace is a Empire where the mermaids and mermen are superior to everyone while Sea elves and other intelligent races are treated like slaves."

"No wonder, I did not find any other races except for Mermen in the army that Lewis bought." The Deep Sea palace Empire's rules were extremely biased and favorable for the mermen and the mermaids. 'Maybe I can take advantage of that.'

"The competition will start 4 more months later."

For the next 5 minutes, Zara did not say anything as she found the Emperor lost in deep thought. After a long time of thinking, Aditya sighed before looking at Zara.

"Zara, thank you very much for your hard work. You all have completed your mission."

"Your Majesty, it's my and my people's honor to serve you." Zara lightly bowed her head.

"William, from now on Zara and her people will live in the palace in High tide Harbor city." Aditya then turned to Zara. "For now everyone can continue cultivating. Let me know if you or anyone needs any resources."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Mass release is coming in a few days!!!!

Chapter 148

After he had returned from High Tide Harbor city, he checked the budget reports. Right now the Istarin Empire had multiple mega projects. There were more than hundreds of construction projects taking place all over the Empire. Even though Aditya had earned a huge amount of money after conquering 15 kingdoms, the money in his treasury was very fast. All these projects required millions of royal gold coins.

"Watson, I am done for today. You and others can also take a break." Aditya stood up to stretch his body.

Meanwhile, the royal officials who have been working day and night without getting any sleep dropped their pens and looked at Aditya before looking at each other as if asking if they heard it right.

"Did I hear it right?"

"The Emperor himself is telling us to take a break."

Aditya was a serious man when it came to matters related to his Empire. In these two months, the royal officials who worked under Aditya also had to stay up countless sleepless nights. They worked with the King. The royal officials felt as if the Emperor was torturing them with work and was trying to kill them.

When Aditya asked them to take a break, everyone including Watson was surprised.

"What?" Aditya was confused seeing everyone staring at him.

"Your Majesty, are you sure we can take a break?" Alex, the man who was once rescued by Aditya asked hesitantly. Alex felt it has been a long time since he spent time with his family. Because of too much work, Alex could not meet his family for 2 months. In these two months, all Alex and other royal officials did was work, eat, shower, washroom, work and work.

"Of course." Aditya then realized how hard he has been pushing the royal officials. He made them work almost 150 hours a week. Remembering this Aditya felt a little guilty. He was so focused on developing his Empire, that he over-pushed the royal officials.

"All of you can take a day break. As the Emperor, I thank each and every one of you for working day and night without complaining. Your hard work has saved the lives of millions. It has improved the lives of countless people. Aside from your monthly salaries, you all will get a bonus of 1000 royal gold coins. Not only that, you all receive a free pass for using the teleportation array." Hearing Aditya's words, everyone was extremely happy.

"Thank you, Your majesty." Everyone bowed their heads to the King. Aditya chuckled before walking out of the study room. He was in a good mood as he and his wife were going on a date.

Scene change

"Sorry, did I make you wait?" After waiting over an hour, Julia finally walked out of her room. Instead of replying, Aditya looked at her beautiful face.

Today Julia had put on a little bit of makeup which only further made her look more beautiful. Today she was wearing a mid-calf floral dress. Above her dress, she had put on a white long coat. Today she had tied her hair in a ponytail which gave her a youthful and refreshing look.

"How do I look?" Julia shyly asked while walking up to Aditya.

"Beautiful as always." Aditya replied with a kiss on her right cheek.

"Where are we going tonight?" Julia asked. She was very excited about their date.

"I was thinking of going to High Tide harbor city. I heard that recently many new shops and restaurants have opened up."

"Alright."

Using the personal teleportation array, Aditya and Julia soon arrived at High tide Harbor city. The guards recognized Aditya and Julia. They were about to bow their heads to greet the Emperor but then they found Aditya signaling them to not make a scene and continue with their work.

Aditya did not want their personal time to be ruined. It would be better if the people just stayed ignorant of their presence.

The guards silently nodded their heads. Aditya gave them a nodding smile before taking Julia's hand and walking out of the teleportation array circle.

"I heard that uncle is recently preparing to break through beginner 5th-order. Is it true?" Aditya asked while walking on the streets. The streets were full of people. People from various races could be seen walking on the street.

Under Aditya's order, the streets were lit with beautiful Chinese round paper lanterns.

"Yes, after breaking through beginner 3rd-order I had made 5-star cultivation pills for Father. In a few more months he should be able to reach 5th-order." Just after the war ended, Julia focused on her cultivation. The alchemy goddess could be considered one of the best geniuses on the continent. She had frightening cultivation speed.

But she wasn't interested in cultivating. Julia spent all of her time in alchemy while neglecting her cultivation. It was only when Julia realized how strong Aditya has grown, the goddess also started cultivating as she did not want to remain weak.

"The nobles in Echo Dominion are getting more and more shameless." Aditya sensed Julia's anger.

"What happened?"

"Since none of the nobles were able to get my hand in marriage, now they are targeting my little brother. Last month, 11 marriage engagement proposals came up for Zak. Though dad has refused all of them engagement talks, just like what happened in my case, those nobles are now after Zak." Even if Julia wasn't the goddess of alchemy, just the strength and the influence of the Onard family were enough to attract the attention of every noble. Forming close ties with the Onard family will only bring them endless benefits.

"In that case, why don't you ask uncle to just send Zak here? He can live here and go to school. If you're worried about the level of education, then I can assure you that the schools in the Istarin Empire have one of the best education systems in the whole world." Aditya had personally made the education system of the schools in the Istarin Empire. He added his knowledge from Earth to make the level of education higher than other schools.

"I will have to ask Dad and mom about it. The chances are they are not going to agree. If Zak came here, then who will spend time with them? Dad and mom will be alone and lonely." Aditya nodded with an understanding look.

"This is why I think it's important to have a big family. And the easiest way of having a big family is by having multiple wives." Just as Aditya finished his words, he felt his waist pinched.

"Hmph!"

"By the way, I have been meaning to ask. Besides Alicia, have you met the other 5 goddesses?"

"Unfortunately no. I haven't met anyone other than Alicia. I just never took the initiative to know about them." It was Alicia who met Julia. The goddess of alchemy was just too busy with her alchemy life. She did not care nor had any interest in learning about the other 5 goddesses.

Aditya and Julia walked around the city. The cold wind of winter did not affect them. They bought clothes, and some accessories while enjoying their time.

"How much?"

"11 gold coins"

"Alright."

"Thank you very much."

Just as Aditya and Julia walked out of the shop, they found a beautiful woman standing in front of them and blocking their way.

Aditya and Julia moved to the other side and were about to exit the shop but then the words of the woman alerted Aditya. "It's very nice to meet the Dragon King."

Swoosh!!!!

The shopkeeper saw the three customers at the entrance disappeared. This shocked the ordinary shopkeeper.

"Who are you?" Aditya had bought the woman on top of the rooftop. Julia had followed them. Aditya's voice contained a trace of killing intent. He won't hesitate even for a micro-second if this breathtaking beautiful woman turns out to be his enemy.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Laura. I am one of the contestants who is going to participate in the upcoming competition for the throne." The reason Aditya had bought this woman named Laura on top of the rooftop is that he had sensed that this woman is a beginner 5th-order powerhouse.

The appearance of a beginner 5th-order powerhouse in his territory is something that Aditya did not take lightly at all.

"Did the Deep Sea palace Empire send you here?" This time Aditya did not even suppress his killing intent. If this woman showed even the smallest trace of hostility, Aditya was going to beat the living hell out of her.

When Aditya released his killing intent, Julia who was standing behind instantly felt suffocated. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. The weight of her body seems to have increased drastically.

Meanwhile, the woman named Laura's face instantly turned deadly pale when Aditya focused all of his killing intent on her. The killing intent that is formed from killing multiple millions of powerful cultivators is not something that even a beginner 5th-order powerhouse can handle.

When Laura looked into Aditya's eyes, all she saw were endless dead bodies and rivers of blood. It was as if the world itself has been painted red by the blood of his victims.

Even though Laura was a beginner 5th order, when facing this kind of killing intent, she felt her entire body tremble. Her legs were weakly shaking, her teeth were chattering. Her heart was beating wildly. Her whole become had become stiff.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 149

Even though Laura was a beginner 5th order, when facing this kind of killing intent, she felt her entire body tremble. Her legs were weakly shaking, her teeth were chattering. Her heart was beating wildly. Her whole become had become stiff.

"Did the Deep Sea palace Empire send you here to deal with me?"

"No....No..." Laura desperately shook her head.

Aditya realized that his killing intent was harming Julia, so he quickly suppressed his killing intent while pulling Julia directly into his embrace.

"I am sorry. Are you okay?" Aditya asked with a guilty look. Even though he had not focused his killing intent on Julia, just being near Aditya was enough to make her suffer.

Huff! Huff!

"I am fine." Julia was breathing heavily. Without caring about Laura, the goddess closed her eyes feeling the comforting warmth of his embrace.

"I swear on the Mermaid Goddess, I have not come here with the intention of harming you or anyone from the Istarin Empire. I only came here to talk with you." Laura was relieved that Aditya withdrew his killing intent.

"If you're here to talk then why did you sneak in? You could have just surrendered to my troops and my troops would have let me know about it." Aditya still did not trust this beautiful woman.

"I am sorry this was a mistake on my part. I originally had come here to enjoy this city." Laura then took out two bags which were things that she bought while touring around the city.

"Alight, I believe in you. What do you want?" Aditya checked on Julia to see if she was okay. Seeing that she had calmed down, Aditya slowly pulled her away from his embrace.

"There are many things that I want to talk about. Can we find a place to talk? I don't think standing on a rooftop and having a conversation with the Istarin Emperor is a good idea." While speaking Laura looked at Julia. Seeing how gentle and caring Aditya was toward Julia, Laura felt a little jealous. Only if she had found someone who loved her like this. Laura soon shook her head. For her love was never an option.

Laura was a beautiful woman. She looked like she was only around 20 years old but her real age was over 100+ years. She had deep blue pupils. Her long silver-white hair reaches down her waist. Bangs covered her forehead and long strands of hair fell from both sides of her face.

Laura had blood-drop earrings which only made her look more beautiful. She was wearing a white long dress that covered her whole body.

Laura has to be one of the most beautiful women that Aditya has ever lied his eyes upon. In terms of beauty, she was even more beautiful looking than Julia's mother Sophie. While Julia still had that youthful vibe around her, Laura had the charm of a mature woman.

"There is a restaurant around 500 meters from here. I think we should go there." While walking around with Aditya, Julia had seen this expensive-looking restaurant. She was planning on going there with Aditya later.

Scene change____

"Welcome to Heaven Paradise" As soon as Aditya, Julia and Laura entered the restaurant they were greeted by a 16-year-old waitress.

"Can you please take us to a private room?" Aditya asked.

"Please come with me." While following Aditya and Julia to the second floor, Laura couldn't help but look at the people who were eating on the first floor. This was her first time on human land, she was curious about almost everything. If Aditya and Julia weren't here, she would have asked the waitress many questions.

The waitress leads the trio to a private. Aditya gestured for Laura to sit on the opposite chair facing him. After sitting down, Aditya seriously looked at Laura.

"What would you like to eat?" Unexpectedly Aditya offered her the menu. This surprised Laura as she wasn't totally expecting this.

After taking the menu, Laura flipped through the pages. There were pictures of some dishes which looked very tasty but in the end, she could not decide what to order as everything on the menu looked very tasty and yummy.

"I can't decide what to eat. Your Highness can order anything for me." Laura said with a fake smile. The main reason Laura handed the menu back to Aditya was that she could not read what was written. The sea and the land used different alphabets. While everyone in this world spoke the same language, the people of the sea used a different writing method.

Of course, Laura couldn't really say it to Aditya. She did not want to embarrass herself. This is why she returned the menu to Aditya.

After taking the menu from Laura, Aditya put it on the table so that Julia can also see the menu and give suggestions.

Aditya might not have known about it but Julia knew that Laura could not read what was written. She did not say it out as she did not want to embarrass Laura.

"We're ready to order."

"We would like ..."

After they ordered, Aditya then turned to Laura. "Miss Laura, you can speak now."

Laura took a deep breath and then started. "The reason why I came here is that I heard that the Istarin Empire has a powerful and capable alchemist."

"Ohh...?" It was not a hidden fact that the Istarin Empire had powerful alchemists working for them. Even the Thera King and the Empress of the Storm Isle Dynasty had asked Aditya about this mysterious alchemist. Other than Duke Sarlus and Duke Zayne, not even the nobles of the Istarin Empire had met Julia. Her identity was very mysterious. Only the people who worked in the royal palace and were close to the Emperor knew about Julia.

"I will be honest, the tournament will start soon. With my powers, I can make it to the semi-finals or maybe to the finals if I am lucky. But the chances of winning in the finals are 40%."

"Hold on, are you telling me that besides you, there are other 5th-order cultivators in Deep Sea palace?" If it was true then the whole Istarin empire was in danger.

Laura looked into Aditya's crimson eyes trying to understand what he was thinking. After a moment of silence, she calmly replied. "Currently the Deep Sea palace has several 5th-order powerhouses. Those old fools have cultivated more than 200+ years to reach the 5th order."

"I see. You can go on with what you were saying before." Aditya acted calm on the surface but inside he was anything but calm.

"As I was saying my chances of winning the tournament and becoming the next Ruler is 40%. Not more than that. The reason for my low chances has something to do with a certain powerful man. His cultivation is in Mid 5th-order."

"A mid 5th-order?" Aditya felt his blood run cold from her words. If a beginner 5th-order was this powerful then what about a mid 5th-order?

"Since during the tournament we won't be allowed to use any artifacts, armor, pets, and powerful weapons, we have no choice but to rely on our strength alone. To win I will also have to reach mid 5th-order. For that, I will need a 5-star or 4-star cultivation pill that will improve my cultivating speed. With the pill, I will be able to reach mid-5th-order before the tournament."

"Miss Laura, why would we give you a 4-star cultivation pill?" Laura was from the enemy side. Just because she did not show any hostility to Aditya did not mean that he was going to give her a 4-star cultivation pill. At the end of the day, Laura was his enemy and he was Laura's enemy.

"I wonder if your highness is interested in forming an alliance with the Deep Sea palace Empire in the future." By promising to form an alliance with the Istarin empire, Laura wanted Aditya to give her a 4-star cultivation pill which would help her break through the mid-5th order.

"Miss Laura, what if you betray us? Who knows, maybe you're just using us to gain power. And later when you sit on the throne, you might change or show your real colors. That would be a loss for us." Aditya was interested in Laura's offer but he did not trust her enough.

Laura also knew that the Istarin Emperor wasn't going to agree to her request. Why would Aditya believe in a stranger's promise? Laura was like a stranger to her. On top of that, she was also from the Istarin enemy side.

"How about this? Both of us will sign a soul-binding contract. If the first party betrays the second party, the soul of the first will be destroyed and the first party will be killed." Laura looked very serious about this alliance.

"Miss Laura, before I agree, can you tell me why you're so interested in forming an alliance with the Istarin Empire? Even though the Istarin Empire is very big, you should know that the Deep Sea Palace is way stronger. If both of our Empires fought, the Istarin Empire will lose." Aditya wasn't charmed by this woman's heavenly beauty or anything. When it came to business or politics, Aditya only cared about his interest.

"Your Highness, I am the adopted daughter of the former Deep Sea Palace king. I have long wanted to sit throne and fulfill what my father started."

"Which is....?"

"To end the racism in the Deep Sea palace Empire. Unfortunately, my father could not accomplish his dreams. I have inherited his dreams. I want the Deep Sea palace Empire to become a place where racism and discrimination do not exist."

"That's a very noble dream you miss Laura." But then Aditya's eyes started getting colder. He coldly smiled at Laura and asked. "I am not a child who would believe in this made-up fantasy. I want to know the reason why you decided to ask the Istarin Empire for help. I am sure you also had other choices."

Laura bit her lips while lowering her head. The image of a throne on which an old man was sitting flashed before her eyes. "I want to change the Deep Sea palace kingdom. For thousands of years, we have been hiding under seawater. I want to change that."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 150

Laura bit her lips while lowering her head. The image of a throne on which an old man was sitting flashed before her eyes. "I want to change the Deep Sea palace kingdom. For thousands of years, we have been hiding under seawater. I want to change that."

"King Lewis wanted to gain a footing on the land which is why he aimed for the Istarin Empire thinking that it would be easy to take over the Istarin Empire. Unfortunately, no one understood his real intention. In the end, he just wanted to gain his footing on land. You must already know that the people of the Deep Sea palace are very cultured and also kind of narrow-minded. There are only a few like me who was able to see the real reason."

"Everyone was very dissatisfied with Lewis for joining a war that did not involve them which cost the lives of half a million troops. Almost everyone questioned Lewis's action. They failed to see what benefit their Empire would get from attacking going to the surface and taking over a surface Kingdom." Laura paused to make sure that Aditya understood what she was trying to say here.

"So you also have the same intention as Lewis?" Aditya tapped the table with his index finger while looking at Laura with a cold smile.

Laura shook her head with a smile. "Sir, I think you have misunderstood. While Lewis's intentions were to take over land territory, his methods were not the right way. Lewis wanted to expand the Deep Sea palace while I want something different."

"Your Highness, I want to set up a trade partnership between two of our kingdoms. My intention is to connect the sea and the land. For thousands of years, we have been living under the sea. It's time for some change. The idea of conquering any land territory never came to my mind." Laura also had some insignificant plans for the future which will never harm the Istarin Empire or its interest in any way. So Laura felt that she did not need to tell Aditya about those plans of her.

In the end, both Aditya and Laura ended up talking for more than an hour while having their dinner. After having dinner Dinner, Aditya and Laura both decided to sign a soul-binding contract that prevent any party from betraying the other one. The contract had the following two conditions which applied to both parties.

The first condition, neither of the parties shall do anything that will harm the other directly or indirectly party or the other party's property or the other party's interest.

The second condition, the alliance between both parties will continue forever unless both parties simultaneously agree to break off the alliance.

"Here is a Peak 4-star cultivation pill just like I promised." While talking with Laura, Aditya learned that neither Laura nor anyone from the Deep Sea palace has any idea who Julia is. They think that Julia Aditya's unofficial Fiance.

Taking the Peak 4-star cultivation pill which was stored in a jade bottle, Laura sincerely thanked Aditya. "Thank you, Sir."

"Since both of us have entered into an alliance, you can just call me Aditya." Laura was relieved to know that her partner was not an arrogant and overly prideful man. Most Emperors or Empresses would not even allow their own children to address them anything other than 'Highness'. Just these simple words said a lot of things about Aditya. After an hour of talking, Laura found Aditya to be very casual and carefree which made it easier for them to have a deeper conversation.

"In that case, please call me Laura as all."

"Alright. Thank you for treating me to dinner. Miss Julia, I apologize. It looked like I had interrupted your date." Laura gave a polite bow to Julia as a form of apology.

"I understand. I would have done the same if I was in your place." Julia noticed from the corner of her eyes that while following, many men were staring at her and at Laura. Some men did not even try to hide the lust in their eyes which made Julia feel disgusted.

"Aditya, I will take my leave. I will be sure to send letters if anything major happens that could change both of our plans. For now, you can rest assured that until the tournament is over, no one will attack the Istarin Empire. If I managed to become the Empress, which will most likely happen, you will never see a day where both of our Empires clash." Laura has gained two major things from this trip. One was an extremely rare cultivation pill that was going to take her plans to the next phase and the other was she had found a powerful ally.

"I also hope that this day will never come. Otherwise, I don't mind personally paying a visit to the Deep Sea palace." Although Aditya was smiling lightly and there wasn't any killing intent in this tone, Laura still felt her spine tremble for a split second. She could not help but remember the intense killing intent that nearly choked her. Even though this man was nothing but a beginner 3rd-order, Laura's instinct told her that this man was even more dangerous than those old 5th-order ghosts who has been living for centuries.

"I alright, I will take my leave." The next moment, Laura disappeared from the street. The people who were walking past them looked at Aditya and Julia in shock. They could not understand how can someone move his fast. To the eyes of ordinary people, Laura moved as fast as the speed of light.

"Shall we continue our date?" Aditya asked knowing that she must have been a little bitter for being interrupted during their date.

"Alright."

Laura did not leave the high-tide harbor city immediately after separating from Aditya and Julia. Right now she was going to a certain part of the city where her people were waiting for her. A moment later, Laura entered a luxurious Inn that she rented for the night.

Knock! Knock!

"Who is it?"

"Kate, its' me. Open the door."

Click!

After opening the door, Laura walked inside. Inside the room, besides Laura, there was another mermaid who was wearing a maid outfit. This woman was Laura's personal maid ever since the former Deep Sea palace Emperor adopted her. In the whole world, Kate was one of those few people whom Laura trusted with all of her secrets.

"My lady, thank God you're back. I was so worried. We cannot trust the damned humans. Who knows they might try to backstab us when we let our guard down?" Kate was a beautiful mermaid woman. Kate had light blue hair and black pupils. Kate was 37 years old but looked like she was in her twenties.

After closing the door, Laura helplessly smiled. She then proceeded to sit on the couch. "Even if the humans of this city wanted to do something to me, they can't. Did you forget that I am a 5th-order? Besides, why would humans try to attack us when we also look no different from humans?" The mermaids and mermen had this racial ability to free transform into humans. Their lower body would transform back into human-like legs. In some senses, when mermaids were in their human form, they were no different from humans.

"Still, we cannot let our guard down. Especially when we are in a city which is surrounded by powerful wild dragons and Wyverns." Before coming to this city, Kate and Laura had managed to learn about the forces that guarded and protected this city. It was because of Laura's fast agility that both of them were able to come here without anyone noticing them.

The agility of the 5th-order was too fast for a 4th-order. When Laura suppressed her Aura and came here, no one was able to find her that is except for Aditya who was able to overwhelm her and managed to bring her to the rooftop.

"Don't worry, there is no need for us to hide anymore. No one will attack us as I have personally met the Istarin Emperor in this city through some luck and had a meeting with him." Laura was very happy with the way things were going for her. She originally thought that it would at least take her a few days before she could meet the Istarin Emperor.

"Meeting the Istarin Emperor? What was the Emperor doing here?" Kate, Laura's maid was confused here.

"It turned out that the King was on a date with a woman named Julia. Everything has gone according to plan. Now I and the King have entered into this soul-binding contract that makes us allies. The next step would be to break through the beginner phase and enter the mid-phase of the 5th order before the competition."

"My lady, are we heading back?" As much as Kate disliked humans, she enjoyed staying in this city as this was the first time she had ever visited the surface. If possible, she wanted to spend some time here.

"No, we're going to relax for the next two days. I have been cultivating for the last 1 year. I want to take a break as well and enjoy myself."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 151

The Date went on till midnight. Aditya and Julia visited many kinds of shops and casinos. Although Aditya did not manage to win any money there, they at least had fun which mattered the most. Also, the money he lost wasn't that big anyway.

After returning, before going to sleep, Aditya first ordered Watson to slowly withdraw the military from the coast. Although Laura was on his side, the elders of the Deep Sea palace would be alerted if all the troops of the Istarin Empire withdrew suddenly. Laura had strongly asked Aditya to keep their alliance a secret for now, till she became the next Empress. Otherwise, if the elders learned that the former Emperor's adopted daughter has went to the enemy Empire and joined hands, Laura would be hunted down and killed.

Just like Aditya ordered, Watson made plans to slowly withdrew the military. He started by ordering Aditya's 7 generals and some of the Wild Dragons to come back. While the seven generals were going to return to Azure city, the wild dragons were going back to Silver Meadow Grove.

The current Istarin Empire was lacking troops. So if they can withdraw some troops from the coast, it would be a huge help to Watson and Aditya.

"Good morning, everyone." After Aditya sat down, everyone started having their breakfast. At the breakfast table, there was Watson, Julia, Scott, Tyler, Nathan, Amber, Eleanor, Henry, Josh, Leo, and his little sister. All were having breakfast together. It has been more than two months since Aditya had breakfast with his generals. His generals were busy and were sent to the coast in case the Deep Sea palace decided to attack.

"Good Morning, Aditya."

"Good morning, big brother."

Aditya looked at Clara, Leo's little sister. The girl had blue hair like Leo and Aditya. Her deep blue pupils were filled with curiosity as she stared at the Emperor whom she called big brother. The fact that Clara called Aditya big brother told everyone the high position that she had in Aditya's heart.

"Clara, are you enjoying your school?"

"Yes. School is really fun. I have made many friends."

"If anyone dares to bully you, you can just ask this bad wolf to take care of it."

Aditya innocently looked at Julia and asked. "Why are you calling me wolf? I am a proud dragon."

"Hmph! You're a bad wolf. Even little Skye here is better cultured and well-behaved than you're." Julia rubbed her lips while glaring at Aditya. Last night this hooligan had taken advantage of her. He kissed her for a long time. Making her lips slightly swollen.

Woof!!!

Aditya's eyes twitched seeing the half-dragon wolf pup that he bought back home standing on his opposite side. 'It seems this little dragon has forgotten who is its' real master.'

Just after Aditya bought back the half-dragon wolf pup, the little creature's cuteness immediately melted the goddess's heart. Since that day, Julia has been taking care of Skye. One more thing that surprised Aditya is when he learned that Skye is actually a female.

Now after 2 and half months the half-dragon wolf pup had grown to a height of 1 meter. Thanks to all the pills that Julia regularly gave her, Skye's strength had reached Beginner 2nd-order. The half-dragon wolf roamed around the royal castle when Julia worked in her lab. The wolf often played with some of the maids or servants. It wolf was intelligent enough to understand what Aditya and others said.

"Julia, where is Paige?"

"Sister Paige is that she is not hungry. She is currently in her bedroom cultivating."

"Unlike a certain person, at least sister Paige is cultivating." When he said those words, he looked at Watson. But everyone knew that Aditya's words were meant for Julia. The goddess was lazy when it came to cultivating.

"This princess long would have reached 5th-order if I had not worked under a certain young master for 2 years."

Cough! Cough!!!!

"Big sister, who was that young master that you're talking about?" 13 years old Clara innocently asked.

"It was a bad man. That man regularly bullied me and Watson." Julia replied with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Big sister, where is that man now? I will ask big brother to punish him."

cough!!!!....Cough!!!

"Hehe!!! Don't worry I am going to slowly take my revenge on this man later in the future. I will make him suffer. After all....." Julia glanced in Aditya's direction with an evil smirk. "He cannot escape from me."

Seeing Julia look at Aditya, Clara misunderstood thinking that Aditya also knew the man that Julia was talking about. "Big brother, you will have to beat that man so that he can never bully big sister."

"Ri....Right." Aditya lowered his head and started eating. Meanwhile, Watson and others were barely holding their laughter. Their bodies were shaking. If Aditya wasn't there, they already would have started laughing.

"Aditya, let's go to Westnia right now." Everyone stopped eating after hearing the voice. The Dragon Monarch raised his head and glanced at the beautiful goddess who was walking toward him.

"Now? I thought we were going there after 2 more days." Aditya asked with a confused look.

"My mother's little sister, my aunt was pregnant. Last night, she gave birth to a healthy child. My parents are urging me to return as soon as possible. Of course, they had asked me to bring you as well." The usually calm and reserved Alicia, at this moment, looked very excited and energetic.

"This....." Aditya was in a little difficult situation. Here he was planning on taking these two days a little easy by spending most of his time with Julia but now he has to go to Westnia. Not only that, he had tons of work waiting to be finished. Aditya wanted to reject but remembering that he had made a promise to her, he did not bring himself to reject her.

"Watson, I am sorry but I will need you to look after Empire while I am away." Aditya has been making his poor butler work day and night. Aditya isn't even sure if Watson even gets a full 8 hours of sleep these days.

"Don't worry your Majesty. I will take care of everything."

Alicia seems to understand Aditya's problems. "I will leave my maid here. If Watson has anything urgent that needs Aditya's attention, then he can just send my maid to Westnia."

"I guess that will work." Aditya took up without even finishing his food. He had lost his appetite to eat.

"I will get ready." Aditya soon disappeared from the living room. Meanwhile, one of the maids served a cup of tea to Alicia. Alicia sat next to Julia, on Aditya's chair and started enjoying her tea.

"Skye, come here."

Woof!

The half-dragon wolf excitedly walked up to Alicia. "Good girl." Alicia rubbed Skye's head with her left hand.

Aditya changed his clothes and wore a white shirt and black suit. Walking back to the living room, he found Julia and Alicia chatting while sitting on the couch. It looked like Leo had gone to send his little sister home while his seven generals had gone back to the training camp to continue training their troops.

"Are you done?" Following Julia, Alicia also raised her head and looked at Aditya. For a second, the goddess felt dazed looking at the man who was going to pretend to be her fake boyfriend. For some reason at that moment, her heartbeat sped up. Alicia couldn't take her eyes off Aditya. He looked very handsome in this black suit.

"Let's go." Alicia snapped out of her daze. She realized what she was doing. Right now if the goddess had not covered her face with a veil, then Aditya and Julia would have seen faint red cheeks. Unfortunately, no one was able to see her face which definitely would have even charmed heaven.

"We will leave using the teleportation array that is located in my mansion."

"Alright. Please take care of yourselves. Aditya, be sure to behave and keep your perverted and shameless nature hidden." Aditya rolled his eyes at Julia. Was it really necessary to say such words in front of Alicia?

"You also be sure to take care of yourself. Don't work too hard. Be sure to have your meals at the right time." Julia nodded with a smile. This smile slowly vanished as she watched Aditya and Alicia leave. It hasn't been even a second since Aditya walked out, she was already starting to miss him.

"It looks like I will just have to keep my mind distracted till Aditya returns." Julia was already eagerly waiting for the day when Aditya will finally return.

"Before we head let me tell you some things which you should keep in your mind." Aditya nodded his head while walking out of the royal palace.

"First of all, if anyone asks how long we have been dating, then say that we have secretly liked each other for 2 years before you took the initiative to confess your love to me. We have been dating for more than 5 months."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Mass release 1/5

Chapter 152

Westnia

Westnia is one of the 7 continents that is home to more than 1.7 billion people. The 1.7 billion population is made up of all types of intelligent races that harmoniously live here. This continent is home to some rarest plants and bird species in the world. The Westnia continent is home to a variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands. The Westnia lies on the Eastern side of the Dying Isle continent.

The continent has hundreds of Kingdoms, factions, Empires, and dynasties. Westnia is divided into five regions that are the central region which is home to the strongest and biggest Empires of Westnia. Surrounding the central region, there is the northern plateau which is home to the tallest mountain in the Westnia.

Opposite the northern plateau, the southern plains are home to the oldest Kingdom of Westnia. The southern plains are roughly inhabited by more than 37% of the entire population of Westnia. This makes the Southern plains the most populated region of Westnia.

The eastern region of Westnia is known for its idyllic islands, endless beaches, plenty of resorts, tasty cuisine, world-class restaurants, and diverse cultures, eastern Westnia is one of the best vacation destinations on the planet.

The western region is the most underdeveloped, poorest, and sparsely populated region of Westnia.

The central region of Westnia had four big Empires. It wouldn't be wrong to say that these four Empires heavily influenced the entire Central region. Whenever one of these Empires was at war, the entire central region saw a high increase in food prices and a shortage of supplies. These four Empires controlled around 50% of the total land of the Central region.

The Ethereal Empire was one of these four Empires that stood at the very top of the Westnia. Right now the whole Ethereal Empire was celebrating the Duke's wife who is the sister of the current Emperor's wife had given birth to a child.

Far away from the capital, in some countryside of the Ethereal Empire, in a double-story wooden house, there were some people waiting for the Goddess of Wealth.

"When will Alicia return?"

"She did say that she is going to return today. But she did not tell me the specified time." Replied the mother of the Goddess of wealth.

If the people of Westnia knew that the ruler of one of the biggest and strongest Empires, the Emperor lived in the countryside and in a wooden house, everyone would be shocked to death. Other than a select few people, no one else knew about this. Julia and her big brother, both were raised in this double-story wooden house.

"Where is Noah?" The Emperor asked his wife. Right now the Emperor who is the father of the Goddess was spending time with his family. The whole royal family had gathered today to celebrate the birth of the Duke's son. The Duke is the Emperor's little brother.

"Noah said that he has to sign some papers to finish. We will probably return before evening." Replied Julia's mother. Noah was Julia's big brother and the crown prince of the Ethereal Empire. The Emperor had two children. One was Noah and another was Alicia. While the Emperor did have two more wives, he did not have any children with them. The Emperor wanted to avoid a throne succession fight between his children.

For a father, nothing is more painful than seeing his own children kill each other. Hence the Emperor took measures from the beginning and did not go on to make children without thinking. If Noah was born a girl, then Alicia might have a third sibling. The Emperor was already satisfied with Noah and Alicia. Both of his children were geniuses that million envied.

One might think that the Emperor's third wife might be dissatisfied with not having a child with her. But in reality, it was quite opposite of that. The third wife loved and also raised Alicia and Noah like her own children. In fact, in some cases, she was more overprotective than Noah and Alicia's actual mothers.

From the moment Noah was born, the Emperor announced that Noah will become the next Emperor. Noah was raised and taught to be the next Emperor. The Emperor was very strict with Noah.

"Mother, for some reason I am feeling that Alicia is lying to us. I think her boyfriend might be fake. She must have hired this man to pretend to be her boyfriend." Said Bianca, the biological mother of Alicia. Bianca knew her daughter very well. She knew that her daughter was dissatisfied with having to follow the traditions that their family followed. She also did not believe that with her daughter's proud personality, she can allow someone to become her boyfriend.

hearing the words Bianca, everyone sitting in the living room also felt that the possibility of Alicia doing something like that is very high.

Sigh!

"I understand that this daughter of mine does not wants to get married this early but we have to follow our traditions. our ancestors have been following this tradition and have strictly warned us to do the same." The Emperor sighed. While in front of the whole world, the Emperor always showed a cold and strong look, when he was in front of family, he did not hesitate to show his weak sides. The man that everyone thought to be a cruel and cold Emperor is actually a kind and caring man who wanted nothing but to protect his Empire and his family.

"Brother, should I send someone to the Dying Isle continent to investigate about the origin of Alicia's fake boyfriend?" No one believed that Aditya was Alicia's real boyfriend. Especially knowing the personality of the Goddess, no one believed her. This was not the first time, Alicia had tried to trick her family into thinking that she has done this but in reality, she never did that.

"Please do. Knowing my daughter's personality, I am sure that she won't allow any perverted-natured man to get close to her. But I need to find out the identity and the background of this fake boyfriend." The Emperor was always soft with Alicia. While he was very strict and hard with Noah, Alicia got all of his love and soft spot.

"Should we expose her?" Asked the Duke's wife. The woman named Nia was currently her newborn child. The child had gone to sleep in his mother's embrace after drinking milk.

"No, for now, let's pretend that we have believed in her. If Alicia is bringing a man knowing that she will have to stay in the same room with him and be intimate in front of us to pretend that they are in a relationship, I am sure she must closely know this man." It was known that Alicia never in her life has shown any signs of falling in love. She was never seen with a man other than her father, her big brother, and her uncle. Bianca believed that if her daughter is comfortable letting another man share room with her and comfortable enough to make him her fake boyfriend, that man must have some special relationship with Alicia.

"Tomas, do whatever you want. By tomorrow, I want every bit of information about this Fake boyfriend of my daughter."

"Leave it to me big brother. I already had sent some spies to the Dying Isle continent a while ago. It should not be difficult to find out more about this Fake boyfriend." Thomas was also worried that this fake boyfriend might try to take advantage of his niece.

"I heard that Alicia's boyfriend is the Emperor of some Empire."

"Yes, she did say that."

"What was his name again?" Thomas asked.

"His name is Aditya." Bianca replied.

Meanwhile, Aditya had no idea what was going on. He had no idea that he without even knowing had gotten himself into a big trap. Alicia was also clearly underestimating her parents. She was underestimating the power of the Emperor.

"Welcome to the capital of the Ethereal Empire." The guards who were in charge of operating the teleportation array and ordered to keep the huge crowd in order were dumbfounded seeing the princess returning without any notice.

"So this is the Westnia continent." There was a trace of disappointment in Aditya's tone.

"What? Disappointment?" Alicia asked with a smile. To Aditya, this place might not seem anything special but to Alicia, just returning back to her home continent made her feel very comfortable and relaxed.

Aditya silently nodded his head while trying to sense what order cultivation power that people in the capital had. He was slightly surprised to find that more than 70% of the people in the capital were cultivators with Mid 1st-order or higher-order cultivation. "You set the expectation bar too high. Westnia and the Dying Isle both are almost the same but Westnia is more beautiful. Every year hundreds of thousands of people from other continents come here to tour."

"What is this place's name?"

"This city is called Whitfrost, the capital and also the biggest city of the Ethereal Empire."

Meanwhile, the guards snapped out of their shocked state. One of the guards took out a pentagon-shaped wooden object which was the size of his fist from his pocket and announced the princess's return.

[Her royal highness has returned. I repeat the Her royal Highness has returned. Sent a royal carriage as soon as possible.]

"Welcome back Your royal highness." All the guards bowed their heads and shouted. The crowd also followed and bowed their heads. Every citizen of the Ethereal Empire had a deep respect for the princess. It was because of the princess that the Ethereal Empire was able to end poverty. Finding even one beggar or a homeless man in Ethereal Empire is rare as finding gold mines.

Meanwhile, Aditya's focus was on the artifact that one of the guards used. 'This looks like some advanced communication artifacts. It looks like the Ethereal empire has mass-produced these communication artifacts and has given them to the soldiers for fast communication. I also had thought of doing the same for my Empire but I simply did not have enough time. Pass producing this many artifacts would take me a lot of time.'

Alicia and Aditya did not have to wait more than 5 minutes as a royal carriage appeared in their sight. The crowd moved out of the way and allowed the royal carriage to stop right in front of Alicia and Aditya. Meanwhile, Noah who was working in the castle also noticed the Princess's arrival. Noah quickly stopped with his paper works and quickly went out to greet his little sister and her boyfriend.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Mass release 2/5

Chapter 153

"Welcome back your Royal Highness." After entering the carriage, Aditya and Alicia were greeted by two maids. Aditya and Alicia sat down on the same couch. As they had to pretend to be a couple.

"Your Royal Highness, you would like to have anything beverages?" One of the maids asked.

"No, I will have to pass. Aditya what about you?"

"No, I am good."

"In that case, we shall take our leave. Now if you excuse us." The maids bowed and then took their leave.

After the Maids left, Aditya stood up and went to sit on the opposite couch. "Do you remember everything that I told you before coming here?"

"Don't worry, I remember everything."

"What is my favorite juice?" Before coming to Westnia, Alicia had given Aditya a two-hour lecture on the things that he should do, he should remember and he shouldn't do. If not for Aditya's instant learning skill, he wouldn't have remembered this much information in such a small time.

"It's Apple juice."

Sigh!

'I wonder how long I will have to pretend? Come to think of it, I don't even know what type of food and drink my real girlfriend likes. What kind of boyfriend am I?' Aditya mocked himself for not even knowing about his real girlfriend's favorite foods and drinks.

Aditya then looked at the transparent window. From the window, he can see people from many races. Among the races, the one race that caught his eye was the bird folks. Aditya had not seen the bird folk in Dying Isle continent.

The bird folks had long wings on their back. Wings are modified arms of birds, but these bird folks have arms as well as wings. 'They are just like dragons. Except for the fact that bird folks cannot transform into birds while Dragons can. Also, Dragon's bodies are built much stronger than bird folks.'

The Ethereal empire was founded around 713 years ago. The Empire was formed when the half-mermen people who were rejected by the mermen and mermaids that lived in the sea came to the land. The first emperor of the Ethereal Empire invited all types of races whether it was a succubus or a half-Incubus. He promised to give equal rights to every race and also a voice against discrimination. The Emperor's words moved the hearts of many races.

At that time this concept was unique in Westnia. As a result, many races from all over the continent moved to Westnia making it the strongest Empire on the Westnia continent. It is said that whenever an invader has attacked Westnia, all the races have combined their powers and fought back. Since then the Ethereal Empire has been the strongest Empire.

"Are you curious about the bird folks?" Alicia asked seeing Aditya looking interested.

"I have never seen Bird folks even when I was living on the Main continent." When Aditya lived on the main continent he very rarely went out of the castle. As people mocked him for not being able to awaken his dragon bloodline.

"My father found that the bird folks lived in the cold mountains. Apparently, the bird folks did not welcome any race as members of their race were often captured and turned into slaves. My father offered them a helping hand. He promised to ban the slave trade of bird folks and also promised to give them food, money, and shelter in exchange for their services. The bird folks agreed to live in Westnia. Now our empire has an air force which gives us a huge advantage against other empires."

Meanwhile, standing at the entrance of the royal palace, a handsome young man was waiting for the carriage to arrive. This handsome young man was Noah, the crown prince of the Ethereal Empire.

"Your Royal Highness, please calm down. Princess Alicia should arrive in a minute or two." The Prime minister tried to convince Noah to wait inside the royal palace as it was not fitting for the crown prince to wait to stand outside the royal palace and wait for his sister. But Noah did not listen to the prime minister's words.

Everyone in the royal palace knew that Noah and the King both were overprotective of Alicia. Only Alicia knows what sort of experience she had when she had to convince her father to let her to go the Dying Isle continent.

"It's coming." Noah's eyes lit up seeing the royal carriage quickly approaching the royal palace. Just as the carriage stopped, Noah personally opened the carriage door to allow his sister to come out.

"Big brother?" Alicia quickly got out of the carriage and gave him a hug. Meanwhile, Aditya followed Alicia and got out of the carriage. He saw Alicia excitedly hugging a man.

Seeing those emerald gem-like pupils staring at him, Aditya instantly knew that this young man was Alicia's big brother.

'So he is Noah.' Noah was a 24-year-old man with long blond hair. He was wearing a black Yukata. Noah looked like a handsome immortal God that descended from Heaven. Aditya noticed that Noah was a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. It seemed he was close to breaking through Peak 3rd-order. It would probably take him another few months to naturally reach beginner 4th-order.

Noah was also observing Aditya. Although Aditya's face wasn't handsome as Noah's face, the serious but calm look and his red crimson eyes, and his attractive long blue hair make up for it. Noah was also inwardly impressed by the fact that a 19 years old man was a beginner 3rd-order. The first time Noah had his eyes on Aditya, he felt as if he was looking at the Emperor. Aditya had this aura of supremacy that made it hard for him or anyone to ignore Aditya.

Even the prime minister who was standing beside Noah was also impressed by Aditya. 'It seems the Princess has chosen a capable man. To think a 19 years old young man has Beginner 3rd-order cultivation. Genius.'

"Alicia, are you not going to introduce your boyfriend to me?" Noah's eyes were still on Aditya. Behind those gentle words, Noah was sharply looking at Aditya. It was as if he was threatening Aditya.

"This is my boyfriend, Aditya. He is from Dying Isle. Aditya this is my big brother, Noah."

"It's nice to meet you." Aditya took the initiative for a handshake. Noah shook hands with Aditya with a gentle smile.

"Aditya, you can just call me big brother or brother just like Alicia. I welcome you to the Ethereal Empire on behalf of the Emperor."

"Thank you, br...brother." Aditya was a little uncomfortable calling Noah a brother. But he soon got used to it.

"Let me introduce you to Uncle Clark. He is the prime minister of our Ethereal empire." Clark politely gave a bow to Aditya which Aditya replied with a nod.

Clark was a middle-aged man with a bald head. The man was around 5 feet 6 inches. Clark was over 100+ years old and had Peak 2nd-order cultivation. Clark was slightly fat which made him look even shorter.

"Alright, let's go. Father and everyone have been waiting for your arrival." Noah leads Aditya and Alicia inside the castle. While walking inside, Aditya couldn't help but admire how beautiful the castle looked.

After walking inside the castle, Aditya saw hundreds of maids standing in two lines. When Alicia and Aditya entered the castle, all the maids bowed their heads to greet the princess and the Princess's husband.

"Clark, can you deal with the paper works? I apologize but I will have to leave this one to you." Noah was taught to give more priority to his family. To him, his sister's return was more important than some mere document signing work.

"I will take of everything. Your royal highness can rest assured." Clark then took his leave. He went to the other direction. Noah lead Alicia and Aditya to the personal teleportation array that was built inside the castle and was only available for the royal family.

Scene change_____

Meanwhile, the news of Julia returning had also reached the Emperor's ears. Everyone was excited and also slightly nervous. This was the first time Alicia had ever bought a man with her.

"Everyone get ready, Alicia is coming."

Meanwhile, the teleportation array bought Aditya and Alicia to a different location. When Aditya opened his eyes, he found himself in more of an open space. The green color caught his eyes. He found farming lands in front of him.

"Where are we?" Aditya asked while looking around. It was clear that they had teleported to some hidden village or countryside. Any direction that Aditya looked. he only saw mountains and tall trees. It seems this village was hidden deep inside a forest.

"This is where we live. Let's go." Alicia took Aditya's right and followed Noah behind. She normally wouldn't have held Aditya's hand but in this situation, Alicia and Aditya were acting as a couple. And it was normal for couples to hold hands.

After about a minute of walking, Aditya and Alicia stopped right in front of a double-story wooden house. Inside the house, Aditya sensed the presence of some powerful cultivators.

Click!

The wooden door was opened by a man who exactly looked the same as Noah. Without needing to be told, the dragon king knew this man was Alicia's father and the current Emperor.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Mass release 3/5 [I will release another 2 chapters a few hours later]

Chapter 154

This chapter is specially dedicated to the reader [Zeko323] for gifting this novel with a Magic castle worth 5000 Coins.

Thank you very much to the reader [Zeko323]. Thank you for all the gifts that you have been sending over the past months and before.

Click!

The wooden door was opened by a man who exactly looked the same as Noah. Without needing to be told, the dragon king knew this man was Alicia's father and the current Emperor. 'This man looks more like a the mature version of Noah. If someone said that both Noah and this man are brothers, I wouldn't have even a trace of doubt. Not to mention the fact that this man is clearly a 5th-order cultivator.'

'He is suppressing his Aura. So I cannot correctly judge how strong is he but my dragon instincts is telling me that this man is even more dangerous than Laura.'

"Father, I am back." The man named Ronnie hugged his daughter with a gentle, loving smile. Seeing how fast this man switched from being cold and stern looking to gentle, kind and loving, Aditya could not help but remember about a certain person who is also over protective of his daughter.

'I guess both Julia and Alicia's father are the same. Both men are over protective of their daughter. I wonder if the fathers of the other five goddesses are also over protective like Adam and Ronnie.' Behind Ronnie, Aditya saw a few other figures.

'They are Alicia's mothers.' Alicia had told Aditya that her father had 3 wives and her biological mother was the second wife.

While Aditya was recalling the things that Alicia told him about her family, one of the woman walked out with a surprised look. "Ara! Ara! It looks like our daughter has found a handsome young dragon."

"Dragon?" Noah, Ronnie, Flora, and Norah all were shocked hearing the word dragon.

Aditya was the most shocked here. Aditya knew that as long as he suppressed his bloodline, no one, not even a 5th-order cultivator would be able to tell that he was a Dragon. But this woman who looks very similar to Alicia was able to find his race just being near him. Just how did this woman find out about this secret? Unless its' necessary, Aditya never tells anyone about his race. Originally Aditya and Alicia had agreed to hide the fact that Aditya was a dragon but now their secret was exposed the moment he met her mother.

"A dragon?" Ronnie narrowed his eyes and cautiously looked at Aditya. Noah still looked shocked. Only Bianca looked very calm and collected.

Alicia understood that since her family had learned about Aditya's race, she had to explain things before her family misunderstood Aditya. "Actually, Aditya has the Crimson Dragon bloodline. Normally he suppresses his bloodline as no one sense his dragon Aura."

Ronnie still looked at Aditya suspiciously. "Well, if you're a dragon then why I couldn't sense your Dragon Aura. There is no way a normal dragon would be able to suppress his dragon Aura from the 5th-order cultivator."

Aditya smiled before replying with a calm look. "My dragon bloodline happens to be a bit special than others that's why." As far as Ronnie knew even those who had rare dragon bloodline couldn't hide their Dragon Aura. Aditya's words made him think that this man must have some sort of secret. From his words it was clear that Aditya did not wish to share his secrets.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aditya. It's nice to meet you all." Aditya offered a bow as a form of greeting.

Bianca looked satisfied with Aditya's politeness. "We can introduce ourselves later. For now you can come inside." Aditya was their guest and it was rude to keep guest's standing outside the house.

After walking in, Aditya was given a pair of slippers. After wearing them, Aditya followed Alicia to the living room. While walking to the living room, Aditya noticed that this house looked nothing extraordinary. Everything inside and outside the house looked very normal. If no one knew the Emperor or his family, they would think that the owner of this house is a middle class family.

Alicia father and mother already had walked to the living room and was waiting for them. After Aditya wore the slippers, Alicia walked up to him and whispered into his ear. "Don't make any mistakes. If do, then this will be over for me and for you." Knowing Alicia's father's character, the man would not simply let Aditya leave.

After walking the corridor, both of them entered the living room where they found 7 people sitting on the couch. The people who were sitting in this room were Alicia's family. The woman who looked like she was in her 30s was Alicia's grandmother. Despite being almost 200+ years old, the woman looked like she was only 30 years old. There wasn't any wrinkles or any scars on her fair skin and beautiful face.

Just like everyone in the family, the woman was wearing a beautiful black Kimono. The woman appeared to be around 5 feet 8 inches. The woman had black hair that she had tied in a bun. The most noticeable thing about her face was the mole under the right side of lower her lip. Her name was Olivia and she was a beginner 4th-order cultivator.

"Hello everyone! I am sure by now everyone knows, but let me say it, this is Aditya and he is boyfriend. I have chosen him as my future partner and my husband." The goddess held Aditya's right and said with a smile. It was very rare experience for Aditya. Aditya was only the only person in the whole world who gets to enjoy this kind of experience.

Everyone in the room had different expressions. At this moment everyone had their eyes on Aditya. This was not the Frist time Aditya had been in a tense situation. This was also not the first time Aditya has been in a situation where he was the main focus. This is the first time in his both lives, Aditya was feeling slightly nervous under pressure. Being looked by Alicia's entire family made Aditya feel as if he had become a child and now was being scolded by the elders.

When he met Julia's parents, her mother and father was very kind and did not gave Aditya any pressure. But Alicia's parents were complete opposite. Even though they haven't said anything, just being stared made Aditya, the Dragon King, the man who is the ruler of millions of lives slightly nervous. How ironic is that?

After what it felt like an eternity had passed, Olivia, Alicia's grandmother smiled. "Why the two of you are standing there? Come and sit here." Olivia signaled Julia and Aditya to sit on the same couch on which she was sitting.

Hearing Olivia's words, Ronnie, his brother and both brother's wives were confused. 'Mother is inviting Alicia and Aditya to sit on the couch, does that mean mother accepts Aditya as Alicia's future husband?' Even Ronnie wasn't sure. When the Emperor was in front of his mother, he always felt like a child. He could never understand what his mother was thinking.

Alicia sat on Olivia's right side. Aditya was about to sit on Alicia's right side as he felt sitting directly next to her grandmother would be considered rude. "Aditya, you can sit on this side?" The black haired woman patted the empty space on her left side.

Aditya did not think much. He simply nodded and sat on grandmother's left side. Meanwhile, the entire family was shocked. Even if Ronnie was the Emperor, in this house, his mother was the real Empress. To this date, he secretly took advice from his mother. Of course he did not let his son or his daughter know about it. If they knew about it, Ronnie felt he would lose his face as their father.

Everything that happened in this house has to happen under Olivia's consent. She had invited and also had let Aditya sit next to her meant that she approved of Aditya as Alicia's future husband. Now weather Aditya was Alicia's real boyfriend or not, it would not matter anymore as the Emperor's mother had decided on who is going to become his daughter's husband.

"Boy, let me introduce everyone. This is Thomas and the one sitting next to him is his wife, Nia." Aditya looked at Thomas who also had blond hair. Aditya felt Noah, Ronnie and Thomas had inherited this blond hair from Olivia's husband.

Thomas was a 6 feet tall, muscular young looking man. Thomas was a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. Compared to his brother, Thomas was not so talented at cultivation. But unlike his brother, Thomas was a battle maniac. The man loved fighting. According to Alicia, Thomas met his wife in a battlefield. Both were enemies and then both fell for each other. After Thomas defeated Nia, he directly proposed.

His wife Nia was a gentle and beautiful looking woman. The woman had light green hair. The baby that was sleeping in her arms also her light green hair just like her.

"You already have met Bianca. The other two are Bianca's sisters. The one sitting on her right side is her big sister, Norah. While the one sitting on her left side is her 3rd sister, her name is Flora."

Norah was a beautiful woman with Peak 2nd-order cultivation base. Norah was a half-elf. Due to being Half-elf, Noah did not inherit his mother's elf ears. Norah had long Blond hair that she tied in a bun. She was also wearing a green leaf patterned Kimono.

Flora was Alicia's 3rd mother. The woman had short shoulder length red hair. The woman had beginner 3rd-order cultivation base. She appeared to be around 5 feet 4 inches tall. She was shorter than Norah by two inches. Alicia's 3rd mother appeared to be also curiously looking at Aditya.

And lastly, there was Bianca. It would not be wrong to say that Alicia had inherited all of her beauty from her mother. Just like Alicia, Bianca also had black hair. The was around 6 feet 7 inches tall. She was wearing a pink Kimono that only enhanced her beauty.

"Grandma, I have question?" Aditya is not sure if his question would be considered rude especially since this was their first meeting and this question might be somewhat personal.

"What is it?" The woman named Olivia gave a gentle smile and asked.

"I wonder how did aunt found about my race. I thought no one could sense my Dragon Aura." Aditya wasn't sure how what to call Alicia's mother. Alicia had instructed him to call them aunt. So he went on to call her aunt since he had not officially married Alicia. It would be more appropriate to call her just aunt.

"I can sense your Dragon Aura because of a special sensing skill." Aditya then remembered that Alicia's mother was a pure blood royal mermaid. Maybe being a royal mermaid gave her some skill which made her sensitive to dragon Aura.

"Also, you can just call me mother or mom or, mommy." Seeing her teasing smile, Aditya nearly coughed out blood. He did not expect Alicia's mother to have complete opposite character compared to her daughter.

Aditya gave a awkward smile and replied. "I think I will go with aunt for now." Aditya was always teasing his girl but he wasn't expecting to be teased by someone else. That is also by someone who happens to be Alicia's mother.

"Alright, but you're always free to call me mother or mom. I guess it will take you some time to adjust." Since Olivia had approved of Aditya, Bianca was already seeing Aditya as her son-in-law. She had to admit it was fun to tease this young man. Judging from his reaction, it seems Aditya was still a virgin.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Mass release 4/5 [I apologize. I had some works so I could not write the any chapter.]

Chapter 155

"Alright, but you're always free to call me mother or mom. I guess it will take you some time to adjust." Since Olivia had approved of Aditya, Bianca was already seeing Aditya as her son-in-law. She had to admit it was fun to tease this young man. Judging from his reaction, it seems Aditya was still a virgin.

Aditya can only give awkward smile in this situation.

"Aditya, why don't us about your parents and your family?" Alicia's grandma asked. The woman waned to know about Aditya family and parents. She was also thinking of bringing Aditya's parents here to discuss about Alicia and Aditya's marriage.

"I don't have any family. I was born orphan. It was the old king Ahmed who was kind enough to adopt me and raise me and later I succeed his throne." Since Aditya's identity as the Dragon King's son is a secret to the whole world and to Alicia's parents, Aditya did not reveal anything about his real parents.

"I apologize if my question has hurt you."

"Grandma, there is no need to apologize." Aditya's polite and gentle temperament was increasingly making Olivia like Aditya even more. She felt Aditya was the perfect man for Alicia.

"Do you have any step siblings?"

"I don't have any step sibling."

Olivia's questioning did not stop there. She went on to ask many types of question. Her questions mostly revolved around Aditya's private life. The entire family silently listened to the conversation that went on for hours.

During their conversation, Flora had served green tea to everyone. Aditya really appreciated her for giving him a cup of tea. After non-stop talking with Olivia for hours, his throat was getting dry. Honestly the tea was very good. The tea had a body cleansing effect.

"By the way, I have a question to ask."

"Go on." Olivia took a sip of tea while listening to Aditya.

"What is a spirit stone?" Aditya's question was meant for everyone. He wanted to know what is a spirit stone and how he can find them.

Aditya's question had surprised everyone else in the room. "Well, in simple words you think of spirit stones as mana stones. But compared to mana stones which are commonly found almost everywhere, Spirit stones are very hard to find. The only place where Spirit stones are mostly found are in the central continent."

"Even in the whole Westnia continent, we had found low grade spirit stone only 4 times. All of those times, it had caused a clash between all major 5th-tier factions in the continent." Olivia closed her eyes remembering the terror of the past. Even though the number of 5th-order that lived in this continent hasn't reached two digit, the power of 5th-order and clash between 5th-order cultivators has caused huge damage to the land and had taken the lives of hundred thousands.

One had to enough that a 5th-order was a complete different level. Just a simple attack from a 5th-order is capable of destroying a city. "The mana that is stored inside the spirit stones are 1000 times more denser compared to mana stones. If any cultivator below 5th-order tries to use spirit stones for cultivator, due to the rich dense and pure mana stored inside the stone, their bodies would explode instantly."

"Spirit stones are mostly used by 5th-order or high order beings. Spirit stones are also divided into three grades. The low grade spirit stones are mostly commonly found among the three grades. While mid grade spirit stones can only be found in central continent. As for high grade spirit stones, even I am not sure of it. I know that high grade spirit stones are impossible to find even in the central continent."

'The system did not specified on which grade spirit stones I should use to build the dragon palace. I guess I can use low grade spirit stones. But the main question is, how I am supposed to find them. As far as I know, the Eastern region do not have any spirit stone mines. Maybe the deep Sea palace knows something about it. I should ask Laura when I return.' Aditya was already getting a headache. Just how he is supposed to find 50,000 low grade spirit stones.

"Aditya, why are you looking for spirit stones?" Alicia also looked curious and interested in Aditya's answer.

"I was planning on building a dragon palace for which I will need spirit stones." Sooner or later, since Aditya was going to build the dragon palace, he figured it wouldn't really harm him to tell Alicia and her family the truth. It's not like they can do anything to him even if they knew about the dragon palace.

"Dragon Palace? Interesting. Aditya, do you mind telling me more about this Dragon palace that you're talking about."

Aditya helplessly smiled and honestly answered. "For starters, even I have no idea what is this Dragon Palace. But I do know that this Dragon palace belonged to the Dragon Monarch. As for what facilities the Dragon Palace has, even I am not sure."

"Dragon Monarch?" Olivia frowned hearing these two words. She couldn't recall reading or hearing about any historical figure who had the same name.

"It's a name that I found in some ancient text book." Aditya quickly that he was saying too many unnecessary things. The existence of the Dragon Monarch is still a secret to the whole world.

"So Aditya, what do you think of granddaughter?"

"Wh.....What?"

"What do you exactly like about her?" Everyone knowing that Aditya was Alicia fake boyfriend felt amused watching Aditya's reaction.

From the side lines, Alicia was also looking at Aditya. She had not anticipated this kind of questions so she had not come up with any answers. Alicia just prayed in her heart that Aditya does not mess up. 'Please Aditya, don't say anything that might expose both of us.' Inwardly she was repeating these words.

'What the hell I am supposed to say in this situation? What do I exactly like about Alicia?' If Aditya was asked the same question for Julia, he could have easily answered.

"I like how serious she is. I like her dedication and passion toward her work. She is responsible woman with a great personality. Any man...cough....I am mean I am extremely lucky to have her as my girlfriend." Aditya felt drops of cold sweat running down from his neck. He nearly said any man in his sentence.

"I see. Have you two done it?" Olivia asked with a serious face.

"Wh....What? Grandma, what are you asking?" The serious and cold looking Alicia's personality broke down. Since her face was still covered under a veil, Aditya could not see her face. But from her red ears, it seems the goddess was embarrassed by her grandmother's question.

However, Olivia ignored Julia while seriously looking at Aditya.

'Hehe! It seems Alicia does have a different personality. It's just that she doesn't shows it to others. In some way she is just like Julia.' Aditya inwardly smiled seeing Alicia looking all embarrassed. He realized that this is his chance to tease the goddess. Since he was here, why not have some fun by teasing the goddess?

"Grandma, we haven't done it yet." Aditya heavily pitched the 'yet' word at the end of this sentence.

The word yet immediately caught the attention of everyone. Aditya was meaning that he and the goddess had done everything other than doing the last and most final step.

Alicia realized that Aditya's words must have been misunderstood by her family. She coldly glared at Aditya while gritting her teeth. 'This man!!!!! Julia was right. This man is a thick-skinned shameless wolf. I will get my revenge for this.'

Everyone other than Julia of course understood that Aditya was only joking as they saw the smirk on his face and the cold glare at Alicia was giving him.

'Although these two are not in a relationship yet but its seems it won't take too long for them to fall in love.' Olivia smiled while looking at her granddaughter. From her conversation with Aditya, the woman was sure that Aditya was a loyal and virgin man. He looked like he was a honorable man.

"Mom, it's lunch time." While talking with Aditya, no one noticed that it was already afternoon. It was time for lunch.

"Let's have lunch then." Everyone sat down around a large round table. Aditya naturally sat next to Alicia, being her boyfriend. On his right side, Olivia was sitting. After the food was served, everyone started eating.

In the dining table, everyone talked about various topics; most of these topics was related to Alicia. Olivia and Bianca made sure to not make Aditya uncomfortable. The family always included Aditya in their conversation. Overall, Aditya was starting enjoy his time with the Osburn family.

After lunch,

"Alicia, why don't take Aditya to the capital and show him around?"

"Alright." Since Alicia also had nothing else to do at home, she agreed with her grandmother's suggestion.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Mass release: - 5/5

Chapter 156

"By the way, where are you going?" It has been more than 10 minutes since Aditya has started following Alicia in the capital. He has no idea where this woman was taking him.

"Why don't you guess?" Alicia acted mysterious. Aditya unfortunately wasn't able to see the smile hidden under that veil.

"You're going taking me to meet you friends....~"

"Nope. Let's try again."

Aditya thought for a few seconds and realized where they were again. 'Why didn't I think of it sooner?'

"You're going to the guild" Alicia widened her eyes in shock.

"Sir, how did you know that I was taking you to my guild? Do you perhaps have some kind of power that allows you to read others' minds?"

Aditya picked up the flow and replied with a smirk. "I can read people's hearts. I can tell that this young lady is in love."

In truth it wasn't that difficult to guess where Alicia was taking him. Knowing her personality and her love for money, the second thing that Alicia would do after seeing her family was obviously checking on how her business was doing. In terms of wealth, Alicia was undoubtfully the richest businesswoman on seven continents. No one had earned more money by doing business than the goddess of wealth.

"Can sir please tell me the name of the person that has taken over this lady's heart?"

"I can't give this young lady the person's name as I don't know his name but I can give you some hints about that person's appearance. Would you like to know?"

"Please....."

"That person that this young and beautiful lady is in love with is over 6 feet tall."

"Anything else." Alicia asked back while barely holding her smile.

Aditya pretended to think by stroking his chin with his right palm. "The person that this young maiden in love with is called the Emperor by millions of people. He is highly respected. His name has spread all over the continent."

"Anything else?"

"I can tell you more but this young master's wish must be fulfilled first. This young master never offers his service to anyone for free." Aditya made a serious face.

"I wonder what this young master's wish is. This lady shall try her best to fulfill the young master's wish. But please have some mercy on this young lady. I barely have enough money to feed my family." Aditya nearly rolled his eyes at Alicia. 'Woman you're the richest businesswoman in the entire world. Yet you're saying that you don't have enough money to feed your family. If other merchants heard your words, they would cough up blood and just die.'

"This young miss can rest assured. Young master is not interested in money. This young master has a kind of problem. Young master has to pay a price every time he uses his powers to read other people's heart. Let me warn you, young miss, the price that young master has to pay is half of his lifespan. To prevent young master from having to pay half of his lifespan, the young man needs a certain thing from the certain whom he had read the heart of." If someone else heard Aditya and Alicia's conversation, that person would never doubt Aditya and Alicia. That person would think that everything that he was hearing was true.

"Young master, you're doing this young lady a big favor by telling me about the person whom I love. Just tell this young lady what you need from me."

"Although this young master is ashamed to say it, this young master requires a kiss from this young lady."

For the next one minute, Alicia did not say anything. She just stared at Aditya. Aditya also looked at her. As the seconds passed, Aditya felt that he had gone too far. Maybe he should have asked for something else.

Sigh!

"Since the young master is doing a big favor by telling this lady the appearance of my loved one, this lady shall give a kiss to the young master. But only after the young master has told this lady the appearance of my fated one."

"The person that loves this lady can fight 5th-order cultivators and win against them. Wherever he goes, he is respected. He is a very handsome looking man. His handsomeness can charm the hearts of all the maidens in his Empire."

Aditya gave Alicia a smirk and asked. "Now, does the princess know the person whose appearance that this young master has spoken of?"

"Of course, I know. The person whom you have spoken of is sitting right in front of my very eyes. But I am not sure about the handsome part."

"Wrong. I was talking about your father." Alicia's eyes widened. She realized that from the beginning, Aditya was hinting at her father.

"Pay, my lady, it's time for you to keep your promise and give me the kiss that I have been waiting for. Don't worry, if you're shy then we can pull the curtains and kiss in the darkness. I promise no one will know." Aditya closed his eyes and waited for the kiss that never came.

"Why should I give you a kiss? I never promised anything to anybody."

Aditya narrowed his eyes and closely looked at the princess. "Just you wait, sooner or later I will get that kiss from you."

"Hmph! You can dream all you want but your dream will never come true." Soon the carriage stopped in front of the guild.

Just as the carriage doors were opened, Aditya heard the voice of a girl. When he looked at the girl, he found a dark elf welcoming Alicia with a happy smile. The dark elf appeared to have shoulder-length white hair. The woman had tan skin and an angelic face. What made Aditya surprised was the fact that this woman had beginner 5th-order cultivation.

The dark elf woman was wearing a beautiful long white dress and had tied her hair in a ponytail. She had worn blood drop earrings which were very eye-catching.

"Sylvie, it's been a white since we met each other. How have you been doing?" The dark elf woman named Sylvie and Alicia hugged each other.

"My lady, I have been doing well. What about you?" Sylvie wasn't expecting her boss, Alicia, to return. It has been a few months since the last time both of them met each other.

"I have been doing well. Sylvie let me introduce you to Aditya. He is my boyfriend."

"What???????" Sylvie's scream attracted the attention of everyone inside the guild building and the people who were walking on the streets. Everyone was looking at Sylvie and Alicia.

"Look, its' Lady Sylvie and her royal highness."

"It seems the rumor of her royal highness returning was true after all."

"It hasn't been even a day and Her royal highness has come to visit Lady Sylvie."

"Of course. They are best friends after all."

"One is the princess of the Ethereal Empire and the other is the owner and leader of the biggest Guild in Westnia."

"There were some rumors that suggest Her royal highness had funded lady Sylvie when expanding the White Lotus guild."

With his enhanced senses, Aditya was able to hear a thing or two about Sylvie and had managed to learn her identity. 'It looks like no one really knows that Alicia is the real guild Leader. To the whole world Sylvie is the guild leader."

"Sylvie, let's head inside and talk." Before Sylvie could reply, Alicia grabbed her right and pulled her inside the guild office. Aditya also followed Alicia and entered the guild.

Inside the guild, there were more than hundreds of adventurers. Some of them were either sitting on the chairs and drinking. While some of the party members were looking for suitable missions with high pay and low risk.

No one stopped Alicia as everyone in the guild knew her identity. Even the non adventurers knew that her royal highness was a regular visitor of White Lotus guild.

Aditya followed Alicia and Sylvie all the way to the third floor which was the personal floor of the guild leader. Compared to the 1st and 2nd floors, the 3rd floor was very luxurious.

"Aditya sat down." Aditya nodded and then sat on the red soft couch. Alicia had brought Aditya to her personal room. This room was the guild leader's office room. This is where Alicia and Sylvie mostly held their meetings.

The office room had a table opposite the door and next to the window through which the royal palace could be seen. 5 meters away from the table, two couches were placed opposite to each other. The floor was covered with a red carpet. The walls were beautifully painted. There were various painted arts of Sylvie and Alicia hanging on the walls.

"Alicia, is he really your boyfriend?" Sylvie was looking at Aditya. Aditya was also looking at Sylvie. Adiya wondered just how old this young looking woman was?

"Hehe! Of course not. Aditya is acting as my boyfriend.

"So you're fooling your family." Sylvie being Alicia's best friend, knew her friend's troubles and worries.

"You will be shocked if you knew about Aditya's identity." Alicia's words only made Sylvie, the beginner 5th-order more curious about this handsome young man's identity.

"His identity is ..." Alicia made a dramatic pause.

"Just say it."

"He is my fiance." Sylvie widened her eyes. For a moment her entire body trembled as she looked at Aditya. For almost two decades, Sylvie has been hearing about the Dragon King's son. She never expected Alicia to fool her family with her real fiance.

"Does your parents know about this?" Sylvie felt her throat go dry. If the people learned Aditya's identity, she can only imagine the wild reaction that the people would have.

"Of course not. There is no such thing as engagement." Alicia and Aditya had come to an agreement. Neither of them was going to mention the contract or the fact that Aditya was technically Alicia's husband.

Instead of claiming the goddesses, Aditya wanted to break off this contract so that the other girls could also be free. He did not feel good about forcing a girl to marry him. Even if Aditya married the seven goddesses, there would be no feelings involved. It would be a tasteless, bitter and black and white life for Aditya and the 7 girls. This is not what Aditya wanted.

"I understand." Sylvie finally managed to calm down but little she knew that her best friend was going to give her another big shock.

"By the way, Aditya's fiance is the Goddess of Alchemy, Julia." Sylvie feltt someone had struck her with multiple bolts of lightning. She almost felt like she was going to lose her consciousness.

For the next 5 minutes, Sylvie did not speak. She tried to process the words that she heard. After a long time, Sylvie finally recovered and looked at Alicia again.

"You're not joking are you?"

"Of course not. Julia has been living with Aditya in disguise. Two of them fell into love and now they are officially engaged. Aditya only came here because I owed him."

"Alicia, you're taking a big risk. Sooner or later, your parents will find out the truth. I can't even begin to imagine what would happen that day." Sylvie felt that her best friend was taking too many risks.

"You're worrying too much. My plan won't fail." Little did the goddess knew that her plan already had been seen through by her family.

"

Bang!

"Just long how do we have to keep running like this?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 157

This chapter is dedicated to the readers [Yam_Van_5538], [Grangel] and [thedeep ] for gifting this novel with an ice cola, a Inspiration capsule, and a pizza

Thank you very much to the readers [Yam_Van_5538], [Grangel] and [thedeep ]

"By the way, where are you going?" It has been more than 10 minutes since Aditya has started following Alicia in the capital. He has no idea where this woman was taking him.

"Why don't you guess?" Alicia acted mysterious. Aditya unfortunately wasn't able to see the smile hidden under that veil.

"You're going taking me to meet you friends....~"

"Nope. Let's try again."

Aditya thought for a few seconds and realized where they were again. 'Why didn't I think of it sooner?'

"You're going to the guild" Alicia widened her eyes in shock.

"Sir, how did you know that I was taking you to my guild? Do you perhaps have some kind of power that allows you to read others' minds?"

Aditya picked up the flow and replied with a smirk. "I can read people's hearts. I can tell that this young lady is in love."

In truth it wasn't that difficult to guess where Alicia was taking him. Knowing her personality and her love for money, the second thing that Alicia would do after seeing her family was obviously checking on how her business was doing. In terms of wealth, Alicia was undoubtfully the richest businesswoman on seven continents. No one had earned more money by doing business than the goddess of wealth.

"Can sir please tell me the name of the person that has taken over this lady's heart?"

"I can't give this young lady the person's name as I don't know his name but I can give you some hints about that person's appearance. Would you like to know?"

"Please....."

"That person that this young and beautiful lady is in love with is over 6 feet tall."

"Anything else." Alicia asked back while barely holding her smile.

Aditya pretended to think by stroking his chin with his right palm. "The person that this young maiden in love with is called the Emperor by millions of people. He is highly respected. His name has spread all over the continent."

"Anything else?"

"I can tell you more but this young master's wish must be fulfilled first. This young master never offers his service to anyone for free." Aditya made a serious face.

"I wonder what this young master's wish is. This lady shall try her best to fulfill the young master's wish. But please have some mercy on this young lady. I barely have enough money to feed my family." Aditya nearly rolled his eyes at Alicia. 'Woman you're the richest businesswoman in the entire world. Yet you're saying that you don't have enough money to feed your family. If other merchants heard your words, they would cough up blood and just die.'

"This young miss can rest assured. Young master is not interested in money. This young master has a kind of problem. Young master has to pay a price every time he uses his powers to read other people's heart. Let me warn you, young miss, the price that young master has to pay is half of his lifespan. To prevent young master from having to pay half of his lifespan, the young man needs a certain thing from the certain whom he had read the heart of." If someone else heard Aditya and Alicia's conversation, that person would never doubt Aditya and Alicia. That person would think that everything that he was hearing was true.

"Young master, you're doing this young lady a big favor by telling me about the person whom I love. Just tell this young lady what you need from me."

"Although this young master is ashamed to say it, this young master requires a kiss from this young lady."

For the next one minute, Alicia did not say anything. She just stared at Aditya. Aditya also looked at her. As the seconds passed, Aditya felt that he had gone too far. Maybe he should have asked for something else.

Sigh!

"Since the young master is doing a big favor by telling this lady the appearance of my loved one, this lady shall give a kiss to the young master. But only after the young master has told this lady the appearance of my fated one."

"The person that loves this lady can fight 5th-order cultivators and win against them. Wherever he goes, he is respected. He is a very handsome looking man. His handsomeness can charm the hearts of all the maidens in his Empire."

Aditya gave Alicia a smirk and asked. "Now, does the princess know the person whose appearance that this young master has spoken of?"

"Of course, I know. The person whom you have spoken of is sitting right in front of my very eyes. But I am not sure about the handsome part."

"Wrong. I was talking about your father." Alicia's eyes widened. She realized that from the beginning, Aditya was hinting at her father.

"Pay, my lady, it's time for you to keep your promise and give me the kiss that I have been waiting for. Don't worry, if you're shy then we can pull the curtains and kiss in the darkness. I promise no one will know." Aditya closed his eyes and waited for the kiss that never came.

"Why should I give you a kiss? I never promised anything to anybody."

Aditya narrowed his eyes and closely looked at the princess. "Just you wait, sooner or later I will get that kiss from you."

"Hmph! You can dream all you want but your dream will never come true." Soon the carriage stopped in front of the guild.

Just as the carriage doors were opened, Aditya heard the voice of a girl. When he looked at the girl, he found a dark elf welcoming Alicia with a happy smile. The dark elf appeared to have shoulder-length white hair. The woman had tan skin and an angelic face. What made Aditya surprised was the fact that this woman had beginner 5th-order cultivation.

The dark elf woman was wearing a beautiful long white dress and had tied her hair in a ponytail. She had worn blood drop earrings which were very eye-catching.

"Sylvie, it's been a white since we met each other. How have you been doing?" The dark elf woman named Sylvie and Alicia hugged each other.

"My lady, I have been doing well. What about you?" Sylvie wasn't expecting her boss, Alicia, to return. It has been a few months since the last time both of them met each other.

"I have been doing well. Sylvie let me introduce you to Aditya. He is my boyfriend."

"What???????" Sylvie's scream attracted the attention of everyone inside the guild building and the people who were walking on the streets. Everyone was looking at Sylvie and Alicia.

"Look, its' Lady Sylvie and her royal highness."

"It seems the rumor of her royal highness returning was true after all."

"It hasn't been even a day and Her royal highness has come to visit Lady Sylvie."

"Of course. They are best friends after all."

"One is the princess of the Ethereal Empire and the other is the owner and leader of the biggest Guild in Westnia."

"There were some rumors that suggest Her royal highness had funded lady Sylvie when expanding the White Lotus guild."

With his enhanced senses, Aditya was able to hear a thing or two about Sylvie and had managed to learn her identity. 'It looks like no one really knows that Alicia is the real guild Leader. To the whole world Sylvie is the guild leader."

"Sylvie, let's head inside and talk." Before Sylvie could reply, Alicia grabbed her right and pulled her inside the guild office. Aditya also followed Alicia and entered the guild.

Inside the guild, there were more than hundreds of adventurers. Some of them were either sitting on the chairs and drinking. While some of the party members were looking for suitable missions with high pay and low risk.

No one stopped Alicia as everyone in the guild knew her identity. Even the non adventurers knew that her royal highness was a regular visitor of White Lotus guild.

Aditya followed Alicia and Sylvie all the way to the third floor which was the personal floor of the guild leader. Compared to the 1st and 2nd floors, the 3rd floor was very luxurious.

"Aditya sat down." Aditya nodded and then sat on the red soft couch. Alicia had brought Aditya to her personal room. This room was the guild leader's office room. This is where Alicia and Sylvie mostly held their meetings.

The office room had a table opposite the door and next to the window through which the royal palace could be seen. 5 meters away from the table, two couches were placed opposite to each other. The floor was covered with a red carpet. The walls were beautifully painted. There were various painted arts of Sylvie and Alicia hanging on the walls.

"Alicia, is he really your boyfriend?" Sylvie was looking at Aditya. Aditya was also looking at Sylvie. Adiya wondered just how old this young looking woman was?

"Hehe! Of course not. Aditya is acting as my boyfriend.

"So you're fooling your family." Sylvie being Alicia's best friend, knew her friend's troubles and worries.

"You will be shocked if you knew about Aditya's identity." Alicia's words only made Sylvie, the beginner 5th-order more curious about this handsome young man's identity.

"His identity is ..." Alicia made a dramatic pause.

"Just say it."

"He is my fiance." Sylvie widened her eyes. For a moment her entire body trembled as she looked at Aditya. For almost two decades, Sylvie has been hearing about the Dragon King's son. She never expected Alicia to fool her family with her real fiance.

"Does your parents know about this?" Sylvie felt her throat go dry. If the people learned Aditya's identity, she can only imagine the wild reaction that the people would have.

"Of course not. There is no such thing as engagement." Alicia and Aditya had come to an agreement. Neither of them was going to mention the contract or the fact that Aditya was technically Alicia's husband.

Instead of claiming the goddesses, Aditya wanted to break off this contract so that the other girls could also be free. He did not feel good about forcing a girl to marry him. Even if Aditya married the seven goddesses, there would be no feelings involved. It would be a tasteless, bitter and black and white life for Aditya and the 7 girls. This is not what Aditya wanted.

"I understand." Sylvie finally managed to calm down but little she knew that her best friend was going to give her another big shock.

"By the way, Aditya's fiance is the Goddess of Alchemy, Julia." Sylvie feltt someone had struck her with multiple bolts of lightning. She almost felt like she was going to lose her consciousness.

For the next 5 minutes, Sylvie did not speak. She tried to process the words that she heard. After a long time, Sylvie finally recovered and looked at Alicia again.

"You're not joking are you?"

"Of course not. Julia has been living with Aditya in disguise. Two of them fell into love and now they are officially engaged. Aditya only came here because I owed him."

"Alicia, you're taking a big risk. Sooner or later, your parents will find out the truth. I can't even begin to imagine what would happen that day." Sylvie felt that her best friend was taking too many risks.

"You're worrying too much. My plan won't fail." Little did the goddess knew that her plan had already been seen through by her family.

"

Somewhere in Dying Isle Continent

Bang!

"How long do we have to keep running like this?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 158

Bang!

"How long do we have to keep running like this? This is the second time where I nearly died. I had to sacrifice my men to get my ass saved. In the process, I have also lost almost all of my money and wealth."

Sitting in a secret room, there were 11 people. All of them were holding a glass of red wine in their hands. Beside the 11 men, there were four beautiful maids who were going around and serving drinks to these 11 men. Whenever one of them emptied their glass, the one of the maids would pour more for them.

"Life has become hell for us. In just two months we went from being at the top to being at the bottom. We lost our status. Our wealth. Our Power. Our respect. Everything that we held dear has been taken away from us." The one who spoke was a fat old man with bald head and white heard. The man appeared to be around 55 years old.

This man was the Duke, a respected noble of one of the 14 Kingdoms that joined hands with the Nepoca Kingdom to attack the Istarin empire. In the end, they miserably lost the war. No one, not even a single person had expected this outcome.

The Istarin Empire turned out to be a lion hiding under sheep skin. After killing more than one million soldiers, the Istarin Empire did not stop there. Under King Aditya's order, his seven generals went on to capture all 14 Kingdoms.

Count James and other nobles somehow managed to escape with their wealth. After escaping they thought that the Istarin Empire would stop coming after them, but it turned out they were wrong.

The Emperor had sent his shadow warriors after them. One by one, all the nobles that fled started dying. Now only 11 more nobles were left.

"Count James, can you please tell me what really happened last night?" Another noble who looked a little older asked the fat bald man named James.

"Last night, I was peacefully sleeping in my secret Mansion but suddenly the whole Mansion was attacked. By the time I realized that the whole Mansion was surrounded, it was too late. As a result I had sacrifice my two powerful guards and my family to run away. While running away, I had even leave my weath behind. Now I barely have enough gold coins."

Last night, Nathan had sent his subordinates to hunt Count James. Nathan was testing if his subordinates was ready to take missions without him needing to lead them. Unfortunately the mission was a failure. Although they managed to assassinate the count's family, the count himself managed to escape.

"I don't understand. We already have left our territories. We have gave up our powers. Even after doing all this, why the Emperor is sending his men after our lives?" The truth is if Aditya had given these nobles the option of surrendering many of them would have surrendered. But Aditya was strictly ordered all the nobles to be killed.

To some this might seem like the act of cruelty but to Aditya who knew what kind of men these nobles were, he wanted to end their lives and remove them from his territory. Just letting these viruses live in his land was corrupting his empire.

"Hmph! It's obvious that the emperor is after the money that we took while fleeing. But I am not going to give up hard earned money to the Emperor."

Some nobles rolled their eyes. "You say hard earned money? Exactly how hard did you work to earn this gold coins. Every one of us has tortured our own people in countless ways to fill our pockets. This is nothing but Karma."

"Should we give up the money to the Istarin King. As long as I can live in peace, I don't mind giving up my wealth."

"Are you an idiot or what? Listen I have made a plan to escape the Istarin Empire in the next 5 days."

"What plan?" Everyone looked very curious and also little excited.

"5 days from now on, a ship carrying slaves will go to Westnia continent. We can pretend to be slave traders and board on that ship and leave the Istarin Empire. As long as we reach Westnia, using the wealth we have, we can easily live a luxurious life."

"That's good idea. But how we're going to avoid the guards?"

"Don't worry about that. I have secretly spoken with the guard captain. In exchange for 100 royal gold coins, he has agreed to give us free pass."

"What are we supposed to do after reaching Westnia continent?" One of them asked. None of the nobles in this room had ever went to a different continent. Some of didn't know what kind of challenges they will face there.

"Don't worry about so many useless things. As long as we can leave the Istarin Empire, everything will become easy. At least we won't lose our lives."

"What about our businesses?" Even though the nobles have lost their powers and their territories. Their illegal businesses were still running.

"It's a matter of time before the Istarin empire targets our businesses as well. There is no hope. I suggest that before everything is seized by the Istarin Empire, you guys sell your businesses to the local gangs."

"I guess I will just do that."

"One more thing. Don't anyone, not even your servants about our plan of leaving the Istarin empire."

The only thing that stopped the nobles form leaving the Istarin empire as their businesses and the fact that Aditya had increased the security in the borders. Now that the Storm Isle Dynasty and the Thera Kingdom had become allies, if the nobles went there, they would be captured as criminals and sent back to the Istarin empire.

In a way, these nobles were tapped from all sides. They can't even use the teleportation arrays as Aditya had put tight security around the teleportation arrays. No criminal is allowed to use the teleportation arrays.

One of the nobles tried to use the teleportation array in disguise but unfortunately that noble was captured. And was publicly executed along with his family.

In the northern part of the Istarin Empire,

"Captain, everything is ready." A man appeared out of the shadow and reported to Nathan. The current Nathan had changed a lot. He had grown a little bit taller and also more mature. He was the leader of the assassins.

"Good. Surround the entire house first. Do not let anyone see you. If anyone does happens to see you, just kill them. If its an innocent person then knock them out. This time I don't want the same mistake to repeat. Otherwise....." Nathan did not needed to say the rest. Everyone under Nathan's division knew just how cold their Captain was. Anyone that failed to live Nathan test's was heavily punished. The punishment was more like torture that lasted for days.

"Let's start." Nathan and all the assassins disappeared in thin air. At this moment 24 assassins had surround by the double-story wooden house. Nathan sneaked inside and easily killed the guards. Nathan was so fast that no one was even able to the face or the figure of the person who killed them.

Nathan's killing technique was fast and swift. He did not made any sound. Also his weapons were coated with deadly poison that was made by Julia. The poison was strong enough to take down even a beginner 4th-order.

The nobles were holding their meeting at the basement of the wooden house.

Bang!

Nathan kicked opened the door and entered inside. After entering, he coldly smiled seeing the scared faces of 11 nobles. The last 15 months, these 11 nobles had been playing mouse and cat games. Now Nathan had finally found them together.

"It's checkmate." Nathan and his men captured the 11 nobles and took away their money.

"Captain, should we kill them?"

"No, they still have valuable information. Torture them and find out about the people betrayed the Istarin empire and has worked with him in the past. I also want the information on the local gangs and criminals." Aditya had given Nathan the task of clearing the corruption and criminals activities from the Northern part of the Istarin Empire.

Aditya had no idea what was going on in Istarin empire. No one in the continent knew that Aditya had come here. He had spread a rumor saying that the Emperor has went to close doors to cultivate in hopes of breaking through Mid 3rd-order.

In his absence, his generals and his unofficial prime minister was working very hard.

"So Aditya, are you interested in having another wife?"

"Huh?"

"Sylvie, what are you saying?"

It has been a few hours since Aditya, Sylvie and Alicia had started talking. It was mostly Sylvie who took the initiative to ask questions to either Aditya or to Alicia.

"What? I am being serious here. I am already more than 300+ years old. I am still a virgin. Is it wrong for me to try finding a husband?" Sylvie pitifully looked at Alicia. Sylvie was close to being 400+ years old. She had lived a long life but has failed to find a man who can shake her heart and make her fall in love.

While Sylvie's family was traditional family and wanted Sylvie to marry the person that her parents had arranged. The dark elf rejected and simply left home. It has been more than 200 years since Sylvie had left home. She was still angry at her parents. While her parents tried to bring Sylvie through various methods but failed to do so as Sylvie is a beginner 5th-order.

Sylvie turned to look at Aditya with a beautiful smile. "What do you think Aditya? While I am above 300+ years old, if you compare it to the age of humans, I am around 30 years old. I can cook, clean and also become an excellent wife. All you will have to do is just give me a baby."

"Sylvie!!!!" For some reason Alicia looked very angry with Sylvie's words. It was as if her words her triggered the goddess's wrath.

Aditya looked at Alicia. The calm, collected, reserved goddess that never lost control of her emotions was now looking angry. This was the first time Aditya had ever seen the goddess get angry. As for why she was getting angry, Aditya felt he knew the reason.

"How many children do you want Sylvie? Aditya asked Sylvie with a smile. Meanwhile Alicia glared back at Aditya which the dragon King ignored.

"Let me see. Since there are 7 continents and 7 goddesses, I want 7 children." Inwardly Aditya wondered what does the number of continents has to do with having children.

"Why stop at 7 when I can give you more? Why don't you give your personal info? After I go back, I will contact you. We can slowly start by going to various dates and hanging out."

"That's a great idea." Sylvie took out a piece of white paper and started writing her contact details.

"STOP" The goddess Alicia appeared in front of Sylvie and tore the white paper on which Sylvie had written her contact info.

"Hey! Why did you do that?" Aditya asked in a dissatisfied tone.

"Hmph! Why do you want another wife? You already have one." Alicia sat down while folding her arms under her chest.

"Princess, don't you know that Dragons have the second most stamina after Incubus? Our sex drive cannot be satisfied with only one woman. Not to mention the fact that my dragon bloodline is more powerful and special than ordinary dragons." What Aditya was saying is very true. But he did not had any intention of getting another woman beside Julia. Aditya considered himself as a loyal man.

After his bloodline evolved to Divine Crimson Dragon bloodline, Aditya painfully realized that his sex drive had reached a new level. At first it was very difficult for him to control himself but later he started using his right hand. Every night unless he uses his right hand at least for an hour, Aditya won't be able to go to sleep.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 159

After sunset, Aditya and Alicia left the White Lotus guild. Aditya has learned many things about the White Lotus guild from Sylvie.

The white Lotus guild originally was founded by Alicia. But to prevent anyone from suspecting that the Ethereal Empire is trying to form a intelligent network, Alicia made Sylvie the guild leader. Other Empires wouldn't have let the White Lotus guild operate in their Empires if they knew that the princess of the Ethereal Empire is running the White Lotus guild. Only a few people knew that it was the Goddess of wealth who run the White Lotus guild.

The purpose of the guild was not just to make money. The real purpose of the guild was to collect information. Through the White Lotus guild, the Ethereal empire was keeping an eye on every major powerful Kingdoms and Empires. It was a necessary step.

As for the earning that came from the White Lotus guild, the Emperor reduced tax that the White Lotus guild has to pay. Aside from taxes, Ronnie does not take any of his daughter's earning even though his daughter is the richest merchant in the whole world. The Ethereal Empire was already very rich because of the large quantity of natural resources that the Empire had.

Also even if the Empire wasn't that rich, Ronnie never would have used his daughter's income. A huge chunk of Alicia's earning goes to charity; to hundreds of orphanage that was set up all around the Ethereal Empire. While the rest of her earning was reinvested to other continents. Even without being present on other continents, the goddess of wealth was already had large amount of wealth in other continents.

After returning home, Aditya had dinner with every member of the Osburn family. After dinner, the whole family had another meeting where everyone talked about various topics. Whether it was political topic or other kinds of topic.

"Aditya, your bedroom is next to Alicia's which is on the second floor."

"Aditya come with me."

After having dinner, Noah and Ronnie had went back to the Castle as they had some important matter to handle. While others went back to their bedroom to sleep.

"Do you have any problem staying in this house? If you're feeling uncomfortable then both of us can head back to the castle and stay there." While Alicia's family was very traditional and lived a simple life even though her family could have a luxurious lifestyle just like other royalties and nobles, Alicia wasn't sure if Aditya is comfortable staying in a wooden house.

"Its' actually the opposite. I feel very comfortable. I don't have any problem staying here." Alicia's family made Aditya very comfortable. He did not feel like he was the outsider here.

Even though everything here was very simple, Aditya liked it. Aditya can feel that the whole Osburn family was very close. Maybe living a simple lifestyle and living in a small house has bought the whole family even closer.

"That's good to know." While talking, both of them had reached the second floor.

After that both Aditya and Alicia separated and entered their own rooms. Aditya was happy that he does not has to share room with Alicia. Aditya is sure Alicia is also feeling the same.

Scene change_____

Sigh!

"Why I am even working so hard? Instead of laying on my comfortable bed, I am being forced to work. It looks this will be another sleepless night for me." Sylvie looked a little tired. It was impossible for a beginner 5th-order to feel tired after a day of long work. What Sylvie was feeling was mental exhaustion.

It was not easy to become the guild leader. With power, she also got lots of paper works as bonus.

"I wish I can find someone to take my place. I have been doing this for almost 9 years now."

Sigh!

The dark elf sighed one again. 9 years ago when she became the guild leader, all of her freedom was unofficially taken away from her. Since then she has been spending 90% of her time in her office.

All the profits that the White Lotus guild earned was divided. Alicia took 50% while Sylvie get to keep the remaining 50%. The only reason Sylvie had agreed to become the guild leader 9 years ago is because Alicia had offered to give her 50% of the guild's total earning.

Sylvie still remembers the day when a 10 years old girl approached her and asked her to become the guild leader. At first Sylvie found the girl's words ridiculous. But after learning the girl's identity and her tempting offer, Sylvie eventually agreed to become the guild leader. At that time, Sylvie also needed money. But now Sylvie is rich enough to buy the Istarin Empire.

Knock! Knock!

"Who is it?" Sylvie felt a little annoyed.

"My lady, something terrible has happened."

"You can come in."

Click!

The door was opened by a 30 years old handsome man. The man was wearing black T-shirt and black pants. Despite looking weak and skinny, the man actually was Peak 4th-order cultivator.

Issei was the name of the vice leader of the White Lotus guild. Issei had long black hair and he was around 5 feet 5 inches tall.

"What happened Issei?" Sylvie was frowning. Deep down she was wondering what made the vice leader of the white Lotus guild came up to her at late night.

"My lady, in the north there is a city called Black Wood city. I am sure you must have heard of it." Sylvie nodded her. The black Wood city that Issei was speaking of was a city of the Ethereal Empire.

The Black wood city was located at the northern border of the Ethereal Empire. What lied beyond the Black Wood city was the Heavenly Hemlock Forest. The Heavenly Hemlock Forest was filled with countless magical animals. The Heavenly Hemlock Forest was divided into three regions. The core region which is also known as the central region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest was home to some of the strongest magical animals on the Westnia continent.

The magical animals that lived in this part of the forest were so strong that even Sylvie who was a beginner 5th-order, didn't dare go there. In the past any 5th-order that had went to that region has never returned. The core region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest was also known as the forbidden land.

"Did some of the Magical animals attack the Black Wood city again?" In every six months to one year, a few thousands of magical animals attacked the Black Wood city. Of course the Ethereal Empire easily dealt with the magical animal attacks.

Issei gave a bitter smile and said. "Actually, this time, the situation is even worse."

"What actually happened?"

"A few hours ago, just as the sun had down down and the darkness had enveloped the Black Wood city. More than 100,000 monsters attacked the Black Wood city. At first we all thought that this was another attack from the magical animals with a bigger number compared to the other times."

"However, we have underestimated the enemy. It would be more accurate to say that none of us had anticipated the magical animals or the monsters to be this strong. Previous times, whenever the monsters attacked the Black Wood city, the strength of the strongest monster wouldn't be higher than beginner 3rd-order. But this time, almost half of the monsters had 3rd-order power."

"We somehow managed to keep the monsters from breaking our defensive line. But this all changed when thousands of 4th-order monsters showed up."

"Does that mean...?" Sylvie felt her blood run cold as her throat got dry. Her entire body shook as she tried to keep herself from showing any strong reaction in front of Issei. She bit her lips so hard that blood started coming out.

"Yes, My lady. Unfortunately, the Black wood city has fallen. Subtracting the number of people that we managed to evacuate in time, my guess is more than 1.5 million people and soldiers have died." Sylvie tightly clenched her fists in anger. She never thought that in a few hours time more than 1.5 millions of people would die in the hands of monsters.

"What about the people that worked in the White Lotus guild branch?" Every city in Westnia had a white Lotus guild branch office. Each of the branch office had a teleportation array through which the white Lotus guild transported goods from one branch office to other branch city throughout the entire continent.

"Out of the 30 people, only 19 of them were able to leave the city. While other 11 choose to stay behind and to hold back the monsters." Compared to the damage that the Ethereal empire has taken from this incident, the damage that the white Lotus guild had taken was neglectable.

Sigh!

"Alright, you may leave."

"Before I leave, I have another thing to report." For some reason, hearing Issei's words, Sylvie had a bad feeling.

"The monsters that attacked the Black Wood city were Fire ants. Other than Fire ants, there were no other types of monsters in the horde." Issei's words had caused a big explosion to take place in Sylvie's mind.

"What? I thought Fire ants were weak monster with 1st-order strength." A normal Fire ant around 0.3 to 0.5 meters big. They normally had the strength of Mid 1st order. While the queen had Peak 1st-order strength.

Fire ants were very easy and common to kill as they were weak monsters. No one in the whole world has heard of Fire ants having the power of 3rd and 4th-orders.

"My lady, we haven't found any answer. The strongest Fire ant that the survivors has seen was a Peak 4th-order Fire ant. The Ant was said to be around 2 meters big in size and had terrifying strength."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 160

This chapter is specially dedicated to the reader [Zeko323] for gifting this novel with a Magic castle worth 5000 Coins.

Thank you very much to the reader [Zeko323] for your continuous support. It means a lot to me.

"My lady, we haven't found any answer. The strongest Fire ant that the survivors have seen was a Peak 4th-order Fire ant. The Ant was said to be around 2 meters big in size and had terrifying strength."

"Alright I will look into this matter. Report everything to his Majesty." Issei bowed his head and then took his leave.

Sylvie couldn't understand how Fire ants, a types of magical animals that only supposed to have the strength of 1st-order managed to reach 4th-order. According to Issei there was at least thousands of 4th-order Fire ants. Even Sylvie is not sure if she can take on 1000 of 4th-order Fire ants at once and survive.

A few hours later,

Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie and Noah, all four them were standing inside the teleportation circle. The news had already spread throughout the whole Empire. Ronnie decided to sent Noah to investigate. Following Noah, Sylvie also offered her services. Since both her best friend and her big brother was going, Alicia also decided to join along with Aditya.

"Welcome to Rose Hills city." All the guards bowed their heads in the presence of the crown prince and the princess. Everyone easily recognized Sylvie as she was equally popular as the princess. No one knew who this handsome young man with long blue hair and crimson eyes was.

Rose Hills City, the city was originally a small village in the mountain. A few hundred years ago, the Emperor, Ronnie's father and Alicia's grandfather personally made efforts to develop the Rose Hills village into one of the most prosperous cities of Westnia. The Rose Hills City was only around 90 km away from the Blackwood city.

Since the Rose Hills city was closet to the Blackwood city, everyone feared that the magical animals might attack this city next. So the Emperor had sent a millions of soldiers, along with various advanced and powerful defensive barriers and cannons.

While the Blackwood city had around 1.8 million people living in it, the number of people that lived in the Rose Hills city was almost 3 times the total population of Blackwood city. The Rose Hills city was home to more than 5.2 millions people. This number now has been increased to 6.2 million with the millions of troops that the Emperor sent.

The city was surrounded by tall mountains. As the Rose Hills city was located on top of a hill, the temperature of the city was lower than other cities. The people of this city were used to the harsh winter.

Right now even though it was midnight, the whole Rose Hills city was in a state of turmoil and panic. The citizens were afraid that they were going to experience the same fate as the people of the Blackwood city did. All the rich merchants and rich peoples and the people who can afford the price of using the teleportation array were demanding to leave the city. The Emperor saw this coming so he had asked 10,000 guards to protect the teleportation array and to not let anyone leave the city. Not only that, no one was allowed to leave or enter the city in this period.

Alicia's father was confident that a 1 million troops and advanced cannons would be enough to stop the Fire Ants horde from entering the city. The Emperor felt that if suddenly a large number of people moved to other cities, this would disturb the order of his Empire and would cause more chaos.

"You all may rise. Give me a brief detail on the present situation." A man whose appeared to be around 6 feet 4 inches bowed before Noah and Alicia then started reporting.

"Your Royal highness, just as his majesty has ordered us, one million troops have been placed outside the city. The thousands cannons also has been placed on the walls and are ready to fire. Each of our advanced cannons has the power to kill a 4th-order with a single shot. Also the city defensive barrier is also ready. Even a 5th-order would have trouble breaking the defensive barrier."

"Good. We will be going ahead to see what has happened to the Blackwood city."

The man hesitated before speaking. "Your royal highness, with all due respect, I think it's dangerous for you to go there."

Noah coldly looked at the man who was also the commander of the 1 million troops. "Levi, I have a 5th-order cultivator with me. Beside I am not that weak. We're not going there to fight. You're worrying too much." Noah replied in a displeased tone. If Sylvie had not asked Alicia's father to go along with Noah, Ronnie would have sent a 5th-order to go along with Noah.

"I apologize for my rude words." Levi bowed his head again before standing aside.

"Let's go." The soldiers moved aside and made a path for the crown prince, princess, Guild leader and the man with blue hair.

"Alicia, can you tell me a little about Levi?" Aditya whispered in Alicia's ears.

"Actually Levi is a Peak 4th-order half beastmen. Although he does not have the physical appearance of a beastmen, having the blood of beastmen has made Levi extremely powerful. I heard that there was a time when Levi had single handedly killed 7 Peak 4th-order cultivators alone. Also Levi is a genius when it comes to commanding and leading the troops."

The troops looked at the princess whispering something to this unknown man. Everyone felt that both of them were flirting. Everyone felt that Aditya's identity was also something very special.

"I am not sure but I think Levi already has the power of half beginner 5th-order. Technically he cannot take on a beginner 5th-order. But no Peak 4th-order can defeat him." Aditya looked at Levi who stood at the center of the teleportation array. It looked like Levi was calling a few powerful mages.

"By the way, Aditya can you fly?" Noah suddenly asked this question after they walked near the northern gate of the Rose Hills city.

Two crimson dragon wings appeared on his back. He then nodded to Noah, as if letting Noah know that he can indeed fly.

"Good. In that case, let fly all the way to Blackwood city." Noah took out a Mid 4-star red blood drop earring and wore it in his left ear.

"Sylvie, it looks like you will have to carry in me." Since Alicia neither had any artifact that would let her fly nor had the powers or skills to fly, she can only depend on her best friend Sylvie.

Sylvie as a 5th-order naturally had the power to sky. To her flying in the air is the same as walking on land.

"Alicia, I don't think I will need to carry you this time. Aditya is better suitable to carry you." Alicia wasn't expecting this betrayal from her best friend. Sylvie ignored Alicia's heart broken eyes and flew up. Noah also followed Sylvie and flew up as well.

"Princess no need to be shy. Come here. This is not the first time I have carried somehow while flying. So you don't have to be worried." Aditya shamelessly began taking advantage of the situation.

This only increased Alicia's anger toward Sylvie and Aditya. 'I swear I will get my revenge for this. Just you wait.' While gritting her teeth, Alicia walked up to Aditya. In front of her brother, she still had to act as Aditya's girlfriend.

Aditya put right arm under her knees and then picked up her in a princess carry surprising Alicia.

After picking up Alicia in his arms, Aditya also flew off to the sky. Meanwhile the hundred thousands of troops who saw the princess being carried by an unknown man felt shocked. At this moment, without even knowing Alicia and Aditya's relationship has been known to hundred thousands which will later spread throughout the entire empire.

Noah, Aditya and Sylvie all three flew in the direction of north at a moderate speed. If in case the group is forced to fight, they were preserving their mana and stamina for it. The group was around 150 meters above the ground. While flying, the cold wind of the winter hit their bodies. But no one looked affected by this.

After flying for a few minutes, Aditya stopped while Noah and Sylvie continued flying. "Why did you stop?" Alicia asked in a low tone. Right now the goddess of Wealth was really embarrassed. Fortunately or also unfortunately, Aditya couldn't see her embarrassed face because of the veil. If Aditya saw her face, he would have been charmed by her embarrassed face.

This was the first time, anyone other than Sylvie had carried Alicia like this. Aditya was the third male in Alicia's life after her brother and father to get this close to her.

Being carried like this, Alicia was slightly nervous and strangely also feeling a little excited. Maybe she was feeling excited because she was flying or maybe there is a different reason for her excitement.

"Princess, please wrap your arms around my neck. I can't move at my full speed if you don't hold on to me. I might even drop you if you don't hold me tightly." The last part was obviously was threat to Alicia.

Hearing Aditya's shameless words, Alicia glared at him. For a powerful beginner 3rd-order, Aditya can easily carry her while moving at his full speed. 'This man. I swear I will get my revenge on you.' Alicia knew that Aditya was taking advantage of the situation. If Alicia had known that Aditya was this shameless, she wouldn't have bought him here.

'I should have believed in Julia's words.' Alicia bit her lips while moving her hands to wrap them around his neck.

Aditya nodded with a satisfied smile while saying. "Much better. You know princess, maybe you should try eating less. You're so heavy." Aditya began flying. This time his flying speed was faster than before.

"What did you say?" Aditya pretended to not see Alicia's cold murderous glare. Alicia looked like she wanted to kill Aditya right here. For some reason he felt he better not look at her eyes otherwise he will regret it.

"Nothing."

Storm Flight!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

booom!

Alicia had to tightened her hold as she felt the sudden increase in Aditya's speed. Right now she couldn't see anything properly. The goddess was seeing things in a blurry motions.

Using Storm flight, Aditya had gotten [100+] increase in his agility. While the crimson lightning dash gave him [200+] increase in his agility by consuming [20+] mana per second. So Aditya had a total boost of [300+] extra speed which made him current agility reach [901+]. And for a 3rd-order this much speed wasn't normal at all.

Aditya soon caught up to Noah and Sylvie. Both of them were surprised seeing how fast Aditya was moving.

After catching up with Noah and Sylvie, Aditya stopped using Crimson Lightning dash to match Noah's speed which were somewhere around [700+]. While Sylvie could have moved even faster she didn't as she did not wanted to leave Noah and Aditya behind.

After flying for a several minutes, the group was finally near Blackwood city. Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie and Noah all four stopped. Right now they were approximately 700 meters away from Blackwood city.

Aditya used the Crimson flame to summon a 100 meters big orb of crimson flame which lit the entire area and making it easier for everyone to what was going on.

"What is this?" Aditya, Noah, Alicia and Sylvie, all four had a look of shock and surprise on their faces. Sylvie in her centuries old long life has never seen anything like this before.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 161

"What is this?" Aditya, Noah, Alicia and Sylvie, all four had a look of shock and surprise on their faces. Sylvie in her centuries old long life has never seen anything like this before.

The blackwood city that once stood proudly as one of the big and most developed cities of the Ethereal Empire was completely in ruins. The glory of the Blackwood city had become a thing of the past. There was no trace, no sign of the former developed city that once used to be the home of more than 1.7 millions of people.

What truly remained is the city's past glory and the sacrifice that the Ethereal Empire will never forget. This incident had become a scar to the Ethereal Empire's reputation. The Ethereal Empire, the strongest Empire on the Westnia had suffered a loss of 1.5 millions is a big very thing. If the strongest empire cannot defend against the horde of Fire ants, then what about other Empires? Just what sort of chaos the Fire ants had bought with them.?

While standing 150 meters above the ground in the cold night of winter, Aditya could smell the thick iron smell that was still lingering on the air. The Blackwood city, a city that stood for more than 500 years was destroyed in the matters of hours. The city that always has been protecting itself from monsters ambushes now had fallen with its 500 years of glory and pride. Just what sort of force did the 1.5 million people of this city faced?

The destruction had taken place not only in Blackwood city but also at the surroundings of the city. Even the surroundings areas were not spared. From the sky as the cold snow fell from the clouds as a small northern breeze cooled everything, the four people who were standing at the sky was experiencing various kinds of emotions.

Standing at the sky the goddess of wealth even though at this time she was being held by the person who is her husband in contract, looking down she felt nothing but coldness at this moment. Even the warmth of his body failed to give her any comfort. She just silently clenched her fist while looking down. The goddess will never forget what she has seen today.

Although Sylvie did not even knew these 1.5 million people who had died, she felt nothing but regret and anger. Sylvie is not a good woman. She is a woman who values her interest. But at this moment looking down, she felt her blood boil in anger. Right now she wanted nothing more but to rip the Fire ants heads. She was so anger that she was having a hard time controlling her emotions.

Before coming here, Sylvie was prepared to see something cruel and unforgettable. Sylvie has to admit that what she was currently seeing had exceeded her expectations. This was pure hell.

The most affected person was Noah. The young crown Prince who would soon become the next Emperor felt nothing but endless anger and thirst for blood seeing 1.5 millions of his people die. Leaving aside the huge number of resources and the wealth that the Ethereal Empire has lost from trying to protect the Blackwood city, the future Emperor felt his heart ache while looking down.

The future emperor had clenched his fists so tightly that his nails had dug into his flesh and was drawing out blood. He looked so anger that his body was violently shaking. The more he saw, the more his rage increased. As a result of his violent emotions, sparks of golden lightning was flickering around his body without him even knowing about it.

The most calmest one in the group was Aditya. He had seen worse things in the nightmare that he had almost 3 months. Looking at the dead bodies of the people, Aditya felt pity. Failing to protect the Blackwood city was no one fault. No one had expected that this time they were going to be attacked by 4th-order powerful Fire ants.

The 1000 meters area surrounding the Blackwood was also painted in crimson red color. There was countless corpses which were half eaten lying around the city. From the sky Aditya can see the human size big Fire ants silently eating the dead humans.

He can see the dead bodies of a mother and a son. Both were dead. But the mother's hand was holding the son's dead body close to her. Her body was slowly being eaten by two Fire ants. Both of her legs were already eaten.

In another part, Aditya saw the dead body of a pregnant woman. Whether it was young or old, whether it was women or men, weather it was humans or other races, no one was spared.

The blood of the 1.5 millions had painted everything in 1000 meters red. It was as if the green forest had turned crimson red. Heavy smell of iron was in the air.

The fire ants ate continued eating the bodies of elders, young ones, children, women and men.

The whole Blackwood city was now had become a ruin. The city walls that previously protected the citizens had collapsed from many sides. There were large cracks and holes on the 15 meter tall city walls.

Almost all the houses, buildings inside the city was destroyed. What remained was debris, pebbles, dust, and shattered glasses. Half eaten bodies with their skeleton exposed was left to root. There were many people whose eyes were still open. Looking at their eyes, one can see the terror that they experienced before having a cruel death.

In front of the city, there were hundreds of small and big craters which showed how fierce the entire battle must have been. In some of the craters, there were dead bodies of the Fire ants and also the dead bodies of the soldiers and the adventurers who bravely fought to protect and also to defend the city.

What was shocking and most surprising is the fact that the dead bodies of the Fire ants were being eaten by other fire ants. It seemed the Fire ants did not care who they were eating. As long as they saw a dead body, they would start eating it.

Even in the cold winter, some of the buildings were still burning. The castle of the City lord was also destroyed even the scope of repair.

Looking at everything from the sky, Aditya knew that the Blackwood city was truly lost. The city cannot be rebuild even if they managed to kill all the fire ants. There were still hundred thousands of bodies that was directly buried under the buildings and houses. Also the fire ants who had finished eating was now could be seen digging.

When Aditya looked at the other side of the city, he saw that countless numbers of fire ants were dragging the dead bodies under the ground. It seems the ants had dug the ground and made a underground network system. Aditya is not sure how deep or how big or how large this underground tunnel system was.

In his calculation he estimated the number of Fire ants that was currently in the Black wood city and the area surrounding it was above millions. While he is not sure how many Fire ants were hiding in the underground tunnels. But judging from the Auras inside the tunnel, the number of Fire ants that attacked the Blackwood city should be above a few millions.

"Just how did this huge number of fire ants went unnoticed for this long?" Noah asked in a choked tone. He was barely holding his anger.

Every few weeks, the city lord was ordered to sent a group of 1000 soldiers to check the magical monster activities in the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest. Noah believed that this huge number of Fire ants shouldn't have been went unnoticed by the exploration team.

"According to what I know, a fire ant queen can lay up to 800 eggs per average day. While this number can increase up to 3,000 during Peak season. While it takes around one or two weeks for the eggs to hatch. So how is it possible for an ant queen to hatch million of eggs?"

"Maybe the fire ant queen has mutated."

"What" Noah, Alicia and Aditya. The trio looked at Sylvie in shock.

"Back in my home town I have read that there is a 0.010% chance that an Mutant Fire ant queen can be born. A mutant fire ant queen can break the limitations and can reach higher orders as long as its given enough time and resources to cultivate."

Sylvie then looked down at the abnormal sizes of the fire ants and felt that her theory is true.

"What's more frightening is that the queen can give birth to other Mutant fire ants. Each mutant fire ant is big as a human size. Unlike a normal ant queen, the mutant fire ant queen can give birth to 15,000 to 20,000 eggs depending on the availability of the food supplies. Not only that the queen has the same intelligence as a human so it can think and make decisions for its entire colony."

"If the mutant ant queen really laid 20,000 eggs per day, in just 30 days it would have 600,000 mutant fire ants. But that does not explain why the Mutant Fire ants managed to become so powerful in such a short time. There has to be some other secret." Inwardly Aditya cannot express how shocked he was.

"So the reason why the Mutant Fire ants attacked the city....."

"Is because they were hungry. They needed enough food supplies to for their entire colony which is only expanding with each passing day." Noah felt gloomy while saying these words. To think 1.5 million of his citizens were killed just to become Mutant fire ant food.

Aditya looked at the mutant fire ants that were currently dragging the dead bodies inside the tunnels that the other mutant Fire ants worked to create.

"If the ants are truly hungry, then it won't be long before the ants attacks the Rose Hill city. I think that the ant queen might divide its forces and goes on to attack other cities which are located in the west and east."

"Around 200 km to the west, the borders of another Empire lies. Even if the mutant fire ants heads in the direction of south, the Ethereal Empire does not has to worry too much. But I am concerned about the cities that lies in the east."

"In short, we will have to defeat this huge colony of the mutant fire ants to solve all of our problems." Aditya felt that a big part of the fire mutant ants are still in the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest hunting any magical animals that these mutant ants found. The total number of mutant fire ants might be above 10 millions or maybe 20 millions. This time the threat was just too big.

"We cannot waste our time here. Unless we want another city to fall which would cause the deaths of millions, we will have to go back and inform this to father." Everyone agreed with Noah's words. This time the threat was too big.

"Let's head back." As much as everyone wanted to fight the mutant fire ants, they currently had no time knowing the threat that was hovering above Ethereal Empire. If this threat is not dealt in time, the whole Ethereal empire can fall.

"Humans, I don't you will be going back."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 162

"Humans, I don't you will be going back." Aditya, Noah, Alicia and Sylvie all four froze. They felt their bodies turn stiff. Even though the these simple words had no trace of killing intent, everyone felt their backs get cold. It was as if they were being watched by the predator.

Turning their heads behind, Aditya and others was widened their eyes in shock seeing the Fire monster that standing 100 meters away from them.

"A beginner 5th-order"

Even it was cold snowy night of winter season, even the darkness, they were clearly able to see the red glowing body of the Fire ant. The Fire ant appeared to be around 3 meters tall. The ant had evolved to look mor like human. Instead of having 6 legs, the fire ant had two legs.

The Fire ant's foots were morphed into sharp claws. The was entire body was covered by red hard scales that looked more like armors. The red scales on its body was glowing. The ants hands were slightly longer and with its nails morphed into red sharp claws.

The beginner 5th-order mutant Fire ant appeared to have two antennae on top of its forehead.

The ant had the face of a regular human male while its body was a combination of ant and human. On its back, it had two pairs of faint red wings. The wings appeared to be red transparent. The mutant fire ant didn't appear to be using its wings to fly. As a beginner 5th-order it can fly without needing to use its wings.

"This is the first time I have met a beginner 5th-order cultivator. It's an honor to meet you." The ant then licked its mouth while looking at Sylvie. "I haven't gotten the chances to taste the flesh of a beginner 5th-order. But I heard that the meat of 5th-order is very delicious."

Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie and Noah felt disgusted hearing the Mutant ant's words.

"Why are you attacking the human cities? We have never done anything to you." Noah asked while shaking in anger. If this mutant Ant wasn't a 5th-order he already would have attacked mutant fire ant.

The mutant fire ant looked at Noah and then looked down. "It's beautiful. The smell of blood in the air and how easily our race slaughtered the people of your Empire. I have never enjoyed myself this much. The begging and pleading screams of our victims has made this quest even more enjoyable."

The mutant fire ant spoke without bothering to answer Noah's words.

The more the mutant fire ant spoke, the more angry Noah became. He became so anger that his pupils were violently shaking. The mana in his body had become unstable from his rage. His heart beat had reached a new level while his face had turned red from anger.

"Answer the question." Sylvie raised her voice while also releasing a bit of her beginner 5th-order Aura.

The mutant fire ant finally stopped looking down and looked at Noah and Sylvie. As for Aditya and Alicia, the mutant ant completely ignored them as beginner 3rd-order was nothing in front of his eyes.

"I don't think there is any need to answer the question when you all know the reason very well." From it words, Aditya was sure that this mutant ant has heard what they were saying earlier.

"How did your race became so strong all of sudden?" This was the biggest mystery. How this is possible for a race of fire ants to have so many 3rd-order, 4th-order and also 5th-orders in such a short time?

"About that. I apologize but I am not obligated to answer that question. But let's just say that we have received some help from others." The queen had strictly ordered every mutant ant to not reveal the source of their strength which is why the mutant fire ant refused to answer Sylvie's question. Betraying the queen was never a option. To a ant, the queen is their everything.

Meanwhile Sylvie silently looked around. After sensing that there was no other 5th-order mutant fire ant in the Blackwood city or in the surroundings, she slightly felt relieved but the danger was not even close to being over. Sylvie has sensed the presence of more than hundreds of powerful 4th-order mutant fire ants.

Normally for a beginner 5th-order cultivator taking on one or two or even hundred 4th-order cultivators is a very easy thing to do. The problem was that the enemy also had a beginner 5th-order. Sylvie will have no choice but to fight this beginner 5th-order monster. But how will Noah, Aditya and Alicia protect themselves in her absence when their cultivation is in 3rd-order?

"Dark elf, prepare to die. After killing you, I shall enjoy my meal." In the blink of an eye, the mutant fire ant whose name was Ayden disappeared from Alicia, Aditya and Noah's sight.

"Where did he go?" Alicia couldn't stay clam in this kinds of situations. She has in a panicked tone.

Clang!

Aditya and Noah saw and also heard two metal collision sound coming from their right.

When the trio looked at their right, the only thing that they saw was two rays of light. One light was red and the other light was light brown. The red light belonged to the mutant fire ant Ayden while the brown light belonged to dark elf and the guild leader Sylvie. Right now both 5th-order cultivators were moving so fast that neither Aditya nor Noah was able to see them anymore. The only thing that Alicia saw was two rays of lights colliding against each other while making clanging sounds.

"So fast. I can barely see anything." Aditya was slightly impressed how witnessing the clash between two 5th-order cultivators. Unlike Noah who also couldn't see anything, can only see two rays of lights clashing, Aditya whose stats was way higher for a 3rd-order, he was able to blurry faces of Sylvie and Ayden.

"We will have to leave. I can sense the presence of more than hundreds of 4th-order fire ants." If hundreds of 4th-order mutant fire ants surrounds them, Noah felt that it would become impossible for them to survive which he really did not wanted to let happen. Noah wanted to leave things to Sylvie as he believed that the white lotus guild leader can defeat the beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant and safely leave this place.

Aditya was the only one who remained the calmest. Hearing his brother in law's panicked tone, Aditya just smiled.

"Brother, we are not leaving without Sylvie."

"But there are more than hundreds of 4th-order mutant fires. We cannot defeat them. It would be best if we leave this to Sylvie." Noah sensed the 4th-order mutant ants flying in their direction.

"Big brother, you can relax. Aditya will handle them."

Noah looked at Alicia and Aditya. He didn't know what was wrong with them. How can both of them remain so calm when facing more than hundreds of 4th-order mutant fire ants? There is no way a beginner 3rd-order can defeat hundreds of 4th-orders. Noah felt that Aditya and Alicia was being overconfident.

Meanwhile, Sylvie and Ayden both continued exchanging moves. The mutant fire ant was fighting with its claws while Sylvie had a green shiny katana which she used to attack the mutant ant.

Clang!

Two rays of lights hit once again before retreating back. After creating a distance of 200 meters, two 5th-orders finally stopped.

'This monster has advantage in both speed and strength. His body is extremely harder. Harder as a 5-star defensive armor. While his strength is frighteningly very high. I can feel that this monster still hasn't used his full strength and speed yet.' Sylvie was having problem to keep up with Ayden's speed. Currently she was using her full speed while the Mutant fire ant has holding back its agility.

Every time their attacks clashed, Sylvie felt her hands go numb from pain. Whenever she blocked the attacks of the mutant fire ant, the shockwave from Ayden's attacks gave her pain. She was sure that her bones had started to crack.

Ants are ridiculously strong. They have the ability to carry between 10 and 50 times their own body weight. If that wasn't enough, Fire ants also had dangerous poisonous ability. Even a normal 1st order fire ant's poison is dangerous enough to paralyze a Peak 2nd-order cultivator.

While no one knows just how strong the poison of beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant was. But Sylvie was sure that if she was poisoned this battle would be instantly over.

The mutant fire ant widened his eyes when it saw the white lotus guild leader take out a faint green breastplate and wear it. The light green armor was also glowing brightly. Looking at the green armor, Ayden felt as if he was looking at hundreds of leaves joined together to form an armor.

"This is a 5-star armor." Ayden was quite shocked.

"For ant that is supposed to live under the ground, you seems to know about armors weapons." Sylvie did not stop there. She then took out two green pauldrons and wore them to protect her right and left shoulders.

If all these wasn't though, on top of that, Sylvie took out two green vambraces and a gauntlet and wore it on her left arm. The only advantage that Sylvie had against this 5th-order mutant fire ant is that she had the supply of mana recovery potions, she had armors, and weapons which can enhance her powers and increase her chances of winning the battle.

'I never expected that one day I would meet someone who can force to me use my armor and weapon. Fortunately I had kept them in my storage ring in case of an emergency.' Sylvie's storage ring had hundreds of healing, recovery, mana recovery, agility boost, strength boost and stamina recovery potions. She also had a custom set of 5-star armors that she made for herself using a large amount of gold coins.

"Sylvie is always prepared for battle. When I first met her, she was wearing full body armor." Alicia calmly smiled. Even if the mutant fire ant was powerful, she truly believed that Sylvie can defeat it.

'5-star amor, I wonder what ridiculous functions a 5-star armor would have.' Aditya had a 5-star weapon but did not had any 5-star armor. Seeing Sylvie using 5-star armors, Aditya as a Rune Monarch class holder can tell that these 5-star breastplate, pauldrons, vambraces and gauntlet are very powerful.

Meanwhile 129 4th-order mutant fire ants had blocked Aditya, Noah and Alicia's path. Compared to Ayden, these 4th-order mutant fire ants had the appearance of a overgrown fire ants. The only outstanding thing about their bodies was the red glow which was easy to spot in the darkness of night.

Looking at their sharp claws and red armor like skin, one would feel as if nothing in this world can harm the fire ants.

"Be careful. Ants are very powerful. Even a 1st-order Fire ant can match the strength of a Mid 2nd-order human cultivator's strength." At this moment the goddess of wealth felt sad and also guilty. She knew that the fight has become even difficult with Aditya having to carry her and fight.

If possible she would like to reduce Aditya's burden any way she can. But in this situation except for praying for everyone's safety the goddess can't really do anything.

'I should have put more time in my cultivation.' Alicia was very talented in cultivation. Her cultivating speed was even faster than Noah. But she was too lazy to cultivate all the times. To her making money was more fun and enjoyable.

Also Alicia's family did not pressure her to cultivate like they did with Noah. Alicia always had a 4th-order guard protecting her so she never really felt the need of powers. Alicia had come here thinking that there will be no 5th-order fire ants and Sylvie can easily protect her.

She realized how naively she has been thinking. At this moment the goddess regretted the fact that she neglected her cultivation. If she had put a little more time in her cultivation, she could have reached 4th-order a lot sooner.

"Here they can come."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 163

Clang!

While the two rays of lights which were Sylvie and the mutant fire ant Ayden was fighting, 129 4th-order ants had blocked Aditya, Noah and Alicia's escaping path. If this wasn't enough a large number of ant were had been alerted of the enemy and now was flying toward their direction.

"Hold on tight princess. Things are going to get ugly." Saying that the Dragon King took out his partner, the Adamantite Doomblade which was the Mid 5-star gifted by Adam. The sword weighed 3 tons. The sword was very heavy and also extremely sharp.

"Alright. Use this." From her storage ring, Alicia handed a blue fist size star shaped object.

"This is a Mid rank 4-star defensive artifact. The artifact can withstand one deadly and life threatening attack from Peak 4th-order."

"You better use it Princess. This dragon King does not need any of that." However instead of listening to Aditya, Alicia placed the object on his chest. After the object was placed on his chest, the star shaped object glow in bright blue light before the light enveloped around Aditya and then the light dimmed down before disappearing.

"Little sister, what about me?" At this moment Noah felt a little sad that his sister cared more about her boyfriend's safety and ignored her own brother.

Alicia rolled her eyes fully knowing that her brother was only pretending to be sad. As the crown prince, Alicia knew that her father has given Noah several 4-star or maybe even a 5-star life saving artifact.

Aditya held Alicia in his left arm while holding the Adamantite Doomblade on his right arm. When he held her with his left arm, his hand was on her slim and soft waist. At this moment the Goddess's chest was pressed against his chest.

However the Goddess had no time to blush as she found Crimson lightning rapidly flickering around Aditya's body before his whole body was covered in Crimson lightning. For some reason the Crimson lightning didn't seem to harm Alicia.

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Swoosh!

Noah suddenly heard cracking sounds. When he turned his head, the only thing that he saw was a Crimson bolt of lightning charging past him toward the 4th-order ants. The next moment before his brain can even process what was happening, he heard saw a big explosion take place.

Booom!!!!

Meanwhile Aditya whose current speed had reached [801+] from using Crimson Lightning Dash while his strength had reached [461+] from using Lightning Armor appeared in front of the 4th-order mutant fire ants.

When he appeared near them the first thing he noticed was their legs and mouth which were covered in the blood. Before the ants could react, the Dragon King condensed his crimson lightning in his Adamantite Doomblade causing the black sword to be surrounded by Crimson lightning.

In that split second, he swung the Adamantite Doomblade using his full strength. With the swing, hundreds of Crimson Lightning bolts were released from the Adamantite Doomblade. The Crimson lightning bolts moved so fast that it went on to hit all the 4th-order mutant ants that blocked their paths.

Boooom!!!!!

Noah eyes widened in shocked and in disbelief. To think a beginner 3rd-order would be capable of taking of 129 Peak 4th-order. This was simply impossible. He was sure that not even the Goddess of War can do that.

Aditya knew that his attack hasn't killed a single ant though it did stun them for a few seconds. These few seconds were more than enough for the Dragon King.

Swooh!

Aditya moved faster than the wind. Alicia had wrapped her arms around his neck with her eyes closed. Even though she was also a beginner 3rd-order, at this moment her head felt a little dizzy given how fast Aditya was moving. When she opened her eyes, she felt the whole world had become moving blur to her

Ayden and Sylvie who were clashing not to far away from Aditya and others were stunned by the display of his strength. Both beginner 5th-order powerhouses stopped fighting and looked at Aditya who was taking of 129 ants alone.

Under the shocked stares, he moved so fast that none of the Peak 4th-order Mutant ants couldn't even react in time. The ants had no idea how they idea or how they lost their heads.

A few seconds later, holding Alicia in his arms, the Dragon Monarch appeared behind 129 4th-order mutant ants.

Noah widened his eyes and mouth as he watched the scene where 129 4th-order Mutant fire ants began falling from the sky with their heads being cut off. A 4th-order was the second most and strongest powerhouse to an Empire or a faction after 5th-order. 4th-order is not something that can be taken lightly.

Even if Noah used his artifacts and his full power, he is not 100% confident about defeating a beginner 4th-order much less defeating 129 4th-order in matters of seconds. 'Just how powerful is he? Can he take on a beginner 5th-order?' Just thinking of this possibility, Noah had goosebumps.

"Princess, its' over you can open your eyes now." Aditya chuckled seeing how tightly Alicia was holding him.

"Already...." When Alicia opened her green pupils, what she saw was 129 dead bodies of 4th-order ants falling from the sky. Alicia wasn't that shocked. After all not so long so, this man had defeated a Beginner 5th-order.

"It looks like I am worried for nothing." Noah felt a little stupid for panicking for no reason. Now he understands why Alicia and Aditya both looked so calm before the battle.

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Mutant Fire ant. Your experience points has been saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Mutant Fire ant. Your experience points has been saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order Mutant Fire ant. Your experience points has been saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Beginner 4th-order Mutant Fire ant. Your experience points has been saved for future use. ?

"It appears Sylvie and that beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant's fight is still going on." Aditya was still using Crimson Lightning Dash. With 801 agility, he was able to follow both Sylvie and Aydan's movements and see how they were fighting.

Clang! Clang!

As Sylvie and Ayden were exchanging blows, after noticing what Aditya has done, Ayden suddenly felt a sense of threat from the dark blue haired young man whom he had underestimated at first, Ayden's whole body was surrounded by a orb of flame.

As he charged at Sylvie in full speed to Alicia and Noah it felt as if they were seeing a meteor moving at super fast speed.

Sylvie felt the increase in the mutant fire ant's speed. To counter back, She waved her right hand. In the blink of an eye, more than 50 large rectangular size earth walls had formed in front of her. Each earth layer was 2 meters thick and 20 meters wide. These earth walls were very powerful defensive barriers capable of withstanding any Peak 4th-order cultivator's attacks.

Ayden was confident that he can break through these walls easily. He charged at the walls at full speed.

Boooom!

Unfortunately for Ayden he could not break through all the walls. After breaking 41th walls, he couldn't get past the 42nd wall. The flame that had surrounded his body also started dimming down. Ayden knew that his head had cracked form the impact. He can feel the feel on his head.

Sylvie used this chance to control the remaining 9 earth walls. She controlled the remaining 9 walls and threw them at top of Ayden.

Bang!

The earth shook from the impact of 9 large earth walls which were 20 meters size and 2 meters thick. The beginner 5th-order mutant ant was buried under the earth walls.

"What sort of power was that?"

"Sylvie's class allows her to use Earth element. She can harden any the ground. These earth walls were not just any normal earth walls. Each walls is strong enough to take on one hit from our advanced cannons. Although the overgrown ant was able to break through 41 earth walls, it finally had to stop as it had lost is momentum. I bet it had no idea how tough these earth walls were."

Back to Sylvie, the dark elf had did not rest when she had managed to bring her opponent to the ground. A fight between two 5th-orders would only end when one of the party is dead.

Clap!

Sylvie suddenly clapped her palms together as she condensed more of her mana in her palms. At the same time, Aditya felt some changes to the ground. He wasn't sure what changes but he felt something was moving under the ground.

Life Draining Snacks!

9 dark brown color snakes appeared from the ground. Just when Ayden managed to free himself, he found 9 brown snakes had surrounded him. Each of the snakes were around 1 meter thick and 10 meters long. Unlike normal snakes, these snakes had sharp teethes that gave them a frightening look.

Ayden sensed the danger. He quickly flapped his wings with the intention of flying away. Just when he started flying, he found something coming from above.

Ayden looked up. He was horrified to see a green poisonous liquid coming at him. Without even needing to ask he and everyone knew that this liquid was a poisonous acid. Sylvie had created this acid by using her powers.

"Dark elf, don't underestimate me." With a roar, from Ayden's body a orb of flame expanded outwards. The flame orb burned the brown snakes that were aiming to bite him. The flames also countered the poisonous acid that was coming from the top.

'This dark elf is powerful. She is expert in using various kinds of magic spells. If I get careless even for a second, I might end up dying.' After fighting with Sylvie it was clear that this dark elf was expert in using weapons and also using magic. She was a dual type cultivator.

Meanwhile, thousands of 3rd-order and 2nd-order ants had gathered in front of Aditya, Noah and Alicia. The number was continuously increasing. More and more mutant fire ants were flying out of their nest and joining their army. The mutant fire ants were intelligent enough to know that attacking Aditya alone won't do anything.

Aditya was also busying enjoying the fight between two 5th-orders. He did not care about these 3rd and 3nd-order Mutant fire ants. He waited to kill all of them together. And now it was the time to do it.

'I really want to use acid rain and kill them but I can't do it otherwise I might end up harming Noah and Sylvie. Although I doubt my acid rain my injure a beginner 5th-order.'

Aditya lazily stretched out his right hand with his Adamantite Doomblade pointed at the hundred thousands of 2nd-order and 3rd-order mutant fire ants. Aditya began condensing his mana on to the Adamantite Doomblade causing the black sword to start glowing in faint red.

Alicia and Noah watched the entire process with curious gaze. After investing enough mana, the dragon King lazily swung his sword releasing a huge blast of Crimson flame. The crimson flame was devoured a small part of the sky. The crimson flame easily covered 1000 meters of the sky.

Alicia who was in Aditya's arm felt the terrifying heat of the Crimson flame. Noah felt his mind had long stopped working. Just how many more secrets did Aditya had? The crimson flame, a legendary flame that is also known to be the strongest flame in heaven and earth. Who wouldn't know about it?

The 3rd-order and 2nd-order mutant fire ants tried to escape seeing the terrifying 1000 meters big crimson flame that was heading in their direction. Unfortunately for them, no one was able to escape as the attack was very fast. In a matter of second, the crimson flame devoured all the 3rd and 2nd-order mutant fire ants whose number had exceeded one hundred thousand.

Ayden stopped to take a glance at the miserable fate of his brothers. He felt pain in his heat seeing so many ant soldiers die in the hand of one person.

The crimson flame devoured everything. Not only the ashes of the ants were left behind. The crimson flame did not stop there. The attack went on to hit the destroyed blackwood city that now has become a nest and a ruin.

Boooooooom!

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 164

The crimson flame devoured everything. Not only the ashes of the ants were left behind. The crimson flame did not stop there. The attack went on to hit the destroyed blackwood city that now has become a nest and a ruin.

Boooooooom!

A huge mushroom cloud rose in the air in the cold night of winter. For the moment the bright light that came along with the explosion had lit up the entire sky making one feel as if it was day time.

The explosion was so big that everything in 10 km radius was shaking. The sound of the explosion was heard even from a long distance.

The attack was so strong that even the Mutant fire ants that were hiding inside their newly made nest also had died. The explosion had reached all the mutant fire ants under the ground. The shockwave was of the explosion was so fierce that it took out almost all of the mutant ant that currently inside their newly built nest which was beneath the Blackwood city.

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order. Your obtained experience points will be saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order. Your obtained experience points will be saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a beginner 3rd-order. Your obtained experience points will be saved for future use. ?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order. Your obtained experience points will be saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order. Your obtained experience points will be saved for future use. ?

? Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order.... ?

"This...." Ayden was stunned to his core. At this moment he cannot express just how shocked and frightened he was. Even though he can't give an exact estimation but he felt that the number of mutant fire ants that died from this attack had reached one million. It was not just the mutant fire ants, even the dead bodies of the humans and other races were burned to ashes meaning that all of the stored food that they worked hard to get was also gone.

At this moment Ayden didn't know what he should feel. Should he feel shocked at the fact that a mere beginner 3rd-order cultivator was powerful enough to launch such devastating attack? Should he feel angry at the fact that their newly built nest was destroyed? Should he feel angry at the fact that more than a million of his own race died right in front of his eyes? Or Should he feel regret and raged at the fact that all of their foods was gone?

While Ayden was remained standing while being stunned, Sylvie took opportunity of this golden chance. Although she was just as shocked as Noah was, she did not froze like Ayden. Instead to her this was the perfect opportunity to kill her enemy.

Just as the explosion ended, the ground started cracking. Under Sylvie's control, the earth began taking the shape of more than hundreds of earth spears. She then made each earth spear very tough and also very sharp. She did all this less than a second before launching her attack at Ayden.

Ayden being a beginner 5th-order felt something was being directed at him. At snapped out of his shocked state realizing that he was still in the middle of a battle. By the time he noticed the hundreds of earth spear, the spears were already 5 meters away from hitting his body.

'I can't dodge at such a close distance. Damn Bit**!' Ayden angrily cursed as he somehow tried to use his hands to cover his head but it was too late. Just a small moment of being off guarded had costed him to lose this battle.

Bang!

Ayden gritted his teeth in pain as some of the earth spears pierced his body. Fortunately he managed to protect his head. Unfortunately other than his head, almost every part of his body was pierced by a earth spear.

Noah snapped out of his shocked state seeing the beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant falling from the sky. He couldn't help but smile seeing the current miserable state of the beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant.

"Never thought I would lose because of being distracted for a few seconds." Even though every part of Ayden's body except for his head was pierced by earth spear, he still managed to live even after falling from the height of 500 meters. The body of the beginner 5th-order is very stronger. Their health and Stamina is also very high and cannot be compared to any lower order.

If someone feeds Ayden a Peak 3rd-star or beginner 4-star healing potion, Ayden would easily survive but he knew in his heart that this was over. In his opinion he and his race has done nothing wrong. They needed food to survive which is why they attacked the Blackwood city even after knowing that attacking the Blackwood city would mean that they were going to end up becoming the Ethereal Empire.

"It looks like it's finally over." The princess who was freely riding Aditya sighed in relief. Noah also felt relieved. Although the other fire mutant ants had managed to run away or scatter around, they were no longer a threat. As for the queen and the main army of mutant fire ants, The Ethereal Empire is going to deal with that. Though they are still not sure where the queen and the main mutant fire ants army lies.

Sylvie flew down and landed right beside Ayden who was lying on the ground with earth spears stuck to his body. Red blood was coming out of his body while he looked at the sky. The cold snow fell from the sky and landed on his body. His body was slowly losing the warmth showing that he was rapidly losing his health and was going to die.

"If you tell us the location of your queen, then I will save your life." It would be a headache to look for the queen. After countering more than hundreds of 4th-order mutant fire ants and a 5th-order, everyone was sure that the whole mutant fire ant colony had more than one 5th-order cultivators.

"Hmph! Why should I betray my queen and my race?" Till death Ayden refused to betray his queen and his race.

Sylvie didn't looked that surprised by Ayden's answer. She already seems to have guessed what he is going to answer. "According to the reports there were thousands of 4th-order. But we only face 129 4th-order mutant fire ants. Where are the other 4th-order mutant fire ants?"

"After we took down this city, they went back to the queen. I was left in charge of keeping our newly nest protected which I failed. Not just I failed, but also I have let millions of mutant fire ants die in front of my own eyes while I did nothing to save them." At the end of the sentence, it was as if Ayden was talking to himself. He was expressing the regret he currently felt. The guilt he had for not being able to save his own race from being turned to ashes.

"Human, do not think that this is over. Mother queen is far more stronger. She will have her revenge on you all for my and my brothers death. Mark my words, she is going to kill you all." After saying that Ayden took his last breath as his soul left his body.

Sylvie stared at the dead body Ayden for an entire minute in silence before sighing while looking up. These days it was extremely hard to find someone trust worthy enough. One cannot even trust their own families. Sylvie envied the undying loyalty that Ayden had for the mother queen. From the beginning what he was doing was not wrong from his side. It was hunger that made the mutant fire ants attack the blackwood city.

Alicia who had wrapped her arms around Aditya's neck looked down. Her gaze on lingering on the deep crater that completely had made the Blackwood city disappear from the map. Now instead of the city, there was a big deep crater. Human and other races bones buried inside the crater.

While the mutant fire ants only destroyed the blackwood city and turned it into ruins, Aditya had completely erased the blackwood city from the map. From now on, the blackwood city had become a thing of the past.

"Should we head back?" Alicia asked. The princess did not realized that this entire time her soft body was pressed against his body. Aditya can feel her breasts pressed against his chest.

"Let's head back. The situation is more dangerous than we thought. Reporting this to your father is our top priority." If this had happened in Aditya's territory, he alone would have went to wiped out every single mutant fire ants. He did not needed his army. But things worked differently in other Empires. Also the fact that the enemy might have multiple 5th-orders made things dangerous. Although they were not sure about the enemy having multiple 5th-orders, it would be better to be safe than sorry.

"Alright let's go back." Sylvie put the dead body of Ayden in her storage ring. She wanted to show this to the Emperor and also use the 5th-order mutant fire ant's body parts to make weapons. She was sure that the claws of the 5th-order mutant fire ant would make very high quality weapons.

On their way back, no one spoke anything. Even Alicia, the goddess did not said anything when Aditya was tightly holding her body against his. Maybe she had not paid attention to what she was holding on to. Or maybe she was thinking something which made her forget that Aditya was enjoying the soft sensation on his chest.

"His royal Highness and the princess has returned." All the soldiers who were stationed outside the Rose Hills city walls looked at the group of 4 people who was descending down and landed right in front of the city gate.

"Who is this man?"

"Judging by the way he is holding the princess's waist I am sure the princess must have a intimate relationship with this man."

"Maybe this guy is the princess's boyfriend."

"Or maybe he is the princess's unannounced fiance."

Alicia, Aditya, Noah and Sylvie were able to hear the whispers of the soldiers with their enhanced senses. Hearing these words, Alicia realized that her body was pressing against Aditya. She quickly became embarrassed. Her cheeks turned red unfortunately no one managed to see her beautiful face that was hidden under the veil. Alicia did not said anything.

As long as Aditya land on the ground, she glared at Aditya while gently pushing him away. Aditya only chuckled realizing that the princess must have been embarrassed.

"Welcome back, your royal highness." Levi the commander of the million troops welcomed the crown prince and the princess.

"Levi, you can ask the soldiers to take some rest and take things easy. For the next few days the chances of mutant fire ant attacking this city is less than 90%. Just be sure to regularly sends scouts and search the area surrounding the city." Noah's words had only made Levi have more questions.

"Your royal highness, what do you mean by Mutant?" Levi asked with a confused face.

"These are not just normal fire ants. They are mutant fire ants. An evolved version of normal fire ants. I will explain things later. For now I will have to urgently report everything to the Emperor." Levi nodded and moved aside to let Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie and Noah enter the city.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 165

Next morning at the breakfast of the Osburn family,

"Noah, you should have reported everything to me as soon as you returned from Blackwood city?" The emperor also known as Ronnie looked a little angry and also frustrated at this moment.

"Father, when we returned home, we found you sleeping on your desk. I thought I can just report everything when you wake up." Noah knew that his father had worked really hard these days knowing that his daughter is going to bring her boyfriend. Besides, the matter with the mutant fire ant was temporarily solved. Noah didn't think that the Mutant fire ant queen would send her army right after she lost over a million of her children.

sigh!

Ronnie sighed hearing his son's words. It was true that Ronnie had fallen asleep last night. Ronnie slept not because he was tired or anything. It was impossible for a 5th-order to get tired or exhausted from working. It was the opposite. He was bored. At the middle of the night when he is normally sleeping he was staying awake. Even he did not notice when he fell asleep while waiting for his son, daughter and daughter's boyfriend to return.

'I have to do something about my sleeping habit.' Ronnie felt that his sleeping habits were going out of hands.

Hearing Noah's words Norah, Bianca and Flora all three wives of the Emperor rolled their eyes. "Noah, your father wasn't exhausted. He has a habit of falling asleep whenever he is working while sitting on his desk. This is not the first time this has happened. Next you see your father sleeping, just wake him up."

"Alright mother." Noah also knew about his father's habit as he had seen his mothers scold his father for falling sleep during work many times when he was young. He simply lied so that he can save his father's face in front of Alicia and Aditya. But it looked like his mothers were not going to let it happen.

Ronnie's right eye twitched hearing his 3rd wife's words. The man again sighed while deciding to drop this matter. He knew that if he continued with this topic, he would only be roosted by his wives in front of his daughter and his daughter's boyfriend.

"Alright, give me a brief summary of what happened last night. What happened to Blackwood city?"

"It was horrible. All we saw were half eaten dead bodies. The eyes of the dead were open wide and it reflected the fear that they faced when dying. The whole city was painted in red blood. The ground and the grass had been painted red. Blackwood city had become a ruin. Not even a single building or man-made structure was left intact. Everything was broken, destroyed, and smashed."

Sigh!

The Emperor sighed another time. This time he felt regret about the fact that under his watch 1.5 citizens of his Empire had died. He knew that this wouldn't have happened if the mutant fire ants had not attacked them.

Suddenly Ronnie's eyes got cold. The Aura around him changed. His gaze had become sharp and calculative. Those emerald green pupils of his seem to contain endless lust for blood and revenge. "Tell me about the enemy?" Ronnie's tone was very serious and also cold.

Noah and his three mothers seem to know that they couldn't mess around when their husbands and father are so serious. Noah straightened his back. He then put the spoon and knife on the table.

"First of all, the most surprising and also shocking fact that we discovered is that the Fire ant which we thought to be abnormal magical animal, as a normal fire ant cannot reach 2nd-order not to mention 3rd or higher orders, is actually mutant fire ants. It seems the Ant queen has someone managed to evolve and become Mutant fire ant queen and give birth to Mutant fire ants."

Clinking!

Aditya raised his head to see that Alicia's grandmother had dropped the spoon from her hand and was looking at Noah with her eyes wide open. Those emerald pupils of hers were filled with shock and disbelief. Her body was slightly shaking. Just like how fast Ronnie's Aura changed, Olivia's Aura also changed. But unlike Ronnie who looked like he couldn't wait to get his hands on the mutant fire ants, Olivia looked more shocked and also frightened.

Ronnie noticed the strange behaviors of his mother. He frowned and asked his mother while massaging his temples. "Mother, do you know anything about the Mutant fire ants?"

Olivia stiffly nodded her head. "I have heard of them from my grandmother when I was around Alicia's age. My grandmother told me that around 800 to 1500 years ago, more than 2,500,000 mutant fire ants had appeared in the territory of a certain powerful Empire that had multiple 5th orders."

Olivia then paused. She then took a sip of tea to calm herself and also for her dry throat. "When the mutant fire ants appeared, in just a month's time, the mutant ants had alone caused the half of the Empire to fall. More than 13 million people had died because of the mutant fire ants. It was only when several and the remaining 5th orders of the Empire joined their hands together, they were able to defeat the mutant fire ant queen."

Ronnie, Bianca, Flora, and Norah, all four gulped in fear. To think the mutant fire ant queen was powerful enough to fight several 5th-orders. It made Ronnie and others wonder just how strong the Mutant fire queen was.

"It was later found that the mutant fire ant queen had hidden herself in the deep forest. She did not allow any foreigner to find out her nest and her children nor did she let anyone live long enough to tell that there were mutant fire ants. After a few decades of hunting, without no one realizing it the queen and a few of her children had reached a frightening level. After their population was increased to a certain point, the queen had no choice but to hunt people that lived in the cities as the mutant fire ants had hunted all the beasts in the forest."

For the next few minutes, no one spoke. After digesting all the information, Ronnie put his attention on his son who was the future Emperor of the Ethereal Empire. "Noah, you can continue."

"When we were about to leave the blackwood city after having a rough understanding of the enemy's powers, we were stopped by a beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant." The fact that the mutant fire ant had a 5th-order made Olivia and Ronnie even more serious.

"The 5th-order mutant fire ant did not let us go. Sylvie and the 5th-order and fought for a while."

'Come to think of it, I really couldn't sense it when the 5th-order mutant fire had appeared behind me. I should have been more alert.' When Aditya, Alicia, Noah, and Sylvie had come to blackwood city, Ayden was returning to blackwood city after having a meeting with the queen. As a result, neither Aditya nor Sylvie was able to sense its presence within the city.

It was only when the team was about to leave, Ayden stopped the visitors mainly to prevent any information from being leaked and also to eat the flesh of a beginner 5th-order. The higher one's cultivation order was the tastier and the more delicious their flesh was to others.

Eating the flesh of a high order can really benefit a low order. This is why higher-order magical beasts are always sold in millions or even in billions. Rich nobles and Kings would spend a large sum of money just to get the meat of 3rd-order magical beasts.

"What happened then?"

"When Sylvie and that 5th-order ant had started fighting it attracted the attention of others mutant fire ants. We were attacked by 129 4th-order mutant fire ants. It was all thanks to Aditya we have managed to survive. He not only killed all the 4th-order mutant fire ants but he also killed a million of the mutant fire ants." The other mutant fire ants attacked Aditya, Alicia, and Noah because they had become confident after sensing that these three's cultivation was only in 3rd-order.

Once again the whole family was shocked. Ronnie and Olivia definitely wouldn't have believed it if these words were spoken by someone else. But they knew that Noah was not the type of lie.

For the next 5 minutes, Aditya was being stared at by the whole Osburn family like he was an animal in a zoo. He can only lower his head and pretend to not notice their burning stares while having his breakfast which had become cold.

"Aditya is really powerful. Today he not only carried Alicia in his arms but also fought the dangerous 4th-order mutant fire ants while protecting my sister's life." Hearing these words, the goddess's face instantly turned red. She angrily glared at her big brother.

"I won't forget this." Alicia murmured in a low audible tone.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

A small chapter as I have bene out the whole day. I wrote this chapter in a hurry.

Chapter 166

What happened was a shock to every single Empire and Kingdom in the central region of the Westnia continent. The first few people that got the news were the Emperors of the rivaling Empires.

Everyone regardless of who they were, whether it was the Duke or the commander or the Emperor was shocked to hearing that the Ethereal empire had failed to protect the lives of the citizen and had lost more than 1.5 million people in a single night.

The first move that the rivaling Empires make after hearing this news was to add more soldiers to their border.

While the ordinary citizen had no idea how terrifying the mutant fire ants were, the Emperors and the nobles had a deeper understanding of the whole situation and knew what danger the mutant fire ant had. Everyone became wary of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest. Adventures stopped from entering the Heavenly Hemlock Forest fearing that they meet the mutant fire ant and will get killed.

The news had become a hot topic. Someone ignorant fools were going as far as to claim that 1.5 million died because of Ethereal Empire's negligence. If the empire had put more troops to protect Blackwood city, then this incident wouldn't have happened. Some even went far as to say that the Emperor and the Ethereal Empire did not care much about the citizens of their Empire. Overall, when the news spread throughout the Ethereal Empire, The Emperor's reputation took a great hit.

Ronnie wasn't stressed about these kinds of things. Right now he had other important things to do. Like locating where the mutant fire ant queen was hiding. After Ronnie learned how strong the Mutant fire was from Noah and Aditya's reports, he also sent two 5th-order elders to Rose hills city.

"These days everything is going wrong with the Ethereal Empire." Spoke a man who was wearing a butler outfit. The man who was dressed as a butler was around 5 feet 8 inches tall. The man was pale messy green hair covering his forehead and his left eye. The fair-skinned man had black pupils and long ears. The most noticeable thing about him was the scar over his left eye.

"Ivan, what made you say such words?" The question was asked by Ivan's master. Ivan was the name of the young elf-man in a butler outfit. His master was a beautiful young lady with blond hair that she had tied in a ponytail.

Ivan's master was a young lady in her twenties. Her name was Kyra Ross. Kyra was 5 feet 6 inches tall. She was only 2 inches smaller than Ivan. Kyra had golden pupils. The most noticeable thing about Kyra was the mole located at the center of her forehead; right between her eyebrows.

Kyra was the young lady of the Rose Family. The Rose Family was one of the noble families in the Ethereal Empire. Kyra was the third princess of the Rose Family.

The Rose family was made in charge of governing Rose Hills city by Ronnie's grandfather. Kyra could live a luxurious life but she refused to do it. She instead opened her own restaurant with the money that she had saved up. She opened her own small business and has been living independently.

The girl's dream was to live independently. Fortunately, it was not difficult for Kyra to fulfill her dream. Her parents were very open-minded and supportive. The only condition that Kyra had to follow was that she was not allowed to set up her shop in other cities. She was allowed live in any part of the city using a fake identity. If she wanted to go out and travel to another city, she has to let her father know about it and take some guards with her for her safety.

"A week ago some thieves attacked one of our neighboring shops. A few days, someone died from a heart attack right in front of our shop. If all these crazy events weren't enough, on top of that, one of the corrupted officials r**ped many women. My lady, don't you feel strange that suddenly out of nowhere without any warning, blackwood city was attacked by Mutant fire ants? What's more strange these ants are not just some normal ants. Now the big incident with blackwood city. All these incidents are making me feel that the Ethereal Empire is no longer a safe place to live." Ivan explained why he said that everything is going wrong with the Ethereal Empire.

Kyra did not answer. Ivan's words also forced her to think. When she carefully thought about all these incidents have happened over the period of just one week. Now the whole city was closed to outsiders. The city was now being protected by one million troops and two fifth-order cultivators.

"Now that the whole city has been closed to outsiders, our and many other people's business has been affected. I don't see any reason on why we need to keep the city closed to outsiders. It's not like a virus is going to spread if we don't keep the outsiders from entering the city."

Ivan looked outside. Through the transparent glass window, he looked at the street which was currently covered in white snow. Right now the sky had turned dark and snow had begun to fall from the sky. "My lady, I can't help but feel that the Emperor has made a wrong choice. There was no need to shut down the Rose Hills city to outsiders." Ivan's tone was filled with anger and mockery.

Sigh!

Kyra sighed as she also looked outside. The 3rd-princess of the Rose family cannot deny what her servant was saying is very true. Even Kyra felt that the Emperor shouldn't have shut down the city. Now it felt like they were trapped in this city. If Kyra wasn't a noble, she would not be allowed to use the teleportation array to exit the city.

"Ivan, I understand your anger but please don't say these words in front of other people. If your words reach the ear of one of the soldiers you will be publicly executed." Kyra did not want to see that happening.

Ivan lowered his head as he clenched his fists in anger. "I understand."

Kyra sighed once again. She knew that Ivan never liked the Ethereal Empire or the Emperor. He always has shown his hatred for the Empire. Ever since the day Kyra bought Ivan from the slave market which happened 7 years ago, Kyra has seen Ivan hold anger towards the Empire and the Emperor.

If it was someone else in Kyra's position, that person would have sold Ivan back or would have killed him for saying things against the Empire and the Emperor. But Kyra was different. Despite being a noble, she never has looked down on others. She never treated any person with mockery. Kyra was very kind and caring toward her slaves.

Ding!

"Oh...It looks like we have a new customer." Kyra and Ivan's eyes fell on a long blue-haired young man who just entered in their restaurant and then began closing the umbrella while dusting off the snow outside the restaurant.

"Welcome to Roseberry Restaurant." Kyra welcomed their first customer of the day. Since it was snowing outside and the city was closed to outsiders, the number of customers that Kyra received every day decreased a lot. It was already 9 in the morning and Aditya was their first customer. Normally usually in this time, their restaurant would be full of customers.

Aditya looked at the blond-haired beautiful-looking receptionist for a second before walking to sit on one of the chairs. Aditya sees beauties like Alicia, Julia, and Amber, almost every single day in his regular life, Aditya had gotten used to seeing beautiful girls.

"Good morning sir. What would you like to have today?" Ivan elegantly walked up to Aditya with a menu.

"Just give me a cup of coffee and strawberry cake." After having breakfast, Alicia and Aditya went back to the capital. Both of them agreed to spend some time in Rose Hills city today. There were two main reasons why Aditya and Alicia decided to come to this city. The first reason was that in Alicia's parent's eyes, both of them were going on a date. And the second reason was if the mutant fire ants did attack Rose Hills city, then Aditya can provide his assistance. When Alicia and Aditya came to this city, she went to meet a friend of hers. Her friend was the guild master of the White Lotus guild branch.

Meanwhile, Kyra looked a little surprised. This was the first time a man hasn't looked at her for more than one second. Ever since the day she opened her restaurant and had started to work as the receptionist, every day she meet countless men, whether they were young or old, all stared at Kyra for at least a few seconds. Some virgin single men even repeatedly came to her restaurant just to get the chance to see her every single day.

There were very few men who can resist her charm. When Kyra focused on Aditya, she was again surprised to find that this handsome and young-looking man had a beginner 3rd-order cultivation base. 'He is so young yet his cultivation is already in 3rd-order.'

"Alright." After taking his order, Ivan went to the kitchen to tell the chefs to prepare Aditya a cup of coffee and take out the strawberry cake.

Aditya was sitting next to the window. When he entered the restaurant, he found that the whole restaurant was empty.

Right now Aditya had put his right elbow on the table and was supporting his chin with his right palm while looking outside. The street was empty. Most people stayed inside their houses as it was snowing. Aditya did not feel any cold mainly because of his bloodline. The only reason he was wearing a coat in the first place is that the coat looked very cool.

While looking outside, Aditya found that female receptionist staring at him. 'This woman and the waiter are not simple. She has a cultivation base of Mid 2nd-order. And the waiter has a cultivation base of Peak 3rd-order.'

"Do I have something on my face?" Aditya asked as he couldn't handle her stare anymore.

"No...no" Kyra felt panicked when she was caught staring at her customer.

"I apologize if my stare has made you feel uncomfortable. By any chance are you working as an adventurer?"

"No, I don't work for the guild." From Aditya's tone, it looked like he wasn't interested in answering Kyra anything about his profession.

"I wonder, what do you think of the incident that took place in Blackwood city?" Kyra wanted to know her customer's opinion on the matter. She wanted to know if the people were with the Emperor or against the Emperor.

At the same time, Ivan also returned with Aditya's order. The elf managed to hear the question that his master had asked Aditya.

"Here is your order sir."

"I think the whole incident was quite sad. The mutant fire ants need to be wiped out before another similar type of incident takes place." Aditya felt that Kyra and this waiter's identities is not simple as it seems. As for why would two powerful cultivators like them work in a restaurant, Aditya had no idea.

"What if the Ethereal Empire cannot stop another mutant fire ant from attacking another city?" Aditya instantly frowned hearing the waiter's words. He looked at Ivan who was standing 2 meters away from him. Both men stared at each other in silence.

"The whole Empire has been alerted, nothing like the blackwood city incident would happen." Aditya felt that Ivan's reaction was odd. While Kyra felt that Ivan was acting a little strange.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 167

"What if the Ethereal Empire cannot stop another mutant fire ant from attacking another city?" Aditya instantly frowned hearing the waiter's words. He looked at Ivan who was standing 2 meters away from him. Both men stared at each other in silence. Ivan was speaking as if he was 100% sure that a million soldiers won't be able to stop the mutant fire ants.

"The whole Empire has been alerted, nothing like the blackwood city incident would happen." Aditya felt that Ivan's reaction was odd. While Kyra also felt that Ivan was acting a little strange.

Ivan always has shown strong hatred toward the Ethereal empire and the Emperor. But Ivan was a calm person. He never showed his hatred for the Empire when he was in front of others. He only showed this side of his when he was in front of Kyra. This was the first time Kyra had seen Ivan show his hatred in front of another person beside her.

"Even if the whole Ethereal Empire has been alerted, can the Empire truly stop the calamity that is going to fall upon them?" Ivan raised his voice and asked in an angry tone.

Ivan's words had caused Aditya to frown once again. It was as if Ivan knew what was going to happen. Aditya's intuition is telling him that Ivan is not just some simple waiter. He felt something was odd about this elf.

"You're speaking as if you already know what is going to happen." Aditya became more interested in Ivan. He wanted to know what this young elf was hiding.

Meanwhile, Kyra was glaring at Ivan for speaking to a customer this rudely. Feeling his master's glare, Ivan secretly sighed knowing that he had said too much.

"My apologies, I have lost a few close friends of mine who lived in Blackwood city. I couldn't control my emotions for a second." After bowing to Aditya, Ivan went back to the kitchen to calm himself.

After Ivan left, Kyra also walked to Aditya and bowed her head. Even though she was a noble, Kyra did not shy away when she needed to make an apology for her mistake. "I apologize on behalf of my slave." As for the part when Ivan said that his friends in Blackwood city died, Kyra will have to ask Ivan about it later when Aditya leaves.

"No worries, I understand." Aditya glanced in the direction Ivan left for a second before lowering his head to start eating. Aditya has found something odd and also suspicious about Ivan.

"Thank you for understanding." Kyra gave Aditya another bow before walking back to the receptionist's desk.

Aditya continued to enjoy his food while waiting for Ivan. Several minutes later, Ivan also returned.

5 minutes later,

"The coffee was really good. Miss..."

"My name is Kyra and this is Ivan." Kyra introduced herself with a smile. She did not tell Aditya about her real identity.

Click!

Hearing the door opening sound, Kyra, Ivan and Aditya all three glanced at the person who just entered the restaurant.

The one who entered was a young lady whose face was hidden under a veil. She had emerald green pupils which made people feel attracted to her. The woman stopped as her eyes fell on the person who was sitting by the window and had just finished drinking a cup of coffee.

Both of them looked at each other for a second before the woman approached him. Meanwhile Kyra had instantly recognized who this woman was.

In this empire who wouldn't recognize her. Although she found it hard to believe that the princess of the Ethereal empire, also known as the Goddess of wealth, was in her restaurant. Even though Kyra and her family are one of the noble families of the Ethereal Empire, even in the noble circle meeting the Goddess of wealth, the princess is an extremely rare thing.

Not to mention the fact that Kyra is a big fan of Alicia. For the longest time, Kyra has been hearing how big of a genius Lady Alicia was. Alicia had inspired Kyra to become independent. In the noble circle, it is extremely rare for a woman to be independent on her own. This is why Kyra opened her own restaurant. Alicia has always been Kyra's role model, inspiration, and idol.

Ivan also recognized Alicia. He quickly calm down and hid his shocked face without anyone noticing it.

"I thought you were going to take a few more hours to finish your meeting." Aditya broke the silence. Alicia sat on the opposite chair facing Aditya.

"I was going to chat with her for a few more hours but then I remembered that you will feel lonely if I left you alone. You better appreciate the fact that I ended my meeting just for your sake."

Aditya rolled his eyes at Alicia. "As far as I can remember, you never really care whether I felt lonely or depressed." Ever since last night when they returned from blackwood city after killing countless mutant fire ants, Aditya has noticed that the distance between him and Alicia has decreased a lot.

Before Alicia used to be a lot reserved, calm and collected around Aditya but this morning he found that the distance between them has closed. Like at the dining table, the princess asked Aditya to eat more food which she never did before. When they came to this city, she naturally held his hand and took him to visit various popular places in Rose hills city. Alicia never held Aditya's hand unless he took the initiative. The only time he really held her hand was when they were in front of her parents, pretending to be a couple.

Aditya waited for Alicia's answer while drinking a glass of water. "What are you saying, my dear?"

Pttffff!!!

Cough! Cough!

Kyra and Ivan "____"

"Why are you suddenly calling me dear?" Aditya wasn't expecting the princess to suddenly call him dear.

Meanwhile, Kyra and Ivan, both master and servant were totally shocked. Kyra even felt that for a second her mind had stopped processing. The current playful princess was totally opposite of what Kyra had thought of her.

"Hahaha! Why are you so shocked? We are a couple after all." Alicia playfully winked at Aditya.

"What happened to the calm and reserved Alicia?" The princess would often laugh, joke around and even tease Aditya in front of her family. He is not sure how or why the princess is showing a completely different side of herself to Aditya.

Alicia ignored Aditya's question. She took out a golden storage ring and put it on the table. "I have bought all the materials that you needed."

"Thank you, princes. Do you want to eat anything?"

"No, we should go. I want to see you in action."

"Alright."

Under Ivan and Kyra's shocked gaze, Aditya and Alicia left the restaurant after paying the bill.

"My lady, I think the princess is dating this man." Ivan was still looking outside. He looked dazed.

Kyra just silently nodded her head. Today was the first time Kyra had met the princess and she was totally shocked by the princess's playful personality.

"Alicia, ask some soldiers to secretly keep an eye on this restaurant." After leaving the restaurant Aditya asked Alicia to keep an eye on the restaurant as he felt that something was odd with Ivan.

"Actually, this restaurant belongs to the 3rd princess of the Rose family. That blond-haired girl was actually the 3rd princess of the Rose family." With Alicia's network system, she always knows what is going on in the noble circle.

"Judging from her expression, it seems she knew my identity." Without realizing it, Alicia was holding Aditya's hand. Aditya also didn't realize it.

"If you knew who she was, then why you didn't talk to her?" Aditya curiously asked.

"I have heard that the 3rd princess of the Rose family is a big fan of mine. I even heard that her decision to move out and live independently was also inspired by me. If I had talked to her, then she would have dragged our conversation for a long time. Also, we have a more important thing to do."

Aditya felt Alicia was purposely keeping a distance from the 3rd-princess of the Rose family. As for why the goddess was keeping a distance from a Rose noble family member, he felt that the princess and the Rose family had some bad water in the past. Since Alicia did not want to talk about it, Aditya did not ask her either.

Soon Alicia bought Aditya to an inn. This inn was secretly owned by Alicia. After entering the inn, the receptionist recognized Alicia. Without needing to say any words, the female receptionist gave the goddess the key to her private bedroom.

"Continue with your work." After saying these words Alicia took away Aditya leaving the female receptionist to wonder who this young and handsome man was.

"I can't believe you have a private inn in this city." The more time Aditya spent with Alicia, the more he realized just how big her business Empire was.

"Aside from the White Lotus guild, I own a chain of inns, restaurants, and clothing shops. My inns, restaurants, and shops can be found in every city in the Ethereal Empire. The most interesting thing about my business is that not even my father and my brother know about it."

Aditya was shocked to hear Alicia's words. He can't even imagine how rich Alicia was.

Alicia lead Aditya to the 3rd floor which was only available to her. Anyone other than Alicia was not allowed to stay on the 3rd floor. "Unfortunately, when Blackwood city was destroyed, I lost many things. In blackwood city, I had one private Mansion, two inns, five restaurants, and 9 clothing shops. If we count the money I lost last night, then it would be somewhere around half a million gold coins. Remember, I still haven't included the deaths of thousands of adventurers and the branch guild office in Blackwood city."

"Wait. Why did you buy a Mansion in Blackwood city?"

"Whenever I am feeling bored, I just go to Blackwood city and stay here with my maid." Alicia bought a mansion because she was feeling bored. Aditya wanted to ask, isn't that just a waste of money? But he didn't ask that knowing the goddess of wealth can never lack money out of all things in the world.

"We just didn't lose the lives of 1.5 million people, we also lost almost 9 billion gold coins wroth infrastructure, gold, artifacts, weapons, armor, and alchemy pills. So my loss is nothing in front of such a colossal amount." Along with the destruction of the city, thousands of 2-star or higher-star alchemy pills, potions, weapons, and armor were also lost.

Click!

"Come in." After entering her private residence, Aditya went to sit on the white couch. He then looked around. The floor was covered with a beautiful light blue carpet. The walls were painted white color. The living room had two long couches and a small dining table. The apartment had two bedrooms, one washroom, and one kitchen.

After closing the door, the goddess came and sat next to Aditya like it was the most natural thing to do. Aditya raised an eyebrow upon seeing Alicia sit next to her. Normally when they are alone, the princess would choose to sit on the opposite couch facing Aditya.

"Does that mean, you have a private apartment in every city in Ethereal Empire?" Aditya couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. I have at least spent one night in every single city in the Ethereal Empire. I have done the same in Istarin Empire. My business is slowly spreading throughout the whole Istarin Empire and the Eastern region. A few weeks ago, I bought a small Casino in Zraka city."

"You're not trying to take over my Empire by gaining monopoly, are you?"

"Hahaha! I am not interested. I will never do something like this to the Istarin empire." Alicia's business was spread to other Empires in the central region. If she wanted, she can control those other Empires by blocking the supply chains.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 168

"You're not trying to take over my Empire by gaining monopoly, are you?"

"Hahaha! I will never do something like this to the Istarin empire. Unles...."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you anger me. Hahaha!"

Aditya's right eye started twitching. How dare this goddess play with the Crimson dragon? "Hehe! Princess, it looks like you need some spanking."

Alicia after hearing his words moved away from him while covering her butt with her hands. The princess then glared at the Crimson Dragon King. "You dare?"

"Do you think I am afraid of you?" From her words, Aditya now had an idea of just how much power Alicia held in her palms. With her single order, she can make the economy of an Empire collapse which would utterly destroy an Empire from the inside out. The princess had the power to destroy Empires without needing to use any weapon or any soldier.

"Alright enough talking. Let's get to work." Aditya took to put a silver female breastplate from his storage ring. The breastplate was a Peak 4-star armor made from special rare metal.

"Before I start, Alicia are you sure you want to come with us on this expedition? This time I might not be able to protect you." Since it was confirmed that the mutant fire ants has originally come from the outer region Heavenly Hemlock Forest to attack Blackwood city, the main nest of the Mutant fire ant must be located somewhere in the outer or the inner region. This morning after hearing Noah's report, Ronnie had shared his thoughts of sending an expedition team to find the main nest of the mutant fire ants in the Heavenly Hemlock Forest.

Knowing that there is going to be an expedition, Aditya became interested. He asked Ronnie if he can be on the expedition team or not. After some hesitation and some words from Noah and remembering how powerful Aditya was the whole family reluctantly agreed to include Aditya and Noah in the expedition team. As for Alicia, before the princess could even open her mouth, her father refused her saying that she was too weak for this expedition.

"By today, I will break through beginner 3rd-order and reach mid-3rd-order. Also this time I will be going there prepared with full-body Peak 4-star armor that has been enhanced with runes. I am sure I can take on even a Peak 3rd-order. Also, I have the pills and potions that Alicia has sent us. This time I won't become a burden to the team." Alicia was able to convince her father to let her go once she said these same words.

"How can you suddenly break through beginner 3rd-order?" As far as Aditya can feel Alicia's cultivation base, he knew that the princess needed at least another month to break through.

"I have used my sources to find a 3-star Crimson apple. The fruit will give me the final push that I need to break through. I just need a few hours to consume all the mana present inside the Crimson apple." Alicia was a Fire-type mage. Her specialty lay in fire-type attacks.

"Why do you want to come with us so badly?" Aditya wanted to know the reason why the princess was so desperate.

Alicia lowered her head while tightly clenching her fists. "Last night when you were protecting me and also fighting the mutant fire ants, I felt I had become a burden. I felt powerless. I don't like this feeling of being useless."

Alicia then looked at Aditya's crimson pupils. "Last night I did not have my maid to protect me. I realized that I had become too dependent on being protected by others. This has to end. Heaven has blessed me with a genius-level cultivation talent, something that almost every cultivator wants to have. I realized I was wasting my talent. I want to come with you so that I can gain experience in fighting and also learn more about my powers."

Alicia can't even remember the last time she had fought against someone. All these years she was so focused on expanding her business and earning money that she had neglected her cultivation. "I cannot change the past. I want to work hard for my future." Alicia wanted to stop being dependent on others to protect her.

"Alright. Now tell me what sort of abilities you want your armor to have. Do you want defensive abilities?"

"I want my armor to increase my defense. I also want the armor to be light and increase the power of my fire-type attacks."

"Understood." This silver breastplate was a part of the full body armor that Alicia has given to Aditya.

Time flowed like water,

Without even noticing the whole day passed. Alicia had gone into her bedroom to consume the Crimson Apple and cultivate it. She cultivated for the whole day; trying to consume the energy within the Crimson apple. By midnight, Alicia had reached Mid 3rd-order.

When she opened her eyes, she felt a big improvement in her physical stats. She felt that her senses have sharpened. Her total mana reserve has increased. Alicia was confident that now she can even give a tough fight to Peak 3rd-order.

"I wonder what Aditya is doing." Alicia stood up and then stretched her body. She then went to the living room, only to find Aditya busy drawing runes on her silver breastplate. Currently, the Dragon King was sitting on the ground. Beside him, there were two vambraces, two gauntlets, two pauldrons with spikes on top, and two rerebraces lying on the ground. Except for the breastplate and all other armor, parts were enchanted with runs.

"Aditya, are you finished?" Alicia slowly asked. She can tell Aditya has worked really hard on this armor set.

"I am done." Aditya just finished drawing the last rune word. He then put the silver breastplate on the ground and then wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

"Check it out."

"Alright." Alicia took out a snowflake-shaped glass from her storage ring. When she moved the snowflake glass on top of the breastplate, a ray of blue light came out of the snowflake glass and began scanning all the armor.

Seeing this Aditya was dumbfounded. On the snowflake, he can see some very small runic words which he cannot understand even though he is a 3rd-order runemaster.

After the scanning was done, the blue light dimmed down before disappearing. A second later, a transparent rectangular 10 inches wide and 10 inches long screen appeared on top of the snowflake.

"Alicia, what is this?" Aditya asked while looking at this strange artifact in amazement.

"This is a 5th-star artifact. This snowflake lets me appraise other artifacts, weapons, and armor. Basically, with this artifact, I can check the functions or abilities or uses or conditions of an item. But with the condition being that the item's rank must not be above 5-star."

[Fiery Armor set]

[Rank: - Peak 4-star]

[Description: - A special full body armor set which was later enhanced by a 3rd-order runemaster. The armor was originally built by a retired blacksmith at the request of the goddess of wealth.]

[Function 1: - The armor gives the wearer high resistance against fire, water, and ice magic. The resistance of the armor will be lowered if a 5th-order cultivator uses fire, water, or ice magic to attack the wearer.

Function 2: - After wearing this armor, the wearer will never feel cold. Even the people standing 40 meters near the wearer won't feel cold.

Function 3: - The Fiery armor has been engraved with Mana gathering Array. This will increase the wearer's cultivation speed or mana recovery speed by 25%.

Function 4: - The fiery armor can reduce any attack damage from any 4th-order cultivation by 90%. While attacks from 3rd-order or lower-order cultivators won't harm the wearer at all. If any beginner 5th-order attacks the wearer, 50% of the attack damage will be reduced by the fiery armor. While if a Mid 5th or high-order powerhouse attacks the user, the fiery armor will fail to reduce the attack damage.

Function 5: - When the wearer condenses mana into the whole set of armor, an energy dome will be formed. The size of the energy dome will depend on the amount of mana that the wearer uses. The energy dome can protect the wearer from multiple attacks from 4th-order cultivators.]

"I have to I am very impressed. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Alicia, I am more interested to know about this snowflake artifact that you're holding in your hands."

Alicia smiled while looking at this snowflake artifact. "For once, getting hold of this artifact was anything but easy. This artifact was auctioned around a year ago. I had to spend 7.3 billion royal gold coins just to get this item. In this whole world, the number of artifacts that actually has an appraisal function is less than two digits. On top of that, this snowflake is a Peak 5-star artifact. You can just imagine how difficult it was for me to get this artifact."

'7.3 billion royal gold coins is 730 in gold coins.' Just thinking of such a big number Aditya felt a headache. As expected of the Goddess of wealth. Not even the strongest Empires on the continents like the Dying Isle or Westnia had 5-star artifacts. The value of 5 artifacts cannot be counted in numbers. In short word, any artifact that was a 5-star or high star was considered invaluable.

Just the existence of a 5-star artifact can put an entire continent into a deadly war. Even the people from the central continent would do anything to get a 5-star artifact.

"But thanks to this artifact I was able to recover that huge amount that I had spent. In this one year, using this artifact I have earned around 10 billion royal gold coins."

"You know the longer I stay with you, the more I realized just how poor I am." Even if Aditya combines all of his wealth, he is not sure if his wealth would hit the one billion royal gold mark. And here was the goddess of wealth who had earned 10 billion royal gold coins in a single year.

"I am starting to feel I have made a mistake. I should have become a merchant instead."

"Hahahaha! Don't worry, if you're ever low on money, you can always ask me. I will lend you the money for a very low interest." Aditya rolled his eyes. Even if he ever needed money, he can just attack one Kingdom or send his army to kill bandits around his Kingdom.

"I prefer to plunder wealth. That is the fastest way of getting richer."

"Alicia, I think you should call your mother and let her know that we won't be going back tonight." Since it was already midnight, Aditya and Alicia had decided to spend the night in this inn. After spending this much time with her family, Aditya believed that her family would be worried if their daughter suddenly stayed outside without informing them.

"Alright." Alicia took out a cube-shaped earring. Just as she infused the earring with mana, the earring began glowing.

[Hello! Alicia, is that you? Where are you? Young lady, it's already midnight and you still haven't returned home yet. It looks like you have forgotten what happens when you break the family rules.]

Aditya saw Alicia tremble for a second before she spoke in a hurried tone. [Mom, the whole day I was cultivating. I have reached Mid 3rd-order. As for Aditya, he was adding some runic enchantment while I was cultivating. By the time we finished our work, we realized that it was too late. So we have decided to spend the night here.]

Alicia knew that if she and Aditya went back home this late, both of them would be scolded by her mother and grandmother.

[oh....! Congratulations on reaching Mid 3rd-order. I will allow the two of you to stay outside but tomorrow young lady you better give me a proper explanation otherwise you will not be allowed to go out for the next week.]

After both mother and daughter's conversation ended, Aditya and Alicia stared at each other. Aditya stared at her for a few seconds before he went to pat her right shoulder to comfort her and then he went to his bedroom.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 169

The next day,

Although Aditya was expecting to see Bianca and Olivia scold Alicia, contrary to his expectations, the goddess managed to drag Aditya into her own matter. When Aditya's name was also bought, Olivia and Bianca stopped scolding Alicia and let Alicia go.

Alicia finally managed to convince her father to let her join the expedition team. At first, Ronnie didn't want to let his daughter go. He agreed only when Aditya stood up and promised Ronnie the safety of his daughter.

Outside Rose hills city,

Currently, 100 people were riding 100 various color Pegasus. These Pegasus were Peak 3rd-order magical animals. Pegasus is one of the magical animals that can only be found in Westnia. Pegasus is raised and bred by all the strongest Empires in Westnia. The reason for this is that a mature Pegasus can become a Peak 3rd-order magical animal with agility surpassing even Peak 4th-order magical animals.

Pegasus is just like horses. but with wings. A mature Pegasus can even give a beginner 5th-order a good run. Although Pegasus is not great at fighting or in defense. They were excellent in agility. Pegasus is one of the best magical mounts out there.

This time Ronnie send 100 powerful cultivators. Among the 100, there were three 5th-order cultivators. One of them was Sylvie who came at Alicia's request. The other two 5th-order cultivators were two elders of the Ethereal Empire. Aside from Sylvie, Aditya, Alicia, Noah, and two elder 5th-order cultivators, everyone else here was a Peak 4th-order or Mid 4th-order.

All the 4th-order cultivators were wearing Peak 3-star full-body armor sets and had Peak 3-star weapons. Even if the Ethereal Empire was the strongest and also richest Empire in Westnia, giving a 4-star full body armor set or 4-star weapons to their soldiers is impossible for them.

To make a Peak 4-star armor or weapon, just having a 4-star blacksmith is not enough. The metal needed to make 4-star armor or weapon is extremely rare to find and is super expensive.

Sylvie had managed to get her 5-star full body armor set by spending years of her saving. If she did not use her authority as the guild leader of White Lotus, even billions might not have been enough for her to get a full body armor set. Even the two 5th-order elders of the Ethereal Empire did not have full-body 5-star armor sets.

Noah was given Peak 4-star armor as he was the crown prince. His life was more valuable than others. Alicia did not need to get one Peak 4-star armor from her father as she already had one.

As for Aditya, he was the only one who wasn't wearing any armor. Although Aditya had a Mid-5-star sword, he did not have any 5-star armor set.

"Alicia, do you know how much it costs to breed and raise Pegasus?" Aditya asked Alicia while sitting on the back of a white Pegasus. He felt very comfortable sitting on the Pegasus's back. If possible he also wanted to bring this magical mount to his soldiers.

"Monthly it takes around 100 gold coins for one Pegasus." Aditya nodded his head while gently stroking the neck of the Pegasus. The winged horse was intelligent enough to understand people's words.

Meanwhile, everyone except for Sylvie and Noah wondered what was Aditya's relationship with princess Alicia. Why no one has heard of Aditya? Everyone wanted to ask what relationship Aditya had with their princess but no one dared to take the initiative to ask such a question as this would be considered very rude. Added to the fact that the crown prince and the guild leader of white Lotus also like this young man meant that no one can offend him.

"Everyone I have been ordered to lead this expedition. Our aim is to find the mutant fire ant nest. As of now, we're not sure where the mutant fire ant's nest is. We will be heading to Heavenly Hemlock Forest to find the mutant fire ant nest. We won't come back till we find the mutant fire ant nest. In this mission, I want everyone to listen to my orders. If I tell you to go to the right, you go to your right. Those who disobey my order will be killed. And yes his Majesty has given me permission to kill anyone who disobeys my order."

Hearing the old man's words Aditya couldn't help but frown. Aditya has met people like this old man even in his previous life. They were the type of people who love power more than anything. From his words, this old man was trying to show his supremacy above others. The arrogance in his tone was clearly evident.

It was as if the old man did not care about the presence of the White Lotus guild leader, which is the biggest and strongest guild in the whole Westnia continent nor did he care about the fact that he was in the presence of the Crown Prince or the Princess who is also the goddess of Alchemy.

Noah and Alicia also frowned. Noah knew that Tate was a prideful man. The old man only showed respect to the Emperor. But that did not mean that the old man was rude and arrogant in front of the royal family. This was the first time the old man was showing such arrogance and rudeness in front of Noah and Alicia.

For now, Noah decided to let go of this matter as they had more important things on their hands. 'After we return, I will deal with you.'

The one who spoke was an old skinny man. The old man was around 70 years old. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall. Despite looking old, his back always stayed straight. This old man's name was Tate. Tate was a very proud beginner 5th-order. According to Alicia, Tate has been serving the Ethereal Empire for 99 years now. Tate was extremely loyal to the Ethereal Empire. Ronnie greatly trusted this old man.

Sitting next to another Pegasus's back, behind Tate there was another middle age woman. Her name was Nora. Nora was also a beginner 5th-order cultivator. It was said that Nora was the second youngest 5th-order in the history of the Ethereal Empire.

Nora has beautiful long black hair. The voluptuous woman was actually a Succubus. She had a black whip-like tail. Her tail was morphed into love shaped symbol with the bottom being the tip of her tail. Nora also had two small black bat wings on her back. Nora was wearing a tight dress. Just looking at her curvaceous body, no men could restrain themselves.

Aditya, Noah, and some other 4th-order elite soldiers couldn't help but look at Nora. Even Alicia found Aditya staring at Nora, she snorted.

"Hmph! It turned out that all dragons just think about their lower parts." Aditya bitterly smiled. He has seen women who are even more beautiful and sexy than this 5th-order Succubus. He was only looking at Nora not longer than even a second. There was no lust in his eyes even though the woman he looked at was very sexy and hot.

Aditya turned to his right and looked at Alicia's face. "It looks like a certain princess is jealous."

"Jealous? And me? Haha~ I am not jealous." Alicia looked away as she couldn't handle his burning stare.

"I am not jealous. I am just worried about Julia." Alicia said those words in a very low tone. Aditya was able to hear her words as he was very close to her.

"Can't you find a better excuse to cover your jealousy?" Aditya's words only earned him another cold and sharp glare from the princess.

Meanwhile, Noah and Sylvie noticed the interaction between Aditya and Alicia. Noah just smiled. After fighting with Aditya and spending hours with him, he now had come to like Aditya very much. Deep down he was already starting to see Aditya as his brother-in-law. Even though he knew that both of their relationships were fake, he can feel some sparks of love.

'I will have to report this to grandma.' Noah was sure Olivia would be very pleased to hear his report.

'Can you two stop flirting in front of me? This is unbearable. Never thought my best friend, the goddess of wealth would find her love before me. Sometimes fate can be cruel.' Sylvie secretly wiped the tears from her eyes. A part of her was happy for Alicia while a part of her was jealous that her best friend was being taken away by someone.

After traveling for 5 minutes, with the Pegasus's speed, everyone reached the area where Aditya, Noah, Sylvie, and Alicia fought the mutant fire ants on that cold snowy winter night. Tate who was at the front slowed down. As the captain slowed down, everyone else also slowed down.

Tate and everyone were shocked seeing the current state of blackwood city. Not even a single brick of the former blackwood city remained. The ground of the whole area had been scorched black. There was a deep big crater. Around the crater, there were dead bodies of mutant fire ants, and half-eaten bodies of the people who died at the hands of the mutant fire ants. The area around the crater was painted in red blood color. It was the blood of the 1.5 million victims.

As the Pegasus's speed was slowed down, it took the expedition team to reach the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest another 5 minutes.

"Everyone stop." Under Tate's order, everyone stopped.

"Since we're going to enter the Heavenly Hemlock Forest, let's leave all Pegasuses here." Unlike other magical mounts, Pegasuses cannot fight. They are magical animals with very high agility but very low defense and attacking power. Everyone agreed to leave the Pegasuses here.

"Coby, you stay behind and look after the Pegasuses. Wait here till we return." Coby was a Peak 4th-order powerhouse. Coby was one of the strongest elite soldiers of the Ethereal Empire. Leaving Coby outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest to look after the Pegasuses was not right in everyone's opinion.

"But sir....." Coby wanted to reject. Coby was a fighter. How come he has to take care of Pegasuses while everyone else gets to enter the heavenly Hemlock forest?

"No But. Coby, this is my order." Tate even refused to let Coby finish his words. From Tate's tone, he made it clear that there was no room for discussion.

"Elder Tate, I think leaving Coby here is a bad choice. Coby is a very capable fighter. With enough support, he can even give a tough fight to a beginner 5th-order. We should bring Coby with us. We can pick someone weaker to look after the Pegasuses." Noah respectfully advised Tate to not leave Coby here. Coby was an important part of this expedition team. His strength will become crucial if the mutant fire ants were to attack them.

However, Tate shook his head. "My prince, the safety of the Pegasuses is equally important. Beside, Coby's role can be fulfilled by other capable elite soldiers." No one in the whole expedition team was convinced by Tate's words. Even though Tate seems to know this, he did not care.

Noah walked up to Coby, the young man who was only 43 years old and had managed to reach Peak 4th-order and was very loyal to the Ethereal Empire. Ronnie was even thinking of promoting Coby to become one of the generals of the Ethereal Empire in the near future.

"I will get you justice when we return back to the capital." Coby lowered his head and nodded while clenching his fists. Coby believed in Noah's words. After all, crown prince Noah was a man of his words.

"Let's go." Leaving Coby outside, 99 people in the expedition team entered the Heavenly Hemlock forest. The forest which will also become their worst nightmare.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 170

It has been one minute since the whole expedition team had entered the heavenly hemlock forest. For some strange reason, the whole outer region of the forest appeared to be very quiet. Other than the sound of footsteps, no other sound can be heard.

Aditya and Alicia were at the very back. Both of them were walking together without even realizing it. Previously in this kind of situation, the goddess would have preferred to walk with her brother, but now without even realizing it, she had become more dependent on Aditya.

As soon as Aditya step into the forest, he tried to sense everything around him. He silently followed Alicia while trying to sense the presence of any magical animals or mutant fire ants in the forest. But strangely as far as his senses spread, Aditya felt nothing. It was as if the whole forest was devoid of any magical animals or any mutant fire ants.

Around three minutes later, a deep frown appeared on his face. Without saying a word, Aditya took out the Adamantite Doomblade, the Mid 5-star black sword.

Eh!

Alicia was surprised when she felt a warm hand taking her left palm. Alicia looked at the person who was holding her left palm. "Don't tell me the Dragon King is afraid?" Alicia tried to tease Aditya to reduce the tension. But when she looked at this face, she realized that something was definitely wrong here.

Normally regardless of what situation they were in, whether they were in front of her parents, whether they were having a serious meeting or whether they were surrounded by hundreds of 4th-order mutant fire ants, Aditya would always smile, show his calmness, and sometimes even tease her.

But this time, the look on Aditya's face was very different. He was frowning while looking around. Even though Alicia had tried to tease him, he did not show any reaction. If the danger is big enough to make this perverted and shameless dragon serious then everyone needs to be serious as well.

"Aditya, is something wrong?" Alicia asked in a low tone. Her words were only heard by Aditya as both of them were walking at the back. While Noah and Sylvie were walking at the center and at the front.

Aditya finally looked at Alicia. With a serious face, the Dragon King replied. "Ever since we entered the forest, I haven't sensed the presence of even a single magical animal. It is as if all the magical animals in the forest have disappeared."

Alicia also then realized this. Normally when one entered a forest, it was normal to hear various kinds of sounds. The sounds of bubbling brooks, remote and close sounds of chirping birds, buzzing insects, and croaking frogs, all were missing. Strangely the whole Heavenly Hemlock Forest was very quiet. Other than the sound of their footsteps nothing else could be heard.

Another 3 or 5 minutes passed. By now more and more elite soldiers were also realizing this. The nervousness and the tension in the atmosphere only increased with each passing second. Without even needing to be said, everyone was on their guard. But strangely elder Tate looked relaxed.

Sylvie noticed this about Tate. She narrowed her eyes and kept on observing elder Tate. Ever since this expedition mission started, elder Tate has been behaving very strangely. It was as if he had turned into a completely different person.

"Aditya, could it be that the mutant fire ants have killed and eaten all the magical animals that lived in the outer region of the heavenly hemlock forest?"

"The possibility is very high. But if the mutant fire ants did kill and eat all the magical animals, we would have at least found some pieces of evidence. On our path, we did not come across any dead or eaten bodies of magical animals."

"Maybe the mutant fire ants dragged the bodies of the magical animals to the nest and ate them there."

"Maybe or not. I am not sure what happened to all the magical animals that lived in the outer region. Maybe the magical animals were forced to migrate to other parts of the forest when they were under the attack of the mutant fire ants? There are many possibilities. As of now, we can only speculate." Aditya purposely kept his voice low so that only Alicia can hear him. Aditya normally would have shared his thoughts with everyone since everyone here was a team. It was the presence of elder Tate that stopped Aditya from sharing his thoughts.

The expedition team continued to move in silence for another 10 minutes. Before the whole team stopped as they saw or sensed the presence of a 3rd-order mutant fire ant eating a rat. The mutant fire ant failed to detect the presence of foreigners as it was so busy eating the rat that was 3 times the size of a normal rat.

"I will kill it." Tate was about to kill the mutant fire ant when Sylvie stopped him.

Tate did not look pleased when he was stopped by Sylvie. The old man did not even try to hide his displeased face. "Why are you stopping me?"

Sylvie ignored his displeased face and looked at the mutant fire ant. "Rather than searching aimlessly. We can just follow this mutant fire ant to lead us to its nest." Everyone liked Sylvie's plan. However, Tate had different plans.

"We're not sure if this mutant fire ant will head back to its nest after eating the rat. It would be better to kill the mutant fire ant before it senses our presence. If the mutant fire ant senses our presence, it will send a message to its ant queen. This will only make things difficult for us." Mutant fire ants had the ability to send messages to their ant queen.

Sylvie frowned. She glanced at the mutant fire ant that was quietly eating and then looked at Tate. "The mutant fire hasn't sensed us yet. We can silently follow it while keeping a distance."

Tate took a step forward and threateningly looked at Sylvie. "Are you ordering me?"

Hearing Tate's words, everyone else also frowned. This old man was acting like some spoiled rich arrogant young master. "Don't forget that I get to make the rules here. If you don't want to follow my orders, then you can leave or you can die."

Hearing Tate's words, a cold smile appeared on the dark elf's face. The guild leader of the white Lotus guild did not look happy she was being threatened and also disrespected. Every 5th-order or high-order in this world has immense pride in their strength. In this continent, 5th-order cultivators stood at the very top.

Some 5th-orders even considered themselves supreme beings. It was natural for a 5th-order to be full of pride and arrogance. Although Sylvie is not an arrogant person, at the end of the day she is still a beginner 5th-order cultivator who had the power to destroy any 4th-tier kingdom or faction. The fact that Tate openly threatened and disrespected her is not something that she can let go of easily.

"Tate, you old bastard. I still remember the days when you used to lick my boots just to get gold coins. Just because his Majesty has made you the leader of this expedition group that doesn't mean that we have become his slaves. Next time if you don't control your tongue, I will rip off your tongue and feed it to the mutant fire ants."

Sylvie was a calm and chill type of person. She often joked with her subordinates and her underlings. This is one of the reasons why the guild leader is so popular. Unlike most 5th-order cultivators who were arrogant and prideful. Sylvie is a humble person who never looks down on others.

Alicia knew better than anyone else that once Sylvie is offended or angered, nothing can stop her. Although the number of times Alicia has seen Sylvie get angry can be counted by her ten fingers, whenever the dark elf has gotten angry, it never really went well for the people who angered her.

Sylvie did not hesitate to unleash her killing intent on Tate. The old man's face instantly turned ugly under the pressure. Even though both Sylvie and he were in the same realm. The old man wasn't confident that he can take on Sylvie. The power difference between him and Sylvie was very wide. While he was someone who had barely touched the beginner 5th-order mark, Sylvie was someone who was going to touch the Mid-5th order mark very soon.

When Sylvie had released her Aura, the mutant fire ant that was eating the rat instantly felt the Aura of a 5th-order. The mutant fire ant was intelligent enough to quickly send a message to its queen about the whole situation.

"Great while the both of you're arguing, it seems the mutant fire ant has sensed our presence. Now we might have to face the entire ant colony. Now we have no choice but to leave." There is no way the expedition team can face an entire colony of mutant fire ants. Last time Aditya had killed over a million mutant fire ants. But this time, the number might already have exceeded 10 million or maybe even more.

Noah was mainly pissed at the old man Tate. Never did he think that the old man Tate whom his father trusted so much would be the reason for their failure.

Aditya noticed the sudden change in Tate's old. The old man was now smiling while lowering his head. "Hehe! My prince, I don't think anyone will be getting out of this forest alive."

Under everyone's confused gaze, the old took a few steps back.

"Sh*t!" Aditya's face instantly turned pale as he sensed the presence of countless mutant fire ants coming from behind. It was also at this moment Aditya realized that he and everyone has been betrayed. Just realizing this fact, the Dragon Monarch felt endless anger boiling his heart.

Without even realizing it, Alicia noticed red lightning violently flickering around his body. Aditya's hair color also had started turning crimson red as his pupils changed to deep crimson with vertical slits.

"Aditya, what happened?" Alicia worried asked noticing the red lightning violently flickering around his body. The red lightning had forced her to take a few steps back. She also noticed that his body was slightly trembling while his fists were clenched. He was gritting his teethes while staring at the old man Tate.

Aditya said nothing. When he just looked at Alicia, the Goddess of wealth started shaking in fear. Without even realizing her legs were shaking. The goddess was forced to take a step back. It was not just the goddess, even all the elite soldiers, Noah, Nora, Sylvie, and even the old man Tate, all of their faces turned deadly pale as the thick murderous killing intent made them feel suffocated.

When Tate, Sylvie, Noah, Nora, and other elite soldiers stared at those crimson dragon eyes that seems to be glowing in red color, not even the 5th-order cultivators were able to stop their fear.

Especially Tate, the old man at this moment felt he was being stared at by the god of death himself. His arms and legs had started shaking. Drops of sweat rolled down his face and neck. He felt his throat had gone dry as his teethes clattered non-stop. His blood had run cold even though his heart was beating wildly.

When he stared at those crimson-glowing eyes, Tate felt he was staring at his own graveyard. At this moment behind Aditya, he saw another figure. The figure had terrifying red large dragon eyes. The figure's entire body was made up of darkness. From the figure's body outline, it seems a dragon was staring at him

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 171

When he stared at those crimson-glowing eyes, Tate felt he was staring at his own graveyard. At this moment behind Aditya, he saw another figure. The figure had terrifying red large dragon eyes. The figure's entire body was made up of darkness. From the figure's body outline, it seems a dragon was staring at him.

"Old man, you sold us out." Aditya stopped holding his killing intent. As he took each step forward, toward the old man Tate, the more of his killing intent was being released. The killing intent Aditya had was too big. He had slaughtered more than ten millions of beings so far.

"Aditya, what are you talking about?" Noah asked. Alicia and Sylvie wasn't that surprised either as both had seen how strange and weird the old man has been acting ever since they head out of the Rose Hills city.

"Isn't it obvious, this old man sold us out. Every time we took made a decision, this bastard did the opposite. Now we're surrounded by countless mutant fire ants from all directions. There is no escape for us. All this happened because of this old man."

"What? We're surrounded?" Noah was shocked. However when he saw Sylvie and Nora also nodding their heads with pale faces, he realized that Aditya wasn't just joking.

It was not just Noah, all the elite soldiers felt their hearts boiling in anger as they stared at the old man Tate. If they had the power, they already would had ripped his head off of his body.

The crimson red lightning became more violent as Aditya's anger increased. When he finished his words, the crimson lightning was flickering around his body so violently that anyone who stood even 10 meters range of Aditya was hit crimson red lightning. The Dragon Monarch's entire was body was covered in deep Crimson red lightning. The only thing that everyone was able to see was his Crimson glowing dragon eyes.

"Tate, why did you do it?" Even though Aditya did not had any solid evidences against Tate, everyone easily believed in his words as they all has seen just how strange and weirdly Tate has been acting. Just as they left the Rose hills city, Tate's attitude took a 180 degree flip. The old man began acting more arrogant. The fact that he even stopped respecting the Crown prince and the princess added more fuel to the fire.

"I....." Tate looked at Aditya. Never in this entire life, he has felt such tremendous pressure. Just staring at those deep Crimson vertical slits pupils was a great challenge to Tate. His heart was telling him to run away. But deep down even though Tate did not knew Aditya personally, even though Tate did not knew how powerful Aditya was, even though Tate knew Aditya was only a beginner 3rd-order cultivator, he felt that Aditya can easily take his life. Even if he started running at his full speed, this demon wasn't going to let him live.

At this moment everyone was staring at Tate. "Old man, you purposely ordered us to not bring the Pegasuses with us as you knew that if even if we were surrounded by countless number of mutant fire ants, with the Pegasuses super fast agility we easily could have escaped."

With each passing seconds, even the peak 4th-order elite soldiers were able to sense the approaching enemy. The mutant fire ants were walking at their direction. The mutant fire ants didn't looked worried if the enemy would run away. They were taking their time. It was as if they knew that there was no escape.

Seeing Aditya walking toward Tate, everyone slowly moved out of the way. As Aditya walked up to Tate, no one, not even the fifth-order cultivators that stood at the very top of this continent, Nora and Sylvie was able to bear such terrifying killing intent. At this moment their faces had turned pale. Even the 5th-order cultivators were having hard time breathing. While the condition of the elite soldiers was even worse. As for Noah and Alicia, the only two other 3rd-order cultivators in this whole expedition, their conditions was even worse.

If Sylvie had no held Alicia, the goddess of wealth would have lost her consciousness. As the Peak 3rd-order cultivator, the Crown prince of the Ethereal Empire, at this moment his eyes were bleeding. Blood was coming out from his nose, eyes, and ears. It was taking Noah's all might to just keep his consciousness. The Crown prince was already on his knees. It was as if the gravity of the whole world has reached an unbearable point. Even breathing seems to have become the most difficult thing in the whole world. All this were happening just because of Aditya's killing intent. And the Dragon King or the Dragon Monarch wasn't even focusing his killing intent on anyone other than Tate.

Aditya stopped when he was about 15 meters away from Tate. At this moment his mind was filled with one kind of emotion and that was anger. There was no hate or hesitation or depression or anxiety of facing countless mutant fire ants in this mind or heart. The only thing that the Dragon Monarch wanted to do at this moment, no matter the cost, was to beat the hell out of Tate and rip of his heart and bury his skull so deep that no human, no magical animal, no race would be able to find his head. He wanted to destroy Tate's body so badly that even mother goddess would feel pity for the poor soul.

There was one thing that Aditya hated more than anything in this whole life. It was the thing that he always looked out for. He always took measures to avoid this. Just the thought of being betrayed made the Dragon Monarch lose his sanity. Without even realizing it, without even knowing about the consequences, Tate has done something that everyone single being on this planet would want to avoid doing.

There were many kinds of people in this big world. The number of enemies that Aditya has faced in the previous life and in this life is too many. This number will only continue to increase as he walks on the path of becoming the Dragon Monarch. Aditya respected all of his enemies except for one kind of enemy. It was the type of people who would backstab or betray his friends and families.

Meanwhile in the face of absolute despair, fully knowing and realizing that he had messed up real bad this time, Tate went crazy. The old man suddenly started laughing while looking at Aditya.

"Hahaha! You all will die and become mutant fire ant breakfast, lunch and dinner. But don't worry, I will be sure to bring back King Ronnie's children's head. I can't wait to see the reaction both of your father will have when he will see both of your heads."

"As for you...." Tate was still afraid. Even though he was laughing and saying such words like he has won, his legs never stopped shaking. His heart beat never calmed down. His brain never stopped sending distress signals.

"Under my watch, nothing will happen to Noah and Alicia. I will protect them and this is a promise. As for you, I doubt your allies will make it in time to save your as*." Tate widened his eyes in fear as he took a step back while trying to launch some kind of attack but he was too frightened which caused him to take a few extra seconds to prepare his attack. By the time his attack was ready, when he looked at Aditya, the Crimson Dragon already had disappeared.

At this moment the only thing that was being heard in the Heavenly Hemlock Forest was the cracking sound of the Crimson lightning.

Swoosh!

Tate did not even needed to look back to know who had appeared behind him. Before Tate can even turn around, he dragon claw pierced his stomach.

Everyone was stunned by the scene. They will never forget the day when a beginner 3rd-order who is nothing but an ant in front of a Beginner 5th-order was killed by that very beginner 3rd-order.

Ahhh!!!!!

The outer region of the heavenly hemlock forest which has been quiet until now heard a loud painful scream. The mutant fire ants that were slowing approaching their enemies also heard the scream.

"You..." At this moment, the proud and one of the strongest pillars of the Ethereal Empire was on his knees while looking at Aditya.

"I would love to torture you for a little longer unfortunately I have clean some ants." After saying these words in a cold tone, the dragon king raised his right feet and pressed Tate's head on the ground.

At this moment Tate has never felt so humiliated.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 172

"You..." At this moment, the proud and one of the strongest pillars of the Ethereal Empire was on his knees while looking at Aditya.

"I would love to torture you for a little longer unfortunately I have to clean some ants." After saying these words in a cold tone, the dragon king raised his right feet and pressed Tate's head on the ground.

At this moment Tate has never felt so humiliated. Tate one of those persons who stood at the very top of the continent. No one has humiliated Tate like this before. At this moment Tate was also having a new kind of emotions which was anger.

Meanwhile, everyone else was shocked and stunned by Aditya's actions. Especially Noah and Sylvie, the current Aditya was very different from the Aditya that he and she knew. This Aditya was indifferent, cold, cruel and merciless.

The beginner 5th-order Succubus, Nora was pitifully looking at Tate. Although she does not know on why Tate sold them out, but if she was in Tate's position, she would never even thought of betraying this man. 'Stupid old man, your stupid arrogance and your greed has killed you.' Nora wasn't exactly close to Tate or anything. She always kept a distance from Tate as she didn't really like the old man very much.

Now seeing him, just a few seconds away from death, she felt nothing.

"Hahaha! You can kill me here. But today I won't be the only one who dies here. The Heavenly Hemlock Forest will become all of your burial ground." Tate seems to have gone crazy. Maybe it was because he had accepted that he was going to die or maybe he has lost his mind from all kinds of emotions.

"You will see about that. But for now, you can just die." The next second nothing happened. But strangely everyone noticed the sudden change in Tate's expression. The old man began to struggle like crazy. But his body still remained under Aditya's foot.

Another second later, all the elite soldiers, Sylvie, Nora, Noah and Alicia, all took a step back as they watched the old man's body start melting. His whole body had started glowing red. White smoke started coming from his body.

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

With a painful scream, that had sent shivers down everyone's spine, Tate lost his life.

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order cultivator. The experience point that you have obtained has been saved for future use.?

Aditya released air from his lungs as he stared the melted body Tate. Aditya had used his Crimson flames to increase Tate's body temperature to the point where the body of the beginner 5th-order directly melted. One had to know that a beginner 5th-order can withstand a nuclear missile. 5th-order cultivators bodies were tough enough to survive in space, walk in magma or survive in the deepest parts of the sea.

As a cultivator progresses through each order, their body and mind also keeps on becoming more and more stronger. With each order, the cultivator's resistant to fire, water, illusion, mind control, holy magic, dark magic, lightning, wind and earth also increases. For example, even the strongest attack of a Peak 1st-order wouldn't even come closer to scratching the body of a beginner 5th-order.

In this world there are seven continents. Except for the main continent, all other continents 5th-order cultivators existent is considered like a Demi-God or God. Some rural people would go as far as to even start worshipping 5th-order cultivators.

For the next few seconds no one said anything. Everyone except for Aditya was still in shock. The fact that a mere beginner 3rd-order is able to kill a beginner 5th-order is absolutely shocking. "What should we do now?" No one knew who asked this question but this question turned everyone serious.

"We do not have any options. We will have to fight. If we're lucky a few of us might be able to survive and make it back to the Ethereal Empire." Noah replied. The crown prince already had made up this mind to do everything in this power to make sure that his sister survives even if it meant giving up his own life.

Hearing Noah's words, everyone's face changed. His words only reduced the moral of the whole team. Every elite soldier looked like they had lost their hope of living. After all they can sense the countless number of mutant fire ants approaching them. There was no hope for them. Even the beginner 5th-order powerhouse Nora looked like she also had lost her hope.

Only Alicia and Sylvie didn't gave up. Alicia's confident came from the fact that they had Aditya with them. A few months ago when the goblin invasion took place in Onard family territory, it was mainly because of Aditya, that the Onard family and the Echo Dominion Empire was able to avoid a huge disaster that could have resulted in the deaths of more than ten millions of people. The Goddess of wealth knew that as long as Aditya was here, they still had hope.

As for Sylvie, the guild Leader was very confident in her powers. If worse comes, she will use the 5-star treasure that his Majesty had handed to her when they set out for this expedition.

"We will make it. Trust me and trust yourselves. No one is dying here today." Everyone looked at Aditya. From his back two Crimson pair of large wings appeared. Aditya's arms transformed into dragon claws. Crimson red scales started covering his skin and his face like armor.

At the same time, the clear blue sky started to darken as strong wind started blowing. Within a few more seconds, the entire sky above the Heavenly Hemlock Forest had been covered by dark clouds which contained crimson lightning. The Crimson Lightning moved and flickered around the dark clouds like snakes swimming in clouds.

Even though Aditya's words wasn't very long or motivational. But for some reason staring at this man whose blue hair had turned red, who had crimson lightning violently flickering around his body, everyone felt that he was the ray hope of that everyone needed.

"If we want to win this fight, we must stay together. I want all the elite soldiers to be stay in a circular formation. The mages will stay back and attack the enemy with long ranged spells while others will take the short range fight. Sylvie, Nora and I will deal with the 5th-order mutant fire ants. As for Noah and Alicia, both of you will also stay with the elite soldiers." Aditya stopped releasing his killing intent.

All the elite soldiers quickly took their formation. In less than 10 seconds, they were standing in a circular formation. The mages were inside the circle while the body path or warrior type elite soldiers was going to fight the mutant fire ants head on.

"Nora, can you use your charm to control the mutant fire ants?" As Nora was a Succubus, she could have the power to charm other beings.

"Yes but my charming abilities won't work on 5th-order mutant fire ants. The number of 4th-order or lower-order mutant fire ants that I can charm is also limited."

"I want you to charm as many mutant fire ants as possible. Don't charm any weak mutant fire ants. Try to charm the 3rd-order or 4th-order mutant fire ants."

"Alright. But if a 5th-order mutant fire ant does appears and I fight it, then it will become difficult for me to keep fight and also keep the mutant fire ants under my control." Nora did not had huge mana reserve like Aditya. This limited her powers.

"Don't worry, I will be there to assist you." Everyone seems to have accepted the fact that Aditya can fight 5th-order mutant fire ants. No one questioned his orders. Without even needing to say it, Aditya had become the leader of this expedition group.

"I and Sylvie will focus our attention on the front. Nora, try to assist us using your charming powers."

"What about the back?" Sylvie asked curiously.

"I have a plan for that." Aditya mysteriously smiled making everyone curious.

"Aditya, there is a high chance that during the battle many of us will run out mana." Noah was concerned about this. Hearing Noah's words, Alicia, Sylvie, Nora and others also frowned.

"I do have some mana recovery potions which I had kept in my storage ring, but the potions I have won't last long. Meaning that we will have to try to finish this battle as soon as possible." Aditya then took out all the mana recovery and stamina recovery potions he had. After keeping a few recovery potions for himself, Aditya distributed other potions equally among the elite soldiers.

After giving out a set of orders, under everyone's eyes, the Dragon Monarch punched the ground and then released all the mana that he had condensed in his right fist.

Booom!

Suddenly the ground started shaking. Alicia had seen this scene before. She understood what Aditya was planning for the back.

Everyone was stunned once again seeing Crimson hot magma coming out of the ground like water. Aditya didn't looked affected by the magma at all. Within a few minutes, more than 500 meters area was covered in Crimson hot Magma.

"This will keep the ants from attacking us from behind." By drowning the area with Magma, instead of being attacked by all 4 direction, Aditya has forced the mutant fire ants to attack from 3 sides. No matter how powerful the mutant fire ants were, in front of the magma that Aditya has created, their powers were nothing. Their steel like hard bodies would instantly melt if they happen to step on the magma river.

"They are coming." From the north, tearing the thick bushes, thousands of red pairs of eyes stared at the human group that had entered the outer region of the heavenly hemlock forest. The mutant fire ants slowed walked in the direction of their targets without fearing the two 5th-order cultivators that their targets had.

At the same time from the west and east, more than a hundred thousand of mutant fire ants were marching toward the expedition team. While the mutant fire ants that came from the south were forced to change their direction as an arc-shaped pool of magma blocked their paths. Without needing to be told the ants knew that this magma was super dangerous to them.

"Princess, are you scared?" Alicia was startled to hear Aditya's voice. Just a second ago he was standing 20 meters away from her, outside the circle.

"Why.....I mean.....What are you doing here?" The goddess of wealth looked nervous. This was the first time Alicia had ever faced something like this. It was obvious that the goddess would be nervous and maybe even slightly afraid.

Aditya walked behind the princess and held her with his strong hands wrapped around her waist and her back resting on his chest. His face was resting on her right shoulder. From his close distance, Aditya was able to inhale the sweet and natural fragrance of her body which made him feel like he was drunk.

"You know if you let me kiss your beautiful face, then I will promise to protect you with my life." Hearing Aditya's Alicia's felt like punching this shameless man. In the face of such danger, this man was acting shameless with her.

"I don't need your protection." Even though the princess sounded angry, she still remained standing while leaning against his chest. Being held like this gave her a strong sense of security and comfort.

'Can you guys not flirt?' Everyone had the same thoughts. Everyone was about to face a life-and-death situation, the chances of their survival were less than 10% yet those two were flirting.

"Who will protect you?" Aditya asked with a smile.

"Sylvie and my big brother." Both Sylvie and Noah smiled hearing Alicia's answer.

"Oh really~! You know your boyfriend might die in this fight. Are you not worried about him?" Meanwhile, everyone wondered who was the Princess's boyfriend. The Succubus Nora felt she already knew the answer.

"Hmph! I don't need a shameless boyfriend who is trying to take advantage of this princess in this life-and-death situation."

Everyone "___"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 173

Crimson Lightning!

Crack!

The sky rumbled with Crimson lightning snakes. Under the Dragon Monarch's command, more than thousands of Crimson lightning descended from the sky. It was as if the heaven was punishing the Mutant fire ants. The Crimson lightning strikes were so fast that not even the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants were able to see it coming.

Boooom!

Boom!

Booom!

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant.....?

?Soul Blaze is charging - 3%?

Aditya's attack instantly burned thousand mutant fire ants to ashes. But the Dragon Monarch did not stop there. Aditya flew 50 meters above the ground. From this height, any direction he looked, the only thing that came into his view was endless horde of mutant fire ants. "It seems the mutant fire ant queen is wants to make sure that we're dead no matter what."

Aditya's eyes flashed in killing intent as he tightly clenched his left fist while staring the mutant fire ants beneath him. "That's good as well. Originally we had came here to find out about the mutant fire ant nest location. Now I might as well kill the mutant fire ants alone."

Holding the Adamantite Doomblade in his right hand, Aditya covered the black sword with Crimson lightning. Crimson lightning violently flickered around his body.

Swoosh!

The next second, Aditya had disappeared from the sky. The 4th-order mutant fire ants that were previously keeping an eye on Aditya after seeing how powerful this beginner 3rd-order was, looked stunned and shocked finding that their target had disappeared.

Violently lightning cracking sound was heard all over the battlefield. Aditya reappeared 100 away from the expedition group that were currently struggling to fight the endless horde of mutant fire ants.

"System put all of my remaining free stats into my agility."

[Ding! 102+ free stats has been added to agility.]

The crimson lightning that was covering Aditya's body became even more violent and fierce. Currently Aditya's agility had reached a terrifying level. He was simultaneously using multiple skills. For a normal cultivator doing this might not have been possible but for Aditya who has huge mana reserve, using 10 or even 20 skills at the same time was not an issue for Aditya.

Lightning Armor!

?Function 1: - The user can make a transparent lightning armor using lightning elements. It will consume [20+] mana per second to keep the lightning armor activated. When the lightning armor is made, the user's defense will be highly increased.

Function 2: - When the first function of this skill is used, the user's strength will be increased by [100+]?

Storm Flight!

?Function 1: - When this skill is activated, the speed of the user will be increased by [100+]. It will consume [20+] per minute to keep the first function activated.?

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?the user's speed will be increased by [200+], and it will consume [20+] mana per second to keep the skill activated.?

The Dragon King's base speed had reached [603+]. The Bracelet of Wind Fairy passively gave him [100+] agility while the passive skills like Crimson lightning dash and Storm Flight gave him another [300+] boost in agility. In short Aditya's current agility had reached [1003+].

Swoohs!

To others Aditya's was moving at the speed of the light. The only thing that his enemies saw was Crimson light passing by them.

Right now other than keeping three of his skills activated, Aditya wasn't using any other skills or wasting his mana. He was preserving his mana for the 5th-order mutant fire ants which he believed is going to attack them sooner or later. If he exhausts his mana early in the battle, everyone was going to die.

Smash!

Booom!

Aditya moved around the battlefield like a ghost. He madly swung his Mid 5-star black sword. Each second the Dragon Monarch was slaughtering, ending the lives of more than 220+ mutant fire ants. His super agility made him undetectable, unpredictable, and extremely dangerous.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 3rd-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 4th-order mutant fire ant.....?

?Soul Blaze is charging - 88%?

While Aditya was madly slaughtering 220+ mutant fire ants per second, his teammates were having a very difficult time. If Aditya had no created the arc-shaped magma river, then the whole team would already had fallen from being attacked from all sides. The situation was only getting worse. It only has been a few minutes since the battle has just started.

While for the mutant fire ants, it could be said that they were just warming up, but for the expedition team members, they were being forced to give their all and keep fighting. They knew that once they stopped, their mistake was going to take someone's life and break the team formation which would result in the deaths of everyone.

At this moment, there was no differences. Everyone had put their differences aside and was fighting with their lives on the line. Whether it was human, mermaid, beast men, elves, everyone had to work together otherwise they all were going to die.

After Aditya killed Tate, there was 98 people in the expedition team. Among the 98 people, 67 of them were mages while the rest were warrior or body path cultivators. The body path cultivators had to fight the mutant fire ants in close range. Meaning that the chances of them getting injured was higher than the mages who took out using long ranged spells.

At this moment the goddess of wealth, princess Alicia was fighting. The princess did not held back from using her fire type attacks. In fact her fire type attacks powers had reached the destruction level of some beginner 4th-order cultivation. This was all thanks to the armor set that Aditya had enchanted for her yesterday.

Hell Fire!

The princess Alicia shouted while pointed her right index finger toward the horde of 3rd-order mutant fire ants that was 50 meters away from them.

As the princess finished using one of her most powerful attacks, for the next three seconds nothing happened. The mutant fire ants sneered at Alicia while fearlessly charging forward but this was a grave mistake.

One Peak 3rd-order mutant fire ant suddenly stopped feeling the temperature of the earth strangely increasing. Before it can and other mutant fire ants could understand what was going on, the ground suddenly Brust as a golden flames started rising from the ground.

A few mages stopped and looked at their right. Alicia's fire type attack had devoured an area of 25 meters in golden flames. When the golden flames stopped burning, more than hundreds of dead mutant fire ants was lying on the ground. Their bodies has been burnt black. White smoke was coming of their bodies.

"Not good, I am already beginning to run out mana." Alicia said in a low tone. Her face had turned slightly pale. To make her attack more destructive, Alicia had to put extra amount of mana into her spells. Given how things were going for her, in a few more minutes, the Princess of the Ethereal Empire will run out of mana and won't be able to provide any assistance. Just thinking of this made Alicia extremely frustrated.

Around 400 meters to the north, Aditya was surrounded by more than one hundred thousands of mutant fire ants.

"Finally." Aditya slowed down and put his black sword to kill a beginner 2nd-order mutant fire ant. There was a smile on the Dragon King's face. The reason for this smile was.....

?Soul Blaze is charging - 100%?

?Ding! Soul Blaze has reached 100%. All of the host's stats has been increased by 45%.?

? Soul Blaze: -

? 3rd-order Passive skill ?

? Description ? - A special type of skill that can be learned by both body and magical path cultivators. There is no requirement to learn this skill. This skill itself is a passive skill that will increase the user's stats after reaching a certain limit.

? Function?- Since this skill is a passive skill, the user won't have to spend any mana to activate this skill. This skill works by collecting a small part of the enemy's soul killed by the host. When a certain amount of soul energy is collected by the user, this skill will increase the user's stats by 45% for a temporary period of time. The boost in the user's stats will disappear after 10 minutes.

Note: - This skill is totally passive. The activation of this Skill cannot be decided by the user. ?

Aditya closed his eyes while taking a deep breath. He can feel the rise in his stats. The new and fresh cold yet warm energy spread throughout his body.

"Time to use one of my new skills." Aditya raised his right fist while gathering a large amount of mana in his right fist.

Storm Summon!

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 174

Aditya closed his eyes while taking a deep breath. He can feel the rise in his stats. The new and fresh cold yet warm energy spread throughout his body.

"Time to use one of my new skills." Aditya raised his right fist while gathering a large amount of mana in his right fist.

Storm Summon!

?Storm Summoner?

?3rd-order Innate skill?

?Description: - The user can summon storm whenever he wishes.?

?Function 1: - To activate this skill it will consume [500+] mana. While to keep this skill running, it will consume [5+] mana per second. The more area the storm covers that more mana it will consume per second.

Function 2: - The user can freely control the lightning that runs freely in the storm clouds and use the lightnings to attack your enemies.?

Suddenly the wind became stronger. More and more dark clouds began covering the blue clear. In less than 10 seconds the entire outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest darkened because of dark clouds.

Alicia, Noah, Nora, Sylvie, and other raised their heads to look up. All the mutant fire ants also stopped for a second. Everyone noticed the crimson lightning that was swimming in the dark clouds was getting stronger.

Boom!

Suddenly without any warning a strong bolt of crimson lightning fell from the clouds. The crimson lightning strike was extremely fast.

When the dust settled, everyone saw the dead body of a few 4th-order and 3rd-order mutant fire ants. And just like that, the storm started. Heavy rain started pouring from the sky. But for some reason, the rain water did not affect the magma that Aditya had created. The northern winds also became stronger. Occasionally here and there, Crimson lightning would fell from the clouds and strike the 4th-order mutant fire ants.

Booom!

Crack!

Booom!

As soon as the storm started, Aditya also received a few messages from the system.

?Ding! The passive power of the Storm Marshall class has been activated because of the storm.?

?Ding! The host's mana has been increased by 50%?

?Ding! The power of lightning and wind types attacks has been increased by 50%.?

?Ding! The host's has gained [300+] passive boost in agility.?

This was the boost Aditya would receive when there was storm. After reaching 3rd-order, Aditya's all three classes also have gotten powerful.

?Ding! Second function of the Passive skill storm flight has been activated.?

?Ding! The agility of the user has been increased by [200+].?

Whenever any Peak 4th-order powerful mutant fire ant crossed the 20 meters mark and tried to attack the expedition team, terrifying bolts of crimson lightning would descend from the clouds and would instantly kill the mutant fire ants. This was Aditya's way of reducing the burden on everyone else and also to make sure that everyone is protected while he is away.

Aditya quickly opened the system and checked just how much his stats have improved under the effect of Storm Summon, Crimson Lightning Dash, Lightning armor, Storm Marshall class, and Soul Blaze skills. This was the first time ever since he became a 3rd-order cultivator, Aditya was forced to use this many skills at once.

?_Strength: - 361 [45% increase]? 668

_Speed: - 603 + [100] [45% increase]? 2034

_Stamina: - 336 [45% increase]? 487

_Health: - 336 [45% increase]? 487

_Mana: - 3,901 [45%+50% increase]? 7606

_Free stats: - 0?

The Dragon Monarch took a deep breath as the Crimson lightning that had surrounded his body flickered excited as if resonating with Aditya's emotions. Aditya's agility and Mana has increased to the point where he can kill a 5th-order cultivator very easily.

Swoosh!

The next second Aditya disappeared once again. This time Aditya moved so fast that he had become invisible in the eyes of his enemies and his allies. The only thing that the mutant fire ants felt before dying was a strong gust of wind.

Booom!

Noah's face also had started to turn pale as his mana was rapidly being depleted. He is not sure how long he can hold on at this rate.

Huff! Huff!

"Brother are you alright?" Alicia worriedly stared at her brother.

Noah forced a smile on his face as he looked at his sister with endless love and kindness. "My dear sister, I won't be dying anytime soon." Alicia noticed that a deep cut on Noah's left shoulder. It seems he has gotten injured while trying to kill a beginner 4th-order.

"Your Highness, watch you." Suddenly one of the elite soldiers shouted. Both Noah and Alicia looked up at the same time. Both brother and sister's eyes widened in shock and in despair as they saw 9 meters away from them, there were more than hundreds of mutant fire ants attacking them from the air. The strength of these mutant fire ants were 4th-order. There is no way that Noah or any of the elite four soldiers can kill this many mutant fire ants. Even Sylvie and Nora would have a difficult time killing all the mutant fire mutants before the ants reaches them.

However their despair was far from coming to them. As everyone from the expedition team heard a loud cracking sound. When Noah blinked his eyes and reopened them, what he saw blew his mind. It takes less than a second to blink, yet in that time something that moved so fast that in less than a second it was able to kill more than hundreds of 4th-order mutant fire ants that was 9 meters away from their heads.

"What was that?" Noah asked even though deep down he knew the answer.

Sylvie and Nora, both 5th-order cultivators also stopped and stared at each other in deep shock. Right now Aditya moved so fast that even they couldn't see him.

"Don't let your guard down. I will deal with the mutant fire ants that are attacking from the sky. You all deal with other ones." Aditya did not stop when he spoke. Everyone felt motivated after hearing Aditya's words.

Meanwhile, Aditya moved as if he was teleporting throughout the battlefield. The Crimson Monarch had not even unleashed his full powers, yet the the enemy couldn't stop him. Each second Aditya was covering a distance of 556 meters. Each second he was able to kill more than a few hundred to five hundred mutant fire ants. At this moment Aditya had truly become a killing machine that cannot be stopped by anyone.

Not more than 10 minutes passed since the whole battle started, Aditya's killing count had reached 140,000 thousand. Despite being this huge number of mutant fire ants, the mutant fire ants number seems to end.

With the power of his sword attacks being increased by [30%], Aditya was cutting even the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants bodies smoother than cutting butter with a knife.

[Weapon Grandmaster

[3rd-order]

[Description]: - A powerful innate skill is only given to people who have the War Dancer class.

[Function 1]: - This skill gives the user knowledge and instant mastery over any weapon that is held by the user. Weapon Mastery increases the power of any weapon by [30%].

[Function 2]: - Gives the host a 80% chance of dodging or landing a critical strike if the opponent is in the same order as the host. The percentage might increase or decrease depending on the level of the opponent.]

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 4th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points has been saved up for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant....?

The constant messages from the system was giving Aditya a headache and also making him feel annoyed. Unfortunately there are no function to turn of the system messages. Aditya could only try his best to avoid these messages and focus on butchering the mutant fire ants.

"What type of mysterious and heaven defying existent is he?" Nora started the dead bodies that were lying beside her. She and Sylvie were struggling to protect everyone while killing the mutant fire ants. But as soon as a Crimson light along with a strong gust of wind blew past them, all the mutant fire ants around them was dead. Now Sylvie, Nora, Noah, Alicia and other expedition teams will have to wait as for the mutant fire ants to come.

Nora has never seen or heard of a person that can accomplish something like this. She was now beginning to think that not even the Goddess of war can stop this monster.

"Judging this man using common standard is basically insulting him." Sylvie replied while looking into the distance. Her eyes tried to follow the Crimson light that was killing mutant fire ants at an insane speed.

Somewhere deep down Sylvie was beginning to feel jealous of her best friend. If she had found Aditya, then she would done anything to make him fall for her.

Meanwhile Nora was rubbing her thighs together while looking at the direction of the crimson light. Being protected such a capable men had turned on the beginner 5th-order Succubus. The Succubus was trying her best to not ruin her image in front of her everyone. Every Succubus, by instinct sought out the strongest and most capable partner. Aditya has made Nora feel that only he was worthy to become her partner.

"Sylvie, Aditya is single, right?" Sylvie did not reply. She instantly stared at Nora. Deep down she sighed while giving a pitiful look to the Succubus. 'Horny Succubus, If I Aditya was single then I would have been the first to take him. Unfortunately for you and also me, our lady has beat us in the race.'

Sylvie then looked at Alicia. The goddess of wealth of course has heard Nora's words. Alicia's eyes turned cold. Her cold frost-like stare made Sylvie and Nora both shiver in fear. "Don't have any ideas for Aditya."

Meanwhile, others couldn't help but curse in their hearts. These ladies were not bothered about the life-threatening danger that they were in instead these ladies were discussing if Aditya was single or not.

Meanwhile, Aditya was around 2000 meters far away, the dragon Monarch had cleared every mutant fire ant within 2000 meters range. After getting the boost in his physical stats, Aditya was slowly pushing the mutant fire ants so that his others can take it easy.

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 6 minutes 02 seconds ?

Aditya was pushing himself without caring about his stamina. He knew that once the boost from Soul blaze died down, his stamina would instantly drop which would leave him exhausted which is not something Aditya wanted to see happening. As he moved in circle, he tried to sense if there was any 5th-order mutant fire ants. Fortunately luck seems to be on his side today as so far Aditya did not met even a single 5th-order powerhouse.

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 5 minutes 02 seconds?

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 4 minutes 02 seconds?

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 3 minutes 02 seconds?

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 2 minutes 02 seconds?

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 1 minute 02 seconds?

?Soul Blaze: - Time remaining 34 seconds?

Slowly but surely 10 minutes passed, and the boost from the soul blaze was about to end. By now every mutant fire ant within 10,000 meters has been slain by Aditya.

?Ding! The passive boost in stats that the host got from Soul Blaze skill has now ended.?

Suddenly Aditya's speed dropped. He stopped after killing the last mutant fire ants. A wave of exhaustion covered his body. There was a price to be paid for moving at such super speed. Without fuel even if the engine has the capacity to move at the speed of sound, the car won't move. Aditya was moving super fast meaning that his stamina was being consumed at a frightening speed. Aditya's stamina was only 336 which was increased to 487 after getting a 50% boost from his skill Soul Blaze. Now that the boost is lost, Aditya's stats also dropped.

"I think I have come too far. I should head back." After putting a stamina recovery pill in his mouth, Aditya turned around to leave. But just when he turned around, he felt an Aura that immediately turned his face pale.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

A little big chapter, I hope everyone liked this chapter.

Chapter 175

"I think I have come too far. I should head back." After putting a stamina recovery pill in his mouth, Aditya turned around to leave. But just when he turned around, he felt an Aura that immediately turned his face pale.

"What is this Aura?" Aditya felt as if a mountain was pressing his body. He felt suffocated. It was difficult for him to even breath properly.

Fortunately after a moment the Aura that was pressuring Aditya disappeared. As soon as that happen, the Dragon King coughed out blood and fell on his knees.

Cough!

"What was that?" Aditya wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He wasn't sure about the person or magical beast or maybe something, whatever that just pressured him, was far stronger than any opponent Aditya has ever faced in his life.

"I should head back. and lead everyone out of the forest." Since Aditya has now managed to push all the mutant fire ants 10,000 meters away. They can use this chance to head toward the south and fight their way through all the mutant fire ants and get out of the forest.

Swoosh!

Everyone was relieved to see that Aditya had returned. After this short yet very tiring and life threatening confrontation against the Mutant fire ants, everyone realized that without Aditya they would be dead.

"How is everything?" Noah asked while looking around. Right now everyone's body was drenched in rain water. The rain showed no signs of stopping any time soon.

"I have killed nearly 400,000 mutant fire ants in this short period. I have managed to kill every mutant fire ant in 10,000 meters radius. But it won't stay like this forever. In a few minutes, the 4th-order mutant fire ants will close the distance and attack us again. We will have to use this chance to head toward the south." Aditya's plan was to break the enemy formation from the south direction and head out of the heavenly hemlock forest.

Currently the whole expedition team was surrounded from all sides. Without them even realizing it, they were surrounded. Right now Aditya and the team was deep inside the outer region of Heavenly Hemlock Forest. Instead of waiting to confront all the mutant fire ants, the Dragon king wanted to head toward the south so that they can make a path by killing all the mutant fire ants and finally leave this forest.

"Alright let's do what Aditya says." Noah and others agreed after seeing how capable Aditya was. The plan was to make a safe path so that everyone can leave this forest with least or no injuries. The plan was never to take on all the mutant fire ants and fight till death.

Following Aditya's plan, everyone started running in the direction of south. But just as everyone started running Aditya realized something. He and Nora, the beginner 5th-order Succubus disappeared and reappeared behind everyone.

Aditya appeared behind Alicia. Both brother and sister were slowest in the whole expedition group. Since both Noah and Alicia were Mid 3rd-order and Peak 3rd-order cultivators. Their speed cannot compare to the speed of elite soldiers.

"What?" Alicia asked seeing Aditya running beside her. The princess was focused on running as fast as they could.

"You know princess, it would be better for you let your boyfriend carry you in this situation." Aditya innocently looked at Alicia. But to Alicia's his words had a different meaning. Aditya was telling her that she is too slow to keep up with others and might end up dying if she doesn't lets her boyfriend carry her.

"You just want to take advantage of this situation don't you?" Alicia shot a cold glare at Aditya. The Dragon King pretended to not see her glare. He innocently smiled and stretched out his both hands while looking at Alicia.

"Tsk! Fine." It's not like Alicia had any better option. Alicia was also concerned about her brother. She stopped running and looked at her brother. Only to find that her brother was being carried by the Succubus Nora.

At this moment Noah has never felt this embarrassed. He was being carried by a girl. The Crown prince felt even more embarrassed seeing Aditya looking at him with his one eyebrow raised. If possible Noah wanted to bury his head somewhere and just disappear.

Ehh!!!

While Alicia was looking at her brother in amusement, Aditya picked her up. As soon as Aditya's hands touched Alicia's body, the goddesses entire body was covered in Crimson lightning. The Crimson lightning formed a full body armor around her.

Alicia for a moment thought that she is going to be electrocuted but to her surprise nothing really happen. Aditya pulled her closer to his chest and started running at his full speed. In a few seconds, he left everyone behind.

Seeing Alicia looking at him with questioning gaze, a smiled appeared on his slightly pale face. "I can control my crimson lightning. Let's just say that this lightning is acting as a protective cover. Even beginner 4th-order won't be able to break this cover unless the enemy uses its strongest attack."

Alicia just nodded and then closed her eyes for a second. Meanwhile, the smile on Aditya's face instantly disappeared as he sensed the presence of some powerful enemies heading in their direction. With each passing senses, the enemy got closer and closer. As the enemy got closer, Aditya expression also turned uglier as he realized that the enemy is more powerful than he had initially thought.

'This is bad.' Aditya stopped running. By now he had covered 9,000 meters distance. He was still more than 10 km away from leaving the heavenly hemlock forest. Aditya had to stop running as he knew that even if he and Alicia manage to leave the forest without any injuries, everyone else will die in the hands of the 5th-order mutant fire ants.

10 seconds later, one by one others also started to catch up with Aditya. Sylvie was the first one to arrive. The White Lotus guild leader stopped as she also sensed the presence of 5th-order mutant fire ants. After Sylvie, Nora came with Noah in her arms. The Succubus looked very happy. There was a smile on her face as she stared at Noah. Meanwhile Noah was repeatedly cursing in his heart. Desperately wishing for this to end.

"It looks like we have come company." Nora put Noah down and looked at their right, from the west direction 3 humanoid looking like mutant fire ants were walking in their direction. Strangely all three humanoid mutant fire ants looked the same. It was impossible for Aditya and everyone to find even a single difference between them.

"You three look exactly like a certain mutant fire ant that I killed a day before yesterday." Hearing Sylvie's words, the expression of the three mutant fire ants changed. They now looked angry but no words came out from their mouths.

"Kekeke! It's not three mutant ants that you guys are going to face." Aditya put Alicia down and turned to his left to see another 4 similar looking 5th-order mutant fire ants. The situation just only got worse. Sylvie and Nora looked slightly panicked even though they tired their best to not show it. Especially Sylvie who was secretly getting ready to use the trump card that his Majesty had given her.

The 7 mutant fire ants looked exactly the same. All of them had two red pair of antennas on top of their heads. With hands and foot were morphed into big and sharp claws. All of them had bright red pupils. All the fifth-order mutant had short black hair and their bodies were covered with animal skins. Their fair skin was covered in mud.

Without saying any words, Sylvie and Nora looked at Aditya. All three exchanged a look of understanding and simultaneously nodded their heads as if knowing what to do in this situation. While Noah slowly walked near his sister. He was ready to give up his life for his sister. As for others, the rest of the expedition team was 4,000 meters away. It was just that Aditya, Sylvie and Nora's speed was on a complete different level when compared to the speed of the 4th-order elite soldiers.

All the mutant fire ants looked at Aditya. Seeing the Crimson lightning covering his body, they all understood that it was Aditya who was responsible for this storm. "Do you have any idea how many of our mutant fire ants died from your crimson lightning?"

Aditya coldly smiled hearing the mutant fire ant's words. "I have no idea. The whole forest is filled with overgrown ants. I just randomly called the lightning and your ants kept dying." Before anywhere Aditya looked, he only saw mutant fire ants. So he just randomly summoned his lightning to kill as many mutant fire ants as possible.

"It looks one of our enemy is a dragon." One of the 5th-order mutant fire ant whose name was Nicolas spoke while staring at Aditya. Right now Aditya's hands had been morphed into dragon claws. His whole body was covered with Crimson dragon Scales. It was no difficult for the ants to know that Aditya was a real dragon.

"It looks like we will have the opportunity of tasting the meat of a Dragon." Another mutant fire ant named Frank spoke while licking his lips.

"The opposite can also happen." After saying these under Aditya's control, 7 bolts of crimson lightning fell from the sky.

Bang!

The lightning strikes were so fast that non of the 5th-order mutant fire ants were able to avoid it. After being hit Crimson lightning, the mutant fire ants were lying on the ground with a painful look. This is to be expected as his class storm Marshall increased the power of lightning attacks by 50% when there was a storm.

Taking advantage of this situation Nora and Sylvie attacked the nearest Mutant fire ants. Sylvie attacked a mutant fire ant called Nicolas while Nora went for the mutant fire ant known as Frank.

Swoosh!

Under Alicia's worried eyes, Aditya also disappeared. Aditya's speed was even faster than Sylvie or any of the 5th-order mutant fire ants. Even though the 45% boost that he got from Soul Blaze has been deactivated, Aditya's current speed was more than enough to take on 5 fifth-order mutant ants.

[Agility: - 1103]

Knowing that the enemy was attacking them all the mutant fire ants got up despite the pain that they were feeling. While Nicolas and Frank went to deal with the two 5th-order cultivator women, other five angrily charged at Aditya, intending to take revenge for the surprise attack.

Clang!

The mutant ant named Luis tried to pierce Aditya's heart with his claw. Aditya easily blocked his attack using his black sword. Another 5th-order humanoid ant named Jimmy took this chance to attack Aditya from behind.

Jimmy couldn't stop himself from smiling as he saw that his sharp red claw was only a few inches away from piercing Aditya's back. However in that very moment, unexpectedly, to Jimmy's shock a bolt of Crimson lightning fell on his body.

Booom!

Jimmy was sent flying by the Crimson lightning bolt. Seeing this, his other three brothers who were Dillon, Evans and Eric, felt shocked. By now Dillon, Evans, Eric, Jimmy, Luis had a better understanding of Aditya's abilities. This dragon was able to freely manipulate the crimson lightning. Not only that the crimson lightning appeared to be so fast that none of them were able to reach in time to dodge the attack.

Meanwhile, Aditya ignored the shocked expression on Luis's face. He moved quickly and landed a kick on Luis's stomach which sent the mutant ant flying just like his other brother.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Hope you all liked the chapter!!!

Chapter 176

"Die." Seeing that both of his brothers were sent flying by this dragon, Dillion created a wave of spiraling flame and threw it at Aditya.

Seeing the flame, Aditya countered by creating a fist-size Crimson flame orb and threw it in Dillion's direction.

Eric and Evans were about to mock Aditya for using only this kind of attack in front of such a large, devastating flame attack. But.....

Just as the Crimson flame hit the spiraling wave of yellow flame, the Crimson flame suddenly expanded and consumed the entire yellow flame. To the eyes of mutant ants, it looked like the Crimson flame had turned the yellow flame into the Crimson flame.

Boooooom!!!!!

A huge explosion shook took place. The expedition team that was still 3,000 meters away also heard the sound of the explosion. Dillon, Eric, and Evans looked at the explosion in deep shock.

Swoosh!

Dillon, Eric, and Evan's necks stiffened as they felt something dangerous behind them. Before Eric could even turn around, a sword severed his neck and instantly killed him. Eric found himself flying in the air which made him confused. But all of his doubts were cleared when he saw a black sword severing the heads of his other brothers. Following Eric, the heads of Dillon and Evan were also severed.

The last thing the mutant ants, Dillon, Eric, and Evans saw before they died was the cold face of the person who just killed them.

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! Soul Blaze - 19.1%?

"As expected, after my classes were upgraded to 3rd-order, my attacking powers also increased."

[Weapon Grandmaster

[3rd-order]

[Description]: - A powerful innate skill is only given to people who have the War Dancer class.

[Function 1]: - This skill gives the user knowledge and instant mastery over any weapon that is held by the user. Weapon Mastery increases the power of any weapon by [30%].

[Function 2]: - Gives the host an 80% chance of dodging or landing a critical strike if the opponent is in the same order as the host. The percentage might increase or decrease depending on the level of the opponent.]

Swoosh!!!

Meanwhile, Noah and Alicia couldn't help but smile feeling relieved after seeing the headless bodies of the mutant fire ants.

Sylvie and Nora were having a tough fight. Sylvie found that her opponent was even stronger than the 5th-order mutant ant that she killed the other day. As for the Succubus Nora, non of the charming skills worked on the mutant ant named Frank which made her a little frustrated. It was difficult to tell who is going to win.

Meanwhile, Aditya appeared in front of the mutant fire ant named Jimmy that tried to attack him from behind. After being hit by a powerful crimson lightning bolt, Jimmy was sent flying more than 500 meters away.

"This bastard." Jimmy stood up in anger. He wasn't expecting the Crimson lightning bolt to hit him right when his attack was about to hit Aditya.

However, despite being hit by two back-to-back crimson lightning bolts, Jimmy looked completely fine. Aside from his slightly damaged antennas and his burned skin he was completely fine.

"I should head back and help my brother to fi.....ah!!!!!" A painful scream was heard all over the area. Jimmy's entire body trembled as he looked down only to find a crimson-red sword tip piercing his stomach. What horrified Jimmy was the fact that the sword was so hot that his stomach was literally being burned from the inside. At this moment the 5th-order mutant fire ant was being burned alive.

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!

Jimmy wanted to take a step forward to pull out his sword from his stomach. But he didn't expect a hand to grab his neck. Before he can understand what was going on, the 5 feet 9 inches tall mutant ant Jimmy's entire body was set on fire.

He somehow managed to turn around only to see Aditya coldly staring at him. Another loud scream was heard all over the area. After more than ten seconds, Jimmy also died in Aditya's hand.

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! Soul Blaze - 25.2%?

Aditya threw away the dead body of the mutant ant as he sensed a certain someone trying to escape for his life. But Aditya wasn't allow that too happen.

1000 meters away, Luis, has just seen how quickly his 3 brothers died. After hearing Jimmy's scream, Luis knew that staying here to fight this dragon would be his death. Luis valued his life more than anything. As a result, he began fleeing. He began running with his might.

"I will ask the mother to personally deal with his dragon." Just as Jimmy was sending a message to his mother, a crimson bolt of lightning hit his chest and sent him flying like a cannonball.

Bang!

Ah!

Luis groaned feeling the bone-crushing pain in his chest. He instantly coughed a mouthful of blood after being hit by the crimson lightning bolt.

Luis didn't know how fast he was flying in the air. What he did know is that even with his powers he cannot stop himself from flying backward.

But suddenly a hand grabbed his neck, stopping Luis. Luis opened his eyes, ignoring the suffocating pain in his chest. He managed to look behind only to see the face of the devil. It was the face of the person that Luis never wanted to see again. But it seems Fate had different plans today.

"Please..."

"Where is the nest?" Aditya coldly asked. But after hearing Aditya's question, Luis closed his mouth and his eyes. Even if he loved his life, Luis cannot betray his race. No mutant fire ant would ever betray their race.

Sigh!

"It looks like I only wasted my time." Aditya shook his head before ending Luis's life.

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! Soul Blaze - 31.3%?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! Soul Blaze - 43.5%?

"What happened here?" By the time Aditya finished killing all the 5th-order mutant fire ants, all the elite soldiers had come and saw the dead bodies of the mutant fire ants.

"Long story short, we killed 7 fifth-order mutant fire ants." The way Aditya was saying made others feel as if fifth-order powerhouse wasn't a such a big deal in his eyes. This also showed Sylvie, Nora, Alicia and Noah, Aditya's power level. He was on a complete different level. Without much afford he was able to take out 5 fifth-order mutant ants before helping Sylvie and Nora.

"Don't use we, you alone killed seven fifth-order mutant fire ants." Hearing Sylvie's words everyone widened their eyes in shock.

Under everyone's eyes, Aditya shamelessly walked up to Alicia and picked her up in his arms. Alicia's face turned bright face. She glared at Aditya which he ignored. "Let's go. We don't have much time."

Everyone nodded. This time Aditya, Sylvie, and Nora did not move at their fastest speed. The whole expedition team stayed together. Aditya, Sylvie and Nora reduced their agility to match the speed of the elite soldiers.

Noah would only bitterly smile as he was being carried like a girl by a Succubus. He was praying in his heart for this to be over as soon as possible.

The group covered another 3,500 meters distance before they saw a horde of mutant fire ants approaching them from the south. "Everyone if we manage to kill our way through all these mutant fire ants, we will be able to leave this forest. Give everything you got in this fight."

Aditya did not even had time to put Alicia behind when he sensed something very threatening approaching him at a frightening speed. Aditya felt something being aimed at his chest. He knew that if he let this attack hit, then Alicia will probably be seriously injured or worse might even die. At this moment Aditya felt as if time had slowed down. He can sense the attack approaching him at an unimaginable speed. Aditya's current agility wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack.

"Dammit" The Dragon king gritted his teeth while trying to move his body as fast as he can so that the attack can avoid hitting Alicia. At the very last moment, Aditya managed to cover Alicia with his right dragon wing.

Bang!!!!!!

Aditya and Alicia was sent flying faster than a cannonball. Aditya ignored the pain that was killing his consciousness, he wrapped his arms around Alicia's body and used his other wing to cover her while his back kept breaking through tree trunks as he flew like a cannonball at an super speed.

Sylvie and Nora who already had started killing the mutant fire ants froze when a body flew past them. Not even a second had passed, both of them reacted and looked at their left. Both Sylvie and Nora saw more than hundreds of trees falling to the ground. Any object or living being that came in Aditya's direction was broken or destroyed.

Crack!

Bang!

Aditya's back crushed on the a giant boulder. The boulder instantly cracked like a spider web.

Cough! Cough!

Aditya coughed out a mouth full of blood. His right eye was covered in blood. He couldn't see anything with his right eye because of blood. With his left eye, he was finally able to see his miserable condition.

He somehow endured the pain that was testing his very consciousness. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open. He never thought that a single attack would damage his body this much. Aditya had a feeling that even if he wipes the blood from his right eye, he would never be able to see anything with his right again.

"Alicia?" The first thing Aditya did was to move his wings to check on Alicia.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 177

He somehow endured the pain that was testing his very consciousness. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open. He never thought that a single attack would damage his body this much. Aditya had a feeling that even if he wipes the blood from his right eye, he would never be able to see anything with his right again.

"Alicia?" The first thing Aditya did was to move his wings to check on Alicia. Fortunately the princess was alright. Other than her face being covered in his blood, nothing else had happened to her.

The goddess of wealth opened her eyes and the first thing that she saw was Aditya's concerned face. In less than a second, she noticed the blood covering half of his face and his forehead. Even though more than half of his face was covered in blood, she can feel the pain that was written on his expression and reflected on his eyes.

Alicia's eyes moved from looking at his face to his right arm. It would be an understatement to say that Aditya's right arm has been injured or damaged. The fact that his right arm was still there somehow connected with the rest of his body was a miracle itself. Looking at his right arm, it was as if someone had stabbed his right arm's flesh over and over; until the flesh on his right arm was cut to the point where his bone also could be seen.

In some areas, his own flesh was hanging, barely attached to his right own. It was as if someone had peeled off his flesh. Red Crimson blood was oozing out of his body non-stop. Within 10 seconds, more than half of Aditya's body was covered in his own blood.

Alicia's eyes then moved to his right wing. The condition of his right wing was even worse than his right arm. There was huge fist size holes on his wings. Alicia was able to see the white bones that was covered in blood in some areas. 90% of his wing was utterly destroyed to the point where Alicia doubted if Aditya will be able to use his wings again in his life time.

Not just that, but also the impact of the attack had broken several of his ribs. His right shoulder had been cracked. Aditya was also feeling pain from the right side of his neck and the right part of his skull. If he had to guess even his skull had cracked from the impact. Even Aditya who has just killed 7 beginner 5th-order cultivators with his top speed wasn't able to see anything. If he did not had dragon senses which is a natural ability that every dragon had, Aditya probably would have died today.

The veil that kept the beautiful and charming face of the Goddess hidden from the rest of the world was no longer there. At this moment the princess of the Ethereal Empire felt choked as her eyes turned red. Her entire body was trembling as she stared at Aditya. Even though she wanted to say thousand words at this moment to comfort him or to ask him if he was okay or not, for some reason nothing came out of mouth no matter how much she tried. It was also at this moment Alicia hated herself. Not only she ended up becoming a burden to Aditya. Now she couldn't even utter a single word in this situation.

Huff! huff! Huff! Huff!

Aditya panted like a wounded like that is about to die. It was taking his all to just keep his consciousness from fading. Using his right hand, Aditya somehow pushed Alicia and tried to stand up but when he tried to exert force to stand, his body began trembling. His legs started shaking and more blood began coming out of his body.

'Idiot stop moving otherwise you will die.' Alicia wanted to shout and say these words but nothing came out from her mouth. She felt as if someone was choking her throat. Making her feel suffocated.

With her shaky and fragile hands, two pairs of soft palms reached out for his face. This made him turn his attention to her. Without any notice or warning, Aditya found his face buried in her soft, comforting, and warm bosom.

"Don't...go..." This was the first time the princess of the Ethereal Empire, the goddess of wealth and the richest businesswoman on this planet had shown her fragile side to anyone. The princess who was also the goddess has never shown her weak side to anyone. She always stood proud. No one in this world, not even her family, had seen the princess looking this fragile and weak. The proud, calm and reserved woman of the past now looked like a weak, and fragile girl whose eyes had nothing but endless tears.

Aditya barely heard her words. Her words were barely audible in his ear. Aditya somehow raised his right hand to look for his storage ring and as expected from the impact the storage ring had fallen somewhere from his middle finger. It was not just his storage ring but also his mid 5-star black sword also had fallen somewhere as he was flying like a cannonball.

[Health: - 02/336]

This was the first time Aditya's health had dropped so low. His injuries was so worse that it was a miracle that he was still alive. Aditya knew that if he didn't had the Divine Dragon Bloodline which had made his body tougher compared to normal 3rd-order cultivators and if not for his dragon scales which only further enhanced his defense, his entire body would have been exploded like a water balloon.

At this moment the princess did not care the blood staining her body. She did not care how close they were. What she cared about was his health. Looking at the blood that seems to endlessly kept coming out of her body, she feared that he might die soon. Her shaky right hand was still holding Aditya's head to her bosom while her other hand managed to take out the Peak 5-star healing pill from the storage ring.

Without any hesitation, without caring how much many millions she had to spend to get this healing pill, she put the green viny an inch size pill in his mouth.

Feeling a pill in his mouth, Aditya shallowed it.

As soon as the pill reached his stomach, a green color Aura began spreading around Aditya's entire body. In a few seconds his entire body was covered by a green Aura that was slowly healing his wounds. Aditya closed his eyes. With the green Aura, the endless pain in his body also began decreasing. Aditya's bleeding stopped first before his tissues began regenerating.

"You...." Aditya was about to ask what kind of pill this was, but Alicia put her index finger on his lips and stopped him.

"I will tell you later." At this moment Aditya saw a different type of emotion in Alicia's eyes. The way she looked at Aditya had changed. Actually this change started happening when Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie and Noah came to the blackwood city and fought mutant fire ants.

Ever since that time, the goddess has been showing her different sides to Aditya. Aditya never thought Alicia would have a playful side. Before he only used to think that this woman is always serious and workaholic. But surprisingly she had other personalities as well. She can become playful. She can become a normal high school girl. It's just that she never showed any other sides to anyone.

Meanwhile

Sylvie and Nora both women were shocked beyond words. Both of them were left speechless. Their bodies froze as they watched Aditya and Alicia being sent flying at super fast speed. Even to them everything happened in the blink of an eye. Everything was so fast that it wasn't until Aditya crushed on the giant boulder that they realized what was happening.

As for the elite soldiers and Noah, they couldn't even understand what was happening. It was only when they heard the sound of trees breaking they realized something was wrong.

"Who are you?" Noah looked at the old man that was silently standing in the air and looking at Aditya's direction. Noah's words also had attracted the attention of everyone. Sylvie, Nora and every one of the elite soldiers turned their attention to the man that was standing in the air and looking at Aditya's direction.

"To think the brat would be able to survive my attack." The old man looked shocked seeing that Aditya has managed to survive his attack. He normal 3rd-order's body would have exploded from that attack yet Aditya, a mere beginner 3rd-order was able to survive this attack and also protect the princess, this was simply amazing. This also goes to show just how much potential Aditya had.

"It's shame that I will have to kill a young man with this much potential. Even in the main continent his talent would be considered at the very top." The old man paid no attention to other members of the expedition team.

"However for the sake of my dream I will have to kill you child." The old man's eyes flashed in regret as he slowly began flying in Aditya and Alicia's direction. However just when he had started flying, everyone stood in his path and stopped him.

The old man looked at Noah, Nora and Sylvie. Suddenly the look on his face changed. His expression went from being neutral to full of killing intent. "Move out of the way or I won't mind killing you all either." At this moment Sylvie and Nora, both of their faces turned deadly pale as they realized that the old man in front of them was a Peak 5th-order cultivator.

Even if they had 10 or even 100 Beginner 5th-order cultivators at this moment, it won't be enough to stop this old man. The different between a beginner 5th-order and a Peak 5th-order is just too big. There was a stats difference of 2000+ in these two ranks. The old man can literally kill any third-order with his Aura. The old man was beyond dangerous. The appearance of a Peak 5th-order meant nothing but death.

'This is really bad. Currently Aditya is badly injured while I am not sure about Alicia. Though I can still sense her Aura meaning that she is still alive. Aditya's Aura is getting weaker. It is as if the candle that his representing his life is about to burn out. If this continues Aditya will probably die in a few minutes. But if Alicia feeds him the 5th-order healing pill, then he might be able to make it.'

But this wasn't their current problem. 'How do we deal with his old man? First of all, why is he even helping the mutant fire ants? Does he not care about the lives of the people.? Since even Aditya couldn't stop this old man, I don't think even if I and Nora combine our strength we will be able to stop him either.'

"Everyone Aditya has done everything in his powers to protect us. Now it's our time to protect him." Noah then looked at the old man who had long white hair and white eyebrow. The old man had a few wrinkles on his face. He looked like a handsome 50 years old man. But his real age was probably above a few century.

The old man was around 6 feet tall. He was wearing an old Yukata. He was holding a golden spear in his right hand. He had a diamond shaped black earring on his left ear and he was wearing a jade bead on his right arm.

"If you want to stand in my way then I will have to kill you all as well." The old man replied in an emotionless tone. Even though there was no killing intent in his words, everyone felt a chill running down their spine hearing his words.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 178

The old man was around 6 feet tall. He was wearing an old Yukata. He was holding a golden spear in his right hand. He had a diamond-shaped black earring on his left ear and he was wearing a jade bead on his right arm.

"If you want to stand in my way then I will have to kill you all as well." The old man replied in an emotionless tone. Even though there was no killing intent in his words, everyone felt a chill running down their spine hearing his words.

The next second the old man vanished. At this very moment, both Sylvie and Nora had a very bad feeling in their hearts. Not even a whole second had passed when the old man returned to his former place.

But.....

One by one, all the elite soldiers began falling down. Sylvie, Noah, and Nora all three stared at the elite soldiers in shock. The heads of the elite soldiers has been severed and were lying next to their bodies. After their heads were severed, all the elite soldiers had a look of confusion before their eyes landed on the old and they lost consciousness.

"I gave you a chance now I will kill everyone here." The old man vanished and reappeared in front of Noah. Even before Sylvie can react, the old man grabbed Noah by his throat and lifted him in the air.

Gwaaa!!!!

Noah struggled to free himself but nothing worked. With each passing second, Noah felt his vision was getting blurred. "Release him. Do you even know what would happen if you kill the crown prince of the Ethereal Empire?" Sylvie tried to use Noah's identity and background to make the old man stop.

However, the old man did not release Noah. He instead put more strength in his grip, making Noah feel choked. By now Noah's eyes had turned red. His face had become pale. In the hand of a Peak 5th-order, he couldn't do anything. He was like a chicken that is going to be slaughtered.

"Hmph! This old man has long stopped caring about anyone in this world. I don't care about the Crown prince nor do I care about the Ethereal Empire. Farewell Crown prince." Just as the old man was about to put more strength in his grip, a crimson lightning flash appeared right in front of the old man. The old man widened his eyes in fear seeing the very man who was only a few minutes away from death now was close to killing him.

Aditya's body hadn't healed yet. He someone managed to make it in time to save Noah. Aditya used half of his remaining mana to summon a strong powerful crimson bolt of lightning. Also that the same time, he swung his sword aiming at the old man's left hand.

'How did he suddenly become this fast?' This question was eating the old man's warrior heart. Seeing that Aditya was aiming at his left hand, the old man was about to move his hand when a powerful bolt of crimson lightning struck his head which sent him flying. Meanwhile, Aditya hurriedly grabbed Noah and moved back. He knew that with his injured body he cannot continue this fight.

Aditya is not sure how far the old man has been sent flying. Holding Noah in his left hand Aditya came up to Sylvie and Nora. For a split second Aditya glanced at the dead bodies of the elite soldiers. Seeing their dead faces, Aditya felt his heartache. These soldiers had blocked the old man's path which gave him enough time to take the healing pill.

"We will have to escape. Just hold on to me, I will try to fly away as fast as I can." Since there were only 4 people other than Aditya left on the expedition team, Aditya can just take them with him. Also, they were against a Peak 5th-order someone that could easily kill them. At this moment, Aditya's priority was to escape as soon as possible. Though he is not sure if even can outrun a Peak 5th-order.

"I have a better plan. Aditya please go and bring Alicia here." Sylvie without any hesitation took out a golden triangular-shaped crystal. Upon a closer look, Aditya discovered that this golden triangular crystal object had a very advanced form of runes engraved on it. Even though he was a 3-star runemaster, he couldn't understand even a single word written on the crystal.

Aditya wanted to ask about this artifact but decided to hold him and do what Sylvie told him to do. He quickly disappeared. Not even two seconds had passed, and Alicia was in Aditya's arms.

At the same time, a loud explosion took place. Aditya, Sylvie, Nora, Noah, and Alicia's faces turned pale as they sensed the Aura of an angry and raged Peak 5th-order. Even though the old man was more than 500 meters away from them at this moment, Alicia and Noah almost felt their consciousness just from the pressure that descended upon them when the old man released his Aura.

Sylvie seeing that the old man was going to return, quickly crushed the triangular crystal on her palm. As soon as the blue crystal was crushed, a blue color magic circle formed beneath them. The magic circle was around 20 meters big. The entire circle was glowing. When Aditya took a closer look, he found that the magic circle was made up of 9 rune circles, each circle being bigger than the other.

Also at the same time, the old man appeared in front of Aditya. To Noah, Sylvie, Nora, and Alicia, it felt as if the old man had just teleported right in front of Aditya. "Brat, don't think that I will allow you to leave like this." The old man tried to attack Aditya with his golden spear. But just as the tip of the spear was about to touch Aditya's chest, everyone disappeared from the old man's view.

"I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE. EVEN IF I HAVE TO SEARCH THIS ENTIRE CONTINENT, I WILL DO IT."

A huge roar shook the entire outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest. The old man was too angry. Never did he think that a mere beginner 3rd-order would be able to send him flying with an attack. The old man felt that this was the biggest shameless moment of his entire life. He wishes to wash this shame by killing Aditya and everyone else.

The next second the old man disappeared and reappeared in a different part of the forest. He suddenly grabbed a beginner 5th-order and raised the 3-meter big mutant fire up in the air. "Inform your queen that the target has managed to flee using an ancient teleportation crystal. Tell her to send her army to search every single corner of the Heavenly hemlock forest."

After saying those words, the old man threw the beginner 5th-order ant-like garbage. At this moment the old man felt that even if he killed every single mutant fire ant here, then also the anger in his work won't calm down.

"I originally came here to kill the Crown prince, the princess, and the two annoying 5th-orders in the team, but I wasn't expecting to find someone who is capable of injuring a Peak 5th-order like." Earlier the old man had managed to reduce the power of Aditya's lightning attack because of a certain artifact that he carried with him. Even if he had not reduced the power of the crimson lightning strike, then also the attack wouldn't have injured him that much.

"I won't let you live." The old man was angry that his prey had managed to get away. A moment of carelessness had cost him this trouble.

[Ashley, are you done with your mission?] The old man was about to fly away and personally look for Aditya and others but then a voice stopped him. It was the voice of a woman. The woman was speaking with the old man whose name was Ashley through an advanced communication device.

[Unfortunately, because of the appearance of an unknown factor which we didn't see coming, the targets managed to escape using a teleportation crystal.] This was the first time the old man Ashley had failed to complete his mission or rather complete the mission within a certain time period.

[Unknown factor? Explain] The female who was communicating with Ashley clearly sounded displeased and even angry.

[I believe his name was Aditya. At least this is what the princess and everyone else called him. He is a young man who is somewhere around 18 to 20 years old. The dragon brat had the power to manipulate Crimson lightning. Aditya is strong enough to like beginner 5th-order cultivators within seconds. If Mid 5th-order cultivator was sent in this mission, I am afraid that cultivator already would have died in Aditya's hand.]

After hearing Ashley's words, the female went quiet for 5 minutes. After a long silence, the woman's voice sounded again. But this time, for some reason Ashley felt as if her voice was slightly trembling. [Aditya is the rumored Divine Crimson dragon. He is also the current husband of the Goddess of alchemy. I never thought after almost 3 months, Aditya would come to Westnia and be with the Goddess of Wealth.]

Hearing the woman's words, a shocked expression appeared on Ashley's face. 'He was the divine crimson dragon? No wonder the brat managed to still live even with those deadly wounds.'

[Ashley, the mission has been changed. Do everything in your power to find Aditya and others. If Aditya agrees to join us, then let him come with you but if you find that he is a threat or might become one to our organization, you have my full permission to kill him.] The woman's voice sounded a little urgent. She sounded a little desperate.

[What about the princess and the crown prince?]

[Just kill them. Try to complete the mission within 2 days. Our preparations are nearly complete.]

[Understood]

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is the last chapter of this month. Honestly I wanted to upload 2 chapters every single day but I couldn't do it for various reasons. I will not make a promise of uploading 2 chapters for the next month. But I will give my best to increase the uploading rates.

Thank you for all the supports. Honestly I really appreciate all the golden tickets and the gifts you guys has been sending me.

Chapter 179

"Where are we?" Aditya put Alicia down and then started looking around. Right now they were deep inside the forest. Aditya instantly guess that they must have been teleported to the inner or to the core region of the heavenly hemlock forest. He couldn't sense any mutant fire ants or any magical animals in this area. Everything was just too quiet.

The whole forest was covered in a blanket of snow. The snow under Aditya slowly started running red from the body that was still falling from his body. The Peak 5-star healing pill was still healing his wounds. It would probably take another few hours for his body to completely heal.

"My guess is, we have teleported to the core region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest." Hearing Sylvie's words, Nora, Alicia, and Noah's faces turned pale. The core region of the forest was home to many powerful and strong 5th-order magical animals. It was a place where the strongest in the whole continent lived. Even if a beginner 5th-order can easily die if the cultivator is not careful enough. This place was full of danger.

"Here I thought the teleportation crystal would send us out of the Heavenly Hemlock forest." Aditya was a little disappointed. If he was alone, then he could have left the heavenly hemlock forest.

"The Heavenly Hemlock Forest is even bigger than the Ethereal Empire. The teleportation crystal functioned to randomly teleport us anywhere within 100km. We're probably not so far away from the inner region. We were unlucky."

"Aditya, how are your wounds?" Everyone's attention fell on Aditya's wounds. There were still large holes on his right wing. And the condition of his right arm was still as bad as before. His face looked pale as if someone had drained blood from his body. His former handsome face was no longer there. The flesh on his right cheek had been torn and now his cheekbone could be seen. Honestly, it was even frightening to just look at his face.

Alicia also looked at Aditya in concern. "The pill that Alicia gave me is healing me. Though I am not fully sure if the pill will heal all of my wounds and recover my body to 100%." Aditya knew that his right eye was gone.

"My fractured ribs have already healed. My damaged organs also have healed. As for the wounds on my right cheek, right arm, right-wing, and, right shoulder, I guess that would probably take a few more hours." At this moment everyone was feeling sad. The expedition team which previously had 100 powerful cultivators now only had 5 cultivators left. Everyone else had been killed. No one was sure if Coby, the strongest of the elite soldiers who were told to wait outside the heavenly hemlock forest and look at the Pegasus was alive or not.

"For now, let's find a place to take some rest. Sooner or later, we will have to fight the mutant fire ants if we want to exit this forest." Everyone agreed with Noah's suggestion. Right now everyone was drained. Especially Aditya needed to rest.

Sylvie used earth elements to make a cave that was hidden on a rocky mountain. She then blocked the cave's entrance with stones and covered it with snow so that no one will suspect anything.

"I will seal this cave." Aditya started drawing runes on the cave walls. These runes would hide their presence and prevent their Aura from being leaked. Even a Beginner 5th-order cultivator won't be able to sense their presence unless that cultivator is near their cave. This will keep the magical animals and the mutant fire ants away from this cave.

After Aditya was done, He went to a corner and sat down with his back leaning against the wall.

"Alicia, have you found my storage ring?" At that time, knowing that Noah was going to be killed, Aditya had asked Alicia to look for his storage ring which fell from his middle finger when he was sent flying by Ashley's attack.

"I did." Aditya took his storage ring from Alicia.

At that moment, knowing that his current speed wouldn't be enough, Aditya used one of his evolved skills.

?Inferno Overdrive: -

?Description?- A special type of skill developed by the Goddess of War. This skill has evolved from Blast of Divine Fury. Because of the Divine Dragon Bloodline, the power of this skill has reached a new level.

?Function?: - It will consume [20+] mana to activate the Inferno Overdrive skill. When this skill is used, the host will enter into a berserk state. All of the host stats except for Mana will be temporarily increased by 70%. The host will have to spend [5+] mana per second to keep this skill activated. After using this skill, the skill will enter a 24 hours cooldown.?

When Aditya used this skill after using Crimson lightning dash, and Storm flight, his agility had reached [2385+]. At that moment Aditya's speed had reached a new frightening level. Even he was having trouble controlling his agility. Unfortunately moving at such terrifying speed when his body was severely injured only reopened some of his wounds which previously had stopped bleeding because of the Peak 5-star pill.

Aditya never thought there would be a Peak 5th-order enemy. Without even using the Inferno Overdrive skill, his agility was 1403 which was more than enough to take on multiple beginner 5th-order enemies. 'That old man almost countered my top speed. If I had not used a Crimson lightning bolt at that moment, he would have blocked my attack.' At that moment, the power of his lightning-type attacks also had increased by 50% because of his mythical class Storm Marshall.

One more thing that Aditya noticed was that there is another powerful enemy besides the old man. It was that being who pressured Aditya right when he slaughtered almost four hundred thousand mutant fire ants and managed to push the mutant fire ants over an area of 10,000 meters. The Aura of that being was more darker and sinister than the Aura of the old man which was filled with killing intent.

"What should we do now?" Nora asked the most obvious yet most important question. Hearing her question, Aditya was the first one to reply before anyone else.

"We're going to spend a few days here. I want to recover from my injuries. After that, we will leave this place. This time I will be ready to deal with the old man." Aditya knew that if the old man had not taken him by a surprise attack, then he could have defeated the old man. Aditya still had many skills that he hasn't used. The inferno overdrive was one of these unused skills.

No one said anything. Everyone agreed with Aditya's plan. They knew in their hearts that if they wanted to leave the Heavenly Hemlock forest, then Aditya was their best option.

Meanwhile, a frown appeared on Alicia's face as she looked at Aditya's wounds. "That's odd. Why are your wounds not healing?" Her words caused Aditya to also look down. Just like Alicia had said, although the bleeding had stopped, his wounds were healing too slowly. At this rate, it would take him half month to completely recover. Another thing he noticed is that compared to when he took the pills, his healing speed had slowed down.

"A Peak 5-star should have the power to instantly heal all Aditya's wounds. I don't understand why it is taking go long for your wounds to heal." Others also frowned. This was not a piece of good news.

"Maybe, this has something to do with that Peak 5th-order cultivator. I am not sure of it but I heard that some 5-star weapons can actually inflict curses on opponents. There are many kinds of curses out there. I think the old man's golden spear cursed Aditya's body which caused a slowdown in his healing speed." Even Sylvie looked unsure of her words.

But her words had worried Aditya. "Or maybe the spear had some mysterious substance that entered your body and slowed down your healing speed." Nora's words made more sense. One reason why Aditya instantly believed in Nora's words is that if he was cursed in any way, then his divine dragon bloodline would have reacted to it. But that was no reaction, so it means that Nora's theory is true.

"Nora, I am afraid your words are true." Aditya couldn't help but feel anger toward that old man.

"I have a way." Sylvie broke the silence by taking out a red round shaped earring from her storage ring. This red round-shaped earring was a Peak 4-star artifact. The earring had a unique crimson glow on it. Even an ordinary human would be able to tell the value of this crimson earring.

"Take this" Aditya caught the earring and looked at it for a few seconds before deciding to wear it. After wearing the earring, everyone noticed a visible change in Aditya's pale. The paleness in his face now had decreased. Aditya now looked more lively and energetic than before.

"What sort of artifact is this?" Nora curiously asked.

?Blood of World Tree?

?Peak 4-star artifact?

?Artifact type: - Earring?

?Description: - This Peak 4-star earring was forged by a talented 4-star elven blacksmith. The final material of this earring which is the blood of the world tree was obtained after waiting for 129+ years. The blood of the world tree makes this artifact extremely valuable. Throughout the ages, many elves had lost their lives to get the Blood of World tree artifact in their hands. The Blood of world tree used to be a Mid-5-star artifact. If both the Blood of World tree earrings are worn together, the artifact will become a Mid-5-star artifact.?

?Function 1?: - When the blood of the World tree earring is worn, the user's stamina will be increased by [300+]. If both earrings are worn together, the user's stamina will be increased by [700+].

?Function 2?: - If in case the user's health drops to a dangerous level, this function of the earring will be activated. When the user's health falls to a dangerous level, the blood of the world tree will increase the user's healing speed increased by [40%]. If both earrings are worn together and the user's health drops to a dangerous level, the user's healing speed will be increased by [90%]. This function will be unavailable for the next 30 days after each use.

Cooldown: 30 days

?Function 3?: - A single earring will increase the user's stamina recovery speed by [30%] while both earrings will increase the user's stamina recovery speed by [70%].

?Function 4?: - If both earrings are worn together, the earrings will protect and prevent the user's health from reaching zero. Note: - This function can only be used once. After using this function, the earrings will lose this function, and the earring's rank will drop from Mid 5-star to beginner 5-star artifact.

As soon as Aditya wore the earrings, his stamina instantly increased by [300+]. As his health was still very low, the second function of the earrings was also triggered which increased his healing speed by [40%].

"This artifact will increase Aditya's healing speed. I never thought the artifact which I never used will come in handy in such a situation." This artifact was passed down from her grandmother. Sylvie very rarely used this artifact as she had other better options. The artifacts that she wore increased her mana by a few hundred points. One of her artifacts even increased her spell-casting speed by [100%].

Normally a Peak 4-star artifact would be considered a priceless treasure. But given Sylvie's identity, it was easy for her to have multiple powerful artifacts. Having those artifacts greatly helped Sylvie in fighting. There is no doubt that After Aditya, Sylvie was the second most powerful with Nora, the Succubus being the third most powerful one. If Nora was also given the same artifacts that Sylvie had worn during the battle, then the Succubus would have been even more powerful than Sylvie. Nora's biggest drawbacks were her limited mana. If she had a huge mana reserve like Aditya, she could have even controlled all the 5th-order mutant fire ants using her charm.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 180

It was a normal day in the Ethereal Empire. With a million guards being placed in Rose high hills city, the people felt safer. Things were beginning to calm down. More than 3 hours have passed since the expedition team left Rose high hills city.

Capital of Ethereal Empire,

While the Emperor was having a meeting with the royal officials, the Prime minister suddenly came running to the throne hall without any warning. "Your Majesty, all the elite soldiers except for Coby whom you had sent to the expedition team have died. All of their life crystals have broken down."

"Wha...What...did you say?" Ronnie narrowed his eyes while taking a deep breath. He carefully looked at his prime minister and put his full focus on his prime minister fearing that if he did not focus enough, he would hear the wrong things. At this moment Ronnie looked very dangerous. His eyes had turned cold. The way he looked at the prime minister made others feel as if the Emperor is going to slaughter them.

"Your Majesty, all the elite soldiers that we sent have been killed. Around 10 minutes ago, all of their life crystals broke down at the same time." For the next 5 seconds, everyone stared at the emperor in silence. Everyone was already feeling scared. The Emperor was someone that no one wanted to mess with. When this man lost his temper, things can become very chaotic.

However contrary to everyone's expectations, the Emperor instead took a deep breath to calm himself. Ronnie clenched his fists as his eyes turned red. The coldness in his eyes only increased. The cold and ruthless Emperor also looked a little fragile and weak. There was a trace of fear in his eyes but no one noticed. The Emperor's biggest fear, fragile and weak side was his own children. Ronnie loved his children so much that he was willing to do anything for them.

"What about you Alicia and Noah?" Ronnie asked in a choked tone. At this moment, the man who was sitting on the golden throne wasn't the Emperor of the Ethereal Empire, rather he was the desperate father who wanted to know about his children.

It was no secret that this time, his Majesty had allowed the Crown prince and the princess to join the Expedition team. One of the reasons why Ronnie agreed to send Noah and Alicia is because the expedition team had 3 beginner 5th orders and the most powerful and capable elite soldiers of their Empire. Not to mention Aditya who had the power of a million troops. His ability to fight multiple enemies made Ronnie believe that nothing can happen to the expedition team. But it looks like he was wrong.

The prime minister took a deep breath and then looked at the Emperor's face. Even though this wasn't the first time the prime minister had seen the Emperor angry, this was the first time, the prime minister felt that the Emperor might lose his sanity if something happens to his children. "Your majesty, you can rest assured. His royal highness and the Princess are both alright. Not just that even Nora and Sylvie are still alive. As for Tate, he died around 30 to 40 minutes ago."

After the prime minister's words, the entire throne hall fell into silence. Everyone in the throne hall felt relieved that the Princess and the crown prince were alright. But the news of Tate's death made them sad. It was not that anyone in the throne hall was emotionally attached to Tate, everyone felt sad because Tate was one of the pillars of the Ethereal Empire and his death left a gap that will probably take a long time to fulfill. It was certainly not easy for a faction to have a beginner 5th-order cultivator. The number of resources that a faction must put into raising a beginner 5th-order is just too many. Not to mention the fact that not every cultivator had the talent of reaching the 5th order.

Hearing the Prime minister's words, Ronnie sighed with a relieved look. Fortunately, nothing happened to Noah and Alicia. Ronnie was now beginning to regret his choice of sending Noah and Alicia with the expedition team. If he can reverse time, then Ronnie wouldn't have sent Noah, Alicia, and Aditya with the expedition team. As for Aditya, Ronnie wasn't sure if he was alive or not. The life crystal was a unique type of crystal that was attached to the life of a person. Normally a cultivator must put a drop of his blood to bind the life crystal with his soul. If a cultivator dies, the life crystal will also shatter. Big factions use this method to know if anything has happened to their faction member. Since Aditya did not have a life crystal, no one knew if he was alive or dead.

'I don't think Aditya is dead. Based on what Noah had told me about Aditya's powers, he can kill hundreds of Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants in an instant. There is no way he is dead.' As much as Ronnie hated Aditya for stealing his daughter and becoming his daughter's boyfriend, Ronnie truly didn't want Aditya to die. In his opinion, Aditya was a genius. Despite being only 19 years old, he already had reached beginner 3rd-order. This was a feat that not every genius was capable of accomplishing. The fact that he can fight higher-order beings so easily and effortlessly makes him even more of a genius. This kind of talent was born once every 500 years.

'Still, never did I think that out of the 94 best elite soldiers of the Ethereal Empire, 93 would die in less than 3 hours. I think the expedition team must have been attacked by the mutant fire ants.' Ronnie let out another sigh. He massaged his forehead using his right palm while thinking about the mutant fire ants.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid the expedition team must have been attacked by the mutant fire ants. Should we send another team to rescue the Princess and the Crown Prince?" Ronnie did not reply immediately. He was lost in deep thought.

'Since 95 of the 100 expedition team members are dead, it's safe to assume that Sylvie has managed to use the artifact that I gave her and has managed to teleport with Alicia, Noah, Aditya, and Nora.' This was the most logical conclusion that Ronnie can think of.

'However, there is a very high chance that the teleportation crystal has just teleported Alicia, Noah, Aditya, Nora, and Sylvie to a different part of the Heavenly Hemlock forest.' The teleportation crystal teleported randomly. Given that the expedition team was inside the Heavenly Hemlock forest, there is a high chance that Alicia, Noah, Aditya, Nora, and Sylvie have been to a random part of the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

'I just hope that they don't get teleported to the core region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest.' Ronnie could only pray for everyone's safety. He didn't want anyone else to die. Each of their deaths will have a massive impact on him and on the lives of millions of people.

"Someone go and call Elder Ronan. This time I will be personally going to the Heavenly Hemlock forest." Ronnie stood up and then began walking down the stairs with the intention of preparing for an all-out war with the Mutant fire ants.

Scene change _

"Does anyone have anything to eat?" The beginner 5th-order Succubus shamelessly asked for food in this situation. Hearing Nora's words, everyone opened their eyes and stopped meditating. She had just interrupted Alicia, Noah, Aditya, and Sylvie from cultivating.

Sylvie couldn't help but frown. "I am surprised that you have the appetite to eat food in this dark cave."

The Succubus cutely giggled causing her bosom to sway. "Darkness is the perfect place to drink some....cough I mean eat."

Sylvie felt like she had made a mistake. "If I had known that you would be this perverted, I wouldn't have bought you with us. Maybe eating those mutant fire ants' liquid.....I mean meat would have filled your stomach."

"Hmph! You virgin old hag."

Sylvie's right eye started twitching when she was called a virgin old hag. "What did you say?" Sylvie gritted her teeth in anger and asked in a deep tone.

Nora looked like she didn't notice or just didn't care about Sylvie's anger. The Succubus sneered at Sylvie and replied. "I said the virgin old hag. You're so old yet you can't find a partner. But look at our Noah. Even though he is just 22 years old, he already has lost his virginity."

Cough!

Meanwhile, Noah couldn't help but cough in embarrassment. He pretended to not notice the shocked look that his little sister was giving him. Noah was a healthy young man. Since he had a fiance, he had done it with her a few times. Never did he think even in his wildest dreams that this Succubus would expose his deepest and darkest secret.

"What?" Sylvie was shocked to hear that Noah already had lost his virginity. She can still see the image of naked little Noah running around and playing with a stick. Suddenly Sylvie started to feel very old.

"If I am not mistaken he has done it last Friday." Nora proudly exposed the crown prince's secrets.

"Can you please stop talking about me?" Even in the darkness, everyone was able to see Noah's red face. The crown prince felt like crying except his eyes had no water in them. Now he even had lost his image in front of his little sister and his brother in law.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 181

Bang!

A giant boulder which was 10 meters big was destroyed by a single punch. The one who broke the boulder was a beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant. Accompanying this mutant fire ant, there was 100 more 3rd and 4th-order mutant fire ants.

"I don't sense any Aura in his area. Should we keep searching?" One of the beginner 3rd-order mutant fire ants asked the beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant.

"There is no need to search the area and waste our time here. Since we can't sense any Aura in his area, it means that our target is not here. Let's leave." The beginner 5th-order mutant fire ant did not want to waste their time here. All the mutant fire ants were personally given a mission of searching for the Crown prince, the princess, and three other beings that were hiding in the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

The entire Heavenly Hemlock forest was even bigger than the Ethereal Empire. Searching every corner of this forest was would have taken a long time. But since the number of mutant fire ants number is too big and the ants have spread throughout the forest, it was not so difficult for the mutant fire ants to search for the remaining 5 people on the expedition team.

After the beginner 5th-order, mutant ants and his followers left the area, Aditya and others sighed. It was not that Aditya and others were afraid of facing the mutant fire ants, if Aditya or someone else faced off against a mutant fire ant, that ant can send a message to its queen, informing the queen about their location. The queen in return would command her ant army to march into their hideout.

Sigh!

"It looks like the ants have left."

"This was the 3rd time, a group of mutant fire ants has come to this area to look for us." If Aditya had not sealed the entire cave, the mutant fire ants would have sensed their Aura and would have found their location.

"If a 5th-order or a 4th-order mutant fire ant comes near the cave, I am afraid that the ants will be able to sense our Aura." The seals that Aditya drew across the cave didn't completely block off their Auras. It instead reduced their Auras to a level where it was impossible for even a Beginner 5th-order being to sense their Auras. Unless a 4th-order or a 5th-order ant comes near this cave, it was not possible for the ants to sense their Auras.

"If a 5th-order or a 4th-order mutant fire ant does find us, we will just kill them and change our location." It has been more than 6 hours since Aditya, Alicia, Noah, Nora, and Sylvie took shelter in this cave.

The cave wasn't that big. It was around 8 meters big and was rectangular shaped. The whole cave was dark but Sylvie, Nora, and Aditya they were able to see things in the darkness. But as Alicia and Noah cannot see in darkness, a small candle was lit at the center of the cave. Aditya had a skill that allowed him to see in the darkness while Nora and Sylvie had the natural ability to see things in darkness as they were 5th-order cultivators. The winter weather did not affect anyone as their bodies were tough and resistant to cold.

The walls of the cave were made from stones. The remaining 5 members were sitting a few meters away from each other with their backs resting against the wall.

"Here take this." Sylvie took out some dry food from her storage ring and gave it to Noah and Alicia. The dry food included some biscuits, cake, and various kinds of fresh and tasty loaves of bread.

Seeing Noah looking at the loaves of bread, Sylvie decided to explain. "Don't worry, these loaves of bread are fresh. This morning, before coming here, I had bought them from the local bakery." Sylvie had a thing for freshly baked loaves of bread. She always has loaves of bread in the morning. The bread was Sylvie's one of the most favorite food.

"Aditya, do you want some?" Alicia asked Aditya.

By now most of Aditya had recovered half of his health. The earring that Sylvie gave him had increased his stamina which in turn increased his natural healing speed and also the earring increased his healing speed by 50%. But now that his health had been recovered by half, the second function of the earring will be deactivated. The big holes on his right wing had now shrunken in size. The condition of his right arm also had improved. While the broken bones on his right shoulder were now completely healed. The wound on his right cheek also had healed unfortunately his right eye showed no sign of healing.

Aditya looked at the bread that Alicia was offering him for a few seconds. He was deciding if he should eat it. Right now Aditya had reached a state where even if he doesn't eat anything for a few weeks, he will still live without losing any fat or muscle. As for Sylvie and Nora, as 5th-order cultivators, even if they didn't eat anything for a year or two, they still won't feel hungry nor they will lose any percentage of their fat.

"Sure." Aditya decided to accept Alicia's offer.

"As soon as I heal, we will leave this place. This time we won't stop. Every mutant fire ant that stands in our way will die." Aditya felt it would take him another day to completely heal. Now that the second function of the Peak 4-star earring which increased his healing speed by 50% had stopped, Aditya's healing speed also had dropped. He estimates that in a day his whole body would recover.

In front of a Peak 5-star healing pill, lower-grade healing pills are nothing. Aditya already had consumed the Peak 5-star healing pill, the power of the pill currently was his healing speed without consuming his stamina. One could ask why Aditya is not eating other healing pills. Since Aditya already had consumed one high-grade healing pill, any lower-grade pill won't give him any benefits. Even if Aditya takes another Peak 5-star healing pill, other than a slight boost in his healing speed, he won't receive any other benefits.

'If I was alone, I just could have leveled up. By leveling up, I could have increased my stamina and health points. I also could have added the free stats points to my stamina. Currently, I have an almost endless amount of experience points. If I use all these experience points, I can instantly reach the 5th order but doing that would raise suspicion. Besides, I will need time to master my powers. With each new order, I receive a new class and a new set of skills. It is very important to master all of my skills before I try to get new ones.'

Speaking of skills, Aditya was thinking of getting health recovery skills or something similar. It would be even more better if his next class was a healing-type class. With his stupidly high mana reserve, Aditya can basically heal anyone on the battlefield.

"By now the news of all the elite soldier's deaths should have reached his Majesty's ears. Knowing that we're still alive, I am sure his Majesty is going to send all the Ethereal army to Heavenly Hemlock forest." Hearing Nora's words, Alicia, Sylvie, and Noah's eyes lit up. Aditya noticed that Nora's words made them slightly relaxed. There was even a small relieved smile on Noah's face.

"How would His Majesty know about the deaths of the elite soldiers?" Aditya asked with a confused look. When he asked this question, Aditya couldn't help but feel a little sad about all the elite soldiers. These soldiers were the future powerhouse and pillars of the Ethereal Empire. Aditya can only imagine the absurd amount of resources it must have taken for the Ethereal Empire to cultivate these elite soldiers. In terms of power and cultivation, the elite soldiers stood at the very top of the Ethereal Empire's military.

But now that everyone had died, Aditya is sure that the Ethereal Empire's military has been weakened. Not to mention the death of beginner 5th-order elder Tate. Even though Tate betrayed them, his death also made the Ethereal Empire even weaker than before. What worried Aditya is the future of the Ethereal Empire. The Ethereal Empire and the other Empires in the central region had managed to make a balance. But now that the strongest Empire has lost 94 of its elite soldiers and one 5th-order elder, the Ethereal Empire was no longer the strongest Empire on the Westnia continent. The other Empires might try to take advantage of this situation and might even try to start an all-out war.

"There is a unique crystal called the soul crystal...." Alicia decided to explain.

"I see." While Aditya and Alicia were busy talking, others noticed how close they were. Especially Sylvie and Noah. Even though Alicia had bought Aditya as her boyfriend, Noah had seen her keep a certain distance from Aditya. It was as if there was a barrier before. But now this barrier had disappeared. Now his sister was always taking the initiative to close the distance. Although Noah is not an expert when it comes to love or relationship advice, he can see and feel the changes happening in his little sister.

'I bet Alicia already has forgotten the fact that Aditya is not even her real boyfriend. Yet she is acting like his real girlfriend.' A part of Sylvie felt happy for Alicia. The white lotus guild leader also felt jealous and envious. She also wanted to graduate from her virginity and find a good handsome-looking Husband.

'Almost like Aditya or maybe Aditya...' Realizing what she was thinking the dark elf blushed and looked in another direction.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 182

21 hours later,

In a dark underground chamber, a beautiful-looking woman wearing a red gown could be seen sitting on a throne that was made up of gold. At this moment, the woman sitting on the throne was having a frowning expression on her face.

The dark underground chamber was illuminated with a special kind of magic stones that can only be found in the Heavenly Hemlock forest. These magic stones were known as solar stones. The reason these magic stones were known as Solar stones is that by absorbing a very tiny amount of mana, these stones can shine very strongly. The solar stones have been placed all around the underground chamber. Each solar stone was radiating a different type of color.

Behind the throne that was made up of gold, there were more than hundreds of treasures lying around. These treasures varied from gold, silver, solar stones, mana stones, and dragon grass to all kinds of treasures that any cultivator in this world would desire. However, the woman sitting on the throne didn't seem to care much about these treasures.

The Ant colony began taking over the Heavenly Hemlock forest by killing all strong magical animals in the heavenly Hemlock forest, while doing that, the mutant fire ants found many kinds of treasures and even some mines. Right now, the only thing that the queen lacked was enough food for her entire colony. Every single day thousands of mutant fire ants died from hunger. Hunger has driven the mutant fire ants to the point where the ants wouldn't even hesitate to eat one of their own kind.

If the queen had not used her powers and stopped the mutant fire ants, all 1st-order and 2nd-order mutant fire ants would have started fighting among each other and would have eaten each other. To prevent this from happening, the queen was forced to attack the human city. However, the food they managed to secure from Blackwood city would run out in a few weeks. Meaning their hunger was solved temporarily. In the long run, they would have no choice but to attack the Ethereal empire to secure their food. As for the magical animals that lived in the Heavenly Hemlock forest, almost every single magical animal was killed and eaten by the mutant fire ants.

At this moment the queen of the mutant fire ant colony was talking with an important person. His name was Ashley and he was the Peak 5th-order cultivator that the organization has sent to help her with the plan.

[Ashley, have you found them?] The frown on the queen's face deepened. All of the children had spread all over the Heavenly Hemlock forest. By now, her children had searched every single corner of the forest yet they couldn't find their target.

[I have searched for them outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest, unfortunately, I couldn't find them anywhere. Speaking of outside, I have bad and also good news for you. Which one do you want to hear?] Ashley asked while chuckling. He can only imagine the queen's expression.

Sigh!

The queen whose human name was Scarlet couldn't help but sigh. Everyone in the organization knew how bad her situation was. Sometimes Scarlet even thought of abandoning all of her children and just go somewhere else. Every day it was a headache to secure enough food for the entire colony. Even the fishes in the rivers and lakes have been emptied. As a result, the queen had long stopped laying eggs fully knowing that her new children won't have food for them.

[I will go with the good news first.]

[The good news is that the Crown prince and the princess hadn't reached the Ethereal Empire yet. This is where our bad news comes in. As the crown prince and the princess hasn't returned, the Emperor is now on his way to the Heavenly Hemlock forest with an army of 2 million.]

Crack!

Scarlet couldn't control her strength and ended up cracking the armrest of her throne. For a moment the queen did not respond back. Ashley knew that Scarlet was having a tough time. To be honest, he felt pity for the woman. Ashley also hated and look down upon Scarlet at the same time. Ashley was a human and seeing what the ants have done to so many innocent people, somewhere in his heart Ashley felt sad and angry. If Scarlet wasn't a part of the organization, then he would have been the first to kill her and destroy her ant colony.

After a moment Scarlet finally got hold of her emotions. Another sigh escaped from her mouth as she raised her head and looked at the empty space while deeply thinking about something.

After nearly 5 minutes of silence, Ashley heard Scarlet's response.

[So, The original plan of attacking the Ethereal Empire cannot be implemented. Did our leader tell us what we should do in this situation?] The plan to attack Blackwood city was also made by the leader. While the organization wanted the destruction of the Ethereal empire, the queen wanted to attack the cities and find food for her children.

[Yes, the plan has been altered slightly. Originally the Ethereal Empire was going to become our battlefield. But the Emperor has decided to bring his army here, the Heavenly Hemlock Forest will become the battleground. I hope you're prepared to face the Ethereal Empire.]

Scarlet remained quiet for another few minutes before breaking the ice with another question. [I am sure that Ethereal Empire will have multiple 5th-order elders on their side. I will need some help if I want to win the war.]

Originally the queen had 20 beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants. A few days ago one of the fifth-order ant was killed by a woman named Sylvie. Yesterday, the red dragon killed 7 of her fifth-order ants. This has left the queen with 12 fifth-order mutant fire ants. However Scarlet knew that the Ethereal Empire had a Peak 5th-order elder who can easily slaughter 12 of her beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants. Once that happens, the whole tide of the war will change. Even if the queen had millions of ants under her control, in front of a Peak 5th-order cultivator, the word 'millions' will be nothing but a big number.

[Don't worry, the organization has sent two more Peak 5th-order cultivators beside me to help you out.] Hearing Ashley's words Scarlet sighed in relief. The queen felt as if a big burden has been lifted from her chest.

[Should I stop looking for the Crown prince and the princess?] Scarlet knew that it would take some time to assemble all of her mutant fire ants. All of her ants were spread in every region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest.

[Actually, it would have been much better if we could manage to capture the Crown prince and the princess before the war started. We can use them as a bargaining chip. However, without your ant army, winning this war is impossible. So yes, stop searching for the crown prince and the princess and start assembling your ant troops. Meanwhile, I will continue my search.]

After the communication with Ashley ended, Scarlet again sighed as she stood up from the throne. From her storage ring, she took out a diary and a pen and started writing something. At the same time, she used her powers to call every single mutant fire ant to the southern part of the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

Scene change_____

Another 10 hours passed,

Swoosh!

With his fully healed wings, Aditya landed right before Alicia. Currently, they had come out of their hiding. "How is the situation?" Sylvie asked.

Aditya shook his head with a confused look. "All the Peak 3rd-order or 4th-order or 5th-order mutant fire ants have already left the core region. As for the beginner 3rd-order or 2nd-order or 1st-order, mutant fire ants, these ants are also moving in the direction of South."

Around 5 hours ago, Aditya noticed this change. All the powerful mutant fire ants had already left the core region. This made the Dragon king a little confused as he couldn't understand what was going on.

"Do you think this could be a trap set by the enemy to bait us out?" Alicia asked.

"It could also be possible that father is going to attack the mutant fire ants. Knowing father, I am sure by now he already is moving his Ethereal troops toward the Heavenly Hemlock forest. I think the ant queen is preparing to fight the Ethereal troops." Noah knew his father very well. He was personally taught by his father for years. After Olivia and Noah's 3 mothers, Noah was the next person who knew the Emperor the most.

Ronnie has been teaching Noah ever since Noah was 7 years old. It was not so difficult to think about what his father is going to do in this situation.

"In that case, we should head in the southeastern direction. We will take a detour so that we don't meet the mutant fire ants." Sylvie, Alicia, Nora, and Noah, all four were very familiar with the terrain of the Ethereal Empire and the places outside their Empire. But Aditya didn't know much about the terrain as he wasn't a native of the Ethereal Empire.

"If we head in the Southeastern direction, we will reach the border of our neighboring Empire. From there we can easily return to the Ethereal Empire and then join father in this war." Since his father already had bought his army, Noah was planning on joining the war. The same could be said for the Succubus Nora, Sylvie, and also Aditya. As for Alicia, even if she wanted to join, Aditya, Noah, and her Emperor won't allow it.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 183

"Sylvie and Nora, I have an offer for both of you." Aditya suddenly stopped running. His words also made others stop and look at him in confusion.

"What offer?" Sylvie looked a little interested. The Succubus also looked curious.

"What if I can give you something that will increase your powers?" Aditya then looked at Sylvie. "Sylvie, you're close to breaking through Mid-5th order. If you cultivate for another few more months, you will reach Mid 5th-order. If you accept my offer, you will instantly reach Mid-5th."

Hearing Aditya's words Noah was stunned. Sylvie and Nora were left shocked. Meanwhile, Alicia, the goddess of wealth understood what Aditya was trying to do. She was the person who had told Aditya about using his bloodline to turn humans into dragonians. 'Now that his bloodline has evolved, did he obtain the ability to turn other races into dragonians as well?'

"You're not going to offer me this power for free are you?" Hearing Sylvie's words, for some reason Aditya felt as if he was acting like those con artists.

Cough!

Aditya lightly coughed and decided to explain.

"The thing is my dragon bloodline can turn humans or other races into half-dragons." After going through life and death trials with Alicia, Sylvie, Noah, and Nora, Aditya decided to trust them with his secret. The chances of any of them betraying Aditya were very slim.

"What?"

"Aditya, please stop lying. This is not possible. Even the strongest dragon in history couldn't do something like this." Noah, Sylvie, and Nora refused to believe that such a thing was possible.

"I can assure you all that Aditya's words are very true. In fact, Sylvie I recommend you accept Aditya's offer. Of course, the final decision depends on you." Alicia has seen just how powerful the dragonians were. Other than Aditya, the Dragonians were the most dangerous weapon that the Istarin Empire currently had.

Noah was still having a hard time believing in his sister's words. If these words had been said by someone else other than his sister, Noah would have never believed in such ridiculous nonsense. After all, Aditya basically had the power to turn a normal human into a Dragon. This was no less than a miracle.

Sylvie decided to hear out Aditya's explanation before deciding. "As you're a dark elf, after taking my bloodline, you will become a half-dragon. You will have the power to transform into a dragon which is normally impossible for a half-dragon. Compared to normal dragons, your half-dragon bloodline will be much superior. However. since you will become a dragon from a drop of my own bloodline, you won't be able to betray me or go against me. Your loyalty will belong to me."

The only reason why Aditya was offering to give a drop of his bloodline to Sylvie and Nora is that he wanted both 5th-order cultivators in the team to become even stronger so that if in case Aditya is not there to protect Alicia and Noah, they can do his job.

"Of course, I won't treat you like my other dragonians. After we leave this Forest, you can return back to your life." Aditya did not want Sylvie or Nora to have this wrong idea that he is trying to control them by turning both of them into his dragonians. He had no interest in doing that. He never even had thought of doing something like that.

Both Nora and Sylvie shared a look and then look down. For the next 10 minutes, no one interrupted them. Aditya let them think. It was fine even if they decided to reject his offer.

After thinking for a long time, Sylvie had made up her mind. "I apologize. Aditya, if I wanted to join any faction or any Empire, I would have done that a long time ago. Yes, I am indirectly connected to the Ethereal Empire but even his Majesty does not have the authority of ordering me. I just don't like to be ordered by anyone else. I like to have my own freedom." Sylvie did not want to sell her freedom to anyone. Even if Aditya has promised her that he will never order her anything, it won't change the fact that Sylvie would lose her ability to make independent decisions if she becomes his Dragonians.

Sylvie always has been a free bird. She does not work for anyone not even for Alicia. Many might think that Sylvie takes Alicia's order. But this is far from the truth. Alicia and Sylvie are partners. Yes, Alicia does decide how they are going to make the White Lotus guild more powerful and influential, but the day-to-day activities and the management of the guild are done by Sylvie without Alicia's interference.

"Haha! I was expecting you to reject my offer." Based on the amount of time Aditya has spent with Sylvie, he had at least a basic understanding of this girl's character. Sylvie was a free spirit. This was also why Sylvie ran away from her home as she did not want to be ordered. She enjoys her freedom more than anything.

"What about you, Nora?"

"My loyalty belongs to the Ethereal Empire and to the Emperor. If his Majesty allows me to have a second master, then I am more than willing to become a dragonian."

"Alright." Aditya never forced any of his Dragonians to accept his bloodline. He always has given them choices. He respects everyone's choices.

"Alright, there is no point in wasting any time here. Let's continue moving." Aditya picked up Alicia in his arms and began running. Nora was carrying Noah like a girl making the crown prince red in embarrassment.

Aditya continued to use his senses. If he sensed any mutant fire ants in the area, the team would just change their direction and avoid any mutant fire ants. Since all the remaining 5th-order mutant fire ants already have been recalled by the queen, and with their fast speed, none of the lower-order mutants was able to sense their Aura. To them, Aditya, Nora, and Sylvie disappeared in the blink of an eye.

After traveling for 50 minutes, suddenly the group stopped. Noah and Alicia's bodies began trembling from pressure. Without even needing to say a single word, everyone understood who was pressuring them. It was the old man who almost killed Aditya.

"He is coming." Aditya put Alicia down. "This is my fight. Just retreat into a safe distance. I will take care of the rest." Aditya still had to back pay this old man for nearly ending his life.

Sylvie and Nora wanted to say something but they shut their mouths seeing how serious Aditya looked. The look on his face said that there was no room for discussion.

Storm Summon!!!!

Rumble!

Dark clouds containing crimson lightning began to cover the sky.

?Ding! The storm has activated the passive powers of the Host's Storm Marshall class.?

?Ding! Because of the storm, the host's mana has been increased by 50%.?

?Ding! The power of lightning and wind types of attacks has been increased by 50%.?

?Ding! Because of the storm, The host's agility has been increased by [300+]?

Even though Aditya could feel his power sharply rising, but this wasn't enough. The gap between a beginner 3rd-order and a Peak 5th-order was bigger than the gap between the earth and Heaven.

Inferno Overdrive!

?Ding! The host is entering into a berserk state.?

?Ding! In the berserk state, all of the host stats except for Mana have been temporarily increased by 70%.?

"Not enough"

Feeling Aditya's Aura continuously rising, Sylvie, Nora, Noah, and Alicia had no choice but to step back and retreat.

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Lightning Armor!

Storm Flight!

?Ding! Crimson Lightning Dash has added [200+] agility to the host's stats.?

?Ding! The Lightning armor has increased the host's defense and also has added [100+] strength to the host's stats.?

?Ding! As there is a storm, the second function of the Storm flight skill has been activated. The host's agility has been increased by [200+].?

As if this all wasn't enough, Aditya finally took out a cheap-looking crown from his storage ring. It was the Crown of Seven Sea. It was the very low-grade 5-star artifact that the Majin village protected. Aditya was given the crown after the Majins found out that Aditya has the Crimson dragon bloodline. Ever since he got the crown, he has never used it even once. In front of such a powerful enemy, it was finally time to use this crown.

As soon as Aditya wore the crown, he felt his power increasing again. He also saw the new message flash in his retina.

?Ding! By wearing the crown of Seven Seas, the third function of the crown has been activated. The host's fighting power has been increased by [20%].?

Aditya's both arms turned into dragon claws. He then took out the grade mid-5-star black sword and wielded it.

?Ding! As the host has wielded a weapon, The innate skill Weapon Grandmaster has been activated. The power of the Adamantite Doomblade has been increased by 50%. The chances of landing a critical strike have been increased.?

"Let's start."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 184

With each passing second, Aditya could the Aura of the Peak 5th-order cultivator getting closer to him. Aditya did not move from his place. He fearlessly stood there; waiting for the person who had almost killed him.

Bang!

The old man appeared in front of Aditya. The ground beneath him cracks like a spider web just from his landing impact.

The old man Ashley stared at Aditya for a second before smiling. "Do you have any idea how many kilometers I searched for you and your friends? Hahaha! Now the mouse and cat cashing game are over."

Ashley was laughing. He wasn't taking Aditya seriously at all. The reason for this came from his strength. This time he was determined to kill this Divine Dragon once and for all.

"Before we start fighting, I want to ask you a question?" Aditya was on full alert mode. If the old man moved his body even an inch, he was ready to attack.

"What question?"

"Why are you helping the Mutant fire ants?" When the whole expedition team entered the Heavenly Hemlock Forest, one of the elders betrayed them. Tate was clearly trying to help the mutant fire ants. After Tate, now this old man. Clearly, someone or some organization or some third party is behind this.

"Why don't you guess?" Ashley asked back with a smile.

"Maybe because you want something from the Ethereal Empire or you and others have some past hatred for the Ethereal Empire." Aditya is not sure how many people are helping the mutant fire ants.

"Hahaha! You're right. We and the mutant fire ant have a common enemy and that common enemy is the existence of the Ethereal Empire." From the old man's words, it was clear that there were other beings helping the mutant fire ants. Tate, the former elder of the Ethereal Empire whom Aditya killed was also a part of this.

"You don't have to think too much. Your time has come to an end." When Aditya blinked his eyes and opened them, the old man Ashley was in front of Aditya. He widened his eyes seeing a golden spear coming for his chest.

Aditya moved his right hand and managed to change the golden spear's path using the Adamantite Doomblade.

Clang!

The old man for a small second looked very surprised that Aditya had managed to dodge his attack. Ashley became serious after seeing that his target can match his speed. Seeing that his attack has been deflected, Ashley raised his right knee to kick Aditya but Aditya managed to see it in time. He quickly landed a full-powered punch on Ashley's right knee.

Ashley felt pain in his right knee which again surprised him. It seems Aditya's strength also has increased. The power in Aditya's punch made Ashley believe that Aditya's current strength was also matching his strength.

Clang!

Once again both Ashley's and Aditya's spear and black sword clashed. Both cultivators exchanged few a moves. Ashley tried to attack Aditya in different ways but it seems no matter which way he tried to attack, Aditya was always able to see it and block it.

Clang!

Unknown to Aditya and Ashley. Each time their attacks clashed, big shockwaves was released. Each shockwaves was strong enough to destroy everything within 50 meters range. The shockwaves was so strong that the ground had shattered like glass. Countless cracks had formed on the ground. The trees around them already had been destroyed to the point where not even a single evidence of greenery was left behind.

Clang!

Each time both of their attacks clashed, the ground would slightly tremble. Neither Aditya nor Ashley had even gotten serious yet. If a 1st-order cultivator was hit with the shockwave that was being produced as a result of their attacks clashing, that 1st-order cultivator's body would instantly be ripped apart.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

It has been less than 30 seconds since the battle between the two powerhouses started. Even though for an ordinary person only 30 seconds have passed. But for Aditya and Ashley, in these 30 seconds, a lot has happened. Ashley and Aditya have exchanged more than 150 moves. Both of them has managed to learn new things about their opponent.

Ashley was frightened to learn that whatever technique he used for attacking Aditya was being copied and reused against him. What's more, at the starting, it was Ashley who was attacking while Aditya was on the defense. But at the end, Ashley was forced to defend while Aditya fiercely attacked him. In the end, Ashley was beginning to feel as if he was fighting against himself.

Each attack was deadlier than the previous one. If Ashley failed to block even a single attack from Aditya, he felt this battle would be over. Without him even realizing it, a beginner 3rd-order had managed to make him very serious. After a certain point, he began using his full speed without holding back. But to his horror, Aditya was still able to keep up with his speed.

Clang!

Clang!

Ashley gritted his teeth while taking a step back. 'What this is? I am being pushed back.' Ashley was finding it increasingly difficult to block Aditya's deadly strikes.

'This brat is not even 20 years old, yet he is overwhelming me.' Ashley suddenly felt annoyed and felt his pride was in the line. Ashley was over 500 years old. He had lived long enough to call himself one of the best spear users on the continent. Ashley might not be talented in cultivation but when it came to using a spear, no one was able to match his talent. It was his talent in using a spear that gave him an advantage even when he fought against cultivators who were more powerful than him.

But for the first time in his entire life, Ashley found that his own talent lacking in front of a man who is not even 20 years old. Although it pained him to admit this even with his 500+ years of experience he couldn't land a single strike on Aditya.

Suddenly the old man stopped. He jumped 20 meters away from Aditya. Ashley began putting more of his mana into the diamond-shaped black earring on his left ear which was a Peak 4-star artifact.

The black diamond-shaped earring started glowing in light blue color making Aditya confused. Before he can realize what was going on, the old man Ashley vanished from his place. This time Aditya couldn't even see the old man moving.

Suddenly Aditya felt something behind him. It was the old man who somehow had managed to teleport behind Aditya. From the corner of his eyes, he managed to see the tip of the golden spear a few inches away from his back. Aditya's face turned pale as he realized that even with his current speed, it would be impossible for him to dodge this attack.

Ashley couldn't help but smile showing his white teeth as he knew that his attack was going to hit Aditya. At this moment he was 100 and 10% sure that his attack won't fail.

But...

Just when the tip of the spear was about to touch Aditya's back, the crimson lightning that had covered his body suddenly intensified. In that milli-second, the old man Ashley could do nothing but watch in shock. Under his shocked gaze, Aditya's entire body transformed into Crimson lightning. It was as if Aditya's body was made up of crimson lightning itself. Before the spear can even touch the crimson lightning at an unbelievable speed, Aditya's body turned into seven bolts of crimson lightning and spread in 7 directions.

Crimson Lightning Blink!

The 7-crimson Lightning Blink moved faster than Ashley can even react. Even for Aditya, his current speed was just too fast. He was even having trouble controlling his current speed. After his Crimson Blink reached 3rd order and evolved to Crimson lightning blink, the power of the skill had been upgraded. While he was in Crimson lightning form, he had gained an additional [800+] boost in his agility which previously was [2385+].

In less than a second, all 7 bolts of crimson lightning turned toward Ashley. Even before the old man could react the 7 lightning bolts hit the old man which sent him flying like a cannonball.

Far away, Alicia, Sylvie, Noah and Nora, all four heard a loud cracking sound. Four of them looked at each other fully knowing that this cracking sound must have been Aditya's lightning attack.

Meanwhile, all 7 bolts of crimson lightning joined together and took the shape of Aditya's body. A second later, Aditya returned to his human form. He looked at the direction in which Ashley was sent flying.

'Even if he is a Peak 5th-order, that attack must have been killed him.' Aditya was 90% sure of it.

?Crimson Lightning Blink: -

?3rd-order?

?Description?: - An rare evolved form of Molten Volt. This skill is a combination of fire and lightning nature. After reaching 3rd-order, this skill now has been upgraded from Crimson Blink to Crimson Lightning Blink. The host is the first person to have this skill in the entire universe.

?Function 1?: - When this skill is used the user can transform into lightning for 20 seconds. For the first 10 seconds, the skill will consume [200+] mana while for the last 10 seconds the skill mana consumption will be doubled to become [400+].

?Function 2?: - When the user transforms into a bolt of lightning, for the next 20 seconds the user's speed will be increased by [800+].

?Function 3?: - After transforming into Crimson lightning, any type of physical and mental attack will not affect the user.

Note: - The Crimson blink will enter into a cool-down period of 12 hours after each use.?

?Ding! Crimson Lightning Blink has entered into a 12-hour cool-down period. For 12 hours, the host won't be able to use this skill.?

Aditya took out his Adamantite Doomblade which he was put in his storage ring right before his whole body transformed into Crimson lightning. This also made Aditya a little confused. He realized that after his entire body turned into crimson lightning, even his clothes the artifacts he was wearing, and the storage ring also had turned into Crimson lightning.

"Does it mean I can also transform any object that I am holding or wearing into Crimson lightning when I am using this skill?" Aditya wasn't sure. Whenever he has used this skill in the past, his focus always has been on defeating his enemy. He never paid attention to such details.

Meanwhile,

More than 2000 meters away, there was a figure lying in a crater. The area around the crater was destroyed. The crater itself was more than 50 meters deep and 100 meters wide. If someone saw this crater they would think this crater was formed from an explosion. But in reality, in place of this crater, a small rocky mountain used to exist here.

That attack had sent the Peak 5th-order Ashley like a missile. In less than 5 seconds, his back had broken countless trees, and shoulders as he flew crushing into this small rocky mountain.

At the center of the crater, there was an old man who was buried under countless stones and rocks. The old man opened his eyes. There was a white transparent bubble-like barrier surrounding his body.

Just as the old man opened his eyes, the bubble-like barrier began cracking. Seeing this the old man closed his palm into a fist and punched the stones that were burying him.

Booom!!!!

All the stones and rocks that was burying the old man was crushed. As the old man finally stood up, the bubble barrier finally shattered like glass.

To be continued______

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I hope you all liked the chapter!!!

Chapter 185

At the center of the crater, there was an old man who was buried under countless stones and rocks. The old man opened his eyes. There was a white transparent bubble-like barrier surrounding his body.

Just as the old man opened his eyes, the bubble-like barrier began cracking. Seeing this the old man closed his palm into a fist and punched the stones that were burying him.

Booom!!!!

All the stones and rocks that were burying the old man were crushed. As the old man finally stood up, the bubble barrier finally shattered like glass.

Crack!

Shatter!

Right after the barrier around Ashley shattered, the jade bead on his right arm also started to crack. Ashley could do nothing but stare at his beginner-grade 5-star artifact which was gradually breaking down. Ashley knew deep in his heart, that if he had not worn this beginner-grade 5-star defensive jade bead, he would have been dead already.

Just recalling what had happened to him made shivers down Ashley's spine. This was the first time after reaching Peak 5th order, Ashley bought near this close to death.

Crack!

In the end, the jade bead had cracked all over. The beginner-grade artifact had lost its powers. Now this jade bead was completely useless. 'This artifact is called a life-saving artifact for no reason. Unfortunately, the attack was just too strong. Even though this artifact managed to protect my life and pretended even a single injury from falling on my body, while doing that, it had to sacrifice itself.'

With a heavy heart, Ashley took off the Jade bead and threw it away. This artifact has been with him ever since Ashley had become a Mid-4th-order cultivator.

?Wind Breaker?

?Peak grade 4-star?

?Description: - A special type of artifact which was made for the sole purpose of increasing the user's speed. The artifact was forged using a Unicorn's feather and a unique metal which do not have any weight. The person who forged this earring was the best generational forger of his time. The appearance of the earring caused a big war to break out between the 3 nations. The Windbreaker artifact caused the deaths of 1.9 million people from various races. In the end, the Windbreaker artifact was sealed away in an ancient temple.?

?Function 1?: - The user can teleport anywhere within 1000 meters. Note: - The first function will enter into a cool-down period after each use.

Cooldown period: - 10 hours

?Function 2?: - The second function gives the user [400+] boost in agility when a little mana is given to the Windbreaker artifact.?

"It looks like you're still not dead." Hearing the mocking words, Ashley looked at Aditya who was standing 30 meters above the sky. Even though Aditya looked calm, deep down his heart was beating wildly. That attack was undoubtfully one of the strongest attacks that Aditya had used. The Crimson lightning blink always worked on his enemies. Never did he think even in his wildest dreams that the old man would be able to take on the full power of Crimson lightning blink and still live without any injuries.

'There is not even a single scratch on his body. Just what did he do?' Aditya tried to recall the scene when the seven bolts of Crimson lightning hit Ashley. At that time, everything happened just too damn fast. The old man was sent flying too damn fast for Aditya to actually see him but at the very moment when the 7 bolts hit Ashley's body, Aditya does recall seeing a mysterious green light glowing from the jade bead that the old man wore on his right arm.

"You managed to survive using your artifact. But what will save your ass now?" Ashley looked at Aditya in hatred. If the world knew that a Peak 5th-order was being humiliated by a mere beginner 3rd-order, Ashley would lose all of his faces. At the start of the battle, Ashley was taking this fight lightly as he believed that he can easily kill off Aditya. But in this stage of the battle, Ashley wasn't even sure if he will manage live by the end of the battle. Especially if Aditya used that lightning move from before, Ashley knew he cannot dodge it.

Ashley's eyes turned red from anger. He infused his golden spear with mana causing the golden spear to have an extra golden glow to it. Seeing this Aditya also did the same with his Adamantite Doomblade. However, instead of glowing, the black sword was covered with a dark Aura with Crimson lightning flickering.

"Aditya, I want you to die." Saying that Ashley threw his spear at Aditya using his full strength and power. Aditya in response also did the same.

From the distance, Alicia, Noah, Sylvie, and Nora saw a golden ray of light and a dark purple ray of light with crimson lightning on it, colliding.

Knowing that the shockwave of this collision might hurt Aditya, he quickly moved away before the collision could happen. The old man Ashley also did the same.

Right after the spear and the black sword collided, a bright flash of light spread everywhere, blinding everyone in the range. Even Ashley and Aditya were forced to close their eyes as the light was too bright. What followed after the intensely bright light was a world-breaking explosion that shook the entire Inner region of the heavenly Hemlock forest.

Booooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!

Even though both Aditya and Ashley had started retreating before the collision, the explosion was so big that it immediately caught up to them. At that moment, both of them used mana to cover their mana which protected their bodies. In addition to covering his body with mana, Aditya also made sure to surround himself with an orb of Crimson flame which further increased his defenses. As he new that normal flame wouldn't even affect the Crimson flame.

Even though Alicia, Nora, Sylvie, and Noah, all four were currently more than 5000 meters away from the explosion sight, they also felt the earth violently shaking. From this distance, they were easily able to see the scope of the explosion.

With the explosion, a huge cloud of dust and pebbles rose in the air. "This is the power of Peak 5th-order cultivator?" Even Sylvie couldn't believe it. This explosion could easily destroy the entire capital of the Ethereal Empire.

Meanwhile, Alicia started feeling worried about Aditya. While Alicia has seen Aditya fight against peak 4th-order cultivators many times in the past, she has never seen him fight a Peak 5th-order.

Meanwhile, after the explosion, Aditya and Ashley both run at each other. Right now both men were thirsty for each other's blood. Given both of their speed, in a matter of few seconds both of them closed the thousand meters distance.

Crimson Blaze!

Aditya put [300+] of this mana into creating a huge orb of Crimson flame. The Crimson flame rob was around 250 meters big. As soon as he finished creating the Crimson flame orb, every living being in the Heavenly Hemlock forest was able to see it. Aditya did not stop there by spending another [50+] made, he made the crimson flame orb spiral.

"Just how big is his mana pool?" The old man Ashley's face turned slightly pale as he stared at the huge gigantic crimson flame orb. In front of the 250 meters big crimson orb which seems to have devoured the entire world itself, Ashley's size was the same as the size of an ant. While his size was just two meters the Crimson flame orb was around 250 meters big.

"This flame is very dangerous." Ashley noticed that even though the flame hasn't done anything, its appearance had caused the temperature of the surroundings to rise very quickly The trees, grass, and bushes near the Crimson flame orb began to burn even though the flame did not even touch them. The stones had just started melting because of the terrifying heat.

Even the rain that was happening because of the storm stopped. It was rather that the temperature of the crimson flame was causing the raindrops to evaporate. If Aditya had not covered his clothes with mana, then even his clothes might have burned off from the temperature. Even though his body wasn't affected by the high temperature, his clothes weren't a part of his body.

Boom!

Aditya blasted off the Crimson sun that he had created just for Ashley. Seeing the Crimson blaze orb heading toward him, Ashley quickly used a big portion of his mana and slammed the ground with his right fist.

"We will have to move further away." Sylvie, Nora, Noah, and Alicia, all of their faces were deadly pale. Because even though they were 5000 meters away, they were able to feel the heat of the Crimson sun.

Sylvie quickly carried Alicia in her arms while Noah was already being carried by Nora, both beginner 5th-order started running at their full speed. While being carried, Alicia saw the Crimson sun was being blasted toward the direction of north.

For a few seconds, everyone heard rumbling sounds. Alicia widened her eyes in deep shock seeing a huge almost 300 meters big wall of earth rising and blocking the Crimson orb's path.

The earth wall was around 300 meters tall and 300 meters wide. Right after creating the earth wall, Ashley had only one thought in his mind and that was to run. He knew when this Crimson sun explodes, it will also bring chaos and utter destruction to the Inner region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

Just as the Crimson flame orb hit the earth wall, a huge world-shaking explosion took place. Crimson flame spread in every direction. A huge shockwave started destroying the inner region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest. Even the sky was engulfed and devoured in Crimson flame. The whole sight was very frightening to watch. To Sylvie, Alicia, and others it looked like the whole world is being devoured by Crimson flame.

Booooooom!!!!!!!!!!!

Rumble!!!!!!

Just as the explosion had taken place, Ashley was already 800 meters away. He did not just stop there. He continued to run like a mad man. Fully knowing that stopping here would only be his death. He also made sure to cover his body with mana as he knew that he cannot outrun the shockwave of the explosion. If he lets the crimson flame hit him, it will seriously injure his body or worse it will kill him.

Huff! Huff!

"It looks like things have finally started calming down." Ashley arms and legs had suffered from 2nd degree burns even though he had protected his body with a layer of mana. His back was also burned. The injury could have been even worse if he had not protected himself in a layer of mana.

"All that aside, now that Aditya has used such a big and massive attack, I am sure he should have ran out of mana by now." Ashley had a total mana of 1200. He had used half of his mana. The old man Ashley was an agility type fighter. Meaning that even for a Peak 5th-order he was too fast. But so far into the battle Aditya has been managing to overwhelm Ashley in agility and in strength. Now his only shot of winning this battle was if Aditya ran out of mana.

Not even 10 seconds had passed, and Aditya suddenly appeared in front of Ashley. In his hand, he was holding the golden spear which was Ashley's, and the black sword. Seeing that his weapon was being used by his enemy Ashley's face turned dark. Right now, both weapons were covered in Crimson lightning.

Aditya took a step forward and swung the golden spear at Ashley. The old man managed to dodge by taking a step back. Aditya did not stop there. He vertically swung the adamantine Doomblade. Ashley had stepped aside thinking that he had successfully managed to dodge the attack. However, he failed to notice the sly smile on Aditya's face.

Just as he took a step back, a powerful bolt of Crimson lightning fell on his head from the sky while red hot magma started coming out from the ground under him.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 186

Just as he took a step back, a powerful bolt of Crimson lightning fell on his head from the sky while red hot magma started coming out from the ground under him.

Booom!!!!

Ashley felt his whole body shake violently. The blood flow in his brain had stopped working for a second after he was hit by the Lightning bolt. By the time his mind processed everything, he noticed that his shoes already had melted and now his foot was burning because he found himself standing on a pool of red magma.

Ashley groaned in pain. The Soles of his foot had been burned. If he didn't have the body of a Peak 5th-order, Ashley feared that his foot would have melted. Ashley created a layer of mana on his foot which protected his legs. But while doing that he had failed to keep his attention on Aditya.

Swoosh!

Crimson lightning cracked around Ashley. His entire body suddenly stiffened as he sensed Aditya behind him. Aditya vertically swung his black sword with the intention of ending Ashley's life. Just when the sword was 20 inches from Ashley's head, Ashley's body started separating in two. Dragon King watched the scene in utter shock. The process was very similar to the process of cell division. Aditya's sword strike did not hit any version of Ashley as the old man had now become two people.

Exactly identical, same looking, same height, same features, and same Aura, it made it impossible for Aditya to sense who the real Ashley was.

Body Division!

A special type of skill that was born from Ashley's unique class. The skill allowed Ashley to divide himself into two. Both of his versions had the same thought process and same thinking. It was like Ashley's consciousness has been transferred to two bodies. What made this skill truly terrifying is the fact that both versions of Ashley would have the power of a Peak 5th-order.

The skill body division also had another a second function which would only activate after the first function has been used.

However, this skill had one disadvantage. No skill in this world was perfect. Every skill had some form of weakness. So did this amazing 5-star skill.

Before Aditya could react both versions of Ashley punched Aditya's face. The first version punched his right cheek while the second version punched his left cheek. The punch was powerful enough to send Aditya flying more than 10 meters. When the punch connect, Ashley's golden spear fell from Aditya's hand.

Bang!

Aditya quickly got up from the ground while cautiously staring at both versions of Ashley.

Ashley's version number one picked up the golden spear. Both versions of Ashley lunged at Aditya from the left and the right sides.

Enraged Lightning Spell!

In an instant, Aditya lost a large portion of his mana. At the same time the sky which had become silent after the big explosion began to rumble as fierce Crimson lightning snakes began to swim in the dark clouds like real snakes. Following the Crimson lightning, more bolts of lightning started appearing. In less than two seconds, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and different colors of lightning bolts began to cover the entire sky.

At this moment, every bit of the dark clouds had a certain color of lightning in them. Because of all kinds of lightning, the sky was starting to shine very brightly. Even people outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest were able to witness this scene. While the beginner 5th-orders both from the mutant fire ant side and the elders from the Ethereal Empire who had come to the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest to fight, all were shocked.

The number of bolts of lightning in the sky had exceeded the ten-thousand mark. Both versions of Ashley stopped. At this moment if one closely looked at both versions of Ashley, then one would see that both Ashley's bodies were trembling. His lips had turned dry. Red vines had appeared in his eyes. His old yet handsome face now looked lifeless as if someone had drained blood from his body.

At this moment Ashley just wanted to run away. The fear of being under more than 10,000 bolts of lightning was making Ashley feel as if he was about to be punished by heaven itself. "Is this the power of a God?" Ashley asked himself.

?Enraged Lightning Spell?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - Another special skill that was learned because of having Storm Marshall class. This is a special skill that once even harmed powerful gods and goddesses. This skill was said to be lost. Currently, the host is the only one possessing this skill?

?Function 1: - By consuming [1000+] mana, the user can summon a powerful bolt of chaotic lightning. Chaotic lightning is twice more powerful as regular lightning. Note: - this can be used once every 4 hours.?

"Go"

Aditya raised his right hand and pointed his index finger in direction of both versions of Ashley. Seeing this both versions of Ashley's eyes contracted to the size of a needle and started trembling.

Rumble!!!!!

The rumbling sound in the sky was so huge that it forced others to think if heaven was punishing them or what? The next second something very shocking yet very magnificent happen. Something that no being who has witnessed this scene today will ever forget.

As if being pulled by a magnet, all the ten thousand bolts of different colors of lightning rapidly started gathering in one direction. All ten thousand bots of lightning started combining themselves right above Aditya's head.

"Not good." Knowing that Ashley won't be able to survive this, the second version of Ashley ran toward the first version. Both of them nodded their heads at the same time. The first version of Ashley ran at the front and stood there to protect his second version. As long as one version survived, Ashley would always go on to live.

When the skill of Body division was used, Ashley had become two persons with one mind. Even if one of his bodies dies here, as long as the other lives, Ashley will also survive. This is what truly made this skill even more frightening. Meaning even if Ashley was gravely injured or bought to the brink of death, he can always use this skill to get a new body.

Though after one minute the effect of the body division would be over. Meaning that one of his versions with emerged with the other version. If in case one of his versions died, the skill would be deactivated while the other version would become the real Ashley.

All ten thousand bolts of lightning formed together to become a super bolt of lightning. The color of the super lightning bolt was rainbow color. This was the lightning that had once even killed Gods and Goddesses. Now it was about to kill a Peak 5th-order.

Far to the south, just outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest, Ronnie and the 2 million armies of the Ethereal empire were seeing this scene. Seeing a rainbow color lightning in the sky, Ronnie's entire body shivered. Even though he was more than 100 km away. Every single soldier, including their Emperor was shocked to their core.

Not even a whole second had passed when everyone was momentarily blinded by a bright flash of light. Not even the 5th-order elders and Ronnie were able to see anything because of the sudden bright flash of light. A 5th-order body is like the body of a God when compared to the body of a moral. The bright flashes that happened before the lightning strikes never blinded any 5th-order cultivator but this lightning flash was able to blind them for a few seconds. This itself explained everything Ronnie needed to know about the power of this attack.

Booooom!!!!!!!!!!!

A thunderous lightning-striking sound was heard throughout the entire Heavenly Hemlock forest. The sound traveled in every single direction. The sound was so loud that even the people in the neighboring empires that shared borders with the Heavenly Hemlock forest were able to hear it. Even the 4th-order guards of the Ethereal Empire's capital were able to hear the sound because of their enhanced stats.

The entire Heavenly Hemlock forest shook like it was the end of the world. The lightning-striking sound was so loud that many 1st and 2nd-order mutant fire ants in the inner region had lost their ability to hear anything. Their ears were permanently damaged. While the bright flash of light permanently blinded every single 1st mutant being within 50 km.

"It looks like I have changed the shape of the land itself." Aditya was standing in the largest crater that he had ever created with his attacks. The crater was more than 1000 meters deep and 5000 meters wide. Every single tree in 10,000 meters had been destroyed. The ground around the crater had been cracked.

"Haha! I guess I have just injured myself again. Cough.....!" Aditya coughed out a mouthful of blood. He did not expect his attack to be this powerful. As he was in the range of his own attack, Aditya was seriously injured even though he was immune to Crimson lightning to a certain extent because of his lightning manipulation skill.

Aditya fell to his knees. He then looked at the person who was lying at the center of the crater. The first version of Ashley tried to protect his other version. The old man even sacrificed his golden spear and tried to reduce the damage of the lightning. But what fell upon him wasn't something that he or anyone in Peak 5th-order was will be ready for.

The golden spear was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious that Ashley's favorite weapon had become dust. Ashley's black diamond earrings shattered into many small pieces. While his entire body was in a very worse condition. But it was a miracle that Ashley was still alive.

Lying in the middle of the crater, Ashley stared at the dark clouds which were beginning to disappear and reveal the blue sky. Looking at the blue sky, Ashley couldn't help but smile which caused blood to spill out from his mouth. He knew that even if he took a Peak 5-star healing pill, he will still die. His body had been damaged to the point where nothing in his world can save him. Maybe a legendary 6-star healing pill or a 7-star mythical pill that existed only in rumors can save his life. But who would waste such a precious life-saving pill for a 5th-order cultivator?

"Body division, one major weakness of his skill is that after one minute, the two versions will become one again. However, after body division was complete for the next 5 minutes, the user's mana, agility, strength, health, and stamina, all would be increased by [500+]." Ashley didn't seem to care about the blood that was coming out of his mouth as he spoke while looking at the sky.

Ashley couldn't help but chuckle at his own current situation. Even though his stats have increased by [500+], he knew that it was too late. Other than his head which now had become a football, nothing else of his own body remained. Everything was destroyed.

The only reason Ashley was still alive was because of his colossal amount of health. His current health reached [1700+]. However, his health was rapidly declining. Each second he was losing a huge part of his health. Each second bit by bit, Ashley's consciousness was fading. At the same time, the memories of his entire life began flashing before his eyes.

At a certain part in his memory, Ashley saw the image of a certain young beautiful noblewoman. Seeing the face of the woman, even though Ashley was at the end of his life, he couldn't stop from smiling.

In the end, a drop of tear rolled down from the right side of his face and fell to the ground. "Yuki, it seems I have failed to revive you. I am sorry. I am going to you, I hope we will be reunited again."

From the side, Aditya watched this in silence. Aditya couldn't say that he respected this man especially when his man had nearly killed him and was after Alicia and Noah. However, seeing the old man shedding tears while saying the name of a female at the end of his death, Aditya couldn't hate him anymore.

A small smile appeared on his face which was covered in blood. While looking at the blue eyes, his eyes gradually lost their colors and became lifeless.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 5th-order cultivator. You have gained a large number of experience points.?

?Ding! Your experience point has been saved for future use.?

Aditya just closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Aditya just turned around and began to leave with his injured and exhausted body.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

2200+ chapter!!

I wanted to upload another chapter but didn't got time.

Chapter 187

Aditya slowly began walking out of the crater. Also that the same time, the dark clouds that had covered the sky also began to disperse. While walking out of the crater, Aditya checked his wounds. This fight was one of the toughest fights Aditya had till now. Aditya was forced to use several of his trump cards.

Aditya's right eye was permanently gone. In this fight, he had to rely on his left eye. This made things a little difficult for Aditya especially when they were fighting at close range. Fortunately, Aditya was able to overcome that difficulty by relying on his senses. Aditya also has to admit that this fight has made him learn many new things. Aditya was now more experienced with his powers and his sword skills also significantly improved.

Aditya's wings were in very bad shape. He had used his wings to protect his whole body. This time, both of his dragon wings were burned very badly. Both of his wings now had turned black. In some areas, even the white bone had been turned black from the heat of the lightning. Fortunately, Aditya was able to survive because his Lightning Manipulation and Crimson Blaze skills gave him resistance to high temperatures, a certain percent resistance to fire, and also to lightning attacks.

?Crimson Blaze?

?3rd-order innate skill?

?Description?: - An advanced evolved and powerful form of Fiery Blaze. This skill allows the user to control fire and the temperature of Crimson flames.

?Function 1?: - Every time the user activates this skill, it will consume [1+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination and the user's mana.

?Function 2?: - Decreases the damage of fire-type attacks used by the enemy by [30%]. Fire types attacks used by any 3rd-order or below-order cultivators or beings would have no effect on the host. Increases of power of Fire-type attacks used by the host by [40%] against any cultivator or being at 5th-order or below orders.?

"The second function is not limited by any order. Meaning that even if a 7th-order cultivator used fire type attack, the power of the attack will be decreased by 40%." Aditya had the Divine Crimson Dragon bloodline if he is not immune to fire-type attacks, then he might as well remove the Divine part from his bloodline's name.

?Crimson Lightning Manipulation?

?3rd-order Innate skill?

?Description: - A special type of lightning manipulation skill that was gained from having Divine Crimson dragon bloodline and Storm Marshall class. Only a select few people in this world can use Crimson lightning.?

?Function 1?: - Every time the user activates this skill, it will consume [1+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination and the user's mana.

?Function 2?: - Passively increases the user's lightning resistance and also decreases the damage of Lightning type-attack by 30% used by a 3rd-order cultivator. Gives 20% resistance to lightning-type attacks used by a 4th-order cultivator. The resistance percentage will decrease with each higher order.?

"My wings are hurting like hell." Aditya took out a Peak 3-star healing potion and drank everything in one go. Only after drinking the healing potion, Aditya started to feel much better. At least the pain was reduced by half.

"At this state, I don't think I can use my wings to fly." Aditya knew that flying would only worsen his wings' condition. Besides his burned wings, Aditya also suffered other injuries. When both versions of Ashley punched Aditya's cheeks, his cheekbones cracked. But if his other injuries are nothing compared to what had happened to his wings.

"Normally I can grow out my wings from my back. But in this state, trying to retract my wings would only hurt more." Aditya stopped walking as he felt he had stepped on something irregular. Moving his right foot, he found a black storage ring covered in dirt.

"This ring must belong to Ashley." Aditya picked up the ring and took a look inside. Aditya was shocked to find thousands of mana stones, one million royal gold coins, some old pieces of jewelry, various kinds of 3-star and 4-star alchemy pills, a collection of various colors of normal spears, various 3-star armor sets, some clothes male and also female clothes, and finally a strange-looking stone. Aditya was instantly attracted to this strange stone that had a deep purple glow on it.

Aditya took out the deep purple color stone from the storage ring. As soon as he took out the stone, the system showed him the description of the stone.

?Low-grade Spirit stone?

?Description?: - ?An upgraded or evolved version of mana stones that takes 500,000 to 1,000,000 years to form depending on several factors such as the quality of mana in the atmosphere and the temperature of the surrounding area. An ordinary stone becomes a mana stone after absorbing mana for 1,000 to 5,000 or 10,000 years; the transformation time depends on several factors. The mana stones began sucking mana from the atmosphere to become spirit stones.?

?Function?: - ?The spirit stone can be used in many ways. The spirit stones contain one of the purest forms of Mana. Just absorbing this mana will increase the user's cultivation. Warning: - The current host cannot absorb spirit stones as the mana stored in it is too pure for the Host's body to handle.?

"In short spirit stones are like big battery cells that can store large amounts of energy in it." Aditya couldn't help but size looking at the rectangular-shaped fist-size purple glowing stone in his hand. The spirit stone was releasing some white smoke. This smoke was a very small amount of pure mana. Just keeping a spirit stone around a cultivator would be able to push the cultivation speed.

?There are currently two requirements that the host needs to complete to advance on his path to becoming the true Dragon Monarch.

?1. Expand the host's territory over an area of 500,000 km².?

?173,000 km²/500,000 km²?

?2. Gather the materials needed to build the legendary Dragon Palace. ?

?Required materials: - 100 tons of gold, 50 tons of silver, 50,000 spirit stones, 100 tons of refined iron?

"I don't know how I am going to find 50,000 spirit stones." Aditya felt it would be impossible to find this many spirit stones.

"The only place where I can find this many spirit stones is the main continent. Outsiders can go to the main continent if only their cultivator is in 5th-order. So for now, I cannot go to the main continent." Aditya can use all of his saved-up experience points to reach 5th order but he wouldn't do that. As it would bring him many unnecessary headaches. It's not like Aditya was in a hurry to build the Dragon Place.

Aditya walked out of the crater only to see how much of the inner region both of their fights had destroyed. It's no wonder why 5th-order cultivators are considered god-like existent in every continent except the main continent.

1/10 of the whole inner region was destroyed by Aditya and Ashley's attacks. Mainly because of Aditya's attack since the whole time Ashley was in defense. Aditya is not sure how many years it would take for the forest to completely repair itself.

Aditya sensed Alicia and others around 15 km away from him. It seems they also know that the battle is over. The group is now heading in Aditya's direction. Aditya decided to use this chance to recover his mana. He cannot fight without mana after all.

"Let's eat one mana and stamina recovery pill." Aditya took out the pills from Ashley's storage ring since he had given every single of his recovery and healing pills to the elite soldiers who unfortunately died at the hand of Ashley.

"Don't worry, I have avenged you all. I will make sure that your family is not mistreated."

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the Heavenly Hemlock forest, the fight hadn't even begun yet. The Ethereal army which was more than 2 million big was currently marching inside the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest. While the mutant fire ant army was marching from the north direction to face the Ethereal army. The commanders of the two armies were Emperor Ronnie and the mutant fire ant queen.

"Your Majesty, the battle has ended." Spoke the man who stood at King Ronnie's right side. This man was Ronnie's, left-hand man. Elder Ronan was one of the few people who has served the previous two Emperors of the Ethereal empire. If there is anybody that King Ronnie respected most after his parents, that person would be Ronan.

Ronan was a beastmen. He had the body of a muscular human while his head and neck were a lion's head and neck. Lionmen was one of the strongest races in the whole world. Lionmen are very intelligent, proud, prideful, loyal, powerful, and very talented on the battlefield. Having a Lion man as a soldier is the same as having 100 human soldiers.

Ronan's past was very sad. The Lion tribe's man was sold as a slave at the age of 7 and later bought to the Westnia continent. Ronnie's grandfather and Alicia's great-grandfather took a liking to Ronan and took him under his wing. From there Ronan was unstoppable. The whole world learned his fierceness on the battlefield. In less than 5 decades, Ronan went from being a normal soldier to become one of the core members of the Ethereal Empire. No matter what type of situation it was, the Lion man always remained calm as lake water.

His fierce fighting style with his calmness earned him the title of Cold bloodthirsty lion. As of today, Ronan was 312 years old. The lion man refused to marry anyone saying that he wants to dedicate his entire life to serving the Ethereal Empire. Even when Ronnie tried to send Ronan to the main continent where he can further improve his cultivation and reach bigger highest, Ronan refused saying that the Ethereal Empire's guardian cannot leave the Empire.

"Who won?" There was a trace of nervousness in Ronnie's tone. As soon as Ronan got near the Heavenly Hemlock forest, the Peak 5th-order beastmen was able to sense the presence of another Peak 5th-order and a beginner 3rd-order. Both cultivators fought like equals. The fact that Ronan sensed a beginner 3rd-order equally fighting a Peak 5th-order, made the beastmen question his own senses. Ronan wondered if he had lost his sharpness and now was sensing stupid and completely illogical things.

But the appearance of a red sun in the distant forest and the scene where countless lightning bolts emerged to become one rainbow of lightning, cleared Ronan's doubt. The lion man was still deeply shocked by the fact that a beginner 3rd-order could fight a peak 5th-order.

Ronan had informed Ronnie of Aditya and Ashley's fight. Ronnie almost sent elder Ronan to help Aditya but he stopped after Ronan told him that there were 12 beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants and a Mid-5th-order mutant fire ant queen approaching in their direction.

Ronan's absence would have left the ethereal army in trouble. As other than Ronnie himself, the Ethereal army did not have any 5th-order cultivators. Also, the fact that Aditya was equally fighting Ashley added more weight to his decision to not send Ronan. All Ronnie did was put his blind faith in Aditya. Sometimes one has to take a leap of faith.

"Your Majesty, you can relax, I cannot feel the presence of that Peak 5th-order anymore. It seems that boy has managed to kill the enemy."

Sigh!

Ronnie felt the weight on his shoulders had been lifted. "What kind of crazy existence is he?" Ronnie looked into the distance. The worry that Ronnie previously had related to his daughter and his son's safety also disappeared knowing that Aditya, Sylvie, and Nora were there with them.

"Your Majesty, the ant is here." It was Coby who said these words. Coby had met his majesty and explained why he was waiting outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 188

The relieved smile on Ronnie's face disappeared and was replaced with an ice-cold look. Ronnie's green eyes became sharp. His eyes held a lot of hatred and anger toward these mutant fire ants. These ants had caused Ronnie a lot of things. So many of his soldiers died and also will die from fighting these mutant fire ants. These ants were responsible for the death of 1.5 million people and the fall of Blackwood city.

Because of these ants, the Ethereal Empire lost 94 capable elite soldiers. There were very high chances that a few of these elite soldiers could have even become 5th-order pillars of the Ethereal Empire. Not just that lives of the Crown Prince and the princess also has been put in danger. Today Ronnie was here to blood. He was here to end the mutant fire ants.

[Fear not my soldiers. For the sake of our loved ones and our homeland, we must kill all the mutant fire ants here today so that another incident like the blackwood city wouldn't take place. Give everything you all got.]

[Charge!!!!!!]

The Emperor's speech boosted the morale of the soldiers. More than 2 million soldiers started running toward the mutant fire ants. Ronnie had spread his 2 million armies to attack from 3 directions. The main army which was made up of 1 million soldiers would attack from the south, while five hundred soldiers would attack from the north and south respectively.

"Elder Ronan, I am afraid I will have to ask you to take care of the beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants."

"Leave it me." Ronan disappeared from Ronnie's side.

Ronnie then turned his attention to the hundred thousand mutant fire ants that were charging in their direction. "Coby, you and other 4th-order, try to take out the 4th-order mutant fire ants. Others will deal with the rest."

With the death of 94 elite soldiers, the Ethereal Empire had lost a big part of its military. Now other than Coby, only 31 elite soldiers were left. Of these 31 elite soldiers, the majority of them were beginner 4th-order cultivators.

Of course, the emperor wasn't just planning on standing there. He was also going to participate in this war. Right now, the number of mutant fire ants that they were facing had already exceeded 10 million. Ronnie could only hope that elder Ronan would quickly finish killing all the beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants then and help them in killing the mutant fire ants.

Standing in the sky, as the sun shined behind Ronnie, he outstretched his right hand while gathering mana in his right palm.

Defiant Chaos Bullets!

For a second the mana around Ronnie became chaotic. The mana around Ronnie began to compress the air. In less than a second more than two thousand air bullets that had been compressed formed around Ronnie.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Over two thousand air bullets were fired by Noah aiming to kill all the 4th-order mutant fire ants that were at the front line.

Just as the Ethereal soldiers and the mutant fire ants were about to start fighting, at the same time all the Defiant Chaos Bullets began hitting over two thousand mutant fire ants at the same. Not even a single Defiant Chaos Bullets missed its target. Ronnie's attack was precise and very accurate. Each of the mana bullets managed to hit the skulls of the 4th-order mutant fire ants. The compressed air bullets did their work.

Just as the bullets easily penetrated the hard and unbreakable scales of the mutant fire ants. The bullets went on to make 2 inches big holes in the mutant fire ants' heads.

At the same time, Coby and other elite soldiers had taken the lead. Coby's heart burned in fury and rage. He was the strongest elite soldier in the Ethereal Empire, yet he was forced to stay outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest. If he had gone with others, then he could have prevented the deaths of other elite soldiers.

Diamond Chain!

By investing [100+] mana, Coby summoned Diamond Chains which were a unique type of chain that can even withstand beginner 5th-order cultivators' attacks. The diamond chains began to reflect the sunlight while being wrapped around Coby's both arms. The reflected light was so intense that a few of the mutant fire ants and some of the soldiers were forced o cover their eyes or close their eyes.

The diamond chains in Coby's hands began to move as if they were snakes. The chains coiled themselves around Coby's both arms, covering both of his hands in diamond Chains. Even his knuckles were covered with Diamond chains.

The next second, the ground beneath Coby cracked like a spider web then a small crater formed as he used his full strength to make a big jump in the air. With the power of the Peak 4th-order cultivator, Coby jumped more than 50 meters in the air. Arriving in front of a group of Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants that were flying in the air.

Peak mutant fire ant that was right in front of Coby let out a shrieking cry before opening its mouth, showing its ugly and frightening white teethes, at the entrance of the ant's mouth, mana began to condense at the shape of a black energy orb.

But before the ant can finish preparing the attack, the ant was met with Coby's fists. Coby whose heart was already burning in anger and rage angrily grabbed the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant in front of him and furiously punched the mutant fire ant's face.

Bang!

"What is this?"

"Is this blood?"

A few soldiers beneath Coby looked up when a few strange organs that were covered in blood fell on their heads, making them feel disgusted. When the soldiers looked up, they found Coby with a Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant. There was a big hole in the mutant fire ant's head. Coby used his other arm to take out his right arm that was inside the disgusting ant's head.

The diamond chains in Coby's right arm were covered in mutant fire ant's blood. Everything happened instantly and the soldiers had no time to react. At the same time, the other Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants fired some kind of strange dark blue blast from their mouths.

Coby coldly smiled. He grabbed the dead body of the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant that he just killed. He used the dead body of the mutant ant to protect himself from blasts.

Booooom!!!!!

The body of the peak 4th-order mutant ant had been shredded to ten thousand small pieces that were currently raining from the sky. At the same time, black smoke covered the sky making it impossible for the soldiers to know what was happening in the sky.

Not even a whole second had passed, when a diamond snake that was actually Coby's diamond chains shot out from the black smoke. The chains moved very quickly making it very difficult for the mutant ants to dodge the chains in time.

The diamond chains moved like snakes. In less than 3 seconds, the remaining mutant fire ants found their movements restricted by the diamond chains. The ants struggled with their might to break free from these chains. No matter how much they tried, whether it was a physical or magical attack nothing seem to work.

The gravity began to pull Coby down. As soon as he landed on the ground, he grabbed the diamond chains and used his full strength to pull the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants down as well. Like stones falling from the sky, the mutant fire ants also fell to the ground while cracking the ground beneath them at the same time.

The soldiers nearby Coby began to attack the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants as soon as they landed on the ground. The poor ants could do nothing but suffer in the hands of weak 3rd-order or 2nd-order soldiers. Eventually, all the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants died.

Meanwhile, Coby did not stop there. He condensed mana in the form of a blue light orb between his palms. He then widened the gap between his palms, extending the blue light orb, and turning it into a 3 meters long light spear.

Coby then threw the light spear at another Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant that was currently fighting against another elite soldier.

"Are you alright?" Before anyone else, Alicia walked up to Aditya and asked him while looking at his wings. Just looking at his wings and his exhausted and slightly pale-looking face, the goddess of wealth felt her heart ache in pain.

"As you can see, I am still alive." Aditya replied with a smile.

"I never thought you would be this powerful." Sylvie's eyes were full of various emotions. She was feeling a little jealous of the fact that her sister managed to get such a charming and powerful man as her partner.

"Hahaha! To be honest, even I wasn't sure if I will be able to beat that old man. I guess got lucky this time." Everyone rolled their eyes hearing Aditya's words.

"We should head back. By now the fight must have started already." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. However, Aditya had some other plans.

"You guys go, I will take a different direction." Aditya was about to leave when Alicia suddenly grabbed his hand.

"You're coming with us." For some reason, the goddess sounded like she won't leave unless Aditya comes with her. Her emerald eyes are full of worry. She was looking very concerned about Aditya's current state.

"I will have to go. With my powers, I can offer help to the Ethereal Empire's army. This can prevent many unnecessary deaths. You don't have to be concerned about my health. Although I can no longer use my wings, not until they heal themselves, my power can make a big difference in this fight." Besides why would Aditya reject free experience points. These mutant fire ants cannot touch him. Maybe the mutant fire ant queen can but other than the queen no one else can harm him.

Alicia still looked hesitant. But after a few seconds of hesitating, she finally released his hand while biting her lips showing that she was not happy with his decision to fight. But Aditya's words had managed to convince her.

"No that I have taken care of the Peak 5th-order and all the mutant fire ants have been called to join the war, you all should be able to exit this forest without any trouble. After the war ends, I will return to the capital with uncle." As Aditya said these words Crimson lightning began to cover his entire body, making cracking sounds.

"Handsome dragon, you better stay alive. This big bigger still hasn't thanked you for saving her life." Nora said these words in a flirtatious tone.

Alicia shot a glare at Aditya making the Dragon king sweat nervously. Aditya felt he needed to leave. After nodding his head to Sylvie and Noah, Aditya disappeared.

Seeing Alicia still coldly looking at her, Nora chuckled while covering her mouth. "Ara! It seems the saying Love can lower IQ is true. You don't have to be so jealous princess. I am just talking about thanking Aditya. But maybe who would I might even personally thank him for using my skills."

"If you even dare to approach him....I will personally kill you." Seeing his serious and calculative sister also known as the goddess being angered like this, Noah shook his head with a helpless smile. It seems his sister was really in love.

"Haha! I heard dragons are very energetic in bed." Seeing Nora further provoking Alicia, Sylvie didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Ever since Aditya appeared, she has been seeing different sides of her best friend.

"Let's go. We shouldn't waste our time here."

Meanwhile, Aditya was moving in pain. Also, the wind was hitting his wings making Aditya's speed much slower. "If only I had 4-star or 5-star healing pills." Aditya never asked Julia to make 4-star or 5-star healing pills as he never needed them. Before Ashley, Aditya always managed to defeat his enemy without seriously getting injured.

Meanwhile, the situation on the battlefield was chaotic and very destructive. It was mainly the 3rd-order, 4th-order, and 5th-order, cultivators and mutant fire ants that dominated the entire battlefield. While the second-order and the 1st-order were like cannon fodders. Just the shockwave of a 3rd-order cultivator's attack is enough to kill 2nd-order or 1st-order cultivators.

With each passing second, even with 2,000,000 big troops, the Ethereal Empire's side began to find themselves pressured. It had to be noted that the mutant fire ant's number was over 10,000,000. Besides, the ants were able to fly and attack from the sky. This only made things more difficult and the situation more serious and threatening for the Ethereal Empire's soldiers.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 189

Not even 5 minutes had passed since this massive war had started. The Emperor has been crazily killing 4th-order and 5th-order mutant fire ants. Although the Emperor was a mage, added with his natural high mana reserve and his health, his physical strength was even higher than the physical strength of a warrior-type beginner 5th-order cultivator.

Right now the Emperor was seen fighting while being surrounded by 11 Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants. But despite being surrounded, there wasn't even a scratch or bruise on the Emperor's body. Besides covering his body with mana, Ronnie was also wearing 4-star armor that was covering almost every part of his body except for his face and his palms.

One of the mutant fire ants came forward with the intention of taking advantage of the fact that the Emperor was casting a magic attack. The mutant ant wanted to land a critical strike on the Emperor while he was distracted to use launch his magic attack.

Just before the ant's claw could reach Ronnie, a hand muscular hand grabbed the ant's throat. The Peak 4th-order ant began to tremble when the Emperor looked at him. Ronnie easily crushed the mutant fire ant's throat using his right hand.

On his left hand, he had condensed his mana into a White light orb. The orb was around the size of his fist.

The other ants charged at Ronnie, with the intention of attacking him while he was occupied. But these ants were severely underestimating the power of a beginner 5th-order. Ronnie threw the dead mutant fire ant at the other ants like he was throwing trash. This forced the other ants to stop in their tracks.

Angry Nova Bullet!

The white delicate-looking fist-size white orb shot out from Noah's right palm at the Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants.

Just as the white orb hit the ants, the orb suddenly expanded in size. The mutant fire ants found themselves inside the white orb. The ants failed to understand what was happening. Ronnie tossed the White orb in some random direction.

The 10 meters large white orb suddenly fell on the horde of mutant fire ants without any notice. More fire ants found themselves trapped in the white fragile-looking orb.

Snap!

With the snap of Ronnie's finger, the white orb started to shine brightly in white light. The Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants understood what was happening. All the ants tried to break the thin and weak-looking membrane to get out. But despite looking thin and weak, the membrane did not even move even when the mutant fire ants used their full strength.

The next second, the Ethereal Empire's soldiers heard a loud explosion sound. Ronnie coldly smiled looking at the black mushroom cloud that rose in the air. At the same time, the army of ants stopped when small pieces of meat, scales, bones, etc, began falling from the sky.

At a direction part of the battlefield, at the end of the mutant fire ant army, currently, all the remaining 12 beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants were looking very frightened and timid in the presence of a Peak 5th-order cultivator.

"Human, join us. We don't mind sharing our treasures and wealth with you. Help us in conquering the Ethereal empire." One of the humans looking like a mutant fire ant slyly smiled. He wanted to bring this Peak 5th-order cultivator to their side. If this man comes to their side, the Ethereal Empire will lose the war.

Right now besides the 5th-order mutant fire ants, Ronan found himself surrounded by almost endless numbers of mutant fire ants. But despite being surrounded, the lion looked very calm. There was even a smirk on Ronan's face as he looked at the mutant fire ant that just proposed him to change sides.

"That's an interesting proposal. I am very interested. Tell me what can you offer me?" Ronan crossed his arms on his chest and looked at the mutant fire ants.

Hearing Ronan's words, all the fifth-order mutant fire ants sighed in relief. The frightened look on their faces disappeared. Even the mutant fire ant queen who has been paying attention to the conversation through her children was also relieved.

"We have spirit stones. We have gold, silver, copper, and cold iron. Various types of 3-star and 4-star rare fruits grew in this forest. Consuming these fruits can accelerate one's cultivation. I promise that as long as you promise to help us out, we will do everything to repay you."

Ronan raised an eyebrow in surprise. Though he had heard of spirit stones, as far as he knew there wasn't even a single spirit stone in the Ethereal Empire's treasury. Not even the Emperor knew about Spirit stones. And here some overgrown ant was offering him spirit stones. "I wonder how did you manage to find spirit stones?"

Spirit stones can mostly be found in the main continent. Finding even the low-grade spirit stones anywhere outside the main continent was extremely rare. Even in Ronan's long life, he had seen spirit stones only a few times and that was also when Ronnie's father was alive and was ruling the Ethereal Empire.

The ant mysteriously smiled. "Sir, this is our secret. I am afraid I cannot share it with you. But our queen promises you to share half of our spirit stones if you agree to help us out."

"Now your words have made me even more interested. What about these rare 4-star fruits that you're speaking of?"

"Sir, these fruits are what has made us this strong. To us, the value of these fruits is more valuable than the spirit stones. But we're willing to share 5 of these fruits with you as long as you can help us."

'So this is how the mutant fire ants were able to produce this many beginner 5th-order mutant ants in such a short time. Just how long it has taken these filthy ants to kill every single magical animal in this forest?'

"I like your proposal." Hearing this, all the mutant fire ants smiled. But the next second the smile on Ronan's face disappeared as if it never existed. And was replaced with a murderous face. "This guardian shall never betray the Ethereal Empire."

Swoosh!

One by one, the bodies of beginner 5th-order mutant fire ants began falling to the ground. Within 4 seconds, all 12 fifth-order mutant fire ants were lying dead on the ground. Their wide-open eyes reflected the shock and fear they had before dying.

In the distance, the mutant fire ant queen, almost roared in anger when Ronan killed her strongest 12 children.

"Damn you!!!!!!"

The queen almost lost her mind. Even with the 4-star fruit that she used, it had taken 4 years and a lot of resources to raise her children's strength to fifth-order. Now, they were dead in less than 5 seconds.

"Curse you." The ant guardians who were standing behind the queen trembled in fear seeing their queen in anger. This was the first time they had seen their queen looking so angry.

Sigh!

It took Scarlet 5 minutes to finally calm her emotions. But she still looked very frustrated and angry. Even though she had over 10 million ant armies, she knew that it was just a matter of time before all of her ants were killed by the Ethereal Empire. There could have been a high chance of the Ethereal Empire losing if Ronan, the Peak 5th-order cultivator wasn't on their side.

Scarlet took out the communication artifact that she was given by the organization. [Leader I need your help. Are you there?] Scarlet tried to contact the organization leader.

After 3 minutes of impatient waiting, the leader finally responded. [Scarlet, tell me how is everything going on?] Scarlet felt like roaring again hearing the chuckling tone of the organization's leader.

Here, her children were dying. They were losing this war, and the leader was chuckling....? Scarlet felt that she had made a mistake joining this organization. [Leader, we desperately need reinforcement. I need someone who can take care of that Peak 5th-order guardian of the Ethereal Empire.]

Before Ashley had told scarlet, the organization is going to send reinforcements to help Scarlet out in this war. But the reinforcement is yet to come. Scarlet, right now was in desperate need of reinforcement.

[My dead Scarlet, on behalf of The League of the Black Tomb, we thank you for your service. Without you and your dear ant armies, this wouldn't have been possible. I cannot express how grateful I am.]

Scarlet's pupils contracted to the size of needles. Her entire body started trembling. Her legs lost their strength to stand as a result she fell to the ground on her butt. She was blankly staring at the space in deep shock and in despair.

[Le....Lead....Leader, wha..wwhat are you saying?] Scarlet asked in a stuttering tone.

[My dead Scarlet, please take care of yourself. You have fulfilled your purpose. We might meet someday, that is if you managed to live. Hehe!] Saying that the voice disconnected.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 190

[My dead Scarlet, please take care of yourself. You have fulfilled your purpose. We might meet someday, that is if you managed to live. Hehe!] Saying that the voice disconnected.

The guardian mutant fire ants that were standing behind the queen were expecting the queen to have a strong reaction, however, contrary to what they had expected, the queen simply closed her eyes while massaging her forehead with her right hand.

Time continued to pass. Seconds turned into minutes. Seeing the queen in deep thought the guards looked at each other, not knowing what they should do in these situations. While it was true that the mutant fire ants were intelligent, when it came to emotional aspects, they were lacking a lot. Other than their queen and a few other 5th-order mutant fire ants, no one else from the mutant fire ant colony had ever visited the human cities in disguise.

After almost 10 minutes of silence, Scarlet finally opened her eyes and showed a bitter smile. She was in a stage where the option of retreating or escaping had been erased. Knowing the existence of the Peak 5th-order cultivator that the Ethereal Empire had, even if the queen tried to run away, Ronan would be easily able to sense her Aura and catch her.

"Since I am going to die, I will also drag you and the organization with me." The queen bought out a diary from her storage ring and then began to write something in human language which she had learned after visiting human cities in disguise before.

Battlefield,

The situation on the battlefield was very cruel and bloody. It was possible to smell blood and iron even ten thousand meters away. At first glance, it looked like the Ethereal Empire's troops were being pushed back but in reality, the situation was way more complicated than that. While the mutant fire ants' army was made up of more than 10,000,000 million ants, the ants lacked something which every Ethereal soldier had been taught.

While the ants randomly attacked anyone they saw in front of them, the soldiers stayed in their formation and continued to fight back without losing their ground. The mages were at the back with siege weapons. While mages continuously launched powerful magical spells at the mutant fire ants, the siege weapons launched powerful strikes capable of killing 100 3rd-order mutant fire ants with a single shot.

Being the strongest Empire of the Westnia continent, The Ethereal Empire had one of the best siege weapons in the whole continent. Each cannon was powerful enough to even kill a Peak 4th-order mutant fire ant with a single shot. And this time, the Emperor had bought one hundred thousand cannons, Ballistas, Siege Towers, and Trebuchets for this war. While the cannons were undoubtfully the strongest among the other siege weapons.

Wooden siege towers were tall constructions that could fit many men inside. They could provide crossbowmen and archers with a higher (and therefore better) position to shoot from. A trebuchet is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. Each projectile was powerful as a missile. The projectiles were made from a special metal that is found in volcanic regions. After reaching a certain speed limit and upon colliding with an object or living being, the metal would explode. The same metal was also used in Ballista, however, in terms of destruction powers, the trebuchet comes at the top after magic cannons.

Although the Ethereal Empire hasn't been to any war for a few decades now, Ronnie had made sure to continuously strengthen the Ethereal Empire's military. Right now, each soldier had a 2-star armor set, weapon, and healing potions with them.

While the soldiers fought the mutant fire ants, the 4th-order mutant ants were being killed by the Emperor, all the remaining elite soldiers, and Ronan. All these things made the Ethereal army very strong and durable. The only thing that was making things difficult for the ethereal army was the ant's annoying ability to fly.

On the other side,

The sunny blue Azure sky suddenly started to darken as dark clouds began to gather. This happened in less than 10 seconds. Eventually, everyone stopped fighting and looked up, not understanding how the weather was changing this fast. Some of the strong Peak 4th-order mutant fire ants seem to have felt the change.

On the sky, Alicia and Noah's father, the Emperor stopped after killing hundreds of 3rd-order mutant fire ants with his White Nova blast attack and looked at the sky with a frown. "What is happening?" As far as the Emperor knew, no one in his military had the power to affect the weather. Unless...

"It's Aditya." Ronnie's eyes lit up as he started sensing Aditya's Aura around 25 km away. Aditya was approaching from the north. Since Aditya was here, Ronnie guessed that his daughter and his son must have left the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

On the other side,

Aditya used [500+] of his mana to use one of his skills that he never used before. This was the skill that Aditya always wanted to use but never found the perfect opportunity to use it.

Acid Rain!

?Ding! The host has summoned a storm.?

?Ding! Passive powers of the host's Storm Marshall class now will come into effect. The host's mana reserve has been increased by 50%. The host's lightning and wind type attack powers has been increased by 50%, The host has gained [300+] agility stats.?

?Ding! The passive skill Acid Rain has been activated.?

?Acid Rain?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - Another special skill that was learned because of having Storm Marshall class. The skill gives the user the ability to manipulate the weather to a certain extent.?

?Function 1: - By exhausting [500+] mana, the user can summon powerful acid rain that can kill even a Peak 3rd-order. The cultivators whose cultivation is one order high than the host's cultivation have a 50% chance of not getting hurt by this acid rain. The power of acid rain decrease with high-order beings. For every 100-meter area, [50+] mana is required.

Function 2: - The host can control the size, power, and intensity of the acid rain.

Function 3: - By consuming [500+], the host can also summon normal rain.?

Aditya looked at the dark clouds which had covered over 1000 meters of the sky. Aditya wasn't satisfied yet. He invested another [1000+] mana in the attack to make the dark clouds expand. In the next few seconds, the dark clouds started expanding. Now over 3000 meters of the sky was covered in dark clouds. Aditya's face became pale from the loss of his mana. Fortunately had activated the Storm Manipulation skill which had increased his current mana to [5,851+]

The mutant fire ants stopped paying attention to the dark clouds that were continuously expanding. Even if it started to rain, it's not like they anything will happen to them. The southwest part of the sky was practically covered with millions of mutant fire ants. All these ants were flying. Under the queen's order, these ants were now planning on attacking from the sky. Scarlet wanted to leave a big scar on the Ethereal Empire's army even if it would mean the cost of her own children.

pitter-patter!

A few green raindrops fall from the sky. These green raindrops happened to fall on the body of a beginner 3rd-order mutant fire ant. As soon as the green raindrops fall on the ant's body, the ant's entire body jerked up as if the ant has been shocked by electricity. The place where the raindrops fell, started burning.

In the next few seconds, millions of green raindrops began falling from the sky. In less than 5 seconds, an area of 3000 meters has been covered with green rainfall. Each green rain drop was very lethal for the mutant fire ants. The ant's hard red scale was melted like butter and their flesh was burned upon contact.

From the sky, Ronan and Ronnie, both of them stopped killing the mutant fire ants and looked at the scene in deep shock. Ronan and Ronnie noticed that the green rain water was instantly killing any plant or tree or insect that came in its path. In a few seconds, thousands of 1st-order and second-order mutant fire ants died. These ants didn't even have the slightest bit of resistance against the Acid rain.

While the 3rd-order ants were able to survive for a few seconds, eventually they also died. In less than 5 seconds, all the mutant fire ants started running here and there; they started to escape this hellish rain. Even the Mid 5th-order powerful mutant fire ant queen, lost her control over her children.

While Aditya stood under the green rain but nothing happened to him. This was because he was totally immune to his own attack. The acid rain won't harm him without his will. Aditya was enjoying the massive number of experience points that he was getting each second.

"I feel like I am making a fortune."

?Ding! You have killed a 1st-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 1st-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 3rd-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 2nd-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 1st-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

To make matters even worse for the mutant fire ants, Aditya was able to move the dark clouds in any direction that he wished. Meaning even if the mutant fire ants tried to run, it was useless.

"What type of power is that?" Ronan and Ronnie both noticed that the acid rain did not harm them. However, the rain was harming the 4th-order mutant fire ants.

"Everyone, stay back. Do not come near this acid rain." Ronnie's voice was enhanced with mana and every Ethereal Empire's troop was able to hear his words.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 191

This chapter is dedicated to the readers [Mark_Campos_5123], and [Yam_Van_5538] for gifting this novel with many ice colas to this novel.

Thank you very much to the readers [Mark_Campos_5123], [Yam_Van_5538].

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 2nd-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 1st-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase....?

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! Soul Blaze has reached 84.3%.?

With Ronnie's orders, the Ethereal troops slowly began to move away from the Acid rain. The acid rain was extremely dangerous. Especially for anyone below 4th order. Even a 4th-order wouldn't be able to stay in the acid rain for too long. After a certain point, their bodies would also start burning.

It hasn't been even 20 seconds since the acid rain started and all the grasses, trees, bushes, and insects have been burned. Even the dead bodies of the mutant fire ants were starting to melt and mix with the soil.

Seeing that the ants are trying to run away from his acid rain, Aditya controlled the clouds and began to move the dark clouds.

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 2nd-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase 1st-order mutant fire ant. You have gained experience points.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid phase....?

?Ding! Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

?Ding! Soul Blaze has reached 100%.?

?Ding! The passive effect of Soul Blaze has been triggered. For the 10 minutes, all of the host's stats will be increased by 45%.?

Both Ronan and Ronnie stopped fighting. Both of them looked in Aditya's direction in shock. Both of them can clearly feel Aditya's Aura sharply increasing. It is as if he was breaking through 3rd-order but in reality, his powers were getting stronger but his cultivation remained the same.

"I should have loved to use Inferno Overdrive in this state." Since both Inferno Overdrive and Soul Blaze were skills that increased his stats, Aditya wanted to see how strong he will become while both skills together.

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Lightning Armor!

Storm Flight!

"Given the current state of my wings, flying more than 5 minutes would only worsen my wing's condition." Thanks to the Peak 3-star that Julia had made for him, Aditya's dragon wings were slowly healing. In these kinds of situations, he really wished to have some form of healing-type skills. The pain had decreased a lot. Aditya now can barely feel the pain from his burned wings. -

"Uncle, I want to do something."

Ronnie fired another white Nova bullet toward the horde of mutant fire ants that was charging in his direction. He then turned his attention to Aditya. "What is it?"

"I need Uncle and Elder Ronan to make a strong barrier to protect the Ethereal soldiers. Because what I am going to try will be utter chaos." Saying that Aditya did not wait for Ronnie's response. He opened his wings and started flying up.

"What he is trying to do?"

"I am not sure. By now around 1.5 to 2 million mutant fire ants have fallen. While other than some of our injured soldiers, not that many soldiers have died. Our number is still above 2 million." Ronan gave a brief report to Ronnie. Meanwhile, the Emperor was looking up. He was trying to see Aditya beyond the dark clouds.

"What about the queen? Did you manage to find her?" Ronnie wanted to kill the mutant fire ant queen as soon as possible. The queen was the brain of the entire mutant fire ant army. Without the queen, the ants would become wild animals.

"Yes, I have managed to detect a strong Mid-5th-order presence in the inner region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest." Ronan was a sensory-type cultivator. Besides having raw strength and brutal force, he was also a sensory cultivator. Unlike a normal Peak 5th-order cultivator whose senses cannot reach the inner region, Ronan being a sensory type cultivator, his senses were able to cover almost half of the inner region. And the Heavenly Hemlock forest was even bigger than the entire Ethereal empire.

Sensory cultivators are those with a very high affinity toward sensing Mana. Every living being has Mana in their body. Each cultivator has a unique signatory Aura. Every cultivator releases a very small amount of mana. Usually, this amount is so small that the cultivator wouldn't even feel it. Unless the cultivator completely learns to suppress mana in the body or the cultivator uses some special artifact or runes to hide his Aura, it is impossible to hide Aura. For someone like Ronan who is a sensory-type cultivator, within a second he can tell how the number of enemies that they were facing by reading all the Auras that are very slightly disturbing the flow of the mana in the atmosphere.

"I believe the queen is hiding in her lair. Should I kill her?" Ronan has been keeping an eye on the queen for a while now. If the queen tried to escape he was going to chase her to the end of the continent and then kill her.

"Wait a few minutes. Let's create a barrier. I am curious to know what Aditya is going to do now. Make sure to keep an eye on the queen."

Meanwhile, the Dragon Monarch continued to fly up. He continued to move at his full speed that had reached [2034+]. In a few minutes, Aditya was above 5000 meters. This continued till he was almost 10,000 meters which were 33,000 feet above the ground.

Crimson Blaze!

Crimson flames covered Aditya's burned wings. However, the Crimson flame did not harm Aditya. He was completely fine.

Aditya currently had [6308+] mana adding a 45% boost that he got after the inferno overdrive was activated. Earlier Aditya had used [1500+] mana to make the acid rain. Now he was going to use the Crimson with all of his remaining mana.

As Aditya started investing more and more of his Mana in the Crimson blaze, the Crimson flame started expanding everywhere. In a few seconds, the size of the Crimson flames had reached 1,000 meters and the flame was still continuously expanding without showing signs of stopping. Aditya was at the center of a massive red Crimson orb that now threatened to devour the entire sky. Each second as the size of the Crimson flame expanded, Aditya's face also continued to become paler.

Mysterious Angel Flash!

On the ground, Coby who was the strongest elite soldier of the Ethereal Empire used one of his strongest attacks. Coby moved like a ghost. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind 4 Peak fourth-order mutant fire ants. Before the ants can react, the diamond chain shot out from his arms and wrapped around the mutant fire ants. The diamond chains prevented the ants from moving.

"I will be using you to heal myself. Health Drain!" Suddenly the diamond chain started shining in green color. Green color energy began flowing out of the mutant fire ant's bodies to Coby's body. The small cuts, bruises, and the 1-meter-long cut on his right shoulder, all started healing at a rapid naked speed.

"Coby, I also need some healing." Coby turned to look to his right. At his right, one of his best friends, Isaac was standing. Isaac was also a powerful Peak 4th-order cultivator but he never was able to defeat Coby in battle. Mainly because of the annoying diamond chains that Coby possesses.

"You look completely fine to me." Coby couldn't see any serious wounds on his friend's body.

"Brother, I have internal injuries. If you let me touch your breasts my wounds will automatically heal."

Coby rolled his eyes. "Seriously if you got time to joke around, then just go and keep killing the mutant fire ants."

Coby then ignored Isaac. "Coby, look up." Coby did not look up thinking that Isaac was joking with him again. "Isaac, this isn't the place to joke around. You shou.....I am serious, Idiot. Just look up."

As soon as Coby raised his head, the words that he was about to say to Isaac got stuck in his throat as his eyes bulged outward. His pupils started trembling fiercely while his face turned pale.

"What the hell is this?"

Ronan and Ronnie didn't have to wait long to know why Aditya had asked them to make a barrier. The dark clouds were pushed away, revealing a massive Crimson sun descending on everyone. Every soldier and mutant fire ant stopped fighting and looked at the sky. Some soldiers began to feel that this was the end of the world. The day of judgment was here. The size of the Crimson orb was out of this world. Seeing this huge thing, even Ronan, the Peak 5th-order cultivator, someone who stood at the very top of this continent, felt his throat go dry.

"Is he trying to kill us or what?" The size of this Crimson orb had already exceeded the 10,000 meters mark. This thing was so massive that, everyone who lived in the central region of the Westnia was able to see this red sun descending. Anyone who looked at this massive thing was frightened.

Somewhere far away, Alicia, Noah, Nora, and Sylvie, all of them had just exited the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

"Now that we're out of the Heavenly Hemlock forest, Sylvie, please take both prince Noah and Princess Alicia back to the capital. I will join this war." As an elder of the Ethereal Empire, the beginner 5th-order Succubus wanted to join this war.

"I will also join the war." As the next Emperor, Noah would never run away from war. He wanted to fight beside his father.

"Sylvie, you all three can leave. I can go back to the capital alone..." Alicia had not even finished saying her words when she felt the sun was shining too brightly for some reason. When the goddess of wealth raised her head and looked up, her mind for a second stopped processing and just blankly stared at the red giant sun that was descending.

Noah, Sylvie, and Nora also had similar types of reactions. After a few seconds of silence, all four looked at each other at the same time. "This bastard. Is he trying to wipe out the entire Ethereal Army or what?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 192

"Ronan, I will need your help." Desperate times call for desperate measures. This massive red orb can take out everyone if no one does anything about it.

"I am already working on it." Ronan let out a loud roar before investing all of his mana into creating a huge barrier that separated the Mutant fire ants from the Ethereal soldiers. Ronnie followed Ronan and added all of his remaining mana in enhancing the defensive capabilities of the barrier. Following their Majesty, all the Ethereal soldiers, one by one began to pour their mana into the barrier, making the transparent barrier more and more stronger with each second.

Some mutant fire ants tried to run away but those mutant fire ants found themselves unable to move as Ronan was pressuring them using his cultivation. Ronnie was also doing the same. The combined effort from Ronan, Ronnie, and other elite soldiers had managed to kill all the remaining 4th-order mutant fire ants. As for the 4th-order mutant fire ants that managed to survive, those ants were seriously injured and under the pressure of a Peak 5th-order, they couldn't move at all.

The barrier stretched out more than 10,000 meters. It separated the mutant fire ants and the Ethereal soldiers. The 2 million soldiers began to pour their reserved mana making the mana barrier stronger and tougher. A few seconds later, the massive red sun that was over 10,000 meters big was only 1000 meters away from impacting the ground. Even from 1000 meters, even though the Ethereal soldiers were currently protected by a dome structure-like transparent barrier, they were still able to feel the terrifying heat of the Crimson flames.

The heat that was radiating from the more than 10,000 meters big Crimson orb caused all the plants, trees, insects, and the few remaining animals that lived in the forest to instantly die from the heat. Even before the attack could hit them, all the 1st-order mutant fire ants died unable to withstand the heat. While the second-order and third-order mutant fire ants' were barely resisting. Another second later, the dead bodies of the mutant fire ants began to burn without even being in contact with the Crimson flame.

The temperature of the outer region of the Heavenly Hemlock forest had reached a terrifying level. Just the Crimson orb was only 500 meters above the ground, the intense light from the orb had forced almost everyone other than Ronan and Ronnie to close their eyes.

And finally, the impact happened.

Boooooooom!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as such a massive attack impacted the ground, the entire central continent felt earth-shaking. Every citizen of the Ethereal Empire at that moment heard a rumbling sound. That day it was said that the sky had been painted red. It was the day when more than 10,000,000 mutant fire ants had died. Not just died, but their bodies have been turned to ashes.

With the Empire shaking explosion, a huge shockwave spread everywhere. The shockwave was so terrifying that it literally destroyed anything or any being that got in its way. The shockwave has been said to spread more than 100 km away. The entire outer region of the heavenly Hemlock forest was destroyed. The attack had started a big forest fire in the inner region of the Heavenly Hemlock Forest.

Alicia's POV____

What is he doing? Is he trying to kill everyone? At this moment I couldn't understand what was happening. This massive attack was strong enough to destroy a large part of the Ethereal Empire. Not even a Beginner or Mid phase 5th-order cultivator would be able to withstand such a massive-scale attack.

Also, it was not just any ordinary type of flame attack. These flames are called the Crimson flame, one of the strongest and most dangerous flames in the whole world. It is said that the Crimson flame can also burn souls.

"I don't what happened on the battlefield. I believe Aditya is not a reckless person." Alicia noticed Sylvie creating an energy bubble that completely surrounded them.

And it finally happened. The massive Crimson orb impacted the ground with a blood-curdling sound. Just hearing the sound of an explosion, I felt my heart had stopped beating and my mind had stopped processing.

In my entire life, I have never seen something like this. The fact that Aditya was able to do something was mind-blowing.

'I just hope nothing happens to father.' Alicia silently prayed in her heart. Just as the crimson orb hit the ground, a massive flame of mushroom cloud rose in the air. Following the flame mushroom cloud, a huge shockwave spread in every direction. In less than a few seconds, the shockwave was in front of them.

Just as the shockwave was about to hit them, Alicia closed her eyes.

Boom!

A few seconds later she opened her eyes. When she looked at the land in front of her, it was as if she had come to a different place. Everything in front of her had changed. There was no sign of greenery and tall trees. Everything that previously described the beauty and the structure of the Heavenly Hemlock forest had changed into something else.

It only made Alicia wonder if, after today, this place will be called a forest or something else. Black smoke had covered the entire area, preventing Alicia from properly seeing anything. But when she looked down, she couldn't help but widened her eyes in deep shock seeing the soil itself had been burned black. Volcanic ashes were everywhere in the air.

"What in the hell did I just witness?" Alicia couldn't agree more with the Succubus's words. Even though Alicia did not like her, her words described Alicia's current feelings the best.

"Maybe a glimpse of what Hell looks like." Noah replied in a low tone.

End of POV____

The place where previously the ground had been dyed with blood. The place which previously had dead bodies of both Ethereal soldiers and mutant fire ants and the place which previously used to be a lush green forest now had changed into something else. The attack left a permanent mark on this land which the people will never forget even after 500 years. This place in the future will become the place of legends and myths.

Almost half of the Heavenly Hemlock forest sky at this moment was covered in ashes and in black smoke. The outer region where the war was being fought now had one of the biggest and also the deepest craters in the whole world.

At the center of the crater, a handsome young man with long blue hair was sitting on the ground with a pale face and breathing heavily as if trying to suck as much oxygen as possible. The young man looked like he could faint at any given moment. His face and body had become pale. It looked like all the blood in his body had lost color and had become white.

Right now, the Dragon Monarch wasn't feeling so good. This was the first time after having the black heart, Aditya had completely used up his huge mana reserve. Compared to a Peak 5th-order cultivator, at the base level, Aditya's mana reserve was more than 3 times bigger. The amount of mana that he had used in this attack was simply colossal.

At this moment, in Aditya's mind, like a broken alarm clock, the system was continuously ringing. This was the record of the millions of mutant fire ants that the Dragon Monarch had just killed.

On the other side, the dome-like barrier that was over 10,000 meters big had filled with hundreds if not thousands of cracks. Ronan and Ronnie, both of their faces looked quite pale. Both of them had used up all of their mana.

Many mutant fire ants tried to run away but the shockwave of the attack had burned them to ashes. Now the only one that remained from the Mutant fire ant was the queen herself.

At the same time, somewhere in the inner region, in an underground chamber, there was a man who had entered the heavenly Hemlock forest and wasn't sensed by Ronan. This man had an artifact that allowed him to cover his Aura, making it impossible for anyone to sense him.

The man had long white hair that reached down his waist and an extremely handsome-looking face. The man had two white pairs of wings on his back that made others think that he was an angel. Similar to his white hair and enhancing his otherworldly handsomeness, the man was wearing a white Yukata.

Right now the man was looking staring at Scarlet. The current mutant fire ant queen looked like a beggar in front of the man. The bodyguard of the queen was lying dead 10 meters away from her. Even though the queen was sitting on a throne that was made up of gold, in front of that man she looked like a frightened ant. The noble and cold Aura around the queen was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello, Scarlet! How have you been doing?" Scarlet couldn't reply because her body was trembling. She wasn't trembling because of fear, her body was shaking from anger. The death of her children had made her furious.

"Because you and the organization abandoned me and my children. Now everyone is dead." It had taken the queen almost an entire decade of hard work to expand the mutant fire ant colony to this size. 10 years of hard work were ruined in less than 5 minutes.

"I see." Suddenly the smile on the man's face changed. Before the mutant fire ant queen could react, she found a sword stabbing her heart.

Cough!!!!

"Why?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 193

"I see." Suddenly the smile on the man's face changed. Before the mutant fire ant queen could react, she found a sword stabbing her heart.

Scarlet widened her eyes in disbelief and in utter shock. She never thought Jay would betray her. Cough!!!!

Scarlet coughed out. She looked at Jay in a mix of regret and sadness. Why did the very person whom Scarlet trusted had betrayed her?

"Why?"

Red blood came out of her chest and fell to her thighs and then to the ground. Each second Scarlet was losing her health. She was only alive this long because as a Mid-5th-order cultivator her health stat was very high. At the moment of her death, she wanted to know why she was betrayed by the very person whom she trusted. She wanted to know why she was betrayed by the organization.

Jay smiled and then gently stroked Scarlet's right cheek. Seeing him look at her like this only added more pain and regret to her heart.

"The organization always had plans of betraying you. You were nothing but a cover for us. Because of you, we were able to complete the first phase of the plan."

"To be honest, Scarlet I always hated the fact that you were a Mutant fire ant. I know that you have feelings for me. And I would have loved you back but the thought of loving a mutant fire ant who has millions of children doesn't really go suit my taste." The more Scarlet listened the more tears fell from her eyes. Each of Jay's words was stabbing her heart.

This man once had held her in his arms and had said that he loved her regardless of her race. Scarlet still remembers the day when Jay had said those words to her. These words had made her heart warm. That day was one of the happiest days of her entire life.

"We never thought that the husband of the goddess of alchemy would come here. We were not expecting him to have this frightening power. To think he managed to destroy over ten million of your children with just a single attack is really frightening." Aditya's appearance forced the organization to change its entire plan.

"I never did anything to betray the organization. I have always completed all the orders that I was given. So why?"

Jay once again smiled while gently patting her head. "The only reason why we approached you is because of your race. You and your children were always meant to be cannon fodders for The League of the Black Tomb."

"Let's just say even if you had won the war against the Ethereal Empire, after a short period, you would have run out of food once again. At that time you would have no choice but to attack other Empires to secure food. The organization already had invested billions of gold coins in you and your children. Do you even realize just how absurd this amount this? This cannot go on any longer. Now that you and your children have done their part, you have no use to us."

Scarlet showed a bitter smile. From the beginning, she was the puppet.

"Another reason why I personally came to kill you is that you know too much about The League of the Black Tomb. I am sure you would have tried to leak this information to the Ethereal Empire in anger for being betrayed by The League of the Black Tomb."

"I see." If Scarlet had the strength, she would have killed Jay with her. If she is going to die, then she might as well take Jay with her.

Ignoring Scarlet's smile which was filled with bitterness and sadness, Jay continued. "The death of old man Ashley was a big wave of shock to us. I never imagined the old man would be killed by someone who isn't even a 5th-order cultivator. He was just like a mentor to me. He had thought me how to wield a spear. The fact that I couldn't save my master makes my blood boil in anger." Jay tightly clenched his fists in anger. If the organization had not stopped him, Jay would have gone on to kill Aditya.

After the battle with Ashley, Aditya was at his weakest. Jay could have easily killed them at that time. But The League of the Black Tomb had different plans. Jay had no choice but to hold himself back. If he does not obey their leader's order, just thinking of the hellish torture that is going to befall him made him shudder in fear.

"It's sad that my teacher never got to fulfill his wish. His wish was left unfilled. As his student, I will make sure to walk down my teacher's path and complete what he and the organization have started." Jay then turned his focus on Scarlet whose face now had become pale. Scarlet was breathing heavily. In a few more seconds she would die.

Jay leaned forward and bought his face closer to Scarlet. The former mutant fire ant queen weakly looked at the man whom she had once learned to love. The sadness in Scarlet's eyes cannot be described in words.

"Don't worry, Honey. I will make sure to remember your name as well. This is the least I can do to honor the person who had become our cannon fodder. Scarlet, before you close your eyes forever, I want you to answer my question."

Jay looked behind the golden throne. The treasure that lay behind the golden throne was gone. Before all the treasures that the mutant fire ants had always kept behind the throne but now everything was gone.

"Honey, where are all the treasures?" A third reason why Jay had taken this mission is that he wanted all the treasure of the mutant fire ant queen for himself. Especially the spirit stones that Scarlet had managed to find in the Heavenly Hemlock forest would help Jay to advance his cultivation.

Even though Jay's tone was very soft and comforting, he couldn't hide his greed for the treasures that Scarlet had collected.

Huff! Huff!

Scarlet weakly smiled at Jay in response. "Your time will also come. I will be waiting for you in hell. Karma is real and it will come chasing you." Hearing these words and seeing the mocking smile on Scarlet's face, the gentle smile on Jay's replace was instantly replaced with an angry face. Without waiting for a second, Jay's right fist punched Scarlet's face.

Bang!

"You Bitch!"

Jay did not stop there. Not caring about the blood that was oozing out of Scarlet's nose and her mouth, he continued to punch her another 6 times.

After punching Scarlet's face for the 7th time, Jay finally calmed down. His knuckles were covered in Scarlet's blood. Jay looked at Scarlet's face which now had become unrecognizable. The bones of her face were broken and her face was currently covered in blood. In terms of beauty, Scarlet was one of the best-looking females on the whole continent of Westnia. But now, everything was gone. No one would think that Scarlet was a beautiful woman.

After Jay's second punch, Scarlet already had taken her final breath while being punched by the very person whom she loved.

Scarlet wasn't exactly an innocent person either. Hunger and her situation had forced her to commit many bad things in her entire life. It was because of her order that the lives of 1.5 million people were lost. Scarlet and her ant army had practically wiped out every single mutant animal and normal animal and every other edible thing from the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

Following The League of the Black Tomb order, the mutant fire ant queen had killed many innocent people over the last few years. Even when she was ordered to kill just a 4 years old child, Scarlet showed no hesitation or no mercy.

Sigh!

"At least, I am done with my mission." Jay sighed as he looked at Scarlet's dead body one last time before turning around to leave as he sensed someone coming to this place. Jay was strictly ordered to not expose himself in front of anyone.

"Before killing her, I should have at least slept with her once," Jay murmured these words while he flew out of the Heavenly Hemlock forest.

Not even an entire minute had passed since Jay had left the queen's lair when Aditya came to the mutant fire ant base. After walking for a while, Aditya found a few hundred thousand ant eggs. Seeing these eggs, without any hesitation Aditya burned them as he had grown tired of dealing with mutant fire ants and did not want to deal with any more mutant fire ants.

After walking for another 5 minutes, Aditya finally reached the center where he found a woman sitting on a golden throne.

"It's nice to meet you, Aditya."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I think the number 7 is special in this novel. There are seven 7 goddesses, 7 continents, 7 punches, Aditya killed 7 beginner fifth-order mutant fire ants......

Chapter 194

"You know I kind of feel bad for Scarlet. Just imagining how her face must have looked when she realized that has been betrayed makes me laugh." Right now a group of 4 people in black cloaks and hoods were inside the capital.

"Scarlet was just an idiot. She failed to realize her place and thought that she had become an inner member of our organization. This is how the organization always has worked and will work." The short person walking at the front replied.

The people couldn't help but stare at the members of the League of black tomb. The people especially felt attracted seeing them walking in cloaks and hiding their faces in hoods. "I don't understand why did we stand in lines to enter the city when we could have just broken the city's defense and entered the capital." A tall muscular man complained as he carried a greatsword on his back.

"Idiot, do you know anything other than violence?" The girl walking next to the tall muscular man mocked him.

"What did you say?"

"Enough. This decision was taken by our leader. As inner group members, we should follow the leader's orders." The man who said these words was also another inner group member of the organization. The man had elf ears and a scar over his left eye.

"Hmph! I don't want to be lectured by someone who didn't hesitate to kill his own master just to leave the Rose High hills city." It was a big muscular man named Tommy who said these words.

"Tommy, you better shut your trashy mouth, otherwise I don't mind ending your life here." The half-orc Tommy shivered when he was directly threatened by the leader himself. Tommy knew that if the leader wanted he can kill everyone here alone. Each core member of the organization was monstrous.

"Ivan, you know there was no need to kill your master." It was the very same Ivan whom Aditya and Alicia had met in Rose high hills city. Ivan was a servant and butter of the Rose family's 3rd-daughter, Kyra.

"I killed Kyra because it was her father who was responsible for my parent's death." Ivan replied in an emotionless tone.

"Bullsh*t! Can't you make a better lie?" Lucy Barnes, the female who was arguing with Tommy a moment ago looked at Ivan in disdain. Ivan did not reply. Ivan had no intention of telling his reason.

The short heigh person who was walking at the front looked at Ivan from the corner of his eyes. Others might not know the reason but he knew why Ivan had killed his master, Kyra. A day ago, Kyra had somehow found out Ivan's secret that he had kept from his master for years. Kyra was furious and also heartbroken. Kyra went to confront Ivan. To keep Kyra's mouth shut and make sure that no one learns about this, Ivan had no choice but to kill Kyra.

'I don't have a regret in my heart. I am doing this to avenge my parents and my relatives.' Ivan tightly clenched his fists. When Tommy had talked about his master, Ivan couldn't help but remember the smiling kind face of Kyra. It was Kyra who had given him a new life and yet he was the one who ended her life.

Even though Ivan would never admit it, his heart was full of regret and guilt for what he has done. Ivan did not have a choice. Knowing his master's personality, Kyra definitely would have tried to pursue and convince Ivan to quit the organization. To Ivan, abandoning the organization would be the same as abandoning his dream of avenging his parents.

"By the way, where is Jay? I thought he was supposed to come with us?" Ivan tried to divert everyone's focus to a different matter by asking about Jay. Ivan had met Jay a few times in the past.

"Someone needed to silence Scarlet so I sent Jay to do the job." Replied the short-height man whose name was Simon Lloyd.

"I think you should have sent someone else to do the job. Jay always had a soft spot for Scarlet. He might even betray us." Ivan knew that Scarlet and Jay were quite close. Both often hang out and even went on dates.

"You don't have to worry about that. I had ordered Jay to get close to Scarlet. Scarlet was an important chess piece for our plan so I needed someone to keep an eye on her without getting her suspicious. Jay was the perfect man to do the job."

When Simon talked about Jay, a look of disgust appeared on Lucy's face. Fortunately, because of the hood that covered her face, no one saw her expression. Lucy did not like Jay. He pretended to be some angel but in reality, he was the reincarnation of the devil. During the day time, Jay would work in a church and help the orphans but during the night time, he would do unthinkable things to girls.

If Jay didn't belong to this organization, then Lucy already would have killed this nasty piece of sh*t. For years Lucy has been trying to convince the core members to warn Jay to keep himself in check but the core members never bothered themselves with what Jay was doing. Every member of the League of Black tomb was allowed to do whatever they wanted. The members would be called if there are any missions or important jobs. The outer members, inner members, and core members had different roles in the organization.

"Lucy, Tommy, and Ivan listen to my words carefully. The guardian of the Ethereal Empire is currently fighting with the mutant fire ants. Meaning there are no 5th-order left in the capital as of now. Our plan is to take that item and get out of here. So no unnecessary killing or trouble. I and Ivan will enter the Ethereal Empire's treasury, while the two of you will stay outside and guard the treasury. If in case, something does go out of our calculations, use the teleportation orb and escape. If in case one of us is captured, then you should know what to do right?"

"Yes." If one member of the League of Black tomb is captured, that member would commit suicide to keep information about the organization from being leaked. Even if the inner members do want to leak information they cannot do it as every inner and core member has been bound by a contract that prevents them from talking or speaking anything about the League of Black tomb.

"Good. Let's begin." Suddenly the 4 people who were walking on the street disappeared. In less than 10 seconds, Tommy, Lucy, Ivan, and Simon all four had managed to get inside the Royal palace. Without anyone noticing, all four of them easily arrived in front of the treasury which was being guarded by two Peak 4th-order cultivators.

Tommy silently appeared behind the two Peak 4th-order guards and snapped their necks, instantly killing them. "You can now enter the treasury."

"Not yet. The treasury is protected by a beginner-grade 5-star artifact. These guards have the key to deactivating the beginner-grade 5-star artifact. Ivan checks if you find any star-shaped object."

Ivan nodded his head and then started checking the bodies of the guards. After looking for a few seconds, Ivan took out two black and white star-shaped metal objects. Ivan then activated both fist-size star-shaped objects by infusing mana. As the two star-shaped objects began to glow, Simon signaled Ivan to give one of the star-shaped objects to him.

With the star-shaped objects, both of them safely entered the treasury without being attacked. The interior of the treasury was full of gold, precious metals, artifacts, pills, potions, magic fruits, weapons, armor, royal gold coins, mana stones, etc.

Neither Ivan nor Simon looked interested in any of that. "Look for the Black box."

Both Ivan and Simon started looking for a black box. After searching for a while, Ivan found it. The black box was buried deep under royal gold coins. "I found it."

Simon nodded his head. "Let's leave. Our job is done."

The four 5th-order cultivators of the League of Black tomb then left the royal palace and then left the Whitfrost city without anyone noticing them. No one in the royal palace noticed the death of treasury guards until some soldiers who happened to pass by saw them lying dead on the ground.

"Call the prime minister." As soon as it was found that the treasury guards were killed, the prime minister shut down the royal palace and the Whitfrost city. No one was allowed to leave the royal palace or the city without permission. Even the teleportation array had been stopped. No one was allowed to enter the capital until further notice.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 195

This chapter is especially dedicated to the reader [Zeko323] for gifting this novel with Golden Gachapon worth 15000 Coins.

Thank you very much to the reader [Zeko323]

After walking for another 5 minutes, Aditya finally reached the center where he found a woman sitting on a golden throne.

"It's nice to meet you, Aditya." Aditya looked at the woman sitting on the throne that was made up of gold. The woman had long beautiful scarlet red hair that reached down her waist. The woman had an angelic face. The most attractive thing about her face was the mole that was located right under her right eye.

The woman had light red pupils. She was somewhere around 5 feet 6 inches tall. The woman was wearing a full-body dark red outfit that tightly hugged her body; revealing her curves.

"I am sure by now you already have guessed my identity. My name is Scarlet. I am the mutant fire ant queen." Aditya frowned while looking at the beautiful woman sitting on the throne. In terms of charm, she wouldn't lose to Julia and Alicia. Unlike the humanoid mutant fire ants whom Aditya has killed before, the ant queen looked 100% human.

What made Aditya frown is the fact that he couldn't sense anything. He couldn't sense the queen's Aura. There wasn't any mana coming out of her body which made him feel that something was wrong here.

"I don't have much time left." Aditya snapped out of his daze hearing the words of the mutant fire ant queen. Looking at Scarlet's face, Aditya saw a bitter smile. Her eyes were full of sadness and regret.

"I am sure you cannot feel any trace of Mana from my body. The reason for this is....snap!" Just when Scarlet snapped her finger, everything in the throne chamber room began to change. Aditya took a step back in shock as he noticed the golden throne painted in red blood.

What Aditya was seeing before was nothing but an illusion that the queen had constructed using her powers.

Aditya widened his eyes once again in shock seeing the dead body of a woman whose face had become unrecognizable. Seeing the confused look on Aditya's face, the queen decided to explain. "What you're seeing is my dead body. A minute before you came here, I was killed by the very person whom I once loved and wanted to marry."

Right now Scarlet's body was floating right above the golden throne which now had been painted red with blood. Blood was still flowing out of the queen's body.

"Then how are you still alive?" Aditya for a moment doubted if the queen had really died or what? Given how good the queen is at making illusions.

Sigh!

"I am dead. What you're currently seeing is nothing but a remaining part of my soul." Upon closely looking Aditya found that the queen's body was indeed getting a little transparent. With each passing second, this transparency was increasing.

"Every magical animal, after being born receives a unique class and unique skills related to that class and that magical animal's race. For example, when I was born, I received the class Mutant ant queen. My class came with various unique skills. One of my skills is the ability to use my soul to stay in the living realm for a longer period of time.

"Currently I am burning my own soul as a form of energy to talk with you and to use the illusion magic. I am afraid in less than a minute, I will run out of soul power, and at that time, my soul will completely disappear from this world." Aditya nodded with an understanding look.

"Aditya, I don't have much time. Given what I and my children have done to the Ethereal Empire, I am sure you also hate me. To be honest, I don't like you either. But my hate for you is nothing compared to the hate I have for those people."

Aditya again frowned hearing the last part of her words. "Which people?"

"It was a big organization that is spread throughout every single continent and Empire on this planet. They call themselves the League of Black Tomb." Aditya's breathing stopped, while his heartbeat rose to hear the name of the organization. The League of Black tomb had tried to destroy the Istarin Empire by manipulating the Nepoca Kingdom, the Deep Sea palace Empire, the Nyland Kingdom, and other 14 small kingdoms to join hands and attack the Istarin Kingdom. Ever since he learned the name of the organization he has been secretly trying to learn more about this organization but so far other than knowing its name and the organization's motive to take the Crown of seven seas, he knew nothing about this organization.

Scarlet observed Aditya's reaction. Based on his shocked and angry looked, she was sure that Aditya had some past history with the organization. "As I was saying, the League of Black Tombs is after something that is being kept in the treasury of the Ethereal Empire. It was an item that was supposed to take their plans to the second phase. Though I failed to learn anything much about this item. I only know that this item is some kind of key. As I was an outer member I wasn't told or given much information on the whole mission."

'Shit!!!!' Aditya knew that it was already too late. While the whole Ethereal army was here fighting the mutant fire ant, the capital was left unprotected. It shouldn't be hard for the inner group members of the League of Black tomb to enter the capital and take that key.

"The first plan was to attack the Istarin Empire and then start a war while the inner group members would have sneaked inside the treasury and would have taken the key. But your appearance forced the league of the black tomb to change their plans. Instead of starting a war, it was decided that you, Alicia, and Noah, would be captured." This was why Ashley was madly looking for Aditya and others. Aditya was finally getting the full picture of the story.

"It looks like my time is up." By now Scarlet's entire body had become transparent. Her figure was becoming blurry.

"Wait, I have more questions that I want to ask you about the tomb of Black tomb." Aditya had tons of questions. As long as Aditya gets more information on the league of the black tomb, he can prepare himself and his empire for this organization.

"Don't worry, I have written everything that I knew about the League of Black tomb in a dairy. Along with all the treasures that the mutant fire ants had collected over the years, you can find everything in a storage ring that I have hidden right under this golden throne."

"Aditya, the reason I am giving you all of my treasures is that I want you to become strong enough to destroy the League of Black Tomb. I know that you don't have a reason to fulfill my dying request so consider all of my treasures as a reward for destroying the organization. Please be sure to kill a person named Jay for me."

Aditya nodded at Scarlet with a smile. "I also have some past differences with the organization. I will be sure to destroy them." Scarlet nodded with a happy smile.

"Thank you. If possible in my next life, I would like to be reborn as a human, not a mutant fire ant." These words were barely audible in Aditya's ears. But he still managed to hear them with his enhanced senses.

The next second, the queen's entire soul began to crack. The cracks spread all over her body. The queen looked at Aditya with a gentle smile as her soul began to shatter into millions of pieces. Those pieces then disappeared in thin air.

"So this is the end of the mutant fire ant." Looking at the dead body of Scarlet, Aditya knew that the queen must have been brutally killed by someone she knew. The person who killed her must be Jay as the queen had specifically mentioned his name.

"I can't give you a burial. But I will fulfill your last and dying request." Aditya summoned his Crimson flames. Under his watch, the Crimson flames burned the queen's entire body to ashes. As her body was burned, the golden throne also began to melt as if showing the end of the mutant fire ant queen's rule on this forest.

For the next 5 minutes, Aditya did not move from his place. He stood there in silence looking at the half-melted golden throne. For some reason, Aditya can feel the queen's sadness. The regret that she felt at the finals moment was appearing in Aditya's mind.

"In the end, everything is about interest." Aditya walked up to the golden throne. He managed to move the golden throne to find a black storage ring. Aditya wore the storage ring on his left index finger. He then put a bit of his mana inside to check the items inside the storage ring.

"She is rich." Aditya almost couldn't believe the number of things that the queen had in her storage ring. In terms of space, the queen's storage ring had more space than Aditya's ring. The ring of the queen was big enough to hold an entire island in it and would still have space.

Sigh!

"She was too rich." Aditya estimated the value of this storage ring would be above 100 billion gold coins. The storage ring had almost 25 tons of pure gold, 30 tons of silver, and almost 100 tons of unrefined iron. What shocked and excited Aditya the most was the appearance of 1,000 low-grade spirit stones." Before Aditya had only found one spirit stone from Ashley's storage ring. But the queen had 500 low-grade spirit stones. No wonder why the queen had this many 5th-order mutant fire ants.

Other than metals, the storage ring also had almost a ton of mana stones. One ton of solar stones is used as a torch or candle to light residents during the night. The storage ring also had more than ten thousand weapons and sets of armor. There were various kinds of rare magic fruits inside the storage ring as well. These rare magic fruits had various effects. Some of the magic fruits can even increase the mana reserve of a cultivator.

"Unfortunately a majority of these magic fruits are 2-star and 1-star. Only 100 of the magic fruits are 3-star. These 3-star magic fruits can be only consumed by 3rd-order cultivators in order to obtain the benefits of these magic fruits."

From the storage ring, Aditya took out a 3-star magic fruit. The fruit looked like an apple. Unlike a normal apple which was red in color, this apple was glowing in dark purple color. When Aditya held it, he was able to feel a small amount of pure mana stored inside this apple.

[Purple Magic Apple]

[Rank - 3 star]

[Description: - A unique type of magic fruit that can only be found in Heavenly Hemlock forest and Dark Woodland forest. The purple magic apple can only grow in areas that are rich in mana and has a temperature of 25 to 40º C and rainfall of more than 100 cm. Purple Magic apple trees need 25 years to grow a purple magic apple. It takes around 300 years for a purple magic apple to become a 3-star magic fruit.]

[Function 1: - The purple magic apple can only be consumed by 3rd-order cultivators. Once the magic fruit is consumed, the mana reserve of the user will be increased by [100+]. If the cultivator is near a breakthrough point then consuming the purple magic apple might help the user in breaking through. Note: - The effect of the purple magic apple fruit will work once. ]

"Let's see how it tastes." As soon as Aditya bit the apple, a sweet rich taste entered his mouth. Aditya closed his eyes to enjoy this feeling. To this day, Aditya never has eaten an apple that is tastier than this one. This is undoubtfully the best fruit Aditya has eaten in his whole life.

?Ding! The user's mana has increased by [100+].?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 196

"Let's see how it tastes." As soon as Aditya bit the apple, a sweet rich taste entered his mouth. Aditya closed his eyes to enjoy this feeling. To this day, Aditya never has eaten an apple that is tastier than this one. This is undoubtfully the best fruit Aditya has eaten in his whole life.

?Ding! The user's mana has increased by [100+].?

"So my mana also has been increased by [100+]." Currently Aditya's total base Mana stats had reached [4001+].

"Let's see what other thing I can find in this storage ring." The storage ring was very big. After looking for an entire minute, something caught Aditya's eyes. It was 11 notebooks that were being kept together. What caught the Dragon Monarch's attention was the words written on the cover of these notebooks. The words written on the notebook were runes. These runes were very complex. Even Aditya was barely able to understand anything. But from what Aditya was able to comprehend, he understood that these 11 notebooks were notes that can help Aditya to become a 4-star runemaster.

"In my free time, I should study these runes." Runes were one of the strongest and most deadly weapons in the whole world. It was an advanced form of magical language that had the power to even bend the natural laws of this world. However, Rune had become very scarce at this age. The knowledge that once helped a runemaster to easily become a 4-star or 5-star runemaster now has been lost from many continents.

In fact, the only place where Aditya can probably find a 4-star or higher-star runemaster is in the Main continent. As for 6-star or 7-star rune masters, Aditya doubted if any runemaster of that high star was left in this world.

In fact ever since Aditya had been trained by the old vampire, Aditya has developed an insatiable hunger to expand his knowledge even further. The desire to become the strongest runemaster in the whole world was born in Aditya's heart. So far, Aditya never actually has gotten the chance of expanding his knowledge. He was thinking of asking Alicia to help him in this matter after they return to the Dying Isle continent. But it seems Fate has been kind to him. He ended up finding the previous notes of a 4-star runemaster.

"I will need the low-grade spirit stones, gold, iron, and silver to build my Dragon palace." After thinking for a while, Aditya decided to give half of the mana stones and solar stones. Also, give all of the 2-star and 1-star magic fruits and the weapon and armor. Since Aditya doesn't really need them. During the goblin invasion, Aditya had managed to bring enough armor and weapon for his troops. Right now, Percy Lowe was repairing those armor and weapons to their former self.

Other than a hundred 3-star magic fruits, Aditya didn't really need the 1-star and 2-star magic fruits. Since his divine Crimson dragon bloodline is more effective. Also after this big fight, the Ethereal Empire suffered a big loss in their military power. The death of 94 elite soldiers and one beginner 5th-order elder must have reduced the Ethereal Empire's powers. The Ethereal right now needed to rebuild their former military power otherwise there is a big possibility that the neighboring Empire might take this opportunity to attack the Ethereal empire.

Scene change_____

Cough! Cough!

"I almost thought that I was dead for sure."

"No Joke man. I even said my final goodbye to my family in my heart."

"That was too dangerous."

"Yeah. We would have been dead if His Majesty and Sir Ronan had not protected us."

"Ronan, are you alright?" At this moment, Ronnie and Ronan of them were sitting in the air. Both of their faces had turned deadly pale. Both 5th-order cultivators had overused their mana earlier to protect everyone.

"Ronan, where is that kid?" Even though Ronnie was happy that he and his soldiers were able to avoid this fight which meant that the casualties from their side were very minimum, almost negligible, this attack nearly killed everyone's life. That was too reckless in Ronnie's opinion. Ronnie felt he needed to have a good talk with Aditya about what he had done.

"Your Majesty, I have told Aditya the location of the mutant fire ant queen. Since I cannot feel the presence of the queen anymore, I am guessing Aditya already has killed her." After telling Aditya about the queen's location, Ronan stopped using mana to expand his senses. The guardian of the Ethereal Empire was already out of mana. If he kept pushing himself, he might sustain some permanent injuries and might even end up damaging his cultivation.

"Good. Ronan, can you sense any mutant fire ant?" Ronnie really hoped that this attack that came almost at the cost of his and 2 million troops' life would end every mutant fire ant from existence so that the Ethereal Empire would be finally able to relax and recover their lost military powers.

Ronan also wished the same as Ronnie. In Ronan's long life, this was the first time, the magical animals had done this much damage to their Empire. If possible he never wanted to see another big invasion from the magical animals in his remaining whole life. "Your Majesty, I don't sense any mutant fire ant. I guess every last of the mutant fire ant has been killed. Also now that the queen has been killed, even if one or two mutant fire ant manages to get away, the danger of the mutant fire ants spreading has been stopped completely."

Ronnie sighed in relief. The whole matter regarding the mutant fire ant has been bothering Ronnie for days. Ever since the death of elite soldiers, Ronnie wasn't able to rest properly. It was as if he had lost his sleep and his desire to rest. His priority was to kill all the mutant fire ants.

"That's good." Ronnie then turned his head to Coby who was sitting below them. Diamond chains that were covered in blood were lying around him. Coby was so exhausted that he would have fallen asleep right here if possible. In this fight, he had not only he had over-pushed his limits but also overused his mana to make the barrier strong.

"Coby, after 10 minutes of break, order all the troops to prepare to return to the Ethereal Empire. I and Ronan will be heading out first." Since the threat has been dealt with, Ronnie and Ronan wanted to return back to the capital which he had left unprotected. Normally it was Ronan's duty to always stay in the capital and prevent any intruder from entering the Whitfrost city.

After 10 minutes,

Aditya met with Ronnie and Ronan outside the Heavenly Hemlock forest. Ronnie had some questions that he wanted to ask Aditya about the ant queen which is why the Empire waited for Aditya instead of returning to the capital.

"Aditya, I need a complete detailed explanation of what happened?" Ronnie wanted to know more about the mutant fire ant queen. This type of event has never really occurred in the history of Westnia or in the long history of the Ethereal Empire. Ronnie wanted to record every detail of this event in case something like did happen in the future.

"Uncle, I have some news that you might not like." Hearing Aditya's words, Both Ronan and Ronnie frowned and then looked at each other.

"Tell us what happened?" Ronnie asked in a very serious tone.

After making sure that no one was listening to their conversation, Aditya decided to tell Ronnie and Ronan about the League of Black Tomb. "Uncle, everything that happened was Manipulated by some mysterious people."

"What?" Ronnie and Ronan, both men were in aghast listening to Aditya's words. Aditya's words had hit them like a thunderbolt. To think this entire time, this whole thing was someone's plan.

"From the information, I have managed to obtain, they call themselves the League of Black Tomb. Uncle, I am unfortunate to say this but Elder Tate was a part of the organization." Hearing Aditya's words, Ronnie's entire body trembled. He had some doubts on Elder Tate's death before everyone. Now he understood why Tate had died. He was killed by Aditya.

"Tate purposely took us deep inside the Heavenly Hemlock forest. When we were surrounded by countless mutant fire ants, Tate revealed his true nature. Other than Tate, the organization also has many other members. I know two other members' names which are Scarlet who is the mutant fire ant queen and was following the organization's order and the other one is Ashley, the very Peak 5th-order cultivator that seriously injured me and forced us to use the teleportation orb.

"The most messed up thing about the whole story is the fact that before I can even reach the mutant fire ant queen, she was killed by another member named Jay and left without being spotted in my senses. I couldn't sense anything about him." Right now Ronnie and Ronan are in a state of aghast. Everything Aditya had said had shaken them to their core. To think there was some hidden organization powerful enough to raise an entire army of mutant fire ants with 20 beginner 5th-order cultivators in it.

"And here comes the worst news of all. This whole time the organization was after something that was inside the Ethereal Empire's treasury. They said that item was a key." Hearing Aditya's words, Ronnie couldn't keep his Aura under control any longer.

"We're going back to the capital." Without even waiting for Aditya and Ronan, Ronnie already had begun flying toward the Rose High Hills city where he can use the teleportation array to directly return to the Capital.

Ronan silently followed Ronnie back. Meanwhile, Aditya stayed behind fully knowing that it was too late. Instead of rushing, Aditya wanted to take his time. His mana was almost depleted. In this state, it was impossible for him to keep up with Ronan and Ronnie.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 197

"Are you alright?" Alicia, the goddess of wealth asked while checking his whole body.

"What do you think?" Aditya asked back.

"Princess, instead of asking you should just take off his clothes and inspect his whole body." Aditya's cold stare shut the Beginner 5th-order Succubus's mouth.

Alicia ignored Nora's words and instead took out another Peak 5-star healing pill that was given to her by her father. "Here take this." Just as Aditya put the pill in his mouth, once again a green Aura spread around Aditya's body. The green Aura began to heal his wounds. In less than 10 seconds, all of Aditya's wounds except for the permanent loss of his right eye, everything else had healed.

Seeing Aditya healing, Alicia and Sylvie of them sighed in relief. "It seems the effect of the foreign substance that was slowing down your healing speed is gone now. But I don't understand why your right eye is not healing." Sylvie knew that without Aditya's right eye, his fighting powers would be lowered. Aditya's capabilities will be limited.

"In these two days, I have pretty much gotten used to it." At first, it was uncomfortable to use only one eye. But later he slowly got used to it.

Aditya looked at Aditya's right eye which had a scar over it. For some reason, Alicia felt this scar was making Aditya look more mature and serious looking. Though the damage damaged his handsome and gentle face.

"Where is Noah?" Right now Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie, and Nora, all four were walking back to Rose High Hills city. Noah had returned to the capital with the Ethereal empire's army.

Aditya did not tell Alicia, Sylvie, and Nora about the League of Black Tomb. Aditya decided to wait and tell Alicia about it later. Alicia might be able to help Aditya to learn more about the League of Black Tomb using her business connections that are spread in almost every continent except for the Main continent.

"By the way, Alicia, in 10 days, it will be Noah's marriage right?" Aditya looked at Alicia for an explanation. Marriage? Alicia never told him anything about it.

Alicia gave Aditya an apologetic look before explaining. "It was decided that when I return home with my boyfriend or my future fiance, my brother is going to officially marry his fiance and become the next Emperor of the Ethereal Empire. Originally the wedding was supposed to be held a month later but for some reason, my parents decided to push it forward. I only got the news a day before I returned home. With all the other things in my hand, I kind of forgot to tell you about it."

"Uncle is stepping down?" Ronnie looked very young for his age. Aditya felt Ronnie should continue to be the Emperor for another decade or two. But that's just Aditya's opinion. If Ronnie already has decided to crown Noah as the Emperor, then Aditya has nothing to say in this matter. He would show his support to Noah and help him in any way possible.

"Father said that he wanted to focus on his cultivating. After he became the Emperor, he very rarely got time to cultivate."

"Actually, His majesty was a genius when it came to cultivation. Even before becoming the Emperor, His Majesty already had reached Beginner 5th order. But after becoming the Emperor, his cultivation speed has slowed down." When Nora spoke of Ronnie, Aditya and others were able to see sparkling golden stars in Nora's eyes. The naughty Succubus acted like an excited child when she spoke of Ronnie. It was as if Nora idolized Ronnie.

"By the way, who is Noah's fiance?" Aditya always has been meaning to ask this question but never got the proper time or place to ask.

"She is the 1st princess of the Edrinia Dynasty which is located at the southern edge of the central region. Her name is Lily Collins." Sylvie had met Lily in the past. She had to admit the girl is a very charming and very gentle-natured woman. She is the perfect wife that any man can ask for.

"You see when Noah was around 10 he was sent to Edrinia Dynasty to study. In his final years, at the age of 15 or maybe 16, Noah met the young Lily who also attended the same Academy as Noah. It all started with a misunderstanding. That day it was said that Noah was angry because his friends had pranked him. Both sides became enemies after a small incident and by the end of their Academic year, both of them fell in love without even realizing it." Now that was unexpected. To think Noah is actually a romantic person, Aditya didn't know what to say.

"When father found out about this, he held a meeting with the Edrinia Dynasty's king. Since the Edrinia dynasty was located near the pearl river which is directly connected to the sea, our Empire has been trying to forge a deep connection with the Edrinia Dynasty for a few decades. Father saw the marriage between Noah and the 1st princess of the Edrinia Dynasty as a perfect opportunity to deepen the bond between the two Kingdoms. So, in the end, everyone was happy with the marriage. Big brother got to marry the woman he loved and the Ethereal Empire managed to make strong ties with the Edrinia Dynasty and get direct access to the sea which made trade easier and cheaper than before."

While talking about Noah's life, Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie, and Nora reached the Rose High hills. The last time they left the city, the whole city was surrounded and was being guarded by 1 million troops. Now all the restrictions have been lifted. People, merchants, adventurers, and traders, all were allowed to enter and exit the city according to their wishes.

After the group approached the southern gate, the soldiers that were stationed to guard the southern gate immediately recognized the princess. The guards pushed the crowd out of the way to allow the princess of the Ethereal empire and her friends to enter first.

Alicia had covered her face with a green veil before any guard or any commoner could see her face. Only the people close to her were allowed to see her angelic face. A face that can captivate the hearts of millions. A face that will make men forget about day and night and would only make them stare at her with nothing but appreciation in their eyes. Alicia didn't feel comfortable with anyone staring at her face which is why she prefers to hide her face from the world.

After entering the city, Aditya leaned toward Alicia and whispered into her right ear. "You know if you had never worn a veil to cover your face, I am sure by now a countless number of men would have chased after you and would have tried to marry you. Wife, I already feel jealous at the thought of anyone else marrying you."

After saying these words, Aditya moved away. But what he did just left the guards dumbfounded. It seems the rumor about the princess having a boyfriend is true. This was the first time, they had seen the princess allowing any man to get this close to her.

Unknown to the guards and everyone, when Aditya's said those words, his warm breath was felt on her neck. What he did increased the goddess's heartbeat to the next level. Her whole face had turned red. Even her ears were slightly red. Before even if Aditya was jokingly calling her his wife, Alicia disliked it but when he called her wife right now, Alicia strangely felt different types of emotions that she can't explain in words.

While Aditya was flirting with Alicia, Sylvie, and Nora, both instantly felt something was wrong. The security around the whole city had been tightened. Also, the guards were running here and there. Sylvie stopped one of the guards and asked. "Did something happen?"

The guard failed to recognize Sylvie as the leader of the White Lotus guild which is understandable since in this age there was no internet. Not every people had the fortune of seeing the White Lotus guild leader's face in person. Even though Sylvie was a very popular person, almost like a celebrity within the Ethereal Empire, other than the rich merchants and the people that live in the capital, not that many people have seen her. The people don't even know what the guild leader looks like.

"The 3rd daughter of the Rose family has been found dead in her restaurant. We are suspecting that it was her personal servant Ivan who had done it. But we are unable to find Ivan. Right now, the Duke has ordered us to search for Ivan throughout the entire city." Aditya and Alicia both widened their eyes in shock. Just a few days ago, both of them had met Kyra Rose, the 3rd daughter of the Rose family in her own restaurant. The news was just too shocking for them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 198

"The 3rd daughter of the Rose family has been found dead in her restaurant. We are suspecting that it was her personal servant Ivan who had done it. But we are unable to find Ivan. Right now, the Duke has ordered us to search for Ivan throughout the entire city." Aditya and Alicia both widened their eyes in shock. Just a few days ago, both of them had met Kyra Rose, the 3rd daughter of the Rose family in her own restaurant. The news was just too shocking for them.

"This morning, Kyra was found dead lying in her own restaurant. A few customers found her dead body when they went to have breakfast in her restaurant."

"Where is she right now?" Alicia asked.

"In an hour, her body will be buried in the cemetery."

The Rose family head was devastated by the death of his daughter. He was also very angry. Aditya can tell that Kyra's father was holding it inside. He was waiting to find Ivan. But even after searching the whole city, no one was able to find Ivan. As a result, everyone started to believe that Ivan already has left the city.

At the same time, although the news about a group breaking into the royal palace and entering the treasury had been suppressed by the general public and the nobles of the Empire, the news had managed to reach the ears of Aditya, Alicia, Sylvie, and Nora. As a result, everyone decided to head back to the capital. The plan of attending Kyra's funeral was discarded. It was not as if Alicia was very close to Kyra or anything. Kyra was Alicia's big fan and she idolized her. Alicia was sad about her sudden death.

The rest of the day in the capital was a mess. Aditya who was already super tired with all the injuries and multiple big battles and after depleting his huge mana reserve, couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Without even bothering to wash his body, he felt entered one of the guest bedrooms in the royal palace and fell asleep.

Fortunately, after learning that Aditya had fallen asleep, Alicia ordered the servants to not disturb him. The goddess then returned home where she was scolded for going with the expedition team. The poor goddess was scolded not only by her own mother but also by her other stepmothers and her grandma also scolded her.

After the scolding period was over, they asked Alicia what happened after they entered the Heavenly Hemlock forest. Alicia explained everything that she and others went through. After she was done explaining everything, at the end of the evening, after returning to the royal palace and after checking on Aditya, the goddess decided to contact a certain person who can help him in this situation.

Meanwhile, Noah and Ronnie did not return home. Both father and son were busy working. Noah and an investigation team went around the capital to find more clues about the culprit. Ronnie refrained from telling Noah anything about the League of black tomb. He was planning on revealing everything when the whole family was together. Ronnie got busy with the administration work. He listed out the names of the soldiers who died in this fight and decided to pay 10 royal gold coins to each dead soldier's family. Also, the matter of the Rose family's 3rd daughter being killed by her own servant was giving Ronnie another headache as the duke was pleading with Ronnie to help him out.

Ronnie also decided to rebuild Blackwood city from scratch. He knew that the people now would be afraid of living in blackwood city after what has happened. This is why he decided to work with the White Lotus guild to launch several campaigns to change the people's minds and let them know that this kind of incident won't happen again.

Also now that the entire Heavenly Hemlock forest was empty; without any magical beasts or animals, there wasn't a thing to worry about.

Sylvie returned to the White Lotus guild. It has been almost 4 days since she had sat at her desk and worked. As Blackwood city was destroyed a huge number of people migrated to Rose High hills city. Alicia had asked Sylvie to help out these people as much as she can without harming the guild. Sylvie decided to sell cheap food and cloth without making any profit. The white Lotus guild also collaborated with the Ethereal empire to provide housing to these survivors.

Nora and elder Ronan had nothing else to do. While Nora, being a Succubus went to the red district zone of the capital, Ronan retreated indoors. He would only come out when the Ethereal Empire needed the guardian. For now, he was going to watch and observe everything in silence. Ronan and Nora never took part in political matters. Unlike Tate who regularly advised Ronnie, Ronan and Nora had no interest in doing that.

Back to Aditya, the Dragon monarch slept for an entire day before waking up late in the afternoon. Aditya moved the curtains and allowed the sunlight to enter the bedroom. "It looks like I have slept for the entire day."

Aditya began removing the long dark brown jacket and the Black full-sleeved T-shirt that he wore beneath the jacket. The jacket was torn out in many places. The fashion industry of the continent of Westnia was very different when compared to the fashion industry in other continents.

After grabbing a white towel, before entering the bathroom, Aditya stopped to look at his face in the mirror.

Nothing about his face had changed except for the new and permanent 3 inches long vertical scar over his right eye. "Should I cover my right eye with my hair?" After thinking for a while, Aditya decided to not hide his scar. Although now his face was ruined, hiding his right eye with his hair would only make him look more creepy and scary.

In the washroom, Aditya took his time to clean his body and his long dark blue hair. In the Heavenly Hemlock forest, Aditya did not get time to clean his body. His own blood that has been mixed with dirt and had dried on his skin and hair. After 30 minutes of a relaxing shower, Aditya walked out and wore new clothes.

This time, Aditya wore a White full-sleeved T-shirt and a dark leather long jacket. Aditya walked out of his room and found a maid cleaning a flower base.

"Excuse me?"

"How can I help you, sir?" The maid had long black hair. She had a pretty face. The most surprising thing about her was her cultivation. This maid was a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. When the Istarin Empire was only a 2nd-tier Kingdom, even having a beginner 2nd-order cultivator used to be a big thing. This only goes on to show just the difference between a 2nd-tier kingdom and a 5th-tier kingdom.

"Can you prepare some food for me?" Aditya hadn't eaten anything for almost 2 days now. After completely depleting his mana, the Dragon King was now feeling hungry.

"What would you like to eat sir?"

"Anything is fine. But I prefer chicken."

"Alright." Aditya then returned back to the bedroom while the maid went to inform the head chef to cook for Aditya.

After returning to his room, Aditya locked the door and then took out the diary of the Mutant fire ant queen.

"Let's see what the mutant fire ant queen had written in this dairy." Just as Aditya was about to open the diary and began reading, someone knocked on the door.

Knock! Knock!

"Aditya, are you awake?" It was Alicia. Aditya put the dairy in his storage ring and then opened the door.

Click!

"How are you feeling? When did you wake up?" Alicia asked before Aditya can ask her anything.

"I woke up a while ago. Yes, I am feeling completely fine. How is everything being handled?" Aditya knew that there would be shockwaves after this war. There is no way the other Empires would just sit around when the strongest Empire in Westnia has lost one beginner 5th-order elder and 94 elite soldiers. If there was an opportunity of taking over the entire Ethereal Empire, that opportunity was now.

"Don't worry, father and big brother are taking care of everything. Besides, the White Lotus guild has a big influence on other Empires. Even if the neighboring Empires decide to attack us or even think of attacking our Empire, the White Lotus guild will use its influence to buy time for the Ethereal Empire. I will ask Sylvie to just start a rebellion in the neighboring Empires which should divert the enemy Empire's attention and buy us enough time to recover." While most Kings and Emperors fail to realize what soft power is, Alicia was someone who perfectly understood and knew how to use soft power. Even though she wasn't a King of any Empire, she had enough influence to start a war or stop a war.

"Leaving that aside, I have bought someone from another continent. This person will heal your right eye. Come with me." Excitedly Alicia grabbed Aditya's right arm and started walking.

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Chapter 199

"Leaving that aside, I have bought someone from another continent. This person will heal your right eye. Come with me." Excitedly Alicia grabbed Aditya's right arm and started walking. Aditya bought a certain private part of the royal palace. This part of the royal palace was only limited to the royal family. Not even the prime minister is allowed to come here.

The private area had 6 bedrooms, one kitchen, one living room, and two bathrooms. In the living room, there was a young lady sitting on the couch. Behind the couch, there was a young and beautiful maid standing like a bodyguard.

Click!

"Don't be too surprised." As Aditya and Alicia walked in, the maid and the young lady sitting on the couch, both raised their head and looked at Aditya and Alicia. Both of their eyes were especially drawn toward Aditya. The lady sitting on the couch felt her heart ache in pain seeing the scar over Aditya's right eye.

Aditya also couldn't help but stare at the beautiful woman sitting on the couch. For some reason, this woman oddly looked familiar to Aditya. It was as if Aditya had met this woman many years ago. In his memory, he can recall the image of a little girl but for some reason, the face of that girl was blurred in his memory.

The woman sitting in front of Aditya had beautiful attractive silver hair. She was wearing a full-sleeved light orange dress that covered her whole body. On both sides of her hips, there were two 5 inches long cross-shaped golden objects attached to her light orange dress. There was another big golden cross which was almost 10 inches long right under her bosom.

She was covering her head with a hood. She was fair-skinned and had purple color unique pupils that seems to attract people toward her. She had thin rosy red lips. Her beautiful and unique silver hair covered both of her ears and reached down to her chest.

The woman in front of Aditya was beautiful beyond words. The only people who can match her beauty were Alicia, Julia, and Amber who was Aditya's one of 7 generals.

She was around 5 feet 8 inches. She average size breasts and a round plump back. Even though she had a face that was beyond beautiful, her sinful body was made to seduce men. Just looking at her figure one wouldn't help but have naughty thoughts about her. She couldn't hide her curves even though her dress covered her entire body.

For the next few minutes, Aditya couldn't stop staring at her. Seeing that Aditya was looking dazed, the maid standing behind the couch coughed slightly.

Cough!

Aditya snapped out of his daze. "Who is she?" Just when Aditya turned around to ask Alicia about the identity of this otherworldly beautiful silver-haired woman, before Aditya can even react, he felt his face being buried in a soft pillow. At the same time, he was able to enjoy the fragrance of the Lavender flower which is a delicate, sweet smell that is floral, herbal, and evergreen woodsy at the same time.

"Husband, I have missed you. You have no idea how long I have been waiting to see you." Aditya felt two strong pairs of arms around his neck tightly holding him. Before Aditya can even process everything or enjoy the sensation of his face being buried in this woman's breast, someone pulled him out.

"Hey! Stop doing that." Alicia pulled Aditya out while glaring at Riya. She was suddenly starting to feel that she has made a mistake by bringing Riya here.

"Alicia, why are you being so mean? I just want to hug my husband. I have been separated from him for a long time." The silver-haired nun whose name was Riya pouted.

"My lady, I think you should control yourself." The maid behind the couch tried to remind Riya of her identity.

"I am just hugging my husband. I have every right to hug him as his wife. Don't try to stop me." Suddenly Alicia and the maid, both took a step back as Riya's words turned into a threat. She even released a bit of her killing intent to make both Alicia and her maid understand that nothing was going to get in her way. No one can stop her from hugging her husband.

Aditya also felt the killing intent but strangely the killing intent did not harm him or pressure him. It was as if Riya was protecting Aditya.

The next second the cold and threatening look on Riya's face disappeared as she turned to look at Aditya. Her eyes almost sparkled as she spread her arms wide open to hug Aditya again. But this time Aditya stopped her.

"Stop."

"Why is my husband stopping me?" The expression on Riya's face went from being super happy and excited like a child to looking like a child who has been abandoned by her parents. It looked like tears of start falling from her eyes at any second.

Looking at her sad expression, Aditya had the urge of hugging her. But he controlled himself.

Sigh!

"Can you first introduce yourselves?" Aditya didn't even know who this woman was. But based on the fact that this woman has been calling Aditya her husband, he figured this woman was one of the 7 goddesses and one of Aditya's wives.

Hearing Aditya's words, the expression on Riya's face again changed. She now looked very happy. "Husband, I thought you would remember me. My name is Riya Tombrook. Does that name ring some bell in your head?" Just as Aditya heard her name, he widened his eyes in shock. Just hearing her name, all of his confusion was cleared away.

Riya was the same girl who used to play with Aditya when both of them were very young. Riya is 5 years older than Aditya. She is a Royal Elf and an elven princess. When Aditya was around 5 or 6 years old, he met Riya who had been living in the Main continent ever since her birth. Even though Riya's royal family and her Empire belonged to The Celestial Terrain continent, she and her royal family lived on the Main continent.

After the marriage was announced Riya had regularly come to play with Aditya. In Aditya's memories, the Riya of the past used to be a tomboy. She used to have short silver hair and used to wear man clothes.

Due to certain laws, anyone below the 5th order cannot enter the Main continent. However, that law does not apply to the people who are born on the main continent. Riya, being born on the main continent, the law did not apply to her as well. The same goes for Aditya as well.

Riya and her royal her left the main continent 2 years after the marriage was announced. Her family and she went back to live in their own Empire which was located in The Celestial Terrain. After she left, Aditya never really saw Riya again.

After not seeing Riya for more than a decade, she had changed a lot. She now had grown to become one of the most beautiful women on the whole planet.

Riya is a genius in cultivation. While Aditya was stuck at 1st-order, at the age of 10, Riya had managed to break through 2nd-order which was something that not even the Dragon King who was Aditya's father couldn't accomplish. Right now Riya's cultivation was so high that Aditya couldn't even sense her cultivation. He is not sure if Riya's cultivation is in Peak 5th-order or higher.

Seeing Aditya's shocked look, Riya smiled fully knowing that her husband remembered her. She took a step forward and hugged Aditya again. This time she wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face in his right shoulder. "Husband, you have no idea how much I have missed you."

Standing 5 meters away, seeing Riya hugging Aditya, Alicia couldn't help but feel her a little angry. Without even realizing the princess of the Ethereal Empire was feeling Jealous. Unknowingly, when Aditya had protected her so many times, she also began to develop something for Aditya.

As for Riya's personal Maid, the young maid was gritting her teeth in jealousy. She always had kept men away from her lady. But now seeing that her lady was hugging a man and even calling that man husband, made the maid angry. If her lady hadn't used her killing intent to threaten her, Riya's maid already would have attacked Aditya.

Seeing Riya hugging Aditya, Alicia couldn't take it anymore. "Hey! Riya, I think you have forgotten your reason for coming here." Saying these words, Alicia grabbed Aditya's palm something which she would have never done before, and pulled Aditya toward her.

"And you're not allowed to hug him."

The Goddess of Nature wasn't happy when someone interrupted her time with her husband. Riya crossed her arms under her chest and coldly glared at Alicia. "Why I am not allowed to hug my husband? He is the man whom I love. I have been waiting to meet him for almost 14 years now. Aditya belongs to me." Saying the latter part, the goddess of Nature went on to hold Aditya's left palm.

"No, you can't have him. Aditya is my boyfriend." Just as Alicia finished saying these words, she realized what she had said in the heat of the moment. Her face instantly turned red. Fortunately, the veil that she wore managed to hide her blushing face.

"Oh, my darling has a girlfriend now." Aditya's entire body shivered as found Riya coldly staring at him.

'She is too possessive.' By possessive, Aditya couldn't help but think of an anime where the female lead kills the MC and the girl who had slept with the MC.

'Please don't tell me that she is also a Yandere?'

Alternate title of the chapter: - Yandere wife

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Chapter 200

"No, you can't have him. Aditya is my boyfriend." Just as Alicia finished saying these words, she realized what she had said in the heat of the moment. Her face instantly turned red. Fortunately, the veil that she wore managed to hide her blushing face.

"Oh, my darling has a girlfriend now." Aditya's entire body shivered as found Riya coldly staring at him. The Dragon Monarch had faced many cruel and powerful enemies. Even in the face of the most ruthless enemy, Aditya has never felt fear in his heart. But right now, in front of Riya, Aditya helps but shiver in deep fear. The cold look on her face is too frightening.

"Darling, I think you and I need to have a deep conversation." Aditya nervously took a step back. Aditya always thought that having a Yandere girlfriend or wife would be awesome but now he had changed his mind. Aditya always loved reading Yandere's girlfriend or wife stories. Having a Yandere wife is nothing but a pure nightmare. Aditya knew that things can go out of his hand if he does not take this matter seriously.

Having a Yandere wife is like having a double edged sword. It can harm you but it can also protect you. "Riya, I think you have misunderstood. Alicia and I are not girlfriend and boyfriend. We are actually......."husband and wife." Alicia completed the rest of the sentence.

'Woman, you're only making things worse for me.' Aditya wanted to cry at this moment but his eyes had no tears. Standing before Riya felt as if he was standing in front of the goddess of death. Just looking at her cold eyes made his body tremble.

Riya coldly looked at Alicia. Alicia also glared at Riya. Aditya felt as if there was some lightning sparkling in both of their eyes. It was as if both of them were having a staring contest.

"Since when did darling become your husband? Aditya is only mine and mine alone." Meanwhile, Aditya slowly and quietly took a few steps back. It would be better if he didn't get involved in this situation.

"Ever since the contract was made. Technically you and I, both are Aditya's wives. I also have the same rights to Aditya as you do. You can't just snatch Aditya away from me." Deep down, Alicia had no idea what she was saying in the heat of the moment. But the thought of Aditya being taken away from her made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Wife, you say?" Riya did not say anything. Instead, a mysterious smile appeared on her face. Neither Aditya nor Riya's maid understood what that smile meant. Even Alicia started to feel uncomfortable seeing Riya's smile. Riya was reacting the complete opposite of how she had expected her to.

Being stared at by Riya, Alicia eventually began to feel that she shouldn't have said these words. It was she who in the past had denied any relationship with Aditya. Whenever Aditya even jokingly called Alicia a wife, Alicia has shown a strong reaction denying any relationship with Aditya. But things had changed now. Alicia's feelings for Aditya had changed. Before she only wanted to use Aditya to get more time to build up her carrier, but now the desire to be with Aditya was born in her heart.

Alicia is not sure when that change took place in her heart. But she knew that this change did not happen over night. Without even realizing it, Aditya slowly managed to curve his name deep in her heart.

Before the princess of the Ethereal Empire avoided any form of physical contact with Aditya or any male. Alicia was very sensitive from a young age. She did not like it when other males saw her face or lustfully looked at her. She did not like it when any male touched any part of her body. Even shaking hands with males felt uncomfortable to her. But with Aditya, this uncomfortable feeling had long disappeared. The princess had gotten comfortable enough to stay in his arms for a long period of time.

If someone asked exactly when Alicia began to open up to Aditya, then even she wouldn't be able to answer that question. But if the same question is asked to Aditya, then he would say that after they went to Blackwood city to investigate the cause of the death of more than 1.5 million people. That night, for the first time, the princess who is also known as the goddess of wealth had been carried by any male. Staying in Aditya's arms had given Alicia a sense of security. She felt warm, comfortable, protected, and relaxed staying in his arms. Staying in his arms made Alicia unconsciously believe that no matter what happens, Aditya would be able to protect her.

Aditya had managed to capture Alicia's heart when he used his own body to prevent her from getting hurt. In that neck moment, when Ashley had launched a sneak attack on Aditya, he had sacrificed his right eye and his body to protect her. If hadn't protected her, Alicia would have died and Aditya wouldn't have gotten seriously injured.

Riya stared at Alicia for a long time. After what looked like 10 minutes of long staring in silence, Riya looked at Aditya. Aditya was looking serious. His crimson pupils told Riya to not do any kind of harm to Alicia. Aditya already has overlooked the fact that Riya had used her killing intent to push Alicia. If Riya does something harmful to Alicia or threatens Alicia, then he will have to take action.

Besides, Riya had never even thought of harming Alicia. Alicia and she were friends. Both had known each other for a long time. Also, Riya had long accepted the fact that Aditya would have 6 more wives even if she didn't like it. Over the years, being away from Aditya, Riya had learned to accept this fact.

"Aditya, I want you to come and visit my home one day. Will you come to The Celestial Terrain?" Riya had heard that Aditya had went to meet Julia's parents and had even gotten her parents approval. Now he had come here to meet Alicia's parents. Even if Alicia and Aditya were only pretending to be girlfriend and boyfriend, she knew both feelings for each other. After this, Riya wanted Aditya to come to The Celestial Terrain and meet her parents as well. But she knew that Aditya might not agree to meet her parents if she just asked directly.

After all, Riya knew it very well that Aditya did not had any romantic feelings for her. 'I will slowly enter your heart.' The goddess of Nature made up her mind to spend more time with Aditya in the near future.

Aditya was relieved that Riya was not showing any hostility toward Alicia. After thinking for a bit, Aditya decided to go to The Celestial Terrain. It was his dream of going to every single continent in this world and expand his Empire. As Aditya gained more power form the system, he had become more greedy as well. Why stop when Aditya can continue conquering lands from other continents. "Alright, I will go to The Celestial Terrain after in a few months. But not now. I have some plans of visiting the Beast Continent in a month or two."

"When you do go there, I will personally give you a tour of our great Empire."

Meanwhile, Alicia had managed to calm down. She couldn't help but curse herself for losing her calm like this. Before today, Alicia never has managed to get so agitated. The thought of having Aditya taken away from her made her feel panicked and agitated. In the heat of the moment, she had said things which were pretty embarrassing. 'I just openly declared my love for Aditya. Dammit.' Just recalling the things that she bravely said to Riya, the goddess of wealth felt even more embarrassed.

Riya returned to sit on the couch. "Aditya, please come here. Let me take a look at your right eye." Aditya walked up to Riya and sat next to her. Aditya maintained an appropriate distance from Riya. Riya smiled noticing this. Meanwhile, Riya's maid who was standing behind glared at Aditya as if she was looking at her biggest enemy. If possible, she already would have started biting Aditya to death.

Riya simply closed the distance making both of their thighs touch. Aditya felt her soft fingers touching his right eye. In such a close distance, Aditya was feeling awkward. He didn't know where he should look. "It must have hurt a lot." Looking at her light purple pupils, Aditya felt just how much Riya cared for him.

Her eyes were overflowing with emotions. Emotions that were very difficult to explain in just simple words. Looking at her purple pupils, Aditya couldn't help but keep staring at her. "There is a difference between healing and restoring. Although your eye has healed, it failed to restore your sight. But don't worry darling. I will heal and restore your sight."

A green Aura enveloped Riya's soft and warm fingers. Suddenly her touch became even more comfortable. Making Aditya feel sleepy. As her fingers smoothly circled and ran over his right eye, gradually Aditya was able to move his eyelids.

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Chapter 201

A green Aura enveloped Riya's soft and warm fingers. Suddenly her touch became even more comfortable. Making Aditya feel sleepy. As her fingers smoothly circled and ran over his right eye, gradually Aditya was able to move his eyelids.

After a few seconds, when Riya moved her fingers, a second later, Aditya opened his right eye and was able to with his right eye. It took Aditya a few seconds to get adjusted to the light that entered his eye. He looked around the room with his right eye. His vision had been restored. "Thank you." Aditya sincerely expressed his gratitude to Riya from the bottom of his heart.

"Darling, there is no need to thank me. I would do anything to save you." Alicia on the other hand took a deep breath and felt relieved. She felt burdened this whole time. Whenever she looked into his face and saw that scar over his right eye, she felt guilty and couldn't help but blame herself. If he hadn't protected her, Aditya wouldn't have lost his right eye.

"Thank you, Riya." Alicia slightly lowered her head to express her gratitude to Riya.

"As I said before, there is no need to thank me."

"Milady, I think we should go back." Aditya noticed that Riya's personal maid has been hostile toward him. Ever since he entered the room, this maid has been glaring at him. And every time, Riya hugged him or had any form of physical contact, the maid acted like a fierce cat who wants to keep humans away from her children. In short, the maid is too overprotective of Riya.

Hearing her maid's words, a sad look appeared on Riya's face. Riya reluctantly stood up. Aditya also stood up following her. While Alicia couldn't help but feel a little happy inside. Riya's presence was kind of threatening her.

"Unfortunately, darling I will have to take my leave early. I apologize for not being able to spend any time with you. When Alicia contacted me, I left some urgent work in my hand to come here and see you. If I don't return, the injured Elves will only continue to suffer. Some of them might even lose their life." Being the Goddess of Nature, Riya's heart was very kind. She loved nature and people equally. Riya wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for Aditya who always has been her top priority.

"When I have time, I will come to The Celestial Terrain and meet you." Riya was a part of Aditya's childhood. Even if he currently did not have any romantic feelings for her, Aditya still considered her a very important friend. If Riya had time, Aditya would have loved to spend a few hours to know her story and to know what she has been doing all these years.

"Darling, do not worry, soon we will be seeing each other again."

"What did you mean by that?"

"You will know when the time comes." Seeing Riya refusing to explain, Aditya started to feel that Riya was going to visit him in the Istarin Empire.

Alicia led Riya and her maid to another room where there was a teleportation array. Standing in the middle of the teleportation array, Riya said goodbye to Aditya and Alicia. While her maid kept glaring at Aditya as if Aditya was her biggest enemy. It was as if this maid hated his very presence. Aditya couldn't understand what he has done to make this maid hate him this much.

After Riya and her maid left, it was only Aditya and Alicia in the living room. For a moment both of them remained silent. As the silence grew with each passing second, Alicia also started to feel awkward. She had no idea what she should say in this situation. If it was a normal situation, the goddess of wealth could have just started some random discussion. But right now, her mind was replaying the embarrassing things that she have said in the heat of the moment.

"Alicia, I have some important things which I want to tell your family." This wasn't what Alicia was expecting Aditya to say. Deep down, Alicia was expecting Aditya to respond to the things she had said before. Somewhere in her heart, the goddess of wealth felt a trace of disappointment.

Alicia noticed Aditya's serious expression. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Before the mutant fire ant queen passed away, she left a diary that had very important information about The League of Black Tomb. I still haven't read the diary yet but I can tell that this diary has very important pieces of information about The League of Black Tomb. I want to share this information with you all."

"Alright."

Timeskip!

Aditya spent the entire afternoon reading the whole diary. While he was reading, Alicia did not disturb him. She went to the head office of the White Lotus guild to meet Sylvie. Both Alicia and Sylvie discussed what measures they should take to keep the neighboring Empires from attacking the Ethereal Empire.

Just as the sky turned black after the sunset, Aditya, Alicia, Noah, Ronnie, and Sylvie, all returned home. Since Sylvie was an ally and close friend of Alicia, she decided to bring Sylvie to this meeting.

Learning that there is going to be an important meeting, the whole royal family gathered. While the ladies of the family worked hard to make a delicious feast.

"Aditya, I am relieved to see you in perfect health." Just when Aditya entered the house, Olivia, Alicia's grandmother was the first one to greet Aditya. Behind Olivia, there was Bianca, Alicia's biological mother, and her other stepmothers Flora, and Norah. There was also Ronnie's brother, Duke Tomas, and his wife Nia who was carrying her newborn child.

"Aditya, I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter's life." By now the whole family had completely ignored or forgotten about the fact that Aditya was originally Alicia's fake boyfriend. Everyone was treating Aditya as their son-in-law. After returning home, Noah informed his family about the ongoing chemistry between Aditya and Alicia.

"Aunty, there is no need to thank me." The whole family gathered in the backyard where a big dining table was placed. The whole backyard was lit with solar stones. The dining table had all kinds of popular dishes that existed in the Westnia continent.

Olivia, as the head of the family, took the head chair of the dining table. She made Aditya and Alicia sit on her right side. While Ronnie sat on the left side. Sylvie was sitting on Aditya's left. While the rest of the family occupied the other seats.

"Let's start eating." The whole family started eating. Aditya especially looked very hungry.

Not even a whole minute had passed, and Ronnie had urged Aditya to start telling them about The League of Black Tomb. It's understandable. As the Emperor of the Ethereal Empire, what The League of Black Tomb has done has made Ronnie feel threatened. Right now Ronnie was more concerned about The League of Black Tomb than the other Empires who were eyeing to attack their Empire. "Aditya, you can start now." Everyone can feel Ronnie's desperation when he said these 5 words.

"Uncle, I bet you would be shocked to know that the murderer of the Rose family's 3rd daughter is also an inner member of The League of Black Tomb." Hearing what the Dragon King just said, the steel chopsticks from Ronnie's fell on the table. Never this Ronnie expect that the first sentence to come out of Aditya's mouth would mess with his emotions this much.

"Aditya, what are you saying? It was clearly mentioned that Ivan was only a low-rank cultivator. How is it possible for him to be a member of The League of Black Tomb?"

"Sylvie, I am not lying. In the mutant fire ant queen's diary, it was mentioned that Ivan has been hiding his cultivation with some powerful 5-star artifact. As for what kind of artifact it was, there was no information on it." When Aditya met Ivan for the first time, the hate that Ivan have shown for the Ethereal Empire made Aditya doubt Ivan a little. It was clear that the elf had a deep hatred for the Ethereal Empire.

"It was mentioned that Ivan had a deep hatred for the Ethereal empire. His hate has something to do with his parent and his relatives' deaths. On the day when we went with the expedition team, Alicia and I happened to go to Kyra's restaurant. From what he was saying, I can tell that Ivan had some deep grudges for the Ethereal Empire." Aditya paused and looked at Ronnie to see if Ronnie knew anything about this matter.

"I don't have any idea who this Ivan was till I heard the news of Kyra's death. I will deeply look into his matter tomorrow." Even though Ronnie appears to be cold and ruthless in front of the people, those who knew him well would know that Ronnie wasn't a ruthless man. But it was possible that some noble has used Ronnie's name to commit these crimes and now Ivan was mistakenly thinking that Ronnie is the one who killed his parents and relatives.

"Other than Ronnie, in Scarlet's diary she has mentioned some other members. The League of Black Tomb is divided into three parts. There are the outer members who mostly work as intelligent agents and give information to the organization. The outer members are the weakest in the organization. As for their numbers, Scarlet has mentioned in her diary that the number of outer members is simply too many to count. She was sure that there are outer members in every Kingdom, Empire, and Dynasty, of this continent."

"That means there is a very high possibility that some of our nobles are also working as outer members of The League of Black Tomb." The news had shaken not just Ronnie, but also Alicia, Sylvie, and the former Empress, Olivia.

"It is very possible. In fact, I would go on to say that some maids or servants working in the royal palace are also part of the organization. Not just the maids and servants, but also the royal officials and the royal advisers. It's difficult to know who are the traitors." If what Aditya said was true then the organization already knew Ethereal Empire's every single secret. The organization already knew where the royal family lived.

"So this is how the organization was able to know about the key." Ever since the day when The League of Black Tomb took the key from the treasury, Ronnie has always felt that someone from the royal palace had leaked classified information. Now Aditya's words had made him sure that someone indeed have betrayed him.

"Uncle, to prevent this kind of situation from ever happening, I have placed soul-binding contracts to all my servants, maids, and even all the royal officials. If any servant or any noble of my Empire tried to leak classified information about the Istarin Empire or the Istarin King, even before they can utter a single word, their souls would be destroyed." This rule applied not only to the nobles and royal officials, it also applied to the guards who were in charge of protecting the Azure city and the Royal palace.

"It looks like I will have to take similar measures. Within tomorrow, everyone in the royal palace and all the nobles of the Empire will be placed under a soul-binding contract." Ronnie did not care if the nobles were dissatisfied with his decision. He has to do this for the security of the Ethereal Empire.

"From what was written in the diary, Scarlet and Tate were also outer members of the organization. Tate had recently joined the organization in hope of gaining power. Every inner member of the organization is very powerful. According to Scarlet, every inner member that she has met was a Peak 5th-order. Beside Ivan who is one of the inner members, there was Ashley whom I killed. From the diary, I know currently the organization has four other inner members. One of them is called Tommy who is a half-orc and half-human. Before Scarlet died, she told me that one of the inner members named Jay had killed her. As for the names of other members, Scarlet never meet them."

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Chapter 202

Sigh!

"Other than some information about the inner and outer members, we didn't get any information on the core members or the purpose of the organization." Ronnie looked frustrated.

"Uncle, it seems the organization is extremely secretive. A few months back, I actually killed one of the outer members of the organization. But at that time, I had no idea who those people are. It was only a few months ago that I heard the name of the organization."

"You knew the name of the organization? Did you have some kind of confrontation with them or what?" Ronnie and others at the dining table looked very surprised. Sylvie looked at Alicia to see if she knew about it. Seeing that her best friend also looking a little surprised, the dark elf guessed that even the Goddess of wealth didn't know of this side of the story.

"Long story, when my Kingdom was a war with the Zulux Dynasty, I had come to the mountains to find the Majin village. At the same time, 4 Wyverns, three Peak 2nd-order, and one beginner 3rd-order attacked the Majin village. The one who attacked the Majin village was an outer member of The League of Black Tomb. But at that time I didn't know about it."

"A few months later, 14 neighboring Kingdoms and Dynasties together joined hands to attack the Istarin Empire. Fortunately, we managed to win. When I captured the Nyland Kingdom's King, Arthur, he told me that this whole thing was The League of Black Tomb's plan to bring down the Istarin empire."

As Ronnie had sent someone to investigate the history of the Istarin Empire, he knew that Aditya wasn't lying. In fact, it was also rumored that Aditya alone had killed more than a million army with a single attack. At first, Ronnie did not believe in such baseless rumors. It was not possible for a Beginner 3rd-order to do something like this. But Aditya had proved him wrong that day. Whenever Ronnie remembers that giant Crimson orb that had covered the sky and had nearly killed them all, Ronnie gets goosebumps every time.

"But why was The League of Black Tomb after you?" Aditya knew that The League of Black Tomb was after him because they wanted the crown of Seven seas which he got from the Majin village. But Crown of Seven seas was a secret that Aditya didn't want to share with anyone. It was not that Aditya did not trust Ronnie, Alicia, Sylvie, Olivia, and others at the dining table, Aditya felt that some things should be kept secret from everyone. It was not good to tell all of your secrets.

"Apparently they wanted an artifact that I had obtained from the Majin village." Seeing that Aditya is not willing to explain much about the artifact no one asked him any questions regarding the artifact.

"Uncle, what was the Key? What does it do?" Aditya always has been curious about the Key that was taken by The League of Black Tomb.

"I don't know too much about this key. The Previous Ethereal Emperor who was my father, before his death, he had ordered me to keep the key safe and not allow it to be taken by anyone. I had decided to hide that key somewhere inside the Treasury. I thought that no one would be able to steal the key but that was clearly a mistake on my part." Aditya looked at Olivia if the old lady knew anything about it. Unfortunately, she also shook her head.

"Aditya if The League of Black Tomb wants that artifact from you, I feel that sooner or later they are going to send powerful Peak 5th-order cultivators after you." From what Ronnie was told by his informer, although the Istarin Empire had many 4th-order cultivators, the Empire did not have any 5th-order powerhouse.

"Let them come. I am not afraid." To some Aditya's words might sound arrogant but those who have seen him fight would know that Aditya wasn't just being arrogant. Even if multiple Peak 5th-order come to attack the Istarin Empire, Aditya had a way of dealing with them.

The meeting went on for another 2 hours. Other than details about some members and things that Scarlet has done for the organization, nothing important was written in her diary. Ronnie and others were disappointed. They were expecting that the diary would give them some kind of clue or lead on how or where the organization operated.

At the end of the meeting, Aditya gave half-ton solar stones, half ton mana stones, half of 3-star magic fruits, all other lower grade magic fruits, all the armor and weapons, and a spirit stone to Ronnie. It was a difficult time for the Ethereal Empire. Aditya only hoped that these things can help the Ethereal Empire. As for the other things, even though it might sound selfish, Aditya had kept them to build his dragon Palace.

After the meeting, everyone went back to their bedrooms. By the end of the meeting, Ronnie looked very worried. Initially, he was planning on making his son the next Emperor but all the information about The League of Black Tomb was changing his mind. Ronnie wanted to find out all the traitors among the noble ranks before his son ascended the throne.

After the meeting, Sylvie went back and informed all the White Lotus branches to look out if anything out of ordinary happens. The White Lotus guild's branches were spread throughout every single city of this continent. Collecting information should be easy for the White Lotus guild.

As the Night passed, the next morning after breakfast, Aditya became busy studying runes. Aditya fully immersed himself in studying runes. Aditya wanted his Rune Monarch class to reach 4-star. But now even half a day had passed, when in the afternoon, Alicia's maid returned with a piece of very important news for Aditya.

"Thank you for delivering this letter." After thanking the maid, Aditya opened the letter which was written by Watson personally.

[Young Master,

I hope you are doing well. As much as I hate to interrupt you, something important has happened in the Dying Isle continent. In the southern region of the continent, two powerful forces started a massive war. These two powerful forces are the two strongest and biggest Empires in the southern region. A day before yesterday, two letters were delivered to the capital.] Aditya couldn't help but frown.

[I am sure you already know what this means. Both sides are now requesting our assistance in this war. Both parties promised many things if the Istarin Empire agrees to help them in this war. Your Majesty, this war is so big that it has drawn the attention of other Empires. I wouldn't be surprised if other Empires also join this war.]

Using his Crimson Flames, Aditya burned the letter. This was a very important situation. Depending on how Aditya and the Istarin empire dealt with the whole situation, the Istarin Empire either might become even more powerful or will get destroyed.

"I will have to return." Without further wasting any time, that very afternoon, Aditya got ready to head back. After informing Alicia, Ronnie, and Olivia, Aditya used the teleportation array to return back to the Istarin Empire.

Olivia looked very reluctant to part with Aditya. Alicia also looked a little sad when she heard that he was leaving. While Ronnie told Aditya that he has to attend Noah's wedding which will be held in 7 days.

As soon as Aditya was teleported to the Dying Isle continent, several people rushed toward the basement of the royal palace.

Meanwhile, Aditya stepped out of the teleportation array and looked around. "Even though not even an entire week has passed, it feels very good to be back. Nothing can beat the feeling of returning home."

Just as Aditya walked out of the room in which the teleportation array was drawn, a shadow rushed toward him. Aditya opened his arms with a smile and waited for the long-desired hug to come.

The Goddess of Alchemy wrapped her arms around his back while burying her head deep in his chest. Aditya also put his arms on her waist and tightly hugged her.

"I missed you." Aditya had missed Julia.

"Did anything happen in my absence?"

"Nothing happened." After Aditya had left, Julia spent most of her time in her laboratory. Julia was busy making various kinds of pills and potions for the Istarin Empire. She was accompanied by her big sister Paige. From time to time, whenever Amber had time, she would also come and spend time with Alicia. However, without Aditya, Julia felt very empty. This whole castle felt empty without Aditya.

"My dear goddess, why don't you give your husband a returning kiss? Your kiss will heal my soul." Aditya was only joking when he asked for a kiss. Julia took his words seriously. The goddess wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her toes to kiss Aditya.

Aditya also responded back putting his tongue into her mouth. While the Crimson Dragon King and the Goddess were busy in their own world, they failed to notice Watson.

Cough!

"Young master, I deeply apologize for interrupting you. I will need your attention on this matter." Hearing Watson's voice, Julia was startled. She pushed Aditya like a frightened kitten and then ran away feeling embarrassed as this was the first time anyone had ever seen the Goddess kiss, Aditya.

After Julia left, Aditya and Watson looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before Aditya helplessly smiled. "She is still shy about many things." Aditya wondered who will take care of the fire that his wife just ignited in his body.

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Chapter 203

"Watson, what exactly caused this war to start?" Ever since Aditya came to this world, he had been busy developing his own Empire. He never paid any attention outside the Eastern region of this continent. The reason is that the Eastern region is separated from the other regions of the Dying Isle continent through the sea.

The southern region is very close to the Eastern region compared to other regions which are far away. Aditya knew close to nothing about the power structure or about the Empires or Kingdoms that exist in that region.

When one speaks of the southern region, the names of two big Empires are always mentioned. These two Empires dominate the entire southern region. These two empires have been rivals ever since the beginning. These two Empires alone occupied around 80% of the entire Southern region. The small kingdoms and dynasties that exist in the Southern region have to choose one side. If any Kingdom or dynasty refused to take sides, that Kingdom or dynasty would be attacked by both Empires.

These two Empires alone have 90% of the southern region's wealth. Both Empires were very strong and influential. In the last 500 years, even though many tried, no one was able to rise and become strong enough to rival these two Empires. Even when foreign empires from other regions tried to eliminate one of the two Empires, it always ended in failure.

In the last 500 years, ever since both forces became an Empire by occupying 80% of the southern region, there always has been the tension of a big fight breaking out. After five hundred and 9 years, the war finally broke out.

"Your Majesty, if I have to answer your question then I should have to tell you the history of the southern region which revolves around these two powerhouses."

"Go on. I also want to know the history of these two Empires." Right now Watson and Aditya were in the throne room. Aditya was sitting on his throne while Watson was standing beside him; showing him various ancient drawings of the southern regions and the map of the two Empires.

"Well, I am not sure if the story is 100% accurate as 500+ years have passed since the formation of these two Empires. According to some historian scholars, 500 years ago, the southern region used to be a land full of resources. The large number of resources that the southern region had attracted the attention of foreign forces. As a result, almost every part of the southern region was at war. It was said that more than 50 million people had died in that ever-going war for resources. The number could be even bigger. Some historians say that at that time, the entire population of the southern region had dropped by 59%. A large number of the population migrated to the Eastern region to escape from wars and endless fights."

"For years, strong foreign forces continued to take resources from the southern region. It was said that before the fight for resources began, the southern region had over 100+ Kingdoms and 11 powerful and influential dynasties. But when the fight ended, only 3 of the 11 dynasties managed to survive while all other Kingdoms and dynasties were under the rule of foreign Empires and kingdoms." In this world, this kind of thing was very common thing. If the Deep Sea Palace had managed to defeat the Istarin Empire, then they would have done the very same thing.

"Those three dynasties joined hands to fight against the foreign enemy. At that time, a person who was nothing but a soldier belonging to one of these dynasties suddenly started rising in power. That soldier was extremely talented. At that time only a very few people knew that soldiers had the golden dragon bloodline. The three dynasties saw that soldier's talent and decided to nurture him with their resources.

"Around two decades later, that very soldier became Peak's 5th-order cultivator. The golden dragon united the three dynasties and became the new King. Under his rule, he slowly began to drive out foreign enemies. At the same time, some of the foreign Empires lost interest in the southern region as the southern region had run out of resources and manpower."

"Soon the southern region had a very powerful Empire. It was rumored that the Emperor who was also the Hero of the Southern region had two sons. I don't if it's miracle or curse, but the Emperor's both sons' dragon bloodline mutated. One of the sons had the white dragon Bloodline and had a very high affinity with Holy magic while the other son had the Black Dragon Bloodline and had a very high affinity with Dark magic."

"It was rumored that both brothers did not like each other. As years passed both brothers grew up to hate each other in nearly everything. It was the Emperor's death that gave the final spark which ignited the flame of hatred between both brothers."

"Wait a minute. How did the Emperor who was a Peak 5th-order cultivator die?"

"Your Majesty, to this death no one knows this answer. Both brothers began to blame each other for their father's death. In reality, no one has solid proof of who was the killer of the Emperor. But some historians believe that the Emperor was killed by some foreign Empires. I also personally feel that this theory might be the truth. After all, it was the Emperor who ended the rule of the Foreign powers and drove them out of the Southern region."

"What about the Emperor's wife?"

"The Emperor's wife died while giving birth to the twins. After the wife's death, the Emperor also never remarried." Watson noticed Julia walking inside the throne hall with Amber.

"Well, giving birth to dragons is not easy. Especially for humans. Compared to other races, Humans bodies are the weakest. The difficulty only increases if the husband happens to have high tier dragon bloodline." While saying these words, Aditya and Julia both looked at each other. Aditya widened his eyes realizing that this might become a problem for them as well.

After all, Aditya's dragon bloodline was Divine tier while Julia was a human. The chances of something happening to Julia while giving birth to his child who would also have a divine Crimson Dragon bloodline is too high.

Meanwhile seeing Aditya looking at her, Julia couldn't help but blush. The Goddess of alchemy lowered her head. The thought of having Aditya's child crossed her mind. While she did feel that they were moving too fast, Julia didn't exactly dislike the thought of bearing Aditya's child.

Amber and Watson noticed the strange atmosphere. The old man can tell that Aditya was worried about his children.

'Maybe I can turn Julia into a Divine Crimson Dragon by changing her bloodline with mine.' Aditya wasn't sure if this method would be even possible. Even if this method was possible, Aditya would prefer not to do it as this might make some things complicated. For example, Julia's blood connection to her family would be changed. The process of changing her bloodline with Aditya's bloodline might be very painful for Julia.

'I can always turn her into a Dragonian.' Aditya did not like the thought of turning Julia into a dragonian. To Aditya, his dragonians were his subordinates. The Dragonians were the army of the Dragon Monarch. Becoming a dragonian would mean that Julia would become his subordinate and would be always below him, something which Aditya did not like. Aditya wanted his wife to be equal.

cough!

Watson slightly coughed to draw everyone's attention. "Continuing on with the story, after the Emperor's death, both twin brothers became mortal enemies. A massive civil war broke out. In this civil war, every noble and influential people in the Empire had to take either this side or the other. 10 years later, the civil war was finally ended by dividing the Empire equally into two parts. The southern part became the territory of the White Dragon and the southern part became the territory of the Black dragon."

"After the great division, millions of people were forced to migrate. The people who supported the white Dragon King went to the south while the people who supported the Black Dragon King went to the north." This partition reminded Aditya of the partition between India and Pakistan.

"Not even an entire year had passed since the great partition, after everyone and everything settled down, the Black dragon started conquering the neighboring kingdoms and dynasties. Seeing the white dragon also started doing the same. By the time both brothers stopped, both brother's Empires had covered more than 80% of the entire southern region's land."

"Over the years, both brothers had tried various indirect methods of bringing the other's Empire down. But nothing worked. In the last 100 years, both brothers had remained quiet. But a few days ago, the White Dragon Emperor attacked the territory of the Black Dragon Emperor which started this war which has been anticipated for 500 years now."

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Chapter 204

"Over the years, both brothers had tried various indirect methods of bringing the other's Empire down. But nothing worked. In the last 100 years, both brothers had remained quiet. But a few days ago, the White Dragon Emperor attacked the territory of the Black Dragon Emperor which started this war which has been anticipated for 500 years now."

Aditya raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why would the White Dragon King suddenly attack the Black Dragon King after so many years?"

"To be honest, no one really knows why the White Dragon King suddenly declared war against the black Dragon King. The White Dragon Emperor did not give any proper explanation. When he declared war, he said it was time for him to take back what rightfully should have belonged to him."

Aditya frowned hearing Watson's words. Why did the White Dragon Emperor wait 500 years to attack the Black Dragon Emperor? No matter how Aditya tried to look for a logical explanation, he couldn't come up with any.

"This entire matter is more complicated than we think." Watson silently nodded his head in agreement.

"Your Majesty, this matter should be taken very seriously. The Southern region is the biggest supplier of Mana stone to our Istarin Empire. More specifically speaking, 80 to 90 % of our Empire's total mana stones came from the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire." The Northern Frost Dragon Empire was ruled by the White Dragon King while the Southern Fire Dragon Empire was ruled by the Black Dragon King.

Although in terms of land, the Istarin Empire was really big. Almost equal or slightly bigger than the total land area of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire combined. But Unfortunately, unlike the southern region, the eastern region wasn't blessed with that such resources. Now that Aditya had built Teleportation arrays, defensive barriers, and other types of formations using his knowledge of runes, Mana stone is required to run to those formations and arrays.

Although the Istarin Empire has a few Mana stone mines, compared to the total consumption, the mana stones that are mined in those mines are not enough. Meanwhile, the southern region was blessed with Mana stone mines.

The rest of the Dying Isle continent got its supply of Mana stones from the Southern region. It wouldn't be wrong to say that one of the reasons why the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire are so rich and powerful is that both Empires possess around 80 to 90 % of all the mana mines. All the money that both Empires earn from selling Mana stones is spent to develop their military and their cities.

"Your Majesty, now both Empires are looking for powerful allies. The recent rise of the Istarin Empire has attracted a lot of attention. We're in a situation where the option of remaining neutral is not available to us. If we say that we are taking a neutral stance, then I am 100% sure that both Empires will temporarily cut off all the Mana stone supplies to the Istarin Empire."

"At the same time, I am sure both Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire will ask for a helping hand from other powerful Empires in the Dying Isle continent. Those who chose to remain neutral won't be sold any mana stones which would put the security of those Empires at risk. So in that case, the Istarin Empire and those Empires who have taken the decision of remaining neutral will have no choice but to look for another source of Mana stones."

Making sure that Aditya and others were following what Watson was saying, the old butler paused to take out the map of the Dying Isle continent. Watson showed the map of the Dying Isle continent.

"If the Southern region stops selling Mana stones we will have to look for another source in other continents. In that case, the seller would take advantage of this entire situation to increase the price of the Mana stones. In the end, we and the Empires who have taken a neutral stance will have no choice but to buy Mana stones at a higher price to ensure the safety of our Empire. This is where our main problem comes in."

"What Problem are we talking about?" The Goddess of alchemy asked curiously.

"Unlike other Empires which have existed for more than 100+ years, our Istarin Empire has recently become a 5th-tier powerhouse. Almost all of our income was invested in developing the newly added Istarin territories; especially the northern and the northern-west region."

"For us buying mana stones at a higher price is not possible." Julia and Amber then realized the problem they were in.

"In that case, we have no choice but to join the war." The fox queen Amber tightly clenched her fists in anger. The Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire were clearly using their monopoly over Mana stones to control the Empires that were heavily dependent on their Mana stones.

"That isn't necessarily true. At the present situation, we do have some other options."

Seeing everyone looking at him, Aditya decided to explain a little. "My trip to the Westnia continent was not just a vacation." Aditya specifically said these words for Julia. Even though the Goddess did not show any jealousy, Aditya knew that deep down Julia was jealous that he went to Westnia with Alicia.

"Due to some incident, currently I have half-ton mana stones in my storage ring." Watson, Julia, and Amber widened their eyes while looking at Aditya in shock. What sort of incident did Aditya have which gave him a half-ton mana stone? Everyone wondered in their minds.

"Your Majesty, with half a ton of mana stone, we won't have to worry about buying mana stones for the next 2 to 3 years." Watson couldn't help but smile. For several days Watson has been having a headache trying to come up with a solution to the Istarin empire's mana stone storage. Aditya just solved his biggest worries.

"Even if I didn't have half a ton of mana stones, we can still buy mana stones at a cheap price with Alicia's help." Given how close Alicia and Aditya had become in this week, Aditya was sure that in the Istarin empire's tough time, she would help him out.

Speaking of Alicia, Aditya felt a little guilty about not responding to her feelings.

"What is the current situation of the southern region?"

"Right now, the entire southern region is divided into two parts. Every single Kingdom and dynasty was forced to choose a side. Meaning the whole southern region is involved in this war. Around 3 days ago, The Northern Frost Dragon Empire's troops attacked a small city of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. The Northern frost dragon Empire's troops did not stop there. They went on to attack two more towns."

"In response to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's attack, the Southern Fire Dragon Empire attacked the ally Kingdom of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. The last thing that I heard from our spies is that both the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire are using their connections to call out their allies. It seems both Empires are preparing for a head-on clash."

"Actually from what I have heard from my father, it seems both the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has asked the Echo Dominion Empire for help." Just a few hours ago, Julia got this news from her father. Adam had sent this news to Aditya fully knowing that the Istarin Empire might be forced to enter this war.

"Really! What was the Emperor's response?"

"The Emperor hasn't sent out his response yet. But according to my father, the Emperor is planning on giving an excuse and not joining this war."

"The Goblin invasion has damaged my Empire's military power. Right now the Echo Dominion Empire cannot help anyone. I bet this is what the Emperor is going to say in response." From their past interaction, Aditya knew that the Echo Dominion Emperor only cared for his own gain, and joining this war would not gain him anything.

"Your Majesty, what are you planning to do in this situation?" Watson asked.

"This is not the Istarin empire's fight. The Istarin Empire won't participate in this war. This would be our official response to both the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire." After saying these words, Aditya closed his eyes for a moment. Everyone looked at Aditya in silence; waiting for his next words.

"I will be personally heading to the Southern region in secret." Aditya's words shocked, Watson, Julia, and Amber who were in the throne hall.

"Your Majesty....."

"Watson, This whole thing might be an opportunity for the Istarin empire. I have always wanted to expand the Istarin Empire beyond the Eastern region. Besides, I feel that something is not right in the southern region." Aditya didn't just want to stop here. He wanted to continue expanding his Empire. Aditya felt he can take advantage of this entire situation to expand the Istarin Empire.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I apologize for uploading only one chapter these days. These days I have been very busy with studies and exams.

Chapter 205

"How was everything in my absence?" Aditya has been away from the Istarin Empire for 6 days. Although he knew that nothing major can happen given the measures he has taken in the past, he still asked as he was concerned.

"Your Majesty, you can rest assured. Everything has been going just as you have planned. In fact, with each day, our revenue is only increasing."

"That's good. How many soldiers were recruited?" The Istarin Empire needed more soldiers. If the Istarin Empire wanted to become powerful without Aditya, a large number of soldiers were required to do that. These days Julia has been constantly making pills that would help the soldiers to advance to 2nd-order within a few months to one year of cultivation.

One week before Aditya left, soldiers were recruited from all over the Istarin Empires. Even the soldiers who previously worked for the other Kingdoms and Dynasties which has been conquered by Aditya now were working as the Istarin troops.

"Your Majesty, this week, we have recruited more than 30,000 soldiers. All the soldiers are now being trained by the 7 commanders."

"What about the plan of expanding the training ground?"

"Everything is going according to the plan. The Earth mages are working to expand the training ground as soon as possible which would allow us to train more soldiers at the same time."

"While I was away, did anyone try to look for me?" Deep down Aditya was fearing that the outer members of The League of Black Tomb were also keeping an eye on him. After seeing how The League of Black Tomb manipulated the Entire Ethereal Empire for their gain, in Aditya's eyes The League of Black Tomb is a threat that cannot be taken lightly at all.

While it was true that every servant and every royal official that worked in this palace was under a contract that kept their mouth shut, Aditya cannot control the flow of information that goes out of the servant's and the royal official's mouths. Some servants and royal officials might say the things that happen in the palace without even realizing that they were leaking valuable information to the enemy.

"No, Your majesty. Just like you have ordered, we have told everyone that you have entered into seclusion." Hearing Watson's words, Aditya smiled bitterly. Given how The League of Black Tomb's outer members was spread everywhere and his interference with their recent plan, by now, the core members of The League of Black Tomb already must know about Aditya and his different identities.

It was not as if Aditya was trying to hide his identity. Before he might have been cautious since he was weak but now he wasn't afraid. After fighting Ashley, Aditya had gained the confidence of taking down a Peak 5th order. If the enemy sends multiple Peak 5th-order cultivators, the whole story might change.

"Good Job. By the how, how are things at the High Harbor Port city?" Thus the meeting continued for another 2 hours. Julia and Amber felt very bored during these 2 hours. Both girls had nothing to do with politics. After listening to Aditya and Watson's conversation for 20 minutes, Amber left saying that she was going to see the recruits training.

Julia was left alone. The Goddess of wealth having nothing else to do, decided to read a book. After about 2 hours, Watson ended the meeting with a bow and left the throne hall as he knew that the meeting can take place later, now he needed to give Aditya and Julia some time alone.

After Watson left, the whole throne went silent. For the next 5 minutes, no words were heard in the throne hall. Unable to endure the long silence, Julia stopped reading. After closing the book, the goddess raised her head to find Aditya staring at her while resting his face on his right palm.

"What?" Julia's cheeks slightly turned red seeing Aditya looking at her so passionately. Her heartbeat rose. It might come as surprising but even though Aditya and she have kissed many times, in times like this, Julia always feels slightly embarrassed. She feels as if she falling for Aditya all over again. Of course, the tsundere Goddess would never admit it.

"What are you looking at?" The tsundere Goddess looked like a cat whose tail has been stepped on. She was looking fierce as if she was ready to pounce on Aditya at any time.

Seeing this Aditya chuckled before answering. "Nothing. I was just looking at the face of my children's future mother."

The princess folded her arms under her chest and then snorted. "Hmph! This princess will never bear your children."

Aditya innocently looked at Julia and asked. "Why? Just a few hours ago, you were blushing when I talked about having a child. Let's have at least 100 children."

Hearing Aditya's words, the goddess widened her eyes in shock. "Are you crazy? There is no way, I would have 100 children. I don't want to be pregnant for 2200 years." Ignoring the fact of how difficult it was for a Divine Dragon to impregnate the female partner, giving birth to a dragon baby takes 22 months. If Aditya seriously wanted 100 children, Julia would have to be pregnant for 2200 years. Julia didn't want to be pregnant for 2200 years.

Julia was confident that in the future she would reach 5th-order or maybe even 6th-order or 7th-order. A 5th-order cultivator can live almost for an uncountable number of years. While 7th-order cultivators were practically immortals. Even if Julia can live that long, the thought of being pregnant for 2200 years was just too crazy in her own opinion.

Maybe these words wouldn't be crazy to a 7th-order cultivator who has lived for one hundred thousand years or one million years. But to Julia who was only 19 years old, spending 2200 years while being pregnant sounded nothing but crazy.

"My dear wife, my future vision is a long-term plan." Hearing Aditya's words, Julia rolled her eyes.

"Hmph! We haven't even gone beyond ki...kissing and here you're thinking of having children." The next moment Aditya disappeared faster than Julia can even react. To Julia, just as she finished saying her sentence and waited for Aditya's response, she suddenly felt her body being lifted. Before she can understand what was happening, Julia was sitting on Aditya's lap while facing him.

The goddess's face turned red when she found herself sitting on Aditya's lap while looking at his face. The Goddess's cheeks flushed red seeing those Crimson eyes staring at her. It is impossible for the Julia of the past to think that one day she and her fiance who was good for nothing would come this far and get this close.

"Let me go." Julia said in a weak tone when feeling Aditya's arms holding her waist.

"What did you say?" Aditya asked with a smile. He loved teasing Julia. Julia showed this side of her to only Aditya.

As Aditya spoke, he enjoyed the feeling of her soft chest being pressed against his chest. Her whole body was soft and full of fragrance which made him feel addicted. Her waist was slim and soft.

Before Julia can even reply, Aditya bought his face closer to her. Both of their faces were only a few inches away from touching.

"Julia, I love you." The goddess's heart nearly melted. Which girl wouldn't feel moved after saying these three words from the person whom they love?

"I....I don't love you." The Goddess struggled a bit. In the end, this was what she could say to Aditya. In the next second, her lips were sealed by his lips.

Without realizing it, Julia wrapped her arms around his neck for a better position while his strong hands held her slim and soft waist. Both of their tongues battled each other while exchanging saliva which tasted very sweet to them. Both of them were lost in their own worlds.

The Kiss went on for a long period of time. After about 20 minutes, Julia couldn't hold her breath anymore. With a light push, both stopped. When both separated, a string of saliva still connected both of their tongues.

Huff! Huff!

Seeing the Goddess panting while resting her face on his chest, Aditya couldn't help but lick his lips. Aditya wanted more. He just didn't want to stop there. As a Divine Dragon, Aditya's lust was comparable to the lust of an Incubus. If Aditya was not actively suppressing his bloodline, his lust would have gone out of control. Besides suppressing his bloodline, Aditya had to regularly use his hand in the bathroom.

This passionate kiss with Julia had awakened the suppressed Crimson Flame inside Aditya. Right now his crotch was in pain. His arms were itching. His throat had gone dry as if he had never drunk water for 100 years. The emotions that he was feeling were very difficult to explain in words.

"Julia, I want you." Saying that the Dragon King went on to Kiss Julia's neck.

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Chapter 206

This passionate kiss with Julia had awakened the suppressed Crimson Flame inside Aditya. Right now his crotch was in pain. His arms were itching. His throat had gone dry as if he had never drunk water for 100 years. The emotions that he was feeling were very difficult to explain in words.

"Julia, I want you." Saying that the Dragon King went on to Kiss Julia's neck. When his soft and warm lips touched her neck, Julia felt a bolt of pleasure throughout her body. Without even realizing it, the goddess let out a sweet and seductive moan that only added more fuel to Aditya's inner Crimson Flames.

Ah~!

Aditya gently kissed her neck and then began to move down while kissing. Aditya treated Julia as if she was the most delicate and precious object in the entire world. Each time, the Dragon Monarch kissed the Goddess, the Goddess felt a bolt of pleasure.

Aditya moved down and started to kiss her collarbone. With each kiss, more heat was being built up inside Julia. The Goddess instinctively wrapped her arms behind his head.

Ah~!

Sitting on Aditya's lap, the goddess could feel something hot and big. Julia was well-educated enough to know what this thing was.

The goddess had no hesitation or any trace of doubt in her heart. She loved Aditya with her whole heart. That night when Aditya kissed her under the moonlight, from that moment, the goddess had considered Aditya as her man.

Meanwhile while kissing Julia, Aditya's hands went to touch Julia's ass cheeks. When he squeezed them, the goddess moaned once again. But this time her moan was louder and sweeter.

Ahh~~!

Julia's moans were only increasing Aditya's desire. Right now he was finding it very hard to keep himself in control. The fire of desire in his body was clouding his judgment. Unable to control himself any longer, while giving soft kisses to Julia's collarbone, Aditya's right arm went to touch Julia's chest. But before his right arm could touch her chest, the right arm stopped in mid-air as he felt someone approaching the throne hall.

A frown appeared on Aditya's face. Right now he felt like breaking every single bone of that person.

Sigh!

'Why he is here of all times?' Aditya felt very frustrated. His Phallus was starting to hurt as well.

Seeing that Aditya has stopped suddenly, Julia looked down only to notice Aditya's frowning look. Julia got worried for a second thinking that she unknowingly had done something that has made Aditya upset and had even made him frown.

"Is something wrong?" Julia gently asked. Her voice was so gentle that it made Aditya doubt if Julia's personality had changed.

"Leo Gallagher is here." Realizing that someone was here to interrupt them, Julia felt annoyed. They were finally about to take their relationship to the next level but someone had to interrupt them at this moment.

Aditya helped Julia get up from his Lap. Aditya wouldn't have minded if Julia had just kept sitting on his lap but knowing that this wife had a very shy personality, Julia definitely wouldn't want to be intimate with Aditya in front of anyone. After Julia got up, she instantly noticed the big bulge on Aditya's pants.

Seeing Julia looking at the crotch, Aditya showed a bitter smile. Unfortunately for him, his flames of desire have to be extinguished for now. Noticing Aditya's bitter smile, Julia showed a thoughtful reaction before she can say anything the doors of the throne hall were pushed open by a handsome young man.

The young man had blue hair like Aditya. Despite looking 17 or 18 years old young man, he was actually a lot younger. Being a Divine Crimson Dragon's Dragonian, the young man's body has grown a lot. The young man had a big mana reserve for someone who was only at 3rd-order.

This boy and his little sister were saved by Aditya and were bought by the Istarin Empire. Since then, Aditya has allowed him and his sister to stay in the Palace.

Leo kneeled before Aditya. "Greetings to his Majesty."

"Stand up Leo. Leo, it looks like your cultivation has improved again." It's almost unbelievable to think that someone so young is already at 3rd-order. If this news got out, then Leo would be called the number one genius of the Dying Isle continent. Fortunately, no information about Leo or anyone who lives in this Palace besides Aditya and Watson was leaked to anyone.

Every Dragonian had very high cultivation speed. In the case of Leo, even before he became a cultivator, he was a talented person. When he became a Dragonian, his cultivation speed only increased. Leo was one of the fastest-growing Dragonians. There is no doubt that in a few years or maybe even sooner than that, Leo might become a 5th-order powerhouse.

"Yes, thanks to the pills that big sister Julia gave me." From the corner of Aditya's eyes, he looked at Julia for a brief second before looking at Leo again. This was surprising. The Leo that Aditya remembered was so cold to everyone except his own sister. But now Leo was warm to Julia. He was even thanking Julia. It only made Aditya wonder what happened in these 6 days that changed Leo this much.

"So, what happened? Do you need anything?"

"I want to gain real fighting experience. So I was thinking if I can work with big brother Scott for a while."

Aditya has never really sent Leo out to experience real battles. This whole time Leo has been building his strength. He has been cultivating. But if he does not get fighting experience, if he does not learns to use his full powers and knows his capabilities, then even if Leo becomes a 5th-order cultivator in the future, he would have no real strength.

Aditya kind of forgot about this fact with all the things keeping him busy. The last few months, Aditya barely got time to take a breath. He was working practically day and night. It was normal for Aditya to forget about one or two things.

Every month, the 6 generals are sent out to various parts of the Empire to exterminate bandits groups or criminals from the Istarin Empire. While the shadow guardian, Nathan, and his whole division worked on finding information on those bandits or thugs. This new system was recently introduced. This method allows the 7 division captains to take out the new recruits to gain experience which is necessary for their future development.

"Why go with Scott? I mean he and his entire division are full of archers and you're not an archer. Why not go with Henry or Eleanor?" Aditya curiously asked.

"There are several reasons why I want to go with Scott. The first reason is Scott's ability to spot enemies from a long distance. Also, I want to see what archers do on the battlefield." Leo's reasons were not so convincing.

"The truth is, Leo's sister, Clara, wants to become an archer. Leo wants to learn more about Archer so that he can teach his little sister." Aditya now understood why Leo was willing to work with Scott.

"If that's the case you can go with Scott. I will ask Scott to also teach the basics of archery when he has time. Speaking of your little sister, how is she doing these days? It has been a week or two since I last saw her."

"Thank you for asking your Majesty. My sister has been doing well." When speaking of his little sister, Leo showed a genuinely happy face. It was as if the frost on his face melts every time he speaks of his sister.

"Leo, I know that you don't have much talent with the bow. Why don't I hire a private instructor to teach Clara about archery or Scott could teach Clara when he is free? Even if you managed to learn the basics, you wouldn't have enough qualifications to teach someone else as you're not master in bow meaning that you will make mistakes which might be passed down to your sister." It would be better for Clara to learn Archer from the master.

Leo hesitated for a moment before agreeing with Aditya's suggestion. "Alright then. I will ask Scott to send one of his best archers from his division to teach Clara."

After that Aditya asked Leo some other questions which he replied in very brief words. Aditya did not hold Leo any longer. After Leo left, Aditya turned to Julia. "How did Leo change so much?"

"Actually his little sister is the key to opening his frost-cold heart. Give him some more time, I am sure soon he will start smiling. Being the big brother, Leo was forced to mature much earlier. If I or you were in his position, you would be even like him or maybe even worse than him. The reason why he is so passionate about strength is that he wants to protect his sister."

Sigh!

Aditya understood what Julia was trying to say. Aditya just hopes Leo does lose himself in pursuit of power.

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Chapter 207

"Who do you think is going to win the war? I would place my bet on the Northern Frost Dragon Empire,"

"Brother, if any soldier or citizen of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire heard what you have just said, then you would be publicly beaten and then executed."

"Hmph! What kind of life we are living? It's always about the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Why do we have to choose sides? Even if we picked up a side, our Kingdom can offer nothing to the Southern Fire Dragon Empire."

Right now two men were sitting in a private room and drinking alcohol. Both men were soldiers. One of the men was 15 years older than the other one. As both soldiers were given a rare holiday both decided to go out and drink.

"Everything is a game of politics. Small Kingdoms like ours are nothing but chess pieces. For us, it was either do or die situation. The Southern Fire Dragon Empire's Emperor the Black Dragon King has personally threatened our King. If our Kingdom did not support the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, then the Emperor was personally going to destroy this whole Kingdom."

Bang!

The young soldier smashed the glass bottle with his right fist in anger. The young soldier looked very angry and enraged.

"But why? What difference would it make even if our small Kingdom joins the Southern Fire Dragon Empire in this war? Our military is very weak. We only have around 9,000 soldiers. The top powerhouse in this kingdom is a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. Our military is practically no use to the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Even a Baron of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has more military power than our Kingdom does."

Sigh!

"Our Kingdom would have grown 10 times stronger if the Southern Fire Dragon Empire had not suppressed us in the past. Because of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, it became very difficult to strengthen our military. The most unreasonable thing that the Southern Fire Dragon Empire does is to force our Kingdom to sell Mana stones to their Empire at a very cheap price."

"Our Kingdom could have made tons of royal gold coins selling mana stones. Even if our Kingdom is small, we were blessed with a few mana stones. With all those money, we could have become a 4th-tier Kingdom by now. But all these resources were being used by the Southern Fire Dragon Empire to fill their pockets with money while the people of this Kingdom suffered from hunger, and poverty and died on cold streets."

"This is not the first time that the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has done something like this. For countless years, the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire have been suppressing the kingdoms and dynasties that were located near their borders. Both dragon brothers have been exploiting the resources of other Kingdoms and dynasties. This war has nothing to do with any other Kingdom besides the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, yet both selfish brothers divided the entire southern region just to gain an advantage in the war."

"Big brother, why the King is remaining so quiet and enduring the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's bullying which is making the people of this Kingdom suffer a lot?"

"We simply don't have any other choice beside enduring. For multiple centuries, this Kingdom was bullied by the Southern Fire Dragon empire. This will continue like this till the Southern Fire Dragon empire falls one day which is impossible given how strong the Empire is."

"What if the Northern Frost Dragon empire's Emperor defeats the southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Emperor?"

"If this happens, then the entire Southern Fire dragon empire would be annexed by the White Dragon Empire. From what I have heard that White Dragon Emperor isn't exactly kind either. While the people of his Empire believe and even worship him as if the White Dragon Emperor is some God, only the people who lived outside the Northern frost Dragon Empire knew the personality of the White Dragon king. The White Dragon King would treat us the same way the Black Dragon King does."

At the same time, In the palace of the Sky Line Kingdom, there were two people sitting in a meeting room. One of the people sitting in the meeting room was a young man with long blue hair and attractive Crimson red eyes. Bangs had covered the young man's forehead. The young man wore a traditional black Yukata making him look even more handsome. Looking at the young man's face, it was very difficult to read what the young man was thinking.

While the man sitting opposite him, was a handsome-looking middle-aged man. The handsome middle-aged man was wearing a golden crown that had red gems embedded on it on his head. The man was wearing a golden dress that perfectly covered his 6 feet tall body and highlighted his muscles.

The man in the golden dress was a Beginner 3rd-order cultivator. If one looked closely enough then he should realize that the middle-aged man's face looked pale. His skin had dried up as if someone had squeezed blood out of his body. From every 10 seconds to 40 seconds interval, the man's body would slightly tremble as if he was having a problem.

The man with the golden crown had Short blond hair. The man had brown pupils and a mole under his lips.

The middleman struggled a little when he tried to stand up. Although he tried to hide it and pretend as if it never happens, Aditya noticed this. Seeing that the King was pretending to not see it, Aditya also decided to remain quiet for now.

After standing up, the man removed the crown from his head and held it in his right palm. The man bowed his head to Aditya. "Welcome to the Sky Line Kingdom. I am sure Sir Aditya already knows my name. My name is Kane and I am the King of Sky Line Kingdom."

Aditya stood up to return the bow. Even though there was no need for Aditya to bow as his position was higher compared to the Sky Line Kingdoms' King, Aditya still bowed to Kane. If someone showed Aditya respect, then he would give them respect. "I am Aditya. It's nice to meet you."

"First of all, let me thank Sir Aditya for answering my call this quickly."

Aditya waved his hand and said. "There is no need to add Sir before my name. You can call me Aditya and I will you Kane if that's okay with you."

Kane nodded his head in agreement. "Aditya, you already should know the state of my own Kingdom. I have miserably failed my family. Under my reign, this Kingdom was dragged all the way to the bottom. I am an utter failure." Kane lowered his head feeling sad and also shameful.

"Kane, I am sure your Kingdom wouldn't have been this miserable if the Southern Fire Dragon Empire had not exploited resources from your Kingdom." Exporting mana stones to other regions or Empires could have bought the Sky Line Kingdom a huge chunk of gold which would have completely revolutionized their Sky Line military.

Sigh!

"Aditya, things were never easy for me. I was constantly bullied, suppressed, and exploited. As I was weak, I couldn't raise my voice. It's not just the people of the Sky Line Kingdom that have suffered." The look on Kane's face spoke a lot of things. Kane looked depressed, sad, heartbroken, and most noticeable of all, very tired.

Ever since Kane took over the throne, he has been trying his very best to change his Kingdom. Before he became the King, he was a naïve young man who wanted to make this kingdom a better place for the people. But as time passed, Kane realized just how naïve his ideals were. His whole life, Kane has tried to change this Kingdom. Without even realizing it, Kane had neglected his health to the point where he is currently only a few steps away from death.

Right now, Kane was extremely tired. He needed some rest. Kane was tired of all the politics. He was tired of trying his best. He was tired of being suppressed and exploited. Overall, Kane was tired of everything. He had burned himself out. He wanted this to end which is why he had contacted the Istarin Empire in secret.

"I will keep things straight. Aditya, as much as it pains me to say it, I want to sell this Kingdom for a price." If Kane's father or his grandfather had heard what he was saying then they would beat him to death. The idea of selling this Kingdom to a big powerhouse has been on his mind for a while now. At first, it was nothing but an idea to Kane. Kane had a lot of time to think. The final trace of hesitation disappeared when both Empires started their war and involved this Kingdom in it.

This place was Kane's home. His Kingdom was Kane's territory. The thought of selling this place shattered his heart in pieces. But there was nothing that Kane could do about it. Kane realized that by giving his Kingdom to a strong Empire that is equally or stronger than the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, the condition of his Kingdom might change. The dream that he cannot fulfill might be fulfilled by someone else.

Kane was taking a big risk by doing it. If his Kingdom fell into the hands of some evil or corrupted King, then the economy of his Kingdom would only get worse. This is not what Kane wanted in any situation.

One of the reasons why Kane approached the Istarin Empire is because these days the name of the Istarin Empire was almost everywhere. Everyone knew how in less than 5 months, the Istarin Empire went from being the smallest Kingdom to the biggest empire in the Eastern region. Also, after an extensive detailed research on the Istarin Empire, Kane started to feel that he can trust the Istarin King.

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Chapter 208

Kane was taking a big risk by doing it. If his Kingdom fell into the hands of some evil or corrupted King, then the economy of his Kingdom would only get worse. This is not what Kane wanted in any situation.

One of the reasons why Kane approached the Istarin Empire is because these days the name of the Istarin Empire was almost everywhere. Everyone knew how in less than 5 months, the Istarin Empire went from being the smallest Kingdom to the biggest empire in the Eastern region. Also, after extensive detailed research on the Istarin Empire, Kane started to feel that he can trust the Istarin King.

So far even though the Istarin Empire has become the strongest Empire in the Eastern region, the Empire has never used its power to bully any of the neighboring Kingdom. However, that did not mean that the Istarin Empire was weak. The Empire has completely destroyed anyone who tried to attack them or even think of doing any harm to them.

From these facts, Kane can some idea of the type of man Aditya was. Aditya is a vengeful person. Even when the Istarin Empire was just a weak kingdom, Aditya dared to fight the Zulux Dynasty and defeat them.

Even if the Southern Fire dragon Empire tried to oppress or bully the Sky Line Kingdom, Kane was sure that Aditya won't just remain quiet. He was not that kind of person.

Aditya was also a great King. Under his rule, the Istarin Empire reached its peak. He took a dead, poverty, and hunger-filled Kingdom to become one of the strongest Empires on the whole Continent in less than 6 months. "I want to sell the Sky Ling Kingdom for a fair price."

Aditya did not reply instantly. Aditya would have spent a few more days in Azure city before heading to the southern region but the sudden letter from the Sky Line Kingdom's King made Aditya come here immediately.

After reading the letter, Aditya couldn't understand what could possibly make a king give up his own Kingdom and the place where he was born. What can possibly force a man to give up everything that he has? What could possibly make a king write a letter to another King about selling his own Kingdom?

Before coming here, Aditya obviously had learned many things about this Kingdom from the spies that Watson had sent to different empires, Dynasties, and Kingdoms. Although the condition of the Kingdom was not that good, it wasn't bad enough to force a King to give up his land and his Kingdom. The reason why Aditya came here is to know exactly why the Sky Line King was willing to sell his own Kingdom.

At the same time, it made Aditya wonder if Kane was plotting something. Aditya decided to come here today with two plans. If the Skyline Kingdom's King did plan to harm Aditya, the whole Sky Line Kingdom would suffer from the wrath of the Dragon Monarch.

Aditya kept staring at Kane for a while. This made Kane feel awkward. Despite Aditya being almost 2 decades younger, when being stared at by Aditya, Kane felt as if he was insignificant. The Aura around Aditya makes others feel as if this man was above all. Aditya had this Aura around him which made it hard for people to just ignore him as a background character.

In fact, Kane would even go on to argue that Aditya had more strong presence than the Black Dragon King did. There were many differences between both Great Emperors. In fact, Kane felt he can write an entire book about it.

For example, The Black Dragon King is cold, arrogant, cruel, and power-hungry. The Black Dragon King was ready to do anything to gain power. As for Aditya, from what Kane has heard about Aditya and from their brief interaction, it seemed Aditya was someone who was calculative, cunning, and can become the most ruthless man on the planet when necessary. Aditya wasn't exactly righteous or heroic. He was a man who put the interest of his Empire above all. Aditya was neither a villain nor a Hero.

"Why?" Even though Aditya just uttered a single word, Kane instantly understood what Aditya meant to ask. Even though Aditya had asked only a single word from Kane, the word of the Dragon Monarch seems to have put pressure on Kane.

Right now, the way Aditya was looking at Kane was making him feel as if he was some insignificant ant. It wasn't that Aditya was looking down on Kane or anything. Aditya's eyes were crystal clear and there was no contempt or ridicule for Kane. When looking at those crimson eyes that seem to reflect the millions of beings that he has slaughtered, any man would feel insignificant.

Sigh!

Kane sighed while relaxing his shoulders. He realized that there was no point in trying to hide this from the Dragon Monarch himself.

Kane looked at Aditya while holding his knees. "The truth is I am dying."

Aditya noticed that Kane's complexion didn't look too good. His face appeared slightly pale. For a beginner 3rd-order cultivator and for a King, his body was too skinny and skinny. So Aditya didn't suspect that Kane was lying when he said that he was dying.

"What happened to you?" There were no emotions in Aditya's eyes. It was difficult to know what he was feeling at this moment.

"Years of negligence toward my health have finally left a deep mark. I probably don't have much time in this world. I have used a large sum of money to call many famous and popular healers and alchemists but none of them was able to heal the diseases that have been killing me." Kane rubbed his head with a bitter smile. Aditya can see that he was tightly clenching his fists. Right now Kane was fighting to not shed tears in front of Aditya.

"I have a beautiful and sweet wife and a daughter who is only 3 years old. I know that if I die, then my wife cannot handle all the pressures. The Southern Fire Dragon King will probably try to take advantage of this and try to bring the entire Sky Line Kingdom into the southern fire dragon Empire." From what Aditya has heard of the Black Dragon King, Aditya wouldn't be surprised if that man tries to take the entire Sky Line Kingdom.

"I have dedicated my whole life toward this Kingdom yet I failed to achieve anything praiseworthy. In my final times, I realized while trying to become a good King, I have ended up becoming a bad husband and a horrible father. I don't want my family to be pressured because of all these politics. Hence I have decided to take them away somewhere very far away."

Seeing Kane's entire body trembling, Aditya understood this decision wasn't easy for Kane. "Let me correct you on something. While in your eyes you might think that you haven't achieved anything praiseworthy for this Kingdom, in my eyes, I feel that without you, this Kingdom would have become a thing of the past. Kane, sometimes it's not just about accomplishment. The fact that you have taken all the bullying and still kept standing is praiseworthy." Right now Aditya was being honest as he can tell that this brother here needed to hear these words more than anything.

Just as Aditya said those words, Kane couldn't control himself anymore. His vision became blurry all of a sudden. His body wouldn't stop shaking. Right now all he can do was to try wiping his eyes and make his vision clear again.

Kane wasn't a weak heart man. But after years of enduring all those pressures, bullying, and oppression, the man had finally reached his limit. Kane needed to let it out.

"So...Sorry, I think something just entered my eyes," Kane said while wiping his tears.

"That's alright. Take your time."

Just as Aditya finished saying those words, he sensed someone entering the meeting room. The person who entered the meeting room was a little angel. Aditya's eyes were instantly drawn to her. The little girl was very beautiful. She had long light pink hair that reached her feet. She was wearing a beautiful long dress.

With her light purple pupils, the girl curiously looked at Aditya before looking at her own father. Looking at her, Aditya can finally understand why Kane was willing to sell his own Kingdom. Even though Aditya hadn't become a father yet, looking at this little girl, he had the urge to hug her and protect her. If a stranger like Aditya wants to protect this child, then one can only imagine how much a father can love his daughter.

The little girl, seeing her father crying ran up to her father. The girl then started patting Kane's head. "Dad, are you alright?" Kane who was already emotional, couldn't hold it anymore. He picked up his daughter and then started crying while hugging his daughter.

While holding his daughter, Kane couldn't help but regret it. He was a horrible father. He rarely spent time with his daughter. Now in these final remaining days, Kane's biggest wish was to see his daughter grow up. He wanted to make up for being a horrible father. He wanted to shower his daughter with endless love.

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Chapter 209

"I apologize for losing my control. Thank you for your kind words. These words mean a lot to me." Kane sincerely thanked Aditya. Right now Kane was finally calmed down. After crying, Kane for some reason started to feel light. As if the burdens on his heart has been lifted. He now felt freer as if his wings has been released after being caged for decades.

Aditya shook his head with a smile and then looked at the little girl who was also curiously staring at him. "Would you mind introducing her?"

"Jennifer Walsh is the name of this beautiful angel."

Aditya looked at little Jennifer. Little Jennifer also curiously stared at Aditya. "Jennifer, he is Aditya. You call him big brother."

"Nice to meet you, big brother."

"Nice to meet you too, little Jennifer." Kane looked very happy holding his daughter. The small smile on his face was always there.

"Kane, it's okay if you don't want to answer my question. But I am curious to know where you were planning on going?" Aditya was sure that Kane would leave the Dying Isle continent and go to some other continent.

Kane hesitated a bit for replying. "I was planning on going to the Westnia. For now, my destination is not decided. I am planning on traveling around with my family for a while before settling down." With the remaining time that Kane had in his hand, he wanted to travel to new places and make new memories with his daughter and family. Who knows, maybe while traveling, Kane might find a place where he and his family can settle down.

Kane wasn't afraid of Aditya betraying him. For this interaction, Kane was trusting Aditya even more than before.

Kane looked down to look at his daughter who was sitting on his lap and curiously looking at Aditya. Kane gently rubbed his daughter's head with a smile. "Jennifer, why don't you go and help mommy in preparing lunch? Don't you want your big brother to taste your cooking?"

Hearing Kane's words, little Jennifer's eyes sparkled in excitement. Jennifer quickly got down. "Big brother, Jennifer will make you delicious food. Just you wait." Saying that, without giving Aditya any chance to refuse, she left the meeting room.

"You have a wonderful family. I wonder how long I will have to wait to have a child?"

Hearing Aditya's words, Kane looked at Aditya and asked. "Why? Is something wrong with you....thing?"

Aditya didn't know whether to laugh or cry hearing Kane's words. "No. Nothing is wrong with my thing. The problem lies in my dragon bloodline. You should know how hard it is for a dragon to have an heir." Besides, it was not as if Aditya was actively looking for a child.

Kane nodded with an understanding look.

"Now moving on, Kane, let's get to the main topic of our discussion." Kane nodded his head in agreement.

"Give me a reasonable price?"

"Before that let me tell you the current condition of my Kingdom. Currently, the Skyline Kingdom has 9,000 soldiers. Among those 9,000 soldiers, only around 500 of them are second-order cultivators and I am the only 3rd-order cultivator of this Kingdom. Recently I have taken a large debt from one of the merchant companies to develop a city that is located 34 km away from the capital."

While Aditya appreciated that Kane was being honest here, he didn't like the thought of the Kingdom being in debt. "How much is the debt?"

"14.5 Million royal gold coins. In exchange for this huge amount, it was written in the contract to give a tax exemption of 100 years to the merchant company." Aditya couldn't help but frown. Tax exemption for 100 years was just too much.

"Kane, I think the Tax exemption of 100 years is just too much." In Aditya's opinion, Kane shouldn't have taken this debt at all.

"What other option did I have?" Kane replied with a bitter smile.

"Is there anything else that I should know?" Of course, Aditya already knew everything that there is to know about this Kingdom through his connections. He still asked as he wanted to see if Kane would be honest. If Kane hid anything from Aditya, he would just leave.

"As you know, 9,000 troops are never enough to protect a Kingdom. As a result, the Sky Line Kingdom has one of the highest crime rates in the whole southern region. Beside that, some of the cities of the Sky Line kingdom are underdeveloped. Around 60 to 70% of the population is struggling to find their 3 meals."

Before coming here, Aditya already had known about all these problems. Aside from these problems, there were also some minor problems that Aditya would have to take care of.

"How about 5 million royal gold coins?" Hearing the price, Aditya couldn't keep himself calm. The Dragon Monarch looked shocked. Kane's words had broken the calm and composed look on Aditya's face.

"If the price is too high then we can negotiate and bring the price down?"

Aditya shook his head in denial. Before coming here, after reading Kane's letter, Aditya thought that he at least would have to pay 15 million to 20 million royal gold coins which would be 150 million gold coins or 200 million gold coins to buy the Sky Line Kingdom. But the price that Kane was giving him was too cheap. Especially given the fact that this Kingdom has mana stone mines. As long as Aditya sells these Mana stones, he was sure that he can recover this amount within a month's time.

"Kane, do you understand that you would be making a big loss if you sold your Kingdom only for 5 million royal gold coins?" Normally Aditya would have happily accepted this offer but after talking with Kane and seeing his condition, Aditya did not want to take advantage of him.

However, Kane shook his head with a smile. "Aditya, I understand what I am doing. These 5 million royal gold coins would be more than enough for my family to start a small business and live a happy life for the next 500 years or even more than that." Since Kane had decided to leave everything, he stopped caring about money. These 5 million royal gold coins would ensure his family's future even if something happens to him in the future.

"Besides, I am leaving you with a debt of 15 million royal gold coins." Seeing Kane being so sincere, Aditya felt this man didn't deserve to die.

"I know a person who is the best healer in this whole world. You can bring your family there and tell her that Aditya has sent you. She would happily heal your diseases." Aditya was 99% sure that Riya can heal Kane's disease.

"Who is that person that you're talking about?" Kane curiously asked. The title of the world's best healer belonged to the Goddess of Nature. Kane knew that even if he used all of his wealth and connections, he might never meet the goddess of Nature. Kane also refused to believe that Aditya knew the Goddess of Nature.

"Her name is Riya. Just head to the Celestial Terrain and you will know what I am talking about." Kane decided to trust Aditya on this matter.

"Kane, I can pay you the money right now. Let's sign the contract." Given the chaotic situation in the southern region, Aditya didn't wish to waste any more time. Before the second battle started, there were many things that he needed to do. The first thing is, strengthening the military of the Sky Line Kingdom which would become a part of the Istarin Empire very soon.

"Aditya, I will need some time to prepare the contract. To make the contract, I would first have to hire a runemaster." Since the contract is going to be a soul-binding contract, a runemaster was needed.

"There is no need to call a runemaster. I can draw the contract myself."

"Alright."

Aditya took out a special type of paper. Before drawing the contract, he first talked with Kane about various topics. Aditya made sure to let Kane know that once the contract was signed, the Sky Line Kingdom would belong to the Istarin Empire and neither Kane nor his descendants would have any rights in this Kingdom.

Kane accepted all the conditions with a heavy heart. Even though he prepared himself for this moment, it was certainly not easy for someone like Kane to give up his birthplace.

"Kane, if in the future, you managed to get well, then you will always be welcome to return to this Kingdom. At that time, I will give you the position of a Duke and give you the rights to govern this Kingdom." Aditya said those words fully knowing that it would be impossible for Kane to just forget about this Kingdom. There will always be regret in his heart.

After all, for this Kingdom, Kane sacrificed so many things.

After the contract was made, both parties put a drop of their blood on the contract. After the contract was created, Aditya gave Kane 5 million royal gold coins. Aditya didn't need to touch the royal gold coins that were reserved in his treasury. The money that he got from the Echo Dominion Emperor and from the Mutant fire ant queen was more than enough.

After Aditya paid, Kane invited Aditya to have lunch with his family. At the dining table, Aditya once again invited Kane to work under him. Kane said that for now, he would like to spend time with his family. Since Kane never refused Aditya's offer, the Dragon Monarch knew that the former King was going to return to his land as the Duke of the Istarin Empire in the future.

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Chapter 210

Bulky braziers attached to each of the twelve granite columns light up the entire throne hall and shroud it in a dark orange radiance. The humongous chandeliers hanging from the oblique ceiling dance in the flickering light while memorials look down upon the teak floor of this grand hall.

An ebony rug runs from the throne to the doors and is matched by smaller ones on either side of the hall while burgee banners with adorned sides cover parts of the walls. Between each banner hangs a small luster, all but a few have been lit and in turn, illuminate the statuettes of divine beings below them.

Slim, stained glass windows depicting divine beings are hidden by curtains colored the same ebony as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with emblazoned edges and fine patterns.

A grandiose throne of marble sits in front of a giant painting of the previous ruler and is adjoined by three plain, but comfortable seats for the royal highness family members.

The throne is covered in gilded marks and fixed on each of the broad ears is a carved face. The comfortable pillows are dark ebony and these too have been adorned with emblazoned tracery.

Those waiting to see their royal highness can do so on the abundance of extravagant and comfortable maple benches, all of which are facing the throne in a half circle. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the extravagant balustrades facing the throne.

Sitting on the grandiose throne, there was an otherworldly middle-aged handsome man looking at the people who were currently kneeling before him. This middle-aged handsome man had long black hair that flowed like a river down to his waist. The man had black pupils which seems to contain an endless amount of darkness in them.

The man stood at a height of 2 meters. The man had slightly brown skin and small black scales covering his body. The man held a black spear in his right hand.

The man wore a black full-sleeved robe. On the back of the robe, the face of a black dragon was drawn.

This was the Emperor of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. This man was also known as the Black Dragon King. His real name was Brolbiner, Champion Of The Skies. Brolbiner was a Peak 5th-order cultivator who has been ruling the Southern Fire dragon Empire for 500 years. Brolbiner and his twin brother were one of the longest-reigning Emperors of the Dying Isle continent's history. While Most Emperors handed their position to their heir or successors, both dragon Kings continued to rule for 500+ years. Some people in the secret even thought that both Dragon brothers were competing. Neither of them wanted to end their reign before their brother who the other considered a rival did.

Brolbiner and his twin brother both had the option of going to the main continent but neither of the dragon Kings stepped outside the Southern region fearing that their brother might attack in his absence.

"My dragon King, I have bought back news that you wished to hear." One of the women kneeling before Brolbiner spoke while keeping his head lowered and looking at the ground. If anyone disrespected the black dragon king even the slightest, then that person regardless of his rank would die.

"Speak." Even though Brolbiner just said one word, his one word seems to have put huge pressure on everyone inside the throne hall. Some even started to feel suffocated and very uncomfortable from this pressure.

"Just like you had ordered us, we have sent letters to every Empire on the Dying Isle continent. I have received their response. Out of the top 10 strongest and biggest Empires on the continent, only two of the Empires have accepted our request and have decided to send reinforcement."

Brolbiner remained quiet for a moment before asking. "How many Empires agreed to stand with the Northern Frost Dragon Empire?" Everyone noticed that while saying the name of the enemy and the rival Empire, Brolbiner eyes were filled with an endless amount of killing intent and hatred.

The woman who was reporting all this to Brolbiner trembled in fear while secretly wondering if the black dragon King would kill her after hearing her report.

"2 Empires have sided with the enemy Empire while the remaining 6 Empires have taken the decision of staying neutral saying that this war has nothing to do with them." Inwardly the woman felt kind of relieved. If all the top Empires were to join this war, then the flames of war will spread throughout the Dying Isle continent which would result in the deaths of countless people.

"What about the Istarin Empire?" Everyone in the throne hall was very interested to know if the Istarin empire had accepted their request. After all, everyone in this room knew just how amazing the Istarin Empire was and how dangerous the Istarin King was.

"Unfortunately, King Aditya has refused our offer. In fact, the Istarin empire was one of the first Empires to refuse our offer. The Istarin Empire has publicly stated that they will stay out of this war but if the Istarin Empire is forcefully involved in this war in any way, the Istarin empire will strike back."

Hearing the last part, everyone in the throne hall secretly wondered if the Istarin King was an idiot or what. There is no way in hell that the Istarin Empire can go against the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Everyone secretly glanced at the black dragon King who strangely remained quiet. Everyone was expecting him to get burn this entire place in anger.

Time passed like sand in hand, and more than 10 minutes passed in silence. The entire throne hall remained quiet and waited for their Emperor to say something. Strangely enough, the more time passed, the more nervous everyone became. With each passing second, everyone's nervousness kept on increasing.

"Did the Istarin Empire say anything else?" The Black Dragon King strangely was calm and collected despite being threatened by the Istarin Empire.

"No...Nothing." Brolbiner closed his eyes and leaned his back against the throne.

"Leave the Istarin Empire alone. Invite both Empires who have decided to offer us a helping hand. We cannot waste any time. After I kill my brother with my very own hands, I am coming for King Aditya and his Empire."

Similar things were happening at the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Even if both Dragon twin brothers denied it, in some way both brothers were the same. Both brothers wanted supremacy. Both brothers wanted to become the strongest. Both brothers wanted to become a ruler of the entire Southern region.

At the same time, the Dragon Monarch had just returned to the Istarin Empire after having lunch with Kane and his family. As soon as Aditya returned, Watson come to greet him.

"Your Majesty, how did everything go?" Watson asked.

"Everything went better than we had expected. Now we have a place in the Southern region. Time to take things to the next level. Watson, what's the current situation of both Dragon Empires?" Aditya had sent Zachary and other Majins along with Nathan to keep an eye on both Empires.

"Your Majesty, it seems some empires have decided to themselves involved in this war. Right now as we speak, those Empires are preparing to send their troops to the southern region. I am afraid this war will paint the entire southern region in blood." Leaving aside the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, out of the 10 strongest Empires on the continent, the fact that four of them were getting involved is enough to make the whole situation too chaotic.

"Let those fools fight among themselves." Aditya had a hunch that among the Empires that decided to stay neutral some of them will secretly prepare themselves to strike when both the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has been weakened greatly. Even Aditya was planning the same except that he already had found his footing in the Southern region, this kept the Dragon Monarch ahead of those idiots who were also planning the same. Now if the Southern Fire Dragon Empires tries to bully or oppress or exploit his territory in any way, Aditya would have the perfect excuse to start a war with the Southern fire dragon region.

"I have told both Black dragon King and White Dragon King if the Istarin Empire is attacked or forced into this war in any way, we will strike back. While both Dragon kings would think of my threat as some words of arrogance, they have failed to see understand what I truly meant." Aditya couldn't help but grin as his blood boiled in excitement. This war would be the perfect opportunity for the Istarin Empire to become the strongest Empire throughout the entire Dying Isle continent.

"Watson, I need you to call Amber, Henry, and Eleanor here. Ask them to pick their 100 most powerful men and bring them here. Also, bring 100 3rd-order dragonians to the throne hall." Aditya wasn't going to bring a big force to the Sky Line kingdom which now had become a part of the Istarin empire. Doing that would alert the enemy and spoil his future plans. Let those two arrogant dragons fight and prepare the stage for the Istarin Empire to make a grand entrance.

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Chapter 211

For the next few days, everything remained calm. After the first confrontation between both Dragon Empires, both Empires remained quiet and calm as if both had forgotten about the ongoing war. While some people who lived outside the Southern region might think that everything was beginning to calm down and there would be no war, only the people who lived in the Southern region knew that this peaceful atmosphere would end very soon. One of the biggest storms of the Dying Isle continent's history was preparing itself.

While it was normal for two Empires or two Kingdoms to fight each other while trying to expand their territory, a war that involved most of the major Empires of the Dying Isle continent was no small thing. Even the big Empires on other continents were paying attention to this war. As of right now, it was been confirmed that other than the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, four major Empires are going to be participating in this war.

These 4 Empires had their own long history. In fact among the 4 Empires, two of the Empires had a very long history. These two Empires existed almost for 700 to 800 hundred years.

In the West of the Southern region, belonging to the Western region of the Dying Isle continent, The Storm Empire and its greatest rival The Cloud Earth Empire have joined this war. It was the Storm Empire that choose Northern Frost Dragon Empire. In response, the Cloud Earth Empire who was the Storm Empire's greatest rival and biggest enemy joined the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's side.

The northern region of the Dying Isle continent was made up of thousands of small and big islands. The northern region remained cold for almost 8 months throughout the year. This made the life in northern region tougher compared to other regions. The Northern islands also had several Empires that have existed for more than 7 centuries now. While these Empires often clashed, but if the Northern Islands were ever attacked by any foreign fore, all these Empires joined hands and defeated the enemy.

Belong to the Northern islands, The Ageless Islands, and its neighbor the Mist Ocean decided to join the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. The purpose of these two Empires taking part in this war was to gain more benefits. In fact, the Mist Ocean had one of the best and most advanced naval forces on the whole continent. While the Ageless Islands are the most number of water mages. This made it almost impossible for anyone to invade the Ageless Islands as their water mages used seawater to attack the enemy.

If all the armies of these 6 Empires are combined together then this army would become the strongest Army with the power to defeat any Empire on the Dying Isle continent. The total combined number of armies that these 6 Empires had was over 6.5 million. There is no doubt that if all these 6 Empires fights in the Southern region, this war will become the most violent and chaotic war that happened in the Dying Isle continent's land in the last 500 years.

Sitting on the throne of the Sky Line King, Aditya was currently going through the total earnings and expenditures of the Kingdom. The more Aditya read the more he wondered how did King Kane manage to keep the Kingdom from falling for this long.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting you but I have some urgent news." Aditya stopped reading. He put the notebook on his lap and then looked at Watson who was in a disguise. Right now, everyone from the Istarin Empire was in disguise. Even Aditya was in a disguise. Right now his entire face looked very different. With Julia's help, Aditya was able to change his face and his hair color.

The reason for this change was to keep the news of the Sky Line Kingdom being sold to the Istarin Empire. If the news leaked out before the war could even officially begin, the Southern Fire Dragon Empire would send its full army to drive the Istarin empire out. Brolbiner, the Black Dragon King understood and knew the importance of the Sky Line Kingdom and the presence of the Istarin Empire in the southern land. If this happened, even though Aditya is not afraid of taking on the enemy, his plans would be spoiled and the element of surprise will be lost.

"The armies of the Storm Empire, The Cloud Earth Empire, The ageless Islands, and the Mist Ocean have arrived in the Southern region. The Storm Empire has bought 300,000 Peak 1st-order soldiers and 50,000 second-order mages who are experts in using wind magic. The Cloud Earth Empire has sent 300,000 Peak 1st-order soldiers and 50,000 second-order Earth mages." Aditya noticed the more Watson read, the more shocked he looked. However, Aditya remained completely calm. After fighting in the Goblin invasion and after killing millions of mutant fire ants, to Aditya an army of 1,000,000 was nothing.

Aditya calmly listened to Watson's words with his eyes closed. He couldn't help but wonder why both Ageless Islands and Mist Ocean have chosen different sides. "The Ageless Islands have sent a total of 450,000 of their water mages. Among the 450,000 troops, 100,000 of the troops are second-order water mages. 50,000 of the water mages are 3rd-order cultivators. The army is being led by Five Peak 4th-order commanders of the Ageless islands. While their neighbor, the Mist Ocean sent 10 of their Peak 4th-order water mages and 300,000 1st and 2nd-order troops."

"Why did both Ageless Islands and Mist Ocean have chosen different sides when both Empires are on good terms and are allies?" Aditya voiced out his curiosity. This whole situation was making Aditya learn more about the powerful Empires of the Dying Isle continent.

"I am not too sure of the reason. But according to our spies, there seems to be some friction going on between both Empires over a girl. This girl is a princess of a certain Empire. Both Emperors have taken a liking to her and want to marry her."

"Oh, that's interesting." Both Ageless islands and Mist Ocean Emperors were very young and were of the same age. In fact, both Emperors attended the same school.

"Now that everyone is ready. I am sure that war will begin anytime. All the forces are now ready. The time and the battlefield haven't been decided yet. Once the war begins, we won't have much time." These few days, Aditya has been extremely busy. He has been working non-stop. There were so many that needed to be fixed.

The first thing that Aditya completely eliminated was to kill all the traitors. When Aditya took over, Kane gathered all the nobles, the servants, the commanders, maids, royal officials, and everyone else who worked at the Castle.

After Kane left, using this opportunity he asked if everyone would like to continue working under him. Aditya promised them a raise in their salary and promised them better treatment. While almost everyone agreed to continue to work under Aditya, some of the royal officials decided to quit. While Aditya let them go in front of everyone, as soon as they stepped out of the castle, Nathan and his men took care of them.

Those of decided to quit were actually spies of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Around 805 of the spies belonged to the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Apparently, it seemed that the Black Dragon King was keeping an eye on Kane and his movements. After the spies were eliminated in silence without anyone ever knowing about it, those who worked for Aditya had to bind their souls with a contract. The contract was in fact very simple. Betray the Istarin Empire and you will die.

When Aditya explained the terms and conditions of the contract, everyone agreed. Though Aditya saw some looking displeased and wanting to protest. Two of the nobles even went far as to complain out loud and wanted to quit. However, Aditya wasn't going to let that happen. Before he bought the Sky Line Kingdom, using Alicia's connections he was able to learn about everything that he needed to know about this Kingdom. Knowing that these nobles were corrupted and rotten, Aditya publicly killed them and ordered Watson to take their wealth and property.

Even if some did not like the way how Aditya was binding them with a contract, Aditya had to do it. Aditya knew that he had to take this step to keep his enemies away. After everyone was placed under a contract, Aditya revealed his identity and announced a new order. The previous ranks of the commanders, nobles, and royal officials were taken and given new ranks. The Dukes of the Kingdom was made Viscount. Aditya also added the merit point system.

In the end, everyone was happy that they were under the Istarin Empire. Aditya turned all the commanders and the nobles into Dragonians by giving them a drop of his bloodline. All the 2nd-order commanders instantly became 3rd-order powerhouse after becoming dragonians.

After all, this was done, Aditya and Watson worked hard to give everyone new tasks and missions. Aditya also gave the remaining nobles one week time to clean their mess and stop all illegal business. The commanders were ordered to clean the entire Sky Line Kingdom of criminals. Aditya also didn't forget to order everyone to not disclose his identity. With that, Aditya had taken the first big step in rebuilding this territory.

After everyone was sent off to do their own work. Aditya became busy reviewing the records of the past. He also started reviewing the policies and laws that the previous Kings and rulers of this land made. So many of Kane's policies are only weakening the Kingdom. The policies which he thought would push his Kingdom's economy were harming the Kingdom itself.

The entire process of rebuilding the Kingdom was easy for Aditya. Alicia and Julia actively helped him out. It was difficult to keep the news from leaking out.

And finally, after 4 days, the war that involved the 6 strongest Empires of the Dying Isle started at the central plains which were located right between both Dragon Empires.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 212

The central plains is an area where both the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's borders touch. It was a neutral region. The whole region was around 42 km big. The central plains always have been the focal point of various wars and fights. Even before both the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire came into existence, the central plains were known to the people as a warzone.

It was a place where millions had died over thousands of years. This Warzone also was the graveyard of millions of troops. To this day, adventurer groups, mercenaries, cultivators, and even ordinary people would go to the central plains to look for weapons, armor, or artifacts that belonged to the dead soldiers.

Even when the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire became the two biggest superpowers of the southern region, neither of the Dragon Empires did anything to this place. The central plains were like a heaven for people with dark magic; mostly for Necromancers. As this place was also a graveyard of soldiers, A necromancer can easily build a large army.

Although the Northern Frost Dragon Empire warned any Necromancer to not enter the central plains, as this region was a neutral region, most Necromancers mostly ignored the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's warnings as they knew if anything happened, the Southern Fire dragon Empire would stand against the Northern Frost Dragon Empire.

Unlike any normal day, today strangely the entire central plain was empty. There were no people, cultivators, adventurers, and mercenaries in this place looking for treasures which were also buried along with the bodies of the millions of fallen soldiers. The central plain was very quiet today. The northern cold wind seems to have turned this place into a Ghostland.

The entire region was covered in a layer of snow. Anywhere one looked, there was only snow and snow. Everything was white. As if Heaven was trying to stop 6 Empires from fighting, currently it was also snowing. This forced armies from both sides to advance.

The presence of Mana in this world affects everything single thing. The atmosphere of this world is quite different from Earth. Summer and Winter in this world were a lot harsher. Especially the months of winter were very cold. It was common for ordinary people to die from cold. Even 1st-order cultivators had a hard time resisting this cold weather.

"Since it's snowing right now, for now, both sides have stopped advancing. Although 2nd-order or higher-order soldiers can easily resist this cold and even stay naked in this cold weather without feeling any cold, it was because of the 1st-order soldiers that both sides stopped in their march. As a majority of both sides, soldiers are 1st-order cultivators, both Dragon Empires have no choice but to stop if they don't want their soldiers to be in low stamina and mana." Right now Aditya, Julia, Watson, Amber, Scott, Nathan, Henry, Eleanor, Josh, Tyler, Zachary, Morgan, and Leo all were sitting in a room and having a meeting.

"I don't understand. Can't both sides use their 5th-order cultivators to push the snow clouds away?" In Leo's opinion, 5th-order cultivators should be easily able to clear the cloudy sky which would let both sides resume their march and the whole battle can start quicker.

"Things do not work that way, Leo." Aditya was letting Leo sit in this meeting room so that he can learn from everyone. Leo was totally inexperienced in this kind of thing. In his opinion, Leo was going to become one of the strongest cultivators of the Istarin Empire. He wanted to prepare Leo for a big role in the future.

"I doubt any 5th-order cultivator can clear this cloudy sky. Unless two or more Peak 5th-order cultivators work at the same time. The central plain is not a small place. That Warzone is 42 km big. Just to clear the sky, a Peak 5th-order would run out of Mana which neither side is willing to do." 5th-order cultivators are the main deciding factor of this entire battle. If even one of the 5th-order cultivators ran out of mana even before the battle started this would be a huge loss for that side.

Peak 5th-order cultivators can consume mana recovery pills to recover their mana. But what a mana recovery pill or potion does is accelerate the mana regeneration speed. The pill does not completely recover a cultivator's mana reserve within a few seconds. It will at least take 5 minutes to completely recover mana if the cultivator takes a 5-star mana recovery pill. But as far as Aditya knew, only the goddess of Alchemy can create a 5-star pill on 6 continents. Things might be different on the main continent; Aditya is not sure. Neither side is willing to take the risk of their strongest cultivator being in low mana.

Though Julia can make 5-star pills, other than a few 5-star pills, most of the 5-star pills are not sold to the market. Not to mention the fact, the quality of alchemy ingredients that are needed to create a 5-star pill is extremely difficult to find and is super expensive.

For a 5th-tier faction, even having an alchemist who can make a 4-star pill is a huge thing. An alchemist is essentially the backbone of a faction. It wouldn't have been possible for Istarin Empire to rapidly rise without Julia and her pills. Julia's pills have saved Aditya's life so many times. Only one out of one million alchemists can become a 4-star alchemist.

Another thing that made Julia special from other Alchemists is the fact that she had a 100% success rate of making a 5-star pill. Whereas a 4-star alchemist only has around 50 to 70% success rate of creating a 4-star pill. This itself puts a huge difference.

"Besides, we don't even know how many 5th-order cultivators both sides have bought for this battle." Hearing old Majin village leader Zachary's words, Nathan lowered his head feeling disappointed in himself. It was Nathan's task to find out how many 5th-order cultivators both sides have bought in this war. But he couldn't even get near the enemy base as 5th-order cultivators that stayed in the enemy base would have sensed him even if he was 15 km away. Nathan can hide from a Peak 4th-order cultivator, unfortunately, he hasn't reached a point where he can even hide from a 5th-order cultivator.

"It's not like we're participating in this war. We will eventually see what capability both sides have when the fight begins. Besides, I am sure we're not the only ones who are keeping an eye on this battle." Just as Aditya said, many other forces were also keeping their eyes on the battlefield.

Scene change______

"How long do we have to wait?"

"Not too long. Maybe in a few more minutes."

"What are you planning?"

"I am going to show this world the southern Fire dragon's Empire's newest Weapon."

Just outside the central plain, while the soldiers were taking shelter in tents and houses which were made from earth magic, the commanders of various Empires were waiting outside.

Right now Everyone's eyes were on a young man who looked like he was 20. The young man had black spiky hair and black pupils. The young man had the Aura of a dragon. If one looked carefully he would see that when the snow fell on the young man's body, the snow evaporated instantly. The young man wore a black full-sleeved robe that had a face of a black Dragon on the robe's back.

This young man was one of the sons of Brolbiner. Over the 5 centuries, both Brolbiner and his twin brother had multiple wives and multiple children. One of the Brolbiner's children was, Lucas.

Lucas was a young man who was only 34 years old. At the age of 29, Lucas managed to reach beginner 5th order. It was said that Lucas was even more talented in cultivation than his own father.

At the age of 24, Lucas was made one of the commanders of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Some people went on to say that Brolbiner himself favored Lucas and has grooming him to become the next Emperor. But these were just rumors. No one knew what Brolbiner was thinking.

Lucas had a muscular body. He had a slightly darker skin color and he was around 5 feet 11 inches tall.

"This is going to change the entire outcome of this war." With a wave of his hand, Lucas summoned flames. The flames took the shape of a dragon and instantly evaporated all the snow within 20 meters of range.

When the 3 meters thick layer of snow evaporated, from his storage ring, Lucas took out a cannon that was 15 meters in size. Everyone carefully looked at the cannon. The cannon looked the same as regular cannons except this cannon was larger in size. Unlike regular cannons, this cannon's muzzle astragal, first reinforce ring, second reinforce ring, vent field astragal, and the base ring was painted golden.

"Everyone let me introduce you to Firestorm Cannon. An advanced and specialized cannon that can be only used by cultivators who have fire affinity. A single shot of this Firestorm cannon is enough to severely injure a Peak 5th-order cultivator. This is a newly developed cannon. Only a very few people in the Empire know about this cannon." Everyone gasped upon hearing Lucas's words. To think the Southern Fire Dragon Empire has developed a Cannon that is strong enough to severely injure a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Suddenly everyone started to fortune that they had joined the Southern Fire dragon Empire's side.

Seeing everyone's shocked faces Lucas secretly smiled and looked at everyone in contempt. Other than the Firestorm Cannon, the Fire Dragon Empire also had many powerful weapons. What Lucas did not tell them is that this Firestorm cannon is a failed product. Although this cannon holds the power to severely injure a Peak 5th-order cultivator, when this cannon is fired, rather than attacking a single point and releasing all its attack power on a single point, the power of the cannon blast is spread everywhere. The reason this cannon was called a failed product is that while this cannon can take out millions of 1st-order cultivators, the firestorm cannon failed to achieve its real purpose which was the take out 5th-order cultivators.

'Just like father told me, these idiots are fools. Give them some temptations and they will act like dogs.' Everyone failed to notice the look of contempt that Lucas was giving them.

"Let's test out this bad boy." Lucas went back to his cheerful self, pretending as if he never saw everyone's greedy looks

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 213

'Just like father told me, these idiots are fools. Give them some temptations and they will act like dogs.' Everyone failed to notice the look of contempt that Lucas was giving them.

"Let's test out this bad boy." Lucas went back to his cheerful self, pretending as if he never saw everyone's greedy looks.

"How does this cannon even work?" The commander of the Ageless Islands couldn't help but ask.

"Well, that's a trade secret, my friend. If you want to learn more about this cannon, then you will have to talk to His Majesty." Even if the Firestorm Cannon was a failed product there was no way Lucas would tell others how this thing worked. The plan was to use this cannon to make the Ageless Islands and the Storm Empire more dependent on the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and force both Empires to send more of their soldiers and resources into this war. But those all were reserved for later times. It was a plan for the future.

"Everyone, I will need you to move a few steps back," Hearing Lucas's words, the commanders of the both Ageless Islands and the Storm Empire and others moved back.

Lucas put his hand on the body of the Firestorm cannon. Even though this cannon was a failed product, it is one of Lucas's favorite toys out there. In fact, only Lucas knew how hard he had to work to convince his father to give him one of these Firestorm Cannons. Just building a Firestorm cannon costs somewhere from 40 million gold coins to 50 million gold coins and almost 3 months' time. Less than 10 people in the whole Southern Fire dragon empire knew how these Firestorm Cannons were made. Among those 10 people, Lucas and his father, the black Dragon King were two of them. Not even the other princes or royal family members knew the secret of the Firestorm Cannon.

As Lucas started transferring a small bit of his mana into the Firestorm Cannon, the whole cannon lit up. The golden marks on the cannon started getting brighter with each passing second. At the same time from the base of the Cannon, complex runes in golden color began to appear on the body of the Cannon. The mana that Lucas transferred into the Cannon was activating the Firestorm cannon and was preparing to attack.

In a few seconds, everyone was able to feel the rising heat of the Firestorm Cannon. In fact, due to the rising heat, even the layer of snow that was near the Firestorm Cannon began to melt. At this moment the Commanders of both Ageless Islands and the Storm Empire had a look of surprise and shock.

From the corner of his eyes, Lucas looked at them and secretly smiled. He then moved the Firestorm Cannon 45 degree and aimed at the sky. At the same time, a small golden orb of light began to condense at the mouth of the Cannon. The golden orb's size continued to increase with each passing second.

Boooom!!!

Under everyone's shocked gazes, a beam of golden light was shot from the Firestorm Cannon to the sky. Everyone including Lucas followed the golden beam of light while looking up. The golden beam penetrated the dark clouds. Lucas fully knew that this golden beam was seen by the Northern Frost dragon Empire's troops and commanders but he didn't care. This cannon wasn't the only weapon that their Empire had. Even if their secret was exposed before the war even officially started, it's not like the Northern Frost Dragon can come up with a counter.

Just as Lucas thought, on the other side of the central, in the north, more than millions of troops were forced to stop due to the snowfall. Just when the commanders were discussing how they can stop the snowfall, they all noticed a golden beam of light piercing the clouds and going beyond the clouds.

"What was that?"

No one had time to answer as the next second the entire dark sky was lit up. At this moment all the soldiers on both sides also raised their heads and glanced at the sky. It was very difficult for the soldiers to describe the entire scene in words. The entire dark sky started glowing in golden making one feel as if the sun itself had descended.

The next second, everyone heard the sky rumble fiercely. A sound similar to when a firework explodes in the sky took place. But compared to the sound of fireworks, this sound was way louder and more dangerous. Every soldier at that time had opened their mouths and eyes wide in deep shock as they watched a huge shockwave pushing all the dark clouds away. It was as if the golden flames in the sky were devouring the black clouds.

For a moment everything became so bright that some Peak 1st-order cultivators couldn't keep staring at the sky. Due to the bright intensity of the golden light that came from the explosion that shook the entire central region, some Peak 1st-order cultivators had to close their eyes.

If someone asked the soldiers what they had felt when they witnessed this scene, then the soldiers would reply that it was a moment of astonishment and their hearts were filled with fear and shock. The whole scene was unforgettable to them. When some thought of this explosion happening on the ground, they couldn't stop shivering when they imagined themselves facing this huge explosion.

When everything finally calmed down, as the golden light that made some temporarily blind and some close their eyes gradually dimmed down, everyone saw the clear blue sky.

Aditya and other hidden forces who were using artifacts to watch this battle were deeply shocked. Especially the Empires or the forces that previously mocked or looked down on the Southern Fire Dragon Empire.

Aditya and Watson exchanged looks of surprise. They hadn't expected the Southern Fire Dragon Empire to have a such powerful weapon with them. "To think King Brolbiner had such a powerful weapon. Your majesty, I think we should treat the Southern Fire Dragon Empire with more caution."

Aditya shook his head while looking at the screen that was displayed on the wall. It was all thanks to Julia's father that Aditya managed to obtain this kind of device that let him see what is going on on the battlefield. It's unfortunate that he cannot spy on the enemies using this artifact.

"I think Emperor Brolbiner knows that currently this war is being watched by many hidden forces. Since his son used such a powerful weapon even before the war began, I feel that this is just the beginning." What Aditya said doesn't have to be the truth but he felt that he wasn't far away from the true reason.

"Aditya, are you using that Emperor Brolbiner had managed to develop more powerful weapons?"

"Maybe, Maybe not. Both Dragon Empires are extremely secretive with their military. Other than knowing the total number of troops both Empires possess, nothing else is ever revealed or leaked outside." Meanwhile, Aditya secretly wondered just how much power or mana is needed to launch this big-scale attack.

"Impressive."

"Awesome."

"This has to be one of the most advanced and powerful cannons I have ever seen in my life."

Both Commanders of the Ageless Islands and the Storm Empire turned to Lucas. Lucas ignored their looks and calmly put his favorite toy in the storage ring.

"Now that the snow has stopped falling, time to march forward." Lucas inwardly was waiting for both Commanders to ask that question.

"Sir Lucas, if you don't mind, can you tell us if we can buy this Firestorm Cannon from the Southern Fire Dragon empire? This powerful cannon can double our Empire's defense and will help us in future fights."

"The Storm Empire would also like to have a few of these powerful cannons. Of course, our Empire is willing to negotiate for a fair price. What do you think Sir Lucas?"

Both Commanders changed the way they addressed Lucas. Now they added 'sir' before calling his name which they didn't do before. It was just said Brolbiner had told Lucas. Both Commanders now have seen what their Empire can do and will at least stick together till they win the war.

"I don't want to disappoint you two so in advance let me apologize." Lucas then put on a serious face as if he was going to say something very serious which made both Commanders slightly nervous. "Everything depends on father. Of course, I will try my best to pursue my father but in the end, the final decision will depend on his majesty. Knowing father, he will most likely to call both Emperors for a discussion on this topic."

The purpose was to show that Lucas was on their side and wanted to befriend them by helping them buy the Firestorm Cannons.

Just like Lucas and his father had predicted, both Commanders grinned like fools while nodding their heads.

While everyone in the Empire thought of Lucas as an idiot and as someone who is not fit to be the Emperor even though Brolbiner favored him, Lucas in reality was very different. Only a very few people knew what type of man Lucas was. While Lucas pretended to be a sheep but under the sheep's skin, he was a snake that was ready to bite his enemies at any time.

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Chapter 214

Millions of troops approached the central plain from the north and the south direction. From both directions, more than ten thousand Wyverns toward the battlefield. There were 10 soldiers sitting on the Wyvern's back.

Each wyvern was 10 meters big in size. The Wyverns belonging to the Southern Fire Dragon Empire had Black Skin while the Wyverns belonging to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire had White skin. The Wyverns were powerful 3rd-order powerhouses. In fact, some of the Peak 3rd-order Wyverns had the power to even defeat beginner 4th-order mages.

In the entire Dying Isle continent, the southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, are the only two Empires that breed Wyverns and use Wyverns to fight. No one knew how both Dragon Empires were able to tame Wyverns and breed them. The secret was never shared with anyone. Not even to the closest friends of both Empires.

Aditya can control any dragon species whether Wyvern or Leviathan with his Divine Crimson Dragon Bloodline. The Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire use a secret technique to make the Wyverns submit to them.

In fact, if one looked closely enough then one would see black and white collars around the Wyvern's neck. The Wyverns are one of the strongest Dragon species that were being treated like mounts. Such things can only be found in The Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. The collars had some strange runes drawn on them. The collars were made from a special metal.

"Sir Lucas, can you please give us an explanation?" The commanders of both Ageless Islands and the Storm Empire looked at the sky in deep shock.

Lucas did not reply. He looked at the sky with a smile. "So His Majesty has decided to send the Wyverns in this battle."

"These black Wyverns are raised by our Empire. Don't worry, these Wyverns won't attack us. Now let's not waste any more time." Under Lucas's command, the army of millions began to charge. This time, their marching speed was much faster than before.

"These Wyverns look a bit different from the Wyverns that we have in our Istarin empire." Although the sizes of the Wyverns were bigger than most Wyverns that Aditya bought from the wild, these Wyverns looked weaker than the wild Wyverns. Wyverns had this powerful Aura around them. Wyverns are arrogant, proud, and strong by nature as they possess dragon bloodlines in them. But these Wyverns lacked the very thing that made others fear Wyverns.

"This may be because these Wyverns are being suppressed." Even Aditya wasn't sure. But from what he can tell these Wyverns lacked the very essence that linked them with Dragons.

Looking at those Wyverns that covered the sky, Watson couldn't help but frown. "Your Majesty, I feel both Dragon Empires have too many secrets. I wonder what other thing both Dragon Empires are hiding."

"Let's observe the battle for now." Aditya was hoping that both Dragon Kings would fight in this war. He also hoped that both sides would fight using their full power without holding back anything. But Aditya knew this was very unlikely to happen. But if it did happen, it will be beneficial for the Istarin Empire. Just like Aditya, others who also had similar intentions also hoped that both sides would use their full power in this fight. Once that happens, it would become very easy to take over both Dragon Empires.

Around 5 minutes later, even before millions of troops from both sides could come facing, all the 5th-order cultivators from both sides had come facing each other. Both the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Fire Empire had sent 5 of their 5th-order cultivators. Right now 10 strongest cultivators who stood at the very top of the continent had gathered here.

"Lucas, we meet again. I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Today, you're going to die under my foot." The one who spoke was Albert, one of the White Dragon King's sons. Albert had Lucas both were of the same age. Albert was a few years older than Lucas.

Lucas arrogantly folded his arms on his chest while looking at Albert with a smirk. "Albert, what a surprise. And here I thought that my dear cousin had died from the beating that I gave him last time."

Lucas's mocking words had turned Albert's face red from anger. Albert couldn't wait to kill this bastard.

"Lucas, you bastard, I will kill you."

"Now, that's some harsh words. I can't believe my own cousin is saying these words to me." Lucas pretended to look sad. Seeing this, Albert felt even more humiliated.

"Sir Lucas, have you met this man before?" The commander of the Ageless island asked while staring at Albert.

Albert was a young man who was 37 years old. Albert was 6 feet 5 inches tall. Albert had a slim muscular body. He had white pale skin which made some mistakenly think that Albert was a vampire but in reality, Albert was a Frost dragon which made his skin pale. The son of the White Dragon King had white snow hair. Albert kept his beard which made him look very handsome. Just like Lucas Albert was a beginner 5th-order cultivator. Albert was wearing a white full-sleeved robe that had the face of the white dragon on its back.

Lucas looked at Albert with a mocking smile. "Every 25 years, a tournament is held by the all Kingdoms, Dynasties, and Empires of the Southern region. In this tournament cultivators who are 25 years old or younger are allowed to join to fight for the title of the youngest genius of the southern region. The Winner of the competition is given 10 million royal gold coins, 1 ton of mana stones, and other cultivation resources which are decided by the Kings and emperors."

"12 years back, I had the opportunity to fight my dear cousin Albert. At that time, both of us were Peak 3rd-order cultivators. Both of us fought in the finals. Although my cousin is stronger, as the son of Black Dragon King, I was stronger. In the end, I kind of overdid it and ended up sending my cousin to coma." In reality, it was the no kill rule of the tournament kept Albert alive to this day. In fact, Lucas would have killed Albert if he wasn't stopped by a the 5th-order referee.

The more Albert listened the more anger he looked. In fact, right now his entire body was trembling as he looked at Lucas. The temperature around Albert was rapidly falling. Cold mist was coming out of his body.

"I still remember that pleading face of yours. You were begging me to stop beating you. Hahaha!" Even though Lucas mercilessly kept beating Albert, he never begged anyone. Albert rather die than beg. As dragon, Albert and Lucas both had immense prides. Both of them were born arrogant and always has looked down on others. While Lucas was able to hide it, Albert couldn't hide his disdain gaze.

"Shut up!!!!!!!!!!!" With a loud roar, the Aura of beginner 5th-order was released from Albert's body. Without caring about anything, Albert charged Lucas with the intention of killing him.

Seeing this Lucas smiled. Lucas purposely provoked Albert so that he would attack him first. Seeing Lucas also charging at Albert, others also moved. Both Peak 5th-order commanders who belonged to both Dragon empires started fighting each other. The commanders of the Ageless Island and the Mist Ocean charged at each other. At the same time, the commanders of the Storm Empire and the Cloud Earth Empire also started fighting.

The southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Northern Frost dragon Empire both had sent two Mid-5th-order cultivators. The job of both cultivators is to keep both princes alive. So both 5th-order cultivators did not start fighting immediately. Instead, both looked at Lucas and Albert for a second before turning their attention to each other.

"Albert, do you know that you're a loser? Without your royal family, you are nothing." Even after the battle started, Lucas kept on mocking Albert so that the Frost Dragon would make an irrational decision that would give Lucas the opportunity that he needs. Both Lucas's and Albert's powers are equal.

"Shut up. You piece of shit." Albert started to condense his mana in his mouth. He then took a deep breath and released a beam of blue light from his mouth.

"Hmph! Your pathetic attacks are of no use." Lucas also did the same and released a golden beam of light.

Boooom!!!

Both attacks collided before exploding. The explosion had caused black smoke to appear which temporarily hide both Lucas and Albert's figures. However, both beginner 5th-order cultivators were more than strong enough to sense each other's location and continue fighting even when their visions are blinded by the black smoke.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Metal clinging sounds were heard from the sky. All the 5th-order cultivators were engaged in fierce life and death battles.

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Chapter 215

Albert and Lucas retreated 100 meters away. All of a sudden both of their bodies were covered in a transparent white and black layer of energy. Both of their eyes changed. Both Lucas and Albert's eyes now had a vertical slit. At the same time, their bodies also began to change. Their hands turned into dragon claws. Their legs turned into dragon legs.

Black Dragon scales began to grow over Lucas's body. While White dragon scales began to cover Albert's body. Both of their faces started changing. The clothes that both of them wore were torn as their bodies started elongating.

In less than 10 seconds, both Lucas and Albert had turned into an Eastern dragon. Albert turned into a majestic-looking white frost dragon. While Lucas turned into a fierce and dominating Black Fire Dragon. The scales on both of their bodies had a unique glow in them making them look very beautiful.

As soon as both Lucas and Albert took their dragon form which increased their physical stats, both released a powerful roar from their mouth.

GRAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Both Lucas and Albert in their dragon forms were around 15 meters long. Each of their dragon claws was 3 meters long and very sharp. Both of their snake-like long bodies that floated in the sky attracted a lot of attention. It was the first time the soldiers had seen two of their princes in Dragon form.

When a human goes back to his Dragon form, the physical stats of that Dragon is increased to a certain extent.

Scene change

"I have to admit both of them look pretty cool." Saying that Julia looked at Aditya. It was not just Julia, others also stared at Aditya. Everyone in this room knew that Aditya was a divine Dragon but no one had ever seen his dragon form before. In fact, Aditya entered into his dragon form only once or twice in the past before his dragon bloodline evolved into Divine Rank.

"What? I never faced any enemy that can force me to turn myself into a dragon." Just like Aditya said, when he transformed himself into a dragon, his base stats would be doubled which would make him super powerful. So far the only opponent who was able to push Aditya into using his Inferno Overdrive and other skills that would boost his stats was Ashley.

"You know, I have never seen you in your dragon form." Julia was indirectly telling Aditya that she wants to see him in his dragon form. Others also wanted the same. But they did not have the courage to say it loud like Julia. Not everyone had the same authority as Julia. Julia was the future Empress of the Istarin Empire and that itself gave her second most authority after Aditya. Not even Watson had this much authority.

"Princess, when the time comes I will show you my dragon form but for now let's not get distracted." Hearing Aditya's words, Julia pouted before snorting.

"Hmph! It's not like I was interested in seeing you in your dragon form anyway. To me, Eastern dragons are more beautiful." Aditya felt his right eye twitching hearing the princess's words.

"What's so beautiful about these overgrown snakes anyway? They are not even true Dragons? Calling these overgrown snakes a dragon is a disgrace to all True Dragons." By true Dragons, Aditya meant all the Western Dragons in this world.

When Julia said that Eastern dragons are more beautiful, Aditya felt his pride hurt especially when he was a western Dragon and the Dragon Monarch.

Scene Change___

Meanwhile, Both Black Fire dragon and Frost Dragon stared at each other before charging at each other at full speed. Right now both Albert and Lucas were strong enough to take on Mid 5th-order cultivators. After transforming into a Dragon, their physical stats had increased.

Booom!

Black Fire Dragon and Frost Dragon's heads collided. Albert let another roar before moving his head to bit Lucas's neck. As soon as Albert's dragon teeth touched The Black fire Dragon's neck, frost started to form over Lucas's skin.

Lucas in response moved his tail like a whip. Flames began to spiral around his dragon tail.

Bang!

Albert was pushed off by Lucas's tail attack. Then Lucas used a bit of his mana to remove the frost that had formed over his neck.

While Lucas and Albert fought, the armies of that sides had finally arrived and faced each other in the central plains. While all the 5th-order cultivators fought, the vice-commanders who were Peak 4th-order cultivators took the lead and started the great battle.

While the Southern Fire Dragon Empire had bought 2.1 million troops, the Northern Fire Dragon Empire had sent 2.5 million troops.

Both sides placed the archers and the siege weapons at the back while the warrior-type cultivators are put at the front.

Both Dragon Empires had very powerful siege weapons capable of destroying more than ten thousand troops at the same time. In a few minutes, all the cannons and other siege weapons were set up.

[In the name of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and his Majesty, let's defeat the enemy and take back our land.]

[In the name of the Northern Frost Dragon empire and the Emperor, let's defeat the enemy and take back our land.] Both Dragon Empires considered the other Dragon Empire's land as theirs.

[Charge]

Soldiers from both sides started running at each other. However, it was not easy to run on the layer of thick snow. The soldiers who had magical mounts had a very easy time. Having mounts gave them extra power. Around 300 to 400 meters above the sky, all the Wyverns from both sides also started fighting.

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of archers raised their bows and fired their arrows which began to rain down on the enemy. The cannons from both sides also started firing.

In less than 5 minutes, the entire battlefield was filled with chaos. Each second, many soldiers lost their lives, got injured, and fell into the snow. The snowfield began to get dyed with the fresh red blood of both Dragon empire's troops.

It was very difficult to move the cannon attacks and the arrows. If one is not careful enough, at any time, an arrow or a siege attack would kill one. The number of soldiers that began to die each second had broken the 1,000 barriers.

Seeing the whole situation of this battlefield, some soldiers who belonged to the Allied Empires and who were bought here to fight on behalf of one of the dragon Empires, couldn't help but feel regret.

Bang!

"Dammit, why the hell, are we fighting for another Empire? If I had known that this shit would be this dangerous, I would have stayed home and slept with my wife."

"I would have done the same. If I die now, then who will look after my wife and my newborn child."

The soldiers were not told what they were going to be facing. Without giving any chance of refusal they were bought here. As seconds turned into minutes and as the dead body counts on the battlefield started increasing and as the white snow began to turn red, more soldiers started feeling this way.

"In a war, it is the rulers and nobles who gain benefit while it is the common people and soldiers who suffer the most."

"Brother, we can't really complain. Compare to other jobs, soldiers get more salary. When we sign up to become a soldier, our lives are already at risk of dying." Another soldier commented with a bitter smile.

"Hey! Stop complaining. Consider yourselves lucky. Unlike others, we are not fighting at the front line." The Weak Soldiers were ordered to load the cannon while the strong soldiers were sent to the front line.

"Load the Cannon and prepare to fire." Two soldiers put a cannonball inside the cannon. The third soldier put a little bit of his mana into the cannon while pointing at the 45-degree angle to the South.

Boom!

As the canon was fired, a black ball rose hundreds of meters above the sky and then landed at the southern side of the battlefield from where the enemy archers were shooting arrows. Upon being in contact with the ground, the explosive material inside the black ball exploded.

Booom!

The explosion took out nearly 100s archers and injured many more. Just like this, both Dragon Empires kept on firing cannons and arrows; with the intention of trying to weaken the enemy's frontline.

At the same time, above the clouds, ten 5th-order cultivators were engaged in a life-and-death battle. As minutes passed, more and more troops fell. Although many forces were observing this battle in secret, everyone failed to notice the white magic circle that covered the whole battlefield.

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Chapter 216

The battle continued. Aditya wasn't interested in seeing millions of troops fight and die. He was more interested in watching the battle of all the powerful fifth-order cultivators. Other factions also felt the same.

It has been 5 minutes since all the fifth-order cultivators have started fighting. So far, none of the fifth-order cultivators have gotten seriously injured. Watching the commanders of the Ageless island and the Mist Ocean, Aditya felt strange.

"These are more are actually having fun. They are not even fighting seriously."

"If you think about it, the Ageless Islands and the Mist Ocean are neighbors. Even if they have chosen different sides, in the end, they are still allies. Maybe they are not purposely harming each other and are waiting for others to finish the battle."

"No, if you observe them carefully, it's more like both of them are holding back and testing each other's powers." It was indeed just as Aditya had said. Both commanders almost knew nothing about each other and were testing their powers.

On another part of the battlefield, above the clouds, both cousins' battle had reached its peak.

Boooom!!!!!!

A huge explosion took place. Both Albert and Lucas were breathing heavily while staring at each other. Both of them were almost out of mana.

"Even if I die, I will take you out with me." Saying that a huge Ice spear began to condense in front of Albert. Seeing this Lucas's eyes flashed in a strange light. No one knew what he was thinking. Instead of preparing something to counter, Lucas stood there doing nothing.

Albert put all of his remaining mana into the ice spear which caused the ice spear to become almost 100 meters big in size.

"With this, everything will be over." Albert threw the ice spear at Lucas with his full strength. Seeing this Lucas showed a sly grin which made Albert feel something is wrong here.

The next second, on Lucas's right, a second Lucas appeared. Hundreds of Lucas continued to appear all over the sky, surrounding Albert in the process.

The Frost Dragon stared at hundreds of Lucas in horror as he watched the 100-meter size ice spear going through Lucas without harming him.

"What the hell is this?" Albert, for the first time, felt fear in his heart seeing hundreds of Lucas.

All the Lucas surrounding Albert smiled while spreading their arms. "Let's just say that this is a trick that I have managed to master." A golden sword formed in all the hundred Lucas's hands. Albert had no idea which Lucas was the real one. When he tried to sense Lucas's Aura, he found that all of Lucas had the same Aura as the original Lucas, and this made it impossible for Albert to find the real Lucas.

"Goodbye, dear Cousin." Albert who was out of mana and exhausted and was also confused couldn't dodge the golden sword that severed his dragon head from his body. The next second, Albert felt himself falling down. The Frost Dragon couldn't feel his body anymore. All of a sudden, his entire body started feeling cold. While losing consciousness he looked at Albert whose face now had turned pale but the mocking smile on his face was still there. A second later, Albert died. When he died, his soul was taken away by a strange force. No one, not even Lucas noticed this. No cultivator in this world can see souls.

Seeing Albert's body falling down, Lucas finally returned to his human form. As soon as his body changed back to its human form, Lucas quickly wore another set of clothes from his storage ring. Now that Lucas had returned to his human form, others were finally able to see his wounds.

There was a big bite mark on Lucas's neck. Long claw marks on his stomach and on his back. To stop the bleeding Lucas took healing pills and then waited for his mana to be recovered.

"I should Thank father for giving me this thing." Lucas looked at the transparent triangular-shaped crystal pendant which now had cracked. This pendant allowed one to use a special skill known as 'Mirror Images'.

In the final moments, Lucas used this skill to make mirror versions of himself. The most special thing about this skill was the fact that all the mirror images also copied the user's cultivation of Aura. This made it impossible for Albert to find the real Lucas among hundreds of fake Lucas.

Somewhere, a man sitting on a frost throne looked at the transparent screen before him in silence. This man was the Emperor of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. No amount of words can describe this man's handsomeness. Some even called this call an angel as his face and his body were too handsome.

"Your majesty..." The Prime Minister of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire looked at the Emperor in worry. Everyone in the Empire knew how much the Emperor loved his children. But contrary to what the Prime Minister had expected, the Emperor remained calm.

Seeing one of his sons dying, the man showed no emotion on his face. This made the Prime Minister confused.

After a brief moment of silence, the prime minister asked. "Your Majesty, should we send reinforcements?" The Northern frost Dragon empire still had two 5th-order generals. The Prime Minister felt if no reinforcement is sent they might lose this battle which would be a huge loss for their Empire.

"No, Just keep observing. Soon, no one would even care about the Black Dragon King." Seeing the strange smile on the Emperor's face, the Prime Minister had goosebumps.

The Emperor got up from his frost throne. "I am going out. Don't send any reinforcements." The prime minister couldn't understand why the Emperor was forbidding him to send any reinforcements. If no reinforcements are sent, then the 5th-order cultivators from the enemy side will join hands and eradicate their troops. Since the Emperor had ordered, as the prime minister he couldn't really disobey the Emperor.

Just as Albert died, the mid-5th-order guardian who was supposed to protect Albert sensed this. The guardian knew that he was already too late and now he could only try to avenge the prince by killing Prince Lucas.

At some other part of the battlefield, the commander of the Cloud Earth empire had managed to kill the commander of the Storm Empire. After killing Storm Empire's commander, the commander of the Cloud Earth empire decided to help the Mist ocean since they were fighting on the same side.

Against two 5th-order cultivators, the Ageless Islands' general couldn't keep up and ended up dying within a minute or two.

While all these were happening, no one knew how the battle between two Peak 5th-order cultivators was going on. Both Peak 5th-order cultivators can prevent others from spying on their battle.

Below the clouds, by all half of the Wyverns from both sides has either fallen or were seriously injured. While the other half was still engaged in a bloodthirsty fight.

On the ground, the battle was still far from being over.

Both Peak 5th-order cultivators fought for more than 10 minutes. No one knew the result of the battle except for the White Dragon king and the Black Dragon King.

Huff! Huff!

"It looks like I won this fight."

"Hmph! I am not dead yet. You can only claim your victory over my dead body."

Above the clouds, both Peak 5th-order cultivators of both Dragon Empires looked seriously injured. Their whole body was a mess. Only they knew how intense this battle was.

"I will remember this debt forever. I will see you again, Kang." Saying that the elder of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire retreated. While the elder of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire whose name was Kang did not try to chase Charles.

Sensing that Charles had left the battlefield, Kang lowered his guard. And finally started to tend to his wounds.

"The 5th-order cultivators from Ageless Islands and the Storm Empire have been killed. I should hurry before Prince Lucas is killed by the enemy 5th-order cultivators."

It was just as Kang had thought. Lucas was surrounded by the commanders of Cloud Earth Empire and Mist Ocean. "Prince Lucas, this will be the end of you."

"Hmph! We will see about that." Even when being surrounded by multiple 5th-order cultivators, Lucas still had a smile on his face. He was already thinking of how he can escape from this place without getting harmed. His brain was functioning at full speed.

Fortunately, Kang was there to keep the prince of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire safe. Kang moved faster than any 5th-order could react. The agility of the peak 5th order was on another level.

Swoosh!

Lucas widened his eyes to find the bodies of the 5th-order commanders exploding into bloody mists.

"Your Majesty, I hope I am not too late."

"Kang, You're just in time." This battle was won by the southern Fire Dragon Empire.

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Chapter 217

Everyone was surprised to see the sudden change in tides. No one was expecting one party to get the upper hand this quickly. With the death of the son of the White Dragon King and when Peak 5th-order cultivator Charles retreated back, the probability of the Southern Fire dragon winning this battle increased a lot. A Peak 5th-order cultivator alone was able to kill the remaining 5th-order cultivators from the Northern Frost Dragon Side.

"Your Royal Highness, you should rest and recover. I will take care of the little ants." By little ants, Kang was referring to the soldiers that the Northern Frost Dragon Empire had. Without their 5th-order cultivators, even millions of troops weren't a big deal in the eyes of a Peak 5th-order cultivator who was the strongest being in the whole continent.

Lucas nodded as he started flying down. His face was still pale and his mana was almost zero. After that fight with Charles, Lucas was also exhausted. Besides, with Kang personally dealing with the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's troops, Lucas won't have to do anything.

On the ground, the battle had reached its peak. Every second more than thousands of troops from both sides were dying from the cannon and arrows. On the front line, soldiers were fighting at the cost of their lives. Even the Peak 4th-order commanders from both sides struggled to dodge attacks and also fight the enemies. If they lost focus even for a second, the next second they could be hit by an arrow or cannonball.

Constant sounds of explosions were heard all over the battlefield. The sounds of the explosion were mixed with the cries of pain, excitement, anger, rage, frustration, and regret. From the top of the sky, it looked like thousands of ants were fighting each other.

After a certain point, some generals from the Southern fire Dragon Empire's side noticed that even though the enemy's number is 2.5 million and 4 hundred thousand higher than their number, the enemies' cannons are not as strong and advanced as the cannons of their side.

So as time passed, even with the higher number of troops, the Northern Frost Dragon Empire began to feel the pressure. The pressure only kept on increasing with each passing minute. After a certain point, more than 3,000 Northern Frost Dragon Empire's empire's troops were dying each second. Slowly but surely, the Northern Frost Dragon Empire troops were being pushed back while the troops from the southern fire Dragon Empire began bolder with their attacks.

Seeing this Aditya and others who were secretly keeping an eye on the battlefield sighed fully knowing that the winner of this battle has been decided.

Also at the same time, Kang appeared on top of the battlefield. At first, he did not do anything. He just stood there; 300 meters above the ground and started to observe the whole situation. In less than 5 seconds, Kang understood how things were progressing. Being a Peak 5th-order cultivator, Kang's mind worked at super speed. To him, a second felt like a minute. Even though the entire battlefield was very big, almost extended over 11 km. He was able to see and process every detail with a single glance. Cultivators like Kang already had transcended the limitations of the mortal body.

It was not just his mind that worked faster. His vision, his hearing, his sense of smell, his taste, everything was on a completely different level. Each time, his cultivation reached a new level, everything about his body and soul would only get more powerful. Through cultivation, he was upgrading himself.

He was pleased to see that the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's side was winning. "I can't let too many soldiers die here." Even if the Southern Fire Dragon Empire troops were pushing the enemy and slowly winning the battle, Kang knew that if too many troops died here, even the Southern Fire Dragon Empire will make a big loss. Being able to save the lives of their troops would give them an upper hand in the upcoming battles. The war with the Northern Frost Dragon Empire wasn't over yet.

Grabbing the purple sword from his waist, the Peak 5th-order cultivator vanished from the sky. Kang moved like a thunderbolt. No one was able to see him move. He was an unstoppable force that cannot be stopped or escaped.

Swoosh!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Before anything, Kang started by destroying the enemy's cannons and other types of siege weapons. He then went on to kill all the archers that the Northern Frost Dragon Empire had bought with them.

As this was happening, the nobles of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the people who secretly supported and wanted to see the Northern Frost Dragon Empire win had their faces go dark. The Prime Minister of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire barely controlled his urge to send more reinforcements. The only reason he stopped is because of the white dragon king who disliked people disobeying his orders. Once the White Dragon King had ordered something, that person would have to carry out the Dragon King's order. If that person did not listen to the White Dragon King's orders, that person would be personally punished by the White Dragon King.

Ewan Baker tightly clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh and his palms started to bleed. He gritted his teeth in anger. His entire face turned red as he watched the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's troops getting slaughtered by Peak 5th-order cultivator and Elder of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, Kang.

"Why did this Majesty stop me from sending troops?" It really made Ewan Baker frustrated when the White Dragon King ordered him to not send any troops. Was his Majesty trying to lose this fight intentionally? What was his Majesty planning? Ewan Baker had no answer. Despite working under the White Dragon King for multiple centuries, to this day, the Dragon King remained a big box of mystery to the Prime Minister, Ewan Baker.

"Fortunately, we would be only losing somewhere around 1 million soldiers in this fight." Ewan tried to calm himself by saying these words. At the White Dragon King's request, the allied Empires sent a total of 1 million of their troops while rest 5 hundred thousand were rented for one month period.

There were some factions that exclusively sold soldiers and military supplies. Kingdoms, Empires, and Dynasties that usually go to war, sometimes may rent soldiers for a fixed price. But these soldiers are not loyal and would usually run away if they found their side losing the war.

"Let's see how much our Empire has lost in this fight?" While Ewan started counting, on the other side of the Southern region, the entire Southern Fire Empire was celebrating even though the battle was far from being over.

Kang moved throughout the battlefield like an invisible ghost that no one was able to see or feel. Whenever he passed by some enemy soldiers, a second later, those soldiers would fall to the ground with their heads being severed from their bodies. Kang targeted the 3rd-order and 4th-order cultivators at the beginning. As the number of 3rd-order and 4th-order cultivators began to decrease, he started killing any enemy soldier that he saw.

Seeing that the Southern Fire Dragon Empire won, right now, the Southern Fire Dragon Emperor, the Black Dragon had the brightest smile in the whole Dying Isle continent. Sitting on his throne, Brolbiner was laughing like a mad person. This was the first time, the royal officials, advisors, and nobles had seen their Emperor look this happy and laugh like this. It was as if Brolbiner was releasing all of his locked-up emotions.

To Brolbiner, today was a day of celebration. After 500 years of waiting and constant preparation, Brolbiner finally managed to defeat the Northern Frost dragon Empire and his twin brother in their first battle.

How can Brolbiner not feel happy when centuries of his hard work were paying off? Brolbiner had worked 500 years for this moment. How many times, the Black Dragon King had imagined this moment? The excitement that he felt throughout his veins and his body cannot be explained in words. With each passing second, his laughter only got louder and his body also started shaking in excitement.

While Brolbiner, his son, his family, and the entire Southern Fire Dragon Empire had started celebrating, Kang continued to slaughter the soldiers of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire without caring about the fact that he was killing women and men. The number of enemy troops number rapidly began to decrease. Some rented soldiers tried to try away but how could Kang let that happen under his watch?

The Southern Fire Dragon Empire's troops also spirited seeing a Peak 5th-order cultivator helping them out. The soldiers of the Black Dragon also became more violent, bolder, and aggressive. As a result, in less than 20 minutes, almost 90% of the troops were killed.

At the same time, the white magic circle that no one noticed previously started to expand in size. All the souls of the fallen soldiers, generals, and commanders were being sucked by the white magic circle that was buried under the layer of snow.

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Chapter 218

25 minutes later,

Kang finally stopped moving like a bolt of lightning throughout the battlefield. The battlefield that was once filled with sounds of explosions, cries of pain, pleasure, rage, violence, and anger, now had gone totally silent. Everyone's eyes were on Kang.

The Peak 5th-order cultivator's body was completely clean even though he just slaughtered an entire army. The only thing that was covered in blood was his purple color. The elder of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire smiled while looking back.

The battlefield which previously was covered in white snow now had become a red battlefield. The snow had last its white color and had turned red. The blood of the enemy troops had painted the entire battlefield. Countless corpses of soldiers lay dead throughout the entire Central plains.

"This battle is over. The Southern Fire Dragon Empire has won this battle.]

Just as these words were announced, all the soldiers of the Southern Fire dragon Empire and the soldiers who were sent from the allied Empire, everyone raised their hands in the air and started cheering. The soldiers started to hug each other feel very excited.

[However.....] Kang's one word attracted everyone's attention and turned the entire battlefield silent once again.

[Our fight won't end here. His Majesty, our King, our Emperor, and our Savior, has always wanted to take back the territory that the Northern Frost Dragon Empire has taken from us. We, as the rightful owners, shall reclaim our territory. This is just the first victory. We won't stop till the entire Northern Frost Dragon Empire has fallen.]

[Hail to the Black Dragon King]

[Hail to the Emperor]

[Hail to the King]

[Hail to our savior]

[Hail to our protector]

While all the soldiers cheered, Aditya shook his head with a smile. "So both Dragon Empires are spreading lies and brainwashing their people to believe that the other Empire is the enemy and the real evil. They don't realize that when the Empire has divided, both Dragon Kings had no choice but to agree." Both sides were running propaganda to portray themselves in a bright light.

"To think the Black Dragon King calls himself the savior? This makes me laugh." Most all of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's revenue goes into the military. While the military is heavily funded by the Emperor, the Majority of the cities and towns of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire have been left undeveloped. There are still millions who people who are in poverty. While the rich of the Southern Fire dragon Empire become richer, the poor continue to remain poor.

Lucas nodded while looking at Kang. These words that Kang just said had boosted the morale of the troops. Something that will keep the troops in high spirits during the next big battle.

'Father did tell me that after winning this battle, we will be advancing toward the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Even though the number of troops we lost in this fight is not less than 300,000, we have lost three of our 5th-order cultivators. If we wanted to win future fights, we will need at least two more fifth-order cultivators. I hope father will send the other elders.'

While the soldiers were celebrating, the white magic circle that covered the entire battlefield started getting brighter. The magic circle's color started changing. It went from being white to red and then to golden and then dark purple. The magic circle also started expanding in size.

Even then no one managed to notice the magic circle except for Kang who felt the changes in the atmosphere and that a huge amount of mana is gathering in this area.

The smile on his face disappeared as he began looking around in concern thinking that it was the Northern Frost Dragon Empire who had done something.

Another few seconds later, everyone suddenly stopped celebrating as they all felt pressured because of the huge amount of mana that was gathering on the central plains. It was not just the soldiers in the central plains who felt this change.

The cultivators throughout the entire Southern region felt the mana in the atmosphere was heading in the direction of the central plains. Even the cultivators who were outside the Southern region felt this change.

A huge quantity of mana began to gather in the central plains. This caused the atmosphere to change. Cold winds started blowing from all directions. The clouds above the central plains began to form a vortex. Seeing this the soldiers felt as if a huge tornado was going to come.

"What is happening?" Aditya frowned seeing the mana in the atmosphere going toward the direction of Central plains. Aditya opened the window and notice the sky had turned dark and strong cold winds were blowing from the south.

"Your Majesty, you should take a look at this." When Aditya looked at the screen, his eyes widened in deep shock seeing what was happening in the central plains.

Right now all the 1st-order and second-order soldiers were on their knees, trying to breathe. Some soldiers were even holding their chests and had their mouths wide open. All of a sudden, they felt the air had become dense making it very difficult for them to even breathe. At the same time, the gravity of the central plains also increased. As a result, the cultivators with the lowest cultivation rank couldn't bear the pressure and some even ended up losing consciousness as a result.

To make matters even worse, with each passing second, the mana in the central plains only kept becoming more and more denser. Eventually, even the 3rd-order cultivators couldn't take it anymore and ended up falling to their knees while trying to gasp air. The gravity of the entire battlefield had increased so much that even standing felt like the hardest and toughest job in the whole world.

Meanwhile, Kang's attention was drawn to something else. He looked at the white snow that now had been painted with red fresh blood. Kang felt the temperature of the whole place rising. The snow was directly turning into mist as a result. As more and more snow started evaporating, Kang and others were finally able to see the horrifying truth that lay beneath the white snow.

"What is this?"

"This...this....is a Magic circle."

Aditya looked at the magic circle that was hidden under the snow in deep shock. Even with his knowledge of runes, he couldn't even understand a single word that made this magic circle. It was as if Aditya was reading a foreign language for the first time.

"This magic circle is at least 5-star....no, it is a 6-star magic circle." Aditya was 100% sure that this magic circle was a 6-star magic circle. If this magic circle was a 5-star magic circle, then Aditya would have been able to understand a few of the runes.

"What a 6-star magic circle?" Hearing Aditya's words, everyone's faces turned pale. Right now whatever that was happening and whatever had triggered this 6-star magic circle was nothing but bad news to the whole Dying Isle continent.

There is a reason why there are no 6th-order cultivators on 6 continents. The only continent and place on the whole planet where 6th or higher-order cultivators could be found was inside the main continent. If one wanted to break through 5th-order, that person must go to the main continent where the mana density is way higher and purer.

No one really knows the reason behind this but it is said that the other six continents are not strong enough to handle the pressure of a 6th-order or a higher-order cultivator. Even if 6th-order or higher-order cultivators came out of the main continent, their cultivation will be sealed and their powers will be reduced to Peak 5th-order. For countless centuries many had tried to break this law but always failed. A 6-star artifact or weapon or rune-star or anything that is 6-star won't work outside the main continent.

Even if a 6th-order cultivator managed to retrain their powers and cultivation outside the main continent, just their one attack would be more than enough to destroy an entire continent. It wouldn't be wrong to say that a 6th-order cultivator outside the main continent is a God. The other six continents are not strong enough to handle a 6th-order cultivator.

The reason why everyone was so shocked and frightened was because of the fact that a 6-star magic circle had been activated outside the main continent. Whatever consequences or changes this magic circle will bring might even end up destroying this entire continent together.

One could only imagine how horrifying the pressure in the central plains currently was. Seeing the state of all the troops, everyone in the meeting room was terrified. By now the bodies of the 1st-order and 2nd-order cultivators already had exploded into the bloody mist from not being able to handle the huge pressure.

While the bodies of the 3rd-order and 4th-order had been turned into meat paste. Even Peak 5th-order Kang was having trouble standing.

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The chapter release date might be delayed

Chapter 219

One could only imagine how horrifying the pressure in the central plains currently was. Seeing the state of all the troops, everyone in the meeting room was terrified. By now the bodies of the 1st-order and 2nd-order cultivators already had exploded into the bloody mist from not being able to handle the huge pressure.

While the bodies of the 3rd-order and 4th-order had been turned into meat paste. Even Peak 5th-order Kang was having trouble standing.

The entire Southern region was violently shaking. The ocean and the sea had become wild. High tides started to hit the shore. Many dead volcanos in the Southern region started to erupt. The very strong wind continued to blow all over the southern region. The magical animals that lived in the southern region started running here and there as if trying to find a safe place.

Crack!

Large fissures began to appear on the ground. The entire atmosphere of the southern region had become very chaotic. At this moment, not even the 5th-order cultivators felt safe. Not even the Southern Fire Dragon Empire was safe from this.

As seconds passed, this change soon started taking place in the Eastern region. Just like what had happened in the Southern region, the entire Eastern region also experienced those chaotic changes.

The atmosphere of the whole Dying Isle continent had changed. Seeing the fate of the millions of soldiers and seeing that even a Peak 5th-order cultivator was struggling to stand, no one had the courage to go to the central plains anymore. Some Kings and nobles even began preparing plans to escape the Dying Isle continent and flee to another continent.

Cough!

Kang coughed out a mouthful of blood. Above him, a colossal size dark vortex began to open up. The vortex was so big that it could be seen even from the eastern region. The vortex was nearly 5000 meters big. Looking at the dark purple vortex, Kang felt like the entire world had been sucked by this vortex. At this moment, Kang felt powerless.

Before Kang used to look down on others. Kang was a cultivator that stood at the very top of this continent. He was one of the strongest and most powerful figures in the Dying Isle continent. He was the existence that some even called God. Standing at the very top of the continent, Kang had forgotten that there are existences who are even more powerful than he was. But right now, his miserable state reminded Kang that there are always bigger mountains.

The elder of the Southern Fire Empire couldn't hold it anymore and ended up falling on his knees. Meanwhile, Lucas, the son of the Black Dragon wasn't looking so good. Lucas was lying on the ground and looking at Kang with a pleading expression. He wanted to shout and ask for Kang's help but at this moment, even breathing air felt like the most difficult thing to him.

Meanwhile from the huge, gigantic vortex a certain someone who has been waiting for ages started coming out to see the light of this world. The being that waited beyond the vortex was a being that once was called a God. Right now he was going to make his return to the Dying Isle continent.

Stare!

Aditya who has been sitting miles away from the central plains suddenly felt his entire body stiff. Aditya began to sweat even though strong southern cold winds were blowing outside. Right now, the Dragon Monarch felt like he was being stared at by someone. Aditya couldn't point out what was looking at him or what is this feeling.

Right now his Dragon instinct was on full alarm. Aditya has never felt anything like this before. Even when he faced Ashley who was one of the strongest opponents that he ever fought to this date didn't make him feel this way. Aditya felt as if someone was directly staring at his very soul.

Julia who was sitting next to Aditya noticed something was wrong with Aditya. When she looked at him, she found him sweating and looking distracted. The look on Aditya's face wasn't something Julia had ever seen before. Aditya looked extremely concerned. He was sweating in this cold weather. Every hair on his body was standing.

"Aditya, are you alright?" Julia put her hand on Aditya's right shoulder and asked in a worried tone.

For a second Aditya was startled before he looked at Julia. "Ye...ah. I am alright."

Under everyone's surprise gazes, Aditya stood up and closed the open window. He then turned to Julia. "I want all of you to go back to the Istarin Empire right now."

"What? Why are you sending us back?" Julia and others felt Aditya was hiding something from them.

"This place is not safe for you all." Without giving any more explanation, Aditya grabbed Julia's right hand and pulled her up.

"Let's go. I will send you all back to the Istarin Empire."

"But I want to stay here."

"I said no." This time, Aditya raised his voice slightly which scared Julia.

Seeing this, Aditya suddenly felt guilty. He suppressed the anxious feeling in his heart and gently looked at Julia with a smile. "Princess, please don't be stubborn. Just go back. This place is not safe at all." The way Aditya looked at Julia was as if he was pleading with her to go back.

Julia had never seen Aditya being this stubborn with her. "Alright." Julia decided to agree with Aditya.

"Your Majesty, I shall remain by your side." Aditya hesitated for a bit before nodding his head. After that regardless of what others said, everyone was sent back to the Istarin Empire using the teleportation array.

After everyone left, Watson walked to the balcony to find Aditya staring at the massive vortex that had formed in the sky.

"Your Majesty...?" Seeing Aditya not replying, Watson raised his tone and again called him. Watson also slightly shook Aditya's right shoulder.

"Your Majesty?"

"A....!" Aditya looked startled. This was the first time Watson had seen Aditya looking this concerned about something. Even when the Istarin Empire at its worst and was about to be attacked by a very strong Dynasty, Aditya never lost his calm. He never looked this serious. But right now, the Dragon Monarch looked dazed as if he was lost in deep thoughts.

"Watson, what do you think of this massive portal that has opened in the sky?" Aditya asked while looking at the massive vortex.

"Your Majesty, honestly speaking, I would answer danger. But so far whatever danger that we or the Istarin Empire has faced so far, you have been able to take care of it. You always have stood like an iron mountain. The only reason the Istarin Empire hasn't been attacked by some enemy Empire is because of you." It was not just Watson. Everyone that worked under Aditya, had developed this blind faith in Aditya. They all believed that Aditya can accomplish wonders and bring miracles.

Aditya smiled in response. Then the smile on his face faded as he looked at the gigantic vortex.

Meanwhile, a being was slowly approaching from the other side of the portal. Just as the portal opened that being was able to sense something very special on the Dying Isle continent.

[A dragon!!!! Hehe! This will be fun.]

While grinning this being moved through the black space and approached the portal. As the being got closer to the portal, the pressure on the central plain increased. Even the tectonic plates under the southern region started shaking.

The being realized this and controlled its Aura. As the Aura from leaking out from its body, Kang, the elder of the Southern fire Empire was finally able to breathe again. Kang felt as if he had been bought from the brink of death.

"Thank God." Just as Kang somehow stood up, his entire body stiffened. Right now, even though the pressure had decreased, even though Kang was able to endure this pressure, he felt his entire body had frozen and was refusing to move. Even in this cold weather sweat started to form on his forehead and started rolling down.

Boooom!

From the portal, a huge wave spread everywhere. At that very moment, Kang's body started to tremble violently. His arms and legs started shaking, his teethes were clattering, and his old heart was wildly jumping like a fish that was taken out of water.

From the corner of Kang's eyes, the Peak 5th-order elder of the Southern Fire Empire looked at the massive portal. Without needing to be told, Kang felt something was coming. Just as he had thought, at that second, Kang saw something that he will never forget in his entire life.

Just when he looked at the being beyond the portal, Kang felt the God of Death was descending to end the entire world. The being was so frightening, that even a Peak 5th-order cultivator like Kang only felt Fear. Right now Kang was so afraid that he even felt fear in breathing.

Also at the same time, millions of people who were in the southern region and in other parts of the world saw this. Almost everyone was frozen in shock and in fear seeing a huge black pair of eyes staring at the southern region from the massive portal.

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Chapter 220

Just when he looked at the being beyond the portal, Kang felt the God of Death was descending to end the entire world. The being was so frightening, that even a Peak 5th-order cultivator like Kang only felt Fear. Right now Kang was so afraid that he even felt fear in breathing.

Also at the same time, millions of people who were in the southern region and in other parts of the world saw this. Almost everyone was frozen in shock and in fear seeing a huge black pair of eyes staring at the southern region from the massive portal.

Just when Aditya looked at the black pair of eyes behind the portals, his eyes also changed. The color of his eyes turned Deep Crimson and the shape and size of his pupil turned vertical silts which was the pupil of a Dragon.

Also at the same time, the being seems to have felt this. Those giant black eyes shifted its attention in the direction of the South. Looking at those eyes, Aditya at this moment felt as if that being was staring directly at him.

It was very difficult for Aditya to express the emotions that his heart currently felt. Looking at that being, Aditya felt as if he had met his biggest and strongest enemy till now.

From the dark purple portal, a huge head began to emerge. It was the head of a giant snake. The face of the snake was red. As the snake slowly began to emerge out of the portal, its body was revealed to the whole world.

To everyone's horror and disbelief, the snake was more than 400 meters long. Just as the Snake came out of the portal, Aditya instantly knew that this snake had a Dragon bloodline in its body. This also explains why Aditya felt that connection with this snake. It also explained why Aditya felt so threatened by this snake.

Aditya now was 100% sure that this snake had sensed him and was looking at him a moment before coming out of the portal.

The snake with a crimson head appeared as a massive black-scaled snake with various rows of spikes. Its face is also red with large and sharp teeth along with black eyes and black irises. In the novel,

Just as the snake got out, the magic circle that actually sealed this snake shattered like glass. Everyone was able to hear the sound of the magic circle shattering.

Bang!

[The Snake Sage has returned.]

No one knew who said those words but everyone in the southern region was able to hear these words loud and clear.

Seeing this snake, Aditya had a sense of urgency. His felt became impatient. He felt very threatened at this moment. It was as if he would be hunted at any moment now.

"Watson, you stay here." Two Crimson pairs of Dragon wings appeared on Aditya's back.

"Your Majesty, wait...!!!!" Without listening to Watson's words, Aditya vanished from his view.

Scene change____

Meanwhile, a figure flew from the Northern direction towards the 400 meters colossal size snake.

[Oh, great lord! You are finally free.]

Watson and others who has been watching everything widened their eyes in deep shock seeing the man with white angel wings. The man's handsomeness was out of this world. The silver-white angel wings on his back made people think as if he was some angel. The man was Jimmut, famously known as the White Dragon Empire.

The snake's body floated in the sky and moved very slowly. The snake looked at the man with angel wings.

[Who are you?"] The snake didn't even open his mouth to speak. But everyone was able to hear a deep male voice.

[My lord, we have awakened you from your great slumber and have freed you from your prison so that you would help us fight the Titan Guardian. We need your strength to defeat the Titan Guardian.] Everyone who was watching was in big shock. So The Northern frost Dragon Empire's troops lost to awaken this gigantic snake. Some people who knew how the magic circle worked understood that all the troops that have died in the central region used a sacrifice to break the seal.

The snake stared at Jimmut for an entire minute before replying. [Very well, since you have freed me from the Phantom zone and have allowed me to return back to this world, I shall help you out this once. I also have some personal matters to settle with that Titan guardian.]

Hearing the words of the Great Sage Snake, Jimmut sighed in relief. Everything was going according to their plan.

[Let's go. After defeating the Titan Guardian, I will explore this world. I want to see how much this world has changed while I was asleep. I want to know how much this world has developed. I want to know if any old friend of mine is still alive at this age.]

[Gate]

Upon saying this magical word, the space began to twist. The air began to move in a spiral motion. The next second a very small crack opened in the space. With each passing second, the crack itself began to enlarge. In less than 10 seconds, a huge portal that was nearly 200 meters big in size appeared in the sky. While the previous portal from which the Great Sage Snake came out was slowly beginning to close.

[Let's go.]

[After you.]

The Great Snake Sage began to enter the portal. Despite being so big, the Great Sage snake moved very fast and its 400 meters long body entered the portal in less than a few seconds. After the Great Sage snake entered the portal, Jimmut waved his hand. All of a sudden all the people who were secretly watching the entire thing using various artifacts stopped seeing. The holographic screen went black.

After that Jimmut coldly smiled and entered the portal. At a very fast speed, several other figures also entered the portal without anyone noticing. As the portal began to slowly shrink down in size and was on the verge of completely closing down, a Crimson light managed to enter the portal before the portal completely closed.

After entering the portal, Aditya had no idea what he had gotten himself into. But right now if one checked Aditya's current cultivation, then they would find that Aditya's cultivation had reached Mid 3rd-order. Before entering the portal, Aditya had used a small amount of his saved-up experience points to make his cultivation reach Mid 3rd-order.

Although this was just a small improvement in his cultivation, reaching Mid 3rd-order had improved Aditya's stats a lot. Aditya's level had gone from level 151 to level 201. Meaning that Aditya had just reached Mid 3rd-order.

?_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Divine Crimson Storm Dragon

_Title: - Dragon Monarch

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch, Storm Marshall

_Level: - 151 ? 201

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation, Dragon Roar, Crimson Lightning Manipulation, Dragon Monarch blessing, Storm Summoner, Magma Manipulation

_Passive skill: - Crimson Lightning Blink, Mental Defense, Inferno Overdrive, Soul Blaze, Fiery Eyes, Curse of the Heaven, Blessing of Crimson, Charm Of Plasma, Crimson Lightning Dash, Enraged Lightning Spell, Lightning Armor, Storm Flight, Acid Rain

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, [Crown of Seven Sea(not wearing]

_Strength: - 361 ? 411

_Speed: - 603 + [100] ? 653 + [100]

_Stamina: - 336 ? 386

_Health: - 336 ? 386

_Mana: - 4,001 ? 4,052

_Free stats: - 0 ? 100?

What lay inside the portal was darkness. For a moment Aditya felt as if he had come to space. In this space, everything was dark. In that darkness, Aditya can see some objects floating and shining. These objects were very far away from Aditya as a result the light of those shining objects looked like small dots.

In that space, there were many things floating. There were woods, leaves, dead magic animals, clothes, various kinds of metal, stones, and many uncountable things simply floating here and there.

Aditya looked around to look for the giant snake that entered this portal. As he spread his senses, he managed to feel the presence of the giant snake and some other beings inside the portal. Besides the giant snake, Aditya can feel the Aura of a powerful Peak 5th-order Eastern dragon.

"System, add [100+] free stats to my agility."

?Ding! [100+]free stats has been added to agility.?

The Dragon Monarch closed his eyes. As he felt the increase in his agility, he started activating all of his stats-boosting skills.

Crimson Lightning dash!

Inferno Overdrive!

Lightning Armor!

Storm Flight!

Swoosh!

The next second, Aditya disappeared. The Dragon Monarch began to chase after the Great Sage Snake and the beings that were following the Great Sage Snake. Aditya made sure to keep a safe distance so that none of those beings except for the Great Sage Snake would be able to sense his presence.

Aditya wasn't worried even if the Great Sage snake sensed his presence. If the Great Sage Snake wanted to kill him, he would have done it earlier. Besides if a 6th-order or higher-order cultivator intentionally attacks a lower-order, the attacker would be attacked with Heavenly Lightning as a form of punishment. And not even the strongest cultivator in this world can survive an attack from the Heavenly Lightning. If a high-order cultivator wants to attack a lower-order cultivator or being without getting punished by the Heavenly Lightning, a cultivator must seal his own cultivation and attack power to Peak 5th-order. This is why Aditya wasn't worried.

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Title of this Chapter - The Return of Great Sage Snake

Chapter 221

Aditya has no idea how long he followed the Great Sage Snake. Aditya wasn't going to stop following the Great Sage Snake unless someone actually blocks his path. Aditya has no idea why he entered the portal without thinking. At first, Aditya only had come to the central region to see the Great Sage snake with his very own eyes.

But when he arrived at the central plains, seeing the portal, without thinking too much, the Dragon Monarch just dived in, not caring what he was getting himself into.

While flying through space, Aditya saw many things floating in space. This space had many strange and unique things floating around. For example, just a minute ago, he had seen a 15 meters size asteroid full of gold getting in his path. Aditya without thinking too much put the huge asteroid in his space ring. Why would he refuse free gold in such a huge quantity? Aditya needed a huge chunk of gold to build his dragon palace.

While following the Great Sage Snake from a distance, Aditya picked up any precious metal or a useful object that he found floating on his path. This space was full of rare and unique things. Aditya would have started collecting all the useful things in this space if he wasn't needed to follow the Great Sage Snake.

Speaking of following, at first Aditya was a little worried that any one of the Peak 5th-order beings following the Great Sage Snake would also be able to sense him. Aditya was a sensory-type cultivator. After his dragon bloodline got evolved to Divine Crimson Storm Dragon, his senses had become very sharp and covered a huge distance.

However, Aditya's worries were totally unnecessary as he stayed out of the range. Luckily for Aditya, the beings following the Great Sage Snake weren't sensory-type cultivators.

Aditya continued the follow the Great Sage Snake for more than 30 minutes. Aditya had no idea how much time had passed. To the current him, even a second felt like a minute as his speed had reached such a terrifying level. Being in this dark space, didn't help Aditya in knowing the time either as he couldn't tell if it was a day or night outside.

After what it felt like an eternity of following, Aditya finally saw the sunlight from the other side. As he approached the golden light, he once again saw a portal that was closing down very rapidly. Knowing that if he didn't made it in time, he might be stuck in this dark space forever, Aditya increased his pace to maximum.

boom!

This time, Aditya didn't bother to put any useful object that came in his path. As he moved at his full speed, any object that floated blocking his path was destroyed by powerful Crimson Lightning bolts that shot out from Aditya's hands.

Just as the portal was about to close down and had shrunk from 10 meters size to 1-meter size, Aditya barely managed to squeeze himself out of the portal before he got himself locked in that space. Thinking of spending the rest of his life in that dark space made Aditya tremble. There is no way he would be able to remain sane if he was forced to stay in that dark space where there was no sunlight.

Taking a second to calm his wild thoughts, Aditya focused on the place in front of him. He found himself standing right in front of two huge doors. The huge doors were standing in the sky without even moving an inch.

Both doors appeared to be around 500 meters huge in size. The door was painted golden color. On the body of the two doors, there was a huge painting of thousands of human-looking monsters kneeling down and worshipping a shiny pearl that was floating in the air.

Around this painting, there were words written in some ancient language that Aditya didn't understand. The words written around the painting looked similar to runes but Aditya knew these words weren't runes. The ancient words and symbols around the painting were drawn in red color.

The colossal golden doors had a golden shine around them. Even from this distance, even without ever touching the golden doors, Aditya felt nothing in this world, not even a Peak 7th-order cultivator can push these two doors open. Forget about opening the door, even moving these two golden doors by an inch would be impossible.

Aditya was approximately 1900 meters away from the golden doors. He was able to see what was written and drawn on the golden doors from such a big distance only because Aditya had long surpassed the limits of a human and he can no longer be measured with average human standards.

There were some beings standing right before the golden door. Aside from the Great Sage Snake, there were some other mysterious Peak 5th-order cultivators who was wearing black cloaks and hiding their faces under a black cloak. The only person that Aditya recognized among this mysterious group was the Emperor of Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Aditya managed to recognize this person from being able to sense the Dragon bloodline that flowed in his body. As a Dragon Monarch, Aditya can easily sense if a cultivator or a being has dragon bloodline in them. Aditya did not expect Jimmut to be here.

Aside from the Great Sage Snake, there were 5 people wearing black cloaks and covering their faces with black hoods. Each of them was a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Among the 5 mysterious cultivators, one of them cultivators appeared to be a woman. Aditya was able to tell this as he saw the woman's curvaceous body. Even the black cloak couldn't hide her curves.

'Those white wings.....' Aditya felt his mind ringing seeing those white wings of the white dragon King. Just a few days ago, the mutant fire ant queen was killed by a person named Jay who had white angelic wings on his back.

[Jay has white wings which makes him look like an angel. Whenever he flies using those white wings, I feel as if those white wings of his glow slightly and radiate a holy Aura. You will know Jay's real identity once you see his White angelic wings. No one but him in this world has such beautiful wings.] These were the words that the mutant fire ant queen had written in her diary that she wrote before her death.

Looking at Jimmut's white angelic wings, Aditya had a strange feeling in his heart. 'Jay and Jimmut. Both of their names also start with J. The White Dragon Emperor is an expert in using Holy Magic. Scarlet told me that Jay was also an expert in using Holy magic.' Regardless of whether the White Dragon King was Jay or not, regardless of whether the White Dragon King was a part of The League of Black Tomb when Aditya hat set foot in the Southern region, both White Dragon King and the Black Dragon King had become his enemies and had become Aditya's targets.

"It looks like someone has followed us here." The White Dragon King said while looking at Aditya from the corner of his eyes.

"I didn't expect the Husband of Goddess of Alchemy to follow us. That's a good thing as well. Since Aditya was on our future hit list. It wouldn't hurt to kill this young man right now and take that Crown away from him." Another mysterious figure replied while grinning.

"If that's the case, then the four of us can take him on. I will head inside and get that pearl."

While Jimmut and his fellow members of The League of Tomb talked to each other, the Great Sage Snake listened to their conversation. No one knew what this old and crafty Snake was thinking at that moment. The Great Sage Snake bought out its old red tongue and licked its lips as if he was getting ready for a delicious meal.

[I assume you guys have the key needed to open the golden doors.]

Jimmut nodded his head and took out the key that was stolen from the Ethereal Empire a few days ago. As soon as the key was taken out, the key started to shine very brightly. The white light coming from the sky was so intense that it made it impossible for anyone to see the shape of the key which had started to change slightly.

The key floated in the air for a few seconds before the key was pulled toward the golden doors. Just as the key came into contact with the golden doors, the 500 meters huge golden doors that stood in this place for who knows long how started to vibrate. Seeing this every moved back, even the Great Sage snake moved back. The vibration started to become intense.

A second or two later, with a loud bang, the golden doors were opened, revealing a complete different world. Seeing what lied beyond the golden doors, everyone even for a split second showed a look of greed.

Even the 6th-order Great Sage Snake was shocked. Although Great Sage Snake had heard that the world beyond the Golden doors was filled with treasures, he never expected the treasure land that was less than 15 meters away from him to be this rich and this tempting. Even for a Mid 6th-order cultivator who has lived for countless years and has seen almost everything that this world has to offer, the Great Sage Snake couldn't control his emotions.

However, everyone's fantasy and wild dreams were short-lived as just as the golden doors were opened and just when the fresh air entered the Treasure land, a being feeling the change in the air, slowly moved. The being was lying on the earth for countless years. The being was so massive that when it lay on the ground, others thought of that being as a giant mountain. In fact, it has been countless years since that being had moved his body even an inch.

All of a sudden, the being that slept in the treasure land opened its eyes, revealing two golden pairs of pupils. As the being had not moved even an inch for countless years, its entire body was covered in dust and in leaves.

Just as the being opened its eyes, all the dust and the leaves covering its body started to vibrate violently.

[Who dares to open the gates of Forbidden Treasure land]

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 222

[Who dares to open the gates of Forbidden Treasure land]

Everyone heard a loud voice.

[Here he comes.] Ignoring the members of The League of Black Tomb, the Great Sage Snake entered the Forbidden Treasure Land to meet the Titan guardian. Both Titan Guardian and the Great Sage Snake were Mid 6th-order cultivators. If both powerhouses fought outside, then they might end up destroying an entire continent. This is why the Great Sage Snake entered the Forbidden Treasure land to fight the Titan Guardian.

The Forbidden Treasure land was bigger than the Westnia continent. Also, the laws of the Forbidden Treasure land are stronger meaning that the world beyond those golden gates was strong enough to witness the fight between two Mid 6th-order powerhouse. If a Peak 4th-order cultivator used one of the strongest attacks anywhere within 6 continents or the oceans surrounding the 6 continents, the cultivator's attack would be able to destroy a small mountain. But in the main continent or in the Forbidden Treasure land, the very same cultivator's attack wouldn't be able to do that. As the laws of the main continent and the Forbidden Treasure land are stronger, it would take more power to destroy a small mountain.

Right after the Great Sage Snake entered the Forbidden Treasure land, he met the Titan Guardian who has been sleeping for countless centuries and was standing with his arms folded on his chest.

[How many years it has been since I last meet a Titan?] The Great Sage Snake was a being from ancient times. Even in his time, Titans had become very rare. Right after he was released from the Phantom Tunnel, the Great Sage Snake spread his senses. He had discovered many surprising and disappointing things about this new world. One of those disappointing things was the extinction of the Titan from all six continents. Maybe there are still a few Titans left on the Main continent, the Great Sage Snake is not sure.

[Hmph! This is also the last time you will ever see any being. Whose you entered the Forbidden land must die.] Titan has been guarding this plane for countless. Over countless years, only 6 times the golden doors were opened. In those times, all the intruders were killed by the Titan guardian.

[You will have to see how things go.] The Forbidden Treasure land was a land of treasure. Even a treasure that is considered normal by the standard of this plane would be considered one of the rarest quality treasures in the outside world. It was said in some legends and myths that whoever manage to enter the Forbidden Treasure land would become the Emperor of this entire world. This place had the power to turn a nobody into one of the strongest beings on this planet.

The Great Sage Snake opened its mouth and began to condense a large amount of mana on its mouth. A green energy orb began to condense in front of his mouth.

The guardian Titan did not wait for the Great Sage Snake to complete its attack. The Titan which was over 200 meters long bought out a huge 100 meters big Katana from his storage ring which itself was very huge. The 100 meters big Katana was covered in rust which showed that this weapon hasn't been used for countless years. Despite being covered in rust, this Katana was a Peak 6-star weapon. Even after thousands of years of not being used, the Katana still retained its former power.

The Great Sage Snake released a huge beam of green light from its mouth which the Titan guardian blocked using his Katana.

Booooom!

[You stupid Snake, I think you have forgotten that Titans are one of the strongest beings on this planet.] The guardian Titan was pissed about the fact that this overgrown snake considered itself to be some big shot when in front of Titan of the same power and cultivation, this overgrown snake was nothing.

The guardian Titan raised its right foot up and before slamming his right foot on the ground. As he did that, the crack beneath him started cracking.

boom!

The next second The Great Sage Snake felt something was coming, he immediately moved out of the way in time. As from the ground more than hundred thousands of metal spikes had came out. Each spike was very sharp and 50 to 100 meters long.

The Great Sage Snake attacked the guardian Titan back with a huge wave of flame that he spits from his mouth.

While both Mid 6th-order cultivators fought each other, Aditya slowly approached the golden gates while keeping his eyes on the Members of The League of Black Tomb.

Seeing Aditya approaching in their direction, Jimmut eyes flashed in a cold light. Everything so far has gone exactly as planned. Except for the presence of an annoying fly that managed to follow them here. From experience, Jimmut knew that because of Aditya they had to change their plans the last time when they went to acquire the key. Aditya's presence in this place could once again disturb their plans.

So, Jimmut came up with a plan. "You four head inside and find the Pearl. I will deal with this annoying fly. I will also get revenge for our fallen brother, Ashley." Jimmut, of course, didn't give a shit whether Ashley lived or died that day. He said those words so that he can add another reason to kill Aditya here. Jimmut was angry with Aditya for forcing them to change their plans last time and he was also angry about the fact that Aditya refused his offer to become an ally.

Jimmut had heard that a few months ago, the organization had sent one of the inner-circle members to make a plan to retrieve that artifact from Aditya. Even when 15 factions attacked the Istarin Empire, this man was able to deal with them alone which is frightening. Ever since then, the organization had decided to deal get that object later and decided to focus on their other plans. But who would have thought that this man would somehow come here to interfere with their plans.

"Alright. The three of you come with me. While those two overgrown giants fight each other, we will have to find where the Pearl has been hidden in the Forbidden Treasure land." The next second, everyone leaving Jimmut and Aditya outside had entered the Forbidden Treasure land.

Jimmut removed the black hood and threw away the black cloak that he had worn before. "I am really to see the Emperor of the Istarin empire here. Or Should I call you the Husband of the Alchemy Goddess Julia?"

Aditya did not panic after realizing that the organization knows his both identities. After reading Scarlet's diary, Aditya had kind of expected this to happen. Aditya admits that he had made a mistake. But rather than regretting that mistake, Aditya was the type of person who would learn from his mistakes and correct them.

Seeing that Jimmut's words couldn't get any strong reaction from Aditya, the white Dragon King clicked his tongue in annoyance. Jimmut would really like to see Aditya lose his calm. Unfortunately, his taunting words seem to have no effect on the Dragon Monarch.

"You know if you have decided to join me, then this wouldn't have happened. Now that you know my secret, I will have to kill you." Jimmut thought that Aditya didn't know anything about The League of Black Tombs. After all, The League of Black Tomb had no idea that before dying, Scarlet had revealed every single piece of information that she had about them.

To gain Scarlet's trust, the organization did not force Scarlet into a contract that would stop her from talking about them. The organization had mistakenly assumed that they had complete control over Scarlet.

"Jimmut, you sacrificed your own army just for the sake of all this?"

Jimmut smiled in response as if he was feeling slightly embarrassed from being praised. He looked at Aditya as if he had done the noblest thing in this whole world. "What can I say? Most of those soldiers belonged to my allied empires. And the troops that died from the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's side were all useless troops. These troops were just wasting my money and resources so I put them to better use."

From his tone, Aditya felt Jimmut didn't really care about the troops that he lost or the word sacrificed would be better suited for this situation.

"Just for the sake of all this, you even let your biological son die?"

"The Death of my dear son Albert is just a small very needed sacrifice for the grant plan. Sometimes a man must sacrifice for the great good." The way Jimmut spoke as if he had done something very noble made Aditya kind of irritated. What could be more important than the life of our own son?

'Even though he has pure white angel wings and can use holy magic, this man is a definition of true evil.' The Northern Frost Dragon Empire told everyone that the Black Dragon King was evil but in reality, it turned out to be the complete opposite. Not every white represents good and not every black represents bad.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 223

'Even though he has pure white angel wings and can use holy magic, this man is a definition of true evil.' The Northern Frost Dragon Empire told everyone that the Black Dragon King was evil but in reality, it turned out to be the complete opposite. Not every white represents good and not every black represents bad.

"You know I had heard very interesting things about you. I guess you just created a fake mask of being a good and noble person in front of the public." Even if Jimmut was genuinely a good person, Aditya still would have killed him. Jimmut and his twin brother, Brolbiner, were the people that stood and blocked his path of conquering the entire Southern region.

Storm Summon!

Rumble!

Jimmut looked up to see the sky slowly beginning to darken. Crimson bolts of lightning began to run through the clouds. Jimmut was not surprised. He had heard that Aditya was an expert in using Crimson flames and Crimson lightning.

Seeing that Aditya was getting prepared for the battle, Jimmut also began to prepare himself for an intense fight. He took out a dark red spear from his storage ring and covered the spear in his mana.

The gentle smile on Jimmut's face disappeared as he coldly looked at Aditya. "You know, after the death of my father, there were a only few people whom I had truly loved. My master, Ashley was one of those people. As his student, today I am going to avenge him."

Jimmut's words also confirm his identity as Jay. "I must say that old man was quite weak. if not for that artifact that blocked my attack, I would have killed him with my first attack." Crimson lightning began to cover Aditya's entire body.

"What did you say?" Aditya smiled seeing Jimmut or Jay was losing his calm.

?Ding! The storm has activated the passive powers of the Host's Storm Marshall class.?

?Ding! Because of the storm, the host's mana has been increased by 50%.?

?Ding! The power of lightning and wind types of attacks has been increased by 50%.?

?Ding! Because of the storm, The host's agility has been increased by [300+]?

Even though Aditya could feel his power sharply rising, but this wasn't enough. The gap between a beginner 3rd-order and a Peak 5th-order was bigger than the gap between the earth and Heaven. Aditya needed more. His aim wasn't just to defeat Jay, his goal was to kill the other members of The League of Black Tomb and stop their plans of obtaining the pearl.

Inferno Overdrive!

?Ding! The host is entering into a berserk state.?

?Ding! In the berserk state, all of the host stats except for Mana have been temporarily increased by 70%.?

"Not enough"

Feeling Aditya's Aura continuously rising, Jay was very surprised and shocked. 'Just how much Mana does this man have?' At the same time, the white dragon King felt his blood run cold. His heart for some reason became anxious and he himself began to doubt if he will be able to defeat this man. This feeling in his heart was very difficult for Jay to understand. He has never felt this kind of anxiety or anxiousness in the past when facing strong opponents.

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Lightning Armor!

Storm Flight!

?Ding! Crimson Lightning Dash has added [200+] agility to the host's stats.?

?Ding! The Lightning armor has increased the host's defense and also has added [100+] strength to the host's stats.?

?Ding! As there is a storm, the second function of the Storm flight skill has been activated. The host's agility has been increased by [200+].?

As if this all wasn't enough, Aditya finally took out a cheap-looking crown from his storage ring. It was the Crown of Seven Sea. It was the very low-grade 5-star artifact that the Majin village protected. Aditya was given the crown after the Majins found out that Aditya has the Crimson dragon bloodline.

Seeing the Crown of Seven Seas being worn by Aditya, Jay couldn't hide his shocked expression anymore. His heart began to tremble in fear. The Aura coming from current Aditya was extremely terrifying. As a Dragon, Jay instantly was able to sense the danger that stood before him.

?Ding! By wearing the crown of Seven Seas, the third function of the crown has been activated. The host's fighting power has been increased by [20%].?

Aditya's both arms turned into dragon claws. He then took out the grade mid-5-star black sword and wielded it.

?Ding! As the host has wielded a weapon, The innate skill Weapon Grandmaster has been activated. The power of the Adamantite Doomblade has been increased by 50%. The chances of landing a critical strike have been increased.?

"All these preparations should be more than enough to cut you into millions of pieces." Normally Aditya would have prepared not to use the Crown of Seven seas but in this case, Aditya will have to face other Peak 5th-order cultivators so it would be better to stop holding back. It's not like The League of Black Tomb didn't know that Aditya possessed the Crown of Seven Seas.

Even though Aditya knew Scarlet. Even though he had only met the Mutant fire ant queen for less than 5 minutes, somewhere deep in his heart, Aditya knew that he was also doing this for the ant queen who had given him so much before her death. It was because of her, that he was able to learn about The League of Black Tomb. Just like Jay wants to avenge Ashley, Aditya was going to kill Jay for Scarlet.

'Stupid, why I am fearing a kid? Even if he has made preparation, it's not like I have lost all of my powers. I also have my trump cards.' Saying these words, Jay calmed his heart.

Jay too out a small stone from his storage ring and released the stone into the air in front of him which made Aditya totally confused. As soon as the stone was released into the air, not even an entire second had passed, Aditya suddenly felt his entire body being bonded to something invisible. Before the Dragon Monarch could understand what was going on, the space around him twisted and the next second he widened his eyes finding himself in front of Jay.

"Got you." Aditya was deeply shocked in his heart when he found himself right in front of his enemy. Even before he could think what just happened, he saw a dark red spear being aimed at his heart. At that point, the Dragon Monarch only had one thought in his mind and which was to dodge this attack.

Aditya's right index finger moved ever so slightly, the next second before the tip of the spear could even touch his body, a crimson bolt of Lightning fell from the clouds and hit Jay.

Booom!!!!!

Jay was sent flying more than 100 meters away as a result.

'What was that?' Aditya wondered as he stared at Jay. He had a feeling that Jay was going to use that move again so this time he got ready to counter it.

Meanwhile, Jay controlled himself in the air. He felt slight pain throughout his body. Now Jay had a better understanding of Aditya's abilities.

Just like the first time, Jay once again released a small stone into the air before him. The next second, Aditya once again felt a strong pull. Even though he tried to resist this mysterious force that seems to pull his body somewhere, he couldn't. As a result, once the space around Aditya twisted and the next second, he found himself before Jay. Aditya now finally understood how Jay's ability worked.

Aditya thought that Jay was going to attack him using his deep red spear just like the last time, he controlled the Crimson Lightning on Jay. However this time Jay was one step ahead of Aditya. Knowing that he would be hit with a Crimson lightning bolt, in less than a second, he once again used his ability.

Aditya didn't even have time to frown as he felt a strong force preventing him from moving again. Right after Aditya blinked his eyes he and Jay both switched places. When Aditya opened his eyes, he found himself standing in Jay's position. Aditya didn't even get enough time to comprehend the whole situation when a strong bolt of Crimson Lightning fell on his head.

Booom!!!!!

Aditya did not take any damage from his own attack however he did not feel dizzy for a few seconds which was more than enough for Jay to take advantage of it. The White Dragon King kicked Aditya's stomach which bent his body and sent him flying like a cannonball

Ah!!!

The power behind the kick caused Aditya to cough out a mouthful of blood. Aditya was sent flying more than 500 meters away before he was able to use his wings to stabilize himself. Wiping the red blood from the corner of his mouth, Aditya summoned a huge orb of Crimson flame and threw it at Jay.

Aditya was expecting Jay to use that strange teleporting ability of his to change places with another object or the Crimson flame orb but strangely Jay did not do that which kind of surprised Aditya. Aditya narrowed his eyes as he began to observe Jay very carefully.

The White Dragon Emperor instead of using that strange teleporting ability used something else.

Holy Avatar!

Suddenly Jay's mana in the form of White transparent energy began to come out of his body and cover his entire body. The White energy did not stop there. After covering his body, the white energy began to expand around Jay's body. Before the Crimson flame orb could reach Jay, a 50 meters giant avatar that looked like a white giant version of the White Dragon that was made from his mana stood in the air.

Seeing this Aditya was shocked. The White Dragon Emperor's real body was at the center of the Avatar.

Boooom!!!!

Even when the Crimson orb hit the Holy Avatar nothing happened to Jay. Even though the Holy Avatar that looked like Jay was slightly damaged, his mana instantly healed the damaged part.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 224

This chapter is especially dedicated to the reader [cj_savage] for gifting this novel with a Magic castle worth 5000 Coins.

Thank you very much to the reader [cj_savage]

Right now, around 500 meters away Aditya, the White dragon's Empire body was controlling a giant 50 meters big Avatar that looked totally like him. The holy Avatar had Jay's appearance and was even wearing the same clothes that Jay wore. The Avatar's entire body was white and the Avatar had a transparent body.

'What kind of move is that?' Aditya wondered while staring at the white Avatar. In this world of cultivation, there have been countless skills and techniques created by countless geniuses from the start of this world. While it was true that each time a new era started, the skills and techniques from the previous era were lost, not every skill and technique was lost. Some of those skills and techniques were passed down from one generation to the next generation.

The Holy Avatar was one of those skills that Jay obtained after joining The League of Black Tomb. The skills were discovered in a temple that was found submerged under a river. Since Jay was one of the few people in the organization that mainly used Holy Magic, this technique was given to Jay as a gift for joining the organization.

The Holy Avatar was one of the trump cards that has always helped Jay.

'I have to be careful.' A normal Peak 5th-order cultivator would have been injured if they directly took the Crimson flame. This giant human thing that covered Jay's entire body was powerful enough to not get destroyed by Aditya's attack. In fact, even though the Crimson flame directly hit the Holy Avatar, other than slightly being damaged which also was healed instantly, nothing else happened to the Avatar.

"If that's the case, then let's try something else." Aditya spread his arms on both sides while looking at the sky. The White Dragon Emperor was confused for the first few seconds but noticing that Aditya's face had turned slightly pale and noticing that the sky was rumbling very loudly, the northern Frost Dragon Emperor had a very bad feeling in his heart. He felt something very bad was about to happen.

Aditya's face slightly turned pale as he experienced the loss of [1000+] mana in an instant.

"Whatever, that you're planning on doing won't work on me. The defense of the Holy Avatar cannot be broken that easily. Even my master had a very hard time breaking the defense of the Holy Avatar." From the White Dragon Emperor's words, Aditya was able to learn the name of this attack.

"We will see." Aditya pointed both of his arms forward. Under the White Dragon King's watch, Crimson lightning started gathering from the rest of his body to both of his arms. The next second, 6 powerful bolts of Crimson lightning were once again shot out from his hands.

Seeing this Jay quickly crossed his arms and covered his chest.

Booom!

Even though Jay's entire body was inside the Holy Avatar, he still was able to feel a slight shockwave when the bolts of Crimson lightning hit the holy Avatar.

Also at the same time, the entire sky of this area had darkened. Strong winds began to flow from all directions. The rain started pouring from the clouds. The dark clouds for some reason had started rumbling more fiercely. As Jay was busy defending against Aditya's attack, he failed to notice 10,000 bolts of Lightning of seven different colors were swimming right above his head; on the dark clouds.

All the 10,000 bolts of lightning merged together to form a huge bolt of rainbow lightning. Just as Jay's Holy Avatar recovered the small damage that the crimson lightning had managed to do, the rainbow bolt of Lightning fell on the Holy Avatar.

Before the Rainbow lightning fell, Jay and Aditya's visions were blinded because of the intense white light that came from the sky. The next sound, everyone, even those who have gone inside the Forbidden Treasure land heard a loud, earth-shaking rumbling sound.

boooooooom!!!!!!

Jay's entire body was sent down like a baseball that has been hit. Everything happened so far that even Aditya couldn't see what just had happened. But a second later, he realized and looked down only to see a big ripple in the ocean.

Jay was crushed on the ocean with a big splashing sound. However, the White Dragon Emperor couldn't stop there. His body continued to move down without showing any signs of stopping. As a result, within a few seconds, Jay found himself at the bottom of the Ocean. He had crushed to the Oceanic crust which instantly shattered from the impact.

Aditya fell down and stopped just a few inches from the ocean. Aditya tried to sense if Jay was still alive. 'I just hope this dude dies here. It's troublesome to deal with that strange ability of his.'

Almost 10,000 meters bottom of the Ocean, where the ray of sunlight did not even reach. The White Dragon Emperor currently was in a place that received no sunlight and was in complete darkness. After crushing onto the Oceanic crust, Jay felt his entire consciousness was on the verge of fading. His eyes rolled back while his heart stopped beating.

Right now the White Dragon King's entire body was in endless pain. Just the pain itself was making Jay lose consciousness. After crushing down, for a few seconds, Jay did not move. After a few seconds, Jay finally snapped his eyes wide open. With the remaining bit of energy and consciousness that Jay had left in his body and mind, he took out a 5-star healing pill and ate it.

The 5-star pill began to heal his body. His chest was torn off from his body, his arms had been exposed, his entire body had been paralyzed, and countless other wounds on his body began to heal rapidly.

However, the presence of a Peak 5th-order cultivator, at the bottom of the Ocean had alerted a Peak 5th-order oceanic magical beast that ruled this part of the ocean. The oceanic magical beast wasn't the slightest bit pleased when it sensed another Peak 5th-order cultivator in its territory.

Just as Jay was recovering without needing to inhale any air as a Peak 5th-order cultivator can live for days without needing to breathe air, the oceanic magical beast got out of its lair and began to approach in the White Dragon Emperor's direction.

As Jay was busy healing himself he did not spread out his mana to sense the area. Not that many beasts lived at the very bottom of the sea. Except for some special species of oceanic beasts and certain Peak 5th-order oceanic beasts, all the other oceanic beasts lived above. Everything in this part of the Ocean was in darkness.

"Is he dead?" Aditya couldn't sense the White Dragon King's Aura anymore. On land and in the air, Aditya can spread his senses very far but in the water this was different. Aditya wasn't born in water nor he was a water mage nor did he have any water-related skills, so his senses were kind of limited in water. Only beasts that lived in water or water mages or oceanic intelligent races that lived in the sea and in the ocean had very strong senses in water.

Meanwhile, Just as Jay was about to finish healing, his face suddenly turned pale as he found a powerful monster heading in his direction. The Oceanic beast was not so far away from his location. Although Jay still has to heal his cracked skull and his arms, without wasting any time, knowing that he will mostly die if he stayed here, he started moving upwards.

However, in water, Oceanic beasts were much faster. The Peak Oceanic beasts easily caught up to Jay. Jay's entire body trembled in fear seeing two red giant pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness. The next second the body of a 200 meters giant Shark was revealed to the White Dragon Emperor. When the Shark opened its mouth, even Jay couldn't see anything inside that abyss. It seemed the shark's mouth was a black hole itself.

'Shit!' Jay focused on his front. His eyes lit up seeing a 3rd-order tune fish approximately 100 meters away from him. He instantly used a body swap. The Peak 5th-order Shark was surprised to see that the Dragon had managed to teleport 100 meters away from it. Seeing this the Peak 5th-order shark activated one of its skills that increased its agility.

However, Jay did not know that the Shark had increased its pace. Without even looking back, Jay repeatedly kept using body swaps with any object or oceanic beast that he saw within his 100 meters range.

After using body swap for the 6th time, the Shark finally understood how this ability worked. The Shark instantly released his Peak 5th-order Aura which scared away any oceanic beasts within a 1 km range. Seeing this Jay couldn't help but curse his luck. Jay couldn't even move at full speed as his body was still in the middle of healing.

The chase continued for another few seconds before the 200 meters giant shark finally caught up to Jay. 'Curse you, Aditya. Even if I die, I will never let you rest.' At the end of this time, Jay couldn't believe that a person like him was going to die this pathetically.

The next second, the shark closed its mouth, trapping the white Dragon King inside. Thus, ending the story of the White Dragon King and the Emperor of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Never did anyone expect that such a powerful figure would die like this. Maybe this was karma for all the deeds that this man has done in the name of greater good.

"I see, you have managed to end Jimmut's life."

Sigh!

"Here I was thinking that Jimmut would be able to hold you for at least 10 minutes. I was we were expecting too much from him." Aditya coldly looked at the three people who had surrounded him from three sides.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 225

"I see, you have managed to end Jimmut's life."

Sigh!

"Here I was thinking that Jimmut would be able to hold you for at least 10 minutes. I was we were expecting too much from him." Aditya coldly looked at the three people who had surrounded him from three sides. These had to come after hearing the loud lightning-striking sound that they heard even from the Forbidden Treasure Land.

One of The League of Black Tomb members noticed the cheap and old crown on Aditya's head. "Good for us. Today we will be killing two birds with one stone."

Right now Aditya was in a massive disadvantageous situation. He was surrounded by three Peak 5th-order cultivators. Even if Aditya can out-match one of the cultivators in agility, he still can't defend against simultaneous attacks from three Peak 5th-order cultivators. Also, another thing that worried Aditya was the fact that he knew nothing about these three cultivators' abilities but they knew very well what abilities he can use.

'Except maybe a few of my trump cards which I very rarely use.' Currently, Aditya's agility was higher than the agility of a Peak 5th-order cultivator. But he wasn't sure if he can dodge attacks from three Peak 5th-order cultivators at the same time.

It is kind of ironic that three Peak 5th-order cultivators who are the strongest form of existence in 6 continents are joining hands to take down a Mid 3rd-order cultivator. In the whole history of this world, something like this never has happened nor will ever happen. Other than Aditya, the only Peak 3rd-order cultivator who is capable of defeating a beginner 5th-order is the goddess of war herself.

For an entire minute, neither party moved their bodies even an inch. From their voices and their body figures, Aditya figured that two of them were men while the last one is women. Just as Aditya slightly moved his right hand, the three members of the organization also reacted at the same time.

Energy Flare!

Ball of Shadows!

Both Males hurriedly cast two of their strongest spells at Aditya.

Aditya saw from his right side, a beam of dark purple light being fired at him while from his left side more than a hundred football-sized shadow balls were heading in his direction. Aditya did not waste any more time.

Just as he moved his right index finger slightly, the sky rumbled before sending down multiple crimson bolts of lightning that destroyed the shadow balls while Aditya blocked the dark purple beam attack using the Adamantite Doomblade.

Booom!

From the corner of his eyes, Aditya noticed that the woman was chanting a long spell. Whatever this woman was planning on doing wasn't good news for Aditya so he once again commanded the Crimson lightning.

Rumble!

Bang!

Not even a second had passed, when a Crimson bolt of lightning hit Lucy's head and sent her flying. However just as Lucy was sent flying she somehow managed to aim at Aditya and fire a bolt of yellow thunder from the tip of her right-hand fingers.

At the same time, both other males also attacked Aditya. While the male on the right started chanting a long spell the male on his left moved at his full speed to confront Dragon King at a close distance.

The Dragon Monarch blocked the thunderbolt using the Adamantite Doomblade. As soon as he finished blocking the attack, a felt someone coming from behind. Feeling this without even turning back, Aditya covered his entire back with Crimson flames that began to swirl around him.

Seeing this, the elf had to change his flight path as everything happened too quickly. Meanwhile, the 1st male had finished chanting.

Frenzy of Doom!

A giant black magical circle appeared above Aditya's head. Before he can understand what was happening, he was forced to divert his attention to defending himself from the Elf's attacks. Meanwhile from the black magical circle, hundreds of snakes came out.

Clang!

Aditya managed to see his as he also defended himself from the elf's attacks.

Clang!

"You know you shouldn't lose your focus." Hearing that familiar voice, Aditya widened his eyes in shock. Just as Aditya got distracted for a second, it was enough for the snakes that were summoned from the black magic circle to arrive right above his head.

Seeing this, the Dragon Monarch bought his free arm above his hand and released a wave of Crimson flames that instantly turned all the snakes to ashes but one of the snakes managed to move slightly out of the way. Before the snake's body was burned, the snake opened its mouth and released a drop of black poison.

While Aditya was defending from the Elf's attack, he didn't have time to see the drop of black poison that fell on his right shoulder. As soon as the black poison touched Aditya's right shoulder, he nearly dropped the Adamantite Doomblade from his hand from intense pain. The moment the drop of black poison fell on his right shoulder, white smoke began to come out of his right shoulder. At that very moment, he felt the flesh on his right shoulder being burned from the inside. The feeling itself was so painful that it made Aditya feel like losing consciousness.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, The elf smiled before sending Aditya flying with a powerful kick.

Ahh!!!

The Dragon Monarch stopped more than 1000 meters away. The pain that he felt from the kick was nothing compared to the pain in his right shoulder. Turning to look at his right shoulder, Aditya widened his eyes in horror at seeing flesh getting burned. The dragon scales that covered his right shoulder melted like hot butter.

The black poison had made a hole and had managed to reach his right shoulder bone. Even though Aditya has been very badly injured in the past, the pain that he was currently feeling is way higher. The pain made him want to tear off his right shoulder.

?Ding! The host has been cursed. All of the host's base stats except for mana have been decreased by 50%.?

"What?" The Dragon King was beyond shocked.

"This is a special kind of poison that was developed by Dragon Slayers. Hahaha! How does it feel? Painful isn't it." 100 meters away from Aditya, the three members of The League of Black Tomb stood with their faces revealed before him.

While Aditya did not recognize the 6 feet 5 inches tall man and beautiful woman with black hair, he did recognize the face of the 3rd member. How can Aditya forget that face?

"Ivan?....." At this moment Aditya was sure that it was Ivan who had killed the Rose Family's 3rd daughter Myra.

"Hello! It has been a while." Ivan contrary to Aditya's shocked expression was just smiling as if he was enjoying the look of shock on his face.

"As I was saying before, the poison was developed by Dragon Slayers of old age. It's unfortunate that the Dragon Slayers of this era are not that strong but their ancestors were a force that every Dragon was afraid of. The ancient Dragon Slayers made a special type of poison using 5-star poison ingredients and using dark magic."

The one who spoke was Tommy. One of the inner-group members of The League of Black Tomb. Tommy was a half-orc and half-human. Being a half-orc, Tommy was very tall and his body was very muscular. Tommy's specialty was in close-range combat. Being a half-orc, Tommy's strength was very high for a Peak 5th order.

The woman named Lucy was very beautiful. The woman had long black hair that reach down to her waist. She had brown pupils and her height was 5 feet 5 inches. Lucy was also an inner-group member. Together with Lucy, Tommy, Ivan, and their leader, the last time they entered the Treasure vault of the Ethereal Empire and took the key that was needed to open the golden doors and enter the Forbidden Treasure land.

"Even a Heavenly Dragon would have been instantly poisoned and paralyzed just from a drop of this poison. The only reason that you're still alive is because of your Divine Crimson Dragon Bloodline. The poison was not made to deal with a Divine Dragon but it is powerful enough to slowly kill a Divine dragon from the inside out. Now that the poison has entered your system, it will slowly kill you from the inside. From your pale face, I can tell that you're already suffering from the effect of the poison." It's unfortunate that Tommy was able to find only a few drops of this poison. And he had just used the last remaining of that poison on Aditya. Of course, Tommy would never say it out loud.

'Dammit. So this entire time, they are trying to poison me.' Aditya knew that it would be impossible for him to continue fighting them with his all of his stats except for mana being decreased by 50%.

"Dragon King, this will be the end of your story."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 226

This chapter is especially dedicated to the reader [Zeko323] for gifting this novel with a Golden Gachapon worth 15000 Coins

Thank you very much to the reader [Zeko323]

'Dammit. So this entire time, they are trying to poison me.' Aditya knew that it would be impossible for him to continue fighting them with his all of his stats except for mana being decreased by 50%.

"Dragon King, this will be the end of your story." This was the first time Aditya has been corned like this. Before this fight, Aditya has fought hundreds of battles before and has always managed to come on top. Each battle was fierce and more dangerous than the last one. Each battle has pushed Aditya. But nothing like this has ever happened to him.

'Status panel.'

?_Current Status: - Poisoned

_Strength: - 411 ? 205.5

_Speed: - 753 + [100] ? 376.5

_Stamina: - 386 ? 193

_Health: - 386 ? 193

_Mana: - 4,052

_Free stats: - 0?

This is what Aditya's current base stats looked like without any boost from any of his skills or Class.

"Ivan since you have met Aditya before, you get the chance of ending his life here." Ivan nodded with a smile on his face. Aditya stared at Ivan who slowly began to walk in his direction.

Aditya was feeling very weak because of the poison. His right shoulder and his right arm had become numb from pain.

'I guess, it's time to use that move.' Ivan raised an eyebrow seeing Aditya closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe.

Each time Aditya reaches a new order, along with getting a new class, almost all of his skills are upgraded to the next level. As Aditya became a Divine Crimson Storm Dragon, even his racial skill which is Dragon Transformation changed slightly.

?Dragon Transformation: - A special type of skill that is only possessed by the Dragon Monarch himself. The skill allows the host to transform into a Dragon or transform any part of the host's body into a dragon.

1. When more than 50% of the host's body is transformed into a dragon all of the host's stats except for Mana is doubled. When the host fully transforms into a dragon, all of the host's stats except for mana are instantly doubled.

2. When 50% of the host's body transforms into a dragon, the host's mana recovery speed will be increased by 60%.

3. If the host transforms into a dragon or transforms more than 50% of the host's body into a dragon during a storm, 500+ agility will be temporarily added to host's agility.?

Ever since Aditya came to this world, obtained the system and awakened his Crimson dragon bloodline, he has never used this skill. Even after coming a Divine Crimson Storm Dragon, he never used this skill. So far, Aditya never met an enemy that can force him to use this skill.

[Dragon Transformation!]

Aditya suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing his eyes had turned into the eyes of a dragon, Ivan for some reason felt a shiver running down his spine. Even Tommy and Lucy were deeply shocked. The Aditya in front of them had changed. Even though he was poisoned, Aura around current Aditya had become very frightening.

Crimson dragon scales rapidly began to grow over Aditya's entire body. Before his dragon scales only covered his chest, his shoulders, his arms, his throat and his neck but now every single part of his body was covered in crimson dragon scale. Both Aditya's arms and his legs turned into a dragon claws.

The Crimson wings on his back became even more bigger. Aditya's thighs expanded in size; tearing the pant that he wore it revealed both of his thighs which was covered in Dragon Scale.

Two Red horns grew both sides of Aditya's head. Aditya's height increased. He went from being 2 meters long to become 3 meters tall in height.

?Ding! The host has used Dragon Transformation. As more than 50% of the your body has turned into a Dragon, all of your stats except for mana will be doubled.?

?Ding! Your mana recovery speed has been increased by 50%.?

?Ding! you have gained an additional [500+] agility which has been added to your stats.?

At this moment Aditya felt his strength, health, and Stamina return back to its original level. While his agility had become even faster. Now Aditya's base agility had broken the [1300+] mark. With all the boost that he will get from his skills and his class, his current agility had reached [3250+] which was too high even for a Peak 5th-order cultivator.

Roar!!!!!!

After transforming more than half of his body into a dragon, Aditya couldn't stop himself from letting out a loud roar. The roar was so strong that Ivan was forced to take a few steps back. The roar was heard by the two Mid 6th-order beasts that were currently fighting in the Forbidden Treasure land.

The entire situation has changed. Now looking at Aditya, the members of The League of Black Tomb felt more fear than before. When Tommy, Lucy, and Ivan had came out of the Forbidden Treasure land, initially they had planned on taking Aditya together. As much as they hated to admit it, Aditya was a mystery box that they couldn't read. He was full of surprises. Never did anyone think that Aditya would be able to kill someone like Jimmut who has a powerful skill that allows him to switch places between two people or object. Unfortunately the range of his skill was limited to 100 meters. Because of this skill, Jimmut was able to defeat all of them in the past.

They knew that it wouldn't be easy to fight someone who was able to counter Jimmut teleportation ability. Which is why, three Peak 5th-order cultivators teamed up to take down Aditya. Something like this has never happened in the whole history.

Crack!

Booom!

As just as Aditya moved, the sound barrier around him broke with a loud sound. Ivan, Lucy, and Tommy widened their eyes in horror. Just as Aditya disappeared into thin air, all three of them tired to locate Aditya either by sensing his Aura or by trying to find him by looking around.

But they felt was an extremely felt moving Aditya. He moved so fast that even to their eyes, Aditya was like a moving blur. It was impossible for any of them to even keep watching Aditya's movement given how fast he was moving at this moment. Aditya moved around Lucy, Tommy, and Ivan for a few seconds before aiming the Adamantite Doomblade at Tommy.

This half-orc has been annoying Aditya for a while now. Not to mention the fact, Aditya still had to pay this man back for poisoning him.

Meanwhile, Neither, Ivan nor Lucy nor Tommy had the courage to move. They tried their best to locate the enemy but failed in doing that.

"Dammit! Where is he?" Tommy was the first one to lose his calm.

Lucy and Ivan did not say anything as a reply.

Tommy couldn't take it anymore. He tightly grabbed the greatsword in his hands and shouted. "If you're a man then come and fight me face to face. Stop hiding like a coward."

Swoosh!

Tommy's entire body stiffened as he felt a sharp cold sword against his neck. Sweat started rolling down from his forehead. Tommy's both hands and legs slightly began to tremble in fear.

"You speak of fighting you like a man when you three joined hands and attacked me together. Why should I even listen to your orders?" Hearing Aditya's cold icy voice, Tommy at this moment felt very frightened.

The current Aditya was very different from the Aditya that they had met at the beginning when they had just arrived here. Everything about the current Aditya was full of coldness. Those red crimson eyes of his didn't seems to contain any mercy for anyone in this world.

"An eye for an eye." Before the next second could pass, Ivan and Lucy both widened their eyes seeing Aditya's black sword directly cutting Tommy's entire body in half. His head and the rest of his body was divided into two parts. Even Tommy himself found it hard to believe that this is how he was going to die.

"One down. Two more to go." Even though Aditya said those words in a very low tone and said while looking at Tommy, Lucy and Ivan hearing those words felt their blood ran cold. Both of their faces instantly turned pale.

Swoosh!

Once again Aditya disappeared. Aditya moved very quickly and took the storage ring that Tommy had. It was already a huge waste that the White Dragon King had died at the bottom of the ocean. Aditya can't get the treasures and other rare things that he might have in his storage ring.

"Time to deal with you two."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 227

At the same time, inside the Forbidden Land

The fight between the Titan Guardian and the Great Snake Sage had just gotten heated. Both mid-6th-order cultivators were completely lost in their world.

[Prepare to die.]

Saying that the Great Sage Snake opened its mouth and fired a huge beam of dark purple energy at the Guardian Titan. The Guardian Titan did not even try to dodge the attack. Instead, the Titan covered its entire body with its mana.

Diamond Body!

The Great Sage Snake widened its eyes seeing the Guardian Titan's entire body becoming diamond. Even its eyes and its hair had turned into diamonds. When the dark purple blast of energy hit the Titan, the attack did no harm to the Titan.

'I am not surprised. Every Titan is born with very high defense. While their speed and reaction time is a little slow but their defense is out of this world. This is also what made Titans very bothersome.' A mid-6th-order Titan's defense might be so high that even a Peak 6th-order cultivator might not be able to break the titan's defense.

The guardian Titan began to run at the Great Sage Snake at full speed. Each time, the guardian Titan took a step forward, the ground beneath the Titan would tremble. Aside from having great defense, Titans were one of the heaviest Magic animals in this whole world. What's more each time, a Titan advances its cultivation realm to the next order, along with its size, its weight also doubles. Though Titans who have reached Peak 6th-order can control their weight and body size according to their will.

Seeing the Great Sage Snake, cast several spells at the same time. Several colors of magic circles appeared above the Great Sage Snake's head. Each magic circle was more than 30 meters big.

The Guardian Titan did not understand what this stupid overgrown snake was trying to do.

[Earth Shattering Fist!] Both of the Guardian Titans' fists got covered in light blue lights. Also at the same time, all of the magic circles except for the black one suddenly turned in the guardian Titan's direction and shot out 6 beams of light.

[Hmph! This kind of attack won't stop me.] Saying that the Titan punched the beams of light. As soon as both attacks collided, a huge shockwave spread throughout the entire Forbidden Treasure land.

The next moment, a huge explosion took place.

Boooooom!!!!!!!

The Great Sage Snake widened its eyes in surprise seeing the Titan still charging at him. Now the Titan was only less than 10 meters away from him. Seeing this the Great Sage Snake tried to move back fully knowing how terrifying a Titan's strength was. Aside from having high defense, Titans were also known for having monstrous physical strength.

[You're not getting away] The titan managed to grab The Great Sage Snacks' tail and pull the overgrown snake toward it. The next moment, the Great Sage Snake found itself locked in the Titan's strong arms. No matter how much he struggled he couldn't get out.

[Hmph! Just because you have a trace of dragon bloodline in you doesn't make a invincible. At the end of the day, you're nothing but an overgrown snake that came here to be eaten by me.] Titan started exerting more force.

Ahhhh!!!!

The Great Sage Snake let out a loud painful roar as he felt his body being torn in half.

Ahhhhh!!!!!

The next second this is what exactly happened. Under the disbelief watch of the Great Sage Snake, its body was torn in half. A large amount of blood came out. The lower half of the Great Sage Snake's body moved around a few times and then stopped moving while the Great Sage Snake fell to the ground and also gradually lost its life.

[Now that I am done with you. It's time to kill the other intruders.] Titan's guardian turned its attention to the location where the last member of The League of Black Tomb was but using this moment of distraction, something bit the Titan's right arm and tore it from its body.

Drip!

A huge amount of blood started gushing out of Titan's right shoulder.

[It always feels good to see this shocking reaction on my enemy's face.] The Titan Guardian widened its eyes in deep shock as its found the dead body of the Great Sage Snake which previously was torn in half was now starting to fade. Even the blood that had painted the ground also started to fade. The guardian Titan finally understood what this Snake's power was.

[Illusion.....Not good.]

[Haha! Not just a simple Illusion. Back in my days, I had especially developed this illusion magic to deal with Titans and Dragons. Although Titans are not affected by simple Illusions, the illusion that I have used is a special one.] The Great Sage Snake floated above the Titan Guardian.

[But when did you.....?]

[Right now the explosion took place.]

[I don't want to brag but Illusion is my specialty. I have survived this long only because of my Illusion skills.]

While the Great Sage Snake had managed to corner the Titan guardian, the Last Member of the League of Black Tomb was very close to getting the pearl for which they had come here.

The Forbidden Treasure land is a land that is full of treasures. This place is Heaven for the cultivators. For countless years, an uncountable number of cultivators have tried to find the golden doors which always remain shrouded by a thick layer of clouds. The location of the golden doors is so hard to find that the organization had to wait almost 200 years. In those 200 years, the organization had gone to various ancient sites, temples, and ruins to try to find any clues or possible leads on the location of the golden doors.

In the end, the organization couldn't find the location of the golden doors. Instead, they found something that can lead them here which was releasing the Great Sage Snake from its prison. Also even if the organization managed to find the golden doors, they would need someone to keep the Titan guardian busy.

No one really knows how the Forbidden Treasure land came into existence. Not even the members of The League of Black tomb were able to find the answer to this question. But what they do know is that this place is filled with an almost endless amount of treasures. Anyone who manages to defeat the Titan Guardian would obtain everything in this place. The treasures of this place are located in various caves and underground chambers.

"If Aditya hadn't taken out the Crown of Seven Seas, the pearl wouldn't have reacted. If the pearl hadn't reacted, then it would have taken me a long time to find the pearl. I guess I should thank the Dragon King for his unintentional help."

In front of Simon, who was one of the core members of The League of Black Tomb there was an orange color pearl that was shining very brightly. When Aditya took out the Crown of Seven seas and wore it, the pearl that was hidden in the Forbidden Treasure Land reacted by releasing a bright light; almost as if the pearl was calling Aditya. Since Aditya hadn't even entered the Forbidden Treasure land, he only made it easier for Simon to locate the Pearl.

"Don't worry, soon we will get the other pearls and the crown." The Pearl was located in a deep underground charm. The Pearl was surrounded by countless mana stones and spirit stones of various grades.

Simon ignored all the mana stones and the spirit stones and just picked up the pearl and put it in his storage ring. Normally he wouldn't have left this huge amount of spirit stone here, but knowing that he was out of time and the Golden doors will soon close soon, Simon had to hurry. Also, he could tell that the battle between the Great Sage Snake and the Titan guardian was nearly over as well.

Also at the same time, outside the golden doors_____

Just as Aditya finished killing Tommy, he got the system's notification.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

"Time to end both of your lives."

Swoosh!

Aditya once again disappeared from his place. This time he appeared behind Lucy, the mysterious woman who is a member of The League Of Black Tomb. Before even Lucky could react, she found a dragon claw coming out of her chest while holding her beating heart.

Cough!

Lucy's pupils contracted to the size of a needle. Her entire body began to shake seeing her own heart that was still beating. But with each second, the beating got weaker and weaker, until the heart stopped beating.

"If there is a next time, try to become a good person instead." Aditya took Lucy's storage ring before

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

"Now, we can talk." Ivan took a step back in fear on hearing those words.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 228

"Now, we can talk." Ivan took a step back in fear of hearing those words. However, Aditya appeared behind Ivan and grabbed his neck which prevented him from moving.

"This is for killing Myra?" Aditya gathered Mana in his right fist and punched the area right above Ivan's chest.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

With everything Ivan got, he let out a painful roar before coughing out a huge amount of blood from his mouth. Right Ivan was an so much pain that he felt like committing suicide. He felt a quick death would be a thousand times better than this pain that seems to be breaking his mind.

However, Aditya wasn't going to let this happen. Aditya pressured Ivan's entire body using his cultivation which made him unable to move anymore. Ivan couldn't even move his limbs. He was having difficulty breathing as well.

Taking opportunity of this moment, Aditya also took away Ivan's storage ring. He can check what sort of thing Ivan had in his storage ring. And Aditya was not disappointed at all. In fact, he was more shocked than ever.

"You must have gotten all these spirit stones when you entered the Forbidden Treasure Realm. Good job. With all these spirit stones, I am now one step closer to building the Dragon Palace." Ivan's mind was in too much pain to process what Aditya just said.

While holding Ivan's neck with his right hand, Aditya took out a slave collar from his storage ring. This wasn't some ordinary slave collar. This collar was enchanted with 3-star runes by Aditya himself. "If possible I would have loved to keep your teammates alive unfortunately I only have two hands. Fear not, Mr. Ivan. I won't kill you nor I will ask you anything about The League of Black Tomb. You will be rooting in my prison. I won't allow you to die till I have obtained every bit of information from your head."

Aditya knew from Scarlet that every member of The League of Black Tomb had to sign a contract of non-disclosure before they become an actual member of the organization. Although Aditya does not know what kind of contract Ivan signed with The League of Black Tomb, Aditya is confident that as long as he can become a 5-star runemaster, he can break the contract that is binding Ivan's soul and make him speak of the organization.

If the contract was forged by a 4-star runemaster then Aditya won't have to wait too long as it won't take him too long to become a 4-star runemaster.

"From now on you will be my prisoner and my source of information." For people like Ivan, Aditya didn't have a shred of mercy. Even if he can't obtain any information about the organization from Ivan, Aditya still can torture him in various ways. Aditya can also turn this man into his dragonian but Aditya wasn't too keen on doing that.

At the same time, the golden doors started to close down. Aditya looked to find the massive golden doors closing down. Just before the golden doors can close down, a figure managed to come out from the forbidden realm in time.

The figure's body and face were covered in a hood and in a black cloak. From what Aditya can tell, this man is a core member of The League of Black Tomb and also the leader of this group.

Click!

With a click sound, the doors of the golden gates had been closed forever. Now that the last remaining key of the golden doors has been used up, the forbidden treasure land was gone forever. No one in this world can open these golden doors without the key.

"To think you would actually manage to kill 4 Peak 5th-order cultivators and still remained full of energy, I have to say that you're an extraordinary man Aditya." Aditya didn't know if he should feel happy for being complimented by his enemy.

"Thank you for the compliment I guess." Aditya silently controlled his mana to get ready to attack this man. Today no matter what happens, he must kill this man. Aditya didn't want to let The League of Black Tomb succeed in obtaining the pearl.

The man looked at the crown that was on Aditya's head before looking at Aditya. "Dragon King, the crown of Seven seas belongs to The League of Black Tomb. Sooner or later, we will eventually get this back on our hands."

"You and your organization are free to try. I swear my name of heaven, I will destroy each and every single one of you."

"Hahaha! That's a bold statement, Dragon King. For now, we will let you enjoy the taste of winning." The meaning behind the man's words is that the organization was not done with Aditya and the Istarin Empire.

"This concludes our little meeting. I will see you soon Dragon King." Just as the man was about to leave, A huge wave of Crimson flame surrounded him on all sides.

"I never said you can leave." The smile on Simon's face disappeared. At this moment his cultivation has been lowered to Peak 5th-order. Even if he wanted to take on Aditya, he knew full well that he would lose. The death of four Peak 5th-order cultivators has made Simon see how powerful Aditya was.

"Hahaha! Dragon King, that was a nice try but unfortunately, you can never stop me." Simon took out a teleportation crystal from his storage ring. Aditya immediately recognized this teleportation crystal. It's one that Sylvie had used to make them teleport when he had been badly injured by Ashley.

"Not too fast." Just as Simon crushed the teleportation crystal, Aditya activated one of his skills that he has been saving up for this guy.

Crimson Lightning Blink!

Simon felt time slow down. He widened his eyes seeing Aditya's entire body becoming Crimson lightning. The Crimson lightning then became 7 bolts of Crimson lightning. All of those bolts of Crimson lightning started heading in Simon's direction at a rapid. While Ivan started to fall from the sky as Aditya was no longer holding his neck.

Simon was shocked. His heart beat in fear. The whole situation wasn't normal at all. Before the teleportation circle would be fully activated, 7 bolts of crimson lightning were in front of Simon.

Simon's face turned pale as he realized this attack could seriously harm him. At this moment Simon couldn't even react as his cultivation was lowered to Peak 5th-order and there is no way a Peak 5th-order cultivator could dodge something this fast.

Even a beginner 6th-order cultivator would have a difficult time dodging something like this.

Boooooom!!!!!

The cloak that Simon was instantly torn to shreds as he was sent flying by the attack. Under his cloak, Simon had worn full body armor. Even the full body armor has cracked under such a powerful attack.

More than 1000 meters away, Simon finally managed to stop his body while coughing out a mouthful of blood.

Simon somehow opened his eyes to find that Aditya was coming after him. Simon was missing his right arm and a large amount of blood was gushing out of his right shoulder. "Bastard. Dragon Emperor, I won't forget this humiliation. Just wait" Saying that Simon took out a second teleportation crystal and crushed it while angrily looking at Aditya.

Aditya could do nothing but watch as Simon escaped. "Who would have thought that he would have a second storage ring?" The storage ring on Simon's left arm was hidden and Aditya wasn't able to see it because his body was covered under a cloak. Aditya aimed for Simon's storage that was on his right hand. Aditya took a gamble and ended up failing. With a bolt of crimson lightning, Aditya managed to tear off his entire right arm. Simon's right arm was in Aditya's hand.

Aditya hurriedly checked to see if pearl was inside this storage.

Sigh!

"I should have aimed for his left arm instead." Aditya then remembered about his prisoner. Aditya hurriedly got down and found Ivan floating on the ocean.

Aditya relaxed seeing that Ivan was still alive. Even if Aditya had destroyed Ivan's mana heart, Ivan still had the body of a Peak 5th-order cultivator which was many times stronger than the body of a normal human. "I guess I was worried for nothing. It's time to go home and deal with other matters." Aditya also had to remove the poison from his body.

Meanwhile,

Inside the Forbidden Treasure Land, The Great Sage Snake who just struck the defeating blow to the Titan realized that the golden gates were closing.

"No...." The Great Sage Snake tried to move at fast as he can to escape the forbidden land. Even though this place was full of treasure, the Great Sage snake didn't want to be locked as another prisoner for eternity.

Just as the Great Sage Snake started flying, a strong arm grabbed him from behind and prevented the snake form from moving.

"Hehe! We can stay in this place together. Finally, I won't be lonely anymore." The Great Sage Snake's eyes were full of despair as he watched the golden gates close down.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 229

"Grandpa, where is Aditya?" Right after the Great Sage Snake left the Southern region, everything began to calm down gradually. At the same time, Julia and others returned to Skyline Castle.

As soon as Julia returned, seeing that Aditya was not there, she turned to Watson.

Right now Watson was in a very difficult situation. How would he know where Aditya had gone? His majesty just left without even telling him where he was going. Watson knows that if he tells Julia that Aditya just left without telling him anything, she would be very worried.

"I believe his Majesty has gone to go the Central plains. He should return shortly." Inwardly, Watson just hoped that Aditya would return as soon as possible.

"Why Aditya would go there?" Julia couldn't understand why Aditya has gone there. For now, Julia calmed thinking as she believed that Aditya wasn't the type of person who would take act irrationally.

Julia and the others kept waiting for Aditya to return. Time passed like lightning. Before they knew it, more than 6 hours had passed and Aditya still showed no sign of returning. By now the goddess of Alchemy had run out of patience.

"Did Aditya tell you where he was going?" Julia asked.

Watson shook his head with a helpless smile. "No."

"That's it. I am done waiting for him. I will send someone to ask Alicia to look for Aditya." Since they had no way of knowing where Aditya had gone, Julia felt that Alicia might be able to find him as she had business connections to all 6 continents.

"There is no need to look for me. I am here." Julia's eyes lit up like light bulbs. She turned her head and looked outside through the window to find Aditya standing in the air while holding an unconscious man by his neck.

"Aditya, are you hurt?" Others might not have noticed this but Julia noticed that the Dragon King's face looked slightly pale.

"No, I am alright" Aditya replied with an exhausted smile. Ever since the poison had entered his body, Aditya was constantly feeling very weak. Now after 6 hours, the effect of the poison had become even stronger. His body was being destroyed from the inside out.

Even though he said that he was alright, Julia felt something was wrong with Aditya. She just couldn't point it out. Meanwhile, Aditya entered the castle and handed Ivan to Watson.

"You're majesty who is he?" Watson found this man's cultivation has been crippled.

"He is one of the inner-member of The League of Black Tomb." On hearing Aditya's words, the look on everyone's faces changed. Watson also held Ivan tightly knowing that this man was their enemy he became rougher with Ivan.

"I have destroyed his mana heart. Right now he can't talk anything about the organization as his soul is bound by a contract. But soon I will find a way to break the contract and make him talk. For now please lock him in the deepest parts of the prison. Tie his body with metal chains so that he can't move his body." Before coming here, Aditya had ordered Ivan to not harm himself or commit suicide. Since Ivan had become his slave, he had no choice but to obey Aditya's order otherwise, he will feel the pain of his soul being torn apart.

After Watson took Ivan away, Aditya finally turned his attention to Julia who couldn't wait to give him a hug but she was too embarrassed to do it in front of others. Aditya couldn't understand why she was feeling this embarrassed. Julia even hugged him in front of millions of soldiers after the goblin invasion.

"Princess, I missed you." Aditya pulled Julia into a hug. His arms wrapped themselves around her soft and slim waist while the goddess put her hands on his shoulders and buried her face in his chest.

Seeing this others were mature enough to leave and give the couple some space. "Your Majesty, we will come later. Please take your time." Aditya just nodded his head while hugging Julia. Honestly, Aditya loved to cuddle. The warmth of her body made him feel very comfortable. Hugging her always reduced his mental exhaustion.

After the others left, neither Julia nor Aditya said anything. Both of them enjoyed hugging each other and feeling each other's warmth. After a while, Julia moved her right arm which to his right shoulder. As she moved her right arm, she found herself touching something wet.

Lifting her head from his chest, the goddess of Alchemy widened her eyes in trepidation seeing the wound on his right shoulder. Upon a closer look, the wound appeared to be a hole. As if someone had made a hole in his right shoulder. She noticed the Crimson Dragon Scales around the hole had melted.

"How did you get hurt?" Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at the wound on his right shoulder. Never in her life, Julia has ever seen such a strange wound. It is almost as if someone had poured lava on his right shoulder except for the fact that Aditya is not affected by lava due to his bloodline. So the substance or the attack that has harm like this should be extremely powerful and dangerous.

"First calm down. It's nothing serious." This is why Aditya didn't tell her about his wounds as he knew she would panic.

"Do you honestly think I can calm down after seeing something like this? What exactly happened?" Julia's eyes turned red.

"While I was fighting the inner-group members of the organization, one of them managed to use a small trick to put a special kind of poison on my right shoulder. According to what he said, this poison was developed by Dragon slayers of the old generation to especially kill Dragons. He said that not even a Heavenly Dragon would have been able to withstand this poison. The only reason that I am alive is because of my Divine Dragon Bloodline. But as time passes, the poison would corrode my body from the inside out and will kill me."

"What!!!!!!" Julia felt the world around her collapse on hearing Aditya's words.

"Come with me. I will try to make an antidote for this poison." Aditya let himself be dragged by Julia. What he hasn't told her was that his base stats has been decreased by 50%. Aditya feared that with time, this would only increase.

As Julia dragged Aditya to the teleportation array, Watson was on his way to meet Aditya after putting Ivan in the prison. "Your Majesty, are you going somewhere?"

"Our Majesty has been poisoned which is made by dragon slayers. And now with each passing second, he is slowly dying." Julia angrily replied before walking up to the teleportation circle with Aditya.

"What?!!!!!?" Watson felt as if someone had dropped a bomb on his head. For a moment he even wondered if Lady Julia was joking but the serious look on her face convinced him that she was telling the truth.

"Your majesty, is this true?" Aditya did not reply. He instantly removed the Leather armor that he was wearing. At the same time, the 9 circles of the teleportation lit up.

Watson nearly fainted seeing the blue vines around Aditya's right shoulder and above his right chest. "Watson, you keep a watch of both Empires. Inform me immediately if any changes take place. Also, the white Dragon Emperor has been killed. I will tell you everything later."

"Your Majesty, currently this is not important as your health." Julia also felt like smacking this guy's head for being concerned about both Empires when he was dying. You should be more worried about your own health.

The next moment, Julia and Aditya teleported back to the Istarin Empire. Watson sighed feeling depressed. Hearing what happened to Aditya he felt sad and very depressed.

A moment after Aditya and Julia had left, Amber found Watson and asked. "Where is his Majesty? I can't sense his Aura in the castle."

"His Majesty and lady Julia has returned to Azure City. Let's give them some time alone." Watson decided to lie and not reveal Aditya's condition to anyone. If the word got leaked then it might cause panic in the Istarin Empire and also some foreign forces might attack the Istarin Empire using this chance.

Scene Change___

After returning to the Istarin Empire's Royal Castle, Julia bought Aditya into her laboratory which now had expanded after the entire castle was renovated a few months ago. In the laboratory, Aditya found Paige working on making some potions.

"Your majesty, welcome back." As usual, there were no emotions on Paige's face. Even when she met and bowed to the Emperor.

"Big sister, I will need your help to remove the poison from Aditya's body." Paige carefully looked and found blue vines on Aditya's right shoulder and the area above his right chest.

"Aditya, you lay down." Aditya helplessly smiled and nodded. His wife had entered into her doctor mode. In this mode, no matter what tells her, she won't listen. Aditya can only do what she tells him to do.

Julia then took out a paper and pen. "Aditya, tell me how much of the poison managed to enter your body?"

"Just one drop."

Julia was surprised once again. She didn't know what would happen to Aditya if more of that poison entered his body. "By the way, where have been this whole time? Why didn't you return immediately after being affected by the poison?" Julia sounded slightly angry.

"Wife, somehow I ended up being in the middle of an Ocean which was far from any land. Having no other choice, I had to keep flying for hours before I found one of the islands of the Westnia continent. Using the teleportation array, I managed to return home." Aditya could have returned home much faster. But with his base stats being reduced by 50%, he moved very slowly. Also, Aditya didn't waste his mana on using his skills to increase his agility fearing that he would be attacked on his way.

Sigh!

"Alright lay down. I will have to check what sort of poison is this. But for now, take this pill. This pill should slow down the poison spreading speed and give us more time." Aditya was given a red color viny bead-size pill that ate immediately.

After he ate the pill, Aditya felt slightly relieved. He felt his body cool down. The constant pain in his right shoulder also seems to have lessened.

And thus, his wife began to study the poison for the rest of the day. Aditya wasn't allowed to leave the laboratory no matter what.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 230

"Doctor, how long I would have to wait here?"

"Till we manage to make a cure for your poison."

"Doctor, I have other important works to do. How about you call me when you have managed to find a cure for me? I will return and gladly take the cure."

"Don't talk too much."

Sigh!

"Sometimes this world is so unfair. Alright. At least let me roam around the Royal Castle. I promise I won't leave the Castle." It has been more than 12 hours since Aditya has been lying on the bed inside the laboratory. This whole time Julia and her maid Paid, have been trying to come up with a cure for this poison.

Now that the White Dragon King has died, sooner or later, the news will spread. Aditya wanted to act before that happened. Additionally, he had other tasks such as discussing their plans for developing their new territory in the Southern region, which was previously the Skyline Kingdom.

Julia put down the glass bottle which contained some strange dark green liquid in it and looked at Aditya with an exhausted look. "Aditya, can you please stop acting like a spoiled baby?"

"I am not acting. I really have some important works to finish."

"You always work without taking proper rest. Use this opportunity to take some rest. If anything emergency happens, then Watson will let you know. For now, stay here." The truth is Julia wanted to keep watch on Aditya's body. By now the blue skins had spread all over his chest. Even with the pill that she feed Aditya, the poison had managed to spread all over his chest. Fortunately, once the poison reaches his heart, the spreading speed of the poison will rapidly increase. Aditya was looking paler than before. Julia was really concerned about Aditya.

"Alright." Aditya can feel his body getting really weak. he wasn't sure if at this moment he can fight a Peak 5th-order cultivator even with his Dragon Transformation.

Aditya already can't feel his right arm and was somewhat having a little difficult moving it. This entire time his chest was burning from the inside as a result of the poison. As he didn't want to worry Julia, he did not show any reaction of discomfort or pain.

At this moment the goddess of alchemy was really frustrated. No matter how hard Julia tried, she couldn't come up with any cure for the poison. With each passing hour, she was gradually beginning to lose her calmness and began to panic. Especially seeing the blue veins had managed to reach all over his chest. In a short while, the poison should reach his heart and when that happens, Julia would have very less time.

Even after 12 hours of constantly trying, Julia couldn't do anything. The goddess herself was beginning to lose confidence in her alchemy skills for the very first time in her entire life. This was the first time in Julia's entire life she was dealing with a poison that was specially made for dragons. What's more, this poison was powerful enough to affect even a Divine Dragon.

Given that Aditya had Divine grade Dragon bloodline, he should be immune to all kinds of poison. However, this poison wasn't anything normal. It was a type of poison that was specially made for Dragons. By now Julia has tried to make a cure by making various combinations of herbs with poison-curing abilities but for far nothing has worked. Also, it was impossible for her to just remove the poison when the poison had merged with Aditya's body; more specifically speaking with his veins.

Julia was sure that after a certain period of time, Aditya won't be able to move anymore. He will be paralyzed.

Scene change to Ethereal Empire___

The Capital of the Ethereal Empire, the Whitfrost city was decorated. The Capital was more crowded than usual. The people looked happier. The streets were much busier than usual. The businesses in the Capital had more customers than usual times. These all happened because the entire Ethereal Empire was celebrating the marriage of the Crown prince which would be held 3 days later.

Announcing the marriage of Noah, The Emperor declared 5 days of public holidays throughout the entire Empire. In these 5 days, the taxes on food and drinks will be lowered by 50%.

Right now Ronny and the whole Osburn royal family were busy preparing for Noah's wedding.

However, the Princess of the Ethereal Empire didn't look too happy. It has been 3 days since Aditya left. And so far, Alicia hasn't heard any reply from Aditya. At first, Alicia thought that Aditya was simply busy so she did not disturb him. But on the second day, after she got the news of the going battle between both Dragon Empires in the Southern region and the big and shocking news of a higher-order being descending on the Southern region, Alicia had to contact Aditya.

However, so far the goddess of wealth hasn't received any news from Aditya. The last news that she got was that a massive portal was opened by the overgrown Snake. After that everything returned to normal as if nothing happened. Knowing Aditya, Alicia was sure that he would know something about this but she couldn't contact him this entire time.

"I think you're just worrying too much, Alicia. I am sure Aditya is just busy." Sylvie, Alicia's best friend tried to calm the goddess.

"You honestly expect me to believe that Aditya is so busy that he can't even spare enough time to read a letter of mine? I refuse to believe that. Knowing that Scoundrel's personality, he would never ignore my letter."

Various kinds of emotions were reflected on the goddess's face. Before meeting Aditya, Alicia would never show this kind of emotion. In fact, for some years, Sylvie even started to believe that nothing in this world can make her best friend lose her calmness. However, that all changed when she introduced Aditya to her. Time after time, Sylvie to got see various sides of Alicia that she never saw before. The Dragon King was able to bring out various emotions and sides from Alicia without her even realizing it.

"Earlier I sent my personal maid to the Istarin Empire. She should return with a message from Aditya." Just as the goddess of wealth finished saying those words and picked up the teacup to take a sip, someone opened the door and barged in causing Sylvie and Alicia to frown.

"Can you please knock before entering?" Sylvie did not like it when people entered her room without knocking first. She would get mad. In the white lotus guild, it is very widely known that the guild leader does not like it when people enter her room without knocking. Not even the goddess of wealth was allowed to enter her room without knocking first.

"I apologize my lady. But the current situation is too urgent."

Sigh!

Sylvie sighed while rubbing her temples while Alicia looked at the personal maid. "What happened?"

"The Istarin Emperor has been poisoned which is slowly killing him. Lady Julia has been trying to come up with a cure." The teacup from Alicia's hand fell to the ground and shattered into a pieces.

Bang!

Alicia stared at her maid in deep shock. The goddess was so shocked that she was unable to speak or react for an entire minute.

Sylvie also had a similar reaction. "How did this happen?" Sylvie had fought beside Aditya and knew how terrifying this man's strength was. Aditya was able to fight a Peak 5th-order cultivator while being a beginner 3rd-order cultivator. The dark elf couldn't believe that such a powerful person was poisoned.

"It's true. Only a very few people in the royal Castle know of this. The news is still a secret to almost everyone. Lady Julia did not tell me how this happened but she wanted you to go there as soon as possible."

Lady Osburn hurriedly nodded her head. Without wasting even a single second, she hurriedly left the room leaving Sylvie and the maid.

Sylvie also wanted to accompany her best friend when the maid stopped her. "Lady Julia only asked lady Alicia to come." Sylvie nodded and then sat down on her chair feeling depressed.

"Did you meet Aditya?" The maid nodded.

"His condition is getting worse. His face already has turned deadly pale. Dark blue lines have started to spread over his body."

Meanwhile, Alicia used the teleportation array of the White Lotus guild and teleported to the Royal Castle. After teleporting, she directly went to Julia's laboratory. No one dared to stop Alicia as they knew that Alicia. Alicia often hung out with Alicia.

Click!

Opening the door of the laboratory, the goddess of wealth found Aditya lying on the bed with his upper body naked. Next to him, Julia and another cold beautiful woman were working on something.

Alicia ignored Julia and Paige and ran up to Aditya. "Are you alright?" The goddess felt choked while trying to talk. She was having a hard time trying to hold her tears.

"Do I look alright to you? But my wife here is the best alchemist on this planet. I am not worried about anything. I am sure she will make a cure and I will be healed in no time." Little did Aditya know that his joking words were leaving some serious impression on Julia and Alicia who was listening to his words.

Julia who was starting to doubt her abilities regained her confidence after hearing those words. While the first part of his words mainly Alicia sad. She felt Aditya was indirectly rejecting her which made the goddess sad.

"Alicia, I will need your help." Julia had asked Alicia to come so that she can ask for a favor.

"Anything, as long as it's within my powers." Alicia was ready to help Aditya with anything in power. If necessary she was even willing to give up all of her wealth. In her eyes, wealth can made be again but if Aditya dies, then he can never be revived.

"I need you to call the goddess of Nature here." Aditya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing Julia's words. Bringing Riya here would mean that three of his wives would be here. 'I guess, getting poisoned does have some benefits.' Aditya felt it would be the perfect opportunity for the three ladies to meet each other.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 231

"What exactly happened out there?" Right now, Aditya was being questioned by the goddess of wealth. Julia, Watson, Amber, and Leo stood near Alicia in silence. A few meters away, while working on some liquids, Paige was also paying attention to their conversation. They too were waiting for Aditya to explain everything.

"Long story short, remember the Key that The League of Black Tomb stole from the Ethereal Empire's treasury." How can Alicia about that? Ever since that day, she has been trying her utter best to find out more about this organization. But so far she was able to find nothing even with all of her influence and connections.

"It turned out that this key was needed to open the golden gates of the Forbidden Treasure Land."

The expression on Watson's face visibly changed. Alicia also looked shocked however, Julia, Paige, and Leo looked confused seeing their shocked faces.

"What is Forbidden Treasure Land?" Young Leo asked.

"The Forbidden Treasure land is a place that is considered a myth. It's a place with an endless number of treasures. In fact, some people would argue that the Forbidden Treasure land has more treasures than the treasures on 7 continents and oceans combined together. When I was very young, my parents told me that whoever enters the Forbidden Treasure land would have enough wealth to become the Ruler of this very world. The value of all the treasures is unmeasurable." It was only after hearing Watson's explanation, that Julia, Paige, and Leo understood how big this news was.

"I followed the members of the organization and that big snake to that place. Apparently, the Great Sage Snake was bought there to fight the Titan guardian who guards the Forbidden Treasure land. For some unknown, the Guardian Titan powers weren't restricted even though we were outside the main continent. After the gate was temporarily opened, I fought the white dragon king while everyone entered the Forbidden Treasure land." Aditya wondered why didn't Great Sage Snake expose the fact that he was following them. If that had happened, Aditya isn't sure if he can fight all of the 5th-order cultivators alone. The chances of him dying would have been very high.

Maybe the Great Sage Snake was planning something very different with Aditya. Unfortunately for him, he never got the chance to execute his plans he didn't know that that the doors of the forbidden treasure land would be closed.

After that, he went to explain everything that happened. He had no reason to hide anything here as he trusted everyone in this room with his very own life. They were his own people. After hearing Aditya's story, everyone except Paige had different kinds of expressions on their faces. The ice-cold expression on Paige's face never left her face.

"So the big snake is stuck inside the Forbidden Treasure land and the Core member of the organization managed to escape."

"Unfortunately yes. But from what I was able to find, he was someone from the Main continent. His powers were restricted to Peak 5th-order." The good news is, Aditya was able to get the storage rings of all organization members except for the storage ring of the White Dragon King.

"I have managed to obtain enough materials to start the construction of the Dragon Palace which would make the Istarin Empire the strongest Empire on the entire continent." Adding all the materials that he got from the mutant fire ant queen, the things that he collected in space while following the organization, and everything that is inside the organization member's storage ring, the Dragon Monarch finally collected all the needed resources to build the Dragon Palace.

"What is this Dragon Palace, that you keep talking about?" In the past few months, Aditya has talked about this Dragon Palace with Julia, Alicia, and Watson many times. But when they asked him what was so special about this palace, he never answered.

"That's a secret. Maybe in a week's time, you all will find out the answer."

"Alright, enough talking. Now lay down. Alicia, when will Riya come?" After making Aditya lie down, Julia turned to Alicia.

"I have sent my Maid to inform her. She should be in a very soon. It wouldn't take more than 10 mi...Bang!!!!!

Darling!!!!

Even before the goddess could finish her words, she was interrupted when the doors were opened and a beautiful figure entered the laboratory.

Riya looked at Aditya who was lying on the bed. Her eyes spotted the dark blue veins all over his chest. Without any hesitation, the nature goddess rushed at Aditya at full speed.

Before Aditya can even react, he found someone hugging him very tightly.

Both a moment Julia was left stupefied. However, Alicia reacted quickly and separated Riya from Aditya.

"Riya, can you not hug him right now?" Alicia strangely felt irritated when Riya was being intimate with Aditya.

"Why? My husband is poisoned. I am trying to comfort him by hugging him."

"Because right now we don't have time for this kind of staff. We will have to find a cure for him." Riya reluctantly nodded her head.

After calming down, she went forward and closely looked at those dark blue veins under his skin. "Can you heal him?"

"It's it was a wound then I could have healed him. But this is a poison that needs to be cured not healed."

"The reason I asked Alicia to call you here is that I need your help." Riya finally turned her attention to Julia. For the moment both girls stared at each other in silence. Aditya swears he can see some lightning flickering in both girls' eyes. Neither of them was willing to back down.

"You're....."

"I am Julia Onard. However, in the future, my last name will change when I marry Aditya. I am his official fiance." Riya's right eye twitched on hearing those words.

"Who are you?"

"I am his childhood best friend and also one of his wives."

"Now that Aditya is no longer a part of the Royal family, the old contract is no longer valid. So you have no claim over him." Today Julia surprisingly looked bold and possessive.

"Oh really....! Then I will just take Aditya to The Celestial Terrain to receive my parent's blessing. In our royal elf culture, once we have chosen our husband, we won't change it no matter what."

"Since when did Royal elves start to have such culture?"

"Right before you were born Kid."

"You....Enough!!!!!"

Alicia and Aditya never expected Julia and Riya to start a catfight on their first meeting. Alicia had to stop them. If she didn't do it, this fight wouldn't show any signs of stopping any time soon. "We will have to cure him. Can we not fight for once?"

Hmph!

Julia and Riya both looked at each other and snorted. One was tsundere who was very shy and deeply loved Aditya. The other had a Yandere personality and was obsessed with Aditya. Neither Goddess was willing to back down.

"Listen, I will need a special type of flower that only grows in certain parts of The Celestial Terrain. From what I have heard this flower has very strong healing abilities. The name of the flower is Crimson Shadblow. I need the Crimson Shadblow flower to make a cure." Julia wasn't 100% certain if the Crimson Shadblow flower would even work. In her entire life, she has never even seen the Crimson Shadblow in real life. The only times that she had seen the flower were in drawings and portraits.

"Are you talking about this?" Riya just casually took out a Green Rose that had 3 finger size diamond-shaped crystals floating around it. The entire flower was glowing in a light green color. Just as the flower was taken out, a sweet aroma spread throughout the entire Laboratory.

Julia hurriedly took the flower from Riya. Riya also acted as if both of them never fought. "Yes, this is what I needed. We can discuss the price of this flower later. Right now, let me make a cure with his flower."

"I never said I would sell this flower" Riya replied in a cold tone.

The next second the expression on her face changed. Both of her cheeks flushed red as she turned around to stare at Aditya passionately. "For Aditya, I am willing to give up anything. If Aditya needed 10 of these flowers, I wouldn't hesitate even a second to give all 10 of the Crimson Shadblow flowers to him."

Julia tried her best to ignore this woman and finish making the cure as soon as possible. While Julia and Paige got busy, Alicia and Riya talked to Aditya.

"Aditya, I have good news?" For some reason, the Dragon King was starting to have a bad feeling in his heart.

"What good news?" Aditya asked with a stiff smile.

"A few days ago, I told you that I was going to see you very soon right?" To which Aditya nodded his head.

"Well, from now on I will be living with you."

"___"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 232

"Well, from now on I will be living with you."

"Say that again."

"I will be living with you from now. Aren't you happy?" Riya while hugging Aditya's right arm; which caused her breast to press against his right.

"____"

"Yea...h."

"From now on, nothing can separate us. We will sleep together and do all sorts of things together." Hearing these words Julia nearly lost her calm. Fortunately, Alicia acted fast and pulled Riya away from Aditya.

"Even if you live here, you won't be sharing the same bedroom with Aditya. You're not his wife. Only Julia has the right to stay with Aditya."

"Hmph! Aditya is my husband and nothing will change this fact. I love him not because of the contract."

"You..." Alicia's body began to shake in anger.

"Ladies, can you calm down?" Aditya had no choice but to intervene as he couldn't let this catfight go on any longer. He had to stop them. He can see that Riya and Alicia were interrupting Julia.

"Anything for you darling." Riya sweetly smiled and sat next to Aditya while pretending as if she never had a catfight with Alicia. Seeing this Alicia was left speechless.

"Shameless." Although Alicia said this word in a very low tone, everyone was able to hear it because of their sharp senses. Riya was about to reply when Aditya put his right hand on her right shoulder to stop her.

"Alicia, how is everything going in Ethereal Empire?" Aditya decided to change the subject while pretending as if he never heard Alicia calling Riya shameless.

"Sylvie and I have used the White Lotus guild to prevent the neighboring Empires from having any thoughts about the Ethereal empire. Also by now, everyone knows who was responsible for that gigantic crimson flame orb that took out millions of mutant fire ants. Right now, all the neighboring Empires think that the son-in-law of the Emperor is a powerful Peak 5th-order cultivator."

"So you and Sylvie made the neighboring Empires believe that currently, the Ethereal Empire has two Peak 5th-order cultivators." Alicia nodded her head in agreement. Doing stuff like spreading false rumors or information is a very easy thing for Alicia. The soft power that she had in Westnia made her very dangerous. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Alicia has the power to control the entire Westnia continent from the shadows by manipulating the people with fake news and rumors.

"Alicia, I fought Ivan yesterday. He wasn't the Ivan that everyone thought of him. This entire time, he has been hiding his powers. Ivan was a Peak 5th-order cultivator." Alicia widened her eyes in shock. These days, the goddess of wealth has been searching for Ivan. Alicia never thought that Ivan was a Peak 5th-order cultivator. If these words were told to her by someone else, she would never believe such words. The thought of Ivan being a Peak 5th-order cultivator sounded very ridiculous and unbelievable.

"I believe he has used some sort of artifact to hide his cultivation." Aditya has checked Ivan's storage ring. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any artifact capable of hiding his cultivation. Aditya believes this artifact was given to Ivan by the organization.

"Did you kill him?" Alicia asked in a cold tone. Kyra was a girl who looked up to Alicia and thought of Alicia as her idol. Kyra wanted to become just like Alicia. It kind of pained Alicia to see someone whom she had Known die. If possible, the goddess would like to avenge her.

Aditya shook his head. "Ivan is the key to obtaining classified information about the organization. For now, he is locked in my prison. I have crippled his mana heart. He won't be able to cultivate again."

"Alicia, what I am telling you shouldn't go out of his room. To the outside world, Ivan has died. So...."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I will tell father that Aditya has killed Ivan. No one would know that Ivan is a member of the organization or the fact that he is a Peak 5th-order cultivator." Aditya nodded his head with a relieved smile.

"Excuse me, what organization are we talking about here?" Riya asked.

"That's classified information." Aditya didn't trust Riya fully. As an ex-politician, it was very hard for him to trust someone whom he had met only two times. Julia, Watson, and Alicia all have proven themselves that they would rather die than spill any information about the Istarin empire. As for Paige, before coming here, she accepted the contract to not leak any classified information to anyone.

It's not like Aditya did not trust Riya at all. He did trust her but not as much as he trusted Julia and Alicia.

"Can't you tell me?" Riya pleaded to Aditya with puppy eyes.

"Sorry dear, but it's too early for you to know such information." Riya, Julia, and Alicia, all three were surprised on hearing the word 'Dear' in Aditya's sentence.

"Alright, I think I have finally made the cure. Aditya, try drinking this." Julia gently pushed Riya so that she would move and give her some space. Riya moved aside and let Julia approach Aditya. The goddess of alchemy was carrying a glass tube that was filled with a white liquid.

"I realized that this poison was made with black magic so I added a few ingredients with holy magic properties when making the cure." Julia was 99% sure that her potion was going to heal him.

Aditya just nodded his head and took the glass tube from, Julia. Just as he swallowed the white liquid, Aditya can felt a cool sensation spread throughout his body from his two hearts. The burning sensation inside his body stopped.

Julia and the others didn't need to hear Aditya's answer as they saw the blue veins on his chest and right shoulder starting to fade. An entire minute later, all the blue veins disappeared. Even the half-inch size hold on his right shoulder healed and closed up.

?Ding! The poison has been cured. Your stats have been restored.?

"How do you feel?" Julia asked with an exhausted smile. Despite looking very tired and exhausted, the smile on her face was full of happiness. This whole time, this woman hasn't stopped working just for his sake.

Instead of replying, Aditya pulled her right hand. The next second, Julia found herself buried in Aditya's chest. "I feel perfectly fine because my doctor-wife has taken care of me." Saying that Aditya pecked her lips before hugging her again.

Seeing this Watson, Amber, and Paige quietly left the room knowing.

Standing next to Riya, the goddess of wealth felt very complicated watching this. On one side she felt very happy for Aditya and on the part felt slightly sad and jealous. Alicia did not have the courage to express her feelings for a man like Riya. Even when she had made her feelings for this man clear, Aditya hasn't responded to her feelings. Right now the goddess wasn't sure what he felt for her.

"No fair. Husband, I also want to be hugged and kissed." Seeing that Julia is not stopping him or not saying anything, Aditya being a thick-skinned man, he pulled Riya with his other hand and then hugged her. Seeing this, a sad look appeared on Alicia's face. At that moment, the goddess felt Aditya had made his feelings clear. He had chosen Julia and Riya.

"Come here." However, amidst her darkness and sadness, she heard those warm and gentle words. Those words pushed all of her darkness and sadness away and brightened her entire heart. Looking up, Alicia found, Aditya looking at her with a gentle loving smile.

Looking at those crimson eyes, the goddess hesitantly took a step forward. Before she can take the next step, Aditya pulled into a hug.

For a moment no one said anything. Aditya was relieved to see neither of the girls saying anything. If this showed they had no problem with each other. This also opened new doors for Aditya but for now, he wasn't going to walk through those doors.

After an entire minute, Aditya moved back. "Everyone, I have some urgent work to do. I will talk to you later. See in all at the dining table." Aditya felt that the girls needed to have some time to talk among themselves.

Just as he left, Julia, Alicia, and Riya all three looked at each other. Julia was the first one to break the silence. "I will let the two of you in his harem but you two would have to listen to my words. I am in charge of everything." Julia already knew that Aditya was going to marry multiple women. So from the beginning, she has been preparing herself for that.

"Why are you in charge of everything? It should be his childhood best friend. Besides, I am the oldest one." Riya wanted to be in control so that she can spend more time with Aditya.

"For cultivators, age does not matter." Alicia didn't want Riya to be in charge. She felt comfortable with Julia being in control.

"Even if you're his childhood best friend, I have stayed beside him for two and half years as a maid."

"Oh really, what about the fact that we sent powerful cultivators to secretly protect Aditya from the enemy kingdoms all those years." If Riya and Alicia hadn't sent powerful cultivators to protect Aditya, he would have died a long time ago. Especially the Zulux Dynasty king was trying his best to kill Aditya.

"Riya, I also support Julia. She deserves to be in charge." Alicia made her stance clear. Knowing this royal elf's personality, the goddess of wealth knew that she would try to keep Aditya all to herself which she didn't want. Also, Alicia knew Julia much better and knew how she thinks and what type of personality she has. Even a few weeks back, Julia had told her that she can pursue Aditya. At that time, she refused saying that she wasn't interested. But in less than 2 weeks everything changed.

Sigh!

Riya sighed knowing that she cannot fight. The feelings that Aditya had for Julia and Alicia were on a complete different level. The feelings that he had for her isn't that deep. In this case, it wouldn't be wise to keep fighting to be in charge. Aditya has proved that he loved Julia the most. Earlier he went to hug and kiss Julia before anyone else which showed how deep his feelings were.

"How about we just stop this nonsense of being in charge?"

Julia also nodded. "Alright. For now, let's see how things go." And with that, the three girls temporarily made peace. Who knows this peace might break if another girl comes in to claim Aditya.

Scene change____

"Watson, prepare all the Dragonians for a big fight. Now that the White Dragon Emperor is dead and both sides have taken big casualties at the central plains, it's the perfect time to strike." The Dragon Monarch wanted to act before anyone else.

"Your Majesty, are you sure? You just recovered. Why don't you take a few days of rest?" Watson hesitantly asked.

"Watson, we cannot miss this chance." The real reason Aditya was so interested in the southern region is because of the mana stone mines. By taking both dragon empires under his control, Aditya will have a monopoly over mana stones. Meaning that he can influence the prices of the mana stones in the market. He would have the power to cripple an Empire's economy with just a snap of his fingers.

"We will attack the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Since I have killed the White dragon king, I can also kill the black Dragon king and end both dragon empires' rule." The Dragon Monarch had big ambitions this time. Unlike previous times when it was the Istarin Empire that was being attacked, this time, it would be the Istarin Empire who takes the initiative to start a war.

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Chapter 233

"This is the map of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire." Watson opened the map of the southern region. The Istarin Emperor stood opposite Watson with his arms folded on his chest. He looked at the territory of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire with a very serious expression.

The seven generals of the Istarin Empire stood beside Aditya and Watson. All of their eyes were on the southern fire Dragon Empire's map.

"Last time, Peak 5th-order cultivator, Kang, the elder of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire managed to survive even though the Black Dragon Emperor's son died. So including him, at the present moment, the southern fire Dragon Empire has two Peak 5th-order cultivators. The other one is obviously the black Dragon King, Brolbiner."

Watson paused to make sure that everyone was following him. "Other than two Peak 5th-order cultivators, the dragon Empire also has a few more Beginner 5th-order cultivators. One of them being the black dragon Emperor's eldest son. The other beginner 5th-order cultivators are the generals of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire."

"All of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's troops were killed because of that overgrown snake." Even if Watson wasn't a natural-born Dragon. Having a drop of a Divine Dragon flowing through his veins, the old butler refused to call or acknowledge the great Sage snake with respect. In fact, Watson looked down on the Great Sage Snake. In Watson's eyes, other than having Mid 6th-order cultivation, this stupid overgrown snake had nothing else to offer.

"Things clearly didn't go as planned for the black dragon King. No one obviously expected a 6-star magic circle to be activated on the battlefield. The deaths of all the allied Empires' troops and their 5th-order generals will have a severe reaction from the allies. I feel that the allies would stop helping the Southern fire Dragon Empire and back out. The same could be said for the Northern Frost Dragon Empire."

The loss of a 5th-order general is not a small thing. Even for a big Empire, it would take at least 3 to 6 decades to have a beginner 5th-order cultivator. Not to mention the huge amount of resources and money used to raise those cultivators. Aside from the deaths of the generals, hundreds of thousands of troops died on the battlefield without obtaining any form of results. In a way, both dragon empires only used the allied troops to fight while preserving their own powers. This will obviously dissatisfy the allies.

"So right now the relationship between both Dragon Empires and the allied Empires is very shaky. The allied Empires must be asking for a satisfactory explanation. For even if we attack, this is very unlikely that the Storm Empire and the Ageless Islands would send any reinforcement."

"Or the chances of the opposite happening is also true."

"Your Majesty, do you believe that the Storm Empire and the Ageless Islands would help the Southern Fire Dragon King?"

"The probability that happening is very less."

12 hours ago,

In the middle of the night, a handsome young man stood on the balcony of the royal palace looking at the dark cloudy sky. It has been more than 12 hours since the Great Sage Snake showed up. By now, many big Empires, factions, and even forces from the Main continent have been sent here to investigate the whole matter. In the end, this conflict caught the attention of too many Empires from all continents; including the main continent.

"I was so close to victory. Yet just a single carelessness destroyed all of my happiness. If only I had sent someone to investigate the battlefield before the battle even started."

Sigh!

The cold, cruel, heartless, and bloodthirsty, black Dragon King that everyone knew looked oddly tired and exhausted.

It has been more than 500 years since he had seen his twin brothers. The hatred that both brothers had for each other was on another level. Despite being twins, despite having the same blood flowing through their veins, and despite having similar personalities and hobbies, both Dragon Kings could never bring themselves to like each other. The hate that they had for each other continued to grow with each passing year.

The enmity which at first started as a rivalry would only end with the one's death. In these 500+ years, the black dragon King never has slept peacefully. His heart always has been in flames. His heart always remained heartless.

But today, this was different.

"Strangely I feel very calm tonight. As if a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders." Although the Black Dragon King is supposed to feel happy with him finally feeling peace, all he left was emptiness. Nothing but pure darkness. This feeling was very difficult to express in words.

"Did anything happen to that bastard?" The black dragon king asked out loud. Sadly no one answered him. Instead, a cold wind blew past him as if nature answered his question.

Who would have thought that after 500+ years, there would be a day when the Black Dragon King shows signs of being concerned about his biggest rival?

The black Dragon remained standing on the balcony while staring at the vast starry sky with an empty look. For the first time, those black pupils of his held no emotions in them. Usually, at this time of the night, he would have fun with his wives but right now he strangely didn't feel like doing any of that.

And just like this, the whole night passed. The black dragon stood on the balcony in silence for the whole night. When the first ray of the morning sunlight reflected on his handsome face, he finally decided to leave the balcony. This entire night, he was lost in the memories of his childhood. The days when he and his brother spend time with their father. Their brotherhood turned into a rivalry because of their father who wanted to motivate both of them to become stronger. Their rivalry turned into something that cost the lives of millions.

While walking out of the balcony, the black dragon King tightly clenched his fists. 'There is no doubting it. That bastard is dead. I am not sure who killed him. Maybe it's that giant overgrown Snake or someone else. I don't care. Without him, the Northern Frost Dragon Empire would soon fall. This will be my opportunity.'

The last thing the black Dragon King desired was to finish what he wanted and this was to unite both Dragon Kings.

"But before that, I will need to have a serious conversation with my allies. Now that that bastard is dead, I won't need them anymore." Brolbiner's eyes flashed in madness and were full of killing intent. For some reason, he strangely felt anger. Even though he is not sure why he feels this way. Maybe the death of his brother was emotionally affecting him. After all, blood is thicker than water.

After reaching the throne hall, the black dragon King summoned his prime minister.

"Oliver?"

"Sire, how can I help you?"

"Call the representatives of both allied empires." In less than 5 minutes, two old men were standing before Brolbiner.

"Your majesty, I heard that you have summoned us." In front of Brolbiner himself, not even the representatives dared to show any disrespect. Even a fool can see that Brolbiner looked much angrier than usual. The atmosphere inside the throne hall was much tenser and suffocating than usual.

"I heard that both Strom Emperor and the Ageless Islands emperor wanted an explanation from me." Everyone in the throne hall shivered when hearing the ice-cold tone of the Dragon King. Meanwhile, the faces of both representatives turned pale. From the tone of Brolbiner, they knew they needed to escape. Unfortunately for them, this place is a prison from which they can never escape. Even if Brolbiner and Kang didn't do anything, other powerful figures living in his royal palace would be able to kill them even before they can leave the throne hall.

"Your Majesty, I....I...." The storm Empire's representative began to shutter in fear while the other one couldn't even utter a single word as his body shook violently in fear.

All of a sudden, Brolbiner smiled. For some reason, this smile even made their souls shudder in fear. Brolbiner said nothing. He just stood up and started walking down the stairs very slowly while staring at two old men who were nothing but chickens that he can slaughter at any given time.

"What sort of compensation do both of you want?" Neither of them had the courage to reply as Brolbiner continued to walk down the stairs.

"Your Majesty.....we....I....afw"

Hmph!

"Pathetic!" Brolbiner waved his right hand. The next second the entire throne hall fell into darkness. There was no light in the throne hall. But all of sudden, from the floor thousands of skeleton snakes, started coming out.

Everyone took a step back in fear seeing those skeletons with green venomous pupils moving at the two representatives.

No!!!

Please!!! Ahhhhh!!!

Ahhh!!!!!

Everyone was terrified seeing how ruthlessly two men were bitten dead. However, Brolbiner's eyes held no emotions for them. Everyone felt that today the black dragon king was acting strange.

"Send their bodies back home. Also, prepare for the war. This time I will be personally leading this War. I want everyone..." The black Dragon king paused as if sensing something. He raised his head and looked up. Before he can fully register what was going on, the temperature of the entire capital started rising rapidly.

What followed next was...

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Chapter 234

Knock! Knock!

"Come in."

A middle-aged man with a few wrinkles on his face and emitting the Aura of a Dragon entered the room. The middle age man hid his entire body with a black cloak.

"So you were sent by the Istarin Empire?" At the end of the room, beyond the two red couches and the wooden table, a handsome young man with a vertically 3 inches long scar on his right cheek sat on the chair.

The one who entered the room was Watson, the infamous butler and also the current acting Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire. Not that many people knew who Watson was. But the man sitting on the chair with his hands placed on the table knew who exactly Watson was.

"Watson, Prime minister of the Istarin Empire. What do you want?" Today, Jaime Cleveland, who was one of the youngest generals of the Southern fire Dragon Empire received a letter from the Istarin Empire. Without bothering to let the black dragon king know about this, Jaime read the letter and then burned it to ashes.

Jaime Cleveland was 43 years old. Jaime was a Peak 4th-order cultivator. At the age of 17, Jaime joined the army. From then because of his talent and because of his hard work, he rose in the ranks to become a general. However, even though Jaime held the title of a general, he always received the treatment of being a side character. When Jaime became 38 years old, he became a general. Ever since he became a general, the black Dragon emperor has never given him any command. While all other generals were given tasks from time to time, Jaime was ignored. Without completing Tasks, Jaime couldn't earn any resources or any merits. After 3 years of being ignored, in the end, he was ordered to become a watchdog of one of the border cities.

The general was clearly very dissatisfied with the Black Dragon Emperor. Thanks to Alicia, Aditya has managed to learn Jaime's and others' stories. Basically what the Black Dragon King did was promote any soldier who became Peak 4th-order cultivator to the rank of a general. But 99% time, the black dragon King gave tasks to the 5th-order generals while leaving the Peak 4th-order generals without any usage. Just like Jaime, others in his position were also sent to become border watchdogs.

To Aditya, this entire thing was like a golden opportunity. Aditya sent his most loyal and trusted men to people like Jaime before he attacked the Southern fire dragon Empire.

"Jaime Cleveland, 43 years old but still single. I won't beat around the bush. Jaime, today I have come here with a proposal directly from the Istarin Emperor. Are you interested in listening to what I have to say?"

Jaime was a beastmen belonging to the wolf race. He was neither skinny nor fat. He stood at 6 feet tall and had light green wolf ears and whiskers.

On hearing Watson's words, Jaime looked very interested. "What offer?"

Instead of replying, Watson took out a small glass tube with a cork on it. As soon as the small glass tube was bought out, Jaime's eyes shined in excitement. The entire glass tube was empty, at the bottom of the glass tube, there was a small drop of golden liquid. The golden liquid sparkling.

"What is this?" Without even realizing it, Jaime was breathing heavily. His eyes were filled with greed. As a beast, Jaime can sense enormous power in this golden liquid. He had a feeling that consuming this golden liquid will turn him into a Beginner 5th-order cultivator. He would be able to break through his current cultivator realm in one go.

Watson noticed this and just smiled. The plan has worked. The fish has taken the bait. Instead of replying, Watson smiled and slightly shook the glass tube. "You see, the Istarin Empire has a big secret. This golden liquid has turned me and thousands of others into powerful dragons."

"So this is....."

"Yup! You heard it right. This is the blood of a divine dragon. This is the blood of the Dragon Monarch who is our King."

At this moment Jaime was deeply shocked by this revelation. Who didn't know that not too long ago, a Divine Dragon was born? But what was this Dragon Monarch thing? As a beast, Jaime knew that Dragons stood at the very top of all other races. And a Divine Dragon was a figure that was considered a god for Dragons and beasts.

"By drinking this, you will become a Dragonian of the Dragon Monarch. However, before you take this golden blood, you must sign a contract with us. A contract of non-betrayal. Once you become a Dragonian, you will become a part of the Istarin Empire. There would be no going back." Currently, Watson was taking a big risk. But after knowing how badly Jaime was treated by the Dragon Empire, he was sure that no man in Jaime's place can refuse this big offer. Only an idiot would refuse such a massive offer. And Watson knew that Jaime wasn't a fool. The wolf was a smart beast.

For a moment Jaime did not reply. The Istarin Empire wanted him to betray the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Jaime wasn't born into this land. He has lived here for his entire life but all the mistreatment and disrespect that he was given here made Jaime feel that he should just quit. IN fact, he has been wanting to quit for a while now. But his fear of being hunted by the black Dragon King prevented him.

If he becomes a part of the Istarin Empire, Jaime would get power, prestige, and respect, and most importantly, the Southern Fire Dragon Emperor won't be able to do a shit about this entire thing. "Alright I accept."

"Good."

Watson did not lower his guard. Under beneath that black cloak he was wearing Peak 4-star full body armor. He also had bought a Peak 4-star sword with him. Even though the possibility of Jaime refusing their offer was next to nil if Jaime did refuse Istarin Empire's offer, Watson would have killed him right here.

In the past few months, Watson's strength has grown a lot. He now had reached Peak 3rd-order. Even if Watson can't kill Jaime then the Dragons that he has bought with him would have done their job.

At the same time, 33 km away from the coastline, on a deserted island, there were more than 100 dragons standing before a figure with dark blue hair and Crimson pupils. After planning plans, Aditya had come to this deserted island and made a big teleportation circle. Then he called the Dragons that pledged their loyalty to Aditya when he had visited the Silver Meadow grove a few months ago. As for the Wyverns, they were left to guard the Istarin Cities.

"Today, I have summoned you all here because I have an important task for you all."

"Sire just gives us your order and we will even destroy this world itself." To Dragons, the existence of the Divine Dragon was similar to the existence of a God. Divine Dragons only existed in myths but all Dragons deeply believed in a Divine Dragon and thought a Divine Dragon to be their god. Each Dragon on this island was willing to die for Aditya's sake.

"I will give you all a drop of my bloodline so that you all will officially become the army of the Dragon Monarch."

"Serving the Dragon Monarch is the highest grade of honor for any Dragon. We were deeply honored to become the Dragon Monarch's soldier." More than 100 dragons loudly said those words.

Aditya smiled in satisfaction. He waved his right arm causing more than 100 drops of golden drops of blood to appear. Each drop of golden blood then fell on the forehead of each dragon. As soon as this happened, all the Dragon's bodies started shining in golden Crimson color. Aditya could feel a connection forming. It is as if a red string has connected Aditya with all the Dragons.

Boooom!!!!!!

When the golden light dimmed down and then finally disappeared, what was left was silence. All the Dragons checked their new forms. Even Aditya was shocked by what he was seeing right now. The height of all the Dragons has increased by at least 4 meters. Their bodies have grown slightly larger. The most noticeable thing about the Dragons was the Red Star-shaped symbol on top of their head.

"I assumed, you all now have obtained the powers to gain human transformation. Transform with into Human. But be sure to cover your bodies with your dragon scales." Obeying their Dragon Monarch's order, white light enveloped the bodies of all the dragons. Aditya can see the shape and size of all the Dragons changing once again.

A minute later, 100 dragons stood in front of Aditya in their human form. The dragon's human form was very beautiful. Each of their skin was very smooth and milky white. Their hair color depended on the type of dragon they were. A fire dragon had Crimson hair, a water dragon had light blue hair, a wind dragon had white hair, an earth dragon had brown or black hair and a lightning dragon had dark blue hair. However, all of the pupils were black. The scales on their bodies had a slight mix of Crimson in them.

"It looks like some of your has managed to reach beginner 5th-order after evolving." Aditya noticed 4 of the Dragons who previously were peak 4th-order now have managed to reach beginner 5th-order. As for others, their cultivation also has improved a lot. The blood of a Divine Dragon was filled with power.

"Our aim is the Southern fire dragon Empire. You four will come with me. As for others, you all will give the enemy two choices surrender or die. If they choose neither, then just kill. Do not harm the civilians or unnecessarily attack the cities or towns. After you're done, send a messenger and then move on to the next city." Conquering the entire Southern Fire Dragon Empire would take more than just having a few million armies. Which is why Aditya was going to use dragons this time. Aditya also wanted to see how good his Dragon soldiers would do on a battlefield.

"You four come with me." Taking the four 5th-order dragons, Aditya teleported somewhere near the Southern Fire Dragon Empire's capital.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 235

"Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if the southern fire dragon and the Northern Frost Dragon Empires didn't exist. Without them, I feel our lives would be much better." One of the soldiers who guarded the entrance of White Ash city spoke to his fellow soldiers who stood beside him.

"You should realize that even if both Dragons Empires didn't exist, we would have been under the rule of another big Empire or faction. The southern region has something that no other region on the Dying Isle continent has. And that is the abundant Mana stones. Every single empire in existence needs mana stones for energy security. Without a source of energy, the safety of every Empire would be at risk of being invaded."

"Let me ask you this, what would happen if there was no defensive barrier constantly protecting the White Ash city. In case, if we were ever attacked, this defensive barrier would protect us. Mana stones are used in hundreds of ways. From acting as a power source to keep the defensive barriers and the teleportation arrays running to being used in making magic swords, armor, and potions."

"I get it. I just don't understand why there is so much animosity between us and the northern dragon Empire. Can't both Empires live in peace?"

"Who knows? I know that both Emperors hate each other very deeply."

"Jack, why don't we move out of this Empire and go somewhere else?" Within the southern Fire Dragon Empire, other than the capital and a few big cities, almost every single city of this Empire was filled with corruption and had very high crime rates. The Emperor gave too much power to the military. In some areas of the Empire, the Military suppressed the nobles and controlled them. The Emperor never did anything to stop this. He only continued to make the military stronger. Everything that the black Dragon Emperor did always had something to do with the military. In fact, most of the Empire's expenditure was spent on the military. In fact, if any noble offended any general or big-ranking military person, that noble and his entire family would suffer. In extreme cases, the noble's entire family would be killed.

"Where do you want to move?"

"Maybe to the Eastern region. To the Istarin Empire. Nowadays many families, adventurers, and merchants are moving to that Empire. Even a distant relative of mine moved to the Istarin Empire around a few months ago"

"I don't know. I am not sure how the Istarin Empire would treat us if they learned that we have worked as soldiers for the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. They might lock us behind cells assuming that we are spies sent by the Southern Fire Dragon Empire." This is actually what the Southern Fire dragon Empire did when an ex-soldier of another Kingdom or Dynasty tried to live here.

"The Istarin Empire won't harm or bother you as long as you're not breaking any laws."

While the guards talked about some random topic, a certain fox woman snaked inside the city without the guards even noticing her. Amber easily managed to sneak inside the White Ash city using her illusion to make herself invisible. She moved so fast that non of the guards were able to sense her presence.

'Hehe! This mission is a piece of cake for me.' After entering the city, Amber looked around a bit. After a bit of searching, she managed to find the area where thousands of mana stones together kept the defensive dome that covered the entire White Ash city protected.

Every city of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire was protected by a defensive dome from an outsider's attack. These defensive barriers were powered by Mana stones. Once those mana stones were removed the entire city's defensive dome would collapse and it would be easier to attack the White Ash city.

The fox queen moved toward a certain part of the wall where 50 soldiers guarded the place which was the brain of the defensive dome. On the eastern side of the White Ash city wall, on top of wall, there was a big rune circle drawn on top of the wall. The circle was made up of 3 rune circles. Each rune circle was bigger than the other.

At the center of the circle, almost thousands of mana stones were placed on top of each other. The rune circle was glowing in white color. The energy from the mana stones was being sucked by the rune circles.

"Hehe!" The soldiers who guarded this important area heard a giggling sound.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

"But I can't sense anyone."

Meanwhile Amber moved at full speed while also using her illusion magic at full power.

Swoosh!

Just as the soldiers hear a sweet giggling sound, the next second they saw hundreds of soldiers appearing out of nowhere and surrounding them.

"What is happening?"

"How would I know?"

"Everyone, quickly get ready to fight."

No one understood what was happening. Everyone panicked as something like this happened to them for the very first time. No one knew how can 100 soldiers appear out of thin air and surround them. Not even the soldier with the highest cultivation which was beginner 3rd-order understood what was going on.

The soldiers didn't have to wait too long to get their answer. Moving faster than the wind, a certain nine-tail fox queen moved like a ghost. She had two curved daggers which were coated with deadly poison. With her super fast speed, she started killing the soldiers one by one. She moved so fast that not even the beginner 3rd-order cultivator was able to see her.

Ahh!!

Bang!

Boom!!!

In less than 20 seconds, all 50 soldiers were lying on the ground. At the same time, Amber finally came while the illusion of 100 soldiers that she had created started to disappear. "Hehe! That was easy."

Right after Aditya made Amber the captain of the fifth division, Amber somehow managed to awaken her royal fox queen bloodline which enhanced her powers and also gave her illusion magic. Ever since then Amber has been practicing her illusion magic to perfection. Amber was confident that she was the best illusion magic user that the Istarin Military had right now. Along with her high agility, Amber was unstoppable on the battlefield.

With a wave of her hand, Amber put all the mana stones in her storage ring. As soon as all the mana stones were taken away from the rune circle, the transparent and almost invisible defensive dome that covered the entire city and protected it started to fade. Just as this happened, everyone soldier and powerhouse within Solar Ash city was able to feel it.

"I guess I should start killing right now." The next second, the royal queen fox disappeared along with the wind without making noise.

At the same time, "Close down the gates. Someone has shut down the defensive dome." All four entrances of the city were closed. All the soldiers who previously were lazing around started heading in this direction.

Amber also started killing the soldiers whom she encountered along the way. Amber had two goals. One of her goals was to shut down the defensive barrier and the second one was to kill the city lord of the White Ash city. The city lord was the strongest cultivator of this city. Once she kills him, this city would fall under her control. That might not happen if the soldiers decided to fight her.

"You're not getting away B*t**" Amber stopped hearing a loud roar. All the soldiers who marched forward Amber also stopped with a relieved smile on their faces as their city lord had arrived. So they won't have to fight this woman.

Amber's lips curved up as she watched a muscular middle age man land 20 meters away from her. The man was around 6 feet tall. What surprised Amber was the fact that the city lord was actually a Peak 4th-order cultivator.

'He was supposed to be a Mid-4th-order cultivator. I guess he somehow managed to break through. This is going to be a tough fight.' With the combined powers of her illusion magic and her speed, Amber can take on a beginner 4th-order cultivator even though she was still a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. With a few hidden tricks, she is confident that she can even kill a Mid 4th order but fighting a Peak 4th order is a completely different thing.

The city lord name Adian looked at Amber for a second. He has to admit that Amber was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and seductive women he had ever met in his entire life. Amber was even more beautiful than the wives of the Black Dragon King. The wives of the Black Dragon King are considered to be the most beautiful women in the southern region.

Fox women are always beautiful. But this women's beauty is on another level. Everything about her body was perfect. She had long beautiful golden hair that reached down her waist. She had 9 fluffy tails. She wore a golden Kimono. The Kimono couldn't hide her beautiful and seductive curves. Even though a very small part of her cleavage was revealed, to Adian this was very seductive.

A look of disgust appeared on the captain of the fifth division's face as she found the City lord Adian staring at her body in lust. Amber's body has changed ever since she awakened her royal fox queen bloodline. Her body became more curvaceous and her charm reached a terrifying level. Sometimes this was one of the things that Amber hated about her body. Amber once used to live her life as a slave, so she knows very well what lust can do.

Fortunately Amber also has changed. Thanks to Aditya, her entire life has changed so she now wouldn't have to live her life in fear of being r***.

After about a few seconds of staring at Amber's body in lust, Adian somehow regained his calm. Rather his original intention of killing the person who entered to this city without his permission had changed to taming this wild fox. Adian became even more confident that sensing that Amber's cultivation base is Peak 3rd-order.

"What is your name?" Adian asked while licking his lips. This only increased the disgust that Amber had for this man. Before coming here, from Nathan, she had learned about this man's character but never did she think that this man would be this degraded.

"You're not worthy of learning my name." Amber replied in a cold tone.

"B*t**, don't try to act so noble. When I pin you down on my bed you wi......"Amber couldn't bear this man anymore. She attacked this man first. Using her illusion magic, hundreds of Ambers started surrounding Adian from all sides.

Flame blast!

All the Amber's created a 5 meters big flame ball and fired the flame ball at Adian. Seeing this Adian just mockingly smiled and folded his arms on his chest. Without bothering to dodge the attack, Adian took on the attack. "Unfortunately your illusion magic level is too low. If you assumed an illusion to such a level would work on me, then you're dead wrong." It wasn't that Amber's illusion magic was weak. It was because Adian was a Peak 4th-order cultivator which is why he was able to easily see through her illusion.

Amber ignored Adian's words, from the beginning her aim was something else. Amber used this opportunity to drink the new potions that her best friend Julia had made for her.

These days Julia, the goddess of alchemy has been trying to make stats-boosting potions. In the end, after 15 days of research and trials, the goddess managed to come up with three kinds of potions.

The first one is Flask of Speed. This is a 3-star potion that can increase a 3rd-order cultivator's agility by [90+]. The second one is strength boosting potion. This potion increased the cultivator's strength by [90+]. And the last one was a special kind of Flask of Illusions. This was a special kind of potion which Julia made for Amber. Drinking this potion would temporarily make Amber's illusion magic much stronger. Unfortunately, these boosts would only remain for 3 minutes. But to Amber, this was more than enough.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 236

After drinking three stats-boosting potions, Amber disappeared. Adian widened his eyes in deep shock seeing how fast this fox was moving. "However, your speed is still not enough." Saying that the city lord took out a golden sword from his storage ring and charged at Amber.

Amber just slightly smiled in response. In the next second, another Amber appeared on the left side original one. This time, the smile on Adian's face disappeared and was replaced with a look of confusion. For some reason, this time Adian couldn't see through Amber's illusion this time.

'The left one is fake. I should ignore the left one and aim my attacks at the right one.' Adian made up his mind.

While Amber attacked Adian from both sides, Adian ignored the attack of the left Amber and focused on the right Amber. The golden sword in his hand began glowing as three red straight lines appeared on the body of the golden sword. With full force, he swung the golden sword aiming at Amber's chest.

As Amber was a Peak 3rd-order cultivator, Adian was confident that he would be able to break Amber's defense with his overwhelming strength. But his expectations failed to become reality. As his golden sword somehow passed through Amber's dagger as if the dagger was nothing but air.

Adian widened his eyes in horror as he watched his golden sword pass through Amber's body without anything happening to her. At that moment Adian knew that he had made a grave mistake.

At the same time, behind Adian, a figure appeared out of thin air. The real Amber appeared behind Adian. Before the city lord could react fast enough, a felt a cold dagger on the back of his back.

To others, everything happened just too fast.

Silence!

Everything fell into silence as both fake Amber disappeared in thin air while the real Amber stood behind Adian with a cold look. Adian's entire body trembled as he somehow turned around to meet those cold merciless eyes of the nine-tail fox.

"But how?"

Saying these two words, Adian's eyes rolled back and he fell down to the ground, leaving everyone in complete shock.

The soldiers looked at each other in deep shock. What happened in front of them was completely crazy. To think a Peak 4th-order would lose to a Peak 3rd-order.

Amber's face also turned slightly pale from using too much of her mana. When she charged at Adian, she activated her illusion magic. She turned herself invisible while making a fake image of her replace her. Amber sealed her Aura so that Adian wouldn't be able to sense her. The two mirror illusions that she made had her Aura which made it impossible for Adian to distinguish between the real and fake. However, while doing all that, nearly all of her mana was consumed. Performing such a high level of Illusion was to draining for her.

If not for the potion that Julia had made for her, Amber would have died in Adian's hand. 'With Adian's death, the White Ash city is in my hands.'

Amber then turned her attention to the thousands of soldiers who surrounded her. "As you can see, I have killed the city lord, Adian. Now you all have two options. Surrender or die. If you surrender, then you will live a long life if don't surrender, I swear you all will die." Amber used mana to make her voice even louder.

"The White Ash city will be under the rule of the Istarin empire. Those who want to surrender can drop their weapons to the ground and kneel down with their hands raised up." The performance that Amber just showed them left a big impression in many soldiers' minds. No one dared to think that they would be able to defeat Amber since she was stronger than the city lord himself.

Many of the ten thousand soldiers who have gathered, there were some soldiers who were beast-men. The beastmen were very impressed by Amber's strength. This was the first time that they had seen a fox-race woman being this strong and dominating. As a result, the beast-race men were the first ones to kneel down with their hands raised.

"I don't want to fight."

"Yeah. I don't want to go against an empire that is known as the Graveyard of empires." It has been wildly known that ever since Aditya took over, the Istarin Empire has never lost a battle. No matter how much the odds were against the Istarin Empire, the Empire has always managed to overcome them and crush their enemies.

Seeing the beast race soldiers kneeling first, like a ripple effect, other soldiers also started kneeling down and started to surrender. Adian was the strongest man in this city. When Adian came to this city, he overthrew the noble family that governed this city and the area surrounding it. So when Adian, the strongest man in this city was killed, no soldier had the courage to keep standing and fight.

Amber smiled with a pleased look seeing that almost all the soldiers had surrendered. This has made things very easy for her. However, the next second, the smile on her face disappeared.

Swoosh!

An arrow was fired at Amber from behind. Before the arrow could hit Amber, the turned around and grabbed it with her right hand. Seeing Amber staring at the man who fired this arrow, his face turned deadly pale. He threw the bow aside and tried to run away. But how can a Peak 1st-order cultivator run away from a Peak 3rd-order cultivator?

Just when the soldiers blinked their eyelids and opened them, Amber had disappeared from her initial position and appeared 100 meters away, to the soldiers it was as if Amber had just teleported.

In a few seconds, Amber appeared in front of the elf race soldier who fired the arrow at her. Amber grabbed the man by his neck and lifted him up.

The man began to struggle but nothing seems to work. Under everyone's eyes, Amber snapped this soldier's neck with her bare hand and threw him aside as if she was throwing away a garbage.

Amber then coldly looked at the soldiers. Some of those who had surrendered with the intention of killing Amber when she would lower her guard immediately discarded this idea seeing what happened. "Do that again, I will kill your entire family right before your eyes and then torture you to the point where you will beg me to kill you." Amber released her killing intent while saying those words.

The number of lives Amber has killed under Aditya's order was simply too high. While it was true that most of the time, whenever there was a big battle, it was always Aditya who killed the most enemies, but the number of enemies that every of 7 generals of the Istarin Empire have killed wasn't small at all.

Just as Amber retracted her killing intent, while the soldiers felt relieved, everyone noticed 250 powerful Aura flying in the direction of the White Ash city.

"They are here." Even though Amber's words weren't loud nor did she use mana to amplify her voice, everyone was able to hear what she said. After waiting for another 20 to 30 seconds, everyone was able to see 250 figures flying in the air.

Those 250 figures landed around Amber. They were the soldiers sent by the Istarin Empire. These 250 soldiers weren't some normal soldiers. They were Dragonians. They had light crimson wings on their back. Light crimson dragon scales covered their bodies. All the 250 dragonians were wearing Peak 3-star full body armor set and had Beginner 3-star weapons in their hands.

All of these 250 dragonians were 3rd-order cultivators. These armor and weapons were repaired by Percy Lowe who was the 3-star blacksmith of the Istarin Empire. Aditya had bought Percy Lowe when he had visited Julia's hometown to meet her parents.

"Lady Amber, we apologize for being late." All the 250 soldiers bowed their heads to Amber.

"You guys are not late. Take everything in control. Kill whose who dares to oppose us. Let the ones who have surrendered live. Also, shut down the teleportation arrays and the city gates. No one will be allowed to enter or exit the city for now. Also restart the city defensive dome." Amber gave the dragonians a set of instructions before she went to the place where Adian lived.

Meanwhile, the Dragonians killed the ones who did not surrender very easily. Each dragonian was extremely powerful. Even a Peak 3rd-order dragonians was able to give a good fight to an average Peak 3rd-order cultivator. So even if all the ten thousand soldiers ganged up to fight the Dragonians, they would still lose.

The ones who surrendered were given the option of becoming the Istarin Empire's soldiers with better benefits and higher pay. 90% of the soldiers accepted the Dragonian's offer especially after hearing that their salaries would be increased and their families would get special benefits. All the soldier's families received a certain percentage tax reduction, health care benefits, and a guaranteed 100 gold coins if in case any soldier died on the battlefield.

100 gold coins might such like a very tiny amount but for an average middle-class family, this much money would be enough for them to live for six months. And Majority of the soldiers came from a poor family background and for those families, 100 gold coins is a very big amount.

Scene change____

"I am White Ash city under our control. Should I move on to the next city?" Watson appeared in White Ash city after giving Jaime the task of killing all the loyal soldiers and followers of the dragon empire.

"You can take an hour of rest before moving to the next city. I will bring a Peak 3rd-order Wyvern and five thousand troops from our Empire to keep this city fully guarded. You can take the dragonians with you." All 7 generals were sent to 7 cities of the Southern fire dragon Empire along the southern coastline.

The number of Dragonians that Aditya currently had was about 5000. The number of dragonians drastically increased once, Aditya bought the Skyline Kingdom from Kane. Aditya has been preparing to invade the Southern Fire Dragon Empire for a while now. So he and Watson took some time to choose the most loyal soldiers and turn them into Dragonians. The ones who were turned into Dragonians had a 2nd-order cultivation base. Aditya would have liked to increase this number but he simply didn't have enough time.

Amber took out a mana recovery potion and drank all of it. "There is no need to rest. I will head to the next city which is 19 Km away from Solar Ash city."

Seeing Amber looking determined to go, Watson did not stop her.

"There are several generals like Jaime, I will approach them." Amber nodded and then left. Watson also used the teleportation array to teleport to another city. The news of the Solar city being invaded and captured by a foreign force was suppressed. However, this news cannot be suppressed for too long. In fact, if Alicia wasn't helping the Istarin Empire in this war, Aditya would never have openly attacked the Southern Fire Dragon Empire.

The Seekers of the Impurity was spread in every city of the Southern region. No one knew that this guild was controlled by the goddess of wealth. In public, this guild always remained neutral and boosted the economy of a Kingdom or an empire. Through the guild, Alicia managed to obtain huge power in the Dying Isle continent. The power that she held was even greater than the Istarin Empire. What she held wasn't military power, rather it was soft power. The power to influence the masses. The power of manipulating the crowd. The power to gather information.

With all the valuable intel that Alicia has provided, this invasion has become 100 times easier for the Istarin empire. Not only that, as the branch of her guild, was present in every city, Amber, Watson, and others were able to use the teleportation arrays in those branches to enter the city without the enemy even knowing about it.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 237

Everyone was terrified seeing how ruthlessly two men were bitten dead. However, Brolbiner's eyes held no emotions for them. Everyone felt that today the black dragon king was acting strange.

"Send their bodies back home. Also, prepare for the war. This time I will be personally leading this War. I want everyone..." The black Dragon king paused as if sensing something. He raised his head and looked up. Before he can fully register what was going on, the temperature of the entire capital started rising rapidly.

Even the guards or prisoners locked beneath the royal palace could sense the rise in temperature. Before everyone could understand what was happening, the irons covering the royal palace's outer layer began to melt. The guards outside the royal palace, the soldiers training at the training ground, the maids taking care of the garden, and the people walking around the royal palace all felt the temperature suddenly become unbearable. Even though it was supposed to be winter morning, everything was supposed to be covered in a layer of thick white snow, the sudden rise in temperature made everyone feel as if they were being fired alive.

The snow began to melt at an alarming speed. The melting snow started evaporating at quickly.

"What is happening?"

No one what was happening. Not even the Black Dragon King himself had any idea what was going on here.

At the same time, in a certain part of the capital. A handsome young man with a pair of beautiful crimson wings flew toward the high walls that surrounded the entire capital city of the Southern fire Dragon empire. The man moved faster than the wind without making any noise. This man was one of the Dragon Monarch's soldiers. He was a dragon who managed to reach beginner 5th-order and gain human transformation powers.

Aditya had ordered him to take down the capital city's defensive dome. This defensive dome was going to get in Aditya's way. Aditya and others were able to enter the capital using the teleportation array which was used by the Seekers of Impurity guild. In this invasion, Alicia has been supporting Aditya. She even broke her own rules of not helping any Empire or any faction for Aditya's sake.

As soon as Trevor Prince shut down the defensive dome that covered the entire city, several 5th-order cultivators instantly found it out. Also at the same time, the other three dragon warriors released their Aura. Each Aura came from each corner of the city.

"The job is done." Trevor looked at the sky. His eyes were filled with endless respect and admiration for the man who was his King.

Above the sky

Crimson dragon scales rapidly began to grow over Aditya's entire body. Before his dragon scales only covered his chest, his shoulders, his arms, his throat, and his neck but now every single part of his body was covered in crimson dragon scale. Both Aditya's arms and his legs turned into dragon claws.

The Crimson wings on his back became even bigger. Aditya's thighs expanded in size; tearing the pant that he wore revealed both of his thighs which were covered in Dragon Scale.

Two Red horns grew on both sides of Aditya's head. Aditya's height increased. He went from being 2 meters long to becoming 3 meters tall in height.

�Ding! The host has used Dragon Transformation. As more than 50% of your body has turned into a Dragon, all of your stats except for mana will be doubled.?

�Ding! Your mana recovery speed has been increased by 50%.?

�Ding! you have gained an additional [500+] agility which has been added to your stats.?

At the same time, the sky began to darken. Dark clouds carrying violent Crimson lightning bolts gathered above the capital.

�Ding! The passive powers of the mythical class Storm Marshall have been activated. Your mana will be increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind types of attacks has been increased by 50%. An additional [300+] agility has been added to your stats.?

�Ding! Inferno Overdrive, a passive skill has increased all of your stats except for mana by [70%].?

�Ding! Storm Flight has increased your agility by [200+]?

�Ding! Crimson lightning dash has increased your agility by [200+]?

"It's time to destroy everything." This was the first time Aditya was using dragon transformation and Inferno Overdrive at the same time. Both of his skills provided him with an insane boost in his stats. Aditya was sure that his current stats would be able to match the stats of a beginner 6th-order cultivator or maybe even more.

Booom!!!!

With Aditya's current speed, he easily broke the sound barrier of this world which was several times higher than the sound barrier of Earth. Aditya moved so fast that he left behind a trail of Crimson lightning.

At the same time,

In the capital, the Black Dragon King and the Peak 5th-order elder, Kang who somehow managed to survive the pressure of a Mid 6th-order cultivator, both of them sensed something extremely terrifying heading toward the capital.

Brolbiner and Kang both flew out of the royal palace. Both cultivators flew 500 meters above the royal palace.

"Your Majesty, did you sense that?" Brolbiner nodded his head.

The reason both Brolbiner and Kang had stopped is that they could no longer sense that being's Aura. Brolbiner and Kang were able to sense Aditya's Aura when he was activating his stats-boosting skills.

"Strangely I can't sense that Aura anymore." Brolbiner was even stronger than Kang. In fact, Kang was sure that even 5 ordinary Peak 5th-order cultivators wouldn't be able to defeat the Black Dragon King. In the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, only Kang knew how terrifying Brolbiner's strength was. If Brolbiner sensed that Aura, it would either mean two things. One, the enemy has a powerful artifact that allows him to hide his Aura. Second, the enemy's strength surpasses the very limit of a Peak 5th-order cultivator which is simply impossible as no Peak 5th-order cultivator can do that; maybe except for the Goddess of War.

"Your Majesty, should I deal with the intruders?" Both Kang and Brolbiner have sensed the four beginner 5th-order dragons who have entered the capital and now have caused chaos. Brolbiner shook his head.

"Let others deal with them." At this moment Brolbiner wasn't being careless. This was the level of confidence that he had in his military. He knew that even without his and Kang's assistance, his military would be able to deal with the trouble. Also right now Brolbiner had a bigger problem in his hand.

Brolbiner and Kang didn't have to wait too long as they saw a red light heading in their direction. The red light moved so fast that it broke the sound barrier. Neither Kang nor Brolbiner was able to see react in time when the red light stopped right before them.

As just as the red light stopped, Brolbiner and Kang were hit with a wave of strong wind. Brolbiner, for the first time in his life, felt scared. The black dragon King felt frightened. He knew very well that if this man wanted, he could have killed them even before they could even react.

"Who are you?" Brolbiner was on his guards. He secretly activated a few of his defensive and agility skills.

Kang and Brolbiner never has seen this man before. "My name is Aditya. I am the Emperor of the Istarin emperor." Those words were more than enough. Brolbiner always wondered what kind of man the Istarin Empire was. The only reason Brolbiner wanted to form an alliance with the Istarin Empire is that he had heard that the Emperor was a very cunning and intelligent man. Brolbiner was not interested in the military of the Istarin Empire. In fact, he even looked down on the military of the Istarin Empire. He felt if he wanted, he could take over the entire Istarin Empire within a week given how powerful his military was.

Never did Brolbiner think even in his wildest nightmares that the Istarin Empire would attack the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. To think that Aditya was this powerful. Brolbiner felt he had made a mistake. He felt he had taken the matter with the Istarin Empire too lightly.

"Aditya, what is the meaning of this?" Brolbiner wanted to know why the Istarin Emperor himself was attacking him or going to attack him. As far as Brolbiner can remember the Istarin Empire and the Southern fire Dragon Empire didn't have any enmity between them.

"Brolbiner, do you remember a certain small Kingdom named Skyline Kingdom? It was a Kingdom that you often bullied and robbed resources from." Brolbiner was actually planning on taking full control of the Skyline Kingdom but his brother had started the war with him so he had to pause his plans.

"Guess what, the Skyline King sold his Empire to me. You have sent your troops to the Istarin Empire's territory. And that is enough reason for me to crush you. Besides, I already have killed your brother. I might as well kill you so that I can take over both Dragon Empires."

Aditya did not wait for Brolbiner or Kang to respond. He had other important work to do. Wasting time here in talking with these two wasn't an option for Aditya.

Swoosh!!!!!!

The next moment, Aditya appeared in front of Brolbiner. He put his right claw in Brolbiner's chest and took out his dragon heart which was still beating and pumping fresh red blood.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 238

Aditya appeared in front of Brolbiner. He put his right claw in Brolbiner's chest and took out his dragon heart which was still beating and pumping fresh red blood.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

Seeing the Black Dragon King being killed right before his eyes, Kang was petrified in fear. Aditya ignored Kang, he put the dead body of the black Dragon King in his storage ring. The Dragon Monarch then turned his attention to Kang whose body was shaking in fear.

"Aditya, wait....I....."

Bang!

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

"Now that I have removed the biggest obstacles in my path, taking over the Southern fire Dragon Empire should be very easy." Aditya didn't have much in his hand otherwise he would have loved to fight against the black dragon King.

After killing Brolbiner, the Dragon Monarch went down to take out everyone who was loyal to Brolbiner or to the southern Fire Dragon Empire. Aditya first shut down the teleportation arrays so that no one can escape. Whether it was Brolbiner's wives or his children or anyone that was related to Brolbiner, everyone was killed. Aditya did not want to let anyone go. If he did, there is a big chance that the person might return to take revenge. So it would be better to just remove the problem before it can even grow. He then went on to confront the generals and the hundred thousand armies that gathered to stop him.

Aditya gave them two choices surrender or die. Around 60% of the troops decided to surrender while the rest who did not surrender was mercilessly killed by Aditya.

The Aditya of the past might think of his current actions as cruel, stone-hearted, inhumane, and barbaric, but the Aditya of the past didn't care. From the beginning, Aditya was never a hero or a villain. In the path of conquest, it would be inevitable that the Dragon monarch would be killing millions if not billions. Ever since he came to this world, everything around him and everything about him, has been pushing him to become a King, a ruler, and a Monarch.

Now whether it was the system or whether it was the original Aditya's situation or whether it was the other Aditya's past life on earth, everything about him was building a path that would lead him to become a Ruler.

The Aditya from Earth was a man who would do anything to boost his political career. Aditya was cunning, sly, and a demon fox who never trusted anyone. The Aditya of the past was a depressed young man who was an alcoholic addict. He was a person who had given up on his life. The system has bought two Aditya together and has forged a new path for both souls to become one.

Aditya always tries his best to not take any innocent lives. But the path on which he was walking made it impossible for him to not take any innocent lives even if Aditya didn't want it to happen. The best thing that Aditya can do right now is move forward while shouldering all the burdens.

Before afternoon, the entire capital had fallen in the Istarin empire's hand. Also at the same time, the news of the Black Dragon King's death and the Istarin empire taking over the Southern fire Dragon empire spread very quickly. When the prime minister of the Northern Frost dragon Empire heard of this, he immediately wanted to move before a foreign Empire completely took over the southern fire Dragon Empire. However, the absence of the White Dragon Emperor has left a void. Even with the prime minister's authority, he couldn't command everyone at his will.

At the same time, a few other empires wanted to attack and take a piece of the Southern fire Dragon empire, however, the Istarin empire had sent out a warning.

[This is a personal fight between both Empires. Anyone who gets involved in this war would become the enemy of the Istarin empire. We have killed the Black Dragon King and all the 5th-order cultivators. If any empire feels that they can stand against us, then feel free to join the party.]

This wasn't just a simple warning. From these words, everyone was able to understand that the Istarin Empire now had become powerful enough to kill someone powerful as the Black Dragon Empire. The fact that the Istarin Empire openly attacked the Southern fire Dragon Empire's capital in broad daylight and was able to take over the entire capital within a few hours, showed just how powerful the Istarin Empire has become in just a few months.

Some Empires also got news from their spies that the Istarin Empire had a new military force which was known as the Dragonians. It was a hybrid race of dragon soldiers. It was rumored that the Dragonians were several times stronger compared to an average cultivator. Even a beginner 3rd-order dragonian was able to fight against a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. Just this fact itself put fear in many Empires' hearts. No one, in this world was powerful or capable enough to create hybrid dragons yet the Istarin Empires were able to do it.

For the next 7 days, the entire Southern fire Dragon empire bathed in flames of war and bloodshed. Aditya purposely chose to reveal the power of the Dragonians since he knew some bugs which definitely come to bother his hunt. Also with the ever-growing military power of the Istarin Empire, sooner or later, the Dragonians were going to be exposed to the outside world anyway. It was pointless to hide the Istarin Empire's strength. Aditya still had other trump cards. So even if the Dragonian's existence were revealed nothing will happen to the Istarin Empire.

By the end of 7 weeks, the entire Southern fire Dragon empire had fallen under the Istarin Empire's rule. The dragon empire which stood for more than [500+] years had finally fallen and became a part of a new empire that was formed less than 6 months ago. This itself was shocking.

This entire week has kept the dragon Monarch busy. Aditya couldn't get even an hour of sleep. The same could be said for the 7 generals, Watson, Leo, and all the Dragon warriors. The only times he ever stopped was when he needed to recover his mana. The size of the Southern fire dragon Empire was huge. Also, Aditya wanted to make sure that none of the Southern fire Dragon empire's generals would be able to escape.

At the end of the week, around 70 to 80% of the total Southern fire dragon Empire's troops had surrendered and now had become a part of the Istarin empire's military. Whose who did not surrender was killed without any hesitation. This time, Aditya did not bother to take any prisoners of war. His enemies were given two options. Surrender or die.

At the end of the 7th day, the entire Southern fire Dragon empire had fallen under the Istarin empire's rule. This invasion was a success for the Istarin Empire. The Istarin Empire's military became 3 times more powerful. The number of troops that the Istarin Empire now had was above 5 million. This also meant that the number of Dragonians would also increase in the future. Aditya was able to obtain designs of advanced powerful cannons. He also got a huge reserve of gold, iron, silver, copper, and other precious minerals. The precious thing that Aditya obtained was the mana stone mines. Now the Istarin empire alone controlled more than 50% of the total mana stones in the southern region.

When this invasion came to an end, Aditya was left with countless papers works. It was easy to just take over an Empire but it was extremely tiring to sit on a chair for days without moving.

"Your Majesty?"

Aditya somehow opened his sleepy eyes and found that it was Watson who was calling him. "What is it, Watson? Did anything happen?" Anyone can tell by looking at his face that he was dead tired.

Watson shook his head with a smile. Others might not know it but Watson knew it better than anyone else. This man deserved to take a long rest more than anyone else in this entire Empire. "Lady Julia has been waiting for you."

Hearing Julia's eyes, Aditya's eyes became a little clearer. "Julia?"

"Yes, lady Julia has asked me to send you. Your Majesty, you leave everything to me. You can take a good rest."

Aditya nodded since he knew he wouldn't be able to work if his mind was exhausted. Aditya right now really wanted to sleep. "Alright. Where is she?"

"She is waiting for you at the capital."

"Then, I will leave everything in your hands, Watson." Watson stiffly nodded.

Just as Aditya left the room, the smile on Watson's face vanished. At this moment, the old butler felt like crying but his eyes had no tears in them. He also has been working very hard. Now that Aditya had taken a break, the workload on his shoulders was going to be doubled.

"I want to quit being a prime Minister. I wish to get my old job back." Watson wanted his old job of being a butler once again. Being the acting prime minister of the Istarin Empire is not easy task.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 239

Warning - R-18 content ahead.

The goddess was sitting on the balcony and looking at the vast starry sky. Tonight the sky wasn't covered with snow clouds. Julia was feeling slightly nervous and excited about what was going to happen tonight. Looking at the starry sky, Julia couldn't feel but feel that ever since Aditya had changed, ever since had stopped being an alcohol addict, how quickly everything has changed for the better. To her, these six months passed so quickly. Yet these 6 months were one of the happiest periods of her life. Julia hopes that this happiness of hers will continue forever.

"Yours is the light by which my spirit's born: - you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars."

Julia closed her eyes upon hearing those words. A small smile appeared on her face. Her cheeks flushed red.

Aditya slowly walked behind Julia and then held her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled back on his chest.

"Did you miss me?" Aditya asked while looking at the starry sky.

"Hmph! I never missed you."

"You're shy as ever." This was the part of Julia that had made him fall for her in the first place. He enjoys teasing her more than anything. Only he was allowed to tease her.

"I will kill you a hundred times!" Even though she was threatening him, her head was comfortably resting on his chest and listening to his heartbeat.

"Princess, you can't kill your own husband. If you kill me, then no one will marry you."

"Hmph! This princess is very popular. If I wanted I could marry the strongest Man on this continent."

"Haha! That strongest man is your husband." Just talking with her, Aditya felt his mental exhaustion is disappearing. He felt refreshed and energetic again.

"You're not the strongest man on this continent." Julia knew if Aditya wasn't the strongest then no one else in this continent would be qualified to claim this title. Of course, the princess wouldn't admit it out loud.

"Let me show you how strong I am." After saying these words, Aditya bent down a little and picked up Julia in his arms.

"Hey!! Put me down." Even though the princess struggled, without realizing it, she wrapped her hands around his neck and was looking into his crimson pupils.

Aditya tightened his hold around Julia while looking at her with an evil smirk. "Princess, no one is going to save you tonight. This bad wolf is going to devour this weak bunny tonight without leaving anything."

Strangely enough, on hearing those words and looking at his evil smirk, the goddess strangely felt nervous yet excited. A part of her wanted to escape yet a part of her wanted to discover a new world. "Put me down. Otherwise, I am going to start yelling." The goddess wasn't going to admit her defeat this easily.

"Haha! Princess, you can yell all you want but I don't think anyone is going to save you from me. Princess, in case, if you're forgetting, right now you're in my house. This is not your parent's house where your mother will come to save you from me." Aditya lowered his head and went to gently bit Julia's right ear.

Ahh!!

"That hurts, Jerk! Release me, otherwise, I am going to scream." However, Aditya continued to ignore her and kept on biting her ears.

"Someone save me from this hooligan." The princess really started screaming. Seeing this Aditya had no choice but to use his mouth to shut the princess.

Mm~~!

Julia's eyes went wide open when finding herself being kissed by Aditya. A second later, the goddess slowly closed her eyes and started enjoying the kiss. Aditya's tongue managed to sneak inside and wrestle with the goddess's tongue. Aditya started to dominate the princess. He began to suck her tongue while exchanging saliva.

Aditya began to walk toward his bedroom while carrying Julia in his arms. Even with his eyes closed, it was very easy for him to walk back to his room using his senses. While walking in the corridor, Aditya did sense a few maids. The maids quickly left seeing their Emperor and the future Empress busy in their own world.

Click!

Julia opened her eyes hearing the 'click' sound. Opening her eyes, she found herself in front of Aditya's bedroom. Seeing this her heartbeat increased. Even though Julia had come to his bedroom many times in the past for some reason this time she felt very nervous.

Aditya could feel the goddess's heartbeat rising. Understanding that his wife was getting nervous, Aditya gently kissed her cheeks and then her forehead. "Don't worry, leave everything to me."

On hearing those words, Julia's entire face turned red. Even in the darkness, it was not so difficult to see the goddess's red tomato face. From Aditya's words, Julia was now 100% sure that they were going to do it tonight. It's not like Julia had any problem with doing it. In fact, ever since her engagement with Aditya was announced, she knew that this day was going to come sooner or later.

In fact, Aditya would have preferred to have things a little slow and maybe do it later. But tonight after seeing Julia, he felt that this would be the most perfect time to do it. Even he wasn't sure why he felt this way. But one thing was sure his decision wasn't driven by lust. Even if as a Divine dragon, Aditya's lust was comparable to the lust of an Incubus, Aditya always has succeeded in controlling his lust and not getting controlled by it.

After closing the door, while planting small and gentle kisses on Julia's face and neck, Aditya walked up to the large bed. He gently put Julia in the middle of the bed. He then placed his legs and his arms in a way that the rabbit was locked under him.

Lying on the bed, Julia felt nervous and also excited. Right now her emotions were a complete mess. But one thing was sure she also wanted to do it. Julia gently caressed Aditya's right cheek while lovingly looking into his crimson eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He lowered his head to kiss her once again. While kissing her, Aditya's hand slowly sneaked down and went to touch the goddess's chest. Julia's body jerked up as if she had been electrocuted when his hands touched her chest. But she quickly calmed down.

Julia's hands also moved and removed removing his upper body clothes. Tonight Aditya wore a black full-sleeved T-shirt with a black Coat on top of it. After removing the black coat, her hands went under his T-shirt and touched his abs and his muscles.

Aditya's hands also did the same. His hands slipped inside to touch her lower stomach. His hands began to caress her stomach while going up. Eventually, he reached the area where his hands had to climb put to grab the entire mountain. After grabbing her chest with his hand, he gave a small squeeze which earned him a small erotic moan from the goddess.

Mm~~!

Huff! huff!

After a long kiss, both separated while looking at each other. Julia helped Aditya remove his upper wear. As soon as his naked muscular body was exposed, she gently caressed his strong muscles. Meanwhile, Aditya removed the upper wear. The only thing that was covering her chest and her stomach was a thin piece of white cloth.

Aditya lowered his head, this time he went on to kiss her neck. He started giving small kisses to her neck while groping her chest. No matter how much he touched those soft Marshmallow mountains, he couldn't get enough. Eventually, his hands gently started to pinch her mini mountains.

Ah~!

Hearing the goddess moan, Aditya felt his throat go dry. Blood rushed into his head. Suddenly his pants, especially his crotch area started to feel very tight and very uncomfortable.

Aditya started to give the princess hickey all over her neck and then he moved down to her collarbone. While he did all this, his hands never stopped playing and pinching. This earned him a few more erotic and sweet moans from the goddess.

Ah~!

Ah~!

Eventually, Aditya moved down. He removed the last piece of cloth that covered her chest. As soon as he moved the last piece of white cloth, two big twin mountains came into his view. Pink nipples, round, and, plump, treasures came into his view.

"Beautiful" Aditya felt he must protect these two heavenly mountains at all costs.

"Idiot. Don't say stuff like this." The goddess's face turned red from hearing his comment. Deep down Julia felt very happy right now.

Aditya ignored what the goddess said. He lowered his head and stick out his tongue to give a lick. After one gentle lick, the goddess's entire body shivered slightly. A very small moan escaped her mouth.

Mn~!

Meanwhile, Aditya just after giving one small lick, felt his pants were going to burst. He somehow controlled himself to slowly and fully enjoy every single part of her body.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 240

Warning - R-18 chapter

Aditya just after giving one small lick felt his pants were going to burst. He somehow controlled himself to slowly and fully enjoy every single part of her body.

Mm~!

"You're so beautiful." Saying that Aditya gently started sucking her right nipple while his other hand played with her other boob. Right now the goddess of Alchemy was feeling strange. The pleasure that she was feeling isn't something that her hands could bring her.

While sucking her boobs, his right hand reached down and moved the clothes that covered her lower region.

As soon as his index finger touched her vertical slit, the goddess's entire body trembled for a second. Julia wasn't able to suppress her moan.

Ahh~~!

Her sweet moans added more fire to his burning desires. Aditya felt his mind getting clouded with the desire of having sex with her. This is to be expected. After all, Aditya was a virgin. Even coming to this world, he never slept with any women. The only time he ever got close to women was when he was flirting with Julia or Alicia.

Aditya found her the goddess already wet. His index finger rubbed her vertical slit for an entire minute.

Ah~~~!

Feeling that the goddess was getting close, just when she was about to ascend to the ninth heaven, Aditya's index finger stopped. The princess couldn't help but groan in frustration.

"Princess, its' too early for you to come. The real show hasn't begun yet." With a smile on his face, Aditya went down.

"You..what are you doing?" Ignoring the goddess's protests, he moved her legs apart, revealing her protected treasure cave. The next second Aditya lowered his head and started licking her. Julia's body again trembled because of this foreign and unfamiliar feeling.

Ahh~~!

"Aditya....wait...."

Julia tightly clenched the bedsheets while bending her back. Not even five seconds had passed since Aditya started licking her, and the goddess exploded on his face.

Ahh~~!!!

Huff! Huff!

Right now, Julia wanted to die because of the embarrassment that she was feeling. Something like this has never happened to her. She can't believe that she had squirted on his face. The goddess covered her face with her hands.

"You're juices are sweet." Julia's entire face turned red when from the corner of her eyes she noticed Aditya licking his lips.

"Idiot, don't say embarrassing things like this." Even in the bed, even in this darkness, even when both of them were alone, even when both of them already had kissed and the goddess even had seen him naked, Julia's shy side never left her.

"Princess, did you enjoy that?" Aditya asked with a teasing smirk. He completely ignored the bulge on his crotch. At this point, his little brother was starting to hurt. However, he had no intention of ruining the moment by acting upon his desires. He wanted to enjoy every single small thing about their first night.

Julia was too embarrassed to respond back. She instead covered her face with her palms.

Ah~~!

Another loud and sweet moan came out of her mouth when Aditya inserted his right index finger inside. At the same time, using his other hand he began to rub her clitoris. This intensified the pleasure that the princess was feeling.

"Ah~! What....this is?"

Soon Aditya inserted a second finger. As soon as he inserted his second finger and began to move his fingers, the princess came once again.

"Coming.....Ah~~~!!!!"

Julia was panting. Tonight Aditya was making her discover new things about her body. The pleasure that she felt was completely different when she masturbated.

Huff!! Huff!! Huff!!

"Did you like it?" Aditya asked while sucking his own fingers which he had inserted in her a moment ago.

"I don't know." The princess looked away. Clearly too embarrassed to answer his question.

Aditya had reached his limits. He cannot hold himself anymore. He quickly removed his pants and underwear. When Julia looked at him, she found him completely naked. His hungry-lust-filled Crimson pupils were staring at her. She can also feel something very big and hot on her stomach. Julia looked down.

She widened her eyes in shock finding his little brother on her stomach. This thing was too big. Looking at it, she even wondered if this thing would even fit inside her. Julia started to feel a little scared.

"Please be gentle. This is my first time." Even if Julia hadn't said those words, Aditya can tell that his wife was totally inexperienced in his area.

Aditya did not reply. He instead leaned forward. When his face was only a few inches away from hers, he looked at those purple pupils. "Don't worry, it will only hurt for a moment. The pain will quickly go away."

Looking at his crimson eyes which were full of love and warmth for her, Julia felt her heart melting. She put her hands on his shoulders and nodded her head as if telling him to do it.

However, Aditya did not insert his staff. He started moving his waist very slowly. He rubbed his phallus on her vertical slit. While doing that, his phallus was covered in her juices. Julia could feel something very hot and thick rubbing on her slit.

"I am putting it in." Technically this was also Aditya's first time. The Aditya of the past never had sex with anyone. Aditya slowly put the tip of his phallus inside. Julia could feel something entering her. Aditya slowly moved his waist, putting more of his phallus inside her.

He felt something blocking his path. It was her hymen. With another gentle push, Aditya tore her hymen. A drop of tears came out of her eyes feeling the pain of her hymen being torn.

Ahh~~!!!

Aditya immediately leaned forward to kiss her. He started gently pinching her nipples. All this to help her reduce the pain.

Aditya continued to enter his phallus inside until the tip of his phallus touched the entrance of her womb.

Ah~!

Once again, Julia's entire body trembled. This time she felt the pain being mixed with pleasure. Soon the pain started to fade and was replaced with pleasure. Aditya slowly began to accelerate. After an entire minute, after making sure that the goddess wasn't feeling any pain, Aditya began to increase his speed.

Ahh~~!!

"Julia, how are you feeling? Does it feel good?" Aditya still wasn't moving at his full agility. He was still holding back. Each time he moved, the tip of his phallus would touch the entrance of her womb which amplified the pleasure that she felt.

"Ahh~! I don.'t.....know....."

"Really?"

With an evil smile, Aditya started to pinch her clitoris.

"Ah...~! Wait.....that's too much.....ah~~!!"

"I am coming."

Aditya could feel her walls tighten. It was already very tight in her. It was as if she was trying to suck him in. His phallus was being sucked inside.

"Princess, you came too easily."

Aditya started to move his waist again.

"Ahh~~!! Wait....let....rest."

"No rest for you tonight." This time Aditya did not hold back. He moved his waist at full speed. Soon only loud slapping sounds and the princess's sweet erotic moans were heard within the room.

That night was indeed a very long night for Aditya and Julia. Aditya kept going till Julia couldn't take it anymore and collapse. The goddess fell asleep leaving Aditya completely unsatisfied. It is to be noted that Aditya had very high stamina. Especially his Divine Dragon bloodline made it very hard to become satisfied.

"It looks like I have made a mess." The whole room was filled with the smell of their fluids. Aditya was sure that the maids were able to hear Julia's loud moans. Julia fell asleep from exhaustion.

"I would also like to sleep right now but in the morning waking up with dried fluids all over her and on my body would be the last thing that I would want." If Julia was awake, she would probably agree with Aditya.

Aditya picked up Julia in his arms and then walked to the bathroom where he took his time to clean her body and then his body.

After showering, Aditya made Julia wear a bathrobe. He also bathrobe and then came out of his bedroom while carrying Julia. Obviously, the whole room was a mess; the bed was covered in their juices.

While carrying Julia to her bedroom where Aditya was planning on sleeping tonight, he met one of the maids.

"Please clean everything in my room." The did not dare to look at Aditya. She kept her head lowered while nodding her head. The reason that she did not look at Aditya is that she knows that the Emperor and the Empress just made love. She felt embarrassed to look at Aditya.

Click!

After entering her room, Aditya removed the bathrobe that he wore. He also removed the bathrobe that he made Julia wear. After covering both of their bodies with a white blanket, while hugging Julia, Aditya fell asleep. That night, Aditya had one of the best sleep of his entire life. For some reason, he felt very comfortable and his mind was at peace.

Next afternoon,

When Julia opened her eyes, she felt someone hugging her. For a moment the goddess panicked. She then calmed down to realize that it was Aditya. Julia also realized that she and Aditya were sleeping naked. The goddess tried to slip away so that she can wear some clothes. But just as she moved, Aditya's hand grabbed her waist. The next second, Aditya opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Good morning." Aditya pulled her body closer to his.

"Good morning." Aditya can see that his wife was feeling ashamed.

"Why are you feeling embarrassed after all the things that we did last night? You even moaned while calling me hubby."

Julia's cheeks blushed remembering the wild sex that they had last night. "Hmph! I don't remember a such thing. Now let me go. I want to wear some clothes."

"Wife, if you want proof then you can ask the maids who should have heard your moans."

"It's all your fault."

"Now why is it my fault? Why should I care what people think about us? It's not like I am having an affair."

Aditya gently kissed her forehead and then buried her face in his chest. "Just relax, will you? You're my wife and the empress of this Empire. We must work hard to produce an heir who will succeed to the throne. Don't care about others."

Julia then realized that last night, Aditya had filled her womb many times. "What if I get pregnant?"

"Relax. I don't think you will get pregnant just from a single session."

"I said what if I were to get pregnant."

"Let's say you did get pregnant even though the chances of that happening right now are close to zero. I would ask you to marry me. After marriage, to ensure my future child's safety, I will always stay by your side." Julia felt sweet hearing how calmly and maturely he replied to her answer. The goddess hugged him back and then closed her eyes.

Knock! Knock!

"Excuse me! I hate to interrupt you two but others have been waiting for you. It's already afternoon. Just get up already." The one who knocked was Alicia.

Julia and Aditya opened their eyes and looked at each other. Julia felt annoyed. She wanted to spend the rest of the day with Aditya. "I will definitely get my revenge on her for this."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I am not an expert in writing this kind of thing. I have tried to keep things romantic.

Chapter 241

After washing up, Julia and Aditya came to the dining table. "Good afternoon young master."

"Good afternoon, Watson. You look tired today. It looks like you haven't taken a break yet." Watson looked like he might collapse from exhaustion.

"You can take a break." Aditya did not want his favorite butler and his acting Prime Minister to die from overwork.

"Thank you." Watson was very happy to finally get a break. Without wasting even a single second, Watson left and went back to his bedroom to get some sleep.

After Watson left, Aditya turned to the remaining others who were sitting at the dining table. Other than Watson, there was Alicia, and, Riya. Leo and his little sister were missing. 'I guess he has taken his little sister out.'

As for Aditya's general, every one of them was assigned various tasks which they were currently doing. All of his generals were spread throughout the entire Southern Fire Dragon Empire.

"Good afternoon, Alicia, Riya"

"Good afternoon, darling."

"Good afternoon, Aditya." Aditya could feel that Alicia was feeling down. As for why he felt that he was the reason for it.

"Did the two of you have lunch yet?" Aditya asked while sitting down on the head seat.

"No, we were waiting for you." Alicia sounded a little pissed.

Meanwhile, Julia just smiled seeing Alicia's reaction. "Ladies, you got to respect the rules that we all agreed upon." The princess of the Ethereal Empire must have wanted to be the first one to sleep with Aditya so that she can take his virginity. Unfortunately, Julia had every right to claim the first spot.

The day when Aditya started the invasion with the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, the three goddesses sat down and had a long private discussion. In this discussion, Julia officially solidified her position as a leader. Alicia was second in charge while Riya was third in charge. Even if neither Alicia nor Riya did not like the idea, in the end, they had to agree to let Julia be the one to take Aditya's virginity.

"What rules are we talking about?" Aditya asked with a curious look.

"That's a secret." All three of them replied at the same time.

"....Okay...." Aditya noticed that his three wives seems to have gotten closer. It seems the ladies had a deep conversation and finally reached an agreement. Aditya is undoubtfully very happy to see this. Aditya did not want either of them to fight among themselves and reach a point where one would be willing to kill another. This would create a given problem for Aditya in the future.

While waiting, a few maids came carrying several dishes. Although nobles mostly had steak as their lunch, Aditya preferred to have something with rice. Aditya was an Asian in his previous life so he couldn't get rid of his habit of having rice with his every meal. Just eating Steak at every lunch was too blend and tasteless for him. Though he has to admit that the meat of magical animals in this world was 10 times or even 100 times more delicious. Aditya even heard that the meat of a 5th-order magical animal is the most expensive and also the tastiest meat out there.

"By the way, Aditya, do you remember about my brother's marriage?" Aditya who was about to start eating froze upon hearing Alicia's words.

How could he forget about Noah's wedding? Aditya was so busy this week that he literally forget that he had to attend Noah's wedding. Aditya dropped the fork from his hand.

"Alicia, why didn't you remind me?" Aditya felt regret for missing out on such an important event. Even though Aditya knew Noah and got close to him because of Alicia, Aditya and Noah almost become friends, especially after what they experienced together.

"So you do care about my brother's wedding?" Alicia snorted. Deep down she was happy to see him react like this. This goes on to show that Aditya cared about her family. He wasn't just putting an act of caring about her family just to please her.

Sigh!

"I am sorry, okay. I was planning on attending Noah's wedding. But the appearance of the Great Sage Snake and the white Dragon King's death changed so many things. Because of these factors, I also had to accelerate my plans and launch an invasion of the Southern Fire Dragon empire much earlier than I had initially expected." Aditya felt that he should apologize to Noah and to the whole Osburn family for missing out on such an important event. Another reason why Aditya cares so much about Alicia's family is that he had made up his mind to make Alicia is the second wife.

He had confirmed his feelings for her. The goddess also madly loved him back. Alicia was also okay with sharing him with Julia. As a man what else Aditya can ask for? Aditya knows that Julia, Alicia, and Riya, all deserve better. Agreeing to share with him meant that the amount of time that he would be able to spend with them would be reduced. But despite that, they all agreed to share him.

Aditya wanted to keep close ties with his wife's family. At least he wanted to give his full afford from his side. He doesn't want to be seen as someone who is not caring. Also, Alicia's family has been so kind to him. The whole Osburn family treated him as their own son. How can Aditya betray their expectations? As someone who never had family or didn't receive much parental love, Aditya valued the love and warmth that he received from the Osburn family.

"It's alright. You can relax. I have told my father about your situation. In the end, father decided to push the wedding. The wedding which was supposed to be held a few days ago has been pushed to tomorrow." Alicia smiled seeing Aditya's eyes light up upon hearing her words.

"Really?"

"Yes. Even if my father had not pushed the wedding day, my family would have forced my father to do that anyway." Meanwhile, Julia started eating. She was listening to their conversation but she had no interest in interrupting them. After the heavy exercise that Aditya made her do last night, the goddess was feeling very hungry. Remembering the crazy battle that she had, the goddess couldn't help but blush.

The goddess of Nature, Riya, was listening to Alicia and Aditya's conversation very seriously. Listening to their conversation, the Elf goddess couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. 'I shouldn't have waited this long. I should have approached Aditya and made my move on him a long time ago.' Now the elf goddess was regretting not acting a little earlier. If she had done that, she could have been in Alicia's position.

When Julia, Alicia, and Riya, all three had that important meeting. From Julia's words, Riya had a hunch that Julia was going to make a bold move on Aditya. Normally Julia wouldn't do something like this given how shy she was in these kinds of matters. But the appearance of two new goddesses had forced Julia to act.

Last night when Aditya and Julia had been lost in their own world, there have been times when Riya wanted to barge in and join them. But she knew that doing this would ruin many important things. Although Riya was obsessed with Aditya, from a young age, she had to accept the fact that Aditya was going to have six other wives besides her. So she had learned to control her urges over the years. Even last night, she controlled her urges by trying to keep her mind distracted; though the distracting part did not work as her mind was constantly remembering about Aditya.

'I better make my move on my darling before any other vixen tries to claim him.' Riya already had lost her first position to Julia. She did not want someone else to take her 3rd position.

No one knew what was going on in Riya's mind. Ever since Aditya came to the dining table, the nature goddess hasn't stopped looking at him. Even when Alicia or someone else other than Aditya spoke, her eyes always remained on his face. It was as if she couldn't move her eyes to look at anything.

"So the wedding is tomorrow? Alicia, what should give Noah as his wedding gift?" Aditya always sucked at choosing gifts. He can save hours if Noah's little sister give him some suggestion or ideas.

"To be honest, it took me a while to also decide what I was going to gift my brother at his wedding. I have decided to gift him Flame Cloak."

"Flame Cloak? From its name, I can pretty much understand that it's an artifact related to fire nature. But what does it actually do?" Even Riya and Julia became interested.

"The Flame Cloak was made from the skin of a 4th-order fiery Tiger. Later a professional added enchantment to the cloak; giving it fire nature properties. The flame cloak gives the user 20% resistance to fire-type attacks or spells launched by any 4th-order. The resistance percentage doubles when attacked by any 3rd-order. The flame cloak can temporarily store heat energy before releasing it in form of an attack."

"Interesting."

"What would happen if multiple 4th-order cultivators attacks Noah with fire-type spells?"

"Most probably the flame cloak wouldn't be able to handle all the attacks together." Even Alicia looked slightly uncertain.

"I see. Then I will also gift Noah an artifact." Aditya still had to check the Black Dragon King's storage ring. He was sure that just like the white Dragon King, the black Dragon King's storage ring also would be filled with treasures and rare things.

"Aditya, I think that tomorrow, we should reveal your identity to my parents." Before Alicia only pretended to be Aditya's girlfriend. Who would have thought that she would develop real feelings for this man? Now that Aditya has accepted her feelings, Alicia didn't want to keep lying to her family.

"Alright." Aditya also felt that they should tell her family the truth. They deserved to know his background.

"Aditya, do you know a man named Kane? A few days ago he came to the capital looking for me." Every day more than a hundred thousand people come to meet the goddess of nature. Riya can't just meet everyone. She would have sent Kane away if the former Skyline King hadn't told her maids that he was sent here by Aditya.

"You can say that he is an acquaintance of mine. Did you heal him?" Aditya hoped from the bottom of his heart that Kane and his family would live a good and peaceful life.

"It was very easy to cure his disease." For someone like Riya, healing something like this is very easy.

"Thank you."

"Darling there is no need to thank me. But if you really wish to thank me then why don't you take me out on a date?" Riya knew that in order to get ahead of others she must take the opportunity of every chance that she gets. She had a feeling that Aditya won't refuse her since she had healed his friend.

"I apologize, Riya. But right now I am simply too busy. This entire month I don't think I would get any free days." Taking over an empire involved much more than just the invasion. Aditya has to strengthen the defense of the southern fire Dragon Empire. He also has to appoint new nobles who would take care of his new territory. He also has to sort things out and eliminate all the secret loyal men of the black Dragon King. Aditya has to change the laws, bring new policies, launch plans to improve the economy, and lastly decrease criminal activities and ensure public safety.

"Oh...." Riya's mood went from being excited to being sad and depressed.

"But today, I have a very important thing that I am going to show you all."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 242

"Come with me, I have something very important to show you all." Julia, Alicia, and Riya all looked at each other not understanding what Aditya wanted to show them.

"What do you want to show us?" Julia asked.

"Just come with me."

Aditya and others took a carriage outside Azure city. While traveling outside Azure city, Aditya did not speak anything. He remained quiet and kept his eyes closed the entire time. This only increased the confusion that the girls had.

?Ding! There are currently two requirements that the host needs to complete to advance on his path to becoming the true Dragon Monarch.

?1. Expand the host's territory over an area of 500,000 km².?

?173,000 km²/500,000 km²?

?2. Gather the materials needed to build the legendary Dragon Palace. ?

?Required materials: - 100 tons of gold, 50 tons of silver, 50,000 spirit stones, 100 tons of refined iron?

From the things that Scarlet who was the queen of the mutant fire ants left him, the resources that he managed to obtain while traveling in space, the resources that he got from the storage rings of the Inner-group members and one core-group member of The League of Black Tomb, the resources that he got from the storage ring of the black dragon king, and the resources that Aditya found in the Southern fire Dragon Empire's treasury, Aditya finally had managed to gather enough resources to build the Dragon Palace.

Right now he had more than 100 tons of gold, 50 tons of silver, 50,000 spirit stones, and 100 tons of refined iron. Aditya put all these things together in a separate storage ring.

After around 30 minutes of riding the carriage, they were out of the city. Aditya decided to choose a remote location to build the Dragon Palace. This place has to be somewhere that is not too far away from the capital. He did not want the public to see the formation of the Dragon Palace.

The carriage finally stopped 5 km away from Azure city. Getting out of the carriage, the girls found themselves in the wild. It was a mountain region with tall trees.

"You girls wait here and enjoy the show." Two pairs of crimson dragon wings appeared on his back. Aditya flew up in the air. After flying 150 meters above the sky, he stopped flying.

?Ding! The system has detected that the host has gathered all the materials needed to build the Dragon Palace. Please choose a location to build the dragon palace.?

Aditya decided to choose this location as this place was very remote and also not so far away from Azure city. Once Aditya becomes a 4-star runemaster, he can create a rune array to hide the Dragon Palace from the public. Anyone below 5th-order cultivation won't be able to see or sense the Dragon palace.

?Ding! The location of the dragon palace has been chosen. Now level 1 Dragon palace will be built by the system.?

Julia, Alicia, and Riya noticed the sky darkening. Dark clouds began to gather over their head. Crimson lightning began to strike the sky, making loud rumbling sounds. This made the people think as if heaven was roaring. The white snow that covered the mountains and the trees began to shake.

"Look there." Riya and others noticed a Crimson red giant magic circle appearing on the mountain. The crimson magic circle appeared to be more than 1000 meters big. The circle was so big that Riya, Julia, Alicia, and the carriage driver had to move back. While moving back, the girls noticed that Aditya wasn't moving. He stood still in the air, he was at the center of the magic circle.

At the same time, Aditya felt all the materials in his storage ring disappearing. A second later, a huge amount of Mana began to gather from the surroundings. The crimson magic circle began to gather a huge amount of mana from the surroundings. This caused a big commotion in Azure city which was only 5 km away.

The people in Azure city felt the changes and began to panic. Meanwhile, the 3rd-order and 4th-order cultivators in the Azure city or anywhere within a 10 km range of the crimson magic circle sensed this abnormality. Everyone's attention was focused on the direction of the magic circle.

The dragonians who were training at the training ground stopped what they were doing. All of the Dragonians in the city turned their attention to the crimson magic circle. At that moment, every Dragonian in the city knew that something big is about to happen. Their instinct told them to go near the Dragon Palace.

Without wasting any time, regardless of how important work they were doing, all the Dragonians began to fly out of the Azure city. Riya, Julia, and Alicia sensed very strong Auras approaching in their direction.

Meanwhile, the 1000-meter big crimson magic circle destroyed all the trees within the circle and melted and evaporated all the white snow. The entire mountain within 1000 meters range was cleared up.

With each passing second, the glow on the magic circle began to increase. The glow increased to the point where 3rd-order cultivators like Julia and Alicia were having to close their eyes or look away. However, as a 5th-order cultivator, Riya was able to keep looking. She was able to see the changes within the magic circle.

"Lady Julia, what is happening here?" Hundreds of Dragonians flew and landed behind Julia, Riya, and Alicia. Since the Dragonians knew who Julia was, they asked her. As for who Alicia and Riya was, no one had any idea.

"I have no idea. But I do know that Aditya is responsible for this giant magic circle." Riya saw two giant metal doors coming out of the ground. These two metal doors were the entrances. One was located in the direction of the north and the other was located in the direction of the south. After two big doors appeared, 50 meters tall giant iron walls that were coated with a layer of gold began to appear from the magic circle.

The iron walls began to form a circle along with two giant doors. Within an entire minute, the entire 1000 meters of crimson magic circle was within 50 meters of tall iron walls. The iron walls connected the southern and the northern entrances and formed a perfect circle. After that, a layer of iron began to cover the ground.

Meanwhile, the strong Aura coming from this magic circle attracted the attention of many people. By now the Dragonians who were in other cities near the Azure city had also sensed this and were flying in this direction. All the 4th-order cultivators within the 100 km range had managed to sense this and now were coming to see what was happening.

Meanwhile, Aditya was receiving a series of messages from the system. He had officially taken the very first step to becoming the Dragon Monarch. Now Aditya was the Dragon Monarch. While the Dragon palace was being made, Aditya can feel his power increasing. It seems to be inside this magic circle that was increasing his stats and his powers. Right now he was feeling as if he had become invincible. Aditya felt that he can do anything in this world. He felt he can defeat anyone.

The next moment, the goddess of Nature gasped feeling the changes taking place in this land. This magic circle was doing more than just building this magic circle. As the goddess of Nature, Riya was born with the power to tell if someone had placed a curse on the land or if the land has been blessed by anyone. In fact, as the goddess, Riya herself had the power to bless a certain area of the land. With her blessing, the growth of the plants, and, trees in an area will be increased. The land will become more fertile and the crops would produce more food.

Riya had the power to turn barren land into one of the most fertile lands on this planet. Right now the goddess was feeling that the ownership of this land has been given to someone. The entire Istarin Empire's territory was blessed.

?Ding! As the host has begun to build the dragon Palace on his territory, Congratulations to the host for obtaining an innate skill. The host has obtained a new skill called, Dragon transfer. Using this skill the host will be able to switch places with any of the host's Dragonians or the Dragon warriors.?

?Ding! As the host has begun to build the dragon Palace on his territory, Congratulations to the host for obtaining an innate skill. The host has obtained a new skill called.... ?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I wanted to write a long chapter but I have something important to do. I am planning on doing a mass release on this Christmas.

Chapter 243

?Ding! As the host has begun to build the dragon Palace on his territory, Congratulations to the host for obtaining an innate skill. The host has obtained a new skill called, Dragon transfer. Using this skill the host will be able to switch places with any of the host's Dragonians or the Dragon warriors.?

?Ding! As the host has begun to build the dragon Palace on his territory, Congratulations to the host for obtaining an innate skill. The host has obtained a new skill called Dragon Monarch's domain.?

Aditya felt new information being poured into his mind. He understood how these two skills work. By the time his brain managed to process the new information, the Dragon Palace was completed.

Now below Aditya, there was a golden Palace that was more than 500 meters tall. Fourteen massive, round towers guard the weakest points of this palace and are connected by big, firm walls made of iron and the walls were coated with a layer of gold. Crude windows are scattered generously around the walls in fairly symmetrical patterns, along with huge crenelations for archers and artillery.

The Dragon Palace was so massive that more than 500 to 700 people would be able to live in the Palace. The whole Dragon Palace was protected by a defensive dome that covered the entire Dragon Palace and even the walls. The two entrances were wide open. But only Aditya and the people with his Dragon bloodline would be able to freely enter and exit the Dragon Palace. If anyone tries to sneak in or forcefully enter, that person's body would explode like a water balloon.

?Dragon Palace?

?Rank - level 1?

?Description - The Dragon Palace is the home of the Dragon Monarch. The Dragon Palace is the base of the Dragon Monarch and all the Dragonians and the Dragon warriors. The Dragon Palace is a holy land for Dragons. For thousands of years, every dragon believed that the Dragon Palace is a myth and it does not exist. Just being near the Dragon Palace, any dragon or anyone with a dragon bloodline would receive certain benefits. Any being with a Dragon bloodline or who is a Dragon would feel very attracted to the Dragon Palace. With each passing level, the Dragon Palace would be upgraded and more facilities and functions of the Dragon Palace would be unlocked.?

?Function 1 - The host's mana recovery speed, healing speed, and cultivation speed will be boosted by 300% inside the Dragon Palace. The host's stats would be increased by 150% inside the dragon palace. The mana recovery speed, healing speed, and cultivation speed of the Dragonians and the Dragon warriors would be boosted by 120%. The stats of the Dragonians and Dragon Warriors would be increased by 50% inside the Dragon Palace.?

?Function 2 - If the host is within a 25 km range of the Dragon Palace, then the host's stats would be increased by 25%. At the same time, the host's mana recovery speed, healing speed, and cultivation speed will be increased by 60%. If any of the Dragonians or the dragon Warriors are within a 25 km range of the Dragon Palace then the stats of the Dragonians or the dragon Warriors would be increased by 8%. While the dragonians or the Dragon Warrior's mana recovery speed, healing speed, and cultivation speed will be increased by 20%.?

?Function 3 - As the Dragon Palace has been built, the host now has gained the power to teleport back to the Dragon Palace from any location on this planet. The host will also be able to teleport anywhere within a 25 km range of the Dragon Palace.?

?Function 4 - As of now the level 1 Dragon Palace has the power to protect itself and withstand the attacks of a Peak 4th-order cultivator. Only cultivators whose cultivation is above the 4th order would be able to forcefully enter the Dragon Palace. Or can destroy the defensive dome and destroy the Dragon Palace as of now.?

?Function 5 - The Dragon Palace has increased the food production of the entire Istarin Empire by 20%. Those who live within a 25 Km range of the Dragon Palace would have a longer life span, their cultivation speed will be increased by 10%, their healing speed will be increased by 10%, their ability to fight against diseases or curses will be increased by 10%.?

?Function 6 - If any Dragon is cursed or has developed diseases in its body, just being within a 25 Km range of the Dragon Palace would slow the Dragon's diseases or break the curse. While the Dragonians or the Dragon warriors of the dragon Monarch who are in the Istarin Empire territory would have 25% immunity against diseases and curses.?

?Function 7 - If in case the Istarin Empire is attacked by a foreign army or faction, the power of the Istarin troops will be boosted by 21%.?

?Function 8 - The area within a 25 Km range of the Dragon Palace would now have higher chances of possessing treasures. The chances of a mineral mine forming within the 25 km range have been drastically increased.?

It took Aditya nearly 5 minutes to completely process this new information. In the end, the Dragon Monarch was too deeply shocked. His heart was shaken and his blood was boiling. Who would have thought that the Dragon Palace would bring him this many functions and benefits? Each of these 8 functions was extremely important for his and the Istarin Empire's growth.

'I am basically invincible within the Dragon Palace.' A boost of 150% in his stats isn't some small thing. Aditya already had skills that boosted his stats to the level where he was able to kill even a Peak 5th-order cultivation at the speed of lightning. A good example of it is the Black Dragon King and the elder of the Southern fire Dragon Empire. Now if he adds 150% boost to his stats, Aditya felt that he can basically even take on a Mid-6th-order though he is not sure about the gap between a Peak 5th order and a 6th-order. But from what he has heard, the gap between these two orders is huge.

If a cultivator wanted to break through the Peak 5th-order cultivation, that cultivator would have to go to the Main continent where he would have to face Heaven itself to advance to 6th-order. By facing Heaven, it meant that a cultivator would need to overall heavenly lightning tribulations. The number of people who can actually survive the Heavenly Lightning Tribulations and advance to 6th-order is very small.

And here was Aditya, the Dragon Monarch who had skills that allowed him to break the limit of Heaven and gain the power of a beginner 6th-order while still being a mere Mid-3rd-order.

Unknown to Aditya, at this moment, almost every 5th-order cultivator on the continent was able to feel the fluctuations in mana density in this part of the continent. Even if one were to ignore the mana fluctuations in this region, all the 4th-order or 5th-order dragons on this continent right were able to sense it the moment that giant Crimson red magic circle appeared. The Dragons who lived in the Silver Meadow Grove near the Istarin Empire began to rush toward the capital of the Istarin Empire. The same could be said for all other dragons within the continent. In fact, even 5th-order magical beasts who were able to gain human transformation also felt attracted but their attraction wasn't strong as the attraction that a Dragon felt.

Meanwhile, about 100 meters away from the newly formed Dragon Palace, Julia, Alicia, Riya, Watson, and thousands of other Dragonians stood there looking at the majestic palace right before their eyes. Even though Aditya decided to choose this place to not attract any attention, the formation of the dragon Palace still ended up becoming the hottest topic and everyone's center of focus.

"So this is the dragon Palace." Just standing near it, Watson can feel his powers increasing. At the same time, he felt if he cultivated inside the Dragon Palace for two weeks, he would be able to break through Peak 3rd-order and reach beginner 4th-order in a very short period of time. It was not just Watson who felt this, every other Dragonian felt this change as well.

Julia, Riya, and Alicia weren't able to feel this change as they didn't have dragon bloodline in them. However, among the three goddesses, only Riya, the nature goddess was able to feel the blessings that this Dragon Palace provided to this land.

Looking at the Dragon Palace, everyone felt flabbergasted. Their eyes couldn't stop looking at the majestic golden Palace. No amount of words can describe the beauty of this Palace. No number of coins can replicate such a fine piece of architecture. Just a glimpse of this Palace is enough to leave the people stunned. Just a glimpse of this golden palace is enough to make people remember it forever.

The afternoon sunlight that reflected on the Dragon Palace seems to give it a unique golden radiance. Unknowingly from that day, the Dragon Palace has become the Beacon of hope for the people of the Istarin Empire. Its golden radiance seems to give the people of this land hope. Looking at this palace, makes their heart feel at peace.

Any Empire or King would be jealous if they ever were to see the Dragon Palace. The Dragon Palace told the people that it was something that was out of this world. No mortal hand can replicate such a godly piece of artwork. Just looking at this artwork, not even the greatest and most experienced craftsmen would have the confidence to replicate the dragon Palace. It wasn't just a palace, it was a piece of artwork. It was as if a God himself had built this majestic palace from the ground.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 244

For 10 minutes straight, everyone kept on staring at the Dragon Palace. Everyone snapped out of their daze only when Aditya suddenly teleported right in front of them.

Teleporting in front of the three goddesses, Aditya looked at them with a proud smile. "Everyone let's head inside." Following Aditya, Julia, Alicia, Riya, and thousands of other Dragonians began to enter the Dragon Palace.

As soon as Aditya stepped his foot inside, his lungs were filled with pure air. He could tell the air inside the dragon Palace was purer and had more oxygen density. Also, the density of Mana inside the Dragon Palace was a few times denser than outside. The denser the mana was the faster one's cultivation would be.

Beyond the southern entrance, there was a 25 meters big road that lead them to the Dragon Palace which stood at the very center. Green grasses were growing on both sides of the road. On the right side, there were an empty 200 meters big training ground. While on the left there was a 200 meters big and tall building which was the residence of the Dragonians. The Dragonians can stay in this building to cultivate peacefully.

And finally 20 meters in front of them, there was a Dragon Palace. Standing very tall, high, and bathing in sunlight, reflecting a golden radiance, this was the home of the Dragon Monarch.

"Let's go inside." Following Aditya thousand of Dragonians entered the Dragon Palace. Some powerful cultivators whose below 5th order tried to blend in with thousands of other Dragonians and sneakily enter the Dragon Palace.

However, as soon as they tried to step inside, their entire bodies exploded into a blood mist. Seeing what happened, others who were trying to sneak inside immediately changed their mind and decided not to enter the Dragon palace as they didn't wish to explode like this. The Dragonians remained unfazed seeing something like this. Every Dragonian had a feeling that nothing will happen to them.

In fact, to every Dragonian, the Dragon Palace felt more like a home. Just the thought of living here excited them very much. They felt like they were finally returning home. Just getting close to the Dragon Palace gave them a sense of peace and calmness.

As the owner of the Dragon Palace, Aditya can decide who will be able to enter the Dragon Palace. "If I cultivate here for a month or two, I can increase my cultivation up to Peak 3rd-order." Alicia excitedly said while looking.

Seeing this Aditya just smiled and responded. "From now on, I am planning on staying here. Though it will take a while to move everything." Without even needing to say it, Alicia, and Riya can stay in this place for as long as they wish to.

"Aditya, can I build a herbal garden here? Since Mana is denser in the Dragon Palace compared to the outside world, I feel herbs will grow faster and also will be of much higher quality."

"Soon I am planning on creating a large Mana gathering array which should increase the mana density of the Dragon Palace by a few more times. After I finish creating a Mana gathering array, you can grow herbs here, I have no problem with it." Aditya knows that each time the Dragon Palace is upgraded after gathering sufficient materials, the Dragon Palace's size and shape will increase. Maybe after reaching level 2, the range of the Dragon Palace will increase from 25 km to 50 km and the size of the Dragon Palace might increase to 2000 meters.

"Aditya, I hope that you do realize that with the Dragon Palace built in this place, more and more people will start to settle around it. So the center focus of the Istarin Empire has changed. I am sure within the next few months, the population of Azure city will increase. In a few years, it is very possible that Azure city will expand everywhere within a 25 km range of the Dragon Palace." What Riya was saying was right. Given the boost that the Dragon Palace provided to the land and the people living within its range, it is very possible that a huge quantity of people will come to live around it.

"I will start taking measures for something like that." Putting this matter aside, Aditya right now had another worry. As a Divine Dragon, Aditya can feel the importance of the Dragon Palace. Just being near it made him feel more powerful. The Dragon Palace is the holy ground for the Dragon race. Aditya wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow a huge number of dragons and Wyverns came and decides to live near the Dragon Palace. What worried him was the fact that this might attract the attention of 5th-order Dragons or some Empires might send 5th-order cultivators to investigate. Knowing that the Dragon Palace can currently defend itself from only Peak 4th-order cultivators and cannot stop any 5th-order cultivators from entering it, worried Aditya.

The Dragon Monarch can deal with any Peak 5th-order cultivators but the problem was Aditya always won't be around to protect and defend the Dragon Palace. So he needed to do something to raise the security of the Dragon Palace so that not even 5th-order cultivators can enter this place.

Aditya pushed the two 20 meters giant golden doors. As soon as the golden doors were pushed open, Aditya and others got to see what lay inside the Dragon Palace.

Lustrous braziers encompassing each of the twelve soapstone columns light up most of the throne hall and bathe it in an orange glow. The white crystal chandeliers hanging from the bowed ceiling dance in the flickering light while statuettes look down upon the limestone floor of this regal hall.

A sapphire rug runs from the throne down the center and loops back from both left and right while pointed banners with adorned crowns hang from the walls. Between each banner, a few of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the statuettes of the Dragon Monarch himself.

Vast windows are covered by curtains colored the same sapphire as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with fine patterns and embellished borders.

A radiant throne of carved rock sits in front of a giant painting of the Istarin kingdom and is adjoined by two similar, but undecorated seats for visiting royalty of other nations.

The throne is covered in sacred engravings and fixed on each of the rather slim feet is a crystal trident. The broad pillows are a dark sapphire and these too have been adorned with emblazoned corners.

Those awaiting to be heard by their royal highness can do so on the plethora of lavish, but relatively simple maple benches, all of which are facing the throne in a wide V-shape. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the opulent balustrades facing the throne.

"So this is the throne hall." Aditya slowly stepped toward his throne. After sitting down on the throne, Aditya looked at everyone who was standing before him. Aditya looked at the three goddesses. As if understanding what he meant, the three goddesses began to walk toward the throne. Riya and Alicia stood on Aditya's right and left sides while Julia stood behind throne.

Watson and thousand of other Dragonians who were present at the same moment went to one knee and then lowered their head while placing their right palm on top of their hearts.

[Hail to the Dragon Monarch.]

[Hail to the Dragon Monarch.]

[Hail to the Dragon Monarch.]

Aditya's lips slightly curved up. Before coming to this world, Aditya never imagined himself as the King. He was a politician and wanted power to even bend the laws of the old world, right now, his aim had changed. Aditya wanted the Istarin Empire to become the strongest Empire on the entire planet. Maybe his aim was driven because of his nature as a Dragon. But one thing was clear Aditya was very far away from fulfilling his ambitions.

?Ding! The host has officially become the Dragon Monarch. However, the Dragon Monarch's path to reaching the top is still filled with thousands of obstacles and difficulties. To stand at the top of all existence, the host will need to overcome all those obstacles and difficulties.?

?To upgrade the Dragon Palace to level 2, the host must gather the following materials while also completing some requirements.?

1. 100 tons of gold [0/100]

2. 100 tons of refined iron [0/100]

3. Increase the number of Dragonians to 50,000 [2,909/50,000]

4. Increase the number of Dragon Warriors to 5,000 [109/5,000]

5. Find the Tree of Blood [0/1]

6. 10 tons of Mana stones [0/10]?

For a moment Aditya didn't know what to say. Where would he find the Tree of Blood? He never even have heard this strange name before. 'Maybe Riya would know something about this tree.' Riya was the goddess of nature and as the goddess of Nature, she should know about this tree.

'Getting 10 tons of mana stones shouldn't be a problem for the Istarin Empire given that we have recently gotten mana stone mines in the southern region. As for increasing the number of Dragonians and dragon Warriors, in a few months, these two requirements should be completed. I can also easily get 100 tons of refined iron. The main problem is how would I find 100 tons of gold?' Aditya would either need to attack some Empire that has gold mines or he would have to plunder gold through various invasions.

"Alright, what are you thinking?" Julia and others noticed Aditya looking lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh...I was thinking about the necessary steps that I should take to increase the size of the Dragon Palace. But for now, that can wait." Aditya then turned to the thousands of Dragonians.

"Everyone, there will be some rules on staying in the Dragon Palace. As you know that unfortunately, the Dragon Palace is not big enough to allow everyone one of you to live here. So every Dragonian will be allowed to stay and cultivate inside the Dragon palace for 7 days. After 7 days, each of you will have to wait two months before you can return here to live. Aside from that, as long as anyone is free of duties, they can cultivate in Azure city."

"Depending on your performance and merits, the 7 days duration can be extended by Watson." Everyone bowed their heads to Aditya once again before leaving the throne hall. Only Watson was left standing in the throne hall.

"Your Majesty, I can't believe you caused another huge storm. Now, what should I tell the public?" The people and everyone is going to demand some form of answer after seeing the Dragon Palace. The entire Dragon palace just appeared in near the Azure city. Truthfully speaking, even Watson, Julia, Riya, and Alicia all wanted to ask Aditya how he did that.

Aditya understood this. Watson was hoping that Aditya would tell them how he did it. "Watson, I can't answer anything for now. But I promise I will answer your questions one day. If any kingdom or Empire sends their people to ask such questions, tell me that I have inherited this Dragon Palace from an ancient ruin."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Merry Christmas everyone [I hope everyone of my readers will have a good time.]

Chapter 245

"Watson, I can't answer anything for now. But I promise I will answer your questions one day. If a kingdom or Empire sends their people to ask such questions, tell me that I have inherited this Dragon Palace from an ancient ruin."

Sigh!

"Alright. I am going to head back now. My desk is full of papers that must be thoroughly checked and signed." Hearing Watson's words, Aditya awkwardly smiled and nodded. He felt bad for Watson. The poor guy was supposed to be his butler yet he was forced to work as his prime minister.

"I have to find a prime minister." Aditya needed to find a capable person who would be able to take Watson's position and execute Aditya's plans perfectly.

"If you want a prime minister, I know a certain person who you might like. The only reason I didn't hire him is because his obsession with knowledge and books is kind of frightening to me."

"Who are you talking about? Can I meet him?"

Alicia smiled and replied. "Don't worry, you should meet him tomorrow at my brother's wedding. After all, he is one of the nobles of the Ethereal Empire."

"Speaking of your brother's wedding, I think we should head to the Ethereal Empire and meet your parents." Alicia smiled and nodded. In fact, the goddess has been wanting to bring Aditya with her today. This is why despite being very busy Alicia has been waiting for Aditya at the royal palace. Alicia hated waiting for anyone but when it came to Aditya, she did not mind waiting.

"In that case, for tonight I will head back home as well?" Since Aditya was going to the Ethereal Empire, Riya also wanted to go home as she would feel very lonely. Staying here would remind her of Aditya.

"You are not going anywhere. The two of you are coming with me to meet my parents."

"What?" Even Aditya was surprised to hear Alicia's words.

"We are sisters after all. It's only natural for me to bring you two home. What kind of sister I would be if I don't even let the two of you attend my brother's wedding? Besides, I also want to introduce you two to my parents."

Scene change______

"Which dress do you think I should wear tomorrow?" Olivia excitedly asked Bianca who was Alicia's biological mother.

Sigh!

"Mother, you can wear anything you like. Regardless of what you wear, you would look gorgeous in it." No one would think that Olivia already had three grandchildren. With her high cultivation even after hundreds of years, she still retained her beauty. Her charm was enough to make any man fall for her. However, after Olivia's husband died, she shut herself and never went out to the public. She very rarely went to the royal palace.

"By the way, when will Alicia return?" Asked Flora. Flora was the 3rd wife of Ronny and Alicia's second stepmother.

"Alicia said that she was going to return before dinner."

"Speaking of Julia, she has changed a lot, didn't she? Especially in the last few weeks. She now smiles more often. She is also focusing on her cultivation." The goddess of wealth matured very quickly. Instead of wanting to be spoiled by her parents like every child, Julia was more interested in making money. As a result, Julia's family very rarely got the chance of spoiling their daughter.

"According to Noah, whenever she is with Aditya, Alicia shows a completely different side of hers. She sometimes even acts like a spoiled child." Norah's tone was full of jealousy. Norah was Ronny's first wife. She was Noah's mother and Alicia's 1st stepmother.

"I am back." After a long tiring day, Ronny was finally back home.

"Welcome back, son. How was your day?" Olivia asked.

"Compared to regular days today was even more exhausting."

"Ronny, tomorrow I don't want any problem. I hope you have taken care of everything." Olivia did want any problem stopping Noah's wedding.

"Don't worry mom. I have tightened the security around Whitfrost city by 5 times. I have taken the necessary measures to stop any problem from rising."

"Good."

"By the way, where is brother?"

"I have sent Thomas and his wife has gone to meet Noah's bride and give her some pieces of jewelry which I want her to wear tomorrow at the wedding."

Also at the same time, the goddess returned home along with Aditya, Julia, and Riya. "Mom, I am back."

Ronny, Olivia, Bianca, Norah, and Flora, all of their attention fell on Julia and Riya. Looking at Alicia's face, Olivia and Bianca understood that their daughter wanted to have a serious discussion with them.

"Everyone I want you to meet, Julia and Riya. Julia is the daughter of Duke Adam. She is also known as the Goddess of Alchemy." Everyone widened their eyes in shock. Alicia never told anyone from her family that she knew who the goddess of alchemy and the goddess of nature was.

"Who is she?" Olivia felt the identity of this elf wouldn't be so simple.

Alicia took a deep breath and replied. "She is the Princess of The Celestial Terrain Empire. Riya is the goddess of nature."

"It's very nice to meet you all." Riya and Julia bowed their heads to show their respect for the elders.

Meanwhile, Ronny was looking at Aditya. When Ronny sends his spies to do a background search on Aditya, all he found was that king Ahmed had adopted a young man. No one knows who is Aditya's real parents. Even when Aditya introduced himself, he never told them his family name. At that time, Ronny did not pay enough to these details but now that his daughter has brought two goddesses home, Ronny felt all the dots connecting and taking a shape.

From his spies, Ronny knew what kind of man Aditya was. "You're Bainnith, aren't you?" The look on Aditya's face instantly changed upon hearing Ronny's words. The plan was to keep Aditya's background a secret and tell Alicia's family about Julia, and Riya. But it seems Ronny has managed to figure out Aditya's secret.

Other family members also looked quite shocked by this revelation. "Aditya is this true?" At that time, Aditya's father forced Ronny and Olivia to agree. Bainnith indirectly went out to threaten the entire Ethereal Empire if Ronny dared to reject his proposal. Ronny and Olivia had no choice but to agree. In fact, they were very happy when they found out that Aditya has been removed from the royal family. This meant that their daughter was finally free.

"Yes, my family name used to be Bainnith. But I don't have the right to use my family name anymore." Everyone sensed the bitterness at the latter part of his words.

"Grandma, do you hate me now?"

"No, I don't hate you. You have changed. You have become a better man. By Alicia loves you. You have our blessings." If it was the Olivia of the past, then she would have kicked Aditya out of her house. After interacting with Aditya, Olivia knows what kind of man the current Bainnith is. Although Olivia still hates Aditya's father, she wasn't going to direct her hatred toward Aditya who has done nothing wrong here.

"Thank you, grandma."

Things went better than Alicia had expected. At the dinner, the entire family laughed seeing Alicia's red face. The poor goddess got to learn that her family knew that she and Aditya were pretending to be a couple. At the end of the day, no one in the family questioned Aditya. In this world, it was very common for an Empire or a King to have multiple wives. In fact, Julia and Riya were given the same treatment as Alicia.

After dinner, while Aditya and the other males were sitting in the garden, all the girls began to spend hours deciding what they are going to wear tomorrow.

"This wine is very good. You should try it." Right now Aditya was sitting with Noah, Ronny, and Thomas. All of them were drinking only except for Aditya who was eating potato chips.

"No, thank you. I am good." Knowing that he had an addiction to alcohol in the past, Aditya has always stayed away from alcohol. The only times he would consume alcohol would be when he ate with a guest. At the same, a glass of red wine would be enough for him.

After drinking a whole bottle of wine, Ronny looked at Aditya and said in a rough tone. "Brat, you better take care of my daughter. Otherwise, I will beat the living hell out of you." Aditya only smiled in response.

"Little brother, I envy your luck. Even though you're not even 20 years old, you already have 3 women. I wish I could have multiple wives as well." It's not that Noah didn't want to have a second wife it's just that he was having a hard time taking care of one woman.

"Don't worry, Noah. In the future, I am sure you will have more women." Even if Ronny didn't want to marry, grandma would force him into marrying more women. The old lady looked obsessed over increasing her family members. Aditya even heard her saying something about having the dream of holding a great-grandchild.

"Uncle Thomas, what about you? Do you have another wife?" Aditya asked with a smile.

Thomas nervously glanced at the house before turning his head toward Aditya. "Brat, do you want me to die? If I even talk about having a second marriage, my wife is going to kill me." Thomas looked frightened. His entire body even slightly shivered.

"Hahaha! This little brother of mine is scared of his wife." Thomas loved and respected his wife. He was perfectly satisfied with one wife. One of the majority factors that determined whether a male is going to have multiple spouses depended on the males' limbo.

"Say brat, since you already have captured three goddesses including my own sweet daughter's heart, are you possibly planning on going after the other four?" Aditya realized that when Ronny is drunk he would become a different man. The Ronny sitting next to Aditya was a warrior who didn't care about his social image. He spoke whatever came to his mind.

Crunch!

Aditya put a potato chip in his mouth and looked at the sky. "Who knows? I don't even know where are they?" Aditya had no idea where the goddess of wisdom and the goddess of lust were. As for the goddess of music, he heard that she had set out on a journey.

"No one really knows where the goddess of lust and the goddess of wisdom is? Around 2 decades ago, the goddess of wisdom completely disappeared. Since then no one really knows where she is."

"I am kind of interested in meeting the goddess of war. I have been hearing that she is one of the greatest cultivators to ever exist in this world. She is also said to be the strongest and most talented cultivator of this age." Aditya wanted to meet the goddess of war not because he wanted to pursue her. Because he was interested in her strength.

"Brat, let me tell you this, the world is a very big place. There are many things that exist beyond the seven continents." Aditya felt Ronny was trying to hint at him something with his words. Before he can ask what he meant, the Emperor changed the subject.

"Brat, if you ever need the assistance of the Ethereal empire, don't hesitate to ask for it. The Ethereal Empire will always stand with you." Ronny knew that in the near future Aditya was going to be questioned for his action. At that time, he would need political powers and the support of many.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chapter 246

Mid night___

"Aditya, are you not going to sleep?" Julia asked.

"Are you girls done?" Aditya wanted to sleep with Julia if possible. After losing his virginity last night and getting a taste of his wife's body, Aditya wanted to sleep with her regularly.

"We're pretty much finished." Hearing this, Ronny, Noah, and Thomas all stood up, preparing to head back to their bedrooms.

After everyone left, it was only Julia and Aditya. Aditya pulled Julia's right arm and made her sit on his lap. He then wrapped his arms around his waist and then gently kissed her nape. The goddess's entire body shivered for a brief second.

"What are you doing?" Julia asked in an angry tone. But Aditya knew that his wife was only masking her shyness with an angry face.

"I am kissing my wife. It's not like I am having an affair." Julia felt to feel something very hard and warm under her butt. This thing seems to be poking her crotch. Realizing what Aditya wanted to do, Julia's face turned red as her heartbeat increased.

"We can't. At least not tonight." The goddess shyly replied in a low tone while weakly struggling to get away from Aditya. Even if Julia doesn't admit it out loud, deep down, she was wanted to sleep with Aditya but obviously, she is too embarrassed to say it. Besides, tonight she was going to sleep with her two other sisters.

Sigh!

Aditya felt disappointed. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He knew that he was being too greedy. "Alright." Julia could sense Aditya's disappointment. So, To make up for it, the goddess took the initiative to give Aditya a french kiss.

After spending some time kissing, Aditya went to the guest room where he had previously stayed. Meanwhile, Julia, Riya, and Alicia were going to sleep in the same room.

After laying on the bed, Aditya stared at the ceiling. "Once you taste the immortal fruit it's impossible to not become addicted to it." Aditya couldn't help but feel that being Dragon also had its disadvantages. Especially the high limbo that he had given him trouble in every situation. If Aditya didn't have the ability to suppress his bloodline which also kind of kept his limbo under control, he would have already attacked every beautiful woman.

After an hour, Aditya finally managed to fall asleep. Meanwhile, the girls were not asleep. In fact, they were having a deep conversation.

"Say, Julia, why don't you share your experience with us?" Riya looked very curious. Alicia didn't look that interested but she was paying attention to the conversation.

"What experience?" Julia innocently asked back.

"Your first night experience?"

"Why would I talk about something like this?" The goddess was too embarrassed to share anything with anyone. Just the fact that Riya mentioned this made her very embarrassed.

"Come on. We can learn many things from your experience."

"I don't need such knowledge. I already know enough." Alicia preferred to stay away from such conversations. Having been raised in a traditional family, Alicia just like Julia was very reserved in these kinds of matters and preferred not to talk about them.

Riya rolled her eyes at Alicia. She can see that Alicia listening to their conversation. In the end, the nature goddess decided not to say anything. Instead, she turned to Julia.

"Julia, we're sisters, right? Just share your experience with us." Just the thought of sleeping with Aditya turned on the nature goddess. Of course, she would not tell this to anyone.

Seeing that Riya isn't going to drop this matter, Julia sighed and decided to tell her something that she learned from her first night. "Listen, just don't think too much about it. Everything will flow naturally. Besides, that scoundrel is already experienced so he will guide you." Hearing this, Alicia who has been secretly listening to their conversation decided to sleep. Alicia heard that the first night is supposed to be painful but seeing that Julia is not even mentioning anything about pain, she dropped the matter, leaving everything in Aditya's hands for the future.

However, Riya looked like she wanted to know more. She wanted more details. But sadly, Julia wasn't willing to say anything. The goddess lay in the middle and closed her eyes. Having no other choice, the nature goddess also lay next to Julia and decided to sleep.

Next morning,

Today history was going to be made. A new page of the history will be marked. It was the day when the crown prince of the Ethereal Empire will marry the 1st princess of the Edrinia Dynasty which is the southern edge of the central region near the pearl river. Today, the royal family and all the nobles from the Edrinia Dynasty have come to the capital to witness the marriage that would bring the Ethereal Empire and the Edrinia Dynasty together.

Today the capital of the Ethereal Empire was filled with people. Millions of people have to the capital to celebrate the wedding of the crown prince. Everyone in the capital today looked very happy.

At the royal palace, the entire royal palace today was filled with people. All the nobles of the Ethereal empire were invited today. All the close allies of the Ethereal Empire were also invited. All the guests were interacting with each other.

"It looks like all the guests have arrived." Aditya was currently in Noah's bedroom. A few maids were helping Noah get dressed and fix his hair.

"How are you doing Noah?" Aditya can that Noah looking pretty nervous which is kind of normal in this situation.

Today Aditya was wearing traditional black Kimono. Aditya would have preferred to wear pants and a shirt but Alicia told him to wear a Kimono. Everyone in the Osburn family was wearing Kimono.

"Yeah....I am doing pretty well."

Aditya walked up to Noah and then patted his right shoulder. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Today is one of the most important days of my life. I don't want to mess up. But I constantly keep having these negative thoughts."

"Just be yourself. I am sure everything will be fine." Noah stiffly nodded his head.

"Alright, I will be back shortly. Don't go anywhere." Saying that Aditya left his bedroom.

After a short walk, he arrived at the garden to meet a certain person who might become his prime minister. Alicia has arranged this meeting for Aditya. Arriving at the garden, he found a young man sitting under a tree and reading a book. He was so immersed in reading that he didn't notice Aditya's presence until Aditya stood right in front of him.

The young man raised his head and looked at Aditya. "I apologize if I have made you. My name is Aditya. What is your name?" The young man instantly straightened his back seeing Aditya. He closed the book that he was reading and turned his full attention to Aditya.

"Hello! My name is Spencer Newman. I am the third son of Newman's noble family. It's very nice to meet you."

From what Alicia has told Aditya about Spencer, he is 34 years old. His talent in cultivation is average but his knowledge of geographic politics is very frightening. Spencer can remember anything that he reads or writes. Over the years, Spencer is rumored to have read countless books from many different regions. Spencer loves accumulating knowledge. He is obsessed with knowledge.

Spencer has black long hair that reaches down his waist. As for his cultivation, he is still a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. Newman, who is Spencer's father is a Viscount of the Ethereal Empire. In terms of looks, Spencer has an average-looking face. Overall Spencer was a nerd. In his 34 years old life, Spencer never had any girlfriend. He was still a virgin even though he can sleep with almost any woman in the Empire given his power as the son of the viscount.

Aditya took out a wooden chair from his storage and sat opposite Spencer. "Spencer, what do you know about me?"

Spencer stared at Aditya's face for a second before replying. "You're the husband of the goddess of wealth. You're the founder of the Istarin Empire. Without you, the Istarin empire couldn't have expanded this quickly and risen its strength. Your advanced knowledge of geopolitics always has kept the Istarin Empire always a step ahead of its enemies. It's not your strength that makes you dangerous, rather it's your frightening ability to predict the enemy's moves."

"What do you think of the Istarin Empire? Do you think there are chances that in the near future the Istarin Empire will be invaded by a foreign power? If so, how can you tell?" The more Spencer spoke the more Aditya was beginning to like this guy.

"Personally I think under your leadership the Istarin Empire has the potential to become the number 1 Empire of the Dying Isle continent. The influence that the Istarin Empire currently has outside the Dying Isle continent is on a frightening level. However, the game that you're playing is quite risky. One mistake, one loss, one defeat, one blow, will leave the Istarin Empire destroyed." Aditya's lips curved up slightly as he understood what Spencer was talking about.

"I don't know why you invaded the Southern Fire Dragon Empire but your actions will have a big ripple effect. The conflict in the southern region already involved many big empires. Now that you have conquered one of the biggest and strongest Dragon empires and have taken control of a huge reserve of Mana stones, the other Empires won't just sit still while you steal the candy that they were also eyeing."

"The peace and the joy of victory won't last more than a few months at most. At that time, the Istarin empire will find itself attacked by multiple Empires." Spencer spoke in a stoic tone which made it hard for Aditya to see through him.

"Interesting! What would you do if you were in my position to resolve this issue? What advice would you like to give me?"

Spencer merely shook his head and replied. "I am not qualified to give advice to the Great Istarin Emperor. If I were in your position, the first thing that I would do would be to approach the former allies of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and try to befriend them through various promises and benefits. I am 90% sure that the former allies would instantly accept the alliance and would help out the Istarin Empire."

"Honestly, the future might be entirely different. Right now, I don't have much information on how the Istarin empire managed to take over an entire fucking Empire within a week's time. I refuse to believe that the Southern Fire Dragon empire is weak. This part of the story still confuses me. How did the Istarin Empire gain such a frightening military power? But even with all that military power, the Istarin Empire cannot take on multiple strong Empires at once." Due to the limited resources and powers, the amount of information that Spencer was able to get was very limited.

'Spencer is kind of right.' Aditya wasn't arrogant enough to believe that his military can fight multiple empires' military forces at once. However, Aditya was sure that he can overcome that challenge as long as he is given enough time and information to prepare.

"Honestly at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dragon King manages to create another miracle and win the upcoming war. The Istarin Empire is a pandora's box full of miracles and surprises." Spencer deeply admired Aditya. In fact, it was he who wrote a letter to Alicia and asked her to tell Aditya about him. Spencer knew that the Istarin empire needed a Prime minister and he was more than willing to do the job.

In fact, in the past many Kings and empires, even Alicia's father has invited Spencer to become their personal advisor or even become the Prime minister. But Spencer refused their offers as he found them lacking in something. It's not that Spencer looked down on them, rather he found it uninteresting to follow them. But ever since Spencer started hearing the things that Aditya has been doing for the Istarin empire, he had made up his heart to become Aditya's subordinate no matter what.

For a moment Aditya didn't reply. He instead closed his eyes. After a few seconds of silence. Aditya opened his eyes and asked. "Spence if you're going to become the Prime Minister of the Istarin empire, then you must be prepared to become one of us." Aditya hoped that Spencer would understand what he was hinting.

Spencer did not disappoint Aditya as he understood what Aditya was hinting at him. "I am ready. My other brothers are going to take my father's place. I want to follow my heart."

"Good. Spencer, you're hired."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 247

"Good. Spencer, you're hired. After enjoying your day, I want you to pack your things and come to to the Istarin Empire." Spencer nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright, Spencer I am afraid I can't spend any more time with you. I have to be with Noah. I will talk to you later."

"Alright, your Majesty." As Aditya stood up, Spencer offered him a bow.

Aditya was very satisfied with Spencer. Spencer had everything that he wanted his prime minister to have. At the beginning stage, spencer can slowly learn from Watson and take over. Given spencer's amazing memory, in a few months, he would be able to take over Watson's position and would be able to manage everything on his own. This would also allow Aditya to focus on other important stuff.

After leaving Spencer, Aditya returned to Noah's bedroom.

Click!

Opening the door, he found Olivia and Norah in Noah's room. "Aditya, where have you been?" Grandma Olivia asked.

"I went to meet a certain person who soon will be working for me." Olivia nodded and did not ask any more question.

"Noah, are you ready?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe my son is already getting married. Just yesterday, I was holding you in my arms and feeding you milk." Norah was a little emotional. She can't believe time passed this quickly. Noah grew up so quickly.

"Norah, soon you will be playing with your grandchild." Grandma Olivia looked very happy today.

"Grandma, where are Alicia and the others?"

"I believe Alicia and the other girls are still getting ready." Hearing this Aditya couldn't help but sigh. He got ready around 3 hours ago. When he went to check on the girls, they didn't allow him to enter saying that they were still getting ready.

'Just how long are they going to take?'

Scene change____

"Lady Sylvie, you look pulchritudinous as ever. I believe you have been in good health." Sylvie who was enjoying herself was approached by one of the nobles. After Alicia, Sylvie is the second most approached woman in the entire Ethereal empire. The fact that Sylvie is a 5th-order cultivator itself tempted many nobles to ask her hand in marriage. As marrying her would instantly make them powerful.

Even if the nobles ignored her cultivation powers, as the guild leader of the White Lotus guild, the power and influence that Sylvie held were enough to tempt every male to try asking her hand in marriage. Sylvie was also very beautiful and very charming. Unfortunately, Sylvie always rejected all of those offers as she realized that those men chased her because of her power and influence.

Turning her head to the right, Sylvie found a handsome young man with blond hair walking in her direction with two glasses of wine in his hand. The second wine glass is most likely for Sylvie. "Sir Jason, it's very nice to visually perceive you again. Thank you for the compliment. Albeit I have been a little distressed by the recent events, everything going well for me. What about you?"

Jason was a middle age man with 2 wives. Jason was a powerful beginner 3rd-order cultivator. He was 38 years old. Despite his gentle looks, it wasn't a secret that Jason was the type of man who has slept with every single woman in his castle including all the maids, and the female soldiers. Sylvie even heard that Jason likes to sleep with at least one virgin woman every week. Although she is not sure if these bizarre rumors are true.

"As you can optically discern I am still recuperating from the recent events. I am fixating on invigorating the bulwark of my territory. I don't optate my territory to fall if in case something like that transpires again. By the way, Lady Sylvie, there are certain things that I would relish discussing with you in private. Would you mind giving me some of your time?" Sylvie knew very well that his man was trying to get close to her. Jason has been chasing Sylvie for a while now. Normally Sylvie avoids this man but time after time this man was crossing his limits.

"Sir Jason, I recently aurally perceived that one of your wives is expecting a twin. I believe you should spend more of your time with your family." Sylvie indirectly rejected Jason's offer while also reminding him that he has two wives and currently one of his wives is going to give birth to his child. Instead of trying to get close to her, he would focus more on his family.

"Now if you would exculpate me. I have to greet the other guests." Without giving Jason any chance of saying anything, Sylvie walked away. Seeing Sylvie leave, Jason felt quite angry. In a matter of a few seconds, he quickly calmed his anger and went back to his gentlemanly persona.

Sylvie hated attending this kind of party. In these kinds of places, most nobles would wear a mask of being gentlemen or gentlewomen. Everyone would act as if they are very high-class people. These kinds of events always left her exhausted. Sylvie wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for Noah's wedding. Most of the time, Sylvie always avoids parties as these events always would leave her mental energy drained.

On the side, after meeting with Aditya, Spencer was extremely satisfied and very happy. When he returned he was questioned by his father. "Spencer, where have you been?" Newman who was Spencer's father.

The smile on Spencer's face instantly disappeared and was replaced with a deep frown when he met his father. "I went to meet someone." Spencer did not mention who he had gone to meet. Spencer's parents never has been kind to him. Unlike his other siblings, as Spencer wasn't talented in cultivation, Spencer had always been abused by his parents since he was a young man. While many appreciated his talent, his parents were the one few dumb people who couldn't understand what their son was capable of.

"You better not go anywhere. I will use this opportunity for my worthless son a fiance. Just behave." Newman was a strict man. Newman believed that with enough strength one can do anything. This is why he valued cultivation above all. One of the reasons why Newman has bought his son here is to find his son a fiance. Otherwise, Newman would never have bought this worthless son of his here. But little did he know that the son whom he considered worthless was an actually unpolished gem that many wanted.

"Yes, father" Spencer replied in a cold tone. Spencer had no choice but to follow his father to chat with other nobles from the Edrinia Dynasty.

Scene change____

Around 30 minutes later,

The music stopped and all the lights were focused on the stairs. Everyone whatever they were doing and focused their attention on the figures who elegantly walked down the stairs. Everyone's attention was attracted to the beautiful young female who walked behind the Ethereal Emperor. Everyone knew who she was. She was the princess of the Ethereal empire. She is famously known as the goddess of Wealth.

Alicia became the main focus of tonight's event. Everyone, regardless of whether it was children, adult, or elders, all were looking at Alicia. Being stared at by so many people, Alicia did not lose her confidence. She even gently waved at hand at some people whom she knew.

Around a few seconds later, everyone's attention was focused on the male who was wearing a black Kimono and had tied his dark blue hair into a ponytail. The young man had crimson-red pupils and a handsome face. Everyone sensed that despite being so young, the young man was actually Mid 3rd-order cultivator. Some smart nobles managed to guess the identity of this young man. These days it was rumored that the husband of the Princess has been chosen. Some of the soldiers had even seen the princess's fiance walking on the street with the Princess.

After walking down the stairs, Ronny looked at everyone with a small smile on his face. Tonight Ronny was also wearing a black Kimono similar to Aditya's Kimono. It was known that the Osburn family was a traditional family. Most of the time, the royal families liked to wear kimonos or Yukatas.

[Hello! Everyone. I hope you all had a sublime evening. I hope everything has been to your relish.]

Many nobles gently raised the wine glasses in their hands as a form of appreciation.

[Tonight is a very special night for the Osburn royal family. As you all ken that my son who is the Crown prince of the Ethereal imperium is going to espouse the princess of the Edrinia Dynasty. Following the custom and traditions of our royal family, tonight I withal have a very consequential promulgation to make.]

Aditya managed to find Sylvie's Aura among the crowd. She was standing in a corner with a glass of wine in her hand. She was looking at him with a small smile on her face. Both of their eyes met. Both nodded at each other and then looked away. Aditya also sensed Spencer standing with a muscular 6 feet tall middle age man who was probably his father.

[But afore I make the promulgation, let me introduce you to this adolescent man.] Aditya took next to Ronny and looked at the crowd. He felt hundreds of eyes looking at him.

[His denomination is Aditya. He is the Emperor of the Istarin imperium located on the Dying Isle continent. Antecedently Aditya has availed our Ethereal imperium with his potencies. Because of him, we were able to minimize the damage.] Ronny didn't give a clear definition of Aditya's powers as he wanted to leave this part out. Aditya secretly nodded his head in appreciation.

Many nobles widened their eyes in deep shock after learning about Aditya's identity. While people of the nobles didn't even know about the Istarin Empire. But knowing that Aditya was a King, the respect that they had for Aditya increased by several folds.

[My daughter has taken a liking to Aditya. So on this historic day, I announce that the Princess of the Ethereal Empire would be engaged to the Istarin Emperor.] Alicia secretly smiled while lowering her head. But no one saw that smile as her face was still covered under a black veil. The princess wasn't comfortable showing her face to anyone except the people whom she knew very closely.

Even though some nobles already had guessed this, they still couldn't help but feel shocked. This announcement was a huge thing. This meant that the Ethereal Empire had just gained another Empire as their ally. While many noblemen gritted their teeth feeling their hearts burning. Alicia was a dream woman for every noble. She had power, beauty, and talent; everything that a man could ask for.

Clap!!!!!!

Everyone, regardless of whether they were dying of envy or jealousy, clapped their hands. Standing at the corner, Sylvie just smiled and then gulped down the entire glass of red wine. A part of Sylvie felt jealous as her best friend someone who was way younger than her just got engagement and yet she was still single. Thinking of this Sylvie felt depressed.

Another part of her was kind of sad. If only she had met Aditya a little sooner. She definitely would have dated him and eventually would have married him.

'Hehe! Maybe I still have a chance. After all, he already has two wives. Taking one more wouldn't hurt.' Even Sylvie didn't realize how wild her thoughts were. Fortunately, no one knew what the guild leader was thinking.

[Now, without wasting any more time, let's welcome Crown Prince Noah and Princess Lily.]

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 248

[Now, without wasting any more time, let's welcome Crown Prince Noah and Princess Lily.]

Everyone focused their attention on Noah and princess Lily whose face was covered under a veil. It seems every woman from the Osburn family must hide their face and not show it in front of others. It is some sort of tradition that every member of the Osburn family member has to follow. Since princess Lily is now a part of the Osburn family, she too has to follow this tradition.

But even with her face covered, Aditya can tell that she was a very beautiful woman. Lily was around 5 feet 4 inches tall. Recently she managed to break through and now her cultivation has reached beginner 3rd-order. Princess Lily has long Crimson red hair. Bangs covered her forehead. She was wearing a pair of blood-drop earrings and a golden heart-shaped pendant with diamonds around her neck.

Lily had a slim curvaceous body. She was fair-skinned and she had light red pupils. She had a small nose and big eyes. Just like every member of the Osburn family, princess Lily was wearing a beautiful lavender Kimono.

Today Noah is also looking very handsome. He also wore a Lavender color Kimono and pair of wooden sandals.

Alicia who was standing near Aditya leaned forward and whispered into his right ear. "Noah is looking very handsome tonight."

"Yeah. I can understand why uncle...I mean father likes to wear Kimono every single day."

"Aditya?" Turning his head, he found the other two goddesses walking in his direction. Both of them were wearing kimonos. Julia wore a purple color Kimono that matched her hair color. Riya wore a silver-white Kimono. Both girls were hiding their faces under a veil. Julia and Riya could have shown their faces but both girls decided to respect the traditions of Alicia's family and decided to cover their faces.

"You all are looking very beautiful tonight."

"Hehe! Thank you for the compliment darling." Riya slightly giggled before she held Aditya's right hand. Riya didn't shy away from publicly displaying her emotions for Aditya. Julia restrained herself and just stood next to Aditya and watched Noah and princess Lily.

"Congratulations! Aditya, to think you would even conquer my best friend this quickly. I am very impressed."

"Sylvie! It's nice to meet you again. How are you doing these days?" Aditya ignored what Sylvie said.

"Don't try to change the subject." Sylvie wasn't going to let go of such a golden opportunity of teasing her.

"Aditya, who is she?" Neither Julia nor Riya knew who this woman was. Both girls understood that this dark elf was Alicia's friend.

"She is the guild leader of the White Lotus guild. Her name is Sylvie. Sylvie is Alicia's best friend."

"Sylvie.....they are..."

"Julia Onard and Riya Tombrook. I know both of your identities. Alicia has told me about the two of you."

Meanwhile, some nobles whose attention was on Aditya and Alicia were dumbfounded seeing Aditya surrounded by 4 beautiful girls. All of the girls were very beautiful even though three of them were hiding their faces, they can tell that all three of them is beautiful as Sylvie if not more beautiful than her.

"This mf is so lucky."

"Only if I had even a small percentage of his luck."

"Not only they are beautiful, but all of them are also very powerful cultivators." Some nobles even began to suspect the relationship that Aditya had with purple hair girl and the white silver hair. They wouldn't be surprised if the other girls turn out to be Aditya's wives or concubines. As for the white Lotus guild leader, it seems she too has something going on for Aditya. Especially the smile that she had while talking to Aditya made them think this.

The main party finally began. Every guest who attended the party, one by one had to walk up to Noah and Princess Lily and congratulate them with a gift. At the corner, Aditya and the girls talked with each other and enjoyed their time. Aditya can tell that many nobles and guests were looking at them. Aditya simply pretended to not notice their stares.

Aditya noticed Spencer walking with his father. With a single glance, he can tell that Spencer was somehow holding himself back. Spencer looked very uncomfortable and there was a deep frown on his face.

"Spencer!!!!" The girls stopped talking and looked at the person whom Aditya just called. Spencer and his father Newman also turned their attention to Aditya.

Holding a glass of wine, Aditya walked forward to Spencer and his father Newman. Newman was delighted to see the future husband of the princess himself walking in his direction. Newman felt that this would be a perfect opportunity to form close connections with Aditya who is the Istarin Emperor.

"Good evening, Sir Aditya. My name is Newman. This is my son Spencer Newman." Aditya just simply nodded his head and then turned his attention to Spencer.

"Spencer, within tomorrow, I want to see you at the Istarin empire's capital. Don't be too late. I won't wait for you." Spencer quickly understood why Aditya approached him. Realizing this a small smile formed on his face.

"Sir Aditya, I am confused about this whole thing." Newman felt a little awkward right now.

"Sir Newman, I have hired your son. From now on, the Istarin Empire will train him to become its future Prime Minister. Now if you would excuse me." Meanwhile, Newman felt like a bomb has exploded in his mind. He simply couldn't process what he heard. It was only after 10 seconds of silence that he realized how big these words were. To think this worthless son of his was hired to work as the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire.

Although Aditya said these words not too loudly, everyone was able to hear them and was shocked. Even Ronny who was talking with the Edrinia Dynasty's King was also shocked.

"Your majesty, I must admit that your son-in-law is full of surprises." Said the King of the Edrinia dynasty while looking at Aditya.

"I can't deny that. Aditya is a box that is full of surprises." Aditya, under everyone's gaze, walked up to Noah and Lily who was sitting on a couch. Behind them, there is a huge table that is full of various gift boxes.

"Princess Lily, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aditya." Princess noticed that Aditya is not introducing himself as the Emperor of the Istarin Empire.

"It's nice to meet you, Aditya." Princess Lily has heard of Aditya from Noah in these past few weeks. She has developed a huge respect and admiration for Aditya. In fact, if she had time, she would likely visit the Istarin Empire in the future with Noah.

"Sister Lily, I have got you a present. I hope you will like it." Aditya took out a pure jade bangle bracelet. Upon a closer look, Lily discovered that the pure jade bangle Bracelet has been engraved with runes. Last night Aditya personally has drawn runes on his bracelet. While making this Peak 3-star artifact, Aditya focused on adding defensive functions to it.

"What is this?"

"It's a defensive Peak 3-star artifact. It can protect you from a single attack of a Mid-4th-order cultivator. Wearing this artifact will also increase your cultivation speed by 20%. As long as you're wearing this artifact, it will give you complete defense against 1st-order and 2nd-order cultivators' attacks."

Lily was a little hesitant if she should take something this precious from Aditya. Even in her Edrinia Dynasty, her family had only five 3-star artifacts. She knew the value of 3-star artifacts. She hesitantly looked at Noah. Noah just nodded his head. "Thank you."

Aditya then turned to Noah. "I don't think you would need any gifts from me."

"Now don't be so stingy."

Sigh!

"Here, take this." Aditya took out a low-grade spirit stone from his storage ring and handed it to Noah. Seeing this Noah, Ronny, Alicia, Julia, Riya, Sylvie, Olivia, and many others widened their eyes in shock.

"Aditya, this is a spirit stone right?" Noah knew the value of a Spirit stone. Before the Ethereal Empire didn't have even a single Spirit stone. It was because of Aditya that the Ethereal empire now had a spirit stone.

"I can't take this. This is too valuable." Aditya shook his head and insisted Noah take it. Aditya currently has a few more spirit stones left with him. Most of the spirit stones that he had were used to build the Dragon Palace.

"Just take it. You can use this spirit stone to accelerate your cultivation speed when you reach 5th order in the future." This time Noah was looking uncertain and unsure of what he should do in this situation.

Seeing this Aditya leaned forward and whispered into his left ear. "Just take it. It will help you a lot in the future. Besides, I have a few more left with me." Noah took the spirit stone with his shaky hands. He then quickly put the spirit stone in his storage ring.

After that Aditya went to Ronny who introduced him to the Edrinia Dynasty. The Edrinia dynasty's King was a bald muscular middle age man. In the day, both Aditya and the Edrinia dynasty's king had a very long discussion. Both of them talked about various topics about trade, economy, and politics. In the end, Aditya promised to sell Mana stones to the Edrinia Dynasty at a slightly cheaper. In exchange, The Edrinia Dynasty would allow the Istarin goods to be sold in their dynasty with a certain percentage reduction in export and import taxes. Aditya did this to establish close ties with the Edrinia Dynasty and also to increase the Istarin Empire's foreign influence.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 249

"Your Majesty, let's have a meeting in the near future." Brody Collins, the King of the Edrinia Dynasty asked for a meeting with Aditya. For an hour now, Aditya and Brody have been discussing many things.

"Uncle, you can just call me Aditya. In a way, we're a family."

"But that...." Brody knew that he has to show respect to the Istarin Emperor. He was hesitant to call Aditya directly by his name.

"Uncle, if you don't call me by my name I won't have any meetings with you." In the end, Brody had to nod his head.

"Uncle, you will have to wait a while before we can have a meeting. The Istarin Empire just took over the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. I still have a lot of work on my hand. I hope you can understand." Brody nodded his head with an understanding look. As a King, he understands that a person like Aditya is extremely busy. He didn't mind waiting.

"How about we hold the meeting somewhere around next month?" Aditya didn't want to make Brody wait too long. By next month, Aditya should be able to deal with most of his work and internal issues.

"Alright."

"Uncle, I will take my leave now. I will talk to you later." Seeing Aditya leave, Brody couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Ronny.

"You have found an excellent son-in-law. If I had met Aditya earlier then I might have tried to marry my daughter to him."

"Haha! Brody, let me tell you this Aditya is an extraordinary man. If I tell you the identities of those two ladies beside my daughter, then I am afraid you will have a heart attack." Ronny was very proud of his daughter and Aditya. Despite having such high political standing, Aditya remained humble. His words and his actions showed his humbleness. This has become a very rare thing nowadays.

Sigh!

"With Aditya and the Istarin Empire's support, the political power of the Ethereal Empire is only going to increase in the future."

Meanwhile, Aditya walked up to Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Sylvie. The girls were talking among themselves.

"What are you girls talking about?" Aditya curiously asked.

"Nothing significant. We were talking about the magic lamp." Aditya sometimes found similarities between the two worlds. For example, the Magic Lamp story was very popular among the royals. In this world, the story of the magic lamp was very different. One day an exiled Prince found a magic lamp in a cave. The magic lamp granted the prince three wishes which he used to regain everything that he had lost.

"Magic Lamp?"

"We were just thinking what would we do if we had found the magic lamp."

"Have you girls ever heard the story of the 1001 Arabian Nights?"

"No, what is that?" Julia and the other girls looked very curious.

"Very simply put, the frame story itself is one of a king, King Shahrayar, who has been betrayed by his wife, and who is off commiserating with his brother, King Shahzaman, who had suffered a similar fate himself. On their journey, they encounter a beautiful woman who is being held captive by the most fearsome genie. The woman threatens to awaken the genie and thus incur certain death upon them unless they have sexual relations with her. This encounter reinforces King Shahrayar's loathing of women and confirms his paranoia that women are simply not to be trusted. While his brother simply swears off women completely, our main protagonist, Shahrayar has a more shockingly sinister plan in mind. He rides off back to his kingdom and swears that he will wed every eligible bride in the land, only to have her executed the next morning before she has had a chance to cuckold him. As might be expected, the king soon runs out of brides to marry, and his grand vizier's daughter, Shahrazad, who is well-known for her penchant for story-telling, decides to take it upon herself to marry the king despite the vehement protests her father. Shahrazad, however, has a plan herself: at a certain point every night, she has her young sister Dunyazad come to the royal quarters and urge the new queen to entertain the King and her with one of her famous stories. Shahrazad then puts her talent to good use, beginning a tale every night, but never-ending it before daybreak, thus leaving the King enthralled, and willing to spare her life one more night so he can find out what happens with the story. Hence, whenever she finishes a tale -- never at daybreak -- Shahrazad is sure to start another equally captivating tale, which will go on for another night or so. This continues for one thousand and one nights until finally, the King is cured of his paranoia and decides he wants to keep his queen forever after."

By the time Aditya finished talking, he noticed that nearly all of the nobles and guests were looking in his direction. Everyone's eyes were on him.

"Aditya from where did you hear this?" Sylvie asked. Being more than one hundred years old, Sylvie never had countless popular myths and stories. But she never has heard of the Arabian nights.

"Actually, when I was really young, I had the chance of meeting a certain person who was from the Dry Savanna continent. He told me the entire tale of the 1001 nights." The story of Arabian Night was a very big part of Aditya's life. On earth, this story is very popular in the middle east.

The party continued till midnight. Aditya had the opportunity to interact with many kinds of people. Most of those nobles left him exhausted. After a certain point, the girls left the party feeling exhausted. Sylvie also left with them. All the ladies including, Olivia, Bianca, Norah, and Flora, gathered in one place and started talking about various things.

By the time, the party ended, it was already 1 in the morning. Lily took down in tears when saying goodbye to her family. Fortunately, Noah was there to comfort her.

"Aditya, tonight we will be sleeping at the royal palace. Come with me. I will personally lead you to your room." Aditya began to Bianca.

Aditya walked a few steps distance from Bianca. "Aditya, I have a favor to ask of you."

Bianca stopped walking and looked at Aditya. "What is it, mother?"

"I know that you already have Julia and Riya. In the future, you will have other wives and concubines. Please promise me that you will never ignore Alicia or make her sad. My daughter looks really happy around you. You're her happiness. I hope you can understand this." Aditya seriously nodded his head.

"Don't worry, mother even if I have 7 wives, I will treat each of them equally. This is my promise to you." Bianca nodded her head with a satisfied smile.

"If possible I would like to spend more time with Julia and Riya. Both girls are like my own daughters. Both of them are very gentle and very sweet." Last night Bianca has talked with Julia and Riya for hours. From talking she was able to know what kind of girls both goddesses were.

"Mother, if you would like you can visit me in the capital anytime. Not just you, everyone from the Osburn family is welcome to come and stay with me. I would be very happy to receive you all."

"Fufu! I will remember your words. Who knows maybe in the near future, I might visit you." Talking to Bianca, Aditya couldn't help but remember Julia's mother. Both goddesses' mothers are very kind and gentle. Though Alicia's mother is the type of woman who likes to tease others.

"You can sleep in this room. From now on, this room will be reserved for you."

"Thank you, mother."

"Fufu! There is no need to thank me. You're a part of the family after all." After parting with Bianca, Aditya went to his room. His bedroom had a big bed, couch, table, and two chairs. Without wasting any more time, Aditya began to remove the Kimono that he was wearing.

Just as he finished removing the Kimono, the door was suddenly opened by Julia. Julia widened her eyes finding Aditya completely naked.

The princess quickly turned around in embarrassment. "Why are you naked? And what are you doing in this room?"

"This is my room. I was getting changed."

"Just get dressed." Julia tried her best to not look at his naked body.

Julia failed to notice the smile on Aditya's face. Without the princess noticing it, Aditya walked behind Julia and wrapped his arms around her.

Kyaa!!!

"What are you doing?" Julia's entire body slightly trembled as Aditya started kissing her nape.

Aditya did not bother to give her any explanation. He instead closed the door and then placed a talisman on the door which would prevent any room from going out of this room. "Wife, do you have any idea how beautiful you look right now?" Aditya didn't give her time to speak as he kissed her.

Julia finding no strength to refuse also began responding back. She wrapped her arms around his neck. That night Aditya didn't Julia rest.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This volume is going to end very soon.

Chapter 250

"Where is Julia? Wasn't she supposed to sleep with us?" Riya asked seeing that Julia wasn't with them.

"She must have gone to sleep with Aditya." Alicia couldn't help but sigh feeling slightly depressed over the whole situation. Ever since Julia and Aditya slept together and lost both of their virginities, she has noticed that both of them have gotten closer. Although Alicia was happy for Julia, a part of her wanted to experience Aditya's warmth every single night just like her sister did.

Sigh!

Alicia noticed the goddess of Nature looking pissed. Compared to before, Riya was slowly learning to control her emotions.

Alicia changed her clothes and wore her pajamas. She then lay down on the other side of the bed. For a while, neither of them spoke. Both of them remained silent. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

After around 10 minutes of silence, Alicia looked at Riya. "Riya, have you found anything about the goddess of wisdom?" Just after Aditya's marriage with seven goddesses was announced the goddess of wisdom went missing. No one knows what happened. It was not just her family, every single person in her family disappeared that night. No one knows what happened. Many have tried to search for the goddess of wisdom or the members of her family but so far no one has managed to find her.

These past few years, Alicia has been using her own resources to look for the goddess.

"In the last 2 and half years, I have been using everything in my power and influence to look for her. Our soldiers have searched every single inch of the Celestial Terrain. Yet I haven't found a thing related to her. I don't know where she has disappeared to. But I am hundred and ten percent sure that she certainly hasn't come to The Celestial Terrain."

"What about you? Did you find anything?"

Alicia rolled her eyes hearing Riya's question. "Don't ask me such a dumb question. If I had found any trace or anything related to her, then I wouldn't have asked this question to you. I have poured lots of money and used both of my guilds to search for her within the continent of Westnia and the Dying Isle continent."

"Why don't you contact the other goddesses and ask for their help?" The elf princess asked.

"For starters, I don't even know who the goddess of lust is. Even though I tried to find her identity, nothing has ever worked. I can't even pinpoint which continent she lives in. She is full of mystery. One thing that I have managed to learn about her is that she is the strongest and most deadly assassin in this world."

Riya raised her head and glanced at Alicia. The elf princess was very surprised right now. "So you're telling me that the goddess of lust actually has decided to become an Assassin." Here Riya was thinking that the goddess of lust is a Succubus who had the power to charm any being.

"Not just any assassin. She is the world's best Assassin. It is said that her techniques are unmatched. The last time she even killed an Emperor who was a Peak 5th-order cultivator. The Emperor was sleeping with his wives. The goddess sneaked in and assassinated the Emperor so quietly that not even his wives who were sleeping beside him felt anything. The next morning, when the wives woke up, they were horrified to see the dead body of the emperor."

"No one is 100% sure if the Emperor was really assassinated by the goddess of lust. In fact, most people think that the assassination was done by someone else. But I strongly believe that this was done by her." No one was able to trace down the assassin as no evidence or traces were left behind.

"What about others?"

"I have met the goddess of music but that was a long time ago. I heard that she is traveling. If I want to contact her, it would take some time for my letters to reach her. And as for the goddess of War, from what I heard she is planning on breaking through Peak 5th-order in the main continent. Who knows one of these days, she might even pay a visit to Aditya?"

"Among all the goddesses, the goddess of war is the strongest one, isn't she? Then who is the second strongest?" Riya couldn't help but think that maybe she would come second.

"Maybe the goddess of lust."

"Why do you think that?" Riya asked in a surprised tone.

"I have a feeling that the goddess of lust is as strong as the goddess of war. The goddess of lust was able to kill a Peak 5th-order Emperor in his own castle while he was sleeping surrounded by his wives. Do you think accomplishing this kind of impossible feat can be done by anyone? If both of them were to fight then the goddess of war would win but only if she manages to look out for her sneaky moves. After all, Assassins are known for their decisive and swift moves." As the goddess of wealth, Alicia had strong calculating abilities. If both goddesses do fight, even though the goddess of war would win, that win wouldn't be so easy. It will come with a cost.

"You know if you had focused on cultivation as much as you focused on your business, by now you would have become a 5th-order cultivator already."

"Just as you love Nature, I love making money. To me cultivation was boring. I didn't see any purpose in cultivating regularly. But now this is different." The fight with the mutant fire ants made her realize just how weak she was in those emergency situations.

Riya looked at Alicia for a long time and then said. "You have changed. I clearly remember the first day when I met you, you were the type of person who would only care about her business and earning money. It was very difficult to read your emotions. But now this is completely different."

"What about you? Even if you don't realize it, you're slowly changing."

"Yeah. I guess we all are changing."

"Yeah. It's all because of him." Both girls smiled thinking about Aditya.

"Goodnight Alicia."

"Goodnight Riya."

In a different part of the world, in a place where the light of sunlight never reached, in a place where no ordinary human would be able to survive, in a place where no one would be able to find, there was the goddess of lust sitting on the floor and silently looking at the moon.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in." A cold-icy tone was heard.

Click!

Opening the door, a young female whose face was hidden under a veil and whose entire body was hidden under a dark red cloak. Even her hair was hidden under the red cloak.

"Milady, we have received a new mission. The client is specifically requesting you to complete this mission." The young woman kept her head down. She didn't dare to look at her leader who was sitting by the window more than 15 meters away from her.

"Who is the client?" The goddess of lust asked in a bone-chilling tone.

"The client is a rich man from the Dying Isle continent. The client is willing to pay 100 million royal gold coins." Hearing the name of the Dying Isle continent, the goddess went silent for an entire minute. During this entire minute, the young woman didn't even move an inch from her position. She remained standing there with her gaze on the floor.

The goddess looked at the moon while remembering a certain individual who have a special connection with her. "Who is the target?" Asked the goddess of lust.

"It is the Emperor of the Istarin Empire." Just as the young woman said those words, an endless amount of killing lust began to leak out of the goddess of lust. The young woman who was the goddess's personal maid couldn't handle the killing intent. She fell to her knees while holding her throat. The heavy killing intent was making it extremely difficult for her to even breathe properly. All of a sudden her entire body seems to have gotten heavier. She began to feel suffocated.

Fortunately for the maid, the goddess quickly calmed herself. As soon as she withdrew her killing intent, the maid stood up and pretended as if nothing ever happened.

"The price of the Istarin emperor's head is not just 100 million royal gold coins. Tell the client if they want the Istarin Emperor's head, they first must pay a heavy price."

"As you wish, milady. If there is nothing else then I will excuse myself." After giving a 90-degree bow to the goddess, the maid slowly retreated outside without making any noise in the process.

After the maid left, the goddess was left alone. Her maid had resurfaced some old memories that the goddess desperately wished to bury.

"I did hear that he has changed. Unfortunately, even if the client is willing to pay 100 billion royal gold coins I can't kill him otherwise I and 6 other individuals will also end up dying." The contract is what saved Aditya's life.

The goddess once again looked up. Gazing at the moon, the goddess couldn't help but feel a little confused. The source of her confusion is Aditya. She didn't know what to do with him. If possible the goddess would like to cut the rope that is connecting both of their souls and free herself. For an Assassin like her, being tied to another soul was the most suffocating thing. She even had to reject her client's offers.

"Well, it has been a while since I sent spies there."

Gazing at the crescent moon, the goddess coldly smiled. "You better not die."

Scene change___

Next morning,

After having breakfast with the entire family, Aditya prepared to say goodbye to the Osburn family. "I guess it's time to say goodbye."

"I can understand that Aditya has important work back home but can you girls can stay here for a little longer?" Bianca, Alicia's biological mother was sad to part with the two girls whom she has started seeing as her own daughter.

Julia was the first one to reply. "Aunty, I want to help Aditya. Right now the Istarin Empire is in its developing phase. I want to help him with my alchemy skills."

"I also want to help Aditya. While staying there, I want to focus on my cultivation." Riya wanted to stay with Aditya. If he wasn't going to stay here, then she won't stay here either.

Bianca understood both Julia and Riya's personalities so she wasn't surprised by their answer. She was expecting this kind of answer from them. Fortunately, Alicia was planning on spending a few more days or maybe a few weeks with her family before returning to the Dying Isle continent.

"Mother, father, and everyone is welcome to visit me at the capital. The Istarin empire is always open for you. And Noah you better take good care of sister Lily."

"Of course. I would take good care of my wife."

"Aditya, remember what I told you last night? If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Aditya nodded his head with a grateful look. Aditya appreciated the words that Ronny has told him. Ronny was willing to get the Ethereal Empire in his mess just to help him out. This meant a lot to Aditya.

"By the way, where is Nora? I haven't seen her since yesterday." Aditya didn't even see her at the party.

"She is cultivating. After the event with the mutant fire ants, Nora wants to increase her strength so she has entered into seclusion. The low-grade spirit stone that you gave me, I have given it to her. With that stone, she can become even more powerful in a short time and the Ethereal Empire will have the backing of another powerful 5th-order cultivator."

Currently, the Ethereal Empire had become very weak. Even though thanks to Alicia, no neighboring Empires started a war, this peace won't remain forever. Someone will need to fill the power gap left behind by the death of many elite soldiers and an elder.

"Father, if you would like, I can send one beginner 5th-order dragon to help you out with the situation. This should temporarily fill the gap to a certain extend and buy the Ethereal empire enough time to cultivate another powerhouse." Aditya didn't have any extra motive behind this move. He genuinely wanted to help.

"Aditya, that won't be necessary. I appreciate your offer but the Ethereal Empire still has enough strength to protect itself. But in the future, if we ever require your help, I hope you don't turn us down."

"Istarin empire will always give a helping hand to the Ethereal Empire in every dire situation. These are the words of the Dragon Emperor. And my words are my promise." Ronny nodded his head with a satisfied look.

"Aditya, don't forget grandma. Be sure to visit us whenever you have time. Don't forget this place is also your home." Olivia has gotten attached to Aditya. When he left, she has been missing him. If possible she would want him to stay here with them forever.

"I will grandma."

"Julia and Riya, you girls come to stay here whenever you want. One day, I would like to meet both of your parents and have a long chat with them." Julia and Riya just nodded their heads with smiles on their faces.

"Julia, Riya, let's go." Taking both girls' hands, Aditya stepped inside the teleportation array. From the teleportation array, Aditya and Alicia both looked at each other.

At the same time, the rune circles started glowing showing that the teleportation array has been activated. Just before Aditya teleported away, he looked at Alicia with a gentle smile and said. "I will wait for you."

After Aditya left, Alicia stood there in silence. These words were more than enough to make the princess very happy. Meanwhile, the other family members stared at Alicia in amusement.

"Sister Alicia, it seems you have fallen too deeply for brother Aditya." On hearing this Alicia's cheeks slightly turned red.

"Hmph! Whatever. I have a lot of work to do. I will visit Sylvie." Saying that the princess left.

Scene change_____

In some other places of the Dying Isle continent, there were three men sitting on a large round table. One of the men was the prime minister of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, Ewan Baker. And the other two were the Emperors of the Cloud Earth Empire and the Mist Ocean.

"Ewan, when you personally delivered the letter of alliance to us, it was clearly mentioned in the letter that the Northern Frost Dragon empire would be willing to give us benefits after winning the war. However, not only your empire lost terribly but also ended up losing two of our 5th-order cultivators and hundreds of thousands of our soldiers. Ewan do you have any idea just how much we have lost in this fight?"

Ewan silently clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh and began drawing blood. Ewan was pissed about everything. Not only the Northern Frost Dragon Emperor suffered a humiliating defeat, their Emperor, the white Dragon king has gone missing since that day. Ewan has sent their forces all over the continent to search for the White Dragon King. He even sent their forces to other continents. But no matter how much they searched they couldn't even find a clue about where the White Dragon Emperor had gone.

Ewan refused to believe that a powerful man like the White Dragon Emperor would be kidnapped. But a part of him couldn't help but think of the giant black snake that came out of the cracks. Even though he refused to admit it, a very small part of him couldn't help but think that the disappearance of the White Dragon king has something to do with the black snake. But if the black snake cannot attack the White Dragon Emperor unless the black snake lowers its cultivation to Peak 5th-order.

Ewan also had some other questions for the Emperor. That day he noticed the White Dragon King acting strangely. He did not care whether they lost or won the battle. He did not care even when he witnessed the death of his son. There were so many questions yet no one was there to answer those questions.

"What do you want?" Ewan asked while gritting his teeth in anger. Ewan was barely holding his back. Their big loss at the central plains, the death of the prince, the disappearance of the White Dragon King, and the fact that the Istarin Empire managed to conquer all of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire within a week, all of these factors have put the entire Empire in panic. Some were even speculating that this was the downfall of the Northern Frost Dragon empire.

When the public heard of the disappearance of the White Dragon King, it caused chaos. The crime rates suddenly spiked. The corruption level increased. The military had become unorganized and most importantly, there seems to be some sort of big fight between the children of the white dragon king on who will succeed to the throne. Also the over-growing tension within the Southern region. Ewan and many feared that the Istarin empire won't just stop there. Instead, King Aditya will use the absence of the White Dragon King to his advantage and attack the Empire. There was also a question on how did Aditya manage to kill the Black Drago King. Even if Ewan didn't like to admit it, the Black Dragon King was equally if not slightly stronger than the White Dragon King. All these factors have kept the prime minister awake.

'If only I can find the bastard that leaked this news.' Ewan wanted to suppress this news but some traitor leaked the news. Ewan feels that this traitor is someone from the royal family but he can't exactly tell who was it.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

3000+ chapter!!!

I wrote chapter a little longer as a gift to everyone. Thank you for all the support that you all have been showing me. All the gifts and golden tickets that you guys have been sending means a lot to me. Words cannot describe how much grateful I feel.

This also marks the end of volume 3. Along the way, I know I have made mistakes. I am still learning. I believe that I constantly improving and my writing quality is leveling up over time.

This chapter is full of hints about the future of this novel. Especially Sylvie and Nora is going to make their return in the future. I have some big plans with Sylvie's character. The story of the Ethereal Empire is not over yet. Next volume, we will be exploring a new continent which is filled with a new challenge together.

[This is the last chapter this is also the last chapter of this volume. This also why I have made this chapter very big.]

Chapter 251

Time passed very fast. Without even realizing it, another 2 and half months passed. The whole Dying isle continent was covered in a blanket of snow. The temperature has dropped significantly. The lakes, rivers, and, ponds were frozen. It was the ordinary class people that suffered the most during the winter season. The cold harsh winter made their lives very difficult.

If one has to specifically talk about the Istarin Empire, then compared to the last winter, this winter, the ordinary people are having a much better time. At least the Istarin Emperor guaranteed a stable supply of food and that is also at a cheap price. Usually, during the months of winter, food prices increase by 100%, sometimes even 200 to 300%. This happens because the entire Dying Isle continent is covered in layers of snow, and farming becomes extremely difficult. Also in the months of winter, it is extremely difficult to rely on hunting. Even fishing becomes very difficult.

The entire Dying Isle continent has to rely merchants from other continents for their food supply. However, this year, while ordinary people were expecting to see the prices of food rise, contrary to what they were expecting, food prices became even cheaper. This left many confused. Even the foreign merchants who had bought their food supplies with the intention of making a huge profit this winter were left dumbfounded.

What happened? Why did the food become cheaper instead of becoming even pricier? Very few knew the answer. In fact, it was the Istarin Empire that was taking initiative to sell food at a cheaper price to its neighboring Kingdoms. Both the Thera Kingdom and the Storm Isle Dynasty both factions solved their food crisis with the help of the Istarin empire.

This did not just stop there. The Southern Fire Dragon Empire which now had become a territory of the Istarin Empire also enjoyed these benefits. In previous years, the people of the Southern region would see a sharp rise in food prices. But this year, food prices dropped and became cheap.

The Istarin Empire not only had enough food for its southern territory, but the Empire also had enough food for its neighboring small Kingdoms. Aditya made sure to provide enough food to those small kingdoms that shared borders with their Southern territory. Aditya did this to let them know that the Istarin Empire is different from the Southern fire dragon Empire which regularly bullied them. He did make his stance clear to the whole world. By helping out these small Kingdoms, Aditya made it clear that the Istarin Empire wants peace and was ready to take the initiative for it.

The only Empire in the Southern region that did not get the Istarin Empire's supply is the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Although no public statement was given regarding this action made by the Istarin empire, many guessed that since the Istarin Empire is not taking any initiative to create peace with the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and instead taking a neutral stance, the Northern Frost Dragon Empire might be invaded by the Istarin Empire in the future. Or maybe the Istarin Empire is not interested in getting involved in the ongoing throne succession political fight.

Aditya also has helped the Echo Dominion Empire. Although he knew that the Echo Dominion Empire would be able to afford high-cost food from foreign merchants, Aditya went out of his way to help the Echo Dominion Empire. The foods that the Echo Dominion Empire bought from the Istarin empire were much cheaper. Aditya did this to establish a close connection with the Echo Dominion Empire. By doing this he was also increasing his soft power and influence within the dying Isle.

Aditya's aim was to build a powerful image of the Istarin empire so that in the future if any faction wants to attack his empire, they would have to think twice.

"Aditya, what are you planning on doing today?" Riya walked behind Aditya.

"Riya, I am adding runic enchantment to my Adamantite Doomblade." Aditya replied without looking at Riya. He was very focused on his work. He didn't even notice when Riya approached him.

After 20 days of constant practice and learning, with the help of the 4-star rune notes that the Mutant fire ant queen, Scarlet had given him, Aditya finally managed to upgrade his Rune Monarch class to 4th-order. Without those 4-star rune notes, Aditya wouldn't have become a 4-star runemaster. It was extremely difficult to become a 4-star runemaster without any help. This is exactly why there were no 4-star runemasters in the continents of Westnia and Dying Isle. Aditya was the first and only 4-star runemaster in the Dying Isle continent. Of course, he wouldn't reveal this to the public. Only the people close to him know this.

Every Faction needs a runemaster. Without a runemaster, a faction wouldn't have defensive arrays to protect their cities or teleportation arrays which makes traveling super easy and saves a lot of time. If a Kingdom wants to become an Empire other than having a large territory, the Kingdom must also find a 3-star runemaster to build various kinds of arrays. However, the number of 3-star runemasters is very limited. If an Empire has even one 3-star runemaster, it would be considered a huge thing.

As for 4-star runemasters, no one would even think that outside of the Main Continent there would be any 4-star runemaster on the other 6 Continents. Usually, the factions that don't have any runemaster would have no choice but to hire one. And hiring a 3-star runemaster is beyond expensive.

Riya sat beside Aditya and watched him as he elegantly drew runes on his black sword. No matter how many times she watches him drawing runes, she always feels very peaceful. Her mind becomes calm. She feels when he draws runes, his serious face only adds more charm to his handsomeness. She could forever keep looking at his face.

For the next few minutes, no one spoke. Riya watched Aditya's face as he drew runes. Compared to before, he has gotten twice faster. Each time he drew a runic word on the black sword, the runic word would glow in crimson red before the glow slowly faded away.

"Where is Julia?" Aditya asked without pausing. His hands moved like water. Each of his strokes were elegant and very smooth.

"Sister Julia is in her lab. She is currently making a new kind of potion from the herbs that she has grown in the garden." Aditya slightly nodded his head. After about 10 minutes of silence, Aditya finally put the pen that was made out of gold and crystal down on the floor.

He then looked at Riya who was looking at him with a smile. "Thank you for helping me all this time. The only reason that the Istarin Empire was able to bring down the food prices is because of your help."

"As I said before there is no need to thank me. I happy to help you." Riya's cheeks slightly flushed while looking at Aditya. In these 2 and half months time, Riya and Aditya have grown closer. Aditya has learned many new things about the elf princess.

As the goddess of Nature, Riya has the power to manipulate plants and also accelerate plants' growth rate. After returning from the Ethereal empire, Aditya and Watson were thinking about how could bring down the food prices. It was then Riya offered her help. Aditya gave Riya 25 acres of farming land. The farming lands were covered in a layer of thick snow. Aditya had to use his magma manipulation to rise the heat of the 25 acres of land which melted down all the snow and thus cleared the land.

After that Riya used her powers to do everything. Within a single day, a large quantity of rice was grown and even harvested. After calculating, Aditya was shocked to find that each acre yielded 10,000 pounds of rice which is 4535.924 Kg of rice. Riya kept using her powers to shorten the time needed for the crops to grow by only one day. She kept repeating the process with various crops for 2 months. In the end, the granary was full of harvested crops.

Riya helped them harvest so much food that Aditya was able to sell it to other Kingdoms and Empires. Aditya sold food to the Ethereal Empire and the Edrinia Dynasty. For the Ethereal empire, Aditya didn't want to take any money but Ronny insisted. Aditya thought of giving the money that was earned from selling food to Riya since without the nature goddess this wouldn't have been possible but Riya refused saying that she had more than enough money.

"Since you have helped me and the Istarin Empire a lot, I will grant you a wish. You can ask for anything but don't ask for something that is too much or something I can't do." Aditya made sure to add the last part knowing that the elf princess can be very mischievous. This is one of the things that he learned about her.

Hearing Aditya's words, the elf princess giggled. "Hehe! Let me think. I don't want to waste my chance after all." Aditya watched her think.

Because of Riya, Julia was able to grow lots of herbs in a very short period of time. Now Julia had more than enough herbs to start working on making various kinds of pills and potions which she was never able to make before. Also, the herbs that were grown inside the dragon palace with the nature goddess's powers had the highest quality.

After an entire minute of thinking, a small smile appeared on her face. Seeing Aditya suddenly started to feel worried. She closed the distance between them and took his right palm.

She directly looked into his eyes and asked. "I want you to take me on a date. I want you to give me this full day. Can you keep my request?" Riya would have asked Aditya on a date a long time ago but given how busy he was, she decided to wait.

'I guess I was worried for nothing.' Aditya inwardly thought. Given her slight yandere personality, he thought she was going to make him do something extreme such as make him sleep with her something which Aditya wasn't ready for as their relationship was still growing and hadn't reached that point yet.

Aditya put the black sword that was on his lap on the floor and then looked outside. "Sure. These days, my workload has significantly decreased because of my new prime minister Spencer. I can take a day or two off if I want."

"That's great. Then what are we waiting for, let's go now." Aditya put the black sword in his storage ring and then stood with his right hand being held by Riya.

From the wide balcony, Aditya can see just how fast and how far the capital of the Istarin Empire has developed. In these 2 months and half months, just like Aditya expected, many Dragons from all over the continent came to Azure city and decided to settle there. Around 50% of them even joined the Istarin Empire so that they can get inside the Dragon Palace which is heaven for the Dragons. Aditya gladly took any Dragon that wanted to join his faction. Every Dragon that entered his faction received a drop of his bloodline which turned them into Aditya's Dragon Warriors. This not only further purified their dragon bloodline but also turned them much stronger than before.

Of course, some Empires sneakily tried to gather information about the Dragon Palace. But no information about the Dragon Palace was revealed. Even if one or two factions managed to gather information about the Dragon palace, Aditya wasn't worried. Even if a Peak 5th-order cultivator wants to force his way inside the Dragon Palace, he would have to go through Aditya and all the powerful 5th-order guards first.

"Let's go." Aditya wanted to use this opportunity to see how much the capital has grown.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[Everyone, it looks like I made a mistake thinking that yesterday was the last day of 2022. This chapter is the last chapter of this year.

Happy new year in advance.]

Chapter 252

It was snowing. The capital of the Istarin empire, the Azure city was bustling as always. Each day countless people entered and exited the city. The influence of the Dragon palace and its location as the Empire's capital has turned the Azure city from a small city with only thousands of inhabitants to one of the biggest cities of the Istarin Empire. Within the span of 8 and half months, Azure city now had a population of 4.5 million and the number was only rapidly growing. Adventurers and merchants both often visited the Istarin empire.

Within the span of eight and half months, the average per capita income of the eastern region people has tripled. This is true, especially for the people of the Istarin empire. The Istarin empire's neighbors that are the Thera Kingdom and the Storm Isle Dynasty also received huge benefits for being the Istarin Empire's allies. The people of both the Thera Kingdom and the Storm Isle Dynasty can freely cross the Istarin Empire's borders.

The outside area of Azure city had more than hundreds of tents set up. Near the tents, there were thousands of carriages waiting outside the city. All of those carriages were full of goods that were brought to the capital. Before the outside area of the capital was covered in trees. But as the city expanded, the trees were cut down to create more empty space.

The Istarin guards were inspecting the carriages and also checking if the merchants has the permit to trade. If the merchant had all the correct papers with stamps and the carriages had nothing suspicious or dangerous in them, then that merchant and his carriages would be allowed to go inside the city.

However, with the ever-growing population, more and more merchants have become interested in starting their businesses in the capital. A merchant usually would have to wait a few hours before the guards could finish with all the inspection work. To escape from the snow and cold, the merchants were allowed to set up tents.

On the other side, there were 5 lines of people. Each of the lines had more than thousands of people standing in them. All of those people want to enter Azure city. Most of the people who were outside had an oil-paper umbrella with them. Among the ten thousand people, there was a certain couple that walked toward the eastern gate without bothering to wait in lines.

No one was able to see the couple's faces as the man was holding a red lotus paper oil umbrella. The umbrella perfectly covered both of their faces. Even being surrounded by more than ten thousand people, there was something about them that attracted the people's attention.

As both couples walked passed the people who stood in lines, they couldn't help but feel as if they had been in the presence of a noble.

The woman was wearing a beautiful pink-red Kimono. She had tied her silver-white hair into a bun which exposed her seductive nape. She wore wooden sandals and wore white socks. Her beautiful face was hidden under a white fox mask. But even without being able to see her face, for some reason, the people felt that she would be extremely beautiful.

The man walking beside her was also very extraordinary. Just like the female, he also wore a white fox mask. His dark blue hair reached down his waist. He wore a black Kimono, white socks, and wooden sandals. He also had a black sword on his waist. The man held the paper oil umbrella. The white snow fell on the umbrella.

"Who are you they?"

"How would I know?"

"But you will have to admit that both look so perfect together."

"A couple made in heaven."

The Aura of nobility around the couple made it hard for anyone to approach. Most commoners even began to assume that both couples are nobles and didn't dare to stand in their way. Also, some cultivators sensed that the woman is a beginner 5th-order cultivator. After sensing this, they also stayed out of the way. No one wants to offend a beginner 5th-order.

"Hehe! I like this. We should go on more dates." Riya couldn't help but giggle slightly hearing what the people were whispering about them. With their heightened senses, it was not difficult for them to hear what the people were whispering among themselves.

Riya was holding Aditya's left arm. From time to time she would purposely press the breast against his arm to tease him. Unfortunately, Aditya didn't fall for it which made the elf princess pout in anger.

"Sure. But why I am carrying a sword on my waist?" Today the Dragon monarch got to see another side of Riya. It turned out the princess was very into role-playing.

"You're carrying that sword to protect me, Silly. For today, you're playing the role of my protector. I am your master and you're my servant. Unfortunately, I have fallen in love with my servant. So today, both of us are secretly going on a date. This is also why we're wearing masks." Aditya couldn't help but roll his eyes. Protect who? A beginner 5th-order cultivator needs no protection from a Mid 3rd-order cultivator.

Sigh!

'Well, it's not like I am not having any fun.' Even though Aditya has never been interested in role-playing stuff or in acting, today he was enjoying himself which surprised him.

The masks can also prevent people from finding out their true identities. Aditya won't have to worry about anyone recognizing him. Though, the guards would know who is he by sensing his Aura. These masks were to prevent ordinary people from finding their identity and ruining their date.

"Milady, why are you making me carry a sword when I can just keep it in my storage ring and take it out if any enemy attacks us?" Aditya decided to give it a try.

Hearing Aditya playing along, Riya felt very happy. Under the white fox mask, the elf princess couldn't grin smiling at this moment. "My dear servant, for today you're a samurai. Stop complaining." Riya replied just like how a dominating master would reply.

"Milady, where would you like to go?" Aditya asked while playing along. He had lowered his tone and pretended to be timid.

"Since this city is your hometown, you get to decide where you will be taking me." Riya replied in a dominating tone.

As Aditya and Riya approached the entrance, two guards stopped them.

"Halt, without waiting in lines, you can't wait inside the city." The two guards blocked Aditya and Riya's paths with their iron spears.

It seems the guards have failed to recognize Aditya from his Aura which meant that these guards were new recruits. Both of them looked very young as well so Aditya was sure of it.

"I am a guest of the Istarin Empire. Show them my seal." From Riya's authoritative tone, the guards felt that she was someone a noble or maybe a rich merchant who is visiting the capital. Especially the quality of her clothes and the tone that she used while speaking made them feel this way. Riya spoke to the guards as if she was talking to insignificant beings.

'It looks like she is taking her role very seriously.' Aditya took out a fist size golden coin which had a symbol of a Dragon flying over a city. This gold coin is given to the close allies and close friends of the Istarin Empire. This golden coin can give the owner many benefits. Without needing to stand in lines, one can enter the city just by showing this golden coin. Using this golden coin, one won't have to pay any gold for using the teleportation arrays. The gold coin came with many other benefits.

Seeing the gold coin, both guards instantly bowed their heads to Riya. This left the others who stood in lines completely dumbfounded. "Apologizes for making you wait. You two can go inside." What the guards did was nothing wrong. Both of them were doing their jobs faithfully and Aditya respected that.

"Hmph!" Riya pretended to be dissatisfied. She pulled Aditya inside the city.

Just as Aditya and Riya walked beyond the city gate, the gold coin began to shine. A golden ray of light was shot out from the gold coin. The golden light hit the defensive dome that covered the entire city and then vanished.

"Aditya, what happened? I want an explanation." Riya knew that what happened had something to do with Aditya's rune skills. After becoming a 4-star runemaster, the Dragon King's first replaced the old defensive domes with powerful 4-star defensive domes that are capable of withstanding the attacks of even 4th-order cultivators.

Upgrading the defensive dome meant that the energy required to keep the barrier running would also increase. If it took 100 mana stones per hour to keep a 3-star defensive dome running now it would take 200 mana stones per hour to keep a 4-star defensive dome running. The consumption was worth it as the defense of the capital was the utter most important to the Istarin Empire.

However, there was one problem. Mana stones were like oil and petrol. A non-renewable source of energy. Meaning that the mana stones won't last forever. After a certain point, the mines would run out of the Mana stones when that happens the Istarin Empire would have no choice but to become dependent on other Empires for the supply of Mana stones. Aditya wanted to change that by replacing mana stones with some mana source that will last forever. But for now, these were the things of the far future.

"Milady, this golden light is a signal to the guards. This is a signal that someone has used the gold coin. With the help of this golden light, the Istarin Empire can keep a record of who has used this gold coin and exactly where the gold coin was used." This gold coin and the defensive dome are connected.

"Impressive." Riya was genuinely impressed by Aditya's talent in rune.

"Milady, let's head inside. There are a lot of things that will capture your heart."

"Hmph! You better not lie to me."

"This humble servant would rather die than lie to his own master." At this point, both of them were completely into their roles.

"Milady, let's go to the northern plaza."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 253

"What in the northern plaza?" Riya couldn't help but ask.

"The northern plaza is a place where every day free food is given to the homeless and poor people. The homeless people would receive two meals each day." Aditya certainly didn't want to see the people of his own Empire getting sold as slaves. Although it is impossible for him to ban slave trading, he can at least try helping out the homeless people by providing them with two meals each day.

Especially during the months of winter, it is impossible for the homeless to survive without any food. With the huge amount that the Istarin Empire currently has in stock all thanks to Riya's help, it wouldn't hurt to feed the homeless ones.

"That's good." In The Celestial Terrain Empire, no elf would ever die of starvation. Not even the prisoners would die of hunger. Riya has never seen or heard of anyone in her Empire dying because of hunger.

"Milady, there is something that I wished to show you at the northern plaza."

"Alright."

"Milady, let's take a carriage to the northern plaza. Walking there would take more than two hours."

Under Aditya's guidance, the roads have been reconstructed. The roads were widened so that both carriages and people can move and walk without crowding the roads. Trees were planted on both sides of the roads. Soldiers were assigned to keep regularly clean the snow off the road.

After a short walk, in exchange for 5 silver coins, the carriage driver agreed to take them to the northern plaza. The carriage was very simple. Aditya and Riya sat at the back. The carriage was pulled by a horse.

"Are you guys new here?" Asked the carriage driver who was a 26 years old man with brown skin and blond hair.

"I live in this city but this is my lady's first time here." The carriage driver nodded his head. He couldn't understand why would both of them cover their faces. Whether they wore masks or not, it wasn't his problem. So he decided to not ask anything about it.

"How much do you earn per day?" Aditya asked. In times like this, Aditya would be able to learn of the progress that the people have made under his rule. He would have a better idea of how the people of this city currently lived. He would be able to know if his citizens are satisfied.

Before this kind of carriage service didn't even exist in the capital. But now things were progressing so fast. Seeing the changes within the city, Aditya couldn't help but feel proud of himself. He also realized which areas of the city needed to be improved.

"I earn somewhere around 100 silver coins per day." The carriage driver replied. With the ever-growing increase in population, it wasn't hard to find customers for carriage drivers.

"Is it enough?"

"Haha! It's more than enough. Even if I were to earn 25 silver coins per day then also I would be satisfied. With cheap food prices, I won't have to spend too much money on food. My children can get basic education at a very cheap price. And as a citizen of this city, I am enjoying many kinds of benefits that his Majesty has provided us." Hearing this, a small smile appeared on his face. Unfortunately, no one saw that smile as his face was hidden under a mask.

"What kind of life did you have 6 months ago?" Riya couldn't help but ask out. She knew the condition of the entire Istarin Empire was really bad. Especially the capital was on the brink of dying.

"I used to live in a small village which is located 13 km to the northeast of the capital. Every month I used to come to the capital to sell the goods that my family had grown. But thanks to his Majesty, the condition of our whole family became better. My big brother is a soldier. Because of him, we easily got a place to settle down within the capital."

"I decided to become a carriage driver."

It took them 15 to 20 minutes to reach the northern plaza. After getting out of the carriage, Aditya held Riya's hand. He held the paper oil umbrella with his other hand.

"This place is beautiful." The northern plaza was built around a giant Banyan tree that was almost 100 meters tall. The northern plaza was built with the giant Banyan tree at its center. The 400 meters radius around the giant Banyan tree was surrounded by a 2-meter-thick ring of water. But right now the water ring around the Banyan tree was frozen due.

The giant Banyan tree was covered in white snow making it look like a giant white monster from a far distance. The green grasses around the Banyan tree were also covered in snow. This was the place where the homeless people were served food every single day.

"I don't understand. Usually, these kinds of big trees would be cut down to make more space." Riya was no longer in her character. She didn't even realize it.

"Actually Watson and I decided to keep his tree growing. We wanted to add a little bit of greenery to the city. When the snow stops falling, this tree can be seen from a very far distance."

"What did you want to show me?" Riya asked.

"Something very interesting." Aditya took her hand and began walking behind the Banyan tree. Behind the giant Banyan tree, there was an area that was restricted to normal people. Only Aditya and people with permission can enter this place.

"What is this place?" 400 meters beyond the giant Banyan tree, an area of more than 2500 meters was separated from the rest of the city by 3 meters tall thick wooden walls. The whole place was guarded. There were even big writings on the walls which states that the public is not allowed to enter.

"Let's go inside." Aditya removed the mask as there was no need to hide his identity there.

Following Aditya, Riya also removed the mask that she wore to cover her face. As Aditya approached the gate, the guards recognized his face. They quickly opened the gate to allow their King to pass.

While passing the guards, Aditya nodded his head at them to show his appreciation for their hard work. Seeing this the guard's eyes lit up in excitement.

As Riya stepped inside, she widened her eyes seeing hundreds of crystal domes. Various kinds of plants were planted in those crystal domes. "Aditya, what is this? Don't tell me you used crystals to build those things?" Crystals were very expensive. Even the lowest grade of crystal with the least transparency will very costly. And Riya was able to see through the crystal domes. This meant that these domes were built from crystals of the highest transparency which must have cost him a huge amount of money.

"These things are not crystals. They are called glasses. Glass is similar to crystals but they are more transparent and can easily be produced."

"Glass?" Riya curiously walked near one of the greenhouse domes. Touching the glass, she widened her eyes.

'This glass indeed does feel very different from crystal.' Riya inwardly thought.

As if knowing what Riya was thinking, Aditya explained. "You see before winter came, I knew that the Istarin Empire would face a food problem. I wanted to grow food even in winter. So I came up with this idea. These glasses domes will keep the snow away and will also trap the heat of the sunlight which would allow plants to grow."

"The glass can be made from sand." Looking around, Riya realized the whole place had hundreds of dome greenhouses. Many different kinds of crops were grown here.

"But unexpectedly you come and helped us with the food problem."

"Why you didn't tell me about this?" Riya felt a little annoyed at the fact that Aditya kept such a secret from her.

"Most of the time you were working at the farming land; accelerating the growth of the crops. I didn't get a chance to show you this." When Riya would return to the Dragon Palace, she would be very tired from exhausting all of her mana. These 2 and half months, Riya didn't even come to Azure city which was a few kilometers away from the Dragon palace. She, Julia, and Alicia, all were busy with their own work.

"Actually in the future, I am planning on selling glass." Glass would replace expensive crystals making glass one of the most sought products in the market. All the profits generated would straight come into Aditya's pocket. Not only that, he can scale up his business using the wide range of business networks that Alicia had. In a few months, it would be even possible for Aditya to send glasses to various continents. When that happens, the Istarin empire would become insanely rich.

The glass would especially become popularly become noble. As rich people are always attracted to shiny objects. Crystals which were a replacement for glass in this world were only used by nobles as the crystals were very expensive. But the cheap availability of glass would make it a product that can be afforded even by the commoners.

For the next two hours, Aditya showed Riya everything. After two hours, the goddess of nature felt satisfied and had seen everything in this place. Aditya and Riya decided to leave and have lunch somewhere. For the rest of the day, Aditya kept showing Riya various famous parts of the capitals. Before dinner, both of them returned home. Riya was very satisfied with today's date and Aditya got to see how the capital was developing.

Today was a very exciting day for both of them.

But for some people today was full of bitterness. One of those people was Alicia. After learning that Aditya has taken Riya on a date, the goddess of wealth was angry. She also wanted to go out with him. In these two and half months, other than having breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, both of them very rarely met. Both were very busy with their work.

"Why I am being left behind?" Alicia didn't look least happy about the whole situation.

"Calm down, will you? You can ask him to take you out in the future." In these two and half months, Julia has drastically transformed. Although her appearance didn't change, something else changed about her. Julia now looked more feminine. Before she lacked the womanly charm and had a trace of a childish Aura around her. But now Julia had the Aura of a mature gentle woman. Her charm had increased to a frightening level after she started sleeping with Aditya every night. In many ways, the goddess of alchemy has matured a lot.

"Do you think it's that easy?" The goddess was too embarrassed to ask Aditya to take her out.

"Alright. Now calm down. I will help you out." Julia gently patted Alicia's head with a kind and warm smile. These days, Alicia started to feel as if Julia had become her mother. Especially the change in her Aura made her feel that. Now Julia very rarely lost her calmness. She was very gentle and warm to everyone in the Dragon palace. Everyone in the palace loved her kindness.

Alicia moved Julia's right hand away from her head. "Stop acting like my mother."

"Not mother, I am your big sister." Before it was very easy to tease Julia. But now the whole situation has been reserved. Now Alicia is constantly teased by Julia. Julia didn't even do anything to tease her. It is just that being around Julia, Alicia cannot maintain her usual calmness.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 254

The Western part of the Dying Isle continent is a region of islands. The number of islands that were in the Western region exceeded 400,000; which was simply too many. Among the 400,000 islands, there were many big and small islands. Most of the Islands are abandoned, while some are not suitable for people to live in them. The remaining islands were home to thousands of different ethnic people. Some of those island people even have their own language and deny any contact with the outside world.

The Western region had a very complex geography. The Western region was home to the most dangerous marine magic animals. Some of those marine magic animals have the power to drown an entire Kingdom under the sea.

On the surface, Over 400,000 islands of the Western region were mainly controlled by 7 forces. Other than the 7 Empires, there were multiple Kingdoms and Dynasties that had to ally themselves with one Empire to survive in this region. By allying themselves, the Empires would agree to grant protection to those small kingdoms in exchange for a percentage of their yearly income. An Empire would send its troops to those small Kingdoms which are under its protection.

But when talking about the Western region, people mostly talk about the 7 Empires that have existed for many years now. The seven Empires have never allowed a foreign force to attack any Kingdom or Empire within the Western region. In face of a foreign invader, the whole Western region would put their differences behind them and would join hands to drive out the enemy.

"I thank each and one of you for coming to this meeting."

Seven figures were sitting around a big round table. Each of the figures controlled the lives of millions. Each of them had the power to destroy the lives of millions. They were the people that stood at the very top of society. Their words became the law. And no one had the power to go against them. With just a snap of their fingers, they can make millions of people kneel on the ground. They were the seven great Emperors that controlled the entire Western region.

And today the seven great Emperors were having a meeting in a neutral region. The neutral region was located at the very center of the Western region. The neutral region was a small Kingdom that is made up of six small islands surrounding a big island.

The Ever-Raining islands were a kingdom of seven islands. In the past and in the present, the meeting of the seven great Emperors has always taken place in this Kingdom. The Ever-Raining islands experience rainfall for 11 months every year. It was a place where it never stops raining.

The meeting was taking place at the capital of the Ever-Raining islands. The King of the Ever-Raining islands arranged the meeting place for the seven great Emperors. As the Ever-Raining islands were a place where the great Emperors met, the Ever-Raining islands never had to worry about anyone ever attacking them. The Kingdom didn't have any enmity with any Kingdom or empire.

"I can understand that both of you have issues with the Istarin Empire but that doesn't have anything to do with the rest of us. Why did you call for this meeting?" In fact, this meeting would have taken place a long time ago but the other great emperors were busy. It was difficult for all of them to find a schedule where all of them would be free.

Even outside the Western region, the Great Emperors had a big influence. Especially in the Northeastern region of the continent where the strongest Empires and factions of the continent reside. Over the hundreds of years, the Great Emperors have built lots of connections. Those old cunning Emperors had more political influence than the two Dragon Empires in the Southern region.

The old Emperor of the Storm Empire glanced at the rest of the great Emperors. No one knew what the Storm Empire's Emperor was thinking. It was the Storm Emperor and the Ageless islands Emperor who together formed a plan of arranging this meeting. Otherwise, it would have taken the Storm Emperor a few more months to hold this meeting.

"Recently I am sure you all know what happened in the Southern region."

"Of course we do. I couldn't stop laughing seeing the four of your 5th-order commanders killing each other." Replied the Emperor of the Shadow Islands Emperor. Hearing the response of the Shadow Islands Emperor, the four great Emperors were not least bit happy but what the Shadow Islands emperor is true. And the truth was like a slap to their faces.

"All of our minds are very fresh. How can we forget such a big event? This event shook the entire Empire. Especially the great snake creature that came out of that crack and killed the remaining troops just using its pressure." Once again the four great Emperors felt like their faces were heating up. What happened in the Southern region is a big shame, a big scar to their great history.

This was especially true for the Mist Ocean and the Cloud Earth Empires. Not only both Empires lost all of their troops and 5th-order commander in a battle, they later learned that the White Dragon Emperor used them to fight the Southern fire dragon Empire. So even if the Northern frost Dragon Empire lost the fight, they didn't lose much of their troops.

"Good since every one of us remembers what happened a few months ago, then let's talk about the reason why we called for this meeting." After looking at everyone's faces, the old Empire of the storm Empire continued.

"First let's talk about a big problem that is currently cornering all of us. After years of mining mana stones, now the entire Western region is almost out of the mana stones. It's not a secret that if things go on like this, in a few years we will run out of mana stones and when that happens, we will become entirely dependent on the outside world for our supply of Mana stones. This itself puts our energy security at risk." All the great Emperors silently agreed with the words of the Storm Emperor.

"We could have simply mined mana stones from the sea but that is not possible given the sea is the territory of the underwater Empires and Kingdoms. Even if we attack a small underwater Kingdom, every sea force would unite to attack us back. The outcome of this would be simply catastrophic for us and the sea forces. Which is why for hundreds of years, neither of our sides has clashed and simply remained neutral." Neither of the Great Emperors spoke. They only silently nodded their problems.

While the sea beneath them was filled with resources, the seven great Emperors didn't dare to aim for those resources. Being island Empires, the number of resources that the seven Empires had was very limited which pretty much limited their growth. The seven great Emperors have tried various times to purchase mana stones from them but each time every one of them has refused to sell any mana stones to the surface forces.

In this world, there is a big gap that separates the surface and the ocean forces. Neither side is willing to do any business or have any relationships with the other. The ocean force especially wanted not to get tangled with the matters of the surface. This is also why most citizens of the Deep Sea Palace Empire didn't like the fact that their Emperor, King Lewis attacked the surface of a surface Kingdom which was the Istarin Empire.

"Buying mana stones from other continents is costly. The reason the Storm Empire agreed to help the Southern fire Dragon empire is that we were promised by the Black Dragon King himself that they would sell mana stones to us at a very cheap price. Unfortunately, things didn't go the way we planned. But there is still a chance for all of us seven Empires to reduce our dependency on foreign continents for the supply of mana stones, we can save tons of gold just by following my plan."

The Shadow Islands emperor frowned upon hearing the words of the Storm Emperor. He could somewhat guess what this old cunning fox wanted. But after hundred years of experience, he found it hard to trust this cunning fox who only cared about no one but himself.

"Currently the political situation of the Northern Frost Dragon empire is in utter chaos. The Southern fire Dragon empire has fallen and now is under the control of the Istarin empire. If seven of us combine our powers together, then do you guys believe that the Istarin and the Northern Frost Dragon empire combined could stop us?"

"Yes, it is a huge feat that the Istarin Empire managed to take over the Southern fire Dragon empire within 7 days. But can they truly fight all of our Empires together? I refuse to believe that the Istarin empire can do something like this. Think about it. The chaotic political situation in the Northern Frost Dragon empire will perfectly give us the chance of defeating them. We can get all the mana stone mines in the Southern region in our hands. We won't have to spend money. Instead, we can earn huge chunks of money by selling mana stones from those mines instead." By the time, the storm emperor stopped, everyone fell into silence. What he said was very true. Given the current situation of the Northern Frost Dragon empire, even a single Empire would be able to defeat them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 255

Leo Gallagher's Pov____

Sitting in a dark room, a handsome young man with light blue hair was sitting on a bed with his eyes closed. The 15-year-old boy was sitting in a lotus position. He was currently cultivating. Each time he breathe, along with oxygen, he also inhaled mana that is present in the air. The air that was filled with mana reached his lungs. Which was then defused into the bloodstream and went to the heart.

The heart then separated the mana and stored it inside the heart. Another part of his heart circulated mana throughout his entire body using blood. The mana strengthened each cell of his body.

The young man's name was Leo Gallagher. Leo was a huge secret that no one other than his little sister knew. He has a dark past. And a bright future. His dark past completely changed his personality and his entire life. After the things that he experienced, Leo long would have lost himself in darkness if not for the last remaining source of light that prevented his heart from becoming cold. The only source of light in Leo's life was his own little sister.

Leo Gallagher and his little sister, Clara's entire lives have changed after both of them met Aditya on that fateful night. Leo was deeply impressed by Aditya's strength. Because of that man, their lives became a thousand times better. They won't have to sleep on the streets anymore. They won't have to beg for food anymore. They won't have to suffer anymore. Because of him, Leo and Clara were able to become strong.

Leo was Aditya's Dragonian. Leo was very talented. In fact, he was in cultivation he was even more talented than Julia and Alicia. Aditya would even dare say that Leo is the most talented cultivator throughout the entire Istarin Empire.

Right now, Leo was trying to break into Peak 3rd-order. For the last two and half months he has been cultivating in his rooms without going out. The only time that he ever stopped cultivating was when his sister called him to have food with her. To Leo strength was everything. Due to the unfortunate event that changed his life, he was taught this valuable life lesson at a very early stage of his life.

He has been cultivating day and night without stopping. Seeing Leo so focused on cultivation, Aditya didn't send Leo on any missions.

Huff! Huff! Huff! huff!

Leo was panting. Sweat rolled down from his forehead. His heart was beating wildly. He was tightly clenching his fists. His expression was changing every second. One second he would look very happy, then another second he would look shocked, and the next second he would look very sad, and he looked very angry. He was biting his so hard that blood started coming out.

'If things go on like this then I can never cultivate in peace. I think it's time to take revenge.' Leo opened his eyes. He was feeling very frustrated over the fact that he didn't manage to break through.

It all started last week. Each time Leo closed his eyes to cultivate, he would see the things which was the source of his suffering and his pain. With each passing day, this kept becoming worse and worse.

Leo Gallagher Pov over ______

Scene change____

On the other side of the Dragon Palace, Aditya was talking with Alicia regarding the distribution of glass on various continents. The goddess of wealth was more than happy to act as the distributor. Using glass, not only the goddess can increase her influence in other continents, but she can also expand her business and earn more money.

"I will help you with the distribution. I will make sure that your glass products are available in every city in Westnia, Dying Isle, and on other continents. But I want 20% of the total profit." Not even an entire second had passed, Aditya agreed.

"Alright."

Seeing Aditya agreeing so easily and so quickly, Alicia wondered if he was mad at her. "Aditya, are you mad at me?" Oftentimes, the goddess has seen relationships crumbling because of money, and profit. Alicia wondered if Aditya was disappointed in her for taking 20% of the profit.

Despite their relationship, Alicia still paid taxes and everything to Aditya. Alicia also does the same with the white lotus guild. Each year, Alicia pays a huge sum of money to the Ethereal Empire as taxes.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Aditya asked back with a smile.

"Because I am asking for 20% of the profit." Contrary to her expectations, Aditya shook his head with a smile.

"Princess, I really don't care about money. I have more than enough money to run this Empire. Because of you, I can increase my profits. With you, I won't have to worry about anything. If I had approached some other merchant, then they would have asked for a higher profit percentage." Alicia also nodded her head. She would have asked for a higher profit percentage if it wasn't for Aditya.

"I am totally alright with you taking 20% of the profit. Besides, the cost of making glass is very cheap. Even with 80% profit, at the end of the day, I would still have a huge amount of money." Besides, Aditya can't overlook the fact of how much the Seekers of Impurity guild has helped the Istarin Empire develop at its early stages. Currently, the Seekers of Impurity guild is the biggest taxpayer in the Istarin empire and the number will only keep increasing. He can't also forget the help she has given him using her connections. Even if Alicia had asked for 30% or even 40%, Aditya would have agreed.

Hearing Aditya's answer, Alicia felt very relieved and felt the weight on her shoulders has been lifted. Alicia would take asked for a lower profit percentage but given that she was going to distribute glass on 6 continents, the profit earned has been multiplied by many times. More than half of 20% would be used to pay the salaries of her employees who would work and will be solely responsible for expanding the glass market.

"By the way, are you sure that you can keep the method of producing glass a secret?" Alicia was planning on making glass their only exclusive product. By doing that, she would be able to have a monopoly over the glass.

"Don't worry, the people responsible for making glass are all my Dragonians. Even if the whole world changes, the dragonians can never betray the Dragon Monarch." Aditya replied with a confident smirk.

"By Dragon Monarch, you meant yourself?" Alicia couldn't help but ask.

"As the only Dragon in history to have Divine Crimson Storm Dragon Bloodline, I am the only Dragon Monarch in this world's history" Aditya replied with a proud look. He even slightly raised his chest.

"You know, when I hear the words Dragon monarch, I imagine that person to be someone who is the strongest being on the Planet. I imagine the Dragon Monarch to be very serious, cold, ruthless, and very calculating."

"You're just describing me."

"But are you the strongest being on this planet?"

"I will achieve that in a few more years."

"Dream on. I understand that your cultivation speed is extremely fast. But reaching Peak 7th-order is hard as reaching the end of the universe." Alicia has never heard of anyone managing to reach the 7th order in a few years. Being able to do something like this would be the same as saying that the world is flat and the universe is tiny as an island. Neither of the sentences makes any sense to Alicia.

Knock! Knock!

Aditya and Alicia both sensed Leo's presence behind the door. "You can come in."

Just as Leo grabbed the door knob and began to open the door, Aditya and Alicia were surprised to sense the great amount of killing intent leaking out of his body. As the door slowly opened, Aditya was able to Leo's face. Today, for some unknown reason, his face, especially his eyes looked extra. His eyes were the same as the eyes of a dead fish. Those blue eyes of his held no emotions in them.

He was truly a monster who was ready to do anything. It would be hard to believe that a 15-year-old boy has those dead fish eyes. It only makes Alicia and Aditya wonder what did he even experience.

Tap! Tap!

The sound of his footsteps was heard. He stood 10 meters away from Aditya. Directly staring at the Dragon King, his dragonian expressed his desire or rather his biggest wish.

"My King, I want your help. I want blood. I want to forget my past but to do that I must soak my arms in warm deep red blood." Those words were more than enough for both of them to understand what would happen next.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I would have uploaded the chapter much earlier. I was late because I went to take vaccine.

Thank you to "Jeethus" and others readers for gifting this novel with an ice cola

Chapter 256

The Storm Isle Dynasty is located in the very north of the Eastern region. Due to its past, the Storm Isle Dynasty's territory is way bigger than it looks. Autumnming Islands is a group of 4 islands located more than 110 km from the Storm Isle Dynasty. These four islands are located 20 km away from the mainland.

In the past, back when many Kingdoms and Dynasties existed in the Eastern region, the Storm isle Dynasty had a big conflict with the Nepoca Kingdom of the past. The Nepoca Kingdom knew that they cannot fight the Storm Isle Dynasty so the past Nepoca King hence surrendered the Autumnming Islands to the Storm Isle Dynasty to resolve the issue.

At the same time, The Nepoca King did not see any value in those four islands that were located more than 20 km away from the Nepoca Kingdom's mainland. The King did not even bother to send his men to check who inhabited those islands. Also the other Kings of the past never really took any interest in those islands as those four islands were always surrounded by a thick layer of mist and it was very dark to navigate around those four islands.

No one even knew if anyone lived on those islands. Autumnming Islands were completely cut off from the mainland. Not even the merchants dared to go near the Autumnming Islands. The rare few ones who dared to venture into those islands never returned back. However, all these changed when the Storm isle Dynasty acquired the Autumnming Islands.

The Empress of the Storm Isle Dynasty personally visited the Autumnming Islands. The Empress met the race that lived on those four islands. The race that lived in the Autumnming Islands wasn't interested in any foreigners and didn't want to be under the rule of any forces. While the Empress wanted to make the Autumnming Islands an important part of her Dynasty.

The Empress of that time understood that if things goes like this a big fight could break out between both parties. She saw the great power that the people living in the Autumnming Islands had. The Empress didn't want a war to break out. The Empress was a very intelligent woman, to avoid a possible conflict between both parties, the Empress offered something that the people living in the Autumnming Islands found hard to refuse.

"And that offer was....?" Right now Aditya, Watson, and Leo were heading to the Autumnming Islands in disguise. While traveling, Watson was telling Aditya the history of the Autumnming Islands and the Storm Isle Dynasty.

Leo and his little sister once lived in the Autumnming Islands. Due to his past, he and his sister were forced to run away. When Aditya found them, both Leo and his sister had come to that city a few months ago and were struggling to live.

"The Empress wasn't willing to give up the Autumnming Islands as they saw the value of those four islands. Knowing that if a fight breaks out, the only way that she can win would be to kill every single inhabitant living in the Autumnming Islands which they didn't want to see happening, she decided to approach them with a peaceful solution."

"She met the leader of those inhabitants. She offered that the Autumnming Islands would remain semi-independent and would be left under the inhabitant's control. The Autumnming Islands would be considered a territory of the Storm Isle Dynasty but the inhabitants would remain independent and would be allowed to govern themselves. The Storm Isle Dynasty wouldn't interfere with the lives of the inhabitants. But in exchange, each year the inhabitants would have to pay a small percentage of their resources as a tribute to the Storm Isle Dynasty."

"So what happened?" Aditya asked while playing with a small gold dagger that he found in his treasury the other day. Leo was sitting opposite Aditya and remaining quiet. He didn't speak. His sword was resting on his lap.

Watson was sitting next to Aditya and peeling an apple. The old butler finally looked happy. He no longer looked exhausted and tired. The dark circles under his eyes had also disappeared from proper rest. It all happened because the Istarin Empire has found its new Prime Minister.

Watson has to admit that Spencer is very talented. He quickly managed to learn everything. With a single glance, he is able to remember things which made things very convenient. Around a half month ago, Aditya officially named Spencer as the Prime Minister of the Istarin empire. Spencer had become Aditya's Dragonian and was in charge of taking care of the Empire in Aditya's absence.

Because Spencer took over, Watson was able to relax. He finally was able to put the pen down. These days he didn't have to go to the study room anymore. Watson now had returned to work as Aditya's personal butler and his advisor. Because of all of the hard work, Aditya increased Watson's salary to 1000 royal gold coins per month. He also gave Watson a small piece of land near the capital along with 10,000 royal gold coins as a form of appreciation. Aditya told the old man that if he ever felt like retiring, he can retire anytime, neither Aditya nor Julia is going to stop him.

But the old man didn't like the idea of retiring. He said that he wanted to keep working. He even had plans of becoming Aditya's first child's personal butler. When he said those words to Aditya and Julia, the goddess's face was red as a tomato.

Watson had become a core part of the Istarin empire and Aditya's life. Aditya would definitely feel lonely without seeing his butler. Watson was one of the first few people whom Aditya had considered as his family. Even if Watson retires and quits his job, Aditya was still planning on seeing him regularly.

"Well, for starters, the inhabitants were not least bit happy about the fact that the Autumnming Islands were opened to the outside world. From what I know those people have been living in isolation for eternity. Maybe living in isolation is one of the factors that kept their race from going extinct."

"For the next few years, more and more inhabitants became dissatisfied and their unhappiness towards the Storm isle Dynasty increased. It was around 15 or 16 years ago, I heard that a fight almost broke out between the inhabitants. Some of the people rebelled against their leader who was responsible for negotiating with the Storm Isle Dynasty empress. However, their leader was very strong. He managed to suppress the rebel and make peace again." From the corner of his eyes, Aditya noticed Leo tightly clenching his fists.

"Things started to become chaotic when some narrow-minded inhabitants who lived that opening their islands to the outside world was a huge mistake attacked the merchants who came to trade. One and nineteen innocent people were slaughtered. The Storm isle Dynasty didn't like this. Especially the Empress was very enraged. The leader of those Inhabitants knew that if things went on like this, the rising tension from both sides would eventually start another war. So to calm things, he first punished the inhabitants that killed 119 innocent merchants. To peace make with both sides, he decided to marry a noble's daughter from the Storm Isle dynasty."

Watson glanced at Leo who was slightly trembling. Seeing this 15-year-old child suffering, Watson couldn't help but sigh feeling bad for Leo. "The leader had two children. And just like this 15 years passed. Just when everyone thought that things were beginning to calm down, on a certain stormy night, some of the Aether Dragons somehow killed the leader. The wife protected her children and sacrificed her life to prevent her children from getting killed."

Sigh!

Watson finished peeling the apple. He handed the apple to Aditya and then started peeling another one. "Leo and his sister Clara somehow managed to escape. One of the human merchants helped Leo and Clara escape from the Autumnming Islands."

What happened to Leo and Clara was very unfortunate. "This is what I was able to gather from our spies. We will don't know why after 15 years of peace some of the Aether dragons murdered their leader and their leader's wife." Watson wanted Leo to answer that. He was sure that Leo knew something that outsiders didn't know.

Another 10 minutes passed in silence. Leo was still remaining quiet. He then finally opened his mouth. "Because my mother was a human, neither I nor my sister was born with the Aether Dragon Race bloodline. Because of that, both of us were bullied from a young age. The whole Aether Dragon clan hated us. They hated the fact that we were so weak despite being the son and daughter of their leader. Other than our mother and father, not a single person from the clan ever showed us any love. Whenever our clanmates found us alone, we were beaten, and bullied very badly." Aditya sat next to Leo and then patted his shoulder. This boy has been holding it inside for a long time. He needs to let it out.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Thank you for the reader Mark_Campos_5123 to gifting this novel with a ice cola.

[I apologize for not uploading yesterday.]

Chapter 257

Dragons are superior to every other race in this world. Dragons stand at the very top of the food chain. Every Dragon is a powerhouse. Every Dragon in this world is ridiculously strong. Every Dragon is born with immense pride and arrogance. Dragons would rather die than lower their heads and become a slave.

As a Dragon Monarch, Aditya's pride had no bounds. Aditya would never lower his head to any being. Even though he was a prideful creature, he didn't let his pride blind his eyes. He never let his pride affect his judgment and his actions. But this was not true for every Dragon out there.

The Aether Dragons were blinded by their pride. Despite being children of their leader, Leo, and his sister neither of them was able to inherit their Aether Dragon Bloodline. To the rest of the Aether dragons, this was their biggest source of shame.

The fact that their own leader protected his children who couldn't even inherit the Aether Dragon bloodline added more fuel to the fire. Adding the fact that it was because of their leader that they had to open the Autumnming islands to the outside world which most of the Aether dragons did not like, some Aether Dragons first killed their own leader and his wife before they went to kill their clan's biggest failures.

Hearing Leo's words, Aditya remained silent. His words had remained him of some past memories that he wished to forget. Aditya also suffered like Leo, although no one physically abused him, he still had to suffer bullying. Being the son of the Dragon Emperor who ruled the biggest and the strongest dragon Empire in the history of this world, the people had a lot of expectations of Aditya. When he failed to meet the expectations of the people and failed to awaken his dragon bloodline, he was called trash.

Aditya clearly remembers the day when he was called in front of thousands of people by his own father. He clearly remembers the despair he felt when he was told that he would be banished from the Main continent forever.

[I don't need an incompetent son like you. You're worthless. You're a shame to this great Empire and to its great legacy. From this moment, you will be no longer a part of this Empire. Your title as the Crown Prince has been revoked. We and this Empire no longer need you.] Just as those words were said, two guards grabbed Aditya's shoulders. The guards took away everything that Aditya owned. Even the pendant that his mother gave him was taken away. Later under the Emperor's orders, he was randomly thrown to the Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent.

'Everything happened for a reason. I don't care about my past anymore. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. I have no ties with them. In fact, it's the opposite. The path on which I walk will lead me to become their enemy.' If at that time Aditya had awakened his bloodline, then the current Aditya wouldn't have existed. Today whatever he has achieved was done through his own hard work. And Aditya was very proud of it. Even if he didn't have the system, Aditya still would have succeeded.

Currently, his father had no competition. His father, who was the Dragon Emperor ruled the lives of more than a hundred million people. No one was able to challenge his rule.

'Leo's situation is the same as mine. He is also somehow who has been outcasted by his own people.' Aditya was determined to help Leo even more after learning his story.

"Your Majesty, soon the ship will reach the Autumnming islands." If one wanted to come to the Autumnming islands, that person would have to use a ship or boat to come here. But to exit the Autumnming islands, one can use the teleportation array.

'I still don't understand why they allow people to leave the island through the teleportation array but do not allow anyone to come using the teleportation array.' If they were allowed to use the teleportation array, they wouldn't need to waste an entire day to reach the Autumnming islands.

"Ahmed, right now we're in disguise. My name is Khalid. And Leo's name is Isaac." Watson nodded his head in agreement. Right now, they were dressed as arab merchants who were coming from the Dry Savanna continent.

"Isaac, can you tell us more about the Autumnming islands? And maybe also tell us a little bit about the Aether Dragons who live there."

"My father told me that the Aether Dragon come to this island to escape from the Dragon slayers who were trying to exterminate the entire Aether Dragon race. This happened somewhere between 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. At that time, the size of the Aether Dragon race was only 19. Now the Aether Dragon race has over 3,000 dragons." If Aether Dragons didn't have a low-birth rate, the number would have been much higher.

"According to my father, at that time, the Dragon Slayers were hunting every single Dragon that they could find. One of the powerful Aether Dragons managed to kill an Emperor of a certain Empire. The Empire in retaliation gave a huge amount of money to hire the Dragon Slayer guild to exterminate every single Aether Dragon."

"Dragon Slayer guild?" Aditya looked at Watson for more information. After what the inner member of the League of Black Tomb had done to Aditya, he had grown a deep hate for the Dragon Slayers. If Aditya ever met one, he definitely would hunt the Dragon Slayers. Also as the Dragon Monarch, he hated the fact that the members of his race were being hunted.

"This guild still exists. Though compared to its glorious past, now its power has decreased a lot. Currently, their headquarters is located somewhere in Westnia."

"Our ancestors created a special type of array which creates defense illusion fog around the four islands. Anyone who enters the fog will see scary things and will lose their sense of direction. Hence will get lost. Father also told me that, in the past, before the Empress contacted them, some of the Aether dragons regularly patrolled the surroundings and made sure to kill any fishermen or merchants who tried to enter. For thousands of years, the Aether dragon has been thinking that the Dragon Slayer guild is still looking for them. Also after living in isolation for more than one thousand years, the Aether dragons didn't want any outsiders in their home."

"Interesting. Tell me more." With a little bit of research, Aditya is sure that he can also create a similar type of illusion fog array.

"More than 1,000 of Aether dragons were hunted down by the Dragon slayer guild. To this day, this fact hunts almost all the Aether Dragons. The dragon slayer is undoubtfully the Aether dragon's biggest fear. One of the reasons why my father peacefully negotiated with the Empress was because he was also afraid that the empress might send the dragon slayers to the Autumnming islands."

"But now I wouldn't even care if all the Aether Dragons were hunted down by the Dragon Slayers. In fact, I want that to happen."

"Khalid, we're approaching the coast." From the window, Aditya saw able to see the four Autumnming islands. The four islands were very big.

"Out of the four islands, the Aether Dragons only allow outsiders to step inside one of the islands. The other three islands are closed to outsiders. Only someone who is a trusted ally of the Aether Dragon clan can enter the other three islands."

"Under my father's leadership, a big city was created on Crystal Holm island. Merchants from various continents come to these islands and trade here. But The Crystal Holm is very closely guarded by powerful 4th-order Aether Dragons. Cultivators above Peak 3rd-order would need to get permission from the Aether Dragon clan before they could step on The Crystal Holm."

As the ship approached The Crystal Holm, Aditya spread his senses all over the city. He was surprised to learn that such a small city had more than 50,000 people living in it. But half of the people who lived here were merchants or criminals who ran away from the other Kingdoms and came to take shelter here.

"Here, Aether Dragons rules above all. Aether dragons are treated like Gods. The Aether Dragons can get away by doing almost anything. The law of this place prevents any Aether Dragon from being harmed or punished by anyone foreigner. Not even the Storm Isle Dynasty's soldiers or commander has the authority to punish the Aether dragons."

Looking at The Crystal Holm, Aditya couldn't help but think that he would need to have a meeting with the Empress of the Storm isle Dynasty. Aditya has taken an interested in these four islands. But the meeting would have to wait as Leo's revenge story came first."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 258

"Welcome to the city that is hidden behind the mist. Before you step on to this land, I want to make some ground rules clear. No foreigner is allowed to step outside the city without taking permission. No foreigner is allowed to enter the forbidden zones within the city. No foreigner is allowed to start a fight within the city. If any foreigner is caught stealing, attacking, robbing, murdering anyone, that foreigner will be heavily punished."

Aditya and others looked at the man who was a beginner 3rd-order cultivator. Seeing the silver collar on his neck, Aditya understood that this man was one of the thousands of slaves owned by the Aether Dragon Clan.

Everyone who came to The Crystal Holm island knew these rules from the beginning. The Lost Pearl city was one of the most heavily guarded cities that Aditya has ever stepped into. Not even the capital of the Istarin Empire is that heavily guarded.

But despite the heavy security, Aditya can see corruption taking place right before his eyes.

As soon as they stepped into The Crystal Holm island, they had to wait in a long line before they could enter the Lost Pearl city.

The entire city was surrounded by 40 meters tall high walls. It was as if the Aether Dragons didn't wanted any foreigner to even see what goes on beyond these walls. These high walls show the Aether Dragons desire to trap everyone here and keep them under their control. The 40 meters tall high walls were made from iron. Skeletons of various magic animals, humans, beast-men, marine magic animals were embedded on the walls.

'These Aether Dragons truly want to show the foreigners what they are capable of. By the skeletons on the walls, they are creating fear in the hearts of the foreigners.' As the Dragon Monarch, it pains Aditya when he heard that one of his own kind if on the verge of extinction. But if that kind is the type of Dragons who would live a life like this, then Aditya would rather kill them with his own hands.

"When my father was alive, the walls used to be around 15 to 20 meters tall. Justice was equally served and no Aether Dragon was allowed to abuse their powers. But now everything has changed. This city now feels more like a prison." Leo slowly said while looking around. It has been only 7 to 8 months since Leo and his sister fled from this place. Yet within such a short span of time, so much has changed. The entire Lost Pearl city looked completely unrecognizable to Leo.

"I think this is too much. It's not like any Aether Dragon lived on this island. So why do they have to restrict the foreigners within a single city."

"I guess their understanding of freedom is completely different from ours. The race of Aether Dragon could really use some freedom." Aditya chuckled remembering a famous joke relating to freedom.

"Young master, are you planning something?" Watson couldn't help but ask.

"Who knows. Only time will tell."

After waiting for another 25 minutes, finally Aditya, Watson, and Leo's turned to enter the city.

The guards who stopped them were beast-men. They are slaves of the Aether Dragon clan. "I want the three of your names and your purpose for visiting the Lost Pearl city."

"My name is Khalid. This is my little brother Isaac. And this is our butler Ahemd. We're here from the Istarin Empire to trade rice and fresh vegetables." Knowing that without paying a few coins or giving them something, the guards would make it very hard for them to enter the city, Aditya grabbed a bag of rice from his storage ring and handed it to the guards.

Seeing this the two guards looked very happy. Both nodded their heads. Both of them moved out of their way and allowed the trio to walk in.

Just as the trio walked inside the city, they saw something that they will never forget. The cruelty of the Aether Dragon had reached a new level. Seeing this, the least drop of mercy that Aditya had for the Aether Dragons before also disappeared from his heart. Now he was sure that such a filthy race carrying the name of a Dragon must not be allowed to exist.

The fact that these Aether Dragons called themselves Dragons felt like a slap to all the Dragons and a slap to the Dragon Monarch's face. For the first time, the Dragon Monarch felt ashamed of a race calling themselves Dragon.

What was happening in the Lost Pearl city was very clear to everyone. The society of this place has been divided into two parts. The rich and the slaves. The rich became richer and the poor went on to become slaves.

Right before Aditya, Watson, and Leo's eyes, they could see hundreds of slaves. These slaves used to be the original residents of this city. Back when the Lost pearl city was created, these people came here to live first. But now, their life had become so worse that they had been turned into slaves.

Aditya could see slaves of different ages. To the rich, it didn't matter who the slave was. They didn't care whether it was an elder or a child. A slave is a slave in their eyes. And a slave must work.

Slaves regardless of their age and gender were being forced to carry very heavy goods on both of their shoulders and on their waists. Aditya can see some of the old people's legs trembling each time they try to take a step while carrying all these heavy loads.

Each time a slave dropped a good on the ground, a lightning whip would hit their back. The pain would make the slaves scream in agony. Each of their screams carried their pain, and their suffering. The lightning whip would leave behind a fresh long scar on their backs. The scars exposed their red flesh.

The ground would become the witness of their pain and suffering. The fresh red blood fell, rolled down and dripped to the ground.

Especially the old and the young ones who suffered the most. Every time they dropped something, the guards didn't hesitate even a second to hit them. Aditya noticed that some parents would try to help their child by carrying one extra bag of goods so that their child can keep walking without falling to the ground.

Some of the slaves were completely naked. Their bodies were filled with the scars of whip marks. Their clothes were torn by the lightning whip. Dirt mixed with their blood and covered their body. All the slaves were very skinny and malnourished.

Even Aditya who had taken the lives of millions was shaken seeing this. Leo and Watson were on the verge of exploding. Both of them held themselves waiting for Aditya's orders. It was clear that both of them were reaching the limit of their patience. At any given moment either Leo or Watson might go on a rampage and start killing all these bastards. Aditya wouldn't stop them even if Leo and Watson did something like this.

Although slave trading was legal, Aditya would never allow something like this to happen. It was not just Aditya, no matter how cruel a King or an Emperor was, they wouldn't allow slaves to be treated like this in their territory.

Ahh!

An 11 years old boy fell down from not being able to keep on carrying all the goods. As just as the guards were able to hit the 11 years old boy with the lightning whip, a hand grabbed the lightning whip.

At this moment, the whole area went silent. Everyone stopped and stared at the blue-haired young man in deep shock.

"I am not the type of person who loses my temper easily. But when someone does manage to anger me......I bring chaos and destruction." At the same time, the sky above Crystal Holm island began to darken.

Before anyone could react, under their horrified gaze, a crimson lightning bolt fell from the sky and instantly turned the guard to ashes.

The next moment Aditya let out a loud roar and spread the message to every Aether Dragon [All the Aether Dragons, I order you to bring your pathetic asses here.] As if responding to the Divine Crimson Storm Dragon's call, the atmosphere of the whole Autumnming islands began to change. The people around Aditya quickly stepped back in fear.

Meanwhile, Watson and Leo didn't bother to hide their identities anymore. Both Dragonians have been waiting for this moment. Today they were going to drown their entire city in blood. The cries of the Aether Dragon will be heard within the walls of the Lost pearl city.

The Monarch Dragon was here to bring his judgment. The entire fate of the Aether Dragon was in his hands.

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Thank you to reader Tom_Breitenborn to gift this novel with an ice cola

Chapter 259

Knock! Knock!

"Come in."

Upon entering the room, the eyes of the elder fell on a middle-aged man with long light blue hair and blue eyes. The middle-aged man is the leader of the current Aether Dragon Clan. He was around 6 feet tall. He had a muscular built body. He was wearing a black dragon Hanfu robe.

The leader was sitting in front of a table. He was reading a scroll. When the elder of the Aether Dragon entered the room, he put down the black scroll and looked at the supreme Elder.

The Aether Dragon had one leader and 7 Supreme elders. Each elder had a different responsibility. One Elder was responsible for protecting the Aether dragons and keeping outsiders from entering the other three islands. One Elder was responsible for giving cultivation lessons to the young Aether Dragons. One Elder was responsible for managing their food and clothes. Like this, all the important roles have been divided and given to 7 elders while the leader oversaw them.

"Elder Patrick, I had given you a task. Did you manage to find the possible location of that two trash?"

"Leader, unfortunately even after trying our very best we didn't find any trace of them. I believe someone must have helped them escape the Lost Pearl City. They should be somewhere in the vast Istarin Empire. And it is almost impossible for us to search the entire Istarin Empire." Given the current enormous size of the Istarin Empire, Supreme Elder Patrick didn't think it would be possible for them to search for Leo and Clara.

Sigh!

"We cannot let those two live. Their existence is a shame to our entire Aether Dragon Race. Elder Patrick, I hope you understand what I am saying." It was very easy for Lincoln to become the leader of the Aether Dragon. Under Leo's father, he has worked as a Supreme Elder for many years. It was during the time when Leo's father negotiated with the Empress, Lincoln secretly had planned to launch his plan of becoming the next leader. Over the years, he secretly managed to bring the other Supreme leaders to his side.

"I also feel the same. Unfortunately, our influence outside the Autumnming islands is very small. If both of them had run off to the Storm Isle Dynasty, then we could have done some negotiation with the Empress. Maybe we can get the Istarin Empire to help us out if we managed to make a deal with them. But I doubt the Istarin Emperor would be interested in making a deal with us." Lincoln also nodded his head in agreement.

"Did you get any news on how the royal family of the Storm Isle Dynasty is doing? Do they have any plans for the Autumnming islands?" Lincoln sounded very concerned.

The previous Empress had a very good relationship with their previous leader. Lincoln knew if the Empress had not fallen ill, then she definitely would have addressed the issue of the sudden death of their leader.

Lincoln wouldn't admit it to anyone but he was afraid. He was afraid that one day someone might come to take everything for which he had planned for years. That's why he desperately searched for Leo and Clara. Even though the chances of Leo and Clara managing to awaken their Aether Dragon bloodline were next to zero, Lincoln didn't want to take any chances.

Lincoln is aware that what they are doing has angered the Storm Isle Dynasty. It was already a fortune that the new Empress did not send them any warnings. However, this peace could end at any given moment. But he didn't regret what he was doing one bit. As Dragons, Lincoln believed that his race was superior to humans and other races. So he didn't mind treating the humans and other races who lived in the Autumnming islands as slaves.

'It would be best if we can separate ourselves from the Strom Isle Dynasty and gain independence. When that happens, no more shackles will stop me.' While Leo's father took peaceful approaches and could see both sides of the coin, Lincoln was someone who tended to do things in an aggressive style.

"Leader, these days more and more merchants are coming to the Lost pearl city. I think it's about time we think of expanding the size of the city."

"Hmm. You're right. I will think about it. For now, let's talk about........" Lincoln was interrupted by a loud Dragon Roar.

The roar had a message for every dragon who lived in Autumnming islands. To other races, this is just a normal roar but to Dragons, this was their special type of communication.

[All the Aether Dragons bring your asses to the Lost Pearl city.]

The look on Lincoln's face instantly changed. Supreme Elder Patrick also frowned.

"Who dares to act so arrogantly in my Autumnming islands? Call all the Elders. I want to see who this young dragon is."

Around 20 minutes later, more than 2,000 Aether Dragons came from the surrounding islands to meet the Dragon who had arrogantly asked them to come to the Lost Pearl city. As Lincoln and his Aether Dragon clan approached the city, he smelled blood in the air. The look on his face changed when he noticed crimson flames burning the walls. The state of the entire Lost Pearl city was in utter chaos. From the looks of it, the Aether dragons felt as if someone had released a mad berserk Dragon into the City.

Thousands of dead bodies lay around the city. The walls were destroyed and some part of it was still being burned by Crimson flame. Hundreds of houses were destroyed. Only the debris of those destroyed houses was left behind. Ignoring all that destruction, one thing caught every Aether Dragons' eyes. It was the large pool of blood behind the walls.

In the middle of the large pool of blood, there was a small mountain. But upon a closer look, all the Aether Dragons widened their eyes in shock seeing that what they considered to be a small mountain was actually a mountain of dead bodies.

At the top of the dead bodies, there was a figure whose entire body was covered in blood and was sitting while counting.

The people who came to the Lost Pearl city were running here and there, trying to escape. Trying to get as far as they could get away from this monster. Trying to find shelter and never see the face of this monster again.

Lincoln and other Aether Dragon clan members noticed two other men standing in the pool of blood. Lincoln for some reason felt that the young men who were also looking at him looked kind of familiar.

'Where I have seen this young man before?' Lincoln couldn't remember it.

Seeing that someone had dared to break their laws and cause chaos here, every Aether Dragon was angry.

"Whoever you're. This time you have offended the wrong people." The Aether Dragons became bolder after sensing that Aditya's cultivation was only Mid-3rd-order. It shouldn't be much of a problem for them to deal with someone like him.

Aditya's entire face and body were covered in blood. He looked at Lincoln. Those crimson eyes of his seem to hold no emotion in them. Just looking at those eyes, one should realize that this young man wasn't here to mess around. Unfortunately, the Aether Dragon's pride blinded them, as it has always done.

When the Aether Dragons were more than 50 meters above the ground, Lincoln signaled everyone to stop. Standing 50 meters above the ground, Lincoln and Aditya both looked at each other. The next second his eyes fell on the thousands of dead bodies. For a brief moment, he widened his eyes in horror seeing the state of these dead bodies.

Every one of them was brutally killed by Aditya. Aditya did not use crimson lightning. He did not use Crimson flame. He did not use his sword. He did not use any of his skills. Today he showered in the blood of his enemies. Today he had let his inner demon out. Today he had become the demon.

The Dragon Monarch killed every single of them of the puppets of the Aether Dragon clan with his bare hands. His hands easily tore their hands, necks, legs, and other body parts. Aditya wanted each of them to experience the pain that these slaves felt when they were hit with a lightning whip. The painful screams of the guards were heard all over the Lost pearl city.

"Hmph! Today, we must show the world what happens if an outsider messes with us." Lincoln's confident came from the fact that his Aether dragon had 10 fourth-order cultivators. He thought he could defeat Aditya with one fourth-order. But in a few moments, he would realize how naively he was thinking.

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Chapter 260

"Hmph! Today, we must show the world what happens if an outsider messes with us." Lincoln's confidence came from the fact that his Aether dragon had 10 fourth-order cultivators. He thought he could defeat Aditya with one fourth order. But in a few moments, he would realize how naively he was thinking.

Inferno Overdrive!

Lincoln suddenly sensed Aditya's Aura rapidly increasing. His eyes which previously held no emotions now were full of bone-chilling coldness. As if he was a volcano that can erupt at any given moment.

Sensing that Aditya's Aura rapidly getting stronger and stronger, the Supreme elders and other 4th-order Aether became alert. However, Aditya did not attack them.

Under the eyes of more than 2,000 Aether Dragons, Aditya stood up. Using a small amount of his mana he summoned the Crimson Flame orb in his palm. He then tossed the orb on the mountain of dead bodies. The crimson flame orb expanded in size and became a wave of Crimson flame. Under the shocked gaze of the Aether Dragons, in a matter of seconds, all the dead bodies were consumed by the Crimson flame.

A few seconds later, the Crimson flame disappeared along with the mountain of dead bodies. Even the ground was scorched black.

Aditya then turned his attention to Lincoln and to the other Aether Dragons. "As much as I want to kill all of you, someone here deserves to take your life more than I do."

Seeing Aditya looking at the young man with blue hair and blue eyes which is also their hair and eye color, Lincoln then realized that this young man is definitely someone related to the Aether Dragon clan. But for some reason, he couldn't sense the Aether Dragon bloodline in him which meant that this young man had failed to awaken his Aether Dragon bloodline despite having Aether Dragon bloodline running through his veins. The only person that came into his mind was the son of a certain individual who managed to get away from his hand.

'No, how is this even possible? That trash wasn't even a cultivator when he escaped. In just less than 8 months it is impossible for him to reach Peak 3rd-order. Not to mention the fact that he doesn't look like the Leo I know.' Of course, Leo wouldn't look the same as he did 8 months ago. He had changed a lot both mentally and physically.

"Leo, how do you want to do this?" Aditya support Leo if he wanted to fight all the Aether Dragons. He would support Leo if he wanted to fight one v one with Lincoln. No matter what his choice was, as his teacher, Aditya would support him.

Meanwhile, hearing that Aditya was calling that young man Leo, Lincoln and other Supreme elders widened their eyes in deep shock. Before they were not so sure. Not that they were 100% sure who this young man was. This young man was the son of their previous leader. To think he would reach Peak 3rd-order in just 243 days, the whole thing was absolutely shocking. A feat that every Aether Dragon thought was impossible to accomplish was achieved by the very person whom they had considered to be trash is like a slap to all Aether Dragon's faces.

Leo looked at Lincoln. Without any hesitation, he asked for a fight. "I want to kill this bastard with my very own hands."

"Very well." A black sword appeared in Aditya's right hand. For some reason, the Aether dragons felt a sense of terror seeing the black sword. Aditya can use his authority as the Dragon Monarch to forcefully make these Aether dragons submit to him like dogs but that wouldn't be fun at all. Not every Dragon was worthy of becoming the Dragon Monarch's Dragon warrior.

"Bastard, I don't know how did you manage to reach Peak 3rd-order in such a short period of time but today I will make sure to complete what I have been wanting to do for the past 15 years and that is to end your life with my very own hands."

"And today I will take my sweet time in torturing the living hell out of you. I won't let you die so easily. I will make you beg me. I will make you crawl on the ground like a dog. I will cut every single piece of your body and feed it to the stray dogs."

Booom!

Leo couldn't hold back his Aura anymore. Two Crimson Pairs of wings appeared on his back. A layer of crimson scales covered his entire body. His pupil shape changed to red vertical slits.

"This...." Lincoln and Patrick and other Supreme Elders looked at each other in Deep Shock. Just what the hell happened to Leo? The wings on his back and the scales covering his entire body and his eyes, all of these indicated one thing. Even if Lincoln wanted to deny it, he knew that the current Leo was no longer a human. He was a dragon. But not an Aether Dragon, he had become something more majestic. More powerful, more divine, more holy, and purer.

"Leader, you take care of this brat. Meanwhile, we will deal with the other." Lincoln nodded. Even if Leo had managed to become a Dragon, his cultivation was higher than Leo's. While Lincoln was a Beginner 4th-order, Leo was only a Peak 3rd-order. In Lincoln's opinion, it was impossible for Leo to defeat him. So with full confidence, he flew forward.

Leo also didn't waste any time. He took out a golden lance which was a Peak 3-star lance and was enchanted by Aditya from his storage and then flew off to the sky.

The Aether Dragons thought that the middle-aged-looking dragon would also prepare to fight them. But he did something which was completely opposite of what they had thought. Instead of taking out his weapon, he took out a chair from his storage ring. After sitting down, he took out some nuts and began to eat them while staring at the Aether Dragons.

Seeing this Aditya smiled. It seems his butler wasn't interested in fighting. Even if Watson had decided to fight, Aditya probably would have finished everyone within a few seconds.

"I want to see how you lizards will keep flying once I cut off your wings." Nothing is more disrespectful to dragons when they are called Lizards. Aditya's words had successfully pissed all the Aether Dragons.

Swoosh!

Aditya had disappeared which had left all the 9 other 4th-order Aether Dragons panicked. Meanwhile, Leo and Lincoln started fighting.

Leo was fighting with golden Lance. Lincoln fought with a silver sword. Compared to the quality of Leo's weapon, the quality of Lincoln's weapon was bad. The silver sword was one of those cheap 2nd-star swords found in the market.

Lincoln put his palms together, then he took a deep breath and spat out a high volume of water at Leo. In counter, the young Dragonian summoned an orb of blue flame. The blue flame orb's size quickly expanded to meet the water blast head-on.

Booom!!!!

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know."

"Everyone. don't let your guard down."

All the Supreme elders were in consternation. They didn't know where Aditya had gone.

"I am here." Suddenly the Dragon Monarch appeared before Patrick. Before he or anyone of the Aether Dragons could react, he once again disappeared.

All the Aether Dragons were on their guard as they were expecting some form of attack. But after seeing that nothing is happening even after 10 seconds, everyone looked at each other in confusion. When the 11th second came, it started from one and then spread to all the Aether Dragons who were flying in the sky.

In the 11th second, one of the Aether Dragons suddenly fell down to the ground. In that very second, a hundred more Aether Dragons found that their wings has been cut off. Without their wings, the Aether Dragons fell to the ground. A few seconds later, every single Aether Dragon was hugging the earth as fresh red blood started coming out of their back. Not even the 4th-order Aether Dragons were spared.

In the sky, Lincoln who has been exchanging moves with Leo was horrified to see what Aditya had done to his race people.

"Nooooooo!!!!!" Lincoln was about to rush at Aditya but Leo used this chance and managed to sneak behind Lincoln. Before Lincoln could react, Leo's golden lance managed to pierce Lincoln's chest.

Cough!

Lincoln's pupils contracted to the size of a needle. He coughed out a large amount of blood. He could feel his body gradually losing its strength. He knew in a few seconds he would die and close his eyes forever.

"As I said before, I won't let you die this easily." Lincoln's entire body trembled on hearing Leo's cold emotionless tone. The next second Leo took out a 4-star healing potion pill made by Julia and forcefully feed it to Lincoln and then took out the golden lance from his chest. Before Lincoln would get away, he found a slave collar around his neck. Everything happened too fast for Lincoln.

The hole in his chest began to heal instantly. "Everything is not over yet." Saying that Leo grabbed Lincoln and flew off to the other side of Crystal Holm island.

Meanwhile, Aditya had finished dragging all the fallen Aether Dragons in one place.

"Why are you doing this to us? We never have offended you." One of the Elders asked while trying to stop the bleeding on his back. All the Aether Dragons felt as if their back has been roasted over a fire. They could feel their flesh burning which only intensified the pain they felt. Most of the young Aether dragons had even lost consciousness from this pain.

"Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Aditya. I am the Dragon Monarch. I am the Emperor of the Istarin empire." Patrick and the others widened their eyes in shock.

"To think that a dragon race would fall so low. I am extremely disappointed with the Aether dragon race. As the Dragon Monarch it is my responsibility to make sure that Dragons like you don't dirty the reputation of Dragons. You guys have long lost the pride and the courage that a Dragon should possess. Arrogance has blinded you all. For the sins that you all have committed, your punishment is death." Saying that Aditya didn't wait for anyone from the Aether Dragon to say anything. With the wave of his hand, a huge wave of Crimson flame surrounded them from all sides.

Seeing the 20 meters big wave of Crimson flame approaching them, all the Aether Dragons screamed in horror. Some pleaded with Aditya, some begged him, and some even swore to become his slave but Aditya did not stop.

Ahhhhh!!!!!

Aditya didn't feel a shred of regret for what he did today. Even though he killed his own dragon race members, he didn't feel any pain or regret. He rather felt happy and calm.

"The Autumnming islands will be in control of the Istarin Empire for now. Watson sent out a message to the Empress. I think both of us will need to have a meeting on this matter and discuss the future of the Autumnming islands."

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Chapter 261

What happened at the Autumnming islands quickly reached the ears of the Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress. Within a few hours, the Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress personally wrote a letter to Aditya and sent her Prime minister to personally deliver it to Aditya.

At the same time, Aditya opened the teleportation array. 1,000 Istarin Soldiers were bought from the capital. Under Aditya's orders, all the slaves were freed. Their slave collars were removed. At the same time, he personally told everyone who come to the Lost pearl city to trade that no one was going to harm them unless they did something illegal or committed any crime.

An hour later, things soon calm down. The 1000 guards began to clean up the city.

"Let's see what the Empress wants to say about this." Sitting on top of the wall, Aditya opened the blue envelope and he then took the neatly folded white piece of paper out of it.

[Your Majesty,

A few minutes ago I received the news of what you have done to the Aether Dragons. I really have to thank you for this. I would have dealt with the Aether Dragons but my mother, the previous empress wanted the Aether Dragon clan to become loyal to the Storm Isle Dynasty which would have increased our military powers. Also, from the beginning, my mother has taken a peaceful stance with the Aether Dragons and wanted things to remain peaceful.

Even though my mother is no longer the empress, I couldn't ignore her words. In the end, I decided to ignore this entire matter till I found a solution. Fortunately, you have done what I would have done in a few more months or maybe in a few years. Since you have done it, even if my mother is dissatisfied she won't question you.

I would really like to have a meeting with your majesty to discuss the future of the Autumnming islands. Normally I would have given up the Autumnming islands but the Autumnming islands are very important to the Storm Isle Dynasty. I hope your Majesty can understand this and won't make things difficult for me.]

After reading the letter, Aditya burned it using a tiny bit of his Crimson flame. 'So she kind of used me. It's not like I care. If this were to happen in the Storm Isle dynasty, then I wouldn't have thought twice before waging war against them.' From what Aditya knew, the previous empress still had big political influence over the Storm Isle Dynasty.

'Also if the empress had sent her forces to kill every single Aether Dragon, the military of the Storm Isle Dynasty would have taken a big hit.' Aditya closed his eyes, thinking about what he should do with the Autumnming islands.

Autumnming islands were of no interest to Aditya. If the Istarin Empire was still a small Kingdom, then Aditya definitely would have liked to take the Autumnming islands which could be used as a strategic geographic location. But now, even if the Storm Isle dynasty has the Autumnming islands and builds their military bases here, Aditya sees no threat from the Storm isle Dynasty.

'Though things might become troublesome if one day the Storm Isle Dynasty decides to ally with an enemy of the Istarin Empire and allows their ally to use the military base in Autumnming islands.' Aditya has to make a contract with the empress. A contract that will prevent the Empress from ever backstabbing the Istarin empire in the future.

"Is he still torturing that man?" Aditya could sense that Lincoln was still alive. But every five or ten minutes later, his Aura would weaken and then recover. Aditya did not interrupt Leo. That boy needed to let it out. Suppressing such emotions in his heart is not for good for his future. By doing that he is only killing himself from the inside out.

"What should I do about the other 1,000 Aether dragons who are mostly children and elderly ones?" Aditya knew that for what he and Leo has done, the remaining Aether dragons will hold grudges. Meaning in the future, the young ones will likely try to get revenge. So the cycle of hate will continue. Dragons don't easily let go of their vengeance. So trying to talk to the young ones is pointless. Although he didn't mind killing the elderly ones, the problem came with the young ones. Killing them would mean the end of the Aether Dragon clan. Even if Aditya didn't like what the Aether Dragon did, the extinction of a Dragon race would be quite sad.

Sigh!

"I will leave this to Leo." In the end, if Leo asked Aditya to spare the rest of the Aether dragon clan, Aditya would listen to him and wouldn't hurt others. But the probability of Leo saying that is close to zero.

"Now, I should clean my body." Aditya's whole body was still covered in blood. Standing up he flew towards the sea. After flying 100 meters away from the shore, he dived into the sea. After diving into the sea, he threw away his clothes which were soaked in blood. Then he took out a set of other clothes and wore them while underwater. He didn't care about being naked, as no one be able to see his naked body while underwater.

Just as Aditya finished wearing his clothes, he sensed a certain familiar Aura approaching in his direction. Aditya waited for that person to approach him.

A minute later, Laura was standing in front of Aditya with a smile on her face. Looking closely, Aditya noticed that Laura's cheeks seems to be slightly flushing red. She also avoided looking directly into his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Aditya asked in confusion.

Laura shook her head. She then looked at Aditya. Her cheeks looked normal again. "Your Majesty, I was very surprised to sense you here. What are you doing here?" Laura asked. When Aditya fought the Aether Dragons, some of the Deep Sea palace guards sensed this and noticed the higher-ups. Laura heard about this and personally came to inspect what was going on.

Earlier, Laura had managed to see Aditya naked with the artifact that allows her to see long distances. Aditya didn't realize that he was seen naked by Laura. She would never admit this. She would rather take this secret to her grave.

"My student has a history with the Aether Dragon race who lives on these islands. I came with him to settle the matter."

Laura could smell blood in the water around Aditya. "You Settled the matter with blood?"

"I wasn't planning on interfering but they did something which also pissed me off." Laura knew that Aditya was not the type of person to easily lose his calm. If the Aether Dragons were able to make him lose his calm, then they must have done something very bad or disrespectful.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were cultivating." Last time Aditya met Laura at the High Harbor Tide City. Laura and her maid came there to find Aditya. That day Aditya and Julia were on a date. After clearing the misunderstanding between them, Laura and Aditya formed an alliance. Aditya had given her a pill that would increase her cultivation speed and would help her to break through beginner 5th-order.

"In a few weeks or two, I should be able to break through. I stopped cultivating to gain some experience fighting wild marine magic animals." Aditya nodded his head.

"I am going back to the Autumnming islands. Do you want to come with me?"

"Alright." Aditya didn't think Laura would actually agree to go with him. He was only asking her out of politeness.

"Alright let's go."

A few minutes later, Aditya was accompanied by a beautiful lady. Aditya managed to dry his wet clothes by rising the temperature of his body. While Laura just used a simple technique to instantly dry her clothes. When both of them walked inside the city, all the people were looking in their direction. By now, every people in the Lost Pearl city knew Aditya. Many people wondered where this beautiful woman had come from.

Even the Peak 3rd-order cultivators couldn't sense Laura's cultivation which made them sure that the woman walking beside Aditya wasn't simple.

"I can't sense any Aether dragons on this island except for one. Did you kill all of them?" Laura asked while looking around. Laura never come to the Lost pearl city even though the city was very close to the sea.

"Yes." Aditya spoke as if what he had done wasn't a big deal at all. This only left Laura more speechless. She knew the population of the Aether dragons. The Deep Sea Palace never bothered the dragons who have been living here for more than one thousand years. She didn't think Aditya would wipe out 2/3 of their population and act as if it is a very small matter.

"What are you going to do with these islands? Are you going to return it to the Storm Isle dynasty?"

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Chapter 262

"What are you going to do with these islands? Are you going to return it to the Storm Isle dynasty?"

"Yes."

"By the way, recently I have been getting some news that someone has built a holy ground for the dragons. Do you know anything about it?" Laura was very interested in the Dragon Palace. If possible she would like to see the Dragon Palace with her very own eyes. But right this was simply wasn't possible.

"I have created the Dragon palace. The Dragon Palace is the most important and most guarded place of the Istarin Empire. But if Miss Laura wants, I can bring you with me and give you a tour." Laura shook her head with a smile.

"I am afraid I can't accompany your majesty. Maybe some other day."

"How is everything at the Deep Sea Palace?" Aditya knew by now the Deep Sea Palace must be preparing to host the competition which would determine who will become their next Ruler. All the participants were training very hard.

"Nothing much. These past few months I have been trying to increase my political power. Most of the time I was cultivating in my house. But if anything major or very serious had happened, my people would have let me know about it."

"That's good to know."

"By the way, does the Deep Sea Palace has mana stone mines?" Aditya couldn't help curious if the Deep Sea Palace had Mana stone mines.

"Does your Majesty has an interest in our Empire's mana stone mines?" Laura has heard of the things that the Istarin Empire has been doing. She didn't Aditya to expand his Empire within the Southern region.

"I am just curious."

"As of now, all of our Mana stone supplies are fulfilled by 9 Mana stone Mines. But according to a recent study, the Northern part of the Deep Sea Palace should have 5 or 7 more Mana stone mines."

While Aditya and Laura were talking about small things, Watson from the distance noticed both of them. Seeing his Majesty with another woman who is equally if not more beautiful than Julia and others, made Watson wonder if his Majesty's Dragon bloodline had some secret power to attract beautiful women toward him. Of course, these were just Watson's personal thoughts. He would never share his thought with anyone.

'But if his Majesty were to marry her as well, the possibility of his Majesty having an heir in the future would further increase.' Watson secretly thought while approaching Aditya and Laura.

After learning how difficult it was for a Divine Crimson Storm Dragon to have an heir, Watson has been slightly worried about the future. It has been his dream to become the personal butler of his Majesty's heir. He felt the chances of Aditya having an heir would drastically increase if Aditya has multiple wives.

"Watson, come here. Let me introduce you to Laura. Laura this is Watson. Watson is my personal butler and also head of all the servants in the Dragon palace." Watson widened his eyes hearing the name of this woman. He didn't Laura to be this beautiful.

"Watson, you should already who she is." Watson nodded his head. Last time, Aditya informed Watson about Laura when he returned to the castle.

"It's nice to meet you, Watson."

"Likewise, Lady Laura." Watson greeted her with a polite bow. He placed his right palm on his chest while slightly lowering his chest.

"Your Majesty, the whole Lost pearl city is under control. Everything has been cleaned. And All the Aether Dragon properties have been seized."

"Good. Write a letter informing the Empress to send her troops to take over this city. Once the Storm Isle Dynasty's troops come and take over, the Istarin Empire will leave the Lost Pearl city." Since Aditya was going to return this city to the Empress in the end, he didn't see any reason to place his troops here to maintain order. This should be the job of the Empress.

The only reason Aditya bought his troops here is that they were responsible for the chaos that happened in the city. Now that the troops have cleaned everything and had managed to calm down everyone and also maintain order, their job was finished. Once the Storm Isle Dynasty's soldiers come here, the Istarin troops will return back to the Capital city.

"As you wish."

Around 20 minutes later, an army of 3,000 troops led by one of the strongest commanders of the Storm Isle dynasty who was a Beginner 4th-order cultivator, came to the Lost Pearl city. The commander personally expressed gratitude on behalf of the Empress and the citizens of the Storm Isle Dynasty.

Aditya knew the only reason the commander was thanking him is that they understood that Aditya had no intention of taking over the Autumnming islands. He proved this by returning control of the Lost pearl city and Crystal Holm island.

"Alright, everyone, it's time to return." Saying that Aditya looked in a certain direction. He could still sense the Aura of the Aether Dragon Leader. It seems the leader was still being tortured by Leo.

"Watson you return with everyone. I will check on Leo and bring him with me." Watson nodded. A few seconds later, he and one thousand troops left the Lost Pearl city.

"Your Majesty, I will also take my leave. I think I have seen enough. Until next time." Aditya nodded. He didn't stop Laura from leaving. Their relationship didn't go beyond an alliance with benefits. Both of them needed each other for their benefit.

'But that was a few months ago. Now my Empire has grown significantly stronger. I am confident that I can deal with the Deep Sea Palace empire and defeat them. But it wouldn't hurt to have a strong and wise ally like Laura by my side.' Laura was a mature and wise person. This kind of person was very rare to find. Having her as an ally would only bring him benefits.

Besides, the Istarin Empire has been conquering and expanding very rapidly. It would be nice to have a few powerful allies if in case something happened that is out of Aditya's prediction.

Scene change_____

A normal man wearing a black outfit walked inside the Seekers of Impurity guild. Walking inside the guild, the man met the female receptionist.

"How sir, how can I help you?" The female receptionist asked with a professional smile on her face.

"I want to meet the guild master." Saying that the man showed a golden coin that had the symbol of a Dragon on it. Seeing this the female receptionist's attitude towards the man became more respectful.

"Please come with me." Before leaving with the female receptionist, the man turned around to see if anyone was observing him. All he saw were adventurers talking among themselves. Everyone inside the guild building was busy with their own work. No one paid any attention to him.

In the left corner, some adventurers were drinking milk wine. Some Adventurer parties were checking out the missions. While the other adventurers were mostly talking among themselves or talking with the other receptionists.

Any adventurer high-ranking adventurer can meet the guild master. It wasn't such a big deal to meet the guild master. This is why no one thought of much when the female receptionist personally led one of the adventurers to meet the guild master.

Beyond the wooden stairs, the guild master worked in the first room. There were several other rooms which are used by other guild employees. But compared to other rooms, the room where the guild master worked was 3 times bigger and more luxurious.

While walking towards the guild master's room, the female receptionist greeted a few others who were her colleagues and friends.

Knock! Knock!

"What is it?" A female voice was heard coming from the guild master room.

"Guild master, someone wants to meet you from the Istarin empire."

"Let him in."

Click!

The female receptionist watched the man enter the room. When the door was closed, she didn't wait anymore. She went back to the 1st floor to continue working.

Meanwhile, the man took out a letter from his storage. Without saying any words, he approached the guild master who was looking at his face. It seems the guild master was very interested in him. But the man didn't care. His expression remained neutral. There were no emotions on his face.

He silently put the letter on the table in front of the guild master and then turned around to leave. The guild master took the letter and then watched the man who walked out of the room. This whole time, neither of them exchanged any words. This was not the first time the man had given letters to the guild master. And this was not the first time the guild master had seen this man.

After the man walked out, the guild master looked at the letter and thought out loud. "It looks like another letter will be delivered to the Istarin Empire." Around a few months ago, the guild leader summoned all of them for a meeting. In that meeting, Alicia asked the guild masters to deliver letters that would be given to them by the secret spies of the Istarin Empire.

Within a few minutes, the letter reached the Istarin Empire's capital. The letter was sent to the Azure city using the teleportation array. After receiving the letter, the guild master who was in charge of the Seekers of Impurity branch guild ordered one of the most trusted members of the guild to deliver the letter to one of the Dragonians.

From the Dragonians, the letter reached the hands of the Leader of the Shadow guardians. The captain of the 3rd division, the leader of all the assassins and spies of the Istarin Empire, was in the hands of Nathan Owen.

Opening the letter, Nathan began to read the letter which was written in their special coded language. The more Nathan read, the more his expression changed. In the end, the coldness in the Shadow guardian's eyes had reached a level new. Holding a vast amount of rage and anger in his heart, Nathan silently went to the Dragon Palace.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I apologize for not uploading yesterday. I had no internet yesterday.

Chapter 263

"What do you want to do with the remaining Aether Dragons?" Aditya asked the man sitting opposite him. Currently, both of them had returned to the Dragon Palace. Aditya and Leo both were having a meeting. He felt he needed to have a talk with Leo.

Leo did not reply. He has been like this ever since he returned after killing Lincoln. He didn't speak to anyone. The current Leo looked lost. Within just 8 months he had fulfilled his biggest purpose in life which was to take revenge for his parent's death. Now that he had completed his mission, he was lost. He didn't know what he would do in the future.

Aditya waited for Leo to answer. In some ways, Aditya and Leo's situation was very similar. Both were hated by their own families. No matter what he decided, Aditya is going to support him as he is an important part of the Istarin Empire. Leo had the potential to become even stronger than the 7 generals and become the second strongest force of the Istarin empire after Aditya.

After 10 minutes of silence, Leo finally opened his mouth. He finally looked into Aditya's eyes. "I am supposed to hate the Aether Dragons more than anything yet I can't bring myself to tell you to kill all of them. I still hate the Aether Dragons but I feel I have done more than enough. My father would very sad if he learned that his Aether Dragon clan went extinct as a result of his son's actions. So my answer is don't kill them. Let them live."

Seeing Aditya not replying Leo became a little bit worried. He clearly understands what the Aether Dragons were doing had angered the Dragon Monarch. As the Dragon Monarch's Dragonian, Leo doesn't even deserve to voice out his opinion yet Aditya allows him to express his desire. Leo really hoped that Aditya wouldn't kill all of the Aether dragons as this would undoubtfully go against his father's wishes.

Aditya maintains eye contact with Leo for more than 10 seconds. Looking at those crimson gems, Leo felt as if he was an ant in front of a dragon. There is simply no comparison between them. The only person who can make him scared is the Dragon Monarch.

Aditya broke the serious atmosphere with a smile on his face. This left Leo confused. "I am happy with your decision."

"Huh?" Leo now looked super confused.

"You just had to tell me to wipe out every single Aether Dragon yet you didn't. You didn't let revenge completely consume your head and affect your judgment. Instead, you chose to discard your revenge for the sake of your father's wish. I respect the decision that you have made. You're so young yet your action is so mature. I am impressed." Leo looked at the bigger picture which was the fact that his father was the leader of the Aether Dragons and have done everything in his power to secure that the Aether Dragons are never in danger.

"My King I am afraid you're giving me too much credit. I have taken my revenge by killing Lincoln. The other Aether Dragons have nothing to do with my parent's death. They are innocent. I still hate them for bullying me and my sister when we were young. But I don't hate them to the point where I wouldn't do something that would put all of my father's hard work down the drain." Aditya just smiled in response.

"Your sister should be playing with Skye. You should see her and spend more time with her. While trying to gain power, these days, you have been seriously neglecting your sister. Right now, she needs you more than anything." Leo understood Aditya's words. He stood up preparing to leave and see his sister right away.

"One more thing, don't forget to clean your body before you see her. I don't think there is any need of telling her what has happened today. She is too young for this kind of thing. Let her enjoy her childhood." Aditya then ignored Leo and took out his black sword. He started drawing runes on it with full focus.

Leo stared at Aditya for a few seconds before bending his body to complete 90 degrees. "Your Majesty, I can never repay you for the things that you have done for me and my sister. We will be forever in your debt."

Aditya stopped what he was doing. "There is no need for both of you to thank me. The Dragon palace will forever be your home. Your little sister is also like my own sister. In some sense, she is the princess of the Istarin Empire." Although Aditya didn't say it indirectly he was telling that Leo is the unofficial prince of the Istarin empire. Leo understood what Aditya was indirectly hinting at him.

Aditya basically gave them a new identity and a new home and most importantly, a new fresh beginning. Realizing this tears gathered in his eyes. The man who never shed a tear in these 8 months finally broke down. Silently tears rolled down his eyes. But unlike other times, this time there was a genuine smile on his face. There were emotions on his face. The emotions that he locked in his heart started flowing out.

"The Istarin Empire's prince does not need to shed tears. The people will think that the little brother of the Dragon Monarch is weak. The good days are yet to come. The young Aether Dragon's story of revenge is over. Now a new story will begin and the Istarin Prince will be a part of it." Those words were more than enough. Leo almost wanted to hug Aditya. But he restrained himself. For him, getting the recognition of being the Dragon Monarch's little brother is more than enough.

"I will try my best to live up to your expectations." After bowing his head once more, Leo finally left. Just as Leo closed the door, Aditya slightly smiled before going back to his words.

Leo's journey was far from being over. Before he lived a life of an avenger now he will need to live a life as the Istarin Prince.

A few seconds after Leo left, the smile on Aditya's face disappeared as he turned his head to his right. "Nathan, you can come out now."

Suddenly from the shadows, a figure emerged and kneeled behind Aditya. "What news do you have for me, Nathan?" Nathan would only come to meet Aditya if he had some important news that required his attention. Otherwise most of the time, he would report the small things to Spencer or Watson.

"Sire, the news is quite serious. It seems there will be another bloody war going to take place in the Southern region." On hearing this, Aditya shifted his full attention to Nathan.

"Speak, I am listening."

"Seven great Emperors have joined hands and have formed an alliance to take down the Northern Frost Dragon empire. Our spies have noticed a few of the 7 Empires moving their military. Last week, the Ocean Mist Empire bought hundred ice cannons from a foreign Empire. Other Empires are also preparing in their own way."

"How much time before the war breaks out?"

"Probably 3 weeks or maybe even less."

The reason this whole situation was serious news to the Istarin Empire and to the Dragon Monarch is because of several factors. First of all the seven great Oceanic Empires were very stronger Marine forces. As the Southern region is completely surrounded by the sea, after taking down the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, they could simply surround the territory of the Istarin empire from both sides and choke the Istarin Empire's territory. This would cut off the Istarin Empire's trade. Even the option of using the teleportation array would be cut off as the seven great oceanic Empires have something that can prevent teleportation arrays from working.

Right now the death of the former Emperor has internally divided the Northern Frost Dragon empire. The royal family, and the powerful nobles supporting the royal families, all have entered into a conflict with each other. This left the throne empty. And without an Emperor to lead them, the Northern Frost Dragon empire wouldn't even stand a chance against the combined force of the seven oceanic empires. Once they capture the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, they can easily launch an attack on the Istarin Empire's territory.

Even if they don't attack, the Istarin Empire would be constantly under the threat of an attack. The Oceanic forces would be able to attack anytime they feels like. And the combined forces of the seven oceanic Empires, Aditya is not sure if he can stop them. What the Oceanic forces were doing is a big threat to the Istarin Empire

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 264

[A special thank you to reader Zeko323 gifting this novel with a Golden Gachapon worth 15000 Coins.]

"Nathan, can you please call Spencer for me? I think my prime minister needs to hear this. His opinion will help us out." Spencer is a very talented young man. As the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire, he deserves to know this and give his opinion on this whole matter.

Nathan nodded his head. The next second he disappeared like the wind.

Aditya remained sitting in his private study room. He was deeply thinking about the entire situation. 'The more the Istarin empire expands, the more enemies that Istarin Empire will have in the future. It has become a very common thing for the Istarin Empire to be at war every few months.' These last few people, Aditya has been increasing the number of Dragonians.

Now every city, every town, and every village, in the Istarin Empire was protected by the Dragonians. The Dragonians were spread throughout every single settlement within Empire. The cities were protected by Peak 3rd-order or Mid-3rd-order Dragonians. The towns were protected by Peak 2nd-order or beginner 3rd-order Dragonians. While the villages were guarded by new Dragonians who have just reached second order.

The number of Dragonians currently in the Istarin empire is over 11,000. Among the 11,000, less than one thousand of them had managed to reach Peak 3rd-order. The majority of the Dragonians were second-order cultivators. One thing to note, Leo was the strongest and most talented Dragonians. While Watson was Aditya's very first Dragonian.

In the eyes of the outside world, the Istarin Empire has been recruiting a large number of soldiers. Even the soldiers that once worked for the Southern Fire Dragon Empire now proudly worked for the Istarin Empire. The previous generals of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire who had helped the Istarin empire now had become nobles. Aditya has given them a small piece of land, and the right to govern their territory.

The current structure of the empire was very stable. The chances of a civil war breaking out even if tomorrow Aditya suddenly disappears is next to zero. The Istarin Empire has become the home of the Dragons. Any being possessing even a single drop of a dragon bloodline is welcomed at the Istarin empire. It is very normal for the citizens to see Dragons now and then.

'Previously the Storm Empire and the Ageless Islands empire had allied with the Southern Fire Dragon empire. While the Mist Ocean and the Cloud earth Empire allied with the Northern Frost Dragon empire. I didn't expect these four Empires to join hands along with the other three Oceanic empires. What could possibly make these 7 Empires put their differences behind them and join hands?' The answer was very simple. It was not land that they wanted. It was Mana stones. The Southern region is filled with mana stone mines.

'Previously all seven Ocean Empires relied on both dragon Empires for their supply of Mana stones. But now they want to take advantage of the chaotic situation in Northern Frost Empire to invade the Southern region.' Aditya can understand their motive and their interest.

'The problem is, the combined power of the seven Empires is too great even for the Istarin empire.' Aditya wasn't even sure if he can take on all the fifth-order cultivators from all seven Empires.

'No matter how powerful I become after using my stats-boosting skills, at the end of the day, I am still a Mid-3rd-order cultivator. When surrounded by 10 or 15 fifth-order cultivators, even I will fall short. Not to mention the powerful siege weapons that they have.'

'In this war, the southern region land will be heavily damaged. In the end, regardless of which side wins, the land will be heavily damaged and millions of people will be left to starve or will become homeless.' Although Aditya took over the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, he has done everything in his power to keep the civilians out of their conflict. He had strictly ordered no one to harm any civilians. Those who break this order will be heavily punished.

'Now I am left with two options.'

Knock!

"No, need to knock. Come inside. We will need to talk." Opening the door, Spencer and Nathan walked in. Aditya signaled both of them to sit on the couch opposite him.

"Nathan, did you explain the situation to Spencer?" Nathan nodded his head.

"Spencer, what do you think of this entire situation?" Aditya asked.

"Your Majesty, I would say that in this situation, we prevent the seven Empires from even coming to the Southern region. The combined power of the seven Empires is something that I cannot even begin to imagine. If such a big military force starts a war on the Southern region, the entire region will be in chaos. Millions will flee to the Istarin Empire's territory. Millions will die, millions will become homeless, and millions will become suffer. In the end, the southern region will become a barren land of chaos."

"I agree with you. I would suggest that before the seven Empires could come to the Southern region, we create a blockage for them."

"Blockage?" Nathan and Spencer exchanged a look of surprise.

"Let me explain. The Seekers of Impurity guild is spread throughout the seven Empires. We can easily infiltrate the Western region and start a fight among themselves." Aditya wanted to divert the seven Empire's attention and create a crack in their alliance. This will buy the Southern region more time and also will hopefully keep the seven Empires busy for the next few years or maybe for the next few decades. If everything went right, then maybe the alliance between them will also break.

For the next few hours, Aditya, Spencer, and Nathan were inside Aditya's private study room. The three of them talked about various things. 4 hours later, Spencer and Nathan left Aditya's private study room.

Aditya went to have dinner with others. At the dining table, Aditya and others were surprised by the change in Leo. For the first time, everyone had seen him smile openly. The cold look on his face had disappeared. He now looked like a different man. The dark Aura that surrounded him was replaced with a bright cheerful Aura.

The happiest one about this change was Leo's little sister Clara. Julia also looked very happy as for months she has been trying to bring changes within Leo. There are a few reasons why Julia cares so much about Leo. One of those reasons is that, when she and Aditya met Leo and his little sister, she has been wanting to help them out in her own way.

The second reason, staying in the same castle or palace for so many months, has bought Julia closer to Clara and Leo. Leo was just like her little brother. Julia had started to see Clara and Leo as her siblings. Imagining her little brother becoming this kind of man hurt her. And the third reason is something to do with Aditya. She knew that Aditya has recognized Leo as his little brother though it hasn't been made official yet. As Aditya's future wife, she must do everything in her power to treat her husband's brother with kindness.

"From next week onwards, Leo is going to start attending school. Leo you're not allowed to object to my decision." Clara looked very happy with the news. But on the other hand, Leo looked grumbled in a low sound.

"Fine." Aditya can understand that Leo did not enjoy being around kids around his age. Pressure has forced him to become a mature man at a very early age. While this maturity had its advantages, in some cases, especially when interacting with kids around his age, Leo found it very boring.

Almost all the noble's kids of his age would be focused on enjoying their lives. Those kids didn't have to carry the burden that he carried on his shoulders.

"This is for your own good. Socializing is a form of very important training. If you don't socialize, you won't develop communication skills. Without communication skills, you can't become a great person. Who knows, by attending school, you might even find the love of your life?" Aditya added the last part in a joking manner.

He never expected Leo to actually blush. Seeing this everyone except for Clara looked very surprised.

"Oh, my, my. It seems our Leo has already found someone. Leo, if you ever need any help, don't hesitate to come to big sister. Big sister will always help you out." Riya, Alicia, Julia, Watson, Nathan, Spencer, Amber, Scott, Josh, Eleanor, Tyler, Henry, and Aditya, all smiled looking at Leo.

"I haven't found anyone." Leo raised his voice and denied it. But he didn't dare to look at anyone's faces. Instead, his face turned even red. Even his ears had turned red.

"Brother, don't lie. A few weeks ago, I saw you slightly smiling while looking at the daughter of Sir Marvin Sarlus." Aditya raised an eyebrow upon hearing Clara's words. He then looked at Leo. Only to see steams coming out of his head. His head was red as a tomato. He looked like he would die in embarrassment.

"Daughter of Duke Sarlus?" Aditya closed his eyes. He had not met the daughter or anyone from Duke Sarlus's family. Duke Sarlus is always so serious that is hard to socialize with him.

Nowadays, all the children of the nobles attend the school that Aditya has built-in Azure city. Plenty of foreign royals, dynasties, and empires sent their children to study here. It wasn't a surprise that Leo has seen Duke Sarlus's daughter who was one class above Leo's sister.

"If I remember correctly, Sir Sarlus's daughter is very beautiful. She is nothing like her father who is always serious. She is said to be gentle as spring yet she can become merciless when she is angered." Aditya even remembered someone telling him that, unlike Duke Sarlus who had a face of a lion, his daughter's face looked completely like a human's.

'Duke Sarlus is a very close ally to the Istarin Empire. Even back when the Istarin Empire had nothing, that man stayed loyal to the Kingdom and the throne. If there was a position above the rank of Duke, I would have offered that position to that man. I think marrying Leo to his daughter would be an excellent choice. But first I will have to talk to him about this and get his opinion before I make any decision.' Duke Sarlus would rather die than disobey Aditya's order. His loyalty was something that can never be questioned.

Duke Sarlus and Duke Zayne, are the only two nobles whom Aditya trusted to the point that he didn't bind them with a soul-binding contract. Aditya knew that both Dukes would rather die than leak information to the enemy.

"If I remember correctly, Sir Sarlus once told me that many nobles had begun asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. But he refused." Aditya looked at Leo who was also looking at him. "Sir Sarlus wants his son-in-law to be someone who is brave, courageous, strong, and rightful. If someone manages to fulfill all these conditions then there is a chance that person will get the opportunity of marrying the daughter of Duke Sarlus."

Just as Aditya said those words, he and others saw Leo's dark blue pupil burning in flames of determination. 'At least, he has found things that can help him move forward in life.' Aditya smiled looking at Leo's determined face.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[A special thank you to reader Zeko323 gifting this novel with a Golden Gachapon worth 15000 Coins.]

Chapter 265

"Sir Sarlus wants his son-in-law to be someone who is brave, courageous, strong, and rightful. If someone manages to fulfill all these conditions then there is a chance that person will get the opportunity of marrying the daughter of Duke Sarlus." Of course, Aditya was making this up. But given Duke Sarlus's character, he was 100% sure that he would want these qualities in his future son-in-law. There is no way, Sarlus would marry his daughter to a weak coward.

"My brother is courageous and very strong. He is kind to the weak. He perfectly matches the criteria." Clara said in an excited tone. Seeing this others just smile and did not add any comment. Everyone has to admit that the presence of this little girl in the Dragon Palace has brightened things. Despite losing her parents and being forced to run away from her homeland, Clara's personality still remained innocent and kind.

This only goes on to show just how much burden Leo was carrying for his sister. No matter how bad the situation got, he didn't let his sister lose her smile.

"By the way, I have something to inform everyone." Everyone looked at Julia.

"What is it?"

"Tomorrow, my parents and my little brother are planning to come to the Dragon Palace."

"Really?" Aditya became the most serious one. This was the first time, Julia's parents were going to visit them.

"Yes," Julia confirmed his doubt.

Aditya looked at Watson. The former acting prime minister instantly understood his task and quickly nodded his head. "Don't worry, your Majesty. I will prepare everything to their liking. Just leave everything to me." Aditya nodded his head.

"When father and mother will come?"

"Evening."

"Alright."

After dinner, Aditya went back to his bedroom. Watson went to make preparation for Julia's parent's arrival. Leo, Julia, and Clara went to Clara's bedroom. From time to time, Julia, Alicia, and Riya help Clara with her homework. Since Leo was going to join the school, Julia was planning on giving him some books which would help him. The half-wolf named Skye also went along with Clara and others.

After dinner, Riya used the teleportation array to head back to The Celestial Terrain. She had to take care of something. Alicia went back to her bedroom and started cultivating. These days the goddess focused more on her cultivation as she didn't want to become a burden to Aditya.

As for the seven generals, all of them went back to their respective rooms except for Nathan. Following Aditya's orders, he used the Seekers of Impurity guild to teleport to Mist Ocean Empire. As for others, after returning to their rooms, using the pills that Julia created for them, they began to cultivate.

Scene change to the Western region of the Dying Isle continent____

Nathan following the orders of his King teleported to the city named Blazing Sword City. The Blazing sword city was built on a small island that used to be occupied by kobolds. After defeating the kobold, the city was built. The city was named after the name of sword that the Hero used to kill the Half-Dragon Kobold. No one really knows who this hero is. The townsfolks began to call that man their hero as he had given them a new home.

This happened almost a thousand years ago. To this day, the story of a mysterious hero defeating the half-Dragon Kobold with a Blazing Sword is very popular among the Blazing Sword city citizens. The city had a population of 430,567. The locals lived mostly by fishing or farming. Other than the tale of a Hero, this city had nothing special to offer. Well, that was the case in the eyes of nobles.

But for the common people, this city was an ideal place to live. Every year many commoners come here to live. Even the governor who ruled this city was very kind to his people. The tax was very low and the crime rate of the city wasn't that high either.

Nathan walked out of the Seekers of Impurity guild branch office. He used the Seekers of Impurity guild branch office's teleportation array to this city. In this way, Nathan won't have to worry about making a fake identity trying to enter the city. He can just directly teleport inside the city. Walking out of the guild branch office, Nathan began to walk on the streets. His whole body was covered under a brown dirty cloak. The hood covered his face.

After walking for more than 20 minutes, Nathan managed to find the familiar alley. This alley looked completely ordinary. Walking inside the dirty alley, Nathan found 10 to 15 homeless people sitting in the alley. Upon a closer look, he can see just as he walked to this alley, all of those homeless people had turned their attention to him. Secretly these homeless people had taken out their knives.

'Alley guardians. Their job is to silence any intruder who might have found information about the organization and has come here to investigate. No one would think that these skinny and dirty-looking homeless people are actually trained assassins.' Before Nathan was sold as a slave, he worked as an Assassin. In this assassin career, Nathan has heard the name of a certain powerful assassin organization.

That organization is said to be so powerful that, in the underworld, that organization is considered the most terrifying and deadly organization. The mysterious organization had no name. Rather, the organization's name was only known to the members of the organization. The organization had a 100% success rate. No one can escape the organization's target.

Without saying words, Nathan took out a royal gold coin and gently threw it at one of the homeless people. The secret assassin caught the royal gold coin and then looked at Nathan.

"I have a job request." At this moment Nathan was on his guard. He knew if these people found even a small detail suspicious about him, they then will strike him down. Even though Nathan is considered to be the second most powerful general of the Istarin Empire, even he won't be able to escape if he was attacked here.

"What request? Who is the target?" Nathan simply took out a paper from his storage ring and threw it at one of the homeless people. Grabbing the white paper and after the name of the target, they all widened their eyes in shock.

"This is going to be expensive. Are you sure you can afford this huge amount? Let me warn you, if you think that you can get away without paying all the amount, then you're dead wrong." The homeless people had the impression that Nathan might not be rich given his dirty and old cloak.

"Money was never a problem. Just name the amount."

"You wait here." Soon one of the assassins who was pretending to be a homeless beggar disappeared with the white paper that Nathan has given him.

Nathan did not leave. He stood there in his position; not moving an inch for more than 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the assassin finally returned.

The assassin stood in front of Nathan and asked. "Before we agree to take your mission, first give us your identity. If you dare to disguise yourself, then you and the people behind you will regret it."

"Very well." Nathan removed the hood covering his face. As the hood fell, a face that was covered with a black mask appeared before everyone. Nathan then took out the seal of the Istarin Empire and showed it to the Assassins. For a few seconds, the assassins looked surprised. But they soon calmed down.

Nathan didn't need to hide his identity. Before coming here, he had long known that he would have to expose his identity. He also knew that the organization's mouth was tightly sealed. No information about them would be leaked.

"What is the price?" Nathan knew that this assassin had gone back to his base to ask his superior's opinion. In the underworld, every person's head had a price. There were also certain figures whom the assassin organization didn't wish to offend or kill. But the mysterious organization had a reputation for killing anyone as long as the right money was offered.

"51 million gold coins. We will do the first and then come for the payment. The job should be done within 24 hours. 24 hours later, you better come here and give the money. Don't make us find you otherwise, the Istarin Empire will regret it." Just as the assassin threatened the Istarin Empire, Nathan's killing intent almost leaked out. This fool dares to threaten the Istarin Empire. Who does he think he is?

'I could have done this job. Why are we hiring these dogs? Your Majesty, what are you planning?' Aditya didn't want the Istarin Empire's name to become dirty which is why he asked Nathan to hire a third party for this job.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 266

The next day____

The month of winter was approaching its end. The white blanket of snow was slowly beginning to melt. The temperature of the Dying Isle, Westnia, and the Celestial Terrain was slowly turning warmer. The magic animals that have entered into hibernation were slowly waking up from their deep slumber and were beginning to look around for food. Some trees were already beginning to grow their leaves, and plants started to grow flowers.

This was the end time of Winter. Everything was very peaceful in Azure city. A few weeks ago, Aditya came up with a new array formation. It was a type of array formation that would keep the entire Azure city slightly warmer compared to the outside world. As of now, he still hasn't made this array in other cities as he was busy.

Thanks to all the measures that Aditya has taken and thanks to everyone's hard work, this year, only 11 people died in Azure city. Compared to the previous year, this number has gone down drastically. Even in other Istarin Empire Cities, the number of deaths is almost negligible if one were to compare this to the previous years.

Everything was going according to Aditya's plan. The Istarin Empire was rapidly developing under his rule. The people of the Empire were very happy mainly due to several factors. The food had become cheap and affordable for everyone. The crime rate has drastically gone down. There was hardly any corruption.

"Good Morning, Scott." The goddess of nature approached Scott an hour after they finished breakfast.

"Good morning, Lady Tombrook." Just like Aditya was respected by every dragon in this world as he was the Dragon Monarch, all the elves in this world respected the goddess of Nature. Scott was also the same. Elves held the Goddess of Nature in very high regard. In Celestial Terrain, Riya is extremely popular and influential. If any foreigner even dares to say any disrespectful word to their goddess, the elves would hunt that foreigner and would mercilessly kill them. The elves of the Celestial Terrain wouldn't tolerate any disrespect towards their goddess.

Elves were lovers of nature. Elves are very different from other races. After Dragon and Vampire races, elves were one of the strongest races in the whole world. Every elf worships the Nature goddess. Elves would do anything to protect nature even if it means starting a war. There were even many elven tribes that were strict vegetarians. These tribes wouldn't hunt any wild magic animals.

After Riya was born, she was slowly able to change this perception of her elven people. Riya saw hunting animals as a natural law of nature. The food chain was created by the nature to balance everything. Every plant and animal species, whether big or small, depends on another plant or animal species to some extent for its survival.

In the eyes of the elven people, Riya was the reincarnation of the elven goddess. All the elven people followed whatever Riya told them.

Scott who was the leader of the first army division didn't dare to say the goddess's first name. He instead called her by her family name. The amount of respect that Scott had for Riya is immense. When Scott learned that Riya was the goddess of Nature, he instantly kneeled before her and asked for forgiveness for not being able to recognize her. For the past few months, Scott has been seeing Riya in the Dragon palace. Her kindness only increased the respect that he had for the goddess. "Lady Tombrook, you do need anything from me?" Scott was going to train the new recruits in his division.

"Scott, why are you always so serious?" Riya wanted Scott to relax around her. It seems what she wanted was impossible. Riya has said these words a few times in the past but Scott never changed. He is always very serious.

"Lady Tombrook, do you need anything from me?" Scott asked.

"Scott, can you please send one of your men to the Celestial Terrain? I am planning on growing magic fruit. I need someone to get me the seeds of the magic fruit." Riya wanted to grow Magic fruits for the Istarin Empire. Each magic fruit had great benefits. Not only a magic fruit temporarily increased a cultivator's cultivation speed, but it also increased one of the random stats of a cultivator by [50+].

Riya gave Scott a letter that she had personally written. Taking the letter, Scott saw Riya's signature on the letter along with the royal seal of the Tombrook family. "Just show this letter to my maid and she will do the rest." Riya's maid wanted to come and live with her. But Riya refused. Every day, her maid would send her letters asking how she was doing.

"Alright. I will send one of the elven soldiers in my division to do the job." The reason Riya approached Scott is that he was a dark elf and his division had the most number of elves.

"Thank you, Scott."

"Milady, there is no need to thank me for something small as this. If you need anything else, just let me know." Riya nodded her head with a smile.

From the balcony, Aditya watched the interaction between Riya and Scott. 'This reminds me. Julia doesn't have her own personal maid yet. Neither do Leo and others have their own personal maids. I should talk to Watson regarding this.' Having a personal maid was necessary. This kind of task is usually done by Riya's personal maid.

Aditya then left the balcony.

A moment later using the teleportation array, he teleported to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Xolas was one of the medium size cities located in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. The city was located at the center of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire.

Today Aditya has come here for a reason. The current ongoing civil war in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire is a very concerning factor for the Istarin Empire. Especially after learning that the western region's 7 Empires had their eyes set on the southern region, Aditya knew that the ongoing throne succession fight in this Empire must be ended as soon as possible and the whole Empire must be united. Though Aditya has managed to delay the invasion of seven Empires by pulling a few strings from the dark, this won't always work. What if tomorrow, another big powerful force tries to enter the Southern region? And what if that powerful force takes over the Northern Frost Dragon Empire? When that happens, the Istarin Empire will have an enemy at its borders.

Besides the threat of foreign attack, Aditya also wanted to maintain a strong influence within the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. At first, he planned on taking over the Northern Frost Dragon Empire but that all changed after he realized that compared to its vast size, the Empire was too weak. The current Istarin Empire was already huge. It was probably one of the biggest Empires on the planet in terms of size. But to protect all of its territories a huge force is needed something that the Istarin Empire currently lacked. Just 10,000 Dragonians alone won't be enough. So Aditya wanted to take time to first make his military stronger before aiming to conquer more land. Also to become a global powerhouse, the empire needed strong allies. The Northern Frost Dragon Empire had the potential to become a strong ally.

The Istarin Empire was going to secretly help the 5th prince to become the Emperor of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Of course the help Aditya was going to provide isn't going to be free. Today he was here to negotiate with the fifth prince. If both of them manage to find a common ground, then Aditya will help the fifth prince become the next Emperor. Doing this would benefit the Istarin Empire in multiple ways.

First of all, the Istarin empire won't have any threat from the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Rather the Northern Frost Dragon Empire would become one of the biggest allies of the Istarin Empire. So in case, a foreign force wants to invade the Southern region, both Empires can unite and defend the Southern region. An alliance between both Empires would make trade a hundred times easier and faster.

Aditya would have a strong influence on the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and Emperor. This would help the Istarin Empire immensely in the long run.

"Only a very certain number of people knows where the fifth prince is hiding." After the death of the White Dragon King, just as the throne succession fight started, all the princes and princesses turned against each other. The royal family was divided into many parts. Among all of his brothers and sisters, the fifth prince had the least political power. As a result the fifth -prince had no choice but to hide somewhere.

"Fortunately the shadow guardians were able to find the fifth prince's hiding location." Aditya looked at the two-story wooden house in front of him. The fifth prince lived in this ordinary wooden house and no one knew it except for the people who worked for him.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 267

This chapter is dedicated to reader The_Hatchman for gifting this novel with a Luxury car. Thank you to reader The_Hatchman.

"So how did you find me?" The fifth prince was a handsome young man of Aditya's age and his height. He was a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. He had white hair just like the white dragon king. He had brown pupils and pale white skin that almost made others believe that he was a vampire but in reality he was not.

"Such a silly question. If there is anyone in this continent who can find your location, it has to be me." Aditya replied with a smile.

Presently, The Istarin Emperor and the fifth son of the White Dragon King were sitting in the living room. Aditya's visit surprised and also shocked the fifth prince and his men who were here to protect him. Aditya was almost attacked by the fifth prince's bodyguards. Fortunately, the fifth prince stopped them in time otherwise, Aditya definitely would have killed a few of them.

"I have been keeping a watch on you for a few months. In these 2 and half months, you have been slowly trying to expand your influence from the shadows. You have eliminated the people who could become your obstacle from behind the scenes. I liked the way how you targeted the people from the church. I am very impressed."

"Surely the Istarin Emperor is not here to just praise me for what I have done in the last two and half months' time."

"Haha! Today, I am here to do business. A deal that will benefit both of us. A deal that will help you realize your dreams and A deal that will turn the Istarin Empire into the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's biggest ally and friend. What do you think?"

Hearing Aditya's words, the fifth prince looked very surprised. Even the butler and the dark elf maid standing behind the fifth prince looked very surprised.

After a moment of silence, the fifth prince finally extended his right hand for a handshake. "My name is Jordan. It's nice to meet you." Aditya shook hands with Jordan with a smile. By extending his right hand for a handshake and by introducing himself, Jordan was indirectly telling Aditya that he was interested in this deal.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"So Your Majesty, what exactly have you planned? I would like to know what is your offer." Jordan asked with a smile. Meanwhile, the dark elf standing behind Jordan walked to the kitchen.

"Before that, I would like to ask you a question if you don't mind." Seeing Jordan nodding his head, Aditya went ahead and asked the question.

"Did the death of your father impact you in any way?" There were two main reasons why Aditya had specifically approached Jordan not anyone else. The first reason was the relationship between Jordan and his father. The White Dragon King wasn't exactly a good father to his children. He was a playboy who had 5 wives and many women. It was a known fact that the Emperor has slept with all the beautiful maids that worked in the royal castle.

It was very unlikely that Jordan actually had any feelings for his father. Aditya had killed the White Dragon King. Although no one in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire knew this, there is a chance that in the future this information might get leaked. Even if Jordan learns this he won't do anything to betray Aditya as he has no feelings for his father. Among all of the children of the White Dragon King, Jordan and his young step-sister were the most ignored children. Both Jordan and his young step-sister only saw their father when they both were called to the throne hall.

The second reason Aditya came to Jordan is because of his views against the people of the church. The White Dragon Emperor was a holy magic user. People even called him an archangel mainly because of his handsome appearance and his white wings. In the last 500 years, the White Dragon Emperor has allowed the church to grow in the Northern Frost Dragon empire. After 500 years, the church's influence expanded all over the Empire.

While a few of Jordan's siblings did things to please the Church so that the church would support them to become the next ruler of the Empire, Jordan did the opposite. He was able to see the ever-growing power of the church. Without the White Dragon King, there was no one else that could control the church. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the church indirectly controlled the entire Empire as they had the support of all the citizens and they often portrayed themselves as a spirit of hope to the citizens. The church had the power of the power. They can change public opinion at their will.

In some way, the church had too much soft power. And their soft power was even more threatening than Empire's military. While the Northern Frost Dragon empire can fight against any Empire from outside using its military, the church's soft power had the terrifying ability to turn its own people against its King. The White Dragon King has raised a dog for 500 years. Upon his death, his dog has become the strongest thing in his empire.

The black dragon King had long seen this. So in counter, the black Dragon King had taken strict actions against the church so that the church can never influence the people of his Empire. The Black Dragon King wasn't going to let a religion that have started in his biggest rival and enemy's Empire spread to his empire. After the Istarin empire took over, some people from the church came to Watson to spread their religion in the Istarin Empire. What the church wanted was to brainwash the masses in the name of spreading religion.

Aditya knew that if he let the church enter his Empire, within a few decades, even his standing as the Emperor would be in danger by the church's terrifying power to influence the masses. For example, if he took any steps that were against the church's goals or if his actions indirectly harmed the church, the church could declare Aditya as evil and turn public opinion against him. Many Empires and Kingdoms have fallen because of this.

Under Aditya's orders, a few of the Dragonians beat the members of the church and sent them back to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. The current existence of the Church in the Dragon Empire is like the existence of a virus with the power to hypnotize people.

After 500 years almost every force within the Empire had submitted to the church. The ones who didn't submit to the church were a few nobles who had seen the true face of the church and had been wanting to reveal the church true face to the citizens of the Empire. Jordan easily gained the support of those nobles as he was also against the church.

"Did the death of your father impact you in any way?" This question could be a very heavy question for some who loved their father but for Jordan, this question was silly. Even though both shared the same blood and were father and son, the relationship between them was very light. Jordan wasn't affected the least when he learned about the death of his father. He didn't even feel a thing. Jordan did not hate that man as he had given him everything. Growing up, the fifth price never felt the need for a father figure as his mother had never let him feel the need for a father.

"Your Majesty, this is a very stupid question. I barely knew who my father was. Why do people expect me to shed tears for a person whom I barely knew? We have very few interactions. The only times we ever talked is when he ordered me to do something as the Emperor." Jordan was slightly angry at the fact that the people around him expected him to mourn for a person whom he barely knew. Yes, that man was his biological father but that man never was a part of his life. Despite living in the same royal castle, Jordan and his father lived a very different life. Both only met at the throne hall; mostly when the Emperor summoned his entire family for an important announcement.

"Unlike of some siblings who shed crocodile tears, I can't do that. I am not good at acting." Jordan was talking about his brothers and sisters who shed fake tears to gain sympathy.

"Your Majesty, now I would like you to answer my questions." Jordan respected Aditya more than he did his own biological father. Aditya has managed to accomplish more than what his father had taken accomplished in 500 years.

"There is no need to be so formal. After this meeting, we will be allies so you can just call me by my name." Jordan just nodded his head. But Jordan's butler looked very surprised hearing this. Since Aditya was letting the fifth prince call him using his name, this showed that Aditya held Jordan in very high regard. Only someone worthy of Aditya's respect would be able to call him by his name.

"I will keep things simple. I will help you out. The Istarin Empire will help you out from the dark. You will be able to deal with the church and your siblings. You will just need to accept my hand." Meanwhile, the dark elf who was Jordan's personal maid returned from the kitchen. She returned with two cups of tea.

"But there is a catch, isn't it?"

"Haha! You caught on quickly. I like that."

"When you become the Emperor, the Istarin and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire will become allies. In exchange for all the help that the Istarin Empire will be providing you from the shadows when you become the Emperor, you will have to give the ownership of three mana stone mines." Jordan, his butler, and his maid, all three widened their eyes in deep shock.

"Giving you three mana stone mines would be the same as crippling our own economy. This entire Empire is dependent on the export of mana stones. If I give you the ownership of three mana stone mines, the Empires will make a huge loss. I apologize but you will have to lower your price. The price is just too big for me to afford."

Nearly 91% of the Empire's earnings came from the sale of Mana stones. Not to mention the tons of gold that the Empire saves from not having to import mana stones from foreign Empires. If Jordan gives the ownership of three mana stone mines to the Istarin Empire, the Empire's earnings will be reduced by 33%.

Aditya fully know that Jordan was going to refuse. "Okay, fine. Just give me ownership of the Rosemire mine." On hearing Aditya's words, Jordan and his butler looked at each other and nodded their heads.

"Alright." Seeing Jordan agreeing so easily, Aditya inwardly grinned as his plan had worked. Aditya wasn't going to get involved in the mess of the Northern Frost dragon Empire for no reason. The Rosemire mine was the third largest mana stone mine in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Or at least that's what the public and most of the people believed. Even though the Rosemire mine is the third-biggest mine, in terms of size, it was comparable to the second-largest mine.

Aditya has been after the Rosemire mine from the beginning. Of course, he wasn't going to demand the Rosemire mine from the beginning. He instead asked for three mines. Jordan had the option of giving any three mines to Aditya; as Aditya never specifically asked which mines he wanted, Jordan could have given him three small mines. Jordan failed to realize that from the beginning he had fallen under Aditya's scheme.

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Chapter 268

Jordan was tricked without him even realizing it. If there was any reason why Aditya had entered into the mess of the Southern region, it would be because of the mana stone mines. Now that he had given up on his goal of conquering the northern Frost Dragon Empire, Aditya wanted to take at least one of their biggest mana stones. Now that his goal has been achieved, Aditya would make sure that Jordan becomes the next Emperor as soon as possible.

"Good. It looks like we have a deal." Aditya then took out a contract. This was a 4-star soul binding that Aditya made himself. Jordan and his butler both read the contract a few times to make sure that there was nothing shady written on the contract. Aditya watched them in amusement as he drank tea.

After reading the contract a few more times, Jordan signed the contract with the blood of his drop. Aditya also did the same. After the signing was done, Aditya gave Jordan an exact copy of the contract and then shook hands with him from now on both of them were officially allies. And also with this, he was one step closer to dominating the Southern region. Now as long as Jordan became the Emperor, no one else in the Southern region can oppose the Istarin Empire. This would also mean that the Istarin Empire would become the very first Empire to control two massive regions of the continents. This was something that has never happened in the history of the Dying Isle continent.

"Jordan, I won't waste any more of your time. A few hours later, a group of 27 powerful cultivators will come. Each of the cultivators will be powerful 3rd-order soldiers of the Istarin Empire. Keep them with you for 24 hours. I promise that even if there is an assassination, even an inch of your skin won't be harmed." Jordan nodded his head with a grateful look.

"Do you have any plans regarding how you're going to take out the church from this Empire?" The church was undoubtfully Jordan's biggest obstacle. Once the church is removed, Jordan's chances of becoming the Emperor would increase drastically.

"I will take care of the Church and keep you updated on the situation. While you take care of your siblings. If you need anything just write me a letter." Aditya could assassinate, Jordan's siblings using the shadow guardians and also remove the church but if he does all the work for Jordan then what he will do? Aditya is not his babysitter. He was here as an ally not as a babysitter. Jordan must do some work and face some struggles. Only hard times can create a capable man. If he is not under pressure, he won't become a capable King.

"Alright. Once again thank you for everything."

"There is no need for thanks. In a way, I am getting paid for this." Aditya wasn't lying. At most, it would take him from a few weeks to a month time to remove the church. In exchange, he was getting the ownership of a mana stone mine that is almost as big as the second largest mana stone mine in the Northern Frost dragon empire. The profit that Aditya will be earning from the mana stone mine is going to be in billions.

Jordan, his butler, and his maid went out of their way to see Aditya out. After Aditya left, a new and much strong flame of determination burned in Jordan's eyes.

"Send this information to all our allies. Also, try to find out the location of my siblings." Before Aditya came to meet him, Jordan had almost given up on his dream of becoming the Emperor. But Aditya's words had reignited the flames of his dream.

The butler quietly nodded his head. Without making any sound, he then disappeared along with the wind. Now only Jordan and his maid were standing outside.

"Your Highness, do you think agreeing to give the ownership of a mana stone mine was the right choice?" The dark elf asked Jordan from behind.

Jordan did not reply. He instead gazed at the sky. After a moment of silence, he sighed and replied. "I would say that giving the ownership of the mana stone mine is just a small price to keep the Istarin Empire away from this Empire. It's a fortune that we can become their ally. Aditya has the power to take this Empire at any given time. Instead of losing the entire Empire to the Istarin King, it is better to give up one mana stone mine. Also it's not like we're not going to benefit from this alliance. We now have a very powerful ally. This alliance would bring us countless benefits. I would even say that it is a big fortune for our Empire that he personally came for an alliance."

Scene change_____

Meanwhile, Aditya easily returned to Azure city using the teleportation function of the Dragon Palace. The teleportation function gave him the ability to teleport back to the Dragon Palace or any place within 25 km range of the Dragon Palace from any place on the planet. It was a very useful ability. Even if Aditya's life is in danger and he is surrounded by enemies, he can easily teleport back to the Dragon Palace.

Aditya teleported to the old royal castle where he used to live before building the dragon Palace. Even though Aditya didn't live here anymore, many others lived here. More than 100 servants stayed here just to keep the royal castle clean.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Watson asked. Watson thought Aditya had gone to the Southern region to meet the fifth prince.

Even Aditya was surprised to see Watson here. "I was done with my meeting a few hours earlier than I had initially thought. I decided to come here and see if the palace is being maintained properly." This place was filled with memories. It was the place from where Aditya started his journey. In the beginning, it was him, Watson, and Julia.

This palace used to be very small, old, shabby, broken and filled with cracks. But with time everything has changed. Now this palace is one of the most beautiful things in this city. It's almost bizarre to think how far Aditya really has come. The family of 3 people has now grown very big. Every day everyone worked very hard.

"What are you doing here?" Aditya wasn't expecting Watson here.

"I had some free time. I thought I should come here and see if everything is being maintained and cleaned thoroughly." After stepping down from his job as the acting Prime minister, Watson now had a lot of free time. These days, he looked very happy. Watson was like a bird that was finally free from its cage. He can now wholeheartedly do his job as the butler. He can now serve his master with all of his time and dedication. To a butler, nothing is more fulfilling than this.

"Sometimes, I kind of miss this place." In these two and half months, this was the first time Aditya came here. While everything in the Dragon Palace was of superior quality, this place was filled with memories. This palace will always have a special place in his heart.

"By the way, Watson, a few months ago, I talked to you about finding someone to settle down. Have you thought about it?" Watson was already very old. Without delaying any more time, he wanted his butler to get married.

Watson stood two steps behind Aditya and looked at the sky. "Your Majesty, I am happy with my current life. I have everything that I can wish for. All of my wishes have been fulfilled. I really don't see a need of getting married. Starting a family would only get in my way of doing my duties."

Aditya took two steps back and then put his arm on Watson's right shoulder. "Having a family isn't a curse. It's a blessing. It's the most fulfilling thing that a man can have. You just need to balance your family and your job. Besides, even if you marry, your wife will stay with us, together." One thing that Aditya always regretted in his previous life was the fact that he never found a family. His head and his heart were so messed up that he used to think that a family is nothing but a curse. It would become his weakness. But he was very wrong. Living as Aditya for more than eight and half months has forced him to change his thoughts.

Watson deeply thought about what Aditya said. After thinking for a while, Watson nodded his head. "I give it a try. But I will only marry if I find someone who can understand me and not become my burden. My job will always remain my first priority." Aditya smiled and said nothing else.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 269

While the Eastern and Southern regions were at peace mainly because of the Istarin Empire. A big storm was coming in the Western region island Empires. For the first time in many years, all the seven Emperors have agreed on something together. All the seven Empires' troops have been moving. Even the citizens noticed that all the seven Empires were preparing for a massive war.

The same thing was happening in the Mist Ocean Empire's capital. The Mist Sword city was the capital of the Mist Ocean Empire. The entire Mist Sword city was located in a very unique place. The whole capital was turned into a massive island by artificially creating a large river around it. This river kept the entire Capital surrounded by thick dense mist throughout the year. The only time this mist ever cleared up was during the rainy season.

The sky was getting darker. It was the time of sunset. The people who lived in Sword mist city were returning home after a long day of hard work. Only 1% of the total population of the Mist Ocean Empire called the Sword mist city their home. The rest 99% mostly lived on other islands.

In the darkness, three assassins moved through the Sword city. Without wasting any time, the three assassins appeared in front of the royal palace. Unlike other royal palaces that are built at the center of the city, the royal palace was built on the northern edge of the city.

The three assassins easily managed to sneak inside the royal palace without anyone even noticing them. Not even the 5th-order guardian cultivator who always stayed in the royal palace to make sure that no one would be able to sneak inside couldn't sense these assassins' presence.

When the assassins moved they moved without making any noise. When they jumped, they landed on the ground without making any noise. They communicated with each other in sign language. All three of them wore black clothes that almost made them invisible in the darkness. All three of the assassins was master at using dark magic. Three of the assassins were able to hide in the shadows of other people.

Without anyone noticing, the three of them were able to sneak into the bedroom of the princess of the Mist Ocean Empire. Not even the old Emperor who was known for his sensory abilities was able to sense these assassins.

When the three assassins entered, the Princess was reading a history book while one of her maids massaged her shoulders. Without wasting any time, the assassins appeared behind the maid. Before anyone could react or feel anything, a sharp dagger cut the Maid's throat. To prevent the maid from screaming or making any noise, the assassin covered her mouth with his hand. While the other two assassins knocked the princess out by striking on her neck.

"First phase of the job is done. Now, the second phase of the plan will begin." The first assassin spoke to the other two assassins using sign language. The other assassins nodded their heads.

"Only 10 more seconds remain." They communicated using sign language.

When 10 seconds passed, a huge explosion took place near the royal palace.

Boooooooooom!!!!!

The explosion was so big that it shook the entire Sword mist city for a second. The sky was lit up with crimson-red flames. The screams of the people were heard all over the city. Even those who had gone to sleep or the cultivators were just cultivating had to open their eyes and see what was happening.

Just as the explosion took place, the guardian and the Emperor both went out of the Royal Palace to see what happened. Just as this happened, one of the assassins picked up the princess on his shoulders.

Then the three of them nodded their heads and disappeared. The assassins avoided coming in the range of strong soldiers or people in the royal palace. Whenever they went past a maid or a soldier, they would swiftly kill that person.

While everyone was distracted, the princess of the Mist Ocean had been kidnapped without anyone noticing. By the time when the Emperor and others would know this, the assassins had long gotten out of the Mist Ocean Empire.

After kidnapping the princess, the next second, assassins went to the Ageless islands empire. Using their connections, they managed to enter the capital of the Ageless Islands Empire. The Ageless islands were the neighbor of the Mist Ocean Empire and also their rival. The relationship between both Empires had recently become worse after the Ageless Islands supported the Southern Fire Dragon Empire and the Mist Ocean supported the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Even the fifth-order commanders sent by both Empires were killed by each other side.

The alliance between the seven great Empires had put this rising tension between these two neighbors on hold.

According to what the client demanded, the assassins created a fake scenario where Ageless Island is responsible for the attack on the Mist ocean capital and the kidnapping of their princess. The assassins did not harm the princess. What they did was leave the princess in the bedroom of the Ageless island's commander with three dead bodies. These three dead bodies were wanted criminals belonging to the ageless islands. These three men were experts at sneaking and hiding.

The last task of the assassins was to inject a special kind of venom into the princess's blood. So that the princess would be killed 3 hours later. Later when the Emperor of the Mist Ocean found out that his daughter has been kidnapped, someone gave him the news of this was done by Ageless Island.

The furious Emperor instantly sent his prime minister to Ageless Island to demand their princess back with compensation.

Meanwhile, the Ageless Island Emperor found out that his commander had kidnapped the princess. But was refusing to admit it even though the evident suggested something else. The Emperor was furious that his commander's reckless actions had earned him the fury of the Mist Ocean emperor.

To make matters worse before the princess could be given back, she unexpectedly died. Even though the Ageless islands tried to cover this news, the news was somehow leaked to the ears of the Mist Ocean.

"That's we are going to war. I don't about anything anymore. This bastard not only dared to kidnap my daughter but also kill her. I will make him pay by killing all of his children." The Mist Ocean emperor only had a single daughter whom he greatly loved and now that his daughter was dead, he had no more family.

Meanwhile, at the Ageless Island Empire

"Someone is definitely trying to frame the Ageless Island." The Emperor understood after seeing the death of the princess. But he knew that at this stage no one would believe in his words. As previously he had put the blame on his commander and had put him in prison. But now what he will say to the Mist Ocean Emperor? How did the princess die? Even if he says that this was done to start a war, the Mist Ocea emperor wouldn't believe his words.

Even if he says that someone had poisoned the princess, the other Emperors would say that he purposely poisoned the princess to make it look like someone else had done it.

"Fuck it. I will just fight back. I am not afraid of that bastard and his pathetic army. Prepare for war." By midnight, the two Empires' armies had been sent out. Both of them first attacked each other ports and trade routes. Both Emperors attacked the merchants of both Empires. In this situation, the remaining 5 other Empires had to take some actions.

In the end, three of the Empires chose to remain neutral and not get involved in this war. While the Storm Empires and the Cloud Earth Empires both joined the war and began to send their troops. Within just a single night, the western island Empires went through chaotic changes. The flames of war had spread throughout the Western region.

While all these were happening, the main culprit behind all this was having a peaceful dinner with Julia's family. Julia's family had come to meet Aditya this evening.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

(I wanted to show what was happening in the western region.)

I am thinking of making a discord server. I am little bit good at drawings. So in the future, I will upload the maps of the Istarin Empire, the Dying Isle continent and the whole world. This will help you all in better visualizing what the entire Istarin Empire looks. I already have a imaginary map in my mind. I just need to get a iPad which I am planning on buying very soon.

Who knows if I have extra bit of free time, I might even draw what the Azure city which is the capital of the Istarin Empire looks like.

Chapter 270

It was the time of sunset. The sky had gotten darker. It was getting colder outside. Even in the darkness, the Dragon palace was bustling with multiple color lights. To the people, it was as if the Dragon Palace never seems to sleep. In fact, during nighttime, the Dragon Palace can be seen from a very far distance.

While the citizens of the Istarin Empire were heading home and preparing to stay home as the night of winter is very harsh, the Istarin Emperor and his family were waiting to welcome a certain special guest tonight.

"They should arrive at any given second." Right now Aditya, Julia, Alicia, Riya, Watson, Leo, and Clara along with her pet half wolf-dragon were waiting for the Onard family.

Alicia and Riya were standing next to Julia. Even though neither of them showed it, both girls were slightly nervous to meet Julia's parents. From Julia, both girls have heard what kind of man Julia's father was.

The teleportation array was built within the Dragon Palace. Not even a whole 15 seconds had passed since Julia spoke, and the 9 rune circles of the teleportation array lit up. The light from the nine rune circles intensified with each passing second. In the next second, three figures appeared at the center of the teleportation array.

Another second later, the bright light began to dim down, revealing the familiar faces of the three figures whom Aditya hadn't seen in a while.

"Welcome to the Istarin Empire." Adam looked at Aditya for a second before looking at the other figures who were standing behind him.

"Julia, my child I missed you." Both Julia and Sophia hugged each other. It has been a while since they had last seen each other. After Aditya's visit, Julia has made sure to see her parents and her little brother at least once every 2 or 3 weeks. Though Julia never stayed in her parent's Mansion whenever she visited them. Especially after losing her virginity to Aditya, it has become normal thing for her to sleep with Aditya.

Though the tsundere princess wouldn't say it, over time she now can't sleep without Aditya. Every night, after their night activities, she would sleep in his arms which was more comfortable than any pillow in this world.

As Julia and Sophia both hugged each other, little Zak whom Aditya hadn't seen in a while ran up to him.

"Big brother" Zak hugged his waist and buried his face in his stomach. Aditya smiled and gently caressed his purple hair. Zak was the male version of Julia. He was born handsome. Even at this age, his face was attracting the attention of many young nobles. Julia even told Aditya that Zak was very popular in the Noble circle. After the Prince of Echo Dominion Empire, Zak was the second most sought partner in the Empire.

"How have you been?" Aditya asked while looking at Adam nodded at him before turning his attention to Alicia and Riya.

"I have been doing well. I started cultivating around a month ago as well." Over the last few months, Zak had slightly taller. The baby fat on his face was starting to disappear. Aditya noticed that Zak had started to cultivate.

Little Zak peeked behind Aditya to notice two beautiful ladies who were equally beautiful as his sisters. Noticing his curious gaze, both of them smiled at him.

Aditya also noticed this and smiled. "Father, this is Alicia Osburn. She is the princess of the Ethereal Empire. She is my second fiance." Aditya did not hesitate to say the last part even though he was sure that he might get punched in his face by Adam. Knowing this man's character, the dragon King was very sure he would be punched. But to his surprise, Adam just calmly nodded his head. He did not show any expression of anger. Unlike his wild attitude, surprisingly the wild lion was very tame today.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Sophia smiling while hugging Julia. 'He must have been advised by Sophia before coming here.' Aditya thought in his mind.

Meanwhile, Alicia was very happy with Aditya's words. Aditya openly accepted his relationship with her and even acknowledged it to Julia's father. This was a very big thing for her.

"And she is Riya Tombrook. Riya is the Princess of The Celestial Terrain." On hearing Riya's name and learning that she was the Princess of The Celestial Terrain both Sophia and Adam widened their eyes in shock.

The 7 goddesses were extremely famous throughout the world. More than hundreds of millions always wished to at least meet one of these goddesses. Unfortunately for those who wanted to meet one of the goddesses, the identity of all the goddesses has always been a secret. But there was one goddess whose identity was never hidden. It was the identity of the goddess of nature. Riya being the princess of the Celestial Terrain, never felt the need of hiding her identity.

In the Celestial Terrain, Riya was almost worshipped. If anyone said even a single word against their goddess, the elves would go crazy. Huge riots and protests would take place all over the Celestial Terrain. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Riya was even more influential and popular than her mother who was the Elf Empress.

Adam quickly recovered his calm. From a young age, he was used to meeting influential people. He gave a polite small bow to greet Riya and Alicia. Both goddesses returned the bow with bowing in response. Neither Alicia nor Riya would ever bow their heads to anyone but Adam here was Julia's father. Both goddesses had huge respect for him.

"Father, this is Leo and this is Clara. Both of them are my adoptive siblings." Leo and Clara widened their eyes in shock. Aditya just acknowledged them as his adoptive siblings in front of Julia's parents. This might be a small matter to Aditya, but this was certainly a huge thing for Leo and Clara. Leo became emotional. He would have even shed a tear if he was alone. Even the young Clara's eyes became red hearing Aditya's words.

After introducing everyone, Aditya led them inside the dragon Palace. While walking in, Adam, Sophia, and Zak looked around. The three of them found the interior of the Dragon Palace to be extremely captivating.

"Aditya, I have heard many things about the dragon Palace. But after seeing it with my own eyes, I must admit, the Dragon palace is out of this world. I would even dare say that no other palace in the world or in history could be compared to it." When comparing the Dragon Palace with the royal palace where the Echo Dominion emperor lived, the Emperor's palace looked more like a fortress. While the Dragon palace looked like something out of this world.

"I did have to gather a huge amount of materials to build it." Also given the abilities that the Dragon palace provided him and the people of his Empire, Aditya did not regret using such a huge reserve of resources to make the Dragon palace.

"Watson, how have you been doing?" Adam asked. Adam was surprised to find Watson's cultivation. The old weak butler that once served him and called him master before he got married, now had become young again. Not just young, but also have become very strong. Adam could feel that the current Watson could give a tough fight to the commander of the Onard house, Eddie Wood. Little did Adam know that if Watson were to use dragon transformation, then he would easily defeat Eddie Wood.

"I have been doing well, Your Majesty. Thank you for asking." Watson now worked for Aditya and Aditya was his only master.

"Your brother, Walter had asked you to return home once in a while. He would like to see you." Watson nodded his head with a nostalgic look. He also wanted to see his twin brother. It has been a while since he saw him.

Everyone sat down at the dining table. Adam and Sophia sat next to each other. Julia and her little brother sat next to each other. Leo and Clara sat next to Alicia. Riya sat next to Aditya. Watson and other maids began to serve dinner.

"By the way, it seems his Majesty, the Emperor of the Echo Dominion wants to meet you for a meeting. He wants to officially make the Echo Dominion Empire an ally of the Istarin Empire and also discuss the idea of collaborating and using the resources of both Empires to make powerful cannons." The Echo Dominion Empire still officially hadn't become the Istarin Empire's ally. But everyone knew that the Echo Dominion was a very close ally of the Istarin Empire.

Before the Echo Dominion emperor wanted to have a good relationship with a Dragon who have managed to awaken a divine dragon bloodline but given how powerful the Istarin Empire has become under Aditya's rule, now the Emperor wished to become a close ally of the Istarin Empire. Being an ally of the Istarin Empire would give him many benefits and would also add another layer of protection to his Empire's security.

"Honey, you can talk about such things later. Let's enjoy dinner first." Adam nodded his head.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 271

After having dinner, the family had a talk that lasted for almost 4 hours. Everyone sat in the living room and talked to each other. Watson, Aditya, Leo, and Adam were having a more serious conversation. The topic of their discussion revolved around cultivation, politics, and social issues. It was mostly Aditya and Adam who talked bought up these topics. While Watson and Leo sometimes gave their opinion. Leo mostly listened as he didn't have much knowledge about these.

The girls, Clara, Sophia, Julia, Riya, and Alicia, talked about completely different things. Their topic of discussion was very random. At first, Sophia approached the girls. She started the topic with something that would make every girl on the planet interested. It was the topic of beauty products. While talking, Sophia learned more about the personalities of Clara, Alicia, and Riya.

As for little Zak, he had long gone to sleep. Before coming here, Adam was training Zak. It seems today Adam went a little too far with Zak. As a result, Zak was left pretty exhausted. After having dinner, the little boy didn't have the energy to explore the entire Dragon Palace so Watson took him to one of the guest rooms and let him sleep there.

"Aunty, I am sure you and my mother will instantly become friends if both of you were to meet each other." After talking with Sophia, Alicia realized that Sophia and her mother Bianca both had the same character and personality. Alicia can find many similarities between her mother and Julia's mother.

"I also would love to meet your mother and also your family one day." Sophia would love to meet the goddess of wealth's mother.

"Okay everyone, enough talking. I think it's time to go to bed." Even though everyone here was a cultivator and was many times stronger compared to a normal human, sleeping had become a habit that followed. It wouldn't be a problem for everyone to go without sleep for days. Powerful cultivators like Adam and Aditya can go without sleeping for even months. But both of them preferred to sleep at night as they have been doing this ever since they were born as a mortal. Every great cultivator is born as a mortal and when they start their cultivation, they take their first very step towards becoming immortal. But even after becoming immortal some routines that they used to do as mortals remain with them.

For example, bathing, and eating. A 5th-order cultivator doesn't need to eat or take a bath. Even if a 5th-order cultivator doesn't eat or sleep for a few years nothing will happen to him. That cultivator won't feel hungry or smell bad. But every 5th-order cultivator eats 3 meals per day and also takes regular baths. This is because eating, bathing, and sleeping, had become habits that they can't discard.

"Girls, we can continue our conversation tomorrow." Sophia and Adam were planning on staying for at least a week. The family of three was on a vacation. Sophia wanted Adam to have some free worriless time here. For the next seven days, Sophia is going to spend almost every single second and minute learning about the life that her daughter had here and the people who lived with her daughter.

Since his wife had told him to stop, Adam decided to end the conversation even though there were so many things that he wanted to talk about with Aditya. Adam felt he can keep talking about various things for hours. Talking to Aditya was really helpful. Aditya was so young yet there were so many things that Adam can learn from him.

"Father, tomorrow, if you have time let's go somewhere."

"Where do you want to go?" Adam asked with a confused look.

"It's a place in the Southern region. It's located near the edge of the Istarin Empire's borders. I was planning on going there alone but I think it would be more fun if I bring you with me."

"Sure, I also had planned of visiting the Southern region one day. I would love to see your territory in the Southern region." Aditya nodded.

Watson lead Adam and Sophia to a bedroom that was next to Zak's room. The Dragon Palace had hundreds of bedrooms. Most of the bedrooms were left empty and were collecting dust. It would take a long time for the maids to clean all the bedrooms.

After Sophia and Adam left, Leo took his little sister to her bedroom. Now only Riya, Alicia, Julia, and Aditya remained. Julia was the first one to leave as she feared being teased by Alicia or Riya. Both of them never wasted the opportunity of teasing Julia whenever they were alone.

"Tomorrow, do you girls have any plans?" Aditya asked.

"Yes, We're going to accompany Julia's mother shopping. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for us." Strangely both Alicia and Riya looked very excited about Shopping.

'No matter which world it is, girls of every world love to shop.' Aditya thought in his mind. "Alright enjoy yourself. Good night." Seeing Leave Riya sighed feeling slightly depressed. Even after two and a half months, she still feels jealous of Julia but not to the extent that she would do any harm to her sister.

"I am also going to sleep. Good night." Saying that Alicia turned around to leave. The princess was slightly disappointed. Even though Aditya has accepted his feelings for her, he is yet to make any move on her. And every day watching Aditya and Julia flirt, Alicia also wanted the man whom she loved to do the same to her.

Click!

The goddess entered her bedroom feeling disappointed. The next moment, before Alicia could react, two strong pairs of holding her. The princess found her face buried in someone's chest. From his body fragrance, she was able to identify who this man was. Realizing this, a smile appeared on the goddess's face.

Alicia closed her eyes and enjoyed this moment. Deep down, she even wished for the time to stop so that she can keep holding like this forever. Listening to his heartbeat, being held by his strong arms, inhaling his fragrance that for some reason was very addictive for her, and listening to his heartbeat while burying her face in his chest was the best feeling in this world. For a split second, Alicia wanted to become selfish and wanted Aditya all to herself.

Right now hugging him was the most satisfying thing for the goddess. After a long day of hard work, the goddess took his hug as a reward to recharge her body and her spirituality. It would be a lie to say that Aditya has ignored her. He always gave his attention to Alicia and made sure to spend quality time with her.

Aditya gently stroked her hair. He can feel her soft body pressing against his. Aditya made sure to control his strength and not hug Alicia too tightly. Otherwise, even given how frightening his physical strength was, he could end up hurting his wife. Alicia and Aditya both were mid-3rd-order cultivators but the power gap between them is huge. Aditya was a dragon so naturally, his stats were much higher than the cultivators of his cultivation order. Adding to that, staying in the Dragon Palace, passively increased his base stats by 150%.

Alicia once again smiled as she felt him patting her. This kind of small act really touched her and made her very happy. She can also sense how gently he was holding her. He was holding her as if she was the most fragile thing in the whole world.

"How did you suddenly appear in my room?" After more than 5 minutes of silently hugging each other, Alicia finally broke the silence. She raised her head and glanced at Aditya's face. Her soft chest was still pressing against his body.

["Feelings of love, and the desire to rub someone's body all over... those are perfectly pure and healthy feelings."]

Alicia didn't mind as she was doing this with the man whom she loved. Alicia would never say it but deep down she wanted to go beyond just hugging. She wanted to move to the next step but the inexperienced goddess was too shy to ask. She was afraid of being teased by Aditya.

"Guess?" Aditya asked with a teasing smile on his face. He had put his arms on her soft and slim waist.

Alicia pouted which only made her look cuter and more adorable. Seeing her face, Aditya couldn't resist his urge and ended up pinching the goddess's cheek.

Pa!

Alicia gently slapped away Aditya's arm that pinched her cheek. Even when the goddess was a small child, she hated it when people or the members of her own family pinched her cheeks. But when did it, though she didn't exactly hate it, she wasn't willing to be teased by him.

"Haha! Now calm down, my little kitten. It's just a harmless pinch." Aditya moved his hand with the intention of pinching her cheek again. Aditya's hand stopped mid-air as he found his own two cheeks being pinched by Alicia.

"Haha! How is that?" Aditya did not reply. He instead pulled her even closer to him his body as he tightened his arms around her waist. Alicia slightly blushed as she can feel her chest firmly pressing against his hard body.

Aditya moved his head closer to her right ear and whispered. "Princess, if you touch me that much why don't you me somewhere else? I am sure you will love it." Saying that he began to circle with his fingers around her waist making her shiver while the blush on her face intensified further.

The princess lowered her head feeling shy. Her heart began to beat wildly. Her thought was out of control. Her mind was a mess. Her body began to yearn for his touch.

Seeing this Aditya couldn't control himself anymore. He went further and gently bit a small part of her right ear. This time the goddess's entire body shuddered as if she was being electrocuted. The feelings of her heart resonated with her body as she strongly held Aditya as if she had no desire to ever stop hugging him.

Never did she think that something small as this could feel this stimulating. His bite on her sensitive right ear became the spark that set the strong and deep feelings in her on fire.

Both looked at each other. Aditya can see that her eyes had become hazy. Her cheeks were flushed red. She was panting but her eyes were full of desires. It was clear that the goddess wanted more. She wanted this night to be a long night. She wanted this night to become the night of their first union. Under the vast starry sky, she wanted to become his forever in this room.

The feelings in her heart were so strong that Aditya found it extremely difficult to resist her charm tonight. But Aditya knew that he cannot rush things. The first experience of his wife should be a special one. There were many things he wanted to do with her before taking her virginity.

[I love you. I will protect you with my own life and soul. May mother nature hear my thoughts and become the witness as I take my oath to forever protect this woman till the end of time. I will protect you, I will love you, I will never let you shed tears of sadness, and most importantly, even if you want to leave me, I will never let you leave me.]

[I love you with my whole heart. You're my only man and my only husband in this life and in my next life if reincarnation exists. I will love you forever. May mother Nature hear my thoughts and become the witness as I take my oath to walk with you forever till the end of time. I will never leave you even if the world stops moving, I will never stop loving you, I will do everything in my power to become the perfect wife for you and most importantly, even if I die, I want you and only you as my husband in my next life and the life after that.]

Tonight, two hearts finally connected to each other forever. Heaven and earth were witnesses to their oaths to stay with each other forever and love each other forever. Tonight, a strong bond between both of their souls was formed. Tonight was the night of oaths. It was a beautiful night of promises. And it was the night of promises.

Aditya did not wait any longer. Neither did Alicia. Both of them closed their eyes. A second later both of their lips touched. Their kiss was the seal to their promises.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 272

Meanwhile, the goddess of alchemy was lying on the bed and waiting for Aditya. Ever since Aditya had taken her first time, both of them have begun to sleep together. At first, Julia was very shy and embarrassed about the whole thing. But she slowly got used to it. Every night it had become a habit of hers to engage in some nightly activities with Aditya and then lay in his arms and sleep. Sleeping in his arms was the best feeling in the whole world.

And just like other nights, Julia was waiting for Aditya. Even though she always denies it, she really enjoys doing it with Aditya. Every night the dragon Monarch would leave her totally exhausted.

After entering their room, the goddess first took a quick bath. She then changed her clothes to something slightly revealing and had a bit of sexiness. The Nightgown that wore was deep purple in color. The Nightgown hugged her curves and perfectly revealed her curves to Aditya. The nightgown perfectly exposed her thighs and a bit of her cleavage. Aditya wanted Julia to wear this. At first, Julia disagreed as she felt she would die of shame if anyone saw her in that dress. Fortunately, Aditya managed to convince her in the end.

In the morning, the goddess would first enter the washroom and change her Nightgown. Other than, Aditya, no one in the entire Dragon Palace has seen her in Nightgown.

"Where is he?" It has been more than 20 minutes since Julia came. The goddess was feeling a little impatient while waiting for Aditya. Without needing to guess, Julia can tell Aditya must be talking to either Riya or Alicia. Every night Aditya would give some of his time to both goddesses.

These last few months, Julia has been thinking about something. She even talked to her mother regarding this matter. The day Aditya completely changed, the day he stopped being an addict, and the day he started to change the Istarin Empire, Julia knew that he would have multiple wives in the future. At that time she obviously didn't imagine herself becoming his wife. But within a month or two, he managed to make her fall for him.

'This guy has great luck around beautiful women.' Sometimes Julia wondered why Aditya was so handsome and also so good at almost everything. This guy was like a magnet attracting girls from the left, right, back, and front.

Julia was jealous when Aditya was surrounded by girls. Which girl wouldn't be jealous in her situation? But Julia knew that these kinds of obsessive type thoughts wouldn't allow her to maintain a healthy relationship with the other goddesses. But she can't help it. In fact, there were times when the goddess even doubted her beauty. She even doubted if Aditya preferred Riya and Alicia over her. Riya was very beautiful and also very mature. Alicia was very charming and was a princess. Whereas Julia was just the daughter of a duke and compared to both goddesses she felt her charm was lacking.

Fortunately talking to her mother really helped her. Sophia helped her daughter understand that every goddess has their own merits and demerits. Also, Aditya's actions always have kept her secure. No matter where they were or what situation they were in, he would always treat the three of them equally.

The answer that Sophia gave Julia to maintain a healthy relationship is to close the distance and become sisters. Riya, Alicia, and Julia neither had met each other before. They were completely stranger. Directly or indirectly, the three of them met each other because of him. When Aditya wasn't with them, Julia spends her free time bonding with Riya and Alicia. Riya and Alicia also do the same. As a result, the three of them now had great relationships. Each girl lacked in some areas while excelling in some other fields.

Another 10 minutes later, Aditya teleported to his bedroom. Seeing his face, Julia understood that something must have happened. However, she did not get angry. Both Alicia and Riya were also his future wives and deserved his attention.

"Where were you?" Julia asked. While Aditya was away, the goddess started reading a book that was written by a famous alchemist master at the end of his life. This book was full of knowledge and guidance for an alchemist.

"I was with Alicia." Aditya had no reason to hide where he was. It was not like he was cheating on her. Both of them were his fiance.

After replying, the Dragon Monarch sat next to Julia. After all the kissing and hugging, Aditya needed to let it out. Otherwise, he won't be able to sleep.

"Wife, Are you jealous?" Aditya asked seeing Julia ignoring him and continuing to read an old book. Julia wasn't jealous rather she was embarrassed as she knew that they were about to do that.

Julia closed the book and looked at Aditya. "What do you think?" She asked in a neutral tone. She pretended to be angry with Aditya.

He did not reply. He decided to show his feelings for her through his actions. He moved very fast. Before Julia could react, the book that she was reading was taken away from her. He put the book on the table near the bed.

"Why did you take my book? I wanted to continue reading." Julia asked with an angry look.

"It seems my wife is lying to me again. Since my wife is lying to me, as her husband I must punish her." Saying that he grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him. Julia tried to struggle or get away but she couldn't overpower Aditya in any way.

Julia found herself beneath Aditya just like the day when he took her virginity. Both of her hands were pinned above her head with his right hand. "Let me go." In reality, the goddess was too embarrassed. Every night, unless Aditya takes the initiative, the goddess would never ask or even hint about having nightly activities. And even now she was lying as she was too embarrassed to take the initiative.

Even after sleeping with her for a month, if the light was on, the goddess would never strip. She was too shy in such matters. But once they start doing it, the goddess's character completely changes. She becomes bolder. Especially her moans become very loud. If Aditya hadn't placed a sound-concealing barrier in their bedroom, he was sure that her voice would be heard all over the Dragon palace.

Using his left hand he pinched one of her nipples, making her moan out loud.

Ahh!!!!

Once her moan got out, her face immediately turned red as she stared at him. "Your body is really honest. Tonight I am not going to let you sleep."

"No, wait..." The goddess's pleading was completely ignored. For the next 4 to 5 hours, Aditya and Julia were engaged in a hot steamy night session. Compared to previous night sessions, this one lasted longer. In the end, the goddess simply ran out of stamina to continue.

Next morning,

Everyone woke up in time and had breakfast together. Sophia noticed several hickeys on her daughter's neck which she tried to cover with makeup but failed to do it properly. Also as an experienced woman, she can tell many things just from taking a look at her daughter. Today her daughter's skin was glowing. She looked more beautiful compared to yesterday. Also, there was a happy and satisfied smile on her face. Sophia was sure that Aditya and Julia has done it last night. To not embarrass her daughter, Sophia did not speak about it in front of everyone.

After having breakfast, All the girls went shopping. The girls took little Zak with them. Meanwhile, the boys had different kinds of work to do. Today was Leo's first day at school. After breakfast, he went to school. Watson returned to Apogale city to meet his twin brother and his family. While, Aditya and Adam, went to the southern region to explore the ruins.

Scene change_____

Somewhere in the middle of the Southern region, near the central plains where the battle between the Southern fire dragon Empire and the Northern Frost Dragon Empire had taken place, there was an infamous place. Nobody lived here or did ever try to take over this place as this area was filled with tall mountain ranges. These mountains were almost 4,000 meters above sea level. The area in this region always remained extremely cold even during the months of summer.

As a result no human ever lived here. Only certain types of magic animals inhabited these mountain ranges. There were hardly any trees on top of these mountains. For many millennia people ignored something that was hidden deep in the mountain ranges. When the people discovered that there is an ancient and undiscovered ruins of some ancient civilizations, thousands of adventurers began to come here to explore these ruins with the hopes of finding something rare or precious.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 273

It had just stopped snowing. The mountains were cold as ever. The temperature in this area was very cold even for 1st-order and 2nd-order cultivators. Throughout the year, this area is always covered in a thick layer of frost. Cold wind blows everywhere.

Around 4 or 5 months ago, before the ruins were discovered, no one came to this area. Who would want to come to such a cold and tall mountain region that has no trees, and only has wild powerful, and furious magic animals? After the ruins were discovered by a group of mercenaries who were passing by, many humans and other races began to come here.

The ruin was a great place of attraction for the cultivators and the adventurers. Many rogue cultivators and adventurer parties came here to search the ruins with the hope of finding something valuable here. While the ordinary people and the merchants saw this as an opportunity. The people started building inns, hotels, restaurants, and taverns, where the adventurers and the rogue cultivators would be able to enjoy themselves and take proper rest before heading to explore the ruin.

The business in this area developed very quickly. Naturally, this also attracted the attention of many thugs and gangsters. The different gangs fought among themselves to determine who was going to control this area. One gang managed to win this brutal bloody fight and get control of this entire area. Now every month all the merchants and ordinary people have to pay a big amount as protection fees. Otherwise, the gang wouldn't let them run their business. In some cases, members of the gangs would kill the merchants.

"Why don't you just send a few thousand soldiers to take this area under your control?" Adam couldn't help but ask. On their way here, Aditya told Adam the things that Watson told him about this area.

Aditya had learned of his ruin around a month ago when a powerful group of adventurers decided to explore the ruin. But they never returned. Since these days Aditya is free, he decided to personally come here and explore the ruins. Who knows maybe he will find something very interesting.

"Before deciding to take any actions I want to see the situation in this area with my own eyes." This is one of the reasons he came here today. Even if Aditya takes this area, no one would stop him. The Northern Frost Dragon Empire might have stopped him if only the white Dragon Emperor still lived but with the Empire being caught in an internal conflict, the Empire didn't have time to focus on Aditya or the Istarin Empire.

Both father and son were walking toward the area that was named after the ruin, Shattered Icy Ruin. Looking at the area around the Shattered Icy Ruin, Aditya and Adam felt like they were heading into a village. There were hundreds of houses. Some of the buildings were made from wood while some were made from the earth using magic.

All the buildings and houses were built around 10 meters giant glowing dark blue portal. All the structures were built 50 radii away from the portal. Near the portal, many adventurers and Rogue cultivators were talking to each other while some of them looked like they were waiting. While a few of the adventurer parties travel through the portal. Whenever someone or a certain party would stand very close to the portal, the portal would suck them inside. As for where the portal took them, the portal teleported them to the Shattered Icy Ruin.

Aditya and Adam of them were wearing black cloaks that covered their entire bodies. Both of them didn't bother to put on a disguise. Aditya didn't think that anyone here would find out his identity or Adam's identity. Even if their identities were exposed, it's not like anyone can do anything to them.

Aditya and Adam were talking among a large crowd that was made up of rogue cultivators and adventurer parties. All of them had come here to explore the Shattered Icy Ruin.

Every time a ruin was discovered, the people who gathered their courage to explore the ruin always ended up finding something very valuable. There have been times when cultivators have discovered powerful artifacts, magical swords, spears, bows, gauntlets, magic books, magical armor, and many other rare and valuable things

Entering the Shattered Icy Ruin town, Aditya and Adam both of them spotted the presence of some powerful cultivators in the town. With the crowd, both of them walked toward the portal. Walking near the portal, Aditya discovered that there was a very thin dome-shaped barrier around the portal. The dome-shaped barrier covered 50 meters radii of the portal.

"Hold, if you guys want to enter, then you guys must pay 10,000 royal gold coins as entry fees. 10,000 royal gold coins per head." Obviously, the gang had placed this rule. So that they can keep earning whenever any adventurer or rogue cultivator wanted to explore the ruins.

What the gangs did not tell anyone is that, if any adventurer or cultivator found any rare valuable object, the gangs would snatch that object for themselves. So far no one has found anything in the ruin. This is also one of the reasons why so many people are willing to spend 10,000 royal gold coins to try their luck inside the ruin. Who knows they might become the lucky person?

"10,000 royal gold coins....? Are you crazy? Do you know how hard it is to earn 10,000 royal gold coins?" One of the Rogue cultivators couldn't hold his anger. 10,000 royal gold coins were one million gold coins which was a huge sum. Every rogue cultivator or adventurer party couldn't have 10,000 royal gold coins. It would take more than a year even for a [A] rank adventurer party member to earn 10,000 individually if the party didn't take any breaks and constantly took A rank tasks.

"If you don't have it then leave, no one is stopping you. But if you make any problem here, you will be killed. This place is not for beggars like you." The thug replied in a cold tone while releasing a little bit of his killing intent that turned the rogue cultivator's face pale.

10,000 royal gold coins was a very small amount for Aditya who was the Emperor of the Istarin Empire that controlled more than 50% of the total land of two major regions of the continent. Even if it was paying a million or ten million royal gold coins, Aditya would have paid the amount both for himself and his father.

The same also goes for Adam. 10,000 royal gold was a very insignificant amount for him. The duke was a very rich man. But as Adam was about to take the sum, Aditya put his right arm before Adam to make him stop.

Adam was Aditya's guest and also his father. Why should he let Adam pay when he had more than enough money collecting dust in his storage ring?

"Here. This storage ring has 20,000 royal gold coins for both of us." The thug who stopped them took the money. He then let Aditya and Adam pass while others also prepared to pay the sum.

When Aditya and Adam walked in, both of them attracted the attention of a few people. Mainly because the fact that Adam was a 4th-order cultivator and his muscular built body and with his stern expression made him look very strong.

Both father and son didn't waste any time. Both of them approached the portal. After the party of adventurers before them was sucked inside, both of them stood right in front of the portal.

The next second, Aditya felt a strong pull around his body. The pull on his body was so strong that he knew even if he tried to resist this suction force with all of his powers and might, he won't be able to resist even for a second. So instead of resisting, he let his body be pulled inside the portal.

Aditya and Adam both made a mistake that they are soon going to find out. The party of adventurers before them held their hands together. But Adam and Aditya didn't.

When Aditya opened his eyes he found himself lying on the ground. The place where he was teleported to was certainly a very special and also very unique place.

Standing up, the Dragon Monarch took some time to appreciate the wonderful and also unforgettable view of this place.

He had found himself in a forest with many kinds of trees. He can only recognize a few kinds of trees, the rest of the trees around him were very foreign to him. For a moment he even wondered if he had come to a different world. Aditya has never seen these kinds of trees before.

It was the time of the night. During the nighttime, the forest is consumed in darkness. Dangerous magic animals come out of their caves to hunt at the time of night. Yet the forest around him appeared to be glowing. Almost all the threes had a certain bluish glow in them.

There were even certain types of trees that glowed in a greenish-golden color. What made these trees so unique was not only their greenish-golden glow but also their unique shape and size. The trees were only around 2 to 4 meters in height. Compared to the species of trees, these trees had very few leaves. But all the leaves of this tree were 2 times larger compared to other trees of its size and also all the leaves were glowing in greenish-golden color. Even the leaves of this tree had a small greenish-golden in them.

Aditya can see that this forest has many of these trees. Even an ordinary human would be able to see everything in this forest. Of course, not all the trees glowed. But the ones that did glow helped Aditya find his path through the forest.

"I don't know where I have found myself. I should try to get out of this forest." Aditya decided to head straight as he could see a small dot-like red light in the distance.

As he was about to run at his full speed, suddenly a Crimson firefly flew before him and then sat on a tree.

"What kind of firefly is that?" Seeing Fireflies had become a very rare thing back in his previous world. Not everyone had the privilege of seeing one in their entire life. But Aditya was able to see them very often when he was very young and visited his village during summer break. It was very unfortunate that fireflies were going extinct due to rising pollution. Even in this world, he had seen a few of these fireflies.

Aditya wanted to bring this firefly back home to show it to Julia, Riya, and Alicia. But he knew doing this would kill the firefly. As the firefly would leave it a habit and won't be able to survive outside.

While the outside world was experiencing cold and harsh winter, strangely this place was moist and wet. Almost as if it had rained here a while ago.

There is no doubt that this forest was the most beautiful forest that he had ever seen or have ever been to. Everything was so peaceful. As far as his senses reach, he couldn't find detect any dangerous magic animals or any dangerous monsters around him.

"I wish could bring Julia, Alicia, and Riya here." Aditya decided to take one of the leaves of the glowing trees to show it to others. Just as he crouched down to pick up the glowing leaf on the ground when his finger touched the surface of the leaf, something appeared behind him so fast that he couldn't react in time to dodge the attack. As a result, the Dragon Monarch was sent flying.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I apologize for not uploading yesterday. I had to attend a party and it was raining the whole day. I only got time to write 900+ words chapter. Tomorrow, I will try to upload three 2000+ words chapters. But no promises.

Chapter 274

Bang!

Aditya was sent flying in the direction of the east. He was sent flying so fast that everything around him became a blur. He could feel his entire body in pain. Even for him, everything happened too fast. For a moment he felt as if he was moving at the speed of light with zero control over where he was headed to.

Bang!!!!!!

Aditya was crushed on a rocky mountain. From his impact, the rocky mountain itself cracked and then collapsed.

Ahh!!!!

The dragon Monarch coughed out a mouthful of blood. His consciousness was on the verge of fading. His mind couldn't process any information due to the intense pain coursing throughout his body.

Before Aditya could understand what was happening, the mystical forest around him, the fireflies, and the unique trees which had never been seen before, all began to disappear. Even the night sky and the wet atmosphere began to change. Everything began to fade and turn white. Within a few seconds, Aditya found himself lying in a huge crater that was formed on a rocky mountain.

Everything around him had changed to white. There were no signs of greenery or trees around him. There were no signs of life or animals. As far as one's eye could see, it was all white. Everything around him was white.

Aditya had no idea where he was or what had happened to him. Around 10 seconds later, he was able to process some information. Without needing to open his eyes, he found to feel that he was lying on thousand small pieces of stone. It seems these stones were part of the rocky mountain but from his crushing impact, the rocky mountain itself broke into pieces.

Another 10 seconds later, he finally was able to open his eyes and scan the surroundings. Opening his eyes, the first thing that fell that he saw was the sky. The clear starry sky now had been covered with black clouds.

The beautiful forest around him was long gone. There wasn't even a single trace of the forest. There wasn't even a sign of greenery as far as he could see. There wasn't even a single piece of wood. Regardless of which direction he looked, all he saw was endless white sand and a few rocky mountains in the distance.

For a moment, Aditya couldn't help but think that he has been teleported to a different place. He even thought that when he was attacked, he was sent flying so fast that he traveled to a different region. But this did not explain the sudden change in the atmosphere.

'Compared to the fresh air, the air of this place is heavy and polluted.' Aditya didn't waste any time. He quickly took out a 5-star recovery pill and ate it without wasting a single second as he knew there was an enemy that he needed to defeat before he could relax here.

As the pill passed down his throat, a green Aura surrounded him. The green Aura rapidly began to heal his body. His torn muscles, organs, damaged tissues, and his shattered or broken bones all rapidly began to heal. He also noticed a decrease in pain throughout his body.

While Aditya was recovering, a being approached him with a white sword.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Aditya was able to hear the sound of footsteps. He quickly stood up while taking out his black sword. As his eyes fell on his enemy, his entire body for a second trembled. His eyes widened in deep shock. His heart nearly stopped beating. All the memories of the past briefly flashed before his eyes.

"Fa....Father....." Aditya's voice trembled as he looked at the figure whom he respected and loved from the bottom of his heart.

The person standing 20 meters away from Aditya was his adoptive father. When Aditya was exiled from his royal family and his title as the prince was taken away, he was sent to the Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent. The Eastern region of that time was considered to be one of the most underdeveloped places on this planet. The order of this region was in chaos. The power structure would change every decade or so. Even a 3rd-order cultivator was considered a huge powerhouse in this region. But after the Istarin empire came all these changes.

Flashback__

The current Aditya looked very different from the Aditya of the future. The current Aditya was only 16 years old. He was a young naïve man who knew next to nothing about the cruel world around him. Being the son of the strongest Dragon Empire on the planet and as its future crown prince, Aditya had grown slightly arrogant as well.

Aditya lived a life that would make even some Emperors die out of envy and jealousy. The amount of wealth that he had in his pocket alone was more than the combined wealth of the entire Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent. However, the wealth in his pocket wasn't even a fraction of the enormous amount of wealth that his father, the Emperor possessed.

Aditya lived his life like a king. When his married the seven goddesses was announced, there was no doubt Aditya became a person that stood at the very top of this world. Everyone was sure that with the support of the seven goddesses and as the Emperor of the Strongest Dragon Empire on the planet, no one can get away with offending Aditya. Aditya was truly the future. As a result, one had to think ten times before saying anything to Aditya. Growing up Aditya never had any real friends, except for Riya. All of his friends were the children of rich nobles or Emperors. The Emperors and the nobles sent their children to get close to Aditya so that they can become Aditya's friend and gain benefits.

Aditya at that time was too naïve to understand this. He never was able to see who were his true friends and who were his fake friends. Regardless, the Naïve Aditya had created this illusion that he was the center focus of this world. He lived in his fantasies and his illusion while being unaware of the snakes that were ready to backstab him at any given opportunity.

And finally, that day, when Aditya failed to awaken his dragon bloodline. As the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire world, he became the center of all the mockery. The friends of the past began to distance themselves from him. Even his biological father and his mother refused to stand with him. For the first time, he truly felt alone in this world. Within a single week, Aditya went from being called the future to being called the trash.

This happened when Aditya was really young. At that time he was only 11 years old. No one stood beside him when he was at his lowest point. His only source of support was Riya but soon she was banned from meeting him. And then Riya left the main continent with her parents. But now Aditya feels that his parents had something to do with Riya moving away from the main continent with her mother.

Days passed, and with each passing day, Aditya's life started becoming a living hell. He was disrespected in every single way possible. Even the maids openly started to ignore his orders. When he reached the age of 15, one day, Aditya was called to the throne hall for an audience with his father who was the Emperor. His mother was standing behind his father and was looking at him with a disappointed look.

That day, Aditya lost everything. His parents, his status, his wealth, his identity, his future, his determination, his will, everything about Aditya was lost. He became lifeless from the inside. He lost the will to continue living. Aditya didn't resist when two guards held his arms and dragged him to the teleportation array. From there he was sent to the Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent.

Aditya was teleported somewhere in Azure city. At that time, he didn't know which continent he has been sent to. He didn't know where he was. He didn't even know the name of this city. At this point, Aditya had given up. His deep eyes had become lifeless.

On the streets of Azure city, there was a young man who was lifelessly walking without any aim. He was wearing some cheap dirty brown clothes which were torn from various places. He had long messy blue hair covering his eyes. He stood at the height of 5 feet 7 inches. He was skinny and malnourished.

It has been 2 days since Aditya found himself in this city. Aditya spent the cold night in some dirty alley. He covered himself with a dirty old torn blanket.

No one would believe that this man used to have so much wealth that he can literally buy the whole eastern region. How cruel fate was? Now he was nothing. Even the clothes that he used to wear as the prince was taken away from him before he was sent here.

Growl! Growl!

Aditya held his stomach in pain. As a prince, he felt hungry for his whole life. But after that day, all this changed. Now Aditya was used to it.

'I haven't eaten anything for the last two days.' Aditya thought while sitting on the ground with his back leaned against the wall of a 2-story house.

'I want to die.' That was the only thought going on in his mind. Aditya was too tired of this life. He had lost his will to continue living. What's the point of even living? He knew that for the rest of his life, he would have to live in the streets like a beggar. He lost everything that he loved and care about. He didn't dare to take his own life. So he was just waiting for his life to end.

Over the years of not seeing Riya, Aditya even forgot how she looked. Whenever he imagined her face, he would only see a blurry image. A body without a face, a voice without a source, a playful giggle without a body. All these would make him even more depressed.

'Riya deserves someone better than me. She is the future queen of the Celestial Terrain while I am just a nobody waiting for his death. I hope she would have a good life.' The current Aditya didn't feel that he was worthy of Riya. Why she would marry someone like him who had nothing? When thinking about his parents and his former life as the prince, Aditya felt no anger. The situation around him had forced him to think that everything was his fault. If only he hadn't taken things for granted and actually had put some effort into trying to become a worthy man.

The current him was a depressed man who wanted nothing but to escape this broken reality. He had given up on his life. He didn't even care about anything. The current him was broken beyond repair.

While Aditya was sitting next to an alley where he was thinking of taking his final breath, a royal carriage stopped before him. Aditya did not raise his head as he didn't think that someone this rich and powerful would approach him. Even if they did approach him, what did Aditya have to offer them in exchange....the answer is nothing. He just kept his eyes closed and slowly breathed as he waited for his death.

But contrary to his expectations, a handsome old man slowly got out of the carriage and then stood in front of Aditya. The man blocked the sunlight that was falling on Aditya. Feeling a shadow on him, he opened his eyes and stared at the man's brown pupil.

The man in front of him had short grey hair. He had a grey beard on his face. His face was wrinkled but he still looked very handsome. The man was wearing white gloves, a black shirt, and black a pant. The man stood at the height of 6 feet 4 inches tall. The man was a Beginner 2nd-order cultivator. The most striking and memorable thing about him was his cheerful smile and his bright personality. Those eyes of his were too bright for someone who was broken beyond repair.

Aditya continued to stare at the old man's face in silence. The old man also did the same. After 10 seconds, the old man crouched down in front of Aditya and then asked.

"What is your name, kid?" Those were the first words that King Ahmed, Aditya's adoptive father had said to him. Aditya would never forget this moment.

Aditya remained quiet for an entire minute before replying in a very low tone. But because King Ahmed was a cultivator, with his heightened senses he was able to hear what Aditya said. "Aditya." Aditya did not tell him his last name as he saw no point in adding his last name. His last name had lost its meaning. So right now he was only Aditya.

"That's a good name you have. Do you want to know my name?" The man asked with a kind smile that was filled with warmth.

'Why would I want to know your name?' Aditya inwardly wanted. He wanted this old man to leave him alone so that he can die in peace at least.

The old man can see that Aditya was very uninterested in knowing his name. But he still decided to answer. "My name is Ahmed Akbar. I am the King of this small Kingdom named the Istarin Dynasty."

Aditya still didn't look the least bit interested. Even in front of the King of this dynasty, he showed no enthusiasm or excitement.

"What do you want, old man?" Aditya asked in a low tone.

"Since you have asked, let's not waste any more time. You see I am reaching my end. I will probably die within a few more years. At most I have a decade to live. I don't have an heir to my Kingdom. I wanted to adopt you and let you become the King of the Istarin Kingdom. What do you think of my offer, Kid?" The old man asked with a smile.

Hearing his words, for the first time the old man saw Aditya's expression change. Aditya looked shocked and also surprised. But his expression quickly returned to normal.

"I am not interested. Leave me alone. Find someone more worthy." Aditya then closed his eyes.

The old man looked at Aditya's face for an entire minute before nodding at his servant. Aditya felt someone lifting him up. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was being carried to the carriage. "What are you doing?"

"I wasn't looking for a worthy heir. I just needed to find someone to pass my kingdom to. You're the right person for that. From now on, you're my adoptive child and also the future king of this Kingdom." That day, this old man changed Aditya's fate forever. The old man loved Aditya like his own son. Because of the old man, Aditya was able to get out of his depression to a certain extent till another unfortunate event took place and changed everything.

The man whom Aditya had slowly come to love over time had passed away. This once again left Aditya completely shattered. Depression took over him. In the end, he chooses alcohol to escape reality. He started consuming alcohol without caring about the Kingdom that his father had passed to him.

This started the downfall of the Istarin Kingdom. The corruption level increased within the Kingdom. More and more crimes began to take place. The income of the Kingdom decreased by a huge margin. All of this happened because of Aditya. The death of King Ahmed not only shattered him from the inside out but also affected his mental health very badly.

If not for Watson, Julia, Alicia, and Riya for supporting the Istarin Kingdom from the shadows, the Kingdom long would have been taken over by either the Nepoca Kingdom or the Zulux Dynasty.

End of Flashback____

"Father...." Aditya couldn't believe it. Even though the previous Aditya had died, after taking over his body, he had inherited all of his memories and also his emotions. Both of their characters, personalities, and feelings merged together to become the current Aditya.

Aditya's eyes became red as he stared at the man whom he loved so dearly. The Dragon Monarch's eyes were filled with tears. The current Aditya regretted everything that he did after his father's death. Instead of living up to his father's expectations, he became the cause of the Istarin Kingdom's downfall.

However, unlike Aditya, Ahmed's face didn't have any expressions. Aditya's adoptive father didn't look sad or happy. It was as if Ahmed had no feelings for him. As if the man in front of Aditya was a robot.

?Ding! In this world, all of the host's passive skills have been restricted. You cannot use any one of your passive skills being remaining in this world.?

?Ding! The laws of this world have temporarily reduced your cultivator powers to beginner second-order rank. Rune Monarch class and the Storm Marshal Class skills have been restricted. You cannot use any skills that you have gained from having Rune Monarch and Storm Marshal classes. Your second and third classes have temporarily been deactivated.?

?Ding! The world laws have reduced your Base stats to match the stats of your opponent.?

'What???' Aditya couldn't believe it. For the first time, he was doubting the system's words. Aditya tried to use the lightning Manipulation skill which was an innate skill that he had received after obtaining Storm Marshal class. But to his shock, he found that he couldn't activate his skills. It was as if something was blocking him from accessing his storm Marshal class skills and also his passive skills.

? _Strength: - 411 ? 82

_Speed: - 753 + [100] ? 82 + [100]

_Stamina: - 386 ? 82

_Health: - 386 ? 82

_Mana: - 4,052 ? 82

_Free stats: - 0?

Aditya felt he had become weaker. 'What is happening?' Unfortunately for Aditya, no one answers his questions. Before he could re-read the messages of the system, his father already had started attacking him.

Aditya widened his eyes seeing Ahmed charging at him at full speed. Since Aditya's base stats have been lowered to match the current stats of Ahmed, Ahmed's current speed was very fast for Aditya.

Aditya reacted in time and managed to block the sword strike of his father. He could have attacked back but he couldn't harden his heart to attack the man who was his father.

Clang!

Ahmed kept attacking Aditya with his white sword. Aditya easily blocked all of Ahmed's attacks. He was able to easily block his father's move because of the Bracelet of Wind Fairy which still gave him [100+] agility. Aditya was two times faster than his father.

Clang! Clang!

"Father...Can you hear me?" While blocking Ahmed's attacks, Aditya called him several times. But Ahmed never responded to any of his calls. Ahmed attacked Aditya almost as if he was a puppet that was being controlled by someone.

"Father"

Clang!

With a kick, Aditya was pushed back. But the kick barely harmed Aditya in any way.

After a while, Aditya finally calmed to calm his emotions and think of the entire situation with logic. 'This person is not my father.' Even though this fake looked like Ahmed and even had the same powers as Ahmed, this Ahmed was a fake. Aditya was sure of it. Ahmed was a person who had a very bright and cheerful personality. No matter what kind of bad situation he faced, he would always smile and say that things could have been worse.

After confirming that this person is not his adoptive father, Aditya became aggressive. How dare someone try to copy his father? Aditya was furious. Seeing his father had brought back some painful memories that Aditya always wished to forget.

"Die." Aditya grabbed the white sword that Fake Ahmed used to attack him. With his other hand, he used his full power to diagonally swing his black sword.

'Fortunately, I had added runes that can decrease Adamantite Doomblade weight.' Otherwise with his decreased base stats, he can never wield the Adamantite Doomblade which weighted 3 tons and fight. Aditya thought as he went all out to kill this Fake version of his father.

Swoosh!

The Adamantite Doomblade easily left a deep diagonal cut mark on Ahmed's chest. After the strike, Ahmed's stopped moving. When Aditya had expected to see blood coming out of his wound, instead of blood, what he saw was a white mist forming around the wound. The next second the deep diagonally cut mark rapidly began to heal.

Seeing this Aditya was shocked. While the wound across Ahmed's chest rapidly healed, he kicked Aditya in the gut and then created a distance between them. When Aditya recovered from his shock, he found Ahmed once again attacking him. Ahmed's movement did not slow down. Instead, he was perfectly fine as before. It seems Aditya's attack hadn't harmed him.

In the next minute, Aditya attacked the Fake Ahmed in different ways. He even severed his head from his body. But to his shock, another head just regrew while the severed one just faded into nothing.

Clang! Clang!

While blocking Ahmed's attacks, Aditya began to think what everything that has happened ever since he came to the world. 'Something strange is going on here.' It didn't take him long to understand what was happening. Realizing this, he started to laugh loudly.

"Hahahaha! To think this entire time I hadn't thought of that."

"This is the world of illusion." Just as Aditya said those words, the world around him began to crack. Fake Ahmed froze in one place. Along with everything else in this world, his body also began to crack. The only thing that didn't crack was Aditya.

Bang!!!!!

Eventually, everything shattered like glass. The world around him shattered like a glass orb. However, Aditya wasn't affected by it. As soon as the glass orb shattered, he felt his power returning to normal.

"So this is an advanced level of illusion. The illusion is so strong that it can affect my senses." This is why Aditya felt wet, and cold in the forest while hot in the white sand desert.

After everything shattered, Aditya found himself floating in an empty dark space. For a second he felt he had come to the space. But there was no light in this vast seemingly endless void.

"How do I get out of this place?" Aditya didn't have to wait too long as a door opened in front of him. What lay beyond the door was a mystery as he couldn't see anything beyond the door. It was better to see what lay beyond the door rather than wait in this void for who knows how long.

The door lead him to a place where he saw some faces. He found himself in a dark square-shaped room. The room was huge. There were many adventurers and rogue cultivators sitting in the room. At the center of the room, there was a large almost 7 meters big gold star. Aditya found himself standing at the center of the golden star.

Aditya sensed the Aura of Adam in the room. Turning to his right he saw Adam approaching him with a serious look. 'It seems I am not the only one who has experienced the illusion world.' From Adam's face, it was clear that he also had met someone who was very dear to him.

"Father did you also...." The rest wasn't needed to be said. Adam just nodded his head with a serious look.

"It seems this ruin is more like a labyrinth."

(Note - Before awakening his Dragon bloodline, his eyes color was deep blue)

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is a bonus chapter! I had planned on writing two 2000+ words chapters. But then I decided to just write a 4000+ words chapters and upload it. I hope you all like the chapter.

In the future, I am planning on writing another chapter on Aditya's past. How he lived in earth and what kind of life he had before the story started? Maybe I will also write side story chapters on various characters like Julia, Alicia, and Riya. I want my readers to know what female characters does in their spare times.

Chapter 275

"Father did you also...." The rest wasn't needed to be said. Adam just nodded his head with a serious look.

"It seems this ruin is more like a labyrinth."

Around 10 or 20 minutes later, another group of adventurers appeared. It seems this party of adventurers also had managed to break the illusion. As for what happened to those who couldn't break the illusion...they died while being trapped in the world of illusion. Inside the illusion world, their mana was sucked without them even knowing about it.

Soon an hour passed. In that hour, a few other parties of adventurers and a few rogue cultivators all joined them. Everyone quietly waited inside the room waiting for something to happen. Everyone knew in their heart that this was just the beginning. The real challenge is yet to come. Who's who manages to pass all the challenges will be able to gain rewards.

After another 70 minutes of waiting, the golden star lying in the middle of the room started to shine. A bright golden light covered the entire room. Many were forced to shut their eyes and block the light with their hands as they couldn't see anything in such intense light. While powerful cultivators like Aditya, Adam, and many others remained unfazed and kept their eyes on the golden star, fearing that if they even blinked their eyes, they would miss out on something very important.

"What is going to happen now?" One of the cultivators asked. Unfortunately, no one here had the answer to this question.

'I wonder what happened to the people who entered this ruin before us.' Before Aditya and Adam, thousand of others entered this ruin. Aditya couldn't help but wonder what kind of challenges those people might have faced. Did the people who entered this ruin before them face the same illusion challenge or did they face something else? Aditya had many questions in his heart.

'It was foolish of me to just enter the ruin without gaining more information about it.' Before entering the ruin, Aditya thought of this ruin as nothing but another ancient structure. Aditya thought in a day he and Adam would be able to explore the ruin and return home. But this ruin turned out to be very different from normal ruins. This ruin is more like a labyrinth or a dungeon.

Scene change____

Meanwhile outside the Shattered Icy ruin, the big portal that allowed the people to enter the Shattered icy ruin began to shrink in size while also slowly changing its color. Seeing this everyone panicked.

"The portal is closing down."

"What is happening?"

Under everyone's horrified gaze, the portal's color changed to crimson red and the size of the portal shrunk to only 1 meter in size.

Sigh!

Everyone sighed in relief seeing that the portal had stopped closing down. But they were confused to see the change in color of the portal. Seeing this, the thugs decided to inform their leader about this as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, one of the rogue cultivators hesitantly approached the portal. Normally standing in front of the portal would suck you inside. But this time, no matter how close he stood nothing happened.

"It seems the portal has been closed. But there are thousands of others who are trapped inside." Before what happened, the people who entered the shattered Icy ruin would find themselves teleported to various locations inside an actual underground ruin. One could easily return to the underground ruins through multiple portals, but everything seems to have changed this time around.

Before Aditya had entered the ruin directly, those who had entered the ruin directly were taken into the illusion world where they had to fight someone very close to them who had passed away but who had been very close to them. For one to be able to break free of the illusion, one would have to know that they were trapped inside an illusion in the first place. Even a 5th-order cultivator would have a very difficult time figuring out that this was an illusion world because everything inside it seemed so real that it would be extremely difficult even to tell that it was an illusion world.

So now both the entry and exit were cut off. No one knew what was happening. No one knew what was going to happen to the people who were trapped inside. No one knew what kind of trials Aditya and others would face. Even Aditya and others didn't know what situation they currently were in.

Scene change______

Meanwhile, the golden glow coming from the golden star started to dim. Everyone was able to open their eyes and see what changes had taken place under the blanket of this intense golden light.

At the present, there were more than a thousand cultivators in this room along with Aditya and Adam. All the cultivators had different lives and different occupations. Some of them were adventurers, some of them were rogue cultivators, and there were some who were sent here by some factions who wanted to know more about this ruin. The cultivators sent by those factions came here in the disguise of rogue cultivators so that no one would find who sent them here.

Everyone looked up. The golden star had long disappeared. Instead, the whole place was filled with more than hundreds of floating doors. The floating doors were 2 meters in length and was 1 meter wide in size. As for what lay beyond those doors, no one had the answer to it as the light beyond the door was blurred. It was almost as if trying to see through a layer of mist. Even if Aditya, Adam, and other cultivators tried to sense what lay beyond those doors, they couldn't sense anything.

"It looks like each door will lead us to a random place that might be filled with life-threatening challenges or there is also some possibility that treasures might be found beyond those doors." One of the cultivators of speculated. Aditya and Adam could see that almost everyone is agreeing with his words. Even Aditya also felt what this guy said might be right or somewhere close to the truth.

"Time waits for no man. It's better to take the risk than regret not taking any action." Saying the very same cultivator jumped over 10 meters above the ground and managed to step inside one of the doors. A middle age woman decided to enter and follow the first cultivator.

Seeing this, others also decided to take the risk. "Father, I think we should stick together on this." Adam was also about to say the same thing to Aditya. He just nodded his head. Both father and son pair looked around as many other cultivators began to enter.

"Let's enter that one." Just as they entered, a few other cultivators also followed them inside.

Aditya and Adam didn't have to wait too long to find out what lay beyond the door. It turned out the door had led them to an island. Now one might ask what is so special about this island. Aditya and Adam also wondered also had the same question. Both of their questions were answered as they found the entire island floating in the air.

"Aditya, it looks like exhaustion from endless work has finally caught up to me. I am seeing an island floating in the sky. It looks like I should start making my retirement plans." Adam closed his eyes and then shook his head.

"....."

"Father, it's not the right time or the right place to think about your retirement plans." Even Aditya found it extremely hard to believe that there was a flying island. For a moment the Dragon Monarch couldn't help but feel that they were trapped in another illusion.

The island on which Aditya and Adam were standing was almost 1/4th the size of Azure city. In simple words, the size of this island was huge. The island seems to be slowly moving in the direction of the south. The weather on the island was sunny. At the center of the island, there was a big mountain on which Aditya can see an ancient broken castle. Tall, thick, green trees were growing all over the island. There was even a small pond 100 meters away from them.

The island was covered with white clouds. A gentle northern breeze was hitting his face. Aditya speculated that it was this northern breeze that was slowly pushing the floating island in the direction of the south.

"I am starting to feel that we're trapped in another illusion." Adam has never heard of anyone seeing a floating island in the sky. The concept of a floating island was very ridiculous. It would take an enormous amount of energy for an entire island to constantly fly. The energy needed to lift something like this is almost the same amount of energy the entire Istarin Empire would use in the next 4 or 5 years.

"This is not an illusion. I feel this time, what we're experiencing is very real." Aditya replied while picking up a small green leaf from the ground.

"The question is, who has enough resources to build something like this? And why I have never heard of anything like this?" Aditya's heart was filled with too many questions. Ever since he entered the shattered Icy ruin, his curious nature had asked him hundreds of questions. Aditya still wanted to know how he was trapped in an illusion world and how the illusion was able to affect even his senses.

For a moment neither Adam nor Aditya said anything. Both men just stood there thinking of various possibilities in their heads. After a while, Adam broke the silence and suggested. "Anyway, standing here won't give us any answer to our questions. Let's explore this island and see if we can find anything."

Aditya nodded his head in agreement. "Father, we will have to remain careful. Last time, I was sneakily attacked from behind." Aditya wasn't going to let his same mistake repeat once again. This time he could feel that his powers weren't restricted. Secretly he already had activated a few of his passive skills and was ready for any kind of battle.

"Let's see if there is anything useful inside the ancient castle that is located at the very top of the mountain." As both Adam and Aditya started to walk toward the mountain, they came across a Bamboo grove. Compared to an average Bamboo tree, the trees on his island were almost 2 times taller and thicker.

Around 5 minutes later, the Bamboo grove finally ended. Now they came across various kinds of fruit trees. Several kinds of seasonal fruits were growing on the trees. This only left Aditya and Adam more confused.

As they reached the foot of the mountain, Aditya and Adam were greeted by two people. One of them was a dragon while the second one was a human.

"Today has been full of surprises. First I met my adoptive father Ahmed now I am meeting my own self. What kind of trick is this?"

"Even my own wife won't be able to guess if this fake replaced me." Adam looked at his duplicate version.

Both Aditya and Adam were confronted by their own duplicate selves. Both duplicates are exactly like Aditya and Adam. The Duplicates versions had Aditya and Adam's height, weight, and body build.

"It is as if someone copied and then pasted ourselves."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Today I would have like to upload another chapter but tomorrow annual exams start. I will try to upload either 2 or 3 chapters on the last day of the month. Each chapter will be of 2000+ words words.

But no promises.

Chapter 276

Both Adam and Aditya stared at their duplicate versions. It wasn't difficult for Aditya and Adam to see that both duplicate versions possesses their powers and also their skills. Both of the duplicates had the same power as Aditya and Adam.

"This will be a troublesome fight." Aditya was still yet to fully explore his maximum potential. He never faced anyone who could take one of his attacks while being at his full power and surviving. Aditya thought the black Dragon King would be able to survive his full-powered attack, but to his disappointment, even he couldn't survive.

Growls!

The next second, the sky above the floating island began to darken. Dark clouds containing Crimson lightning bolts began to hover above the island. Aditya and his duplicate version both summoned a storm. Summoning the storm has activated both of their passive skill boosts.

Pitter-patter!

Heavy rain began to fall all over the island. However, the four cultivators remained completely unaffected by the rain. Adam and his fake version also got ready to fight each other. The only main difference between the real and the fake was their expression. The duplicates didn't have any expression written on their faces. Their eyes were very cold and held no warmth in them. Their eyes were the same as the eyes of the dead people.

?Ding! The passive boost of the Storm Marshal class has been activated. The host's mana has been temporarily increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind-type attacks has been increased by 50%. Your Agility has been increased by [300+].?

Inferno Overdrive!

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Inferno Overdrive. You have entered into a berserk state. All of your stats except for Mana have been increased by 70%.?

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has been increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

When Aditya activated all these passive skills, he messages from the system that he ignored and focused on his fake version who also had activated the same passive skills. Right now both Aditya's Aura had reached a terrifying level. Both of them had become so strong that they can easily take on Peak 5th-order cultivators. There is no doubt that Adam as well as his fake versions found it hard to stand near both the fake and the real Aditya because of their respective terrifying auras.

'Just how much did his powers grow over these last few months?' Aditya had no choice but to move away from Aditya as he couldn't stand Aditya's Aura even though he was a 4th-order cultivator. As Adam and everyone else remembers, Aditya left an imprint on Adam and in everyone else's minds when he fought to help them fight the globin invasion with his terrifying powers; he had kept breaking the boundaries of their imagination and doing things they thought would be impossible after time after time, which left a deep impression on everyone's mind and in everyone's mind.

Back then Aditya had just reached 3rd order, and at that time had managed to accomplish something that everyone thought to be impossible. By fortune, his dragon bloodline reached the divine rank. In the course of that battle, his powers grew so strong that he was almost able to kill the 5th-order Goblin King as well as annihilate all the millions of goblins that came out of the dungeon at the same time. Now that Aditya had reached Mid-3rd-order, Adam could only imagine just how much power would have grown.

"Father, you take of this, I will take care of him." Saying that Aditya and his fake self both disappeared at the same time.

Swoosh!

Adam only saw Crimson lightning before Aditya disappeared into the forest. After Aditya left, Adam stared at his fake self. "This is going to take a while." Adam cracked his neck as he finally let his Aura and his killing intent ran wild. Adam was called the Wild Lion of the Echo Dominion for no apparent reason. It has been a while since Aditya had let his powers run wild. Since the goblin invasion, he has been busy trying to recover the damage that his territory took during the invasion.

The aftermath of the goblin Invasion left more than twenty thousand people jobless and also homeless. Though the Emperor sent him relief aid support, Adam still had to do a lot of work.

"A few months of not fighting has made my body rusted."

Ahhh!!!!!

As if someone has removed the lid that was holding all the dark miasma. All the dark killing intent that has been suppressed in that bottle came out. The next second, a big part of the forest was covered in black miasma. Black fog from both Adam covered a big part of the forest. In spite of the fact that Adam was fighting the goblins at the goblin invasion, he never let his killing intent run wild since he knew that this would negatively affect his comrades and allies as well as himself. People with a weaker minds wouldn't be able to survive his killing intent.

It was with his favorite great sword that the wild lion rushed towards his fake version in an attempt to see whether his fake version could actually allow him to enjoy the battle without having to hold himself.

The fake Adam also rushed at Adam. The next second the sound of metal great swords colliding was heard.

Clang!

As both of their attacks clashed, the earth beneath them cracked before forming a few inches deep crater. While the trees around them were blown away just from the impact of both swords clashing.

Adam had a wild savagery grin on his face as he stared at his fake self who showed no emotion at all. This was the Adam that didn't care about anyone or anything. Adam always hid this part of him even from his children as he didn't want to scare anyone in his family. After his marriage, only a few rare beings have seen this side of Adam. But strangely, his gentle-looking wife, Sophia fell for Adam after seeing him fight in a wild way.

"Interesting. Show me what else you can do." Adam was a man who loved challenges. Before he got married and Sophia managed to tame the wild lion, Adam was a person who couldn't be controlled by anything. He was truly wild. He wouldn't care if he was going to offend a noble or a rich merchant or the commander of the Empire or the Emperor himself if it meant that he could fight a strong opponent.

Adam tightened his hold on the great sword causing his muscles to bulge and his veins to appear all over his arms. To make his attack even more deadly, he even added his mana to the great sword causing the dark great sword to glow in a dark purple color.

Adam's Fake version also did the same. The next moment both of them diagonally swung their swords.

Booooom!!!!!!

This time a powerful clanging sound was heard all over the area. The impact generated when both of their attacks clashed destroyed anything within 10 meters of range. Even the ground itself cracked like shattered glass before forming a 5 meters deep crater. The power behind both of their attacks was so strong that even both of them were forced to take a few steps back from the impact.

After the attack, Adam looked down and stared at his arms which were slightly trembling. The impact of the attack had left his arms numb for a few seconds. Seeing this another wild grin appeared on Adam's face.

"This is the true thrill of battle. The pain is just a spice that makes the whole thing even more exciting and thrilling. This is the type of battle I have always wanted. Bring me more." Adam loudly roared like a lion before once again charging at his fake self. The fake Adam also charged Adam.

Clang!!!!!

Booom!!!!

Once again both of their great swords clashed, creaking sparks in the process. The impact of their attacks once again caused damage to this island and its land.

Booom!

Booom!

Booom!

Booom!

Over the next ten seconds, both of their great swords repeatedly clashed. After a certain point, Adam felt the bones of his arms begin to crack from the repeated impact. His hands were in great pain and sometimes he would even feel numb. However, this pain is exactly what that excited Adam even further.

"Let's take things to the next level, shall we?" Saying that Adam disappeared.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 277

Meanwhile,

Aditya and the Fake Aditya chased each other around the island at their full speed. Crimson lightning that came out of their bodies destroyed the trees. While running after each other both fought with their swords. In the beginning, Aditya exchanged some moves to test the water and know more about this Fake version. No matter which sword technique he used, the copy was able to block the attack by finding a flaw in it.

After around 5 minutes of exchanging moves, Aditya decided to fight more aggressively. Knowing simple sword attacks won't be enough.

Crimson Lightning Dragon!

A 30 meters long eastern Dragon formed. the Eastern dragon was entirely made up of crimson lightning. The fake Aditya also did the same.

Both of the launched their attacks at each other.

ROAR!!!!!

Both Lightning Dragons let out earth-shaking roars before charging at each other.

Boooom!!!!!

Boom!!!!!

Crimson lightning bolts were striking at the floating island. Every second more than 5 or 10 crimson lightning bolts would strike different parts of the Island. Each time a lightning bolt fell, it would leave a huge crater that is more than 20 meters deep. With passing second, this island was slowly transforming from having green forest to hundreds of deep and large craters. Two beings were responsible for this cause. There was no one to stop them from destroying this island. These two beings were the same people with the same powers.

Clang!

Boom!!!

Clang!

Boom!!!

Both of their bodies were covered in Crimson lightning cloaks. Both moved so fast that it only took them a few seconds to run around the whole island. If a normal person were to observe what was happening in this floating island from the castle that is located at top of the mountain, that person would see two crimson bolts of lightning running around the island and destroying the entire island.

Both of them fought as they ran around the island at their full speed. Both crimson light rays collided in a few seconds and left a large area of the island destroyed.

However, suddenly both of them started running in opposite directions. In some other part of the island, both of them appeared. Both of them punched each other 's at their full power. This sent both of them flying more than 100 meters away.

Boooom!!!

While this was happening, more furious crimson bolts of lightning started falling from the sky. Each time the crimson lightning bolt struck either of the Aditya, it didn't do any damage to them.

Cough!

"That was a good punch." More than 200 meters away from his fake version, Aditya stood from the debris. He coughed out blood as the punch had managed to force him to cough out blood. Aditya was sure that his fake self was also coughing out blood right now. But this wasn't enough.

"I can keep stretching things. With this battle, I want to explore my maximum capability." Aditya summoned a fist-size Crimson flame orb in front of him. With the flick of his finger he sent the fist-size Crimson flame orb towards the fake Aditya. As the Crimson flame orb traveled towards the fake one, it slowly started expanding in size.

In a second, the size of the Crimson flame orb rapidly expanded. Adam, who was busy fighting with his fake self, noticed this from the other side of the floating island.

"Is he planning on killing me as well?" Adam commented as he stared at the 100 meters gigantic crimson flame orb at the other side of the island. From this distance he can feel the terrifying heat of this orb. The temperature of the orb was so terrifying that all the trees near it had started burning. All the insects in the island instantly died from the heat of the orb.

While the Crimson Flame orb was heading towards the fake Aditya, the fake also copied Aditya and launched a similar kind of attack.

Adam widened his eyes in disbelief as he saw another gigantic Crimson flame orb.

"Shit!!!!" He threw a big punch at his fake's face before running to the edge of the island. He then created a large energy bubble around him using his mana in hope that this energy bubble would be able to protect him otherwise he would be done. Aditya can't fly like Aditya. In order for him to be able to fly he has to reach the 5th order. And he had no idea what lies beneath the cloud. It could be the ocean or something much more frightening.

As just as both Crimson flame orbs touched, both of them exploded. The Crimson flame quickly spread everywhere. It was as if a massive crimson flame wave had hit the floating island. As the crimson flames spread everywhere, soon the entire floating island was burning. A large amount of smoke came out. Every bit of greenery on the island was completely turned to ash. Even the ground itself had been scorched black.

The Crimson flame wave also hit both Aditya and Adam. Both Adam, the real and the fake one protected themself by creating energy bubbles around themselves. However just as the flame wave hit their barrier, the bubble rapidly began to crack. Cracks appeared all over the energy bubble. Seeing this, to prevent the energy bubble from destroying, both Adam invested more mana into their barrier. Just as both of them poured more than 80% of their mana, a small trail of blood came out of his mouth's side. Using this huge amount of his mana reserve at once had definitely left him very weak. Adam's face had turned pale as if someone had squeezed out blood from his face.

Just as the crimson flame wave that had spread to every corner and every inch of the island died down, both Divine Dragons started attacking each other once more.

'I can't fight on this island. This island probably will collapse from our attack's impact.' Noticing what he had done to the island, Aditya decided to fight at the sky. As his dragon wings extended themselves, he shot towards the sky.

However, just as he started flying above, at that moment he happened to notice his fake self who was still looking at him. What happened next was very fast. However, for Aditya, even that moment was slow. He can remember and process every single thing that happened in that second.

Aditya widened his eyes as he noticed his fake's entire body turning into a Crimson Lightning bolt. Aditya instantly understood what his fake was doing. Even for Aditya, it was impossible for him to dodge such an attack. So having no other choice, Aditya also used that skill of his.

Crimson Lightning Blink!

Just as Aditya activated the Crimson Lightning Blink passive skill, he noticed from the island a crimson lightning bolt heading in his direction. The lightning moved so fast that it was impossible for him to dodge it.

At that moment, as if time had slowed down. Everything around Aditya was happening extremely slowly. Aditya can see both Adam frozen on the ground. Both of them were looking at each other. The smoke that was coming out of the entire island also slowed down to the point where Aditya even wondered if everything had stopped. Although his eyes can move at such speed, unfortunately looking at the crimson lightning bolt that was also traveling toward him at a very slow speed, no matter how much he tried he couldn't move his body.

Aditya could do nothing but watch as a crimson lightning bolt approached him. Just as the lightning bolt was about to touch his body, his body also began to rapidly transform into a lightning bolt.

The next second, two crimson lightning bolts hit each other.

?Crimson Lightning Blink: -

?3rd-order?

?Description?: - An rare evolved form of Molten Volt. This skill is a combination of fire and lightning nature. After reaching 3rd-order, this skill now has been upgraded from Crimson Blink to Crimson Lightning Blink. The host is the first person to have this skill in the entire universe.

?unction 1?: - When the user transforms into a bolt of lightning, for the next 20 seconds the user's speed will be increased by [800+].

?Function 2?: - After transforming into Crimson lightning, any type of physical and mental attack will not affect the user.

Note: - The Crimson blink will enter into a cool-down period of 12 hours after each use.?

Boooooooooooom!!!!!!!

Both Aditya was sent flying in two opposite directions. The impact was so painful that for a few seconds, both of them temporarily lost consciousness. Both of their minds stopped processing from the intense pain. Although nothing happened to their bodies as they were in a state of lightning, the pain that their minds experienced was just too much for a mortal or a living being to bare.

Just as this happened, something unbelievable happened. Along with a planet-breaking sound, all the other Crimson lightning bolts in the dark clouds started falling from the sky. As if it was raining, countless crimson lightning bolts began hitting the floating island. Even Adam and his fake self couldn't escape being hit by one or two lightning bolts.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Hi everyone! I apologize for not uploading the last two days. I don't want to sound like I am giving you an excuse but these two days due to certain unexpected reasons, I couldn't write a chapter. Due of my mistake, I was standing outside my own home for 2 or 3 hours. I forgot to take the keys with me. I was planning on writing in that time so...

But no worries. I will upload extra two chapters for the missing days along with the usual one chapter per day. Since tomorrow is Friday, let's hope that I can upload everything within tomorrow.

Chapter 278

After an entire minute, the dark storm clouds began to disappear. As everything returned to being quiet, Adam sighed in relief. The wild lion was currently lying in a crater. His right arm was badly injured. He had coughed out a large amount of blood.

Cough!

"Was that brat trying to kill me or what?" Adam coughed as he struggled to even stand up. Adam had no idea what just happened. All he saw were countless bolts of crimson lightning falling from the sky. The lightning bolts were too fast for Adam to dodge in time. He ended up being hit by multiple crimson lightning bolts. Fortunately, the power of the crimson lightning wasn't concentrated into a single lightning bolt otherwise Adam would have died.

The entire floating island and the ancient castle were destroyed at the top of the mountain. In the present situation, this floating island is nothing more than a large piece of damaged land dotted with both small and large craters in various shapes and sizes.

Adam was in worse condition. He had exhausted his mana. His arm was in a very bad condition. His bones were shattered and the skin on his right arm had been burned back. The clothes that he wore were torn apart. The only thing that wasn't harmed by the crimson lightning bolts was his 5-star great sword.

Adam took out a 5-star healing pill and ate it. As his body began to heal, he couldn't help but wonder where he had gone. "Where is Aditya?"

At the same time, Adam couldn't help but wonder where his duplicate version was. "I wonder if the Fake Adam is still alive." The last time Adam saw him, he was struck by 4 bolts of crimson lightning that sent him flying who knows where.

The world around Aditya was a very strange place. Aditya currently found himself sitting on a throne that was made out of the diamond. The diamond throne was very soft and also very comfortable. Behind the throne, there were more than hundreds of different Dragons' scales embedded into the Dragon. The throne was deep crimson in color. The color of the throne matched the name of Aditya's dragon bloodline.

As for the surroundings, sitting in a dark room. The room was so big that he couldn't see the walls. Another thing that Aditya noticed, he cannot see through the darkness. His passive skill allowed him to see in the darkness but here his passive skill appeared to not work properly.

The floor of the room was made from black marble. The floor was very shiny and smooth. Aditya can even see traces of his own reflection.

10 meters in front of him, there was a big campfire. Instead of a regular flame, it was a crimson flame. The campfire allowed Aditya to see that there was another throne beyond the campfire. The other throne was located opposite his throne, 20 meters away from him.

However, unlike his throne which was crimson in color and had various dragon scales embedded in it, the other throne was made out of wood. The throne was deep green in color. The back of that throne had green dragon scales embedded into it.

"What is this place?" Aditya asked himself. He tried to sense where he was but just like his passive skills didn't work here, even his high senses also didn't.

"This place is something similar to the Dreamworld." Aditya heard an old man's voice. The old man's tone was full of kindness and warmth. Aditya felt he had met this old man once in the past before but he couldn't remember exactly where he had met.

The old man wore white cloth. His face was wrinkled but he still looked very handsome. He had a white beard and long white hair that he tied into a ponytail. The most attractive thing about the old man was his deep green eyes. The old man was tall as Aditya.

"Do I know you?" Aditya asked. Aditya can tell that this old man wasn't hostile to him. In fact, he can feel this old man's kindness and warmth. If Aditya ever had a grandfather, then he would look something like this old man.

"Hahaha! Have you forgotten me, Aditya?" As just as the old man said these words, the surroundings once again changed. Aditya widened his eyes as he found himself in his old bedroom. This was the bedroom where he used to live. This was the bedroom of the prince. Aditya never thought that he would see this place again.

The campfire and the darkness disappeared. Aditya was able to see the old man's face even more clearly. Suddenly as if something clicked inside him, a memory of his childhood flashed before his eyes.

Flashback_____

"Father, who is this man?" Ask little Aditya. Aditya was hiding behind his mother and peeking at the old man who was sitting opposite his father. It appeared that this old man had visited them. He was a very important person. The Emperor who was Aditya's father respected this old man very much and held him in high regard.

Aditya and his mother came to the meeting room to greet the old man. The three years old Aditya had seen the old man for the first time. While his mother and father looked like they knew the old man for a long time. His father even called the old man uncle.

"Hahaha! So this is little Aditya. The prince of the Celestial Dragon Empire." The old man kindly smiled at Aditya. Aditya's mother encouraged Aditya to go to the old man with a smile on her face. Watching Aditya, even his father was smiling. When Aditya was young his parents pampered him. They adored him. They loved him and were willing to do anything for him. But that changed once they learned that he couldn't awaken his dragon bloodline.

Little Aditya stepped forwards to the old man. The old man picked up Aditya and then made him sit on his lap. The old man then gently stroked Aditya's head with a smile. With a single look, the old man was able to tell that something was wrong with Aditya's bloodline. 'This child won't be able to awaken his dragon bloodline. This child will have a very tough future.' The old man would have liked to help Aditya but unfortunately, there was nothing he can do.

The old decided to not tell anything to Aditya's parents and let things play out.

"Uncle, where have you been? I tried to look for you when my son was born." Aditya's father highly respected this old man. As this old man was Aditya's grandfather's best friend. After Aditya's grandfather passed away, this old man took the place of his best friend and looked after his best friend's child. One of the reasons that the Celestial Dragon Empire was prospering and was so powerful is because of this old man. Despite looking this old and weak, this man was one of the strongest beings on the planet.

"I was traveling to other continents in disguise. Today, I came here to let the two of you know something very important."

"What is it, uncle?" Aditya's father and mother suddenly looked very concerned.

"My time is coming to an end. Pretty soon I will die." The last thing that Aditya remembers was seeing his parent's sad faces. His father was almost on the verge of shedding tears. While his mother had covered her mouth in shock.

End of flashback.___

"Grandfather....?" Aditya was sure that this old man was dead. He wanted to know what happened after that. This memory left many questions in his mind.

"So do you remember me now?" The old man asked with a smile. Aditya just nodded his head with a smile.

"What happened next?" Aditya asked wanting to know more.

"Nothing. Your parents became emotional. I made you unconscious as I didn't want to see your younger self cry along with your parents." The old man laughed. He didn't look sad. He instead looked happy remembering his parents.

As if understanding what Aditya wanted to ask him, the old man nodded his head. "Yes, I have died. A long time ago, your grandfather and I, fought an enemy that was so strong that it took both of our powers to defeat it. However, we miscalculated several things and in the end, your grandfather had to pay the price for this with his life. I was also severely injured. A suffer an injury that cannot be healed. Maybe the goddess of nature and the goddess of alchemy together could have healed me. But at that time, those two weren't even born. Even their parents were very young."

Aditya opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. He had so many things that he wanted to ask this old man. "I knew I had a few years to live. I took over my best friend's duties just like I had promised and protected the Celestial Dragon Empire till the Empire was strong enough to defend itself. In my ending years, I traveled across all the continents. In my journey, I discovered many interesting things. I have even left a small legacy behind. Whoever manages to obtain that legacy will have no problem reaching Peak 5th-order."

"I lived a very long life. I have no regrets left. However, just a year before my death, I had a very strange vision. As one of the few origin Dragons, I have the unique power to see a dragon's potential. I had a vision that in the near future, the Dragon Monarch is going to come. The Dragon Monarch is going to unite all the remaining Origin Dragons and all Dragon on this planet. The Dragon Monarch is going to possess the Divine Dragon bloodline." Aditya widened his eyes on hearing the old man's words.

"I was beyond excited when I learned that there is going to be a Dragon Monarch. For the first time, I was regretting the fact that I was going to die before I could meet the dragon, Monarch. So in the end, I and the other origin Dragons came together and held an ancient ritual where I sacrificed a part of my soul which left me permanently weakened and also reduced my life expectancy by half a year. But in exchange, a small part of my soul will be able to meet the Dragon Monarch in his unconscious state. I never was expecting the Dragon Monarch to be you, Aditya."

"Why?" Aditya asked in a low tone.

"Because back when I had come to meet you, I noticed that there was something wrong with your body. It was as if someone had deliberately done something to you when you were just born. This prevented you, the heir of the Dragon King from awakening his Dragon bloodline. Unfortunately, neither I nor any of the Origin Dragons could do anything to solve this." Aditya's eyes were full of shock.

"If you knew then why didn't you let my parents know about it?" Aditya asked in anger.

"Who said I didn't? After I knocked you out, I let them know about this. Both of your parents positively took the news and said that they are going to look for a solution." Right now, everything was falling apart. Without realizing a drop of tears came out from his right eye and rolled down his right cheek.

'If they knew, then why they are so kind to me? If they knew that I was a disgrace, then why they waited till so many years before throwing me out?' Aditya's mind was in chaos. For the first time ever since his parents had thrown him out, he wanted to meet them so that he can ask for them some answers.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!

Chapter 279

'If they knew, then why they are so kind to me? If they knew that I was a disgrace, then why they waited till so many years before throwing me out?' Aditya's mind was in chaos. For the first time ever since his parents had thrown him out, he wanted to meet them so that he can ask for them some answers.

Aditya always thought the only reason that he wasn't loved by his parents anymore is that he had failed to awaken his dragon bloodline. But the words that this old man was telling him were going against his belief.

"No, you're lying." For a moment Aditya refused to accept the reality. The pain that he suffered all those years can never be forgotten. Aditya refused to accept the truth.

The old man simply stared at Aditya's face for a second before sighing. "While I apologize for the pain and suffering you have been through, I can assure you that I have no reason to lie to my Dragon Monarch about it." The old man Michael wasn't lying. He did all of this just to meet the Dragon Monarch. Even before he knew who was the Dragon Monarch, in his heart he held immense respect and admiration for the future Dragon Monarch.

Aditya went quiet. He closed his eyes He recalled the memories of the past. All the happy memories that he had built with his family began to appear. His parent's behavior changed during the time when they and others learned that he can't awaken his dragon bloodline. Slowly with time, they distanced themselves from Aditya and stopped loving him.

Michael let Aditya take his time. He had seen that this child has suffered a lot. The situation around him must have forced him to mature a lot quicker. He can't imagine what kind of difficult life he lived.

After more than 40 minutes of silence, Aditya finally opened his eyes and coldly looked at Michael. "What do you want?" Michael noticed that Aditya was hiding his emotions with a cold mask. Seeing this, Michael inwardly sighed.

"I am here to meet the Dragon Monarch and also warn him about something that is about to befall the entire planet."

The look on Aditya's face became serious. "Warm me about what?"

"I had a dream where the Dragon Monarch was in the center of it. The Dragon Monarch would face very strong enemies. Each of them has the power to annihilate a continent. If even a single of them was left behind, they could bring endless chaos to the land. The Dragon Monarch must unite all the Dragon races and Dragon clans in this world to fight these enemies."

After an entire minute of silence, Aditya replied. "Your words are not helping me. Who are my enemies? Where are they now? What kind of power do they possess? How many of them are there?"

"I apologize my Dragon Monarch. In my dreams, I only saw some glimpse of the chaos that they have bought. However, the center of everything will be the Dying Isle continent. What I can tell you is that your enemies will be masters of a certain element. Each of them would specialize in using a certain element. To fight against these enemies, you must bring all the goddesses together. If even one goddess stands against you, your chances of winning this will be extremely difficult."

"Why should I believe in your words?"

The old man just smiled. His body started to turn into dust. But before turning into dust, he left these words to Aditya. "You will start seeing signs."

"You didn't even tell me your name?" Aditya said as he stared at the floating dust in front of the throne.

"My name is Michael." Even though the voice was very weak and was in a very low tone, Aditya was able to hear it. The specks of dust that floated above the throne started to disappear. Michael was gone. But he had left the Dragon Monarch conflicted. The Dragon Monarch was questioning himself. He was questioning his memory. He was questioning the feelings that he held for his parents. The hatred that he held for his parents was being shaken.

"Michael, if I have time, I will look for the other Origin Dragons in the future" Aditya murmured as the dream world break to collapse.

100 Km away from Adam, Aditya was lying in a deep crater. His body was covered under a pile of stones and debris. Aditya had lost consciousness. It has been almost 2 hours since he lost consciousness.

Crack!

His right hand slightly twitched for a moment before he opened his eyes. After regaining his consciousness, Aditya found himself buried under stones and debris. His whole body was in pain. Aditya was sure that he had broken a few of his bones and had cracked many of his bones. The speed at which he was sent flying was too fast even for Aditya. It's already a miracle that he managed to survive.

Ahh!!!

"My whole body is in pain. Right now I just want to go back and cuddle in my wife's bosom." He groaned in pain. Strangely he also felt slightly lazy. He felt it wouldn't be bad to keep lying here for a few more hours.

After a few minutes, all the debris and the stones that were covering his body were sent flying as Aditya stood up. He took out a healing pill and ate it to heal his body. "Whenever my life is in danger, my wife's pills always save me. Without her pills, I probably would have died by now."

10 minutes later, Aditya's body recovered. "Where am I?" The Istarin King wondered as he glanced around. He was surrounded by tall trees. He can hear the sound of water. Probably there is a river nearby. He can hear birds chirping sounds.

Aditya soon got his answer as he flew 100 meters above the ground. He had crushed into another floating island. "So there are other floating islands in this world." Aditya was sure of it.

For the next 10 or 15 hours, Aditya randomly wandered here and there. He was searching for Adam but he had no idea which direction he should start searching. On his travel, Aditya found many things. He found a big gold boulder in one of the floating islands. The gold boulder was 15 meters in size and was made up of pure gold. He wasn't going to leave this behind. He took the boulder with him and then kept wondering.

On one of the islands that Aditya came up on, he found a strange type of rock. The rocks were floating. When he was flying past the island, the floating rocks caught his attention. Upon a closer look, he found that the floating rocks were a kind of crystal that he had never seen before. The floating rocks were slightly transparent. They were deep purple in color. Each of the rocks was of different shapes and sizes.

Just as Aditya touched the fist size metal he got the description of it.

?Anti-Gravity Crystal?

?3 -Star Metal [???]?

?Description - A special type of crystal that can defy gravity and keep floating. The crystals have the power to make objects float above the ground. The crystals can be used to make weapons, armor, and many other things.?

?Power 1. - Can absorb mana and store up to 1,000 mana.

2. Due to its rank, when any armor or weapon is forged using this crystal, it will give the user additional buffs depending upon the forger's rank.?

"This...." This metal has opened up so many opportunities for Aditya. He can make weapons that can store his mana. He can make armors that can store mana and use that mana when the user runs out of mana.

Aditya put all the anti-gravity crystals in his storage ring. Then he searched the entire island to see if he can find more of these anti-gravity crystals. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any more of the anti-gravity crystal.

However, just before Aditya could leave the island, he sensed someone in this area. Aditya took out his black sword and then disappeared.

In less than 5 seconds, he appeared in front of someone who looked exactly like him. That's right, it was his duplicate version. Unlike Aditya who managed to heal himself, the duplicate was seriously injured. The right side of his face was covered in blood. The blood on his face had dried. He was also looking at Aditya without any emotions on his face.

Sigh!

"Let's end this." Aditya suspected that as long as he managed to kill this duplicate, he and Adam would be able to leave this world. Since the duplicate was injured, it would be very easy for him to end this duplicate's life.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 280

Aditya and the Duplicate Aditya fought for some time. As the Duplicate Aditya was still injured and hadn't healed, Aditya was able to overwhelm in their second fight. He was able to land more injuries on the Duplicate Aditya's body. However, the Duplicate Aditya was far from going down.

bang!

Aditya's punch sent the Duplicate Aditya flying. The Duplicate Aditya is crushed on a floating island. However, even though the Duplicate Aditya's body was in a very bad condition, the Duplicate Aditya showed no emotion on his face. As if the Duplicate Aditya felt no pain, every time, the Duplicate Aditya would get up and return to fight against Aditya.

Boom!

Just as the Duplicate Aditya crushed on a floating island, the Dragon Monarch went on to use his Crimson flame.

Crimson Blaze!

With the wave of his hand, he created a giant 20 meters big Crimson flame star. Before the Duplicate Aditya could dodge, the attack hit him.

Boooom!!!!!

The entire small floating Island was destroyed by the attack. However, the Duplicate Aditya still looked like he wasn't going down.

The Duplicate Aditya tried to kill Aditya with the black sword. But this time, instead of blocking his attack, he just grabbed the Duplicate Aditya's black sword.

Drip! Drip!

Blood of the Divine Crimson Storm Dragon fell from his right palm as he tightly held the black sword's other hand. The sharp part of the sword had cut his flesh and caused his hand to bleed. However, he wasn't planning of letting go.

He instead looked at the Duplicate Aditya and said in a neutral tone. "You may look like me. You may possess the same skills that I possess. You have my strength but your weapon does not have the same power that my power does. Even if you have the same mind as me, you cannot evolve like me. This is the main difference between you being my duplicate. You will always be my duplicate. You will never be the original."

Saying that Aditya turned his left arm into his dragon claw. At the speed of lightning, his left dragon claw was in the Duplicate of Aditya's chest.

"Even if I was hit on my heart I cannot die because of the black heart." Aditya closed his eyes, and the next moment using a crimson blaze, he burned the Duplicate Aditya from inside. Using Crimson blaze he was able to destroy the Duplicate Aditya's, black heart and his other organs.

Just as Aditya ended the Duplicate Aditya's life, the entire world began to shake. Around Aditya, cracks started to appear just like they happened in the illusion world. The cracks slowly became bigger and bigger.

Adam who was very far away also saw these cracks and felt relieved. He can tell from previous experience that this world is collapsing. Soon he would meet Aditya and they would be taken to a different place.

As the cracks gradually expanded, Aditya's entire body started to glow in white light. The same thing happened to Adam. The next second, both of them were teleported somewhere else.

Aditya their eyes, both of them found themselves in a big room. Compared to the last time, this time the number of people has decreased by almost half. Almost half of the cultivators and adventurers have died and couldn't win against their own duplicate selves. As for others, Aditya and Adam can see a majority of them were seriously injured. Almost everyone here has suffered some kind of injury. Those who had 4-star or 5-star healing pills were able to quickly heal the injuries. Only a small percentage of people actually have 4-star or 5-star healing pills.

The cost of pills increases with their stars. A 4-star pill is super expensive for a rogue cultivator or an adventurer. As for 5-star pills, these are not found in the market. Most of the time, 5-star pills is mostly sold in an auction house. Presently in the Istarin Empire, only the goddess of alchemy was capable of producing 5-star pills. As for other alchemists, the rate of success is very low. For them, being able to produce even 10 5-star pills is a huge thing.

"I want to leave this. I came here to explore the Icy Shattered ruins. Why I am being forced to fight myself? This doesn't make any sense." One of the rogue cultivators shouted in frustration. Aditya and others can see injuries all over his body. It seems he barely managed to defeat his duplicate self.

"This almost feels like a teach. With each round, more and more people will be eliminated. Those who manage to survive till the final will gain great rewards and wealth while those who fail will die here." Everyone agreed with what the female rogue cultivator said.

"So What should we do now?" One of the adventurers asked out loud. Meanwhile, Aditya and some other people's attention was drawn to the walls.

'Someone used a basic illusion to make the walls appear to be plain. This illusion seems to be hiding something under it.' Aditya curiously walked near one of the walls. This was noticed by a few others including Adam who followed Aditya from behind.

"Aditya, did you find something strange?" Adam asked while walking behind Aditya.

"It seems like I did." Hearing this others who were talking among themselves stopped talking and turned their attention to Aditya.

Ignoring everyone's gazes, the Dragon Monarch placed his left palm on the wall. Aditya then controlled the mana in his body. Through his left palm, he released it on the wall. The next second something unexpected happened.

Crack!

Everyone heard the loud cracking sound. Everyone looked at each other. After 5 seconds of silence, this time the cracking sound became even clearer.

Crack! Crack!

"What is happening again? Are we going to be sent off to another world or what?" One of the Rogue cultivators asked in a frightened tone.

Boom!!!!!

All the cultivators and the adventurers heard loud glass-breaking sounds. The cultivators and the adventurers standing near the wall took a step away from the wall.

"The moment of hidden truth is here." Everyone present here widened their eyes in shock as they watched a mural appearing on the wall.

'Fortunately, I was able to spot this.' Aditya had one passive skill that allowed him to see through illusions. He would have some trouble breaking the illusion that was cast by 5th-order but as for illusions cast by 4th-order or lower-order, Aditya had no problem seeing through them.

[Fiery Vision]

[3-star Passive Skill]

[Description]:- A special and unique type of skill was created by combining the power of War Dancer, Rune Monarch, and Crimson Heavenly Dragon. This skill was later evolved from Lunar vision to Fiery Vision. The host is the founder of this unique eye skill. Since this skill is totally passive, it doesn't require any mana to activate.

[Function 1]: - The Lunar Vision gives the host Night vision. The host can see anything in the darkness.

[Function 2]: - The Lunar Vision lets the host finds the weak points of the opponent whose powers are one order above the host.

[Function 3]: - This skill gives the host 100% resistance against mind-controlling spells and complete illusion used by enemies whose power is one order above the host. But against higher orders, the resistance percentage decreases depending on the cultivation strength of the opponent.]

"The murals seem to depict some sort of story." Adam also seems to have noticed this. Aditya did not speak anything. He started reading what was written on the murals and tried to understand the pictures that were drawn. The mural had blurry images of many races. Their faces were blurred and it was difficult to know to which race they belonged.

Everyone else began to read the murals with great focus. Aditya was the first to understand what was written on the mural. Since he can remember since with a single glance, he was able to put everything together to form a story.

"Aditya, did you manage to understand what this Mural is trying to tell us?" Adam asked. Adam's question had attracted the attention of others. Others paid attention to what Aditya said. Some of them pretended to not care what Aditya was saying but their full focus was on Aditya.

"It's a story of several eras." Just as Aditya said these words, the entire place began to shake violently. As if an earthquake had hit this place. Some of them even fell down to their butts. While most of them managed to remain standing.

Craaa!!!!!!

As if sensing something, the Dragon Monarch became fully alert. Aditya's eyes turned into Dragon pupils; his pupils had become crimson with vertical slits in them.

ROAR!!!!!

A loud shook the entire room. The next second something from outside punched the roof of the room and made a large hole through it. The hole allowed light to come sunlight to come in the room.

"What the hell is that?" Everyone except for Aditya's heart nearly stopped beating seeing a red eye staring at them from through the hole. The size of the eye was enough to tell everyone just huge this creature was. The size of this creature's one eye was more than 20 in size. Just imagining the humongous size of this creature, everyone except for Aditya felt a chill running down their spine.

Even though Aditya wasn't afraid as others, his face had turned pale as his Dragon instinct was able to sense just how strong this enemy was. This humongous creature was a very powerful predator. As a Divine Dragon, Aditya can sense it. This creature was after him. It wanted his bloodline. If the Creature is able to consume his divine bloodline, it will be able to become even more powerful.

Bringing out his Adamantite Doomblade, Aditya infused the black sword with his mana. The Black sword was surrounded by a dark Crimson Aura. Aditya then vertically struck the wall.

Booom!!!!!

Aditya poured more than 500+ of his mana into the attack. Fortunately, the attack worked and broke the walls. Revealing what lay outside.

Beyond this gigantic room, the whole world was covered in ice. Thick layers of snow were covering everything. Seeing this Aditya was sure that they were in a different world as when he and Adam had entered into the icy Shattered ruin, Winter was about to come to an end. The snow was slowly beginning to melt but there it was extremely cold. Even Aditya felt slightly cold even though he was a fire Dragon and is supposed to have a very high resistance to cold temperatures.

Without wasting a single second, Aditya activated his passive skills. Aditya called for the Storm.

?Ding! The passive boost of the Storm Marshal class has been activated. The host's mana has been temporarily increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind-type attacks has been increased by 50%. Your Agility has been increased by [300+].?

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

He then grabbed Watson and ran out of the room before the humongous creature crushes the whole room. But when Aditya went out of the room, it was then he was able to see the true sheer size of this creature. For a second even Aditya felt fear seeing this huge monster before his eyes.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 281

He then grabbed Watson and ran out of the room before the humongous creature crushes the whole room. But when Aditya went out of the room, it was then he was able to see the true sheer size of this creature. For a second even Aditya felt fear seeing this huge monster before his eyes.

Scene change_____

While Aditya and Adam went to explore the Icy Shattered ruin, the girls went out to do some shopping. Only Watson, Scott, and a few other generals were left in the Dragon Palace. One of the beginner 5th-order Dragon Warriors was left in the Dragon Palace. Aditya made him the permanent guard of the Dragon Palace.

While Aditya and the girls were away, a certain enemy of the Dragons was heading in the direction of the Dragon Palace.

Around 10 km away from the Dragon Palace, a group of 9 individuals was walking in the direction of the Dragon Palace. The group of 9 cultivators was sent by the Dragon Slayer guild. A long time ago, the dragon slayer guild was one of the things that dragons feared the most. Back in the day, the guild was so strong that every dragon on the six continents always hide in fear of the dragon slayers.

The dragon slayer guild was responsible for the extinction of several dragon races. Many dragon clans were bought to the brink of extinction. The guild began to lose its power with the disappearance of its founding father who belonged to a clan of dragon slayers. Many think that the founding father of the dragon slayer guild is the strongest dragon slayer to ever walk on his planet.

"Leader, are we sure about this? Attacking the Dragon Palace would be the same as offending the Istarin Empire and its allies. Not to mention how strong the Dragon Emperor is."

"The Dragon Emperor is strong because he is a dragon. But in front of dragon slayers, even the mightiest dragons in history have fallen. Our weapons are designed to be more powerful against Dragons. I don't care if the Dragon Emperor has a divine dragon bloodline or a legendary dragon bloodline. In front of Dragon Slayers, dragons are just overgrown lizards." The leader replied in an arrogant tone.

"The Istarin Empire claims that the Dragon Palace is the holy ground of all Dragons. Ever since the foundation of the Dragon Palace, thousand of Dragons has moved to Istarin Empire. By destroying the Dragon Palace, we will be able to revive our Dragon Slayer guild. The Dragons will once again start fearing us. We will once again rise to the top. I will personally slay the Emperor."

"Even if we managed to kill the Emperor, we can't face the entire Istarin Empire's military." The Amazonian woman with blond hair and a muscular built body spoke while carrying a lance on her shoulder. Her name was Rebecca. Rebecca is an Amazonian who wants to fight strong opponents. As Dragons are very strong, she decided to become a dragon slayer and join the guild so that she could use the resources of the guild to keep slaying dragons.

Amazonians valued strength above all. If a strong Male partner manages to defeat them, they would marry that male and bear his child. However, Rebecca was a little different. While most Amazonian preferred to have a strong dragon as their husband, Rebecca enjoyed slaying Dragons for her own amusement.

Although Rebecca wasn't afraid of anyone she knew by killing the Emperor, they would face the wrath of the entire Istarin Empire. "As long as the Istarin emperor dies, the Istarin Empire falls. Our client would take care of the rest. They have given us their promise."

Hearing the words of their leader whose name was Walker, no one asked him any more questions. Everyone here had different reasons for becoming dragon slayers. Some became Dragon slayers as it was a very profitable job. The parts of the Dragon's body can be sold for a very high price.

In the group of 9, one of them was a surviving member of the blue-horned tribe. The blue-horned tribe was a part of the beast race that can be found in the beast continent. Hahn had lost his whole family to dragons. One day, his entire village was burned by two big Dragons. Hahn was the only survivor. His mother protected him with her own life. From that day, Hahn had made up his mind to become a dragon slayer and slay every dragon in this world.

The Peak 4th-order Vampire that was walking next to Hahn also had a similar story. Theo used to have a loving family. He had a loving wife and a daughter. But he lost everything when a Wyvern attacked them while they were traveling. Theo lost his wife and his daughter. He was badly injured. The injury took him 3 years to completely heal. From then, Theo dedicated his remaining life to becoming a dragon slayer.

Next to Rebecca was the young 22 years female of the white-tiger tribe. Keith is a member of the White Tiger tribe. The White tiger tribe was part of the beast race. To the White Tiger tribes, dragons were their biggest enemy and their eternal rival. Every warrior of the White-tiger tribe aims at killing at least one Dragon or Wyvern in their entire life. If a warrior in their tribe manages to slay a dragon or Wyvern, then that person is immensely respected. In many cases, the warrior that manages to kill the most number of Dragons or Wyverns is given the position of a patriarch within the White-tiger tribe.

The sixth and the seventh member of the squad were twins. Both of them were humans. The twins have been raised by the Dragon Slayer guild from a young age to become their strongest dragon slayers. The elder brother's name was Arthur while the eldest one's name is Anthony.

The last two members were a husband and a wife. The husband's name was Roger while the wife's name was Lily. Roger and Lily became dragon slayers to earn money by killing dragons. Despite looking so greedy, most of their earnings go to an orphanage that Roger and Lily together run.

On their way to the Dragon Palace, the 9 dragon slayers met many Dragonians and Dragons. Nowadays it had become very normal for Dragons and Wyverns to roam around the Dragon Palace. Of course, none of the Dragons or Wyverns ever dared to attack anyone unless they were provoked first.

"Don't attack any Dragons yet. Our target is the Dragon Palace. I want to see how strong the Dragon Palace is." Everyone followed Walker's orders. If someone had dared to disobey his orders he would have killed that person in a heartbeat without any hesitation. Walker was the coldest person on the first team. He is the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to kill even a newborn dragon child. The number of Dragons that Walker had killed in his multiple centuries-long life is too many.

Walker was one of the oldest Dragon Slayer guild members. He was extremely powerful and also very sly. To kill dragons, Walker wouldn't even hesitate to sacrifice his own teammates, his own dragon slayer guild members. He was the type of man who would do anything to kill dragons.

Walker is the descendant of the founding father of the Dragon Guild. Other than the elders of the guild, no one knows anything about Walker. No one exactly knows how old this man is. He looks like he is around 35 or 30 years old but his real age is over centuries.

When Walker and other dragon slayers were 1 km away from the Dragon palace, they had to stop walking as the general public or anyone wasn't allowed to come near the Dragon Palace. If anyone did cross the line, powerful Dragonians cultivating around the Dragon palace would start attacking the intruder and kill that person regardless of that person's identity.

"It's time. This world shall start fearing the Dragon Slayer guild once again." Saying that Walker flew up in the air. He ignored the Dragonians as Peak 5th-order cultivators, these pathetic weak Dragonians could do nothing to him.

"Dragon Emperor, come out, I am here to take your life." Standing right above the Dragon Palace, Walker spoke in a loud tone. He spoke so loud that his voice was heard even throughout the entire Azure city.

The girls who were shopping at the moment also heard this. The first one to react was Riya. The Yandere goddess dropped the cloth that had been chosen. Her eyes flashed in endless killing intent. Before Alicia or Julia could stop her, the goddess disappeared.

At the same time, Watson who has been cleaning the throne hall stopped as he heard something very disrespectful. The peaceful and gentle smile on his face disappeared. No matter who it is, even if it is a goddess, Watson will never tolerate his master being disrespected like this. The next second, the butler of the Dragon Emperor also disappeared.

At the same time, thousands of Dragonians who were cultivating inside or around the Dragon Palace all heard what Walker said. No one was the least bit pleased when their King, their master, their Monarch was disrespected.

Walker had no idea what he had called.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 282

"What the hell is that?"

"The question should be how the hell does this kind of ugly creature even exist?"

Aditya grabbed Adam and ran far as he could from this gigantic monster. Fortunately, Aditya took Adam out of the room in time. As for others, they were frozen in fear. As Aditya and Adam ran away, the monster released a beam attack from its mouth.

Booooom!!!!!

Before anyone could react in time, everyone in the room was killed. Now only Aditya and Adam were left alive.

"This thing is too powerful," Adam said as he saw the monster destroying the entire room. Just being near the Monster, he can feel that tremendous power inside this monster. Even though this monster did not release its Aura, just being near it, even a 4th-order cultivator would feel suffocated. If Aditya hadn't taken Adam with them, Adam would have died with everyone.

"From what I can sense, this monster is at least a beginner 6th-order Magic animal." He can sense that this monster could give a tough fight to the Snake Sage.

"How the hell are we even supposed to defeat this thing?" The Wild Lion of the Echo Dominion looked like he had given up.

"I will teleport ourselves back to the Dragon Palace." Aditya thought of him and Adam being teleported back to the Dragon Palace. But to his horror, nothing happened. Although he can still feel a slight connection with his Dragon Palace, whenever he is about to teleport, something in this world seems to be interfering, preventing him from teleporting.

"What happened? Why are you not teleporting?" Adam panicked as he noticed the monster turning its attention toward them.

"I can't. There seems to be something that is preventing me from teleporting." Aditya felt frustrated. If he knew that he and Adam entering this Icy Shattered Ruin would put them in this level of danger, he never would have bought Adam with him.

Aditya stopped in front of a mini mountain that was covered in snow. "Father, you wait here. I will fight off this monster. No matter what happens, please stay away from this monster and allow me to take the fight."

Aditya dropped Adam on the mountain and then disappeared. "Wait you fool. No matter how powerful you're you cannot defeat a Beginner 6th-order cultivator." However, Adam's words were not heard by Aditya. Adam had a feeling that even if Aditya knew what he wanted to tell him, he would still go to fight this monster.

Adam tightly clenched his fists as he stared at the monster. "You better win boy. I don't want to see my daughter becoming a widow this early. I still haven't seen a grandson or a granddaughter yet. It's too early for you to die."

Meanwhile, somewhere within this world, a person finally opened her eyes.

The size of the Monster was truly colossal. The Monster stood nearly 500 meters tall. The monster looked like a 500 meters tall human. The monster had pale white skin and red pupils. However, instead of having hair like humans, the monster had countless snakes. Seeing this monster, Aditya remembered a certain woman named Medusa who also had her hair turned into snakes.

But unlike Medusa, the snakes on this monster's head were extremely powerful. Just the size of each snake growing on its head was more than 100 meters and 20 meters wide. Each snake was white in color and had red eyes.

Aditya can sense that this monster had a trace of dragon bloodline in its body. The monster also looked very interested in Aditya. Even though Aditya had suppressed his divine Dragon bloodline, it seems the monster can still sense his bloodline and now was after his bloodline.

"I have a feeling that you're behind everything." Before Aditya entered the Icy shattered ruin everything was going well. Adventurers and Rogue Cultivators were able to explore the ruins and exit the ruin whenever they left. But when he stepped inside, everything changed. 'This would also mean that the death of those adventurers and the Rogue cultivators are on my shoulders. They died because of me.' Thinking this, the Dragon Monarch slightly felt guilty. He quickly stopped thinking about it as now wasn't the time to think about such things.

Standing 1000 meters away from the monster, Aditya was completely fearless. He wasn't afraid of this monster. His pride as the Divine Dragon wouldn't allow him to fear any creature. To Aditya, this creature was nothing but a filthy monster that somehow managed to reach Beginner 6th-order. Consuming Aditya's divine Dragon bloodline might help this monster to evolve its bloodline and reach Peak 6th-order.

"Let's see how long you can keep on dancing." From the previous battle against his duplicate version, Aditya had used a trump card that takes nearly 24 hours to recover. If he could use Inferno Overdrive, then he would be confident against this monster. But now, the chances of Aditya defeating this monster weren't that high.

'I still have to try. If I fall here, Father will also die. This would make Zak and mother Sophia very sad. I have bought Father here and it's my responsibility to take him out of this place.'

Crimson Blaze!!!!

With a wave of his hands, Aditya launched a 500 meters tall and 500 meters wide giant wave of Crimson flame at the monster. As the monster dealt with his attack, Aditya took this chance to activate his second trump card, which he rarely uses.

Dragon Transformation!!!

Previously Aditya had transformed his body into 50% Dragon but now he was entering into his full Dragon form. Aditya's body shape rapidly began to change. At the same time, the system sent him several

?Ding! As you have transformed into your Dragon Form, all of your stats except for mana have been doubled.?

?Ding! Your mana recovery speed has been increased by 60%.?

?Ding! 500+ extra agility has been added to your base stats.?

Meanwhile, the monster opened its mouth and released a beam of ice energy. The attack was so strong that it instantly dealt with Crimson flame and then the beam traveled more than 10,000 meters away and exploded making a huge noise.

'In this world, this monster can ignore the law that every higher-order cultivator has to follow. So a 6th-order cultivator wouldn't be punished even if it attacks a lower-order.' Aditya concluded this from earlier when nothing happened even though the monster killed all the adventurers and the rogue cultivators.

ROARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

After entering into his dragon form, by instinct, the Dragon Monarch let out a powerful roar that shook the land and pushed the snow away from him.

Aditya was in his dragon form. This was the first time he had entered into his Divine Dragon form. Adam from a far distance couldn't help but keep staring at Aditya's Dragon form. Aditya's Dragon form was 50 meters in size. He had two large strong beautiful Crimson dragon wings. His arms morphed into dragon claws. His claws were white in color. His entire body was covered in thick red scales. His eyes were dark and his pupils were crimson red with vertical slits in them. He had two large straights horn on top of his head.

His teethes were white and extremely large. Small wisps of crimson flame could form near his nose when he breathed. His tongue was crimson red. The ending of his tail was burning in Crimson flame.

Now that Aditya wasn't suppressing his Divine bloodline, the monster sensed his bloodline and let out a loud exciting roar.

ROAR!!!!

"Shut up, you filthy overgrown pig. You smell like shit." In a loud voice, Aditya did not hold back from insulting the monster. As Aditya entered into his dragon form, he had become a true Dragon. He had the pride of a Dragon. His way of speaking, his voice, everything had changed.

The monster seems to be able to understand Aditya's words. The monster let out another roar in anger. But when it opened its mouth, Aditya once again was able to smell its breath which smelled like rotten dog shit.

"Honestly, your smell is so bad. I feel like I am about to throw up." Aditya didn't bother to hide his disgust or the look of contempt in his eyes. Aditya was looking at the monster as if he was staring at a pig that had eaten shit.

Extra Information section -

?Dragon Transformation: - A special type of skill that is only possessed by the Dragon Monarch himself. The skill allows the host to transform into a Dragon or transform any part of the host's body into a dragon.

1. When more than 50% of the host's body is transformed into a dragon all of the host's stats except for Mana are doubled. When the host fully transforms into a dragon, all of the host's stats except for mana are instantly doubled.

2. When 50% of the host's body transforms into a dragon, the host's mana recovery speed will be increased by 60%.

3. If the host transforms into a dragon or transforms more than 50% of the host's body into a dragon during a storm, 500+ agility will be temporarily added to the host's agility.?

There is a mistake in Chapter 280. I mistakenly added Inferno Overdrive. But Aditya cannot use Inferno Overdrive as he already had used it to fight against his Duplicate version.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 283

"Honestly, your smell is so bad. I feel like I am about to throw up." Aditya didn't bother to hide his disgust or the look of contempt in his eyes. Aditya was looking at the monster as if he was staring at a pig that had eaten shit.

The monster had heard enough. Even though it can't speak, it clearly understands the words that Aditya was telling him. The monster roared before aiming to punch Aditya. At a very fast pace, the monster's right hand shot out.

Aditya managed to dodge the punch in time.

Magma Manipulation!

As Aditya flew above, the thick layer of snow beneath the 400 meters giant monster began to melt very fast. In a few seconds, the monster found its feet sinking. Beneath the thick layer of ice, there was a 2000 meters big giant lake of magma trying to completely burn the monster.

The ice on the magma lake and the around it quickly began to melt. The monster found crimson magma covering its feet and reaching its ankle. 'So my magma can't harm it.' Aditya noticed the monster standing in the magma lake without taking in damage or suffering any injury. Even a beginner 5th-order cultivator would have a hard time against his Magma.

ROAR!

The monster let out another powerful roar that created shockwaves. After the roar, the monster opened its mouth. Aditya noticed the mana of the monster condensing in his mouth. He can see a dark purple orb forming in the monster's mouth. At the same time, the snakes that grew on the monster's head also opened their mouths. A similar dark purple orb began to form in their mouth as well.

'This is bad.' Aditya can feel it. His instinct was telling him that this attack could take his life if he wasn't careful enough.

Aditya quickly flapped his wings and flew higher. At the same time, he also took out the Crown of Seven seas from his storage ring and put the small crown on top of his head. With a little bit of mana, Aditya was able to hold the crown on his large head.

As soon as the Crown was worn by Aditya, he felt his powers rising once again.

[Function 3]: - When the king wears this crown, the fighting power of that King will be increased by [20%]. The cultivation of the owner must be below 5th order otherwise this function won't work.]

At the same time, Aditya took out the mid-5-star sword that Adam had given him. After becoming a 4-star runemaster, Aditya has been working on adding runic enchantments on his Adamantite Doomblade. Although Aditya wasn't done with all the rune engraving on his Adamantite Doomblade, he still can use a few functions that he had finished. One of these functions was....

[Enlargement]

The black sword that weighed 3 tons started to expand in size. This was a simple yet very complex technique. Aditya can expand the size of the Adamantite Doomblade.

The Adamantite Doomblade grew 30 meters long. Holding the sword with his dragon hands, Aditya prepared to defend himself from the attack of the monster.

"I hope this works. Otherwise, I will end up dead." Given how fast the monster was, Aditya knew that he can't avoid this kind of attack. The attack would be in front of him in less than a second. He has no choice but to defend himself from this attack if he wants to survive.

Also at the same time, the dark purple orb on the monster had completely formed. The next second, the monster fired a huge dark purple beam at Aditya. All the snakes also did the same. All the beams together combined and formed a large dark purple beam that headed toward Aditya. Adam felt the beam of light traveling at the speed of light. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't utter a single word or move a single muscle. His eyes recorded everything and his brain worked extra fast to process this information as fast as possible.

Seeing the dark purple beam being fired at him, Aditya gathered almost 1/3rd of his total Mana on the Adamantite Doomblade. The dark Crimson Aura surrounded the Adamantite Doomblade as Aditya poured his mana into the sword.

When the dark purple beam tried to shallow Aditya, he used the Adamantite Doomblade to defend himself.

Adam saw Aditya vertically swinging the Adamantite Doomblade that was surrounded with Dark Crimson Aura. The sword met the dark purple beam. Aditya felt his arms violently shaking as he struggled to hold his place against such an attack. Feeling that he might not be able to defend, Aditya put [1,000+] more mana into the Adamantite Doomblade.

Adam saw Aditya cutting the dark purple beam vertically in half.

Boooooooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Did he just cut the beam in half?" Adam asked himself in shock.

Meanwhile, Aditya's face had turned deadly pale from the huge loss of his mana. From the beginning of this battle, Aditya wasn't at his complete 100%. His fight against the duplicate Aditya had taken a lot of his Mana. Now that he had used 1/3rd of his total mana and also an additional [1000+] mana, Aditya felt drained. The current mana he had would be enough to defend against another beam attack from the monster.

ROAR!!!!!

The monster roared in displeasure seeing Aditya managing to defend against its one of strongest attacks.

Meanwhile, Aditya who was 5000 meters above the ground coldly looked at the gigantic monster. Even from his height, the monster looked very huge.

"It has been a while since I used this attack." The next moment Aditya put all of his remaining mana into the Adamantite Doomblade. This caused the Adamantite Doomblade to have a Dark Crimson Aura around it. But soon this Dark Crimson Aura was replaced with Crimson Flame and sparks of Crimson lightning.

The Flame surrounding the Adamantite Doomblade and the sparks of Lightning around the Adamantite Doomblade started to increase. From the ground, Adam could no longer see where Aditya was. Instead, he can see a Crimson giant orb and Crimson lightning flickering around it. Aditya sort of understood what Aditya was trying to do.

"I better get away from this place." With this thought, Adam began to run away from the monster as fast as he could But from second to second, he would turn around and look at the sky.

The size of the Crimson orb continued to expand until it reached the size of 1500 meters. For a moment Adam felt that the sun has been replaced with the giant 1500 meters big crimson orb that had crimson lightning flickering around it.

Around the same time, Aditya started to descend from the sky. He started descending from the sky at a very rapid speed. Also, the intense light crimson orb forced the monster to put its right arm in front of its eyes.

In a matter of few seconds, Aditya had descended almost 2000 meters. When he was 2000 meters away from the ground, with all of his strength he threw the Adamantite Doomblade at the monster while trying to stop himself from falling to the ground.

Adam from a distance of more than 8000 meters away saw a huge meteor like a giant crimson object falling to the ground. Just before the Adamantite Doomblade could fall upon the monster, the 400 meters giant creature created a multiple-layer shield above its body. The shield that it made had 7 layers. Each layer of the shield was made up of a random color.

Just as the Adamantite Doomblade made contact with the 7th layer of the shield, a huge shockwave spread in all directions. The shield barely lasted a millisecond before shattering. The Adamantite Doomblade then went on to break the other 5 layers of the shield before facing the final and last shield.

ROooo!!!!!

Adam couldn't see what happened next as the intense light coming from the giant orb of the Crimson flame had prevented him from seeing anything. But before the humongous explosion took place, he did hear a painful scream from the monster.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!!!!!

Above the ground, Aditya who had managed to prevent himself from falling to the ground saw a huge red mushroom cloud rising to the sky. Along with the mushroom cloud, a powerful shockwave of Crimson flame and Crimson lightning spread in every direction. The shockwave traveled so fast that even Aditya wouldn't be able to outrun it.

'Fortunately, father is out of the range.' Aditya sighed in relief finding Adam very far away from the shockwave.

Aditya's eyes became incredibly tired due to consuming all of his mana. As he had no more mana left, all of his passive skills that ran out of mana were also deactivated. Aditya suddenly found it very hard to keep flying. His dragon body felt like it had gotten a lot heavier now.

'I hope this will be enough to end this monster's life.' Aditya opened its mouth and threw several 4-star and 5-star pills. He took a mana recovery pill, a healing pill, and a stamina recovery pill. As everything began to cool down, Aditya also slowly descended from the ground but he made sure to keep a safe distance. As his passive skills were deactivated, his agility had been reduced.

As the smoke started to disperse, Aditya realized just how powerful his attack was. He can see an area of 5000 meters had been completely destroyed. Not just destroyed. There was a crater more than 5000 meters big. The result of his attack had caused the ice of the surroundings to rapidly start melting.

When the smoke dispersed completely, Aditya widened his eyes only to find the monster that he thought to be dead was still alive. As Aditya had run out of Mana, he couldn't sense whether the monster had died or lived. But now seeing this monster still alive, he couldn't believe that this monster was still alive.

'How the hell did this monster manage to survive my attack?' Aditya could see a long vertical wound on the monster's right side of the chest and on its right thigh. The long vertical wound ran from its chest all the way to his right knee. The white pale skin of the monster has been burned slightly. What shocked Aditya was the fact that this monster was rapidly healing itself. The wound on its body was rapidly healing. Its skin was returning to being white again.

The monster suddenly turned its attention to Aditya and then it let out a loud painful scream before jumping out of the crater. Aditya looked up seeing the monster standing 1000 meters above the sky. The monster coldly looked at Aditya before running in the direction of the north. Seeing the monster fleeing, Aditya returned to his human form. As soon as he returned to his human form, he just lay on the ice. Feeling extremely tired and exhausted.

'This is the first time I have fought an opponent this strong. In the end, I couldn't even defeat it. How I will exit this world with Adam?' Aditya almost fell asleep if he hadn't bit his lips to keep himself awake. Right now Adam and Aditya were in an unknown world. With no way to return home. The only possible way that Aditya can think of returning to their world would be to kill this monster.

'But how am I supposed to deal with its super fast regeneration? My crimson flame and my crimson lightning barely were able to harm it. Even my strongest attack fell short.' Though Aditya was sure that the outcome of this battle would have changed if he was at his peak form. Two of his strongest skills, inferno overdrive, and Crimson lightning blink couldn't be used as he had used them earlier. Both skills had a cooldown period.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 284

Aditya just lay there. A few minutes after the monster left, the storm clouds that Aditya had previously summoned turned into snow clouds. And it started to snow.

Sigh!

"It would be a pain in the ass to defeat this monster." Aditya didn't feel like getting up. Strangely he started to feel very lazy and also very tired. He felt like lying there for a few years.

10 minutes later, Adam came from behind.

"Are you alright, son?" Adam asked in a worried tone. In times like this, the Wild Lion hated when someone younger than him fought for him. Yet he did nothing but watch. Adam wanted to increase his strength again for the first time in years.

Although Adam would never say it, to Aditya or anyone, this 19-year-old young man was someone whom Adam had come to like a lot. Adam truly believed that his baby can find happiness with him. But one thing that Adam hated about Aditya was his harem life. Adam had one wife because he was perfectly satisfied with one wife. Adam is unsure if he can give equal treatment and love to both of his wives. Adam previously thought that Aditya won't give the same attention and love to his girl. This is why he took him time to come and live with Aditya. But he was proved wrong. Aditya treated the three girls equally.

Besides this reason, Adam had countless other reasons. Adam wanted Aditya to live a long happy life.

When Adam called Aditya's son, Aditya was slightly touched. He can feel Adam's corner. "I am alright, Father. I am just feeling slightly exhausted and tired. But I believe soon that will go away as well."

Sigh!

"That's good to know." Adam sat next to Aditya in the snow. The snow cannot affect them. Both of them felt lost. They were lost in some random world. They had no idea where they were. Their only hope of exiting this world is to kill that monster. But the monster seems to have ridiculous healing powers.

Adam and Aditya sat together in silence for more than 20 minutes before Adam broke the ice. "I am sorry Father. I shouldn't have bought you here with me." The more time passed, the more guilty Aditya began to feel. If he hadn't bought Adam here, then Adam wouldn't have gotten stuck in this world. Now Adam's life is in danger because of Aditya. Aditya felt that Adam owed him an apology.

"There is no need to apologize son. You didn't know that this would happen. This isn't your fault. But I, on the other hand, would have to say sorry for not being able to help you." Adam is a man of pride. He is a battle junkie. Ever since he was just 14 years old he has been fighting enemies besides his father. Whenever he faced an enemy, he never ran away. He fought his enemies till he lost his consciousness.

But this battle was very different. For the first time in Adam's life, he faced something that is soo strong that it made him fear. For the first time, he feared his opponent. The fact that he did nothing but stand and watch while his son-in-law fought that monster made him guilty and also made him feel that he needs more strength.

"Please don't apologize. Next time when I see that monster I will be sure to defeat it." Adam nodded his head before both of them went silent again.

Strangely enough, both of them started to like this silent atmosphere. Neither Aditya nor Adam taught that sitting on the snow in an unknown world could be this peaceful.

After another 20 minutes of peaceful silence, Aditya broke the ice with his question. "Father, how did you meet Julia's mother?" Aditya was curious.

Hearing his question, the wild lion laughed. "Hahaha! I could write an entire book on the first day we met each other."

"Our first meeting wasn't romantic or anything. Back then, battlefields used to be my second home. I spent countless hours soaked in my opponent's blood. Back then, the only thing that I loved was fighting. But one day, I met this girl. On the battlefield, she has a fierce personality but when she was not fighting, she was the most gentle person I had ever met."

"Julia's mother fell for me when she saw me fighting. Whereas I was totally clueless about my feelings. I liked spending my time with her. I liked to watch her cook. I liked listening to her talk. I wanted to spend more time with her. For the first time, in my life, I found something that is even more interesting than fighting. I found something that I loved besides fighting. I would say that I love Sophia more than fighting."

"Sophia is a bold girl, unlike my very shy daughter. Sophia confessed her feelings. A month later, we held our weddings. That was the best decision of my life. Even though some say that I changed to a chicken after I got married. I never regretted my decision. Now I have a wonderful family. I have a successful social life. I have two precious children. What more can I wish for? Not everyone is blessed with all these kinds." Aditya nodded his head in agreement.

Listening to Adam, Aditya wondered if he should also marry. But he quickly shook his head. Aditya did not plan on marrying till he finished what he had set out to do. And that is to become the Emperor of the strongest Empire in the whole world.

'Besides, from my meeting with one of the origin dragons, I have learned that I will have to face some enemies in the future. I will start preparing as soon as I get back.'

"It's rude to listen to other people's conversation without their permission."

"Who are you talking tooo.....?" The words on Adam's throat got stuck as he saw a 5 feet 10 inches tall woman wearing white kimono appearing behind them. Seeing this Adam instantly stood up and looked at the woman in caution.

The woman had long black hair. There were two mini horns on two sides of her head. She wore a white Kimono. She had a large chest and a small waist. She was fair-skinned. The woman was no doubt a top beauty but when looking at her face, one would feel either disgust or fear.

The meat on the woman's face was rotten. In some areas, the bones of her skull could be seen. She had no eyes. In place of her eyes, there were two green orbs.

"Father, calm down. I have been sensing this woman near us for a while now. But she did not attack us. I can't sense any killing intent from her." Adam nodded. Adam slightly lowered his guard. This woman had a cultivation base of Peak 3rd-order.

"Are you going to speak or should I just kill you?" Seeing the woman not speaking, Aditya asked while releasing a bit of his killing intent.

Feeling his killing intent, the woman shivered. "I don't have a name. I am a servant of the great Starry Sky Empire."

"What Empire again?" Aditya and Adam both looked at each other in confusion.

"The great Starry Sky Empire." The woman repeated again. This time she looked slightly panicked as well.

"Father, did you ever heard of any Empire named The great Starry Sky Empire?" As far as Aditya knew, there was no such Empire on this planet. In his spare time, Aditya spends at least a few hours in reading books. Especially history books. As the Emperor, Aditya needed to have knowledge and information about the Empires of the past and the present. Aditya didn't just know their names. He also knew how each empire or Kingdom fell or how a Kingdom was born. With his sharp memory, Aditya can perfectly recall anything that he has seen or read.

Of course, the history that he read lad limited to a certain time period and to a certain area. Anything beyond the Dying Isle continent is out of Aditya's knowledge. So Aditya asked Adam since Adam was more experienced than Aditya.

However, Adam also shook his head. "When I was little, my old man made me study about all the great Empires on this planet. But in my studies, I have never come across any Empire that is named the great Starry Sky."

"No way....." The woman looked quite shocked. She took a few steps back while repeating the same words.

"This means..." Her hands began to shake. Soon her face was drowned in sadness. She began to grieve.

Seeing this Aditya and Adam looked at each other once again. Both of them began to communicate with each other without any words.

Aditya - 'Father, why does she look so sad?'

Adam - 'How would I know kid? I can't read people's minds.'

Aditya pointed at the woman - 'Why don't you ask her?'

Adam rolled his eyes - 'I am not interested. You ask her.'

Sigh!

"Miss, can you please tell us why are you suddenly looking so sad?" Aditya asked

The woman wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and replied in a heavy tone. "Before I reply let me tell you something. The time of this world flows differently from the outside world."

Aditya and Adam both instantly frowned. "What do you mean?" Adam asked in a serious tone.

"At first I thought His Majesty was only joking but I guess he wasn't. One hour in this world is equivalent to 24 hours in the outside world. I and the Maneater along with her Highness sent to this world more than 19800 days ago. Calculating the time difference, to the outside world, we have been in this world for 1,301 years ago."

This female zombie's reply only created more questions for Aditya and Adam.

"We have been stuck in this world for almost 30 hours already. That means to the outside world more than 30 days have passed." Realizing this both Aditya and Adam looked at each other in shock.

The female zombie did not speak as they can see that both men were in deep shock. After a while, Aditya looked at the female zombie. He still can't bring himself to believe that time flows differently in this world.

"Are you telling the truth?" Aditya suspiciously asked the woman.

"I have no reason to lie. You're the first living being that I have seen in 1301 years. If you don't want to believe in my words then there is nothing I can do about it."

Indeed this woman had no reason to lie to them. "You spoke something about the Emperor? What was that? How did you, this Maneater or whatever thing come here?" Aditya was still confused about many things.

Sigh!

"Around 1500 years ago, a great man built an Empire. Within 100 years that man's Empire became one of the strongest Empires on the Grassy Plains."

"Grassy Plains? What's that?" Aditya asked.

"The Grassy Plains used to be the name of the Beast continent. Around 700 or 900 years ago, the name was changed. Before humans and other races also used to live in the Beast continent. But for some reason, the beast race and the other races living on the continent had a big fight. The beast race won the fight and forced every other race to leave the continent. From them, they named themselves the beast continent."

"Ohh"

"I clearly remember all the Empires that fell in that war. But I never heard of the great Starry Sky Empire." Adam said while looking at the woman.

"This probably means that the great Starry Sky Empire did not last till the great fight. Something else must have destroyed it."

"This could be possible. The books in my library have records of all the Empires that existed 1000 years ago. Before 1000 years, history is kind of messed up. It is filled with theories and speculations. So I never bothered to read anything before 1000 years ago."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 285

"I clearly remember all the Empires that fell in that war. But I never heard of the great Starry Sky Empire." Adam said while looking at the woman.

"This probably means that the Great Starry Sky Empire did not last till the great fight. Something else must have destroyed it."

"This could be possible. The books in my library have records of all the Empires that existed 1000 years ago. Before 1000 years, history is kind of messed up. It is filled with theories and speculations. So I never bothered to read anything before 1000 years ago."

"It's quite sad to know that the Great Starry Sky Empire fell this quickly." The zombie woman looked saddened knowing that the Great Starry Sky Empire fell.

"Do you mind telling us more about this Great Starry Sky Empire?" Aditya gently asked. He had become very interested in this Great Starry Sky Empire. Maybe Aditya can find out why she was trapped in this place.

"The Great Starry Sky Empire used one of the strongest Empires in the Grassy Plains. The Emperor who was a very powerful Vampire King had 8 children. All of the Emperor's children were born very talented. Each of his Majesty's children was a genius. However, there was one child that was born with a mysterious illness."

"What Illness?"

"Her Highness is the 8th child of the Great Starry Sky Empire. Her Highness is the 4th Princess of the Great Starry Sky Empire. Unlike Her Highness's other siblings who were born very strong, since birth Her Highness was really weak. Her Highness had a mysterious illness that made her very weak. Because of this mysterious illness, Her Highness couldn't drink any human or any other being's blood."

"His Majesty invited countless alchemists, healers, and many other famous people of that time's era. But no one was able to find what sort of illness Her Highness had. The head alchemist of the Great Starry Sky Empire came up with a theory that if Her Highness starts to cultivate then her Highness will become stronger and live a normal life."

"So at the age of 5, Her Highness was forced to cultivate. But whenever she cultivated all of Mana that she would cultivate would be sucked by something that is inside her body. As a result, Her Highness became even weaker than ordinary humans. Even the Mana that flowed within Her Highness's body was being sucked. Alchemist spent years trying to find out what exactly was sucking all of Her Highness's Mana. But No one was able to find the exact reason."

"When Her Highness turned 10, the head Alchemist of the Great Starry Sky Empire discovered another strange thing. The more Her Highness aged, the weaker she became. At the age of 8 and 9, Her Highness was able to play like normal human children but one year later, she could no longer do any of that. Instead, most of her time was spent sleeping. Her Highness's sleeping period started increasing with her age. At the age of 16, Her Highness slept for more than 22 hours and would remain awake for 2 hours at most. By then, she had become so weak, that she couldn't even properly stand. She had stopped coming out of her room."

Aditya and Adam looked at each other. Both men felt pity for this Princess. Both men can't imagine something like this happening to their children. It must have been very painful for the Emperor to watch his own daughter suffer like this. Even though he had all the powers in the world, he still couldn't save his daughter.

"Watching Her Highness suffer, His Majesty and Mother Empress was really saddened. As they knew that if things continued like this, in a decade or two, their daughter might never even wake up from her sleep. For them watching their daughter grow this weak was worse than death. Mother Empress was willing to spend any amount of riches just to cure her Highness but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a solution to this."

"It was also during this time, that the 6-star runemaster of the Great Starry Sky Empire came up with a solution. As if luck is shining on the Great Starry Sky Empire. His majesty found a pocket dimension world."

"Wait. What is Pocket dimension world?" This time Adam asked the question.

"A Pocket Dimension world is a small world that is located within Primal Planet. There are many Pocket Dimension worlds. But most of them are not discovered. Finding a Pocket Dimension World is extremely tough. His Majesty was able to find one because he was lucky. Each Pocket Dimension World is different and unique. Some Pocket Dimension Worlds are completely filled with Lava. Some are filled with water, some are endless deserts, and some are thick forests."

"The Runemaster suggested building a special type of array that will stop the Her Highness from aging and put her into a deep sleep state."

"So this world is a Pocket Dimension World that the Emperor discovered. This means the Princess is sleeping in this world?"

"Yes. The plan was to put the Her Highness into a deep sleeping state and stop her from aging. While the Her Highness slept, the Alchemists of The Great Starry Sky Empire could research and find a cure for her. Even if the process took a century or even 1000 years it won't matter since Her Highness had stopped aging and others had very long life spans. This is supposed to be the original plan but things clearly did not go the way His Majesty had planned."

"I and the Maneater were put into this world to stop any intruder. At first, I was able to freely enter and leave this world and meet His Majesty from time to time. The last time when I went out of this world, His Majesty told me about some changes that he has made to the Pocket Dimension World. His Majesty didn't give me many details but I clearly remember him jokingly telling me that the time of the Pocket Dimension World works differently. At first, I didn't believe his thinking that he was joking as His Majesty has a habit of joking with others."

What this woman was saying was too much for Aditya and Adam to digest at once.

"That giant monster is the Maneater?"

"Yes."

"So what about the trial that we and many others faced?"

"To be honest I really don't know much about it. The illusion world and the world of floating Islands were both built to stop intruders from coming to this world. Whenever any strong being stepped inside, the defensive arrays of the world would activate. This is why you two had to face trials. In case, some weak intruders entered, the 6-star defensive array would activate and trap the intruders into a world of illusion."

'So this defensive array is so advanced that even though I suppressed my powers and bloodline, it was able to sense that I am a threat. Impressive. I wonder if I can learn more about this 6-star runemaster. Before us, the Rogue cultivators and the adventurers that entered thinking that this is a ruin were trapped inside an illusion.'

"Do you why the portal appeared in the southern region of the Dying Isle continent?" The portal to this world appeared a few months ago. Aditya wanted to know why this happened.

"I don't know. But a few months ago, I did sense the presence of a very strong being. Maybe that being's presence has something to do with this." Aditya instantly knew that she was talking about the Great Sage Snake.

"A Pocket Dimension World is not restricted by the laws of the Primal Planet. Here the power of the 6th order is not suppressed. A 6th-order can attack a lower-rank cultivator." Now everything is starting to make sense.

"Since you have told us this much, can you please......."

The woman gave Aditya a helpless smile and replied. "I can't. The only way that we can leave this world would be to wake up Her Highness from her deep sleep and defeat the Maneater. If I could I would have gone out of this world a long time ago."

The next moment the woman kneeled right in front of Aditya. She lowered her head and started begging Aditya. "Please save her Highness."

"What?" Aditya was perplexed. How can he save her? Maybe Julia would be able to find a cure for her Princess. Aditya wanted to why this woman was begging him. What made her think that he can save the Princess?

"When you were fighting the Man Eater, I sensed that you have Divine Crimson Storm Dragon blood in you. Even in our time, there wasn't any being with Divine grade bloodline. I think Her Highness could be saved if you let her drink your blood." Aditya can tell that even she wasn't certain if his divine Dragon blood could help the princess.

Sigh!

"Why are you so desperate? Also, please stand up." Aditya asked.

The woman stood up and replied in a sobbing tone. "Now that The Great Starry Sky Empire no longer exists, there is no one in this world that will come to save Her Highness. This means Her Highness will be trapped in that array for the end of times. I don't want this to happen to her. Please I beg of you. Take Her Highness with you."

"You're the strongest person I have seen in the last 54 years of being trapped in this world. You might be the last person who will be able to pass all the trails and come here. I don't want Her Highness to keep sleeping for eternity in this place."

'If I want to leave this world, I will have to break the array in which the Princess is currently sleeping.' Aditya had no other choice.

'Maybe Julia and Riya can find a cure.'

"Alright."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 286

"Where are you taking us?" Aditya and Adam have been following this zombie woman who is the servant of the 7th princess and has been staying in this world to look after the princess while she slept.

Aditya and Adam have been following her for a while now. Both of them have been following them for 2 hours now. In these 2 hours, the three of them have been moving very fast. Other than ice, both of them didn't say anything else on their path. Small and big mountains of snow and ice.

"Just follow me." The zombie woman replied in an emotionless tone. One thing Aditya has found out about this zombie woman is that this woman very rarely shows her emotions. Even if she shows her emotions, her face would quickly returns to being stoic. Her Stoic face makes it difficult for Aditya to see through her. Also, this zombie woman doesn't like to speak too much. She likes being quiet.

This zombie woman is the ideal maid that every noble would want to have. From the way she spoke, it was clear that from a very young age, she has been taught and trained to become a maid. This zombie woman has the attributes of a fighter despite being a servant. She is sharp with her words and very quick with her actions. She doesn't let her emotion affect her decisions or actions.

This woman can hide so well that even Adam who is Mid-4th-order cultivator couldn't sense her properly. She can almost become invisible. Assassins usually have this kind of power. As Assassins need to finish their target's life in just one move or two, they need to sneak or hide till they find the perfect time to end their target's life. But this woman is not an assassin but she has been trained like one.

Whenever Aditya or Adam asked her a question about the 7th Princess, she would gladly reply but when asked about her, she wouldn't say a thing.

After crossing a certain distance, Aditya and Adam both saw hundreds of islands floating in the sky. The sizes and shapes of each island were different from each other. After crossing 1000 meters distance, things became much clearer now. Aditya now noticed that all the hundreds of islands were slowly revolving around a giant floating island.

The size of The giant floating island was big as Azure city which is the capital of the Istarin Empire. The islands were floating approximately 3000 meters above the ground.

"Back then, Head Runemaster of the Great Starry Sky Empire had managed to invent special runes that can make these giant islands float. We became the only Empire in this world to have floating islands. His majesty was planning on creating large floating cities. This would have revolutionized The Great Starry Sky Empire. Unfortunately, the last time I visited the Empire, nothing like that had been built." Aditya once again sensed the sadness in her voice."

"Do you know what is Anti-Gravity Crystals?" Previously Aditya thought that these islands floated using Anti-Gravity Crystals.

"Without Anti-Gravity Crystals, these islands cannot float. The rune circle created by the Great runemaster works to equally distribute the power of Anti-Gravity Crystals throughout the island. The Array also has other functions of which I am not aware."

Soon the trio reached the main floating island. Looking up, Aditya can feel a weak presence of a living being. But the presence is so weak that if Aditya hadn't heard about the 7th princess's illness, he would have thought that this princess was on the verge of death.

"Let go." Two black pairs of bat wings came out of her back. The next second she flew towards the main island.

"Brat, give me a lift."

"Father, do you want me to carry you like a princess?" Aditya asked in a neutral tone without showing any emotion on his face.

"What nonsense are you saying? I will just wait for you here."

"Father, you can use this." Aditya handed Adam the Bracelet of Wind fairy. The Bracelet had a function that allows the user to fly using the wind elements.

Soon Adam and Aditya caught up to the maid. After flying for 10-something, they landed on the giant island. As soon as Aditya landed on the giant island, he found a giant Palace built in the center of the Island.

The Palace was almost 1000 meters in size. The entire palace was surrounded by tall green trees. Green grass was growing all over the forest. This is the first time Aditya and Adam was seeing greenery in this world.

"One of the functions of the array keeps the temperature of this place normal and prevents the snow from covering any part of it." The zombie maid replied in an emotionless tone before walking past them. She began to walk towards the Palace.

'All these things make me wonder just how big and powerful the Great Starry Sky Empire was. The Man Eater thing is a beginner 6-order monster. The head runemaster of the Great Starry Sky Empire can make 6-star rune circles this means he was a 6-star runemaster or maybe even above. How the hell did an Empire this strong fall in the Beast continent?' Aditya wondered while following the zombie maid.

As Aditya and Adam approached the Palace, both of them noticed some complex runes drawn on the white marble floor. The ground around the Palace was built with white marble.

"This Palace took almost an entire year to make. This entire Palace was dedicated to Her Highness."

The zombie maid pushed open the gates and entered the Palace. "I will take you to meet Her Highness."

The interior of the Palace was empty and very silent. This deadly silence is scary in itself. At the center of the Palace, a huge room was built. Upon entering this room, Aditya's attention was drawn to the complex rune circles that were drawn around the white transparent coffin.

'Even though I have become a 4-star runemaster. I still can't understand a single word. This makes me feel as if I have never studied runes before.' It is almost as if an elementary student is forced to answer university-level math questions.

Aditya's eyes were slowly drawn to the sleeping beauty. As the coffin was transparent, Aditya was able to see the person who lay inside it.

She lay on a bed of thousands of white roses. Her lips and her skin were pale as if someone had sucked every drop of blood from her body. Aditya would have assumed that she is dead if she wasn't slow breathing.

'Her Aura is so weak.' Her Aura was like a small candle that is about to burn out. Her Aura made Aditya feel that even a strong wind breeze could end up killing her life.

Both of her arms rested on her stomach. She wore a beautiful white Hanfu. Her body was small and very skin. She looked very weak and malnourished almost as if she had never eaten anything. She had a slightly above-average chest and a small waist. She had white hair.

Her face was extremely charming. Although her body was voluptuous, her face was really cute. She can easily compete against all 7 goddesses. While her body was very sexually very attractive, her face still had a bit of baby fat making her look cuter.

She looked very fragile. As if even a gentle breeze can kill her. Looking at her, Aditya strangely had the desire to protect her.

"What is her name?" Aditya asked in a low tone while looking at the Princess.

"Her Highness's name is Lara Murphy. Please take care of her." The Maid once again bowed her head.

"I will. I promise. I will try my best to find a cure for her illness and heal her." The zombie maid straightened her back and nodded her head with a small smile.

"Her Highness will wake up once you open the coffin." Listening to her, Aditya began to step forwards to the transparent coffin while staring at the sleeping princess's face.

"Once Her Highness wakes up, the first thing that she will most likely try to do is to drink your blood as you have Divine Dragon blood. Your divine Dragon blood is full of vitality and energy. Please do not stop her. As this would be the very first time, Her Highness will be drinking blood. As a Vampire, she never consumed anyone's blood. Due to her illness, her powers and vampire instincts have remained dormant. One more thing....." Aditya nodded before slowly opening the coffin.

"Why did you stop?" Adam asked seeing the zombie maid stopping. However, she did not reply.

Meanwhile, just as Aditya opened the coffin, he was expecting the Princess to wake up instantly. But a few seconds passed nothing happened. Aditya looked at the princess's zombie maid; expecting some answer.

But when he turned his away head, a pair of crimson eyes opened. Aditya instantly felt the Aura of the Princess becoming a little stronger than before. Noticing this he looked at the princess who was also looking at him.

She did not speak. Her crimson eyes were slightly glowing in red. Her vampire fangs started to grow.

"Currently she is too weak. Please help her." At this moment, Adam felt that this maid was hiding something important.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 287

Princess Lara did not speak instead her heartbeat began to increase. Her crimson eyes were slightly glowing in red. Her vampire fangs started to grow.

"Currently she is too weak. Please help her." At this moment, Adam felt that this maid was hiding something important.

Aditya's knees touched the floor as he bent down to put his palms under princess Lara's head. Adam and the zombie Maid watched in silence as Aditya gently lifted princess Lara's head. Aditya treated Princess Lara with utmost care. He treated her like she was the most fragile thing in this world.

Princess Lara kept staring at Aditya while he lifted her head. Before Aditya could give princess Lara his hand, she suddenly moved. Aditya easily could have dodged and pushed Princess Lara away but knowing how fragile this woman is, Aditya didn't do anything. He watched in silence as the Princess wrapped her fragile and soft arms around his neck.

Haaaa!!!!

Taking a deep breath, the next second Princess Lara's fangs sunk into the right side of his neck. Seeing this, the zombie maid widened her eyes for a brief second before her expression returned to normal.

Meanwhile, just as Princess Lara's fangs sunk into his flesh, Aditya's entire body shivered. His breathing became ragged. His heartbeat increased. His Crimson blood began to boil. His pupils changed to Dragon eyes; vertical slits appeared. What he was experiencing at this moment wasn't something that he was ready for.

When the Princess bit him, his body was hit with a wave of pleasure. Aditya even thought of pushing this princess down and going wild with her. But as soon as this idea came to his mind, he quickly discarded it and threw it into the trash. He would never do something like this. There are certain things that he would never do in this life no matter what.

As a man, he never would force himself on another girl. Even in his past life, no matter how much power and wealth he obtained, he always made sure to control himself. Also, the princess was extremely weak. Aditya feared that even his normal touch would give her pain.

Aditya could feel it. With each second, the princess was drinking a large quantity of blood from his body. As he had Divine Dragon blood, his blood was filled with vitality and life force. Just a drop of his fresh blood is enough to turn a human into Dragonian. Princess Lara's body might heal after drinking his blood.

Aditya just smiled and then gently stroked princess Lara's white hair. As he began stroking her hair, the color of her hair began to change which surprised Aditya greatly. Princess's Lara hair slowly began to change color from the base. Slowly the color of her hair changed to black. Aditya also noticed that along with the change in her hair color, her skin was also starting to look much better than before. Her skin previously looked very pale and looked as if someone had drawn every drop of blood out of her body. But now her skin was glowing.

Princess Lara kept going on until Aditya began to feel a little tired from the loss of blood. So with a gentle push, he stopped Princess Lara from continuing otherwise this princess might really suck him dry and leave him with no blood.

As Princess Lara stopped drinking blood, instead of moving away, she licked the place where she had bitten Aditya. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Princess Lara affectionately licking the last few drops of blood. Aditya was also surprised to see the two bite marks rapidly healing.

'I did hear that when Vampire drinks blood, their bit marks always heal very quickly. I didn't think that this would heal this bite marks fast.' Although Aditya had met Vampires before. This was the first time he was ever seeing a Vampire drink blood. His first time turned out to be even more special as this was also his first time getting his blood sucked.

After licking the few drops of blood, Princess Lara did not stop. She still was holding Aditya with her arms wrapped around his neck. But unlike before, now he can feel that Princess Lara had put more strength into her grip. This wasn't the only difference. Her fragile Aura made one think that Princess Lara is very close to death had changed. Now her Aura is strong as a regular human being's. However, her body was still not that strong. Aditya still needs to treat her gently so that he doesn't accidentally hurt her. Princess Lara's heart now beats faster. Her blood flowed much more smoothly and much faster.

'Did my Divine Blood help her recover a little bit?' Aditya felt this theory might be true. Drinking his Divine blood has helped Princess Lara.

Meanwhile, Princess Lara licked the area where she had bit him a few more times before finally looking at Aditya's face. On the other hand, Adam was completely stunned by what was happening in front of his eyes. The zombie maid who was Princess Lara's maid looked emotional. Unlike her stoic face which is unreadable, this time anyone can guess what emotions she is experiencing just by looking at her face.

'Your Majesty and Mother Empress, it seems there is really a way to prolong Her Highness's life. Her Highness can live much longer. This man is her Highness's cure. Drinking his blood, Her Highness will be able to live her life as a regular human.' The zombie maid couldn't describe her happiness. Ever since Princess Lara was born, her life has been miserable. Being a Vampire she couldn't drink even a single drop of blood. No matter how hard His Majesty and Mother Empress tried to make Princess Lara drink blood, she wouldn't be able to drink it. Even if she did, she would vomit all of that out of her stomach.

Princess Lara never was able to activate her Vampire bloodline due to this illness. But now for the first time, her vampire blood responded in the presence of Divine blood. Princess Lara finally drank blood.

The zombie maid was very happy at this moment. The 54 years that she spent in this world alone felt worth it. Seeing Her Highness finally looking healthy and better than before, the zombie maid only wished if His Majesty and Mother Empress was here to witness this with their own eyes.

Aditya and Princess Lara looked at each other for a few seconds before Princess Lara shyly lowered her head and called Aditya in a very sweet and milky tone.

"Husband....."

Hearing Princess Lara calling him husband in such a sweet and loving tone, Aditya felt the world around him exploding. He felt millions of lightning bolts falling upon him. At this moment, the Dragon Monarch was confused, perplexed, surprised, shocked, and hazy....in short, his mind was a mess for a few seconds. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. Just one word from Princess Lara froze his brain.

Adam who also heard this felt shocked. His jaw dropped to the ground as he stared at Princess Lara affectionately looking at Aditya before lowering her head. 'What the hell is going on? Why Princess Lara is calling Aditya husband even though this is the first time they had ever met? This does not make any sense. Did drinking Aditya's blood charm Princess Lara or what?' At this moment nothing made any sense.

Adam looked at the zombie maid who was wiping tears from her eyes. Feeling Adam's gaze, she turned to look at Adam. She nodded her head at Adam as if telling him that 'you heard it right'.

Aditya stared at Lara without saying a single word. The look on his face said everything that one needed to know. Unfortunately, Princess Lara shyly lowered her head. She did not see the expression on Aditya's face.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I will upload Princess Lara and along with a few other Female Characters pictures when I make my discord server. When I get time I will make my discord server.

I apologize for not being able to update regularly. I have exams going on. Today I returned home 1 and half hours ago. I wanted to make this a big chapter but in the end I decided to write a small 1500 words chapter for today.

Another thing, we are approaching the 300th chapter of this novel. This is the first time I have written such a big novel. So the 300th chapter of this novel is going to be extra big. I will try to make this chapter 5k words long or maybe even more than that. I have thought of writing a 10k chapter but let's see how many words I can write. Hopefully I will be able to upload a 10k chapter.

I am dead tired right now. Thank you all for the constant support.

Chapter 288

Aditya stared at Lara without saying a single word. The look on his face said everything that one needed to know. Unfortunately, Princess Lara shyly lowered her head. She did not see the expression on Aditya's face.

"Husband.....?" Aditya didn't know what to say in response.

"Husband, from now on please take care of Lara." Princess Lara responded back before closing her eyes and burying her face into his chest. Aditya without realizing put his hands on Princess Lara's soft and slim waist and pulled her closer to his body to make it easier for her to keep leaning on him.

Aditya looked at Princess Lara's zombie maid for some explanation. But the maid refused to open her mouth. She instead gave him an apologetic look before telling him that she would explain everything later on with signs.

Sigh!

Aditya decided to ask the zombie maid later. For now, he had to worry about this princess. Since he had promised this zombie maid that he would look after her and protect her.

"Husband, can I know your name?" Princess Lara shyly asked while tightly holding Aditya. Aditya can see that she is red. She was blushing. She felt so ashamed that she couldn't look at Aditya. Yet whenever she called Aditya husband, her voice would be filled with endless love and tenderness.

"My name is Aditya Bainnith. It's nice to meet you, Princess Lara." Princess Lara shyly nodded her head before she curiously looked at the figures standing to her right. Princess saw a tall muscular man standing with a greatsword. The figure standing next to the man was someone whom she knew.

For a few seconds Lara couldn't recognize who this person was. But strangely she felt very familiar. After staring at her for a few seconds, Princess Lara finally recognized who this person was. How can Lara forget the person who has been taking care of her ever since she was born? "Rose, is that you?"

'So her name is Rose.' Aditya and Adam thought the same thing in their minds.

Seeing Rose, Princess Lara got out of Aditya's embrace even though it really felt comfortable in his embrace. She slowly began walking towards Rose.

Meanwhile, the expression on the zombie girl's face finally broke. Tears formed in her eyes before she run up to Her Highness. Rose has been taking care of Her Highness since she was born. Rose has been there with Princess Lara for as long as they could remember. Even when Princess Lara was put in this world, Rose volunteered to look after Her Highness.

To Princess Lara, it might seem as if not so much time has passed. But to Rose, 54 long years had passed. She spent 54 years alone in this world without any interaction. The only thing that kept her motivated to keep going is Her Highness.

Walking in front of Princess Lara, Rose kneeled on the ground. However, Princess Lara made her stand up and then she hugged Rose. Both of them hugged each other while shedding tears of joy. Especially for Princess Lara things were very difficult. She was kind of hoping to see her parents after she woke up but it seems the prophecy did happen.

After hugging Princess Lara, Rose somehow calmed herself. "Highness, there is something that you should know." Rose felt choked while saying the painful and bitter words that were going to shatter the innocent heart of her lady.

"I know it." Rose widened her eyes in deep shock. Meanwhile, Aditya and Adam had no clue what they were talking about.

"But how?" Asked Rose with a shocked face.

Princess Lara quickly the tears from her face and then replied in a sad tone. "A prophecy was revealed by the seer a week before I was put to eternal sleep."

"What prophecy?" Aditya asked with a confused look while walking toward princess Lara

"In the prophecy, it was revealed that in the future The Great Starry Sky Empire was going to be destroyed. That one day a powerful Red Dragon would come to the Icy Shattered ruin and wake me up. That power Red Dragon will be my future husband and the one who will find a cure to my illness." The shocked and surprised look on Rose's face told Aditya that this zombie maid really knew nothing. This also kind of explains why Princess Lara called him husband.

'I was the type to not believe in Seer or Soothsayer or in prophecies. But after coming to this world, I had multiple visions of the future. Each time I managed to change the future with the knowledge I had about future events. I thought I was the only one who sees can the future but now I have met or heard of two beings who have been able to see glimpses of the future. The first one is my grandfather's best friend, he is one of the Origin dragons and his name is Michael. The second one is the seer that Lara is talking about.' Aditya was starting to worry about the future. Michael warned him that beings powerful as Aditya were going to come.

"It is difficult to explain but I was able to see every single person who entered the Icy Shattered ruin. I saw my husband fighting someone close to him. I saw him fighting his own self. I saw him fighting the Maneater. I saw everything." Hearing this Aditya was once thing shocked. But he quickly understood that this must be one of the side powers of the 6-star array that was built to keep the Lara to eternal sleep.

"Royal father promised that he would do everything in his power to change that future and make sure that he and others stay alive till I wake up. But it seems Royal Father couldn't change the future. The prophecy is happening. Mother Empress forbid me to tell anyone about the prophecy as this would cause a panic." Lara looked sad when talking about her father and her family. It was not easy for her to wake up in a completely different time and era where her family, friends, relatives and even her Empire doesn't exist.

Aditya held Lara's hand and then gently smiled at her. "Since I am your fated one I will take care of you." Hearing this Princess Lara blushed slightly before lowering her head. 1,300 years ago, the societies of the Primal World were very different from now. Mother Empress has raised all of her daughters to love and respect her husband. This also includes Princess Lara. Ever since she heard that she was going to meet her husband when she woke up, she has been preparing herself to become the best wife.

Princess Lara had made up her mind to always love, respect, support, and devote herself to her future husband even if her future husband happens to be one of the ugliest men on the planet. To her, it doesn't really matter if her husband has 100 wives as long as her husband cared for her. It doesn't really matter if her husband was the evilest person on this planet or the cruelest King on the continent. She was still going to love, respect, support, and devote herself to her husband.

In her life, Princess Lara never has been touched by another man other than her father. Princess Lara has rarely interacted with men other than her brothers. When she regained consciousness amidst drinking Aditya's blood, as a Vampire, she instantly fell in love with the taste of Aditya's blood. His blood was the most delicious thing that she has ever drunk. The second thing that she fell in love with was her husband's smell. It was so addictive. The third thing that she fell in love with was her husband's face. Her husband might not be the most handsome man on the planet but in her eyes, her husband was the most handsome man.

Princess Lara loved how gentle he was with her. She loved how caring he was. She loved how her husband held her hand when she felt sad about losing her family to support her. Even though it hasn't been even 10 minutes since she met her husband and her fated one, she was already very happy.

The only part that made Princess Lara sad is the fact that she can't do anything in her power to repay her husband back. She also wanted to become the perfect wife for her husband. She wanted to cook for him. She wanted to do all the things that a wife would do for her husband. Unfortunately, her illness prevents her from doing anyone of that.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I hope you liked the chapter. I had a wonderful time writing this chapter. This arc is going to come to an end in a few more chapters. After that, we will return to Istarin Empire and continue with the other arc.

Chapter 289

"We don't have much time. The Maneater monster will be here soon." Rose looked at Aditya. She really hoped that Aditya would be able to defeat this monster and take Her Highness out of this world.

"The Maneater monster can sense if Her highness has been awakened up anyone. We will be trapped in this world if the Maneater monster is not killed." Rose was still shocked when she saw a Mid-3rd-order cultivator fighting a beginner 6th-order monster. Aditya was fighting a being that his 3 orders above his cultivation rank.

Aditya gently held Lara's right hand and then nodded his head with a resolved look. "Don't worry, I will make sure to defeat this being. Last time, my attack almost defeated it but its regeneration saved its life. I have to do something about its regeneration." Aditya's two strongest skills were Inferno overdrive and Crimson Lightning Blink. Both of his skills were currently under cooldown effect. If he could use one of his skills, then he can easily end the monster's life.

"The Maneater thing can regenerate from any kind of injury three times before its regeneration abilities stop. Since you already injured the Maneater monster once, you will need to severely injure it twice before you can permanently kill it."

Sigh!

'This is going to be difficult.' Aditya thought as held Princess Lara's hand. Just injuring this monster once took all of his mana. 'I don't if the same attack will work twice.' The Maneater monster is very intelligent. Being a beginner 6th-order monster, its intelligence is very high. It can learn from its opponent during a battle and think of counters.

ROAR!!!!

"It's here." Aditya was the first one to sense the monster's presence. Adam was the second one to sense it. Then Rose sensed its presence. But Lara couldn't sense its presence as she wasn't a cultivator.

"You three wait here. I will return after I deal with this monster." Lara was about to say something in response, but Aditya had disappeared.

"Please take care." With his heightened sense, Aditya managed to hear what Princess Lara was before he flew off the floating island. At the same time, dark clouds containing Crimson lightning bolts began to cover the sky. A few seconds later, a big storm took place.

?Ding! The passive boost of the Storm Marshal class has been activated. The host's mana has been temporarily increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind-type attacks has been increased by 50%. Your Agility has been increased by [300+].?

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

Dragon Transformation!

As soon as Aditya flew off the island his body began to transform. Within a few seconds, his body changed. He took his Divine Crimson Storm Dragon form. By instinct, the Dragon Monarch let out a powerful roar that produced a large shockwave.

ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aditya was in his dragon form. Aditya's Dragon form was 50 meters in size. He had two large strong beautiful Crimson dragon wings. His arms morphed into dragon claws. His claws were white in color. His entire body was covered in thick red scales. His eyes were dark and his pupils were crimson red with vertical slits in them. He had two large straight horns on top of his head.

His teeth were white and extremely large. When he breathed, small wisps of crimson flame could form near his nose. His tongue was crimson red. The ending of his tail was burning in Crimson flame. Crimson lightning was flickering around his body. His huge body moved as fast as lightning.

?Ding! As you have transformed into your Dragon Form, all of your stats except for mana have been doubled.?

?Ding! Your mana recovery speed has been increased by 60%.?

?Ding! 500+ extra agility has been added to your base stats.?

Aditya in his Dragon form flew in the direction east at his full speed. A minute later, Aditya stopped in front of a gigantic monster. The size of the Monster was truly colossal. The Monster stood nearly 500 meters tall. The monster looked like a 500 meters tall human. The monster had pale white skin and red pupils. However, instead of having hair like humans, the monster had countless snakes. Seeing this monster, Aditya remembered a certain woman named Medusa who also had her hair turned into snakes.

"Let's finish this." The monster responded with another loud roar before charging at Aditya. The Dragon Monarch also didn't back down. He also flew towards the monster at his full speed. At the same time, he also took out the Adamantite Doomblade.

From a far distance, Adam, Rose, and Lara saw a huge shockwave spreading when Aditya and the Maneater monster's attacks collided. Aditya infused the Adamantite Doomblade with his mana causing the Adamantite Doomblade to glow in dark red.

He let out a loud roar before swinging the Adamantite Doomblade at the Maneater monster.

The monster stopped Aditya's attack with its right hand. Aditya was surprised to find the monster's body covered in a layer of diamond. The diamond had made its body stronger and more durable.

'I need something that will break this diamond skin.' Aditya opened his mouth and let out a beam of crimson flame at the Maneater monster. The monster put both of its hands in front of his face to protect its face.

Aditya used this chance to summon another strong attack.

?Enraged Lightning Spell?

Crack!

Lara, Rose, and Adam, the three of them had come out of the Palace and were standing on the edge of the island and were watching the battle between Aditya and the Maneater monster. Three of them raised their heads when they heard a loud lightning-cracking sound in the clouds.

"What the hell is going on?" Rose asked with a disbelieving look. Compared to Lara and Rose, Adam was relatively calmer as he had seen something like this before as well.

"I don't know what is going on but whatever Aditya is going to do will definitely cause chaos." Adam felt his blood boiling in excitement. Watching Aditya fight is always exciting. When Aditya fights he does not care about his surroundings. The surroundings are bound to be destroyed when he fights. It was a fortune that they were on his floating island otherwise if they were on the ground, they would need to run right now.

Rose and Lara widened their eyes as they saw countless bolts of lightning flickering around the dark clouds. The lightning bolts were of 7 unique colors. But all of a sudden, all the lightning bolts that has been swimming in the clouds like snakes started heading in the same direction. Under the shocked gazes of Adam, Lara, and Rose, all the lightning bolts combined to form a giant rainbow color bolt of lightning.

"Take this." Aditya vertically swung the Adamantite Doomblade at the Maneater monster. The monster easily blocked his attack. Aditya noticed that ever since the Maneater monster covered its body with diamond skin, its movement had slightly slowed down.

Bang!

A loud metal clanging sound was heard. Aditya's dragon arms felt numb for a few seconds. Just as Aditya expected, the attack did not even leave a crack on the monster's skin. Meanwhile, the monster punched Aditya's face.

Aditya couldn't dodge the punch. He received the painful punch and his body fell to the ground. But then he quickly moved away from the monster. The Maneater monster was confused about why Aditya was moving away but when it noticed something. It raised its head and glanced at the dark clouds in the sky.

Aditya grinned seeing the Maneater monster slightly trembling to see the rainbow bolt of lightning over its head.

"Good luck."

Boooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROAR!!!!

Just as the rainbow lightning struck the monster's head, the Maneater monster let out a loud painful scream of agony. The monster's entire body trembled. The Diamond skin that protected its body slowly began to crack. A few seconds later, the diamond skin completely shattered and the rainbow lightning was able to reach the monster's skin without any protection.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I am sorry for not uploading for last two days. Finally my exams are finished. I will be able to give time in writing more chapters.

I know this month I am not updating regularly. This will be the last time in this month. I will try my best to make up for all the days that I didn't upload by uploading extra chapters. Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 290

Just as the rainbow lightning struck the monster's head, the Maneater monster let out a loud painful scream of agony. The monster's entire body trembled. The Diamond skin that protected its body slowly began to crack. A few seconds later, the diamond skin completely shattered and the rainbow lightning was able to reach the monster's skin without any protection.

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Lara covered her ears in fear when they heard the loud painful scream of the Maneater monster.

When everything calmed down, Aditya found the maneater monster lying deep in a crater. The crater appeared to be 100 meters deep and 500 meters wide. Aditya had used almost half of his total mana in this attack.

The Monster's body was in very bad shape. All the snakes that were growing over the Maneater Monster's head had been fried. The Maneater's skull was crushed. Its body was full of cracks and was burned. It's a wonder how this monster managed to survive this attack.

Not even 5 seconds passed, and Aditya noticed the Maneater's body rapidly regenerating. Its broken skull rapidly began to heal. Its burned skin rapidly began to recover and return to normal. The snakes that were growing on its head were returning to life.

Aditya took out another mana recover pill and ate it as he knew that to kill the monster he would need to land another powerful attack.

As the Maneater was recovering, the monster turned its attention to Aditya. The monster now looked even more furious than before. It was looking as if Aditya was its mortal enemy. The monster now deeply hated Aditya.

ROAR!!!!

The Maneater let out another powerful roar. Aditya can sense the monster's immense anger and hate for him.

Crack!

Suddenly, from the ground, more than 1,000 white gigantic snakes rose in the air. Aditya who was currently flying 100 meters above the ground suddenly felt something. When he looked down, he widened his eyes seeing 1,000 of white snakes heading in his direction.

Before Aditya could dodge, the snakes bit his legs and before dragging Aditya to the ground. When the snakes bit Aditya's legs, the snakes also injected their venom into Aditya's blood. Although the snake's venom couldn't affect the Dragon Monarch, Aditya felt his legs being torn from the inside when he was bitten by so many snakes.

Aditya couldn't stop himself from falling to the ground.

Booom!

After he fell down, all the thousand snakes wrapped around his body, preventing Aditya from moving at all. When he opened his eyes, he found the Maneater standing 100 meters away. The monster was ready to attack.

The Maneater monster started running in Aditya's direction, seeing this Aditya tried to free himself from the white snakes that were currently binding his whole body and preventing him from moving.

Seeing that he can't free himself in time, Aditya controlled the crimson lightning in the storm clouds.

Before the Maneater could reach Aditya, in just a single second, more than a hundred bolts of crimson lightning started to strike the Maneater monster. However, the Maneater started running at Aditya after stopping for a brief single second.

Seeing this Aditya did not waste any time. He activated the new skill which he obtained after the Dragon Palace was built.

?Dragon Monarch's domain!?

The Dragon Monarch's body started to glow red. The temperature of his body began to increase rapidly. Violent Crimson lightning began to flicker around his body. Aditya's body had become so hot that the white snakes that were binding him turned to ashes within a second.

At the same time, heaven seems to have become chaotic as well. With Aditya's change in his body, chaotic crimson lightning started to rain down on the land. The temperature of the land rapidly started to rise. The snow and the frost that has existed ever since the formation of this world began to melt.

Also at the same time, a red flat sphere began to spread from Aditya. The red flat sphere spread in every direction; covering 10,000 meters in radius. The Maneater monster was also inside the crimson flat sphere.

The Maneater monster suddenly felt fear as he stared at Aditya. The monster could feel Aditya's Aura rapidly increasing. Aditya was getting stronger and stronger.

Aditya grabbed the Adamantite Doomblade and then disappeared. Before the Maneater monster could react, the Dragon Monarch had teleported behind the Maneater monster.

5!

"This is the end of your stupid regeneration." The Adamantite Doomblade bathed in Crimson blaze and Crimson lightning. At this moment, the entire world seems to bathe in a Crimson glow when Aditya diagonally swung the Adamantite Doomblade at the Maneater Monster.

Booom!!!!!!!!!!!

The only thing that Adam, Rose, and Lara saw was a diagonally Crimson flame before everything exploded and blinded their vision.

4!

'Not enough. I can't fall now. While I have the chance, I must take this monster down.' Aditya felt his bones starting to break down as he attacked the Maneater monster with everything. He could feel the weight of his own body crushing him.

Aditya did not care about the state of his body. He tightly gripped the Adamantite Doomblade and stared at the Maneater as the monster's body rapidly regenerated. Aditya did not strike as he knew that attacking the monster when the monster is regenerating won't kill it.

3!

'Time is running out.' Aditya thought as he watched the monster's bones began to heal and connect with each other. Also the same time, the Maneater turned around and looked at Aditya.

2!

As soon as the muscles and skin formed over the monster's bones before the regeneration could be over, the Maneater reacted. The Maneater gathered mana into its right hand which was still healing.

1!

Aditya did not move. This was the last moment before he run out of mana. This was the final deciding moment of this battle. This moment was going to determine who was going to live.

Bang!

Aditya was forced to cough out blood as the Maneater's right arm entered Aditya's, right heart. The monster's right bone penetrated through his heart and came out from behind. At this moment Aditya almost lost consciousness but he held on. This last second was very important. Before the countdown went to zero, Aditya had to strike the monster down.

Fate seems to be on Aditya's side as the Monster's regeneration seems to have stopped. Aditya held the Adamantite Doomblade and drove the black sword through the monster's heart just like the monster had driven his right hand into his heart.

Bang!!!!!

ROAR!!!!!!

As the Adamantite Doomblade penetrated the Maneater's heart, the monster cried in pain and in agony.

0!

Aditya suddenly lost all of his strength. He couldn't even keep holding the Adamantite Doomblade as he had lost all of his strength. At the same time, the red glow over his body began to disappear. The violent Crimson lightning that was flickering around his body started to fade away. The flat red sphere that extended over 10,000 meters also began to fade. The Storm clouds and the Crimson bolts of lightning over Aditya's head also began to calm down and disappear.

This battle had come to an end!!!!

'I won.' That was the last thing Aditya thought before he closed his eyes. At the same time, the monster's body began to crack. Cracks appeared all over the monster's body. The Maneater monster roared at Aditya before its entire body started to break down like glass.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 291

Huff! Huff!

Cough!

Aditya coughed out a mouthful of blood before falling to his knees. The Dragon Monarch could feel his vision getting blurred. His entire body was in unbearable pain. Aditya wanted to scream as loudly as he could but he had no strength to do that. Blood slowly leaked out from several parts of his body. His right heart stopped beating.

'This feeling.....When was the last time I felt something like this?' The Dragon Monarch...no rather the man who became the Istarin empire's Emperor.....the man who became the Dragon Monarch...asked himself.

Even with his blurred vision, he can faintly see the Maneater monster's body starting to crack. Even a second felt like an eternity for Aditya. As he watched the Maneater monster's body crack his remaining consciousness began to wonder. He began to question himself.

'I strangely feel warm even though I am about to pass out for who knows how long. I strangely feel peaceful even though I have come so near death. At least, Father can get out of this place. At least, I was able to save Princess Lara who is my wife even though I still haven't done a thing for her. At least, Rose now won't be trapped in this frozen world. This familiar warming and peaceful feeling.....Am I experiencing this because I am about to die?' Aditya remembered when he died on Earth, he experienced something similar but back then he was full of regret. He regretted living a life of no happiness. He regretted living a life without any real friends or family. He regretted hiding his personality behind a mask.

Right now Aditya's consciousness was like a candle that was about to burn out. Once the candle burned out, Aditya will die. With each passing thought, Aditya could feel his strength living in this body. He could feel his soul slowly starting to shatter.

When he thought about his 1st death on earth, he remembered the regrets that he had in his life. Remembering the regrets, made Aditya remember the things which he still hasn't done. The responsibilities that he has in this world.

'I still haven't achieved my dream yet. I still haven't confessed my love to Riya yet. I still haven't given Alicia enough time. I still haven't spent enough time with my first wife. I still have to save this world from evil forces. I still have to help that woman. I don't want to die before I see my child. There are thousands of other things which I want to do but it seems I have run out of time.' Aditya began to have a deep regret. The regret he had in his past life was nothing compared to the regret that he was having now.

'At least I have won.'

That was the last thing Aditya thought before he closed his eyes. At the same time, the monster's body began to crack. Cracks spread all over the monster's body. The Maneater monster roared at Aditya before its entire body started to break down like glass. At the same time, Aditya returned to his human form before falling to the ground.

Seeing everything calm down, Adam did not wait any longer. He jumped down from the floating island and rushed at Aditya. He moved as fast as he could. Never in his life, Adam has wanted to run this faster.

'You better now die brat. I don't want my daughter to lose her smile and her source of happiness. I don't want my daughter to become a widow at such a young age.' At rushing at Aditya, drops of sparkling tears fall to the ground. Right now, no one thinks that the Furious Wild of the Echo Dominion Empire would cry for a boy whom he had met not so long ago.

"Rose, take me there." Lara's entire body trembled as she blankly stared in Aditya's direction.

"But Milady, If I take you there at such high speed, then your body might not be able to handle it. Why don't you wait here....ROSE, DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?' Rose widened her eyes seeing Her Highness losing her calm. This was the first time, Lara has lost her temper. Before today, Rose has never seen Princess Lara lose her temper like this.

Rose silently nodded before picking up Lara in her arms. The next second, Rose also disappeared. Rose created a barrier around her to make sure that the strong wind and snow won't be able to affect Her Highness.

Adam managed to reach Aditya at his top speed. It still took him 71 seconds to reach Aditya. Adam kneeled before while staring at his son-in-law's face. His current condition was really worse. His entire body was covered in blood. Red blood was coming out of his mouth and his nose without stopping. Every single bone in his body was broken and shattered. His leg, thigh, chest, and arms muscles were torn apart. In some areas, Adam could even see Aditya's bones.

If a normal human had even 1/10 of Aditya's injuries, that human instantly would have died. It's already a miracle that Aditya was still alive.

'He is still alive. But he can die at any given second.' Aditya had long stopped breathing. His heart wasn't beating either. It was his black heart that was still keeping him alive. Otherwise, Aditya would have died the moment the Maneater monster had put his right arm into his heart.

If Adam had to describe Aditya's current condition then he would say that the current Aditya's Aura was so weak that it was difficult to even sense Aura from far away. Adam almost thought that Aditya had died when he was far away.

Adam quickly scanned his storage ring, looking for the highest star healing potion or pill. However to Adam's frustration and anger, all the healing pills in his storage ring were either 3-star or beginner 4-star. The only few 5-star healing pills that he had was used on himself to recover when he had fought his duplicate version.

'Let's check if Aditya has any 5-star healing pills.' Not all hope was lost. Adam managed to find a 5-star beginner healing potion that Julia created with Riya's help. The potion was green in color and was stored in a test tube.

Adam quickly opened the lid and put the green slightly sparkling liquid in Aditya's mouth. He then closed Aditya's mouth and nose to make sure that not even a single drop of this liquid is wasted. As the green liquid reached down Aditya's throat, a green Aura covered his entire body.

Sigh!

'Fortunately, blood has stopped flowing out of his body.' Adam noticed no blood was coming out of his mouth and nose. He also noticed that Aditya's Aura which was about to burn out had somewhat stabilized.

'Fortunately, this brat is not going to die.' Adam wiped the tears that were making his vision blur. Adam checked if there was any other 5-star healing pills or potion in the storage ring but to his disappointment, he couldn't find any other potion or pill of 5-star rank.

A few seconds later, Rose and Lara also arrived. Seeing Aditya's condition, even before Rose could gently put her Highness down, Lara struggled and came down. She then quickly ran up to Aditya with her weak and malnourished body.

Her hands trembled as she gently reached out to hold Aditya's face. Drops of tears started falling from Lara's eyes to Aditya's eyes before rolling down. Seeing that man who was her husband covered in blood without moving, really hurt Lara. Lara gently stroked Aditya's cheek; wiping the blood that covered his face with a sad smile on her face. Lara was having an emotional breakdown.

While Rose had experienced living in this world for more than 53 years. But for Princess Lara, on the other hand, to her 53 years passed like an afternoon. She went to sleep knowing that the next time she woke up, she might never see her family, parents, brothers, sisters, and her Empire again. Rose still managed to handle herself. She was comforted by the man who was going to be her husband. But now not even an hour later, she was witnessing her husband on the verge of death. This was just too much pain for her.

Rose has never seen Her Highness shed tears like this. Back in their time, no matter how difficult things became, Princess Lara never shed a tear. She might have a weak body, but her mind and heart were very strong. Seeing someone cry like this, Rose felt hurt. It pained Rose to see her lady cry like this.

"Milady, Aditya...His Highness is still alive. I can feel his Aura." Rose's words seem to have given the little bit of hope that Lara wanted to cling to.

"Really? You're not lying right?" Rose smile before nodding her head.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 292

Scene change_____

In the Istarin empire,

"Dragon Emperor, come out, I am here to take your life." Standing right above the Dragon Palace, Walker spoke in a loud tone. He spoke so loud that his voice was heard even throughout the entire Azure city.

Walker is the descendant of the founding father of the Dragon Guild. He is one of the oldest members of the Dragon Slayer guild. Walker was the leader of this group. His task was to fight the Dragon emperor and end his life.

A few months ago, Walker had set his gaze on the Black Dragon King and the white Dragon King. Both Dragon Kings were quite popular and very powerful. Walker was planning on challenging either one of the dragon kings but before that could happen, the white dragon King mysteriously died. No one knows how the White Dragon King died. As for the Black dragon king, the Dragon Emperor Aditya personally killed the black dragon king and took over the entire Southern Fire Dragon Empire within a week.

'I have heard many good things and also bad things about Aditya. I don't care if he is the saint or if he is the evilest person on the planet. My aim is to kill every single dragon in existence. It is rumored that no one has ever managed to defeat Aditya. Today, I will defeat him and kill him and take his head with me as my trophy.'

Wearing the Silver-gold full-body armor that was made from Dragon bones, Walker waited for the Dragon Emperor's arrival. Walker held a bone sword. The Bone sword was engraved with powerful runes making the bone sword sharper and much more powerful than an ordinary bone sword. Not to mention that this Bone sword was created from the bone of an Origin Dragon.

Little did Walker know what he had done. His voice was heard by millions of residents living in the capital of the Istarin Empire. All the Istarin Empire's soldiers, Dragonians, and Dragon warriors who heard this erupted like a volcano. Especially the Dragon Warriors and the Dragonians, who had immense respect and admiration for Aditya. The Dragon Warriors and the Dragonians had a drop of Aditya's bloodline in them. To them, the Dragon Monarch is an existence that cannot be disrespected. No matter who the person is, they won't tolerate their Dragon Monarch being disrespected. For the sake of the Monarch, they won't hesitate to give up their life.

Walker did not recklessly enter the Dragon Palace. He can feel it. The dome-like barrier around the Dragon Palace is not strong enough to stop him. But Walker was clever and cautious enough to know that Aditya must have taken steps to prevent any 5-order from entering the Dragon palace. If Walker recklessly enters the Dragon palace, then he might get shot by powerful cannons or he might be trapped in some array. There was a rumor that the Istarin Emperor was a really good runemaster.

Walker and his team did not have to wait long as they suddenly felt the ground shaking. Everyone sensed thousands of Dragonians surrounding them. Powerful 4th-order Dragon Warriors heading in their direction.

"You got some nerves coming here and challenging our King." Walker's expression did not change. He looked down at the Dragon Warrior who was the guardian of the dragon Palace. It was his duty to make sure no 5th-order cultivator gets inside the Dragon Palace.

"So Aditya secretly had a Mid-5th-order lizard." Walker couldn't sense anything beyond the dome-like barrier. The barrier prevented him or anyone from sensing inside. Before he came here, he was told that the Istarin empire has a few beginner 5th-order Dragons.

Greenwood was one of the few Dragons who have chosen to follow Aditya for life. After getting a drop of Aditya's bloodline, he managed to evolve his bloodline and become a dragon warrior. His cultivation also increased from Peak 4th to beginner 5th-order.

Greenwood managed to impress Aditya. As a result, he was made the guardian of the Dragon Palace. Greenwood is the protector and also the gatekeeper of the Dragon Palace. Being able to stay inside the Green Palace was a blessing for Greenwood. He happily accepted the job. Normally Greenwood keeps cultivating. As a 5th-order magic beast, he doesn't need to eat or drink.

Even now he was cultivating but he had to stop as he had heard this arrogant man's words.

'It looks like one of them has managed to reach Mid-5th-order.' Being the guardian of the Dragon Palace, Greenwood has to stay inside the Dragon Palace all day long. He has been staying in the Dragon palace for months now. With the abundant resources that his majesty provided Greenwood and the dense mana inside the Dragon Palace, Greenwood managed to reach mid-5th order a week ago.

Greenwood did not lose his calm when he was called a lizard by Walker. Greenwood met a few young dragon slayers back when he was living in Silver Meadow Grove. Almost every single Dragon slayer that Greenwood has met was very prideful and arrogant. Dragon Slayers become arrogant after killing one or two dragons or wyverns. They began to think of themselves as someone above the Dragons.

Walker is also no exception. The only reason Walker hasn't died because of his arrogance is because of his clever mind and his sly tactics. This man is cruel, selfish, arrogant, cold-hearted, and indifferent.

"Lizard, go and call your lizard King. Today I am here to kill him." Just as Greenwood heard these words, the Dragon warrior lost his mind. His eyes turned red and his blood began to boil. Insulting Aditya was the only thing that Greenwood wasn't going to tolerate.

Also at the same time, the thousands of dragonians who had surrounded the members of the Dragon slayer guild erupted upon hearing Walker's words. "This bastard dares to insult our King. Let's kill every single one of them. Today you guys are not living this alive."

"We swear on the name of our Dragon Monarch, today every single one of you will die." Every single Dragonians roared in anger.

"Hmph! Stupid lizards, what makes you think that you guys will kill us? Is it because of your large number or is it because you can't see our strength?" Theo, the Peak 4th-order vampire snorted as he took out his twin bloody daggers. Theo had lost his family because of Dragons. His heart was full of hatred for Dragons. He had sworn on his dead wife and his dead daughter's name that he would kill every single dragon on the planet.

Die!!!!

Earth Spears!!!!

Thousands of earth spears rose from the ground and spread in every direction. Each spear was brown in color and was 5 inches thick and 1 meter in length. The spears headed toward the Dragonians at a very fast pace. Almost 90% of the Dragonians weren't fast enough to dodge the sudden attack. While other Dragonians were barely able to dodge.

However, before the attack could reach the Dragonians, a strong wave of wind hit all the earth spears and broke the spears.

Boooom!!!!!!

"It looks like we have an elven warrior." Walker gently smiled before he turned around and looked at the Goddess who was looking at him with an icy-cold gaze. Anyone could tell that the gentle goddess was absolutely furious.

The change in the Nature goddess's mood was also reflected in the sudden change in the atmosphere. The atmosphere around the Dragon Palace and the Azure city rapidly began to change. The clear sky darkened with black clouds. Strong cold winds blew from every direction. It was as if Nature has become the enemy of the Dragon Slayers.

"What can you possibly do against me? I admit I certainly wasn't expecting The lizard King to have a woman who is this strong and also this beautiful. But this is not going to change the outcome. Call the Lizard King, I want to end his life and then I will destroy the Dragon palace before everyone's eyes."

"Oh, really. I would like to see you try." Walker looked to his left to find a man in a butler outfit with Crimson wings standing in the air. Watson held a Peak 4-star sword in his hand as he coldly stared at Walker.

"Watson, you also come. Nice. Since everyone is here. Where is the main character? Is he sleeping or is he too scared to come out and face me?" Walker asked in a mocking tone. Facing two 5th-order powerhouses, Walker wasn't the least bit afraid. He felt excited when he thought of the looks all these people would have after he kills Aditya and then slowly destroys the Dragon palace.

"Aditya does not need to come to deal with problems like you. I can deal with you and your pathetic group alone."

"Hahaha! Such confident. From where do you get this much confidence when you're standing in front of a Peak 5th order? Or have you become delusional after staying with that lizard king?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Guys if you're confused then let me tell you this -- The Dragon Slaying arc and the Icy Shattered Ruin arc happened at the same time. This arc will be over in a few chapters. This arc will explore the powers of the side characters and show more about their characters.

Chapter 293

"Aditya does not need to come to deal with problems like you. I can deal with you and your pathetic group alone." Riya's entire body began to glow in a light green Aura. Her eyes began to glow green. Small wisps of green flame floated around her.

"Hahaha! Such confident. From where do you get this much confidence when you're standing in front of a Peak 5th order? Or have you become delusional after staying with that lizard king?" Walker still continued to mock Aditya while laughing without caring about Riya.

This showed the confidence and arrogance that Walker had in his strength. Walker wasn't the least bit afraid of Riya or Greenwood. If anything, he welcomes both of them to attack him at the same time. As for his teammates that were surrounded by thousands of dragonians and soldiers who were coming from the distance, Walker didn't give a damn about them. For what he cared, these people can die here.

Walker's only goal was to kill the Dragon Emperor and destroy the Dragon Palace. His goal mattered the most. As for the rest, nothing else mattered to him.

"Milady, I will deal with other peasants. Please do not worry." Riya simply nodded without even looking at Greenwood.

Greenwood had known Riya and others who lives in the Dragon Palace. As the gatekeeper and the guardian of the Dragon palace, he knows the people who live here. From time to time, he would even meet his Majesty.

Greenwood has met Riya, Julia, and Alicia several times in the past. He knew Riya's identity as the goddess of nature. The reason Greenwood let Riya fight Walker even though her cultivation rank is only at beginner 5th-order is that he knows that as the Nature goddess, he can't underestimate Riya. If fact, if Greenwood and Riya were to fight, Greenwood would lose even though his stats have been boosted because of the Dragon palace.

Watson did not speak a single word. He followed Greenwood outside the Dragon palace. At the same time, Alicia and Julia both of them also arrived. The Dragonians made a path to let the two goddesses who were also the future Empresses of the Istarin Empire face the people who wishes to challenge the Dragon Emperor.

Seeing two goddesses, Theo, Hahn, Anthony, and Arthur felt a little dazed by their beauties. The dragon slayer guild didn't think that the Istarin Empire had a such beautiful woman by his side. However, none of them said anything to please the goddesses. Every single of their purpose was to slay dragons. If anyone gets in their way, that person would also die. Every single member of the Dragon slayer guild is like that.

"Lady Julia and Lady Alicia, I don't think it would wise for you two to fight. I know both of you are strong but if anything happens to either one of you, then I am afraid his Majesty will lose control of himself." Being Aditya's personal butler, Watson has seen just how much his King cares for his women and his family. Just imagining Aditya seeing the injured Alicia or Julia and how he would react made Watson shudder in fear.

As far as Watson knew, his King was a calm and composed man. He very rarely lost his temper. People who very rarely lose their temper are extremely dangerous.

"Watson, today I want to fight for my husband. Please don't try to stop me." Julia wasn't a shy countryside girl who can't fight. When it matters, even she can pick up a sword and kill enemies. Especially now that her husband has been insulted in front of her. How can she let others fight in her place?

"Watson, I appreciate your concern words but I think you're underestimating us. Let's talk after this fight this over." Usually, Alicia would have a soft gentle smile on her face. But right now her expression was ice-cold. Alicia recognized who Walker was.

As a businesswoman, Alicia keeps a note of all the prominent and powerful figures in each region. Walker is one of those beings whom she wouldn't prefer to fight. But if forced to fight, then she wouldn't hold back. She also has done has research on the Dragon Slayer guild. And if she had to describe the Dragon Slayer guild in one place, then she would use the word 'Corrupted'.

To the world it might look like the Dragon Slayer guild's only purpose was to slay dragons but their real motive was to earn profits by slaying dragons. Every single leader of the Dragon Slayer guild is beyond corrupt. These guys have no moral baseline. They would do anything for money. Anything as long as the right amount of money was paid. And Walker was one of them.

Sigh!

Watson sighed and nodded his head. "I will take care of this vampire. This guy has been getting on my nerves for some reason." Greenwood charged at Theo. Theo was a Peak 4th-order powerful cultivator.

"I am not afraid of you." Theo bravely went ahead to take on Greenwood. The weapons and armor that Theo wore were made to work against Dragons. The buffs of his armor and weapons activated against Dragons. These buffs allowed Theo to fight even 5th-order dragons even though his cultivation was at Peak 4th-order.

Clang!

Watson threw a red dagger at the horned tribe beastmen. Hahn slapped the red dagger away with his bare hand. Hahn was a surviving member of the blue-horned tribe. The blue-horned tribe was a part of the beast race that can be found in the beast continent. Hahn had lost his whole family to dragons. In some way, Hahn and Theo both of them had similar stories.

Hahn was a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. Being a blue-horned tribe member Hahn was gifted at using spears. Every member of the blue-horned tribe member was very gifted at using spears.

Hahn threw the 2 meters long golden-blue spear at Watson. A golden light covered the spear while the spearheaded in Watson's direction.

Watson moved his body to the right and then grabbed the spear with his left arm. Watson saw Hahn attacking him with his fists. Hahn's fists were glowing in a blue light. Seeing this Watson blocked the attack with Hahn's own spear.

Bang!

However, the impact of the punch forced Watson to take a step back. Watson threw the spear at Hahn using his full strength before charging at Hahn with a red sword.

Meanwhile, Alicia and Rebecca began to fight. Rebecca was an Amazonian who became a dragon slayer only because she wanted to fight strong beings. Since every dragon is very powerful, she became a Dragon Slayer so that she can fight dragons.

Clang!

"You're not bad." Alicia took a few steps back while shaking her arms in pain. Rebecca was a lance user. Being an Amazonian, her body was very strong. While Alicia was a fire mage who specialized in using various kinds of spells and magic. Even though both Alicia and Rebecca were mid-3rd-order cultivators, Rebecca's body was much stronger and tougher compared to Alicia's.

Alicia clapped both of her hands together. As she moved her palms away from each other, an orb of flame formed between her palms. The flame orb then changed its shape to a long spear before taking the shape of a trident. All these happened in less than 2 seconds.

Fire Trident!

After her experience with the Mutant fire ant, Alicia has sworn to become powerful. In these last few months, she did not just sit around and waste time. She has spent on average 3 to 4 hours of her time cultivating. The goddess cultivated mostly during the nighttime when everyone else went to sleep. Most of the time she would fall asleep while cultivating.

Alicia threw the Fire trident at Rebecca. "These kinds of Pathetic attacks are completely useless against me." Rebecca was someone who was capable of defeating a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. She can even fight beginner 4th-order dragons. To her eyes, the fire trident was nothing but a child's trick. She can easily dodge a such attack. Even if the attack were to hit her, it wouldn't do much damage as her Amazonian skin was very tough.

Rebecca just moved to her right to dodge the attack. However, just as the fire trident was about to go past her, the fire trident began to glow strongly before exploding.

Booooom!!!!!!

Julia's opponent was the young 22 years female of the white-tiger tribe. Keith is a member of the White Tiger tribe. The White tiger tribe is part of the beast race. To the White Tiger tribes, dragons were their biggest enemy and their eternal rival. Every warrior of the White-tiger tribe aims at killing at least one Dragon or Wyvern in their entire life. If a warrior in their tribe manages to slay a dragon or Wyvern, then that person is immensely respected.

Keith had joined the Dragon Slayer guild a few months ago with the ambition of killing at least one dragon. So far she has managed to kill several Wyverns and beings with dragon bloodline. But this wasn't enough to satisfy her. Keith wanted to slay a real dragon. In fact, she secretly entered the Silver Meadow Grove to find a wild dragon unfortunately all the wild dragons living there have moved near the Dragon Palace.

Even the ones that she found were too strong for her to handle alone.

"I don't want to harm you. Move out of my way. I want to kill a Dragon. I don't want to take any innocent's life."

"So you're saying that Dragons are not innocent?" Julia knew that Tiger White did not like Dragons. However, whenever a White tiger and a Dragon clashed, most of the time, the Dragons won it. It was the White tiger tribe that thought of Dragons as their number of enemies and rivals. But the Dragons thought differently.

In the eyes of the Dragons, the white tigers are not worthy of being called their rival or enemy. Dragons didn't even care about the White tigers. What most Dragons cared about were treasures and wealth. Dragons are known to be obsessed with treasures. Especially wild Dragons are mostly like that.

"Fine. Then I will just have to kill you." Keith had white tiger ears and a tail. She had a slim, flexible, and very strong body. When she got ready to fight, her nails became sharp and long claws. The color of her hair also changed to white. Her white hair even had a unique glow to them.

Seeing Keith charging at Julia, the goddess quickly chanted a spell before snapping her fingers.

Suddenly, sharp spiky vines rose from the ground. The veins reached Keith's legs before wrapping around her entire body.

[Numbing Prison Launch]

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 294

"Fine. Then I will just have to kill you." Keith had white tiger ears and a tail. She had a slim, flexible, and very strong body. When she got ready to fight, her nails became sharp, and had long claws. The color of her hair also changed to white. Her white hair even had a unique glow to them.

Seeing Keith charging at Julia, the goddess quickly chanted a spell before snapping her fingers.

Suddenly, sharp spiky vines rose from the ground. The veins reached Keith's legs before wrapping around her entire body.

[Numbing Prison Launch]

Ahhh!!!!

The White tiger tribe's beast girl screamed in pain as the large sharp spiky thorns in the green vein stabbed her body. The pain was unbearable for Keith. Each spicy thorn was 3 to 4 inches big. When the vein wrapped around her body, Keith was in unbearable pain. With her scream, tears gathered in her eyes.

'I shouldn't have underestimated this woman. It hurts.!!!!' Keith regretted underestimating Julia.

"How does it feel?" Riya had helped Julia came up with this spell. Riya and Julia have worked together in making a few other spells as well. With these spells, the goddess is confident that she can take on any 3rd-order cultivator and protect herself.

"Bitch, I am going to kill you." Keith looked very furious.

"Language" Julia did not like to use vulgar words or language nor did she like hearing any vulgar words or language.

"I think you're going to like this." The goddess once again quickly chanted a few foreign words before snapping her fingers. Julia is a kind and gentle girl who hates unnecessary bloodshed. Why Julia would show mercy to someone who had come here with the intention of killing her husband? The goddess saw no reason to go easy on this woman just because Keith is a female.

A few seconds passed in silence. Seeing Keith still glaring at her, Julia gently smiled before pointing her fingers above. Keith also looked up. As soon as she saw the thing that was charging in her direction, her face was full of fear.

100 meters above the sky, a group of wild golden tigers made up of golden lightning was heading in her direction.

Glorious Tiger!

Boooom!!!!

All 7 tigers crushed on Keith with a loud and big explosion.

Scene change_____

Crack!!!

The ground cracked slightly. The cracks started getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, the thick brown roots of trees emerged from the ground. The roots moved like they are alive. They rose from the ground and headed in Walker's direction under Riya's control.

"Hmph! This kind of attack is useless against me." The Mana from Walker's body began to take the shape of several small white glowing orbs. The orbs glow in bright white light before being shot at the brown roots at were coming at him.

Mana bullets!!!

It was a simple type of attack that any cultivator can perform as long as that cultivator's control over Mana is really good. Walker being several centuries years old, had already mastered these kinds of basics.

Booom!!!

The mana bullets hit the roots but the smile on Walker's face disappeared as he saw nothing happening to the roots. Instead, the roots glowed in a slightly green color before heading in Walker's direction at a much faster pace.

"What?" Walker was in shock. What just happened?

Walker flew even higher while staring at the brown veiny roots. After a few seconds, he realized that these roots have the ability to absorb mana. Since his attack was essentially Mana itself, the roots were able to absorb the mana that was in the mana bullets and get even stronger.

'Impressive!' Although Walker wouldn't admit it out loud, he was impressed. Over the years he had faced many elves that have used similar types of attacks. This was the first time he was facing someone that can make the roots absorb mana from the opponent's attacks.

'No wonder she was so confident to face. Unfortunately, that confidence will soon become your nightmare.' Walker grinned as he changed his flight direction and started heading in Riya's direction.

Riya did not panic. Her entire body glowed in green light. She controlled the mana in her body to form 10 green whirling spheres. The 10-whirling sphere floated behind her. When Walker came near Riya, all of the ten spheres were fired at Walker.

"Hmph! Too easy" Walker prepared to counter the green sphere. Suddenly the size of the green spheres began to shrink down at a rapid speed while heading in Walker's direction. The spheres were down so much that Walker couldn't see them anymore.

Seeing this Walker just assumed that the spheres have run out of mana before reaching him. "Hahaha! Pathetic! You should......Booom!!!!"

It was very difficult to explain what just happened. At that moment, Walker felt he was hit with ten invisible bullets. Each sphere hit different parts of his body leaving. But thanks to the armor and his Peak 5th-order body, the attack couldn't harm him much.

But suddenly his head started to spin rapidly. Walker was starting to have trouble even standing up. At the same time, he felt his body getting weaker. He also experienced the loss of his mana. Almost as if someone was sucking away his mana.

"What is going on?" Walker tried to focus on his opponent but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't locate Riya's Aura. Almost as if Riya never existed in the first place. Walker held his head with both of his hands in dizziness. This was his first time facing such a tricky opponent.

The reason Walker is known to be very sly and tricky is because of the tactics that he uses to win difficult battles. Walker is someone who wouldn't hesitate to use any kind of underhand means to win a fight. But today he was facing someone who was even more tricky than he was. Because he underestimated this woman, he fell for her trick.

Karma had come back to him.

"What did you do to me?" Even though Walker couldn't detect Riya's presence he knew that the goddess was there. His gut told him that he was being watched by Riya.

"Nothing complicated. Just simple things." Riya replied in an emotionless tone. This man was here to kill her Aditya, this Yandere goddess wasn't just going to kill this man. She was going to take her time in properly torturing this man.

The goddess of nature is known to be one of the kindest and nicest elves and goddesses out there. As they say, man should never play with nature, there is also another saying that never provokes the Nature goddess as the wrath of the nature goddess would be too much for mortals to bear. From the beginning, Riya had no intention of just simply killing off this man. She was going to torture him using every single means possible.

She wouldn't let this man die so easily. Riya is extremely gentle to everyone. But to the people who wish to harm her family or her loved one, she can become the most violent one on the planet.

"These green spheres have different abilities. What you're experiencing is a result of that. Right now, your mind is in confusion. As a result, you cannot even stand in one place. You cannot fight in this state. No matter how powerful you're, in front of me, you're powerless like a mortal. The other green spheres have the power to drain your life force and drain your mana. Your life force and your mana are currently being transferred to me."

Hearing Riya's words, Walker's entire body trembled. No wonder why he was suddenly starting to feel this weak and exhausted. His mana reserve was also rapidly exhausted. This was the doing of this woman.

Riya showed a crazy grin as she stared at Walker "Fufufu! Your nightmare isn't over yet. Since you had come to kill my beloved, your punishment will only begin. I will lock you in my prison. I will be sure to treat you very carefully. This will be fun."

Walker felt a chill running down his spine. What type of crazy woman was she? 'This bitch is crazy.' Walker desperately tried to escape. For the first time in his life, he saw no hope. Even though he had fought thousands of battles before this, he truly felt like escaping at this moment. Walker didn't even care about the mission anymore. Nor did he care about his purpose of slaying dragons.

"It's useless." A green vine rose from the ground and wrapped itself around Walker. The green vine started to suck all of Walker's mana. In fewer seconds, Walker was left with no mana. Even his body began to feel really weak.

"You....." Walker feels unconsciousness. This would be the last time, Walker would see the light of sun.

"Fufu!!! Now that I am done. Let's see how others are doing." Aura around Riya changed. She went back to being sweet, kind, and loving.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 295

While Riya took care of Walker, Greenwood alone took on the other members of the Dragon Slayer guild. Greenwood proved to be too much for them to handle. The remaining four members couldn't even land an attack on Greenwood. The whole time, Greenwood was toying with them. He took his time in making each member of the Dragon Slayer guild suffer as they should for trying to harm their Dragon King.

"How did it feel?" Alicia asked. Rebecca, the Amazonian wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Parts of her arms were burned from Alicia's previous attack.

Rebecca did not reply. She instead angrily charged Alicia. Seeing this Alicia smiled.

The mysterious smile on Alicia's face gave Rebecca feel that something was wrong. Before Rebecca could think what this woman was plotting in secret, just as she stepped within a 10 meters radius of Alicia, Rebecca suddenly found her entire body in the fire. From the ground, a bolt of fire burned her entire body.

Ahhh!!!!!

Amazonian screamed in pain as she felt her body being burned alive. Rebecca couldn't bear the pain. She quickly protected her body with mana skin.

[Mana skin is an invisible layer of mana on top of the skin that can increase one's defense to a certain extent.]

Before Rebecca could even turn her focus on Alicia, something else was already on Rebecca.

The Amazonian failed to notice the 5 meters big Crimson glowing magic circle forming beneath her feet. Just as she stopped the flames from burning her body, another wave of flame rose from the ground and entirely consumed Rebecca in it.

Ahhhh!!!!!

All the Dragonians who were watching the battles trembled in fear after hearing Rebecca's painful scream. The Dragonians always thought Alicia to be kind and sweet. They didn't think that she would be this dangerous in a battle.

This time, the flame was so strong that even the mana skin couldn't protect her anymore. Rebecca tried to protect her body or getaway, but no matter what she did, she failed to escape the orange-red flame.

"This is a special type of fire-type spell that my father taught me a few months back. Casting this spell requires a large amount of mana. This flame was directly summoned from the hell. This flame is also Hell Fire. Hell Fire is one of the powerful flames. The hellfire is especially effective on people who have committed a lot of sins in their lives. The more sins you have committed, the more powerful the hellfire will be. Since you have killed a lot of Dragons and might have committed other kinds of sins in your life, everything is being returned at you. This flame won't leave you even after you die. It will continue to burn your soul till all of your sins have been cleansed."

Hearing this, the other Dragonians once again trembled in fear. Some of them even wiped the sweat that had formed on their foreheads while listening to Alicia's words. After what they saw today, one thing was clear the Dragonians are going to respect Alicia even more. Previously they immensely respected her because there was a rumor about Lady Alicia becoming His Majesty's second wife.

Some of the Dragonians even felt pity for Rebecca. This woman was good looking unfortunately she had to mess with the wrong person. As for committing sins, even the nicest person on the planet and in history has committed at least one sin. No being whether mortal or immortal wasn't perfect. Living beings will commit sins.

A few seconds later, Rebecca's screams eventually stopped. Alicia seeing this sighed in relief. Her face was slightly pale as she had to use nearly all of her mana in using that spell. Not every cultivator can use the Hell Fire. Only the members of the Osburn family and a few other select people can use the Hellfire.

Not only that, even though Hellfire is a very strong flame, the mana required to summon Hellfire is extremely big. In terms of powers, the hellfire comes really close to the Crimson flame. But the Crimson flame can only be used by a select few individuals possessing a Crimson bloodline. The Crimson flame only required [02+] mana to use it.

Meanwhile, Watson and Hahn's battle had reached its peak. The victor of this battle would be decided at any point. Both men were fighting at their full strength. Watson used Dragon transformation which raised his stats. Also being near the Dragon Palace, Watson received another big boost in his stats since the beginning of the battle.

Clang!

Hahn took a step back before throwing the spear at Watson. The spear glowed in golden light before 9 other identical golden spears came out from the main golden spear. All of these 10 golden spears headed in Watson's direction.

"Hmph! Such tricks won't work for me." Watson knew the other 9 golden spears were just basic illusions. Watson can easily see through this kind of illusion.

Clang!

Watson deflected the golden spear with his hand. "Ohh really," The butler and the former acting Prime Minister widened their eyes in shock as he suddenly heard two voices of Hahn. One coming from the right and another coming from the left.

Before Watson could find the real Hahn, both Hahn rushed at Watson at full speed. Watson did not panic.

He stood in one place and then closed his eyes for a second. Suddenly Watson's entire body began to glow in Crimson Aura. Before Hahn could understand what was going on, Watson suddenly his eyes and let out a loud roar from his mouth.

Impure Dragon Charge!

Bang!

The shockwave of the roar was so strong that both Hahn was sent flying in two directions. Both Hahn crushed nearly 50 meters away from Watson. After falling down, one of the Hahn just disappeared while the real Hahn somehow stood up. But then he coughed out a large mouthful of blood.

"If you're good at illusion, Dragonians like us are masters are breaking them. Illusions of this standard can never fool me." A simple Dragon roar was enough to break the illusion and damage Hahn's mind.

Watson infused his mana in his sword while standing facing Hahn's direction.

"Ten Thousands of Wind blades"

Hahn saw countless blades of wind heading in his direction. Despite the pain that he was feeling in his brain, Hahn got up and moved out of the way thinking that the wind blades can't change their direction. But Hahn was so dead wrong.

Just as Hahn thought he had avoided the wind blades changed their directions and began heading in Hahn's direction. Hahn looked at the wind blades in horror.

The blue-horned tribe man could not dodge the attacks of ten thousand wind blades. Without his spear, Hahn really had no way of protecting himself from something like this.

Bang!

Drip!

Blood dripped from Hahn's body. Hahn breathed heavily while staring at the fellow members of his Dragon Slayer guild. The other members already had fallen. Keith was lying dead on the ground. Her entire body was covered in the body. There was no sign of Rebecca. Hahn only heard her painful scream before she vanished. The leader also had fallen and was under the enemy's control. Theo, Arthur, Anthony, Roger, and Lily were also lying dead on the ground. Hahn was the last to fall.

Hahn fell to his knees and then looked at Watson and asked. "How are you guys so strong?"

"When you have the Strongest Dragon Emperor as your king, you naturally become strong." Watson wasn't lying. Aditya's presence itself had influenced Watson and others to get stronger so that they could keep up with him.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I hope you like the chapter! After this chapter, we will jump back to the Icy Shattered Ruin arc where we will discover the fate of Aditya and the impact Istarin Empire had in his absence for so many days.

I have drawn a simple map of the entire Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent. You can check out the map in the comments. (I am not an artist so don't expect something grand or spectacular. I spent 1 hour and half in drawing this map. The map shows the locations of some important cities, Kingdoms and the Autumnming islands which is Leo's home.). I plan on drawing other continents maps as well but that's for the future.

I also done making the discord server. I just need to make a few other adjustments. So hopefully by tomorrow, the discord server will be ready and you guys can join.

Chapter 296

Hahn fell to his knees and then looked at Watson and asked. "How are you guys so strong?"

"When you have the Strongest Dragon Emperor as your king, you naturally become strong." Watson wasn't lying. Aditya's presence itself had influenced Watson and others to get stronger so that they could keep up with him.

Hahn then fell to the ground. A few seconds later, his consciousness also faded. For a moment the entire place fell into silence.

"Is there anyone from the Shadow Guardian division?" Two young Dragonians who wore masks stepped out of the crowd. Walking in front of Watson, both young Dragonians first bowed and greeted Watson.

Watson might be Aditya's butler but his standing among the Istarin Empire is very high. Aside from the fact that Watson is the Emperor's most trusted man and also his butler, Watson is also the first Dragonian of the Istarin Empire. Watson is also the former acting Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire. Even though he has stepped down from his role, Watson still held more political powers than the New Prime Minister, Spencer Newman.

Since Spencer Newman currently wasn't here, Watson decided to take the clean-up job into his hand. "Take all the dead bodies to the second laboratory. By this evening I want a detailed report on each of these members."

As the Istarin Empire expanded in size and in power, Aditya also made adjustments to the 7 divisions in the Istarin military. One of the adjustments was opening sub-divisions within the 7 divisions. Within the 3rd division, there were currently three main sub-divisions. Each Sub-divisions had a leader. The first and third sub-division leaders would report to Nathan. The first sub-division created spies that specialized in infiltration. The spies would collect information from foreign Kingdoms, Empires, and factions.

The second sub-division created Shadow guardians that would watch over the Istarin Empire from shadows. The second sub-division reported directly to Aditya. If Aditya wasn't available, the second sub-division leader can report to Nathan or the Prime minister. The Second Sub-Division was the only sub-division that had the privilege of directly reporting to the Emperor. This also meant that the Shadow Guardian division had more power than any other sub-division and compared to any other sub-division more resources were given to the Shadow Guardian division.

The job of the Shadow guardians was to watch over the entire Istarin Empire from the shadows and report the potential threats and any corruption within the Istarin Empire to Aditya. The members of the Shadow Guardians were Dragonians or Dragon Warriors. The members are specially trained in the assassination. In case of emergency, the Shadow Guardians can be dispatched to face foreign invaders.

The third sub-division was a very small division and had only a few hundred members. But each of these members specialized in research. The Research Subdivision experimented with creating various kinds of deadly poisons and creating their antidotes. Another important role of the Research Subdivision was to study dead bodies and investigation of crimes.

Watson then called a few other maids to clean up everything. He then walked up to Riya who was holding Walker.

"Lady Riya, what are you going to do with him?" Watson asked while looking at Walker who had lost consciousness. Watson never thought that one day he would see a Peak 5th-order cultivator being held captive by a beginner 5th-order.

'Then again, Lady Riya, Lady Alicia, Lady Julia, and young master Aditya are anything but normal cultivators. But I still can't help but feel shocked. I wonder how the world will take this news.' It was wildly known and many believed that the Istarin Empire was powerful because of Aditya. But once the news of a Peak 5th-order Dragon Slayer being defeated by a beginner 5th-order elf spreads, the world will know that the Istarin Empire even without its Emperor.

"I am going to punish him a little." Walker didn't know what to say to Riya. Earlier he had seen the change in Riya's personality when fighting Walker. Fortunately, she now had returned to being the usual Riya.

"Lady Riya, please don't kill him. We will need to get some information out of his mouth." Watson wanted to know why the Dragon slayer guild tried to kill their Emperor for no reason. As far as Watson knew, neither Aditya nor anyone from the Istarin Empire has ever harmed the Dragon Slayer guild. It may be true that someone from the Istarin Empire did break the Dragon Slayer guild's rules, but how does it happen that the Dragon Slayer guild suddenly became so courageous that it came to the capital of the Istarin Empire and insulted their Emperor in broad daylight?

Did the Dragon Slayer guild forget the military power of the Istarin Empire? Could something have influenced the Dragon Slayer guild to take this action? Watson feels that there are some stories to this. The elders of the Dragon Slayer guilds are not stupid.

"Oh don't worry. I will be sure to make him speak before I end his life. Just leave everything to me." At that point, Watson said nothing else. He fully trusted Riya and her judgment. Riya is not like Alicia or Julia. The goddess can be very kind when the time comes. But she can also become ruthless and very cruel. Just like mother nature, she changes her personality depending on her surroundings and depending on the situation. She can become the provider. She can also become the grim reaper.

"The party is over. Everyone go back to your work." Hearing Watson's voice, all the Dragonians began to return. Even if Watson wanted to suppress what happened today, he knew that the news was going to spread like wildfire.

"By the way, Watson where is Spencer?" Julia asked as she hadn't seen Spencer this morning.

"Yesterday, His Majesty sent Spencer to the Beast continent to establish diplomatic relations with one of the fox tribes. It might take him a few days to return." To become a global powerhouse, the Istarin Empire needed to extend its foreign influence and connections to other continents. Besides, Aditya had one other reason for trying to establish Diplomatic relations with the fox tribes in the beast continent. And the reason was related to Amber.

"Riya, are you coming with us?" Earlier the girls had left Sophia and Clara in Azure city. Now Julia and Alicia were planning on going back and resuming their shopping session.

"No, I will join you later." Saying that Riya flew away carrying Walker with her. She directly went to Silver Meadow Grove. The Silver Meadow Grove was going to become Walker's torturing ground. The screams of his endless pain will frighten the Magic animals that live there.

Watson decided to report this after Aditya returned but little did he know that Aditya wasn't going to return home any time soon.

The whole day quickly passed, and the news spread like wildfire. This news revealed more information about the Istarin Empire's military.

Meanwhile, after sunset, the girls soon returned home. They are expecting Aditya and Adam to come back when they returned home but to their disappointment, Alicia, Julia, and Riya did not see Aditya's face when they returned. The girls started to get worried. Unless it was something very important, Aditya and Adam should have returned by evening.

A few hours later, the girls sent Watson to go to the Southern region; to the place where Aditya had gone.

Watson with a few other Dragonians came to the village that was built around the Icy Shattered Ruins. Watson did not hide his identity. The Dragonians carried the flag of the Istarin Empire with them. So the people were easily able to tell that they were from the Istarin Empire. As a result, everyone quickly moved out of the way and not even the gangsters dared to stop Watson.

Watson soon discovered that something was very wrong here. The portal was locked. No one was able to get out or get in. The adventurers and the Rogue cultivators looked very distressed and unhappy.

"What happened here?" Watson asked in a loud voice.

For a second everyone went silent. One of the rogue adventurers walked out of the crowd and replied. "We don't know. A few hours ago, the portal basically stopped allowing anyone to enter. Now we can't enter the portal. No one has managed to get out of the portal as well."

"What?" Watson instantly knew the core problem of the situation. But he did not panic. Being Aditya's butler for so many months, Watson has witnessed so many miracles. Watson believed in Aditya with his life.

"Let's wait for a few hours." Watson decided to wait. Very quickly a few hours passed. The portal showed no sign of opening. Watson and the Dragonians have forcefully tried to enter but no matter how hard they tried, it just didn't work.

Having no other choice, Aditya sent one of the Dragonians back to the Istarin Empire to inform others about this. An hour later, all the girls, Leo, Clara, and Sophie, came. Before the girls came, Watson used his authority to make all the Adventurers and the Rogue cultivators leave this place as he didn't want the news of the Istarin Empire being trapped inside the Ruin. Thousands of Istarin soldiers soon captured the entire village and prevented anyone from getting in.

Bang!

Riya used her full power to try to break the barrier that prevented her from getting inside. After learning that her beloved was trapped inside, the nature goddess has become desperate. She became so desperate that the others had to try their best to stop her otherwise she will continue to injure herself while trying to break something that shows no sign of breaking at all.

"Lady Riya, please calm down. Let's believe in his Majesty and wait a few more hours." Riya who had used up all of her mana decided to listen to Watson's words and wait. But even a few hours had passed very quickly. Dawn was approaching and Aditya and Adam were showing no signs of getting out.

This made everyone very worried and especially Riya very desperate. The Yandere goddess became unstable without Aditya.

Unfortunately for them, this was just the beginning of their dark period.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 297

34 days later_____

As far as Aditya and Adam are concerned, their disappearances have not been revealed to anyone. Only their closest family members and friends knew about it. However, their disappearances have left them heartbroken and devastated.

The first thing Julia did in the morning was open her eyes. The first thing her body did unconsciously looked for Aditya beside her. Seeing that Aditya was no longer here, Julia felt very sad and empty when she woke up. As a habit, Aditya would gently hold her body while she slept. It became a habit for her to sleep in his arms while hugging him. Now that he wasn't here, it became very difficult for her to fall asleep.

A lot of the time, he was the first one up in the morning. Often, he would stare at Julia's face, gently stroking her back, as he embraced her. He would make sure that her body did not get cold. When Julia woke up, she was always met with a loving kiss on her lips when she awoke. Instead of getting up, they would both cuddle together for at least five minutes before getting up.

It had become a habit for Julia to have Aditya pamper her. And now that he wasn't here, she desperately missed him. Every time she tried to sleep, she remembered him. She would remember his touch. She missed his presence.

Julia used to look forward to sleeping with her prince charming, but now she finds that it has become one of the most difficult things for her. In fact, she even had to take sleeping pills in order to get to sleep. Otherwise, she will not be able to fall asleep without him no matter how hard she tries.

Her eyes rubbed as she sat up. As she looked to her right, she saw that her husband had disappeared. Tears started to form in her eyes as she realized that the life she lived without him had become very lonely. Julia felt lost without him. Without him, she could not focus on her work. The girl felt nothing. Her life had not changed in the last 34 days in a single way. She was unable to smile, she was unable to experience joy, and she was unable to enjoy the taste of food even if she was hungry. It was as if all she had been holding on to had disappeared with his disappearance.

The words that Julia uttered were "I miss you. I hope you come back soon." As she buried her face in her pillow, she began to cry silently. This was not her first time shed tears in this manner. It was the 33rd consecutive morning that she had shed tears like this. Knowing that her husband was not with her when she awoke, she could never stop herself from crying every day when she got up.

It's difficult!

It's painful!

⸢Without you, everything has become black and white.

Without you, The world seems to have become a lonely place.

As if Darkness has consumed the world and only you can save it.

My beloved, I miss you.

Please come back.

I can't live without you.⸣

Knock! Knock!

"Lady Julia!!!"

"Are you awake?"

The door was knocked on by the maid. Julia quickly wiped the tears from her face.

"Yes, I am awake."

"Would you like to join others for breakfast or shall I bring you breakfast as usual?" Without Aditya, the family had stopped having their meals together. Before it had become a rule to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together but now Julia had her meals alone; in her bedroom. Julia very rarely got out of the bedroom. Since she can't focus on her work, all of her work has been put on big sister Paige's shoulders.

"I will have my breakfast in my bedroom" Julia replied in a low tone. But that was enough for the maid to hear what her lady just said. This bedroom belonged to Aditya and Julia. After Aditya's disappearance, Julia spends most of her time here as this is the place where both of them had made most memories together.

"Alright. I will be back in a few minutes." Meanwhile, Julia got up with her. She walked in front of the mirror and stared at her face. These 34 days have changed her physical appearance a lot.

She stopped cultivating. Her face was a mess. She looked like someone who is depressed. Her eyes were devoid of any emotions. Dark circles formed under her eyes. Her hair was a mess. She stopped taking care of her appearance. Her eyes were slightly swollen and red from all the crying.

The goddess slowly walked to the bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom, the breakfast was already on the table. But seeing the mouth drooling food, she had an appetite. Ignoring the breakfast, she climbed the bed and then lied diagonally and stared at the ceiling. She began to recall all the good memories that she made with Aditya.

It seems that Julia is spending most of her time doing this now that she has stopped working. All her responsibilities have been left on the shoulders of others, and she was very depressed.

In comparison to Julia, Sophia was at least somewhat able to keep her composure under the circumstances. When Adam was absent, Sophia took on all of Adam's responsibilities. The first thing that Sophia did in Adam's absence was to change the school where Julia's little brother went to.

Sophia had made sure Zak attended the same school as Clara. This was done in order to ensure Zak's safety. If the enemies of Adam were to find out that Adam had disappeared, then they would definitely try to harm his family.

The news of Adam's disappearance had only been revealed to Adam's right-hand man. As Adam's right-hand man, Eddie was tasked with the responsibility of protecting the entire territory while Adam was away.

Eddie would attend important meetings in Adam's place. To the public, it was stated that Adam is very near reaching Peak 5th-order so he has decided to take some time off and focus more on cultivation.

Scene change ____

Far from the Istarin empire, a woman with emerald eyes was sitting on a chair and writing a letter to her right hand man. The woman had covered her face with a veil.

Knock! Knock!

After Aditya's disappearance, Alicia had completely immersed herself in her work. She was very sad when Aditya disappeared. She cried for days before she came back to the office.

In spite of the fact that she hasn't forgotten Aditya, she was trying to shield herself from this pain by completely immersing herself in her work. However, the feeling of loss is something that never goes away from her.

A maid of Alicia's stepped into the room carrying a cup of tea and some pastries. She said to Alicia, "Milady, you have been working all night. I think you should get some rest.".

I am not hungry at all. This is distracting me. Take it away from me." Alicia exclaimed in a cold and indifferent tone.

In spite of Alicia's request, the maid refused to comply with Alicia's orders. She has been staying with Alicia for years now, and it was the first time in years that she had seen her lady looking so sad and heartbroken.

"Milady, I'd like you to take a break. You have been working nonstop, so you can leave the rest to others and take some time off." The maid was insistent that she needed to rest.

The maid's words seemed to have triggered Alicia's emotions and even though she has been suppressing them in her heart for a long time, they erupted on her.

Bang!

Alicia smashed the table, shattering it and shredding it into pieces. She was angrily glaring at her maid and shouted in a loud voice, "I do not want to eat, as I said before." As soon as these words left her mouth, she regretted it. The goddess regretted losing her calm.

It was at this point that Alicia calmed down. She was left with guilt and regret. "I am sorry. Please leave me alone. I would like some time to myself." Alicia sat down and spoke with her head lowered.

"As you wish Milady." The Maid bowed her head to Alicia before leaving her alone in the room.

When the goddess' maid left, the goddess broke down in tears, unable to hold on anymore. Since he left, things have become very difficult for her. She cannot find any peace or happiness in her life, and although she is the goddess of wealth, she does not even find pleasure in making money or a sense of joy in it.

Scene change____

Bang!

Riya angrily punched the wall. "The three of you are the best runemasters in the Celestial Terrain continents. And you guys are saying that you can't break the barrier." Dark green Aura glowed around Riya as he angrily stared at the three elves whom she had bought from her Celestial Terrain continent.

These three elves were the best runemasters of the Celestial Terrain. One of them was a 4-star runemaster and the other two are 3-star runemasters. This whole month, they have been trying to break the barrier that prevented anyone from getting inside the portal. But even after an entire month of research and hard work and after wasting countless resources, they still failed.

"Your Highness, please understand that we are trying our best. But this is something that is completely out of our hands. From this entire month of research, I have concluded that the only way we can break the barrier would be with the help of a 6-star runemaster. And currently, I don't think there is any 6-star runemaster in this world. Not even the Main continent has any 6-star runemasters."

"So you're telling me to give up on my beloved." Riya felt like killing these three elves.

"Lady Riya, please calm down. Getting angry won't take us anywhere." Watson who was standing beside Riya tried his best to calm her down.

Watson has accepted the fact that they can't break the barrier. Now he can only pray and hope that his King would somehow break the barrier from inside and come out of that hell. In his King's absence, Watson and Spencer have been trying their best to do everything. Although both of them couldn't fill the role of a King, at least they were able to make sure that the empire would be able to run even without his presence. Watson and Spencer didn't let anyone in the Empire feel the absence of Aditya.

Thousands of the Istarin empire guarded the Icy Shattered Ruin village. No outside was allowed to go in. If anyone tried to go to the portal, then the Istarin soldiers won't hesitate to kill that person. This was the strict order that the Prime Minister had given them. Only members of the Royal family and the high-ranking people of the Istarin Empire were allowed to go in.

"I can't believe we have been guarding this place for over a month now. Everything here is so boring." Ever since the Istarin Empire took this village under their control, no one dared to even come near this place. So except for eating, sleeping, and guarding, the soldiers had no other job.

"Don't complain. This is much better than being sent to war. At least, we can spend our time playing cards." Another soldier lazily replied while distributing cards.

Suddenly the portal that hasn't reacted for over a month reacted. The size of the portal began to enlarge which attracted the attention of all the soldiers.

"Captain, what is happening?" Some soldiers asked the Captain in panic.

The Captain of the soldiers was a Dragonian. As the portal enlarged, the Dragonian was able to feel the presence of his King. The Dragonian's entire body trembled in excitement. Others might not know it but he has been told that their King has been trapped inside.

"The portal has opened." The Dragonian shouted in excitement.

"Inform the Prime Minister about this."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is one of those chapters which is sad and also maybe a little dramatic. I have tried my best to show the affect of Aditya's disappearance on the females.

Each of the main and side-characters are going through 5 stages of grief.

- Julia is depressed and is in denial. She wants to escape this painful reality by dreaming all the times.

- Alicia is angry and depressed. She frequently loses her anger.

- Riya is bargaining. Even though she knows that it is impossible to break the barrier, she still wants to bargain and push her luck. She is doing everything in her powers to bring him back.

- Watson has accepted Aditya's disappearance and hopes that Aditya will make his return as soon as possible. He is also sad over his King's disappearance.

- Sophia has experienced all of the five phases and has accepted the reality. Now she is trying her best to take her husband's role even though she is broken.

- Leo is depressed but he still hasn't accepted the reality.

Thank you for reading. I hope you guys liked the chapter

Chapter 298

Riya was sitting on the balcony where Aditya used to sit and draw runes. The goddess would often come and sit in this place. Last month, she had spent many hours sitting here, doing nothing. She would just sit here and stare at the sky or observe the Azure city to see if anything interesting is happening within the capital.

Riya's maid came to the balcony with a letter in her hands. "Milady, a letter from the Celestial Terrain has arrived. The letter has been personally written by Her Majesty." An elf from the Celestial Terrain delivered a letter to Riya's personal maid a few minutes ago.

"What does my mother wants to say?" Riya clearly wasn't in a good mood from her tone.

Riya's maid opened the letter and started reading out.

[My dear Daughter, I really miss you. Please come back home. You have been waiting for Aditya for over a month now. Why don't you come home and spend a few weeks or a few months with your poor mother? You know that I don't have anyone beside you.

I am very lonely without you.]

This is the exact reason why Riya didn't want to read her mother's written letter. Riya's father had long passed away. Riya grew up with no father. For as long as she can remember, she and her mother always have lived together. Riya's mother never let her feel the need for a father when growing up. When Riya became a little older, she realized that her mother is overprotective and too much loving of her.

In fact, Riya's mother was against Riya coming to live with Aditya. If Riya hadn't kept her busy with all of the Celestial Terrain Empire's works, then her mother certainly would have become her biggest obstacle in coming to live with Aditya.

This is not the first time this month, her mother has written this kind of letter to Riya. In the span of 34 days, Riya's mother has written her 17 letters. Nowadays whenever a letter comes, Riya just lets her maid read it aloud for her.

"How many times, do I have to tell her that I am not going to return home without Aditya? Especially in his absence, I will stay here and keep the balance." There are countless ways that Riya can help the Istarin Empire.

What a white, Riya sighed feeling tired of everything that was happening.

Sigh!

"Just tell my mother that.....Riya stopped when seeing Watson running towards her.

"Watson, what happened?" At this moment Riya didn't know why but she got the feeling that she was about to get a piece of very good news. The look on Watson's face said everything.

"The portal has opened." The goddess didn't dare hesitate anymore. Without wasting a single second, she prepared to teleport to the Southern region and head to the Icy shattered ruin but Watson stopped her.

"Lady Riya, since we're going there, it would be better if we take Lady Julia with us as well." Riya stopped and then nodded her head in agreement. This month's past hasn't been kind to any of the goddesses. Each of the goddesses suffered in their own way.

Riya hasn't seen Julia for over 20 days now. Since the three goddesses were busy dealing with their own grief, they didn't had time to help each other.

Scene change_____

"I apologize for losing my temper on you. Honestly, these days everything has become really difficult. For the first time in my life, I am not able to enjoy my work. Before I was able to enjoy my work more than anything but ever since I got close to him, I realized that I have changed in many ways."

Alicia loved loves competition and challenges. The thrill of overcoming all the odds and difficulties and becoming the biggest player and also the biggest profit maker in the market had always excited her. But now for the first time, she found her work exhausting. She felt burned out. She no longer felt the joy of earning money.

"Milady, there is no need for you to apologize. As your maid, I know you better than anyone in this world. I have been serving you for so many years now. After serving you for so many years, if I can't understand your emotions or understand you, then I am not worthy of being your maid."

"I know currently you're going through a difficult phase of your life. Before becoming a maid, I also had a similar kind of experience. I have also lost the people whom I dearly love. Though I cannot completely understand your pain, I can relate to your situation." Hearing this Alicia sadly smiled and said nothing.

"Milady, there is one more thing that I want to tell you. Aditya and you were married to each other through a contract. In the contract, it was stated that if Aditya dies, then all of the goddesses will also die. So I do believe that His Majesty is still alive. No matter where he is, I am sure right now he is completely fine and trying his best to return back to the Istarin Empire. As His majesty's future wife, you should put your trust in your husband and should wait for him."

"Thank you. I need to hear these words." Alicia felt much better hearing these words from her maid. Alicia now felt a little bit calmer. 'She is right. I should believe in him. Only he can turn the impossible into possible and create miracles in desperate situations. I have seen him do it so many times. I should believe in my beloved.'

"Can you please bring me something to eat? Suddenly I am starting to feel a little bit hungry." The maid was very happy to hear this. This was the first time in an entire month, her lady had expressed her desire to have something. Normally, she and others would have to force Lady Alicia to have her meals.

"I will be back in 5 minutes. Please wait." Just as the maid opened the door intending to excuse herself from her lady's room, the maid was startled when she saw an assassin standing behind the door.

The maid quickly relaxed seeing the Istarin Empire's symbol on the right side of the assassin's chest. The female assassin was a member of Nathan's division. She wore a black dress that completely covered her body and hid her face. She tied her hair into a bun.

"Do you have anything urgent to report?" This wasn't the first time the members of Nathan's division were sent to Alicia.

"Greetings, Ma'am. The situation is very urgent. The barrier around the portal has disappeared. It is now possible to enter the portal." Alicia's entire body trembled as if she has been struck by lightning. For a second she froze as she couldn't believe the words that she just heard.

"Wha....What? Repeat what you just said?" Alicia's voice trembled. The goddess couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had to ask the female assassin to repeat her words.

"The portal has opened and...Smosh!" The female assassin couldn't even finish. Alicia left through the window.

Scene change to the Training grounds___

This month the training grounds seem to have become quiet. The spirit, the aggression, the unity, the fighting intent, and the passion that once existed among the new recruits seem to have vanished. This was mainly because of the gloomy atmosphere of the main 7 division Captains. As all the 7 captains or also known as the generals of the Istarin empire heard about Aditya's disappearance, it seems they become depressed as well.

Even though everything went on as before. Even though the training of the new recruits continued as it did previously. The passion that once burned in the training grounds seems to have disappeared. This was mainly because of the fact that the Captains and the sub-division Captains, all looked gloomy nowadays.

In the 5th division,

The Captain of the 5th division who was a fox tribe woman sat on the chair and read a book on elemental control. These days Amber had a gloomy atmosphere around her. This was mainly because of the fact that after Aditya's disappearance, her best friend Julia, completely changed. Before, regardless of how busy Julia or Amber was, both friends would find at least 5 minutes to catch up and chat with each other.

After Aditya disappeared, Amber made many efforts to bring Julia out of her depression but she was unsuccessful. This has made Amber feel that she is not worthy of being Julia's best friend. Amber looked down on herself for not being able to help her best friend in such times.

'All of this is his Majesty's fault.' Although Amber would never say it out loud but deep down she was angry at Aditya for disappearing for over a month and leaving her best friend sad and depressed. Now no matter what Amber try to do or did, nothing worked.

'In a few more days, I should be able to reach beginner 4th-order with my magic cultivation. As for my Physical cultivation, I have reached Peak 3rd-order a few weeks ago. Although this has tremendously increased by strength, in the end, I cannot feel happy seeing my best friend like this.' Usually, Amber would take missions and go out to various cities to hunt for criminals. But nowadays, she stopped taking any missions. Instead, she sent her 5th-division members to complete the mission while she regularly tried to bring Julia out of her depression.

As for the other 6 generals, even though all of them were depressed, they did not slack off. The six of them carried out their duties as usual and didn't let any enemies get inside the Istarin Empire. The generals protected the Istarin Empire both from the outside and inside.

Sigh!

"I should try to talk with Julia." Amber closed the book that she was reading. Just as she walked out of the room, in the hallway, she noticed a messenger heading towards her.

"Greetings, my lady. I have come with very exciting news."

In the next seconds, Amber was gone from the training grounds. Amber quickly reached the Dragon palace. Without any hesitation, she entered Julia's room only to find her best friend lying on the bed and blankly staring at the ceiling. Seeing this Amber once again felt sad for her best friend.

Amber excitedly woke up Julia. Opening her eyes, Julia looked at Amber in confusion. The goddess wondered why Amber was suddenly being so excited.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"We finally have a way to reach him."

"By him.....you don't mean?" The goddess's eyes went wide open. Seeing her best friend nod, the goddess covered her mouth with her hands while tears formed in her eyes.

"Let's not waste a single second."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 299

Within 30 minutes Alicia, Riya, Julia, Leo, Sophia, Watson, Spencer, and the 7 Generals, had gathered in front of the portal. This was the first time all of them were gathering in one place after 30 days. This is true, especially for the goddesses who did not see each other's faces for days. In their own ways, Aditya's wives were depressed and sad. Neither of them had the courage or the strong mentality to comfort the other. Instead, the goddesses needed someone to comfort them.

"When did the portal open?" Watson asked in an excited tone.

This entire month felt like a year to Watson and others, despite the fact that 30 days might seem like a small thing to an immortal. The excitement in Watson's and others' hearts was unbearable. Without their Emperor, the entire Istarin empire seemed empty. There was no sign of liveliness within the Dragon Palace without their king.

"Sir, the portal opened exactly around 30 minutes ago." The Dragonian replied in a loud and clear tone.

"Good." Watson turned to the 7 generals and said. "Some of you would need to stay outside. While the rest of us enter the portal, some of you can stay behind and guard the portal. Make sure that no enemy can do anything to the portal."

"I will stay behind."

"I will join you."

"I will wait for His majesty outside."

"Me too."

In the end, Josh, Eleanor, Henry, and Scott decided to stay outside of the portal. Amber, Nathan, and Tyler were going to join the others.

"Alright."

"You guys make sure to protect this area with everything you got. If anyone tries to enter the portal stop that person even if you have to kill him." The three generals nodded their heads with serious faces.

After that, The goddesses, and others entered the Icy Shattered Ruin.

Scene change back to Aditya______

She has never seen Her Highness cry in such a way. Princess Lara had always had a strong mind and heart, despite the difficulties that faced them back then. Although she may have had a weak body, she still had a strong heart. Rose was hurt when she saw someone cry like this. It was painful for Rose to see her lady cry in such a way.

"Milady, Aditya...His Highness is still alive. I can feel his Aura." Rose's words seem to have given the little bit of hope that Lara wanted to cling to.

"Really? You're not lying right?" Rose smile before nodding her head.

"Don't worry so much. This brat isn't going to die anytime soon. I won't allow him to die especially when he had stolen something very precious from my daughter. I am not letting him die before he gives me a few newborn dragons to play with." Adam couldn't help but imagine him playing with his daughter's child.

Rose and Lara watched Adam foolishly grin while staring at the sky.

In Adam's imagination, he was playing with seven little dragons, sitting on his chest and pulling his clothes and his hair. As he laughed out loud, he drew pictures of the seven dragon babies sitting on his chest. Out of the seven babies, three of them were boys, and the remaining four were girls.

"What exactly did my husband steal from your daughter?" Poor Princess Lara's imagination was quite limited as she couldn't understand Adam's words. But her maid Rose was able to understand what Adam was saying.

Adam snapped out of his daze and answered with a smirk. "Aditya is my son-in-law. He and my daughter have been engaged and in a few more years, both of them would get married."

As for the rest, Princess Lara was able to understand. Lara couldn't help but blush as she recalled Adam calling Aditya's children 'Little Dragons'. As for being jealous or sad by the fact that Aditya already had a fiance, Lara found this to be completely normal.

In Lara's time, it was completely normal for strong and influential men to have multiple wives. Kings in her times used to marry Princesses from several neighboring or foreign Kingdoms or Dynasties to establish strong connections and increase their political and also military power. In fact in Lara's time, having multiple wives had become so common that 9 out of 10 Kings always had multiple wives. Though in this age, this ratio has changed to 7 out of 10.

Lara's mother was known as the Vampire Empress or also Mother Empress. Lara's mother had equal if not more power than the Emperor himself. This is why the other wives of the emperor were given the status of concubines and were not allowed to have any children.

Lara knew that an amazing man like her husband would have multiple spouses. As long as she wasn't thrown aside and forgotten, Lara was fine with the title of a Concubine.

What else Lara can ask for from her husband? Usually, when a Princess gets married to a King or an Emperor, the Princess's family gives expensive gifts or parts of its territory to the Princess's husband as a dowry. But Lara didn't give any of that to Aditya. Instead, it was because of her, her husband had been trapped in this world and had to face so many obstacles. Even though she will be a burden on his shoulders, he did not push her away. For that, Lara is very grateful and very happy.

A few more minutes passed but Aditya's condition did not heal. Although his breathing and his Aura had stabilized, the injuries all over his body didn't start healing for some reason. This started to worry Adam who was keeping a close look on Aditya even though he was talking with Lara and Rose.

Soon Lara and Rose discovered Adam's worries. Lara also noticed that Aditya's wounds were not healing. "Why isn't my husband's body healing?" Lara asked in an anxious tone.

Adam's face turned ugly as he realized that just one 5-star pill isn't enough. The injury that Aditya has suffered is too big. Aditya was very close to dying and would have died in a minute if Adam hadn't arrived in time and had given him a 5-star healing pill.

A portal began to open a few kilometers away from Aditya.

"I have checked his storage ring. There weren't any 5-star healing pills left. This means now we will have to rely on lower-star pills. I will have to take him back as soon as possible." Adam was preparing to pick up Adam but then he stopped sensing some familiar presence.

Seeing Adam stop, Princess Lara was confused. But soon her confusion was cleared as she saw Adam and her maid Rose staring in the direction of north.

A few minutes later silence, from the north a group of 9 people were heading in this direction.

'Judging the Auras of these 9 people, except for the weakest one, I don't think I can defeat any one of them.' Rose prepared to defend herself and Her Highness if in case these people tried to harm them. But her worries were unnecessary as she noticed the worried faces of the strangers as they came closer.

Adam stood up and stepped towards the woman with long purple hair. Sophia came running to him and hugged him. Sophia hugged him back with all of her strength as if she is afraid that she might lose her husband again. These 34 days have been a nightmare for Sophia. Without her husband, she felt her entire family had been broken.

"I missed you." Sophia began to sob while burying her face in his chest. Adam didn't really know how to comfort his wife.

"Aditya" Julia sat in front of Aditya. She completely ignored the two strange people sitting next to Aditya. She gently lifted his head and put his head on her lap; not caring about the blood that ruined her clothes.

The goddess hurriedly took out a 5-star healing pill that she had made a while back and kept it with her in case of an emergency. As she fed him the healing pill, Riya did not just stand there.

A green Aura radiated from the Nature goddess. Soon a green Aura surrounded Aditya's entire body and rapidly began to heal his wounds both internally and externally. The pill and the Nature goddess's powers healed all of Aditya's wounds within a few minutes but Aditya did not open his eyes.

The skill that he had last used against the Maneater had burdened not just his physical body but also his soul. It will take him a while before he can get up.

Sigh!

Alicia sighed in relief seeing Aditya healed up. The goddess then turned her attention to the pale-skinned woman who was worriedly looking at Aditya.

"Who are you?" Alicia asked. The goddess could feel that this woman had a very deep relationship with Aditya.

Now that Aditya was healed, she took some time to observe the feature and the appearance of the three kneeling around Aditya. The one who questioned her appeared to be very beautiful. Not even her Mother Empress was this beautiful. From what it looks like this woman is a few years older than her. This means that this woman will become even more beautiful as time passed.

'It seems she is also one of the husband's wives. Since I am meeting my sisters I should properly introduce myself.' With her weak body, Princess Lara stood up before elegantly offering a bow to Alicia.

"My name is Lara Murphy. I am the 8th Princess of the Great Starry Sky Empire that existed a long time ago. I have been sleeping in this world till my husband woke me up from my long slumber."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 300

"My name is Lara Murphy. I am the 8th Princess of the Great Starry Sky Empire that existed a long time ago. I have been sleeping in this world till my husband woke me up from my long slumber." Hearing this pale skin young girl calling Aditya her husband, Alicia felt complicated. She didn't know what to say.

Watson, Amber, Nathan, Spencer, and Sophia were shocked. Aditya had disappeared for more than 30 days and now he had found another wife. Just what happened? All of them had the same questions in their mind.

Riya sighed in relief after Aditya was healed completely. The goddess was about to express her happiness of seeing her beloved one after so many days when she heard the words that came out of Princess Lara's face.

Hearing these words, the look on Riya's face changed instantly. Lara's maid Rose and others suddenly became alert sensing Riya's killing intent leaking out of her body.

Lara's attention was soon drawn to Riya when she stood up and walked in front of Alicia. Princess Lara took this opportunity to closely observe the face and appearance of the woman with silver hair. It was obvious that this silver hair woman was very close to her husband as how she didn't know.

Princess Lara didn't know what she should say to Riya as she already had introduced herself. She believe that now it was the other party's turn to introduce themselves. However, Riya did not speak even a single word. The goddess just continued to stare at princess Lara.

The deadly silence gradually grew, making the atmosphere tenser. Rose prepared to fight all these people if in case this silver-haired tall woman tried to harm her Highness in any way.

Watson couldn't take the silence anymore. He was about to step forward and stop Lady Riya before she made any irrational moves. As Aditya's personal and only butler, Watson can tell that His Master really cared about this young girl. And if Lady Riya does anything to this young girl, Master might become upset. Also, Watson didn't wish to see Riya harming His Master's potential future wife.

However, Watson's intervention wasn't necessary as the killing intent coming out of Riya's body was suppressed. Riya hatefully glared at Aditya who was lying unconscious a few meters away from her. 'This evil man. He left us for 34 days. After 34 days, he is suddenly with a young girl who calls herself his wife. When he wakes up, I will take my sweet time in torturing....cough...I make him tell me everything.'

"Hello! My name is Riya Tombrook. I am the Princess of the Celestial Terrain. I am also Aditya's 3rd fiance and his 3rd future wife. It's really nice to meet you, Princess Lara."

The reason Riya did not take out her anger on Lara is that she noticed that Princess Lara was really weak. In fact, it was not just Princess Riya, others who came with her also noticed this. Everyone noticed that Lara's Aura was really weak. Lara appeared to be weaker than normal humans of her age. But no one said it out loud as they wanted Aditya to explain everything when he woke up.

'I was right. So we will become sisters in the future.' Princess Lara smiled. She was happy to meet the new members of her new family. Meanwhile, Lara's maid Rose sighed in relief seeing that Riya is not attacking Her Highness.

'Now that the Great Starry Sky Empire no longer exists, I must protect Her Highness with all that I have got. I will make sure that no one can bully Her Highness.' When Rose was appointed as Lara's maid, she had sworn to protect and forever stand with Her highness. Rose has guarded Lara for 53 years in this world alone without ever interacting with any human. Rose is even willing to fight beginner 5th-order Riya to protect Her Highness.

"My name is Alicia Osburn. I am the Princess of the Ethereal Empire. I am Aditya's second fiance and his second future wife. It's really nice to meet you. You can call me Big sister." Compared to Riya, Lara found it easier to talk with Alicia.

"Okay, Big sister." Princess Lara innocently nodded her head. Her eyes were really pure. Compared to everyone, Princess Lara was the most innocent one.

Being weak, Princess Lara spent the majority of her life in her bedroom. Princess Lara very rarely socialized with anyone. This is one of the reasons why she appeared to be more innocent than girls of her age. While girls of her age mostly had boyfriends and went out to date, Princess Lara never had been touched by any male other than her father and her brothers. Aditya was the first male Princess Lara ever hugged in his life.

"My name is Julia Onard. This is my mother Sophia and this is my father Adam. I am Aditya's 1st fiance and his 1st future wife. You can call me Big sister as well. Let's get along from now on." Julia's mood had significantly improved as Aditya lay on her lap. There was a gentle smile on her face as she spoke to Lara.

Sophia and Adam were surprised to see their daughter act so maturely. If it was the Julia of the past then she would have lost her calm meeting a young girl who is claiming herself to be Aditya's wife.

"My name is Watson. I am his Majesty's Butler."

"I am Spencer. I am the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire."

"My name is Amber."

"I am Nathan."

"I am....."

After everyone introduced themselves, it was decided to go out of this world. Rose had informed everyone that if they didn't leave this world, the portal might close down. And this time the portal will permanently close down. This means everyone will be trapped in this world if they do not leave now.

"I will carry his majesty" No one stopped Watson. While Watson picked up unconscious Aditya Princess Lara was picked up by Rose.

'Her Highness cannot keep up with others so I will just have to carry her.'

Before stepping inside the portal, Princess Lara took one last glance at the Icy Shattered Ruin world. This place has been her home for more than 53 years. She has slept in this place for so many years. This was the place where she had last seen her parents before she was put to sleep. This world held a special place in her heart. But sadly after the portal closes, she won't be able to come to this world anymore.

'This would mark a new chapter of my life. Father, Mother, please watch over me from Heaven.' Princess Lara swore to move on with her life. She would carry the dear memories of her family and hold them closely in her heart.

'At least, in this new journey of mine, I am not alone. I have Rose with me. And most importantly, I have found the fated one. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to put his life at risk to protect me.'

Princess Lara and Rose looked at each other for a second before Lara nodded her head. Rose smiled with a nod before stepping inside the portal.

'Goodbye.'

On the other side of the portal, many surprises were waiting for Princess Lara and her Maid Rose. As soon as they stepped outside the portal, Princess Lara and Rose found themselves surrounded by 1,000 Istarin Soldiers.

All the soldiers were surprised and shocked to see their Majesty being carried by Watson. Although Aditya looked perfectly fine, the bloodstains on his clothes spoke of the brutal battle that their King had fought inside the portal.

At this moment everyone understood why Watson ordered them to guard this place and not allow anyone to get near. It was because their King has been trapped in the Icy Shattered Ruin World.

"Welcome back. How is His Majesty?" Asked the Dark elf Scott. The generals now looked much more relaxed than before. Now that they have found their Majesty back, all of them could stop being worried and focus more on their work and on their cultivation.

"His majesty should wake up soon. There is no need to be worried."

Meanwhile, Spencer looked at all the soldiers. "Everyone, what you have seen today must never be revealed to another soul. If anyone leaks what has happened here today, then I swear on his Majesty's name, I will personally behead that person and torture his entire family for eternity." Spencer added a little bit of his killing intent.

His words worked perfectly. Nearly all of the soldiers trembled in fear. Unlike the previous acting Prime Minister who was kind and friendly, the new Prime Minister was very strict. In the last few months, Spencer has gained a reputation for being The Cold-Hearted Minister of the Dragon Monarch.

Spencer proved himself as The Cold-Hearted Minister of the Dragon Monarch by mercilessly slaughtering everyone single person who was closely related to the Dragon Slayer guild. After the attack from the 7 members of the Dragon guild slayer, Spencer, and Nathan personally worked together in catching the spies of the Dragon Slayer guild that the guild had sent to the Istarin Empire's capital in order to gain more information on the Istarin Empire.

The unfortunate ones who were captured by Spencer were publicly executed. And Spencer was the one who publicly ended their lives. The image of Spencer killing all the spies of the Dragon Slayer guild was still fresh in everyone's mind. That day, Spencer had turned into a demon. In the end, Spencer's entire body was covered in the blood of the spies.

Not just that, he even publicly released a statement that anyone who is conducting any sort of business or is related to the Dragon slayer guild will be publicly executed. From that day, The Istarin Empire made it clear to the world that the Dragon Slayer guild is their mortal enemy. Also on that day, the close allies of the Istarin Empire also released a similar statement and cut off all connections with the Dragon Slayer guild.

This meant that the Dragon slayer guild was banned from the entire Eastern region of the Dying Isle continent and half of the Southern region of the Dying Isle continent.

The reason Spencer hasn't attacked the Dragon Slayer guild yet is that he was waiting for his Majesty to return and decide how he would want to see the Dragon slayer guild end itself.

"Good" Spencer was satisfied with the soldier's reaction.

"Let's head back."

'So they are the soldiers of the Istarin Empire.' Lara was impressed. She noticed that even the weakest soldier had a 1-star weapon and wore 1-star armor. With such equipment, the soldier should have no problem defeating even a beginner 2nd-order.

'In our Empire, only the soldiers whose cultivation was above Mid-2nd-order were given such weapon and armor set.' Although Princess Lara has mostly spent the majority of her time sleeping, she knows a thing or two about politics and how an Empire works.

'Mother Empress told me that giving 1-star weapon and armor set to 1st-order soldiers was very expensive for their Empire. A big majority of the troops in our Empire were 1st-order soldiers. Giving each 1st-order soldier a 1-star armor set and the 1-star weapon could cost them billions.' Lara now had a much better idea of how powerful and how influential the Istarin Empire was in this time period.

It was because of Aditya that the current Istarin Empire was able to give a 1-star weapon and 1-star armor set to all the soldiers. As he was the one who collected all these armor and weapons during the goblin invasion.

Lara's attention was soon drawn to the shadow of a big giant that flew over her head. When she looked up, she was surprised to see a giant dragon flying above them. The size of the Dragon was 50 meters. The dragon had crimson and brown mixed scales.

'It's an Earth Dragon. I have never seen a Dragon of this massive size.' The Earth Dragon was a Peak 4th-order powerhouse. This Dragon was one of those dragons that have submitted to the Dragon Monarch. As a reward, Aditya gave this Earth Dragon a drop of his Divine Blood which helped this Earth Dragon grow both in size and power.

The Earth Dragon Soon landed a few hundred meters away from the village. By now the portal had completely closed down. Since they have found their Majesty and Julia's father back and the portal of the Icy Shattered Ruin world had been closed, there was no more reason for the soldiers to stay here.

"You guys can go back. Your duty here is over. All of you will be rewarded an extra 50 gold coins for your hard work."

"Thank you, Prime Minister." For the soldiers, even 50 royal gold coins were a lot. The soldiers were really happy that they can finally return home with extra 50 royal gold coins with their usual salary.

Soon everyone climbed the back of the Giant Earth-Dragon. Spencer rubbed the back of the Earth Dragon. "Go head to the nearest Istarin Empire's territory."

The Earth Dragon nodded before taking off from the ground. At the same time, a bubble-like sphere formed around everyone. Lara found that this sphere prevented the strong wind breeze from affecting them.

The speed of the Dragon Earth was really fast. The Peak 4th-order Earth Dragon soon arrived at the nearest Istarin Empire city. The Earth Dragon landed outside the city. Due to its huge size, it cannot land inside the city without harming people and destroying buildings.

The noble who is in charge of this city had been informed of their arrival in advance. As soon as the earth Dragon Landed, the noble named Bruce came to receive the members of the Royal Family with 100 soldiers and a big Royal carriage.

As Spencer and others got off from the back of the Earth Dragon, Bruce and the 100 soldiers behind him, all kneeled to the ground and greeted Spencer and the members of the Royal Family. "This humble servant greets the Royal Family. Welcome to the Snow White City."

As the Prime Minister, Spencer had learned the names of all the nobles and known their background. "Get up Bruce. We won't stay here for long. We will be using the teleportation array of the Snow White city to teleport back to the Capital." Bruce got up and nodded his head.

"Please come this way." Bruce noticed that his Majesty was being carried by Watson. Bruce didn't have the courage to ask what had happened to his Majesty.

But noticing his gaze, Watson decided to explain. "His Majesty fought a powerful 5th-order monster. He was able to defeat the monster but in the process, Majesty had become too tried." Bruce nodded and didn't ask any more questions. But deep down, Bruce was really impressed with Aditya. Only if Bruce knew that the monster that Aditya has defeated was a beginner 6th-order monster. His reaction would be priceless.

Bruce stepped aside and lowered his head while everyone got into the carriage.

The soldiers made sure to keep the crowd out of the Carriage's path. Everyone was forced to step aside so that the carriage can reach the teleportation array as soon as possible. As the Carriage entered the Snow White city, Princess Lara couldn't stop watching.

Lara can't believe that more than a thousand years have passed. The world that she knew had changed so much. This place feels like a foreign world even if this is the same world. Lara feels as if she had come to a different world.

She was like an excited child. She was barely able to calm herself. But she had to forcefully calm herself. As she was Aditya's wife and a Princess. She had to act that way.

Sophia was able to notice this. Sophia barely was able to control herself from smiling seeing Princess Lara act this way. 'I don't know how Aditya managed to seduce such a young and innocent-looking girl.' Lara was very cute. Seeing her, Sophia remembered young Julia who had almost had the same type of curious personality as Lara.

Around 12 minutes later, the carriage reached the teleportation array. The teleportation array had been temporarily shut down to the public for the King and his Royal family.

Getting out of the carriage, everyone stepped inside the teleportation array. Soon everyone teleported back to the Capital of the Istarin Empire. Since Princess Lara and Rose can't get inside the Dragon Palace without Aditya's consent and since Aditya was currently unconscious, they had to teleport to the Palace which was located at the center of the Azure city and was currently unused.

Scene change

While Aditya was being bought back from the brink of death, he was experiencing something very different.

"Where am I?" Aditya asked out loud as he found himself standing in an arena. The arena was very big. After looking around a little bit, his attention was drawn to the two thrones that were floating 100 meters above the ground.

There were two figures sitting on the throne and looking at Aditya. The throne on which they were sitting was made up of cyan color stones. For some reason, Aditya couldn't see any of their faces. He can sense their Aura. It was clear that both of them were even more powerful than the Maneater Monster. Especially the woman sitting on the left throne and staring at Aditya with her crimson glowing eyes.

Under Aditya's watch, the Man sitting on the right Throne suddenly jumped from the throne and landed 30 meters away from Aditya. At the same time, the woman snapped her fingers. This caused both thrones to move away from the Arena. Aditya didn't have time to watch the thrones move away as his attention was drawn to the man standing 30 meters away from him.

"Who are you?" Aditya asked.

Aditya still couldn't see the man's face. His face was blurred. When Aditya tried to see through the illusion, he suddenly got a headache. "Who I am shouldn't really matter right now. Prepare yourself. I am about to end your life once and for all." The man suddenly charged at Aditya at a frightening speed, Aditya widened his eyes in shock seeing the man's immense speed.

In counter and to stop the man, Aditya created a wall of Crimson flame before him. At the same time, he began to activate his other passive skills.

Storm Summoning!

Dark Clouds began to cover the starry sky above Aditya. The woman sitting on the Throne was once again surprised to see the Dark clouds containing violent Crimson lightning bolts in them.

"Interesting"

?Ding! The passive boost of the Storm Marshal class has been activated. The host's mana has been temporarily increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind-type attacks has been increased by 50%. Your Agility has been increased by [300+].?

Inferno Overdrive!

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Inferno Overdrive. You have entered into a berserk state. All of your stats except for Mana have been increased by 70%.?

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

Aditya's entire body was surrounded by Crimson lightning. The Crimson lightning formed armor around his body. 'Thankfully the cooldown period of the Inferno Overdrive is over.'

Also at that time, a wave of cold water rose in the air. The water wave hit the wall of Crimson flame. The Water was able to extinguish Aditya's Crimson flame very easily. This shocked Aditya greatly as this was the first time he had seen his Crimson Flame getting extinguished by water.

The Temperature of the Crimson flame is so high that it can vaporize water at a very fast pace. Ever since he got the Crimson flame, Aditya never had to fear Water-type attacks. But today it was very different. The Water wave easily managed to extinguish his Crimson flames.

Seeing the Water Wave heading in his direction, Aditya flew up in the air. When he stopped he noticed the man with a blurred face standing above his head. Before Aditya could react, a powerful kick on his back sent him flying like a meteorite.

Bang!!!!!

Aditya was sent crashing down on the ground. The ground beneath him instantly shattered like a spider web. Large cracks appeared around the ground beneath Aditya.

'It hurts.' Aditya groaned in pain. But he quickly stood up enduring the pain.

Standing up, Aditya searched for the man but the man once again appeared behind him without making a single sound. Aditya couldn't even sense Man's aura till he heard his voice.

"Young Dragon, you're still not strong enough. You're inexperienced." When Aditya tried to turn around, a powerful fist landed on his right cheek.

Cough!

Aditya fell to the ground. But just before he fell down, he manipulated the crimson lightning in the clouds. Just as Aditya fell down, several powerful bolts of Crimson lightning struck the man.

'Got you.' However, Aditya soon discovered that despite being struck by 4 powerful bolts of Crimson lightning, the man appeared to be completely fine. There wasn't even a single mark on his skin.

The man just scratched his hair after he was struck by lightning bolts. "That was supposed to hurt? Pathetic. I expected something more powerful. How disappointing." The man coldly stared at Aditya.

'Still not enough. Then how about this?'

Enraged Lightning Spell!

Suddenly, a powerful Rainbow lightning bolt came from the sky and struck the Man. This time the attack sent him flying more than 500 meters away. The attack also left a giant crater in the Arena. Aditya used this time to get up.

'Still not enough?' Aditya asked himself while using Dragon Transformation. Facing such powerful enemies, Aditya should bring out all of his trump cards.

Dragon Transformation!

?Ding! As you have transformed into your Dragon Form, all of your stats except for mana have been doubled.?

?Ding! Your mana recovery speed has been increased by 60%.?

?Ding! 500+ extra agility has been added to your base stats.?

When the dust settled down, Aditya was shocked to see the Man walking towards him completely fine. He didn't look the least bit injured.

'This is the first Enraged Lightning has failed to harm someone. Then let's try this.' Aditya gritted his teeth while charging at the Man at full speed.

"Hit me with your strongest attack. Otherwise, you will die." The man spread his arms and laughed out loud. Aditya felt as if he had fought Adam who is also hungry for Battles. But this man was on a complete different level than Adam.

When Aditya was 20 meters away from the Man, suddenly his entire body started to change into Crimson lightning. Seeing this the Man and the Woman who was observing Aditya both showed surprised look.

Aditya's body changed into a Lightning bolt. The Crimson lightning bolt then split into 7 lightning bolts.

'This is one my strongest attacks. Take this.'

Bang!

From seven different sides, all the lightning bolts struck the man. When Aditya returned to his human form, he looked at Man. Only to find him still standing in the same place. 'It didn't work or what?' Aditya asked himself in doubt. But then.....

Cough!

The man coughed out a large amount of blood before falling to his knees. Seeing this Aditya felt a little bit happy. "Not bad.....Cough!" The man again coughed out a large amount of blood.

"Time to end your life." Aditya charged at the man with the intention of ending his life but then he was horrified to find Man's entire body turning into water. All of the blood that the man coughed out also turned into Water.

Aditya then realized that he has been under a powerful illusion. "Young Dragon Monarch, you would need to train 10,000 years if you want to kill me."

Aditya's entire body trembled as he heard Man's voice behind him. As he turned his face, he was able to see the actual face of the man.

The man had black hair and red glowing eyes. He had thin lips and a big sharp nose. Overall the Man was really handsome. He looked like he was around 35 years of age.

As the Man touched Aditya's right shoulder, his body began turning into Ice. Aditya panicked. He tried to stop his body from turning into ice by increasing his body temperature.

"Dear, I think you should stop now." The woman who hadn't spoken to Aditya till now finally spoke. The woman's voice was sweet. Anyone who hears her voice would be under her seduction.

The Woman stood up. As she took the first step, golden stairs began to form beneath her feet. The woman elegantly started walking down. Aditya was able to see her face as well.

When he saw her face, Aditya was 100% sure that both of them were the Parents of Princess Lara. Aditya is not sure how he came to meet the Parents of Lara.

Lara's mother whom Lara called Mother Empress looked 90% like Lara except that her face was much more mature and her body was more developed and seducing than Lara's body. Lara was really cute. But her mother's beauty was even more frightening.

The Vampire Empress had long black hair. She had large breasts which seems to bounce with each of her steps. She had a small waist and a big hip. She wore a black silk dress that covered her entire body. The mole under her lips made her look sexier.

Hearing his wife's words, Lara's father who was the Vampire Emperor stopped. He moved away from Aditya.

"I am just testing our son-in-law." Lara's father said while looking at his wife.

"Dear, I think you're more than testing our son-in-law. Aditya is more than capable of protecting our daughter." Just as the woman's feet touched the ground, everything around Aditya began to change.

Aditya found himself sitting on a chair. Lara's parents were sitting opposite him. On the round table, there were three cups of tea and some snacks which are meant to be eaten along with the tea.

It was evening time and they were sitting under a tree. 'How did I come here? Or Is it some kind of advanced level of illusion?'

"I know you have a lot of questions. We can answer all of your questions but first let us introduce yourselves. My name is Lauren Murphy and This is Lara's father and my husband, Jonah Murphy."

"My name is Aditya Bainnith."

Hearing Aditya's last name, both Jonah and Lauren were once again shocked. "So you're the descendent of the Bainnith Family. I never thought that the Celestial Dragon Empire would be able to maintain its dominance in the Main continent for this long."

Aditya was surprised. From their words, it seems even 1,300 years ago, The Celestial Dragon Empire was a very strong Empire and Dominated the Entire Main continent.

"So things happened and Now I am no longer a part of the Celestial Dragon Empire. I moved to the Dying Isle Continent. Now I am the Emperor of the Istarin empire." Aditya wondered if he should change his last name to something else. Since Aditya has been exiled from the Celestial Dragon Empire, he didn't wish to use the Bainnith Name anymore.

'I will think about it later.'

"I see. The future is indeed full of uncertain possibilities." Jonah sighed.

"Aditya, do you have any fiance or wives?" Lauren asked.

"I have three fiancés. I was planning on marrying them a few years later. Right now, I don't have any wives." Aditya decided to not talk about the contract that gave him seven goddesses as his wives. At this point, the contract really didn't matter. Aditya wasn't going to force the goddesses to marry him. He was already more than satisfied with three Wives.

"Brat, you better treat my Daughter with equal love and respect."

"I will try my best." Regarding Princess Lara, Aditya was feeling complicated. On one hand, Aditya wanted to protect this girl. He liked it when she tenderly called him husband. But on other hand, Aditya was feeling conflicted regarding his feelings for Lara. Aditya didn't believe in love at first sight. He believed that love is something that is cultivated between two partners.

Lauren could easily understand Aditya's emotions. She smiled seeing Aditya taking the whole situation so seriously. Lauren was now sure that her daughter was in the right hand. She won't have to worry about her. Someone like Aditya will definitely take care of her.

"What is this place?" Aditya asked in confusion.

"This is the spiritual world. It's in your sea of consciousness." Jonah replied.

Lauren added more information. "You see, originally we tried to create an army of monsters. The Maneater monster was a failed product of our experiment. The monster wouldn't listen to anyone. In the end, we decided to place the monster into that world. But before leaving, we left a little bit of our consciousness and a small part of our souls in the monster. So that if one day, Lara's fated one manages to defeat the monster, we will be able to meet him."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Sorry for not uploading yesterday. I hope you guys would enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 301

"You see, originally we tried to create an army of monsters. The Maneater monster was a failed product of our experiment. The monster wouldn't listen to anyone. In the end, we decided to place the monster into that world. But before leaving, we left a little bit of our consciousness and a small part of our souls in the monster. So that if one day, Lara's fated one manages to defeat the monster, we will be able to meet him."

"When the prophecy was revealed, me and my husband, at first didn't believe in it. At that time, our Empire was the most substantial Empire in the Grassy Plains Continent. Even if there was a 1% chance of the prophecy happening, we needed to make a second option. And our second option is you, son."

"Me?"

"Yes. Not only you're frighteningly strong at such a young age, but you're also immensely talented in cultivation. Our daughter is lucky to find you. And overall, you're a good man, Aditya."

'A good man? This is the first time anyone has ever called me a good man.' Aditya thought in his head. In his previous life, Aditya's hands were stained with the blood and suffering of many people. After coming to this world, Aditya never bothered about differentiating what is right and what is wrong. He always prioritized his interest over everything.

"I doubt I am a good man. But I have promised Rose that I will take care of Lara. I intend to keep my promise." Aditya is a man of his word. Once he had made a promise he would never break it.

"Even if you think that you're not a good man, your actions say the opposite. You could have abandoned my daughter in that cold alone but instead, you chose to take care of her even though you don't know her. You're taking her responsibility even though she has never seen her before." Lauren could somewhat read Aditya's expression and understand the thoughts that is currently going on in Aditya's head. Lauren has lived a life of 740 years. In those 740, the amount of experience that she has gained is not small.

Aditya did not reply. "If you don't mind me asking, can I know how the Great Starry Sky Empire fell and how did both of you die?"

Sigh!

Jonah sighed before clenching his fists in anger. "At that time, the military strength of our Empire had become so strong that I began to believe that its time for the Great Starry Sky Empire to spread to the Main continent. As you know, the Main continent is full of rich resources and powerful cultivators. If a Peak 5th-order cultivator wishes to break through, then he must head to the Main continent."

"At that time, our Empire had 11 Peak 5th-order cultivators. I was planning on taking them to the Main continent and letting them break through. But somehow, a powerful sect focused their attention on us. The sect leader wanted the Great Starry Sky Empire to join the sect which I refused."

"The sect leader was insistent. Joining the sect would mean that I am giving my Empire to the sect and the sect leader would be able to rule it as he sees fit. This isn't something that I wanted. Later I learned that it is extremely difficult for outside forces to establish themselves independently in the Main continent. You will either have to join a faction or sect in the Main continent or you can discard your plan of expanding to the Main continent."

"So What happened?"

"After we rejected their offer, the sect sent its members to hunt us down. Out of the 12, only I was able to survive escape. A few days later, the sect sent more than 500 Peak 5th-order members to attack the Great Starry Sky Empire. It was also at that time, that our allies cut ties with us. Without any aid from anyone, we couldn't withstand the attack. After seven long brutal days of fighting, the Great Starry Sky empire fell with my and my wife's death. This happened 59 years after my daughter Lara was put to the Icy shattered Ruin world."

"Aditya, let me give you a word of advice. The factions in the Main continent control the six other continents. I am sure that the Istarin Empire will also be approached by one or multiple factions from the Main continent. At that time, if you don't join them, you won't be able to do anything when your empire falls."

A cold smile appeared on Aditya's face as intense killing intent leaked out of his whole body. Aditya's eyes began to glow in Crimson. "Let them come. I am not afraid. My aim is to build the strongest Empire in the world. To achieve my dream, I will kill anyone in my path."

'Not to mention the fact, that I still have to get my revenge on my dear parents. I will destroy the Empire that they love so much.'

Seeing Aditya's look, Jonah didn't say anything. Jonah can feel that Aditya might be able to go against the main continent and turn things around.

The bodies of both Jonah and Lauren began to fade. "Well, it appears our meeting is about to come to an end. It has been nice talking to you, Aditya."

"Aditya, please look after my daughter for me. Take this as my dying request. I couldn't do much for my daughter. I always have wanted the best for her. Tell her, that I have always loved her. Tell her, that we will be always watching over her."

"I promise I will take care of her till the end of time."

"One more thing, before I disappear, right before the Great Starry Sky Empire was destroyed, I had hidden a few things for my daughter and for you. You can find these things when you head to the Palace of the Great Starry Sky Empire. The treasure is located under the Palace."

"Thank you." By now, Lauren's entire body already had disappeared. Aditya can barely see her face. This will be the last time that Aditya sees them.

"There is no need to thank us. It should us thanking you. I am grateful to you for taking care of our daughter. Both of you have my blessings." Lauren and Jonah's bodies completely disappeared. Aditya could sense their Auras vanishing from this world as well.

"At least tell me the name of the sect?"

"The Night Riders Sect." Aditya's heart Jonah's voice.

The Auras of Lauren and Jonah completely vanished from this world. Also at the same time, everything around Aditya started to break down. This world was collapsing. However, the breakdown did not harm Aditya at all.

In fact, the pain that he felt after being beaten by Jonah also disappeared. His body returned to its peak state. "I guess it's time for me to go as well."

Scene change to Aditya's bedroom,

Aditya's fingers slightly twitched. His legs slightly moved. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and found himself in his bedroom.

'I guess, others bought me here.' Aditya closed his eyes and then spread his Aura throughout the entire Azure city. Seeing that not that many things has changed in his absence, Aditya sighed in relief.

'I have been gone more almost 35 days. There are so many things that I will need to do. I will have to help Laura take over the Throne. Then there is the matter of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire that needs to be dealt with. When all that is done, I will need to head to the Beast continent and find the treasures that Lara's mother has left behind for Lara. Also now that I have been absent for over a month, surely there are many other matters that I will attend to.'

Aditya put his right hand over his forehead and thought while staring at the ceiling. 'I have been inside the Icy shattered Ruin for like 34 hours. Yet outside, almost 35 days had passed. I seriously need a few days of rest after all that fighting that I have been through.' But Aditya knew, that now wasn't the time to rest. Things will start to heat up once the competition begins.

Click!

Suddenly Aditya heard a clicking sound. Aditya saw his wife, Julia entering his bedroom with a tired and exhausted face. 'She has changed. She looks so stressed. My absence must have affected her.' Aditya's heart ached to see his wife like this.

Meanwhile, Julia's attention fell on Aditya after she closed the door. Finding him staring at her, Julia felt choked. Her entire body trembled. No matter how much she wanted, she couldn't utter a single word. Her vision became blurry and her hands started shaking. Her heart beat loudly. The goddess was overwhelmed with emotions.

Seeing tears falling from her eyes, Aditya arrived in front of Julia.

"Aditya....Aditya...." Seeing him in front of him, Julia didn't know what to say other than repeat his name over and over again. Julia felt choked when she tried to say something else. She was like a child who had been separated from her parents for months and now she was finally able to see him.

"I missed you." Aditya pulled Julia towards him. Aditya gently hugged her. But Julia tightly wrapped her arms around his back while burying his face in his chest. The goddess began to cry loudly. She let out all the emotions that she has been holding in her heart for the last 34 days.

Seeing Julia cry like a child, Aditya felt bad. He felt guilty. Aditya gently stepped backward and then sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up Julia and let her sit on his lap. The goddess wrapped her arms around his neck and then put her face on his right shoulder and began to cry even more loudly.

"What would Clara say if she saw you crying like a child?" Aditya didn't enjoy seeing the person whom he loved to cry like this. Instead, it pained him. It made him sad.

Julia did not reply. She hugged him even tighter as if fearing that he will disappear once again.

After a while, Julia finally calmed down. Aditya smiled while patting her head. He then kissed both of her cheeks and then her lips. "This time things didn't go the way I had planned." When Aditya tried to use the teleportation function of the Dragon Palace, he found that his teleportation was blocked.

"Hmm" Julia just nodded her head while burying her face in his right shoulder. The goddess wasn't planning on letting him go anytime soon.

"You can come in now." Hearing the voice, the door was soon opened by another individual. As she entered, she was found wiping her right eye. Her eyes were red.

"To think I would see the proud goddess cry. Alicia, you have changed."

"Hmph! I wasn't crying for you. Something fell into my eye." Aditya rolled his eyes. Can't she come up with a better excuse?

"Whatever. Now come here and give your husband a big hug." Aditya opened his left arm for Alicia.

"You're not my husband." Alicia blushed and look away.

"So you don't want my hug? Then I guess I will give all of my attention to..." Before he could finish, another figure was sitting on his lap and hugging him. Soon Alicia also began to cry. Unlike Julia, Alicia very rarely cried. Although she acted strongly in Aditya's absence, the people close to her knew that she was only pretending. As Alicia had hidden her weak trembling side.

"When did you leave us without saying anything?" Alicia asked in a choked tone.

"I missed you too."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 302

"When did you leave us without saying anything?" Alicia asked in a choked tone.

"I missed you too," Aditya replied with a laugh.

After some time, Julia and Alicia calmed down. Aditya secretly sighed in relief. It made him sad that the women whom he dearly loved were crying so much. Even after both goddesses calmed down, both of them did not stop hugging them. Julia and Alicia felt comfortable hugging him.

"Riya, there is no need to hide. You can come in as well." Julia and Alicia both looked at each other and just smiled. Both goddesses had their times with Aditya but now Riya needed some time with Aditya as well.

Julia and Alicia moved from his lap and allowed Aditya to stand up.

As expected, Riya was standing outside the whole time. But she didn't have the courage to go inside. Seeing Aditya comforting Julia and Alicia, Riya kind of felt left out. She started to feel as if this whole time she has been pushing herself on Aditya. With the second passing, second Riya was having more and more negative thoughts.

But all those negative thoughts disappeared once Aditya called her to come inside. Hearing the beloved calling her, a smile appeared on her face. Without wasting a single second, Riya pushed open the door and entered the door.

"Come here." Riya widened her eyes to find Aditya sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms spread open for her. At that most, all of the tears that she had suppressed all this time started to flow out. Her eyes turned red.

Riya might act crazy sometimes. But at the end of the day, she really loves Aditya. For him, she was willing to do anything. At this moment, the goddess wanted nothing but to hug him and rub her body with his.

Alicia and Julia didn't see when Riya closed the door and arrived in front of Aditya. All both goddesses saw was Riya teleporting and sitting on Aditya's lap. Riya just moved too fast for them to see anything.

"I missed you." Sitting on his lap, Aditya put his face in her chest while rubbing the back of his head.

Aditya also wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to his body. Aditya has been living with his body for months. It is impossible for him to not feel anything after spending all that time together.

Riya was kind, caring, sweet, loving, affectionate, comforting, and amazing. Riya is a very mature woman. But she can also become a spoiled child when she is alone with Aditya. She is the type of woman who always tries her best to share his burdens and reduce his responsibilities. Not to mention how comforting it felt when she patted his head and allowed him to lay on her lap. How can Aditya not fall for this woman when she is this awesome?

Riya is the perfect wife that a man can ask for. Of course, Riya also has her shortcomings, such as, Riya can't cook, She sucks at mathematics, She is a bad teacher, She easily loses her temper if her loved ones her hurt, and she is very impatient. But Riya is really kind. In fact, in her free time, she even heals sick people in Azure city.

Aditya never looked down on her because of her shortcomings. Aditya feels that these shortcomings make Riya more of a human. No one in this world is perfect. Not even goddesses are not perfect. They too have bad habits.

"I missed you too." Aditya replied while tightly hugging her back. This was the perfect opportunity to bond with three of his wives.

Riya didn't realize that as she was tightly hugging him, she was awakening something within the Dragon Emperor. Right now Aditya was in heaven. Even though he would never admit it, this felt great. Riya's breasts were not small. In fact, he just realized that her breasts were probably even larger than Julia's and Alicia's. Because Riya modestly covers her entire body all the time, Aditya never realized it.

Meanwhile, Riya who was sitting on his lap felt something pointy beginning to poke her butt.

'What is that?' The innocent maiden was confused. But all of her confusion was soon swept away as she realized what was poking her.

Alicia and Julia felt confused seeing Riya's face suddenly turn red. Usually, Riya would act affectionate and clingy with Aditya. But at the end of the day, Riya was still a virgin who has never been in contact with another male.

Although Alicia failed to understand why Riya was suddenly blushing like that, Julia quickly understood what was going on. The goddess pretended to not notice anything as she had made up her mind to punish him later tonight.

A few seconds later, Alicia and Julia saw steams coming out of Riya's head. Alicia felt to understand what was going on. Little did she know that Aditya's little brother was in contact with her butt crack. Riya could feel the length of his entire staff.

'It's hot.' Riya felt if things went on like this, then tonight she might finally become one with Aditya. And this made the goddess very excited.

But just when things were beginning to get heated up, Aditya moved his right hand down and squeezed her ass.

Ahh!!!

Without realizing it, the goddess unconsciously moaned. Hearing the moan, Alicia soon understood what was happening. While Riya saw the faces of Alicia and Julia, the nature goddess felt like burying her face in embarrassment.

"Aditya, I think you have hugged Sister Riya enough. Let's talk." Although Alicia's voice sounded normal, Aditya felt a chill running down his spine hearing her words. Aditya knew that he had to stop otherwise, he might anger one of his wives.

Aditya picked up Riya. He put her on to his right. Riya pouted as she had to separate from Aditya. But she quickly calmed herself as she knew that she cannot have her turn yet. The second in line was Alicia and then it would be her turn.

As Riya sat on, her eyes noticed the big bulge on Aditya's crotch. Seeing this Riya quickly averted her gaze and looked somewhere else.

Unknown to everyone, the goddess of Nature had become slightly wet. Tonight once she returns to her room, she would have to spend a few hours satisfying her itch.

Aditya took out a pillow from his storage ring and put it on top of his lap. As for why he did it, Riya and Julia were able to understand it. But Alicia couldn't. The goddess of wealth apparently lacked a lot when it came to nighttime activities.

Now that three of his wives were here, it was time to talk about the things that he had missed out on while he was away for 34 days. But first....

"It seems the three of you need some explanation?" Aditya asked with a helpless look.

His words earned him the nods of three goddesses who were giving him questioning looks.

Sigh!

"To be honest, I had no idea things would play out like this. I entered the Icy Shattered Ruin world because I wanted to do some exploration with Father since he had a free day. Who would have thought that I would end up getting trapped in a Pocket dimension world? The only way, for me to return was to defeat a gigantic monster 400 meters tall size."

"The monster was a beginner 6th-order powerhouse. It was a real challenge just to defeat this monster. Fortunately, I learned a new skill when the Dragon palace was built. And that skill allowed me to squeeze out every last bit of my power and strength and allowed me to defeat that monster. If father hadn't come to my rescue, I would have died." Aditya told them everything that happened inside the Icy Shattered Ruin.

"Next time, I will make some extra 5-star healing pills for you." The goddess of Alchemy made up her mind to focus more on making higher-star healing pills for Aditya.

"Aditya, I think you should put more time into your cultivation. Ever since I have come to live with you, I haven't seen you cultivate. At least give one hour in cultivation. I know that you're strong but this is not enough." Aditya nodded his head. He can't tell them that he can just level up.

'Maybe one day I will tell my wives about it. Maybe, the day when I marry them.' Aditya didn't think hiding this secret would do him any good.

"Riya, what about you?"

"Me?"

"Since, Julia and Alicia have given me some pieces of advice. Do you want to add anything?"

"I don't understand something. From Watson and Spencer, I heard that the Istarin Empire has 4-star and 5-star armors. And given how good you're at runes, why don't you enchant those 5-star armor sets with runes and wear them during your battles? This way you won't get injured every single time you fight."

Aditya helplessly smiled and replied. "I don't like wearing armor when I fight."

Riya said in a demanding tone. Her tone left no room for discussion. "Then get used to it."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 303

Aditya and the girls talked for a few more hours. He asked them about the things that they did in his absence. Aditya made sure to keep three of them included in the topic so that they wouldn't feel left out. He paid equal attention to all three of them.

While talking, Aditya realized that this was probably the first time, he and the girls were sitting together and talking to each other. Everyone was so relaxed and so chill. No one was worried about anything. Everyone was sharing their stories while cracking one or two jokes in between. Overall, everyone had smiles on their faces and was happy.

'Why I didn't think of this earlier? This way I can bring the three of them even closer. From now on, I must do this often.' Aditya made up his mind.

"Have you ever heard of the Great Starry Sky Empire before?" Aditya asked the name of the Empire have been destroyed over 1,000 years ago.

"I did hear this name somewhere before but I am not sure. I will probably have to ask my father. He might know something about this. Or I can just ask my brother to check the history books that are collecting dust in our library. I am sure I will find more information on the Great Starry Empire." Alicia had returned to her usual self after Aditya had returned. She now looked much happier than before.

"Probably my mother should know something about this," Riya spoke in an uncertain tone.

"Now that you have mentioned your mother, I always have been curious to know how old is your mother. Like I know that she is well over 100, maybe even 200 years old. I just want to know how long she has lived." Ever since Aditya was young she always has been curious to know the Elf Empress's real age.

Aditya heard some saying that the Elf Empress was over 500 years old. While some argued that she was already over 1,000 years old. The Elf Empress is a frightening powerful being. Normally for an elf, living a few hundred years is nothing. While someone like Riya's mother should have a lifespan of one hundred thousand or maybe one million. That was just Aditya's estimation.

Julia and Alicia looked at Riya with curious gazes as well. Both girls also looked interested in her answer. "I had asked my mother about her age. She said that she had stopped counting a long time ago. But she told me that she was over 800+ years old."

"Wow" For someone like Aditya who had lived on Earth where living more than 100 years is considered extremely rare, for someone like him, the concept of living 800+ years was difficult to digest.

"Why are you looking so shocked? I have met elder elves who are above 5000+ years old. In fact, my grandmother is rumored to be more than 15,000+ years old."

Sigh!

"It's kind of difficult to believe that there beings out there who have lived this long, especially in this chaotic world." This world was truly Chaotic. There were wars among factions, Empires, Kingdoms, and Dynasties. 800+ years is long enough for Riya's mother to see a Great Empire being born and also getting destroyed.

It's no wonder that not that many people know about the Great Starry Sky Empire that existed almost 1301 years ago. Other than people who study history or are interested in history, no one else would know much about the Great starry Sky Empire.

"According to my mother, once you get past that 100-year mark, the concept of age becomes changes. As immortals, unless we are killed, we can easily live a long time. If we look at how long elves normally live, my age still makes me a baby. Even a 100-year-old elf is considered a young elf."

"Even though elves and Dragons have a longer lifespan, they mature as fast as humans who has short lifespan compared to other intelligent races in this world. This kind of feels unfair."

"But you have to understand that, unlike all other races in this world, humans have the highest birth ratio. Even Incubi and Succubi that are considered embodiments of lust and sex can't reproduce as fast as humans. It normally takes at least 15 to 30 months for a Succubus to get pregnant. While a human female can get pregnant from a single night session." Hearing Aditya's words, the three goddesses blushed. Riya couldn't help but look at the pillow that Aditya still had kept on his crotch.

"For Higher beings like Elves, Dragons, Vampires, werewolves, and other such races, having a baby is very difficult. In my case, it would be a test of patience to see how many centuries I would have to wait before I can hold my firstborn." The stronger the cultivator was, the harder it became for that cultivator to have a child. Because the power of the cultivator can determine the cultivation talent of the child.

For example, the child of a Peak 5th-order Dragon will very talented in cultivation. But that very Peak 5th-order Dragon would need to wait at least a few centuries before he can hold his newborn child. For this reason, some couples try to have as many children as possible before aiming for higher cultivation.

'Sometimes, having a divine bloodline can also have its disadvantages.' It's not that Aditya wanted to have a child right now. He was only 19 years of age. But he would like to have a child when he is 35 or 40. But this wasn't earth. The laws of this world worked quite differently.

"Maybe my wives will be able to have my firstborn quickly if I work hard enough every single night." Seeing the smirk on Aditya's face, the ladies blushed and then lowered their heads. Their hearts were pounding. They did not hate the idea of having Aditya's child. In fact, it only excited them about the adventure.

"Alright, enough talking. Its time to end the meeting. Ladies, you two can return back to your bedrooms." Julia suddenly wanted Alicia and Riya to leave. As for why, Riya and Aditya can understand that.

Julia seeing Aditya smirking at her, her face turned deep red as she lowered her head in embarrassment. Talking about having Aditya's child had turned her on. Especially after not having any night sessions with Aditya for over a month. It had become Julia habit to wrestle with him every single night at least for a few hours before going to sleep.

"I have one last thing that I want to talk about before we end this meeting or discussion session of ours."

Julia, Alicia, and Riya became serious. The three of them straightened their backs and looked at Aditya with serious faces.

"What do you three think of Lara?" Aditya has been wanting to ask this question to his women for a while now. Aditya disappeared for over a month and then he returns one day with another girl who called him husband. This will make any Man's woman uncomfortable and displeased.

When Aditya pursued or responded to Alicia's feelings, he had gotten a green signal from Julia. Julia even openly invited Alicia to marry Aditya. When Riya came, even though at first Riya and Alicia argued a lot, very quickly Julia and Alicia agreed to share Aditya with Riya. But Lara's case was very different.

For a second neither of them replied. Aditya was happy to see the three of them take their time to think and answer. This showed that they cared about Aditya and also Lara.

Julia was the first one to reply. "After hearing Lara's story from Rose, I feel bad for Lara and also sympathize with her. I think what you have done is justified. It's not like you had any other options or anything. The question is which direction do you want things to move?"

Alicia took over and began to speak. "In fact, before you woke up, the three of us had discussed about this topic for a while. Currently, Lara is dependent on you because of her mysterious illness. From our discussion, thought it might take some time if we three worked together, we should be able to make a cure for her."

Riya gently held Aditya's right hand and looked into his eyes and asked in a gentle tone. "The real question is what are you going to do then? Once, Princess Lara loses her dependency on you, she would be able to live her life like a normal person. She won't need you at that time. When that happens, are you going to take her as your wife or..."

"Aditya, even though my interactions with Lara were short and brief, I like her. She has a nice personality. Her naïve and innocent mind makes me want to protect her. In fact, I am already thinking of looking after her like a big sister."

"I also feel the same."

"Lara is kind, sweet, naïve, and also innocent. I don't mind Lara being my sister." Aditya was surprised to hear this from Yandere Riya. This also shows how much Riya has changed just after staying with Aditya for a few months.

"You girls are not mad at me?"

"Why we would be mad at you? I have always supported your every action and I will continue to do so." The girls together nodded their heads.

"But there is an exception. You can't just bring some random slut or bitch to this house and expect us to accept her as our sister." Riya warned him in a threatening tone.

Seeing her expression, Aditya felt a chill running down his spine. "It would be even better if you stopped going after any bitches. But it seems girls are attracted towards you like a magnet." Riya sighed at the end. Sometimes she wondered what was so amazing about Aditya that attracted the girl's attention. It was not as if Aditya was super handsome. His looks were slightly above average.

Riya felt dumb for asking herself such questions. She knew the answer. It was written in her heart.

"Okay. I have one more thing that I want to talk about but it would be better if everyone heard it. What I want to talk about was the story that I saw drawn on the murals. Trust me, I have learned some pretty wild things."

"I will talk about it, Tomorrow. For now, let's get some rest."

"Alright." Alicia stood up with the intention of leaving but just as she stood up, she widened her eyes in deep shock when she found Riya suddenly pulling Aditya towards her and taking his lips.

Mm~~!

Riya and Aditya continued to kiss for 30 seconds. They still would have kept going if Alicia hadn't separated them.

"Why did you do that?" Riya asked while licking her lips.

"You can't take Aditya all to yourself. He is mine too."

"Ara! So my sister is jealous." Riya covered her mouth and mockingly looked at Alicia.

It seems Riya's words had bought out Alicia's tsundere side. "I am not jealous." While Julia had kind of grown out of her tsundere side, Alicia nowadays was showing more signs of being a tsundere.

"Alright. There is no need to argue." Aditya pulled Alicia towards him. He gently held her face and gave her a long french kiss. Alicia at first was embarrassed to do this in front of her sisters but she soon responded back by wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey! This is not fair. I also want a french kiss." Around 15 seconds later, Riya pulled Alicia away and then took her place.

Like this, both goddesses argued over who will kiss Aditya for a while. While all this was happening, Julia was enjoying the free show with a smile on her face. As for being jealous, why she would need to be jealous when she was going to have Aditya all to herself a few minutes later?

Extra addition_____

"Alright girls, both of you can leave this room now. I am feeling tired. I want to sleep." Riya and Alicia stopped their catfight and rolled their eyes at Julia.

Julia was anything but tired. Both girls could see how excited, the alchemy goddess looked.

After a while, Alicia and Riya reluctantly left the room. As soon as the door was closed, Aditya turned back to Alicia. Feeling heated gaze, Alicia blushed. The excitement in her heart was only increasing. Tonight, neither of them was going to sleep.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 304

Next morning,

In Aditya's bedroom,

An image of two figures lying on the big bed hugging one another can be seen. A white blanket covers their naked bodies. The man with dark blue hair gently hugged the woman with long purple hair.

If one came and looked around the bedroom, that person could only wonder what happened there last night. The whole bedroom was a mess. Most of the floor was covered with white and transparent liquids. Traces of what happened last night were left on the couches, tables, windows, and even on the mirror. Not a single piece of furniture was left untouched.

The whole room was filled with a heavy smell of lust. The air was filled with a heavy smell. A special kind of white Fog had formed all over the room.

The most messed up furniture in the bedroom has to be the bed. The bed was very large. It was big enough to allow 7 people to sleep comfortably on it. Aditya preferred big beds for various reasons.

If anyone was able to inhale the strong smell in this room, that person definitely will become honey in a few seconds. What both of them did here last night was completely driven by lust and the desire to mate.

Even after Julia lost strength, Aditya still kept on going. Her sweet moans did not stop till dawn. Aditya only stopped because his wife had fainted after squirting for the 7th time.

The morning sunlight is yet to reach the Palace. The Dragon Monarch was awake. He did not sleep after their intense night exercise ended. He can sense that the servants and maids of the palace was starting to wake up.

Aditya gently hugged Julia's waist while staring out the window and thinking. 'I can still keep going. But I don't want to push my wife.' Aditya could have asked Julia to have one or two stamina recovery pills. But he didn't. These kinds of things should be only used on the battlefield and during the time of emergency.

Their night activities are meant for pleasure. He does not want to push his wife. 'Usually, Julia would run out of strength after one or two hours. It's surprising that she managed to break all of her previous records and last this long.'

'A day new has begun.' Aditya couldn't help but think about Princess Lara. He wondered how she was adapting to everything.

'She left this world 1301 years ago. In some way, she has time traveled to the future. She was in a completely different era with no family and friends. For her, everything is foreign and unrecognizable. Fortunately, Her maid Rose is there to accompany her.'

'I will check on her when everyone wakes up.' Aditya also wondered how many hours Rose would sleep every day. Before she used to sleep a lot. But after drinking Aditya's divine blood her physique has improved a lot. Though she was still weaker than an average girl of her age, her sleeping time should have been massively reduced.

For a while, Aditya continued to stroke Julia's hair. This made the goddess even more comfortable. She buried his face in his chest and hugged his waist with a peaceful and satisfied smile on her face. If one looked closely, it seems her skin had started glowing once again.

After Aditya disappeared, as Julia had become depressed, her beauty also had been affected to a certain degree. But now her gloomy and depressed face seems to have vanished. Her skin started glowing once again. She now looked even more beautiful than before.

A few hours later, Julia finally opened her eyes. Opening her eyes, she did not make any noise. Finding herself in his embrace, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face. Her smile was so beautiful that it could charm Heaven and Earth.

This is exactly what Julia missed. The experience of being able to wake up in his embrace was something that Julia would always appreciate. And always would look forward to it.

Aditya seems to have sensed something. Looking down he saw his wife looking at him with a loving gaze. "Good morning, Julia."

"Good morning" Julia closed her eyes and responded to his morning kiss.

"How are you feeling?" Aditya asked while giving a firm squeeze of her ass.

Julia blushed before pouting at Aditya. "I am feeling tired. My lower body is sore thanks to a certain person."

"You liked it, right?" Aditya's words caused the goddess's face to turn red. Instead of replying, she hugged him tightly and buried her face in his chest once again.

Aditya patted her head before gently asking. "Can you get up? Would you like me to bring you breakfast?" Aditya asked in a gentle tone. His tone nearly melted her heart.

Julia did not reply. After thinking for a while, as much as she wanted to have breakfast together with Aditya in their bedroom, Julia knew it was more important for her to join others in having breakfast. Aditya had just returned after missing for 34 days. Aditya needed to meet everyone and talk with them. Julia can't selfishly keep him all to herself.

"It's alright. Just give me a 10....no maybe 20 minutes. I will join others for breakfast."

"Alright." Aditya gave a kiss on her forehead before getting up.

As he got up, Julia's eyes fell on little Aditya. She couldn't help but blush. She couldn't believe that all of this mess has been made by this innocent-looking thing. "Wife, do you want to take a bath with me? I will carry you if you want." Aditya had a mischievous smirk on his face. While asking the question, he even looked at her body.

Julia understood what this evil man wanted. Unfortunately for Aditya, She was no longer an innocent virgin maiden. Julia rolled her eyes at Aditya. "No, you can bath alone. I will bathe later. For now, I just want to lay on the bed and relax." She knew if she agreed, things would go in the wrong direction. And they would be late for breakfast.

"That's a shame. Maybe next time." Aditya did not push things. He knew Julia probably would agree if he tried a little harder but he didn't as he can clearly tell that she was very tired. Probably after having breakfast, the goddess is going to sleep once again.

Julia rolled her eyes hearing his words. "Shameless" This evil man would want to do naughty things to her every opportunity he gets. Julia was now certain that hidden under his gentlemen's face, there was a big pervert.

Aditya grabbed the towel from the wardrobe and then went to the bathroom without bothering to cover himself. In Aditya's opinion, why bother when she has seen every part of his body at night?

Around the same time, others in the Palace began to wake up. It had become a habit for everyone in the palace to wake up at this time. Aditya wouldn't allow anyone to oversleep. Every member of the Royal family and even the Royal guests had to get up and come to the dining table around this time.

Scene change_____

Riya's POV___

Riya's bedroom is very different from other bedrooms in the Palace. Being the goddess of Nature, Riya loved sleeping on a bed of flowers. She even decorated her bedroom to her liking.

Various kinds of flowers were being grown in her room. All the flowers were grown in pots. Using her powers, every night, Riya would accelerate the flower plants' growth. The whole room was filled with a floral aroma.

Riya opened her sleepy eyes. She got up and rubbed her eyes. "It's already morning." The goddess sounded a little bit angry. The first few words that she said after waking up were in an angry tone. The reason behind her anger had something to do with her dream. Riya was having a dream where she and Aditya got married and had several children together. The whole dream was about her and Aditya.

Riya looked out the window. Sensing that it was already time for breakfast, the goddess got up from the bed.

Snap!

With the snap of her fingers, all the flowers on her bed started to disappear. Two green veins rose from one of the flower pots. The two green veins pushed open the window of Riya's bedroom. This released all the floral aroma of her room outside.

Riya paid no attention to any of these details. The white night dress fell down, revealing her naked body to the world. No one, other than her own mother has been able to see her naked body.

Around 20 minutes later, Riya walked out of the bathroom. Her hair was still slightly wet. A white towel was wrapped around her body. After dressing up, Riya left her room. After she left, her personal maid came in and started to clean the whole room and also change the bedsheets without saying a single word. This was Riya's maid's usual routine.

'It looks like today I came here first.' The goddess found no one at the dining table. 'It has been a while since I last came here to have my meal.' After Aditya left, Riya's and others' eating timings also changed.

'This remains me, I should write a letter to mother and inform her about Aditya's return.' The goddess took out a piece of white paper and a Feather Quill Pen. Holding the green color feather pen, the goddess wrote a short letter to her mother. In her letter, she asked her mother how she was doing and she let her mother know that Aditya has returned.

'Mother has been constantly nagging me to bring Aditya to the Celestial Terrain. Previously I was thinking of bringing Aditya with me this month. But it seems I would have to postpone my plans. Maybe a month later, Aditya would be free to travel with me.'

One reason why Riya wants to bring Aditya with her is to shut the mouths of the Elders. The Elders have been eating her mother's brain for a while now. They have been talking about finding a partner for Riya. 'I swear if those old bastards do cross the line, I will drown their entire family in blood. The entire Celestial Terrain will shake from their painful screams.'

'Especially those that old bitch must have been planning on making me marry his son. Unfortunately for you, I am not going to marry that bastard even if there are no men left alive on this planet.' Thinking about a certain elder elf, Riya almost lost control of her killing intent.

The person whom she had cursed was someone who has been getting on Riya's nerves for a while now. Whenever Riya tried to leave the Celestial Terrain, the elder would give advice to her mother and try to manipulate the Elven Queen into not allowing Riya to leave the Celestial Terrain.

Riya's mother didn't want Riya to leave her in the first place. As Riya's mother was overprotective of her, she would be easily convinced that elder elf.

"Good morning, Sister Riya." Riya paused her writing. She found Clara approaching her with a smile. In Aditya's absence, Clara had begun to feel lonely and also sad.

"I heard that big brother has returned. Is it true?" Little Clara looked super excited.

Riya put the green Feather Quill pen down and nodded her head. "Yes. Where is Leo?"

"Big brother was sleeping. I had woken him up. He is currently in the washroom."

"Alright. Take your seat. Let's wait for others." Riya then focused on finishing writing the letter as soon as possible.

After a while, Watson, Leo, and Spencer, all came to the dining table one by one. The joyous atmosphere in the Palace has once again returned. Every looked energetic and kind of excited.

'To them, Aditya's their sun.' Without the light from the Sun, their lives would be dark and gloomy. Riya understood this little fact. The same is true for her as well.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 305

"Good morning, everyone." Everyone sitting at the dining table turned their heads to look at Aditya. Seeing Aditya, everyone inwardly felt relieved and happy.

An Empire cannot exist without its Emperor.

Without light, there would be endless darkness.

Without a protector, there would be endless chaos.

Without the Dragon Monarch, there would be no value for the Dragonians.

Without a King, there would be no shine in the Dragon Palace.

And Without Aditya, there would be no Istarin Empire.

As Aditya approached the dining table, everyone stood up and greeted their King. Even the maids who were serving dishes stopped and bowed to Aditya.

"Good morning. Aditya" - Riya

"Good morning." - Alicia

"Good morning, your Majesty. I hope you have rested well." - Watson

"My King, it's really nice to have you back." - Spencer

"Good morning, big brother." - Leo

"Good morning, Big Brother. I really missed you." - Clara.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Scott

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Josh

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Amber

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Eleanor

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Henry

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Nathan

"Good morning, Your Majesty." - Tyler

Everyone except for Julia was present at the dining table. The atmosphere looked very joyous. Everyone was very happy to see their King back.

Aditya looked at everyone's faces before he signaled everyone to sit down. "Where are father and mother?" Aditya asked about Adam and Sophia.

Tap! Tap!

"I hope we are not too late." Adam came with Sophia and little Zak. Julia's little brother was very happy.

"Aditya, Where is Julia?" Sophia asked. The goddess's mother can somewhat guess why her daughter was late. As a woman and also as Julia's mother, she can somewhat understand everything without even needing to hear a single word from Aditya or from Julia.

"Julia will be 10 or maybe 20 minutes late." Hearing Aditya's reply, Sophia secretly knew that her guess was correct. Just like she and her husband had gone a little bit wild last night, the same must have happened with Aditya and Julia.

As the King and also as the Emperor, the golden armchair belonged to Aditya. The chair on his right was empty. It was Julia's chair. The chair on Julia's right was used by Riya. Alicia sat on Aditya's left side. Riya sat next to Alicia.

Back when Riya started living with everyone, she wanted Alicia's chair but Alicia firmly refused. Alicia and Riya even had a little argument over this position. In the end, Aditya had to step in and stop the catfight. He managed to convince Riya with the chair next to Alicia.

As for the chair on his right, that spot was forever going to be reserved for Julia and Julia alone. As for the guests, they were sitting on the other hand of the dining table.

"By the way, where is Lara? Is she sleeping?" Aditya asked.

"No, Princess Lara is not slumbering. Afore Peregrinating here, I peregrinated to her room to call her. According to her coadjutant Rose, Lara is getting yare. She should be here in any minute."

"Alright." Aditya wanted to officially introduce Lara to everyone.

'This also reminds me. Lara needs to drink my blood every single day. After breakfast, I will let her drink of my blood.' As for letting Lara drink blood in front of others, Aditya didn't think that would be appropriate. While Vampires might think of this as normal, no one here would see this as a normal thing.

Not to mention the fact, that Aditya was probably going to have an erection once Lara sucks blood from him. He doesn't that to happen in front of others. As the King, he had an image to maintain.

"Spencer, how was everything going in my absence? I trust that you have taken care of everything." Aditya trusted Spencer a lot. In Aditya's absence, Spencer was in command of everything. Alicia, Riya, and Watson have also helped Spencer a lot in Aditya's absence. Because of them, Spencer had everything a little bit easy. But taking the role of the Emperor isn't something that even Prime Minister Spencer can take.

"Your Majesty, you can repose assured. This auxiliary has taken care of everything. Though I must mention that was a certain matter which I would relish to draw your attention to it."

"What that would be?" Aditya asked back.

"It's about the Dragon Slayer guild. Thanks to everyone's avail, I have managed to deal with the main quandary. Once we culminate our breakfast, I cerebrate you should take an optical canvassing of it."

"Alright." Aditya understood that this wasn't a topic that should be talked about in front of others. Especially, in front of children." Clara and Little Zak hadn't reached the age where they should listen to things like this. Especially Little Zak was too innocent for this.

"Aditya, afore we commence with breakfast, I optate to let you ken something."

"Please go on." Aditya respectfully gestured for Adam to continue.

"Before I came here, I have been getting heavy rumors from my spies about the Addison family is preparing for something big. You should keep your eyes on them." Adam knew for a fact that the infiltration system of the Istarin Empire was far more powerful and quicker. Aditya should be able to find out what the Addison Family was planning very soon.

The Addison Family was originally a friend of the Onard Family. But the Addison Family broke that relationship by choosing to ignore Adam's requesting calls for reinforcements when the goblin invasion took place. If not for Aditya, the entire Onard family would have fallen. Unfortunately for the Addison Family, instead of seeing the Onard Family fall, they witnessed the power of the fiance of Julia Onard.

During Julia's birthday, Aditya and the head of the Addison family both had met each other. From them, Aditya had a feeling that these snakes from the Addison Family were definitely going to try to harm either the Onard Family or Aditya in some way.

"You can rest assured. I will personally deal with the Addison Family. If necessary, I will personally go and wipe them out of existence." Adam nodded his head.

"Can you two not talk about killing and destroying in the morning?" Sophia was annoyed with her father and also slightly with Aditya. But all of her anger was taken out on Adam.

The Furious Lion was tamed just by one angry glare from his wife.

"Sorry for making you all wait." Aditya found Julia walking to the dining table with Lara. Her maid Rose was walking behind while wearing a new maid outfit. Probably this maid outfit was given to her by one of the servants. Not only that, but Rose was also wearing a black mask to cover her entire face. She probably didn't want to scare the children with her zombie face.

Aditya was surprised to see Julia holding Lara's hand. Right now Julia was looking after Lara like a responsible big sister.

"I am sure most of you by now have met her. If not let me introduce you to Lara. Lara is a Princess of a big powerful Empire located in a place that is very far away. From now on, Lara will be my little sister. You all should give the same respect as you give me, Alicia, and Riya." Lara was touched by Julia's kindness. Lara was shy in front of so many people. Julia realized this and helped her.

With Julia's last two sentences, she basically cleared everyone's doubts. In her introduction, she made it clear that she held the same position as Dragon Emperor's future wives. Meaning that just like Julia, Alicia, and Riya, Lara was also going to become one of the queens of this Empire.

"He...Hello everyone! My name is Lara Murphy. I look forward to living with you." Lara lowered her head. She bent her body 90 degrees. After a few seconds, she raised her head while nervously looking at everyone.

Seeing her look, everyone had an urge of protecting her.

However, before anyone could speak, Aditya got up and took her right hand. "Good morning, Lara. I hope you have slept well." To which Lara shyly nodded her head. Seeing her husband holding her hand right in front of everyone, the sleeping Princess felt very happy.

"There is no need to be formal. Everyone here is a family. No one is going to judge you. Now join us for breakfast." Aditya personally lead Lara to her chair which was going to be next to Julia's chair.

With Aditya's actions, he further proved that Princess Lara was going to be the future 4th queen.

Seeing Lara still looking nervous, Julia sat next to her and held her right hand. Seeing this Aditya just smile while sitting down. He was glad that his partner was this kind and also this understanding.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 306

"Before we start breakfast, I want to say one thing to remember. Please do keep in mind that currently, Lara is sick and very weak. Her body is not that strong." Aditya then looked at Lara. "Julia, Alicia, and Riya will start working on making a cure for your illness."

"Julia is the goddess of Alchemy after all." If it was someone else in Lara's position that person would have been shocked to learn this fact but Lara instead looked confused.

"Goddess?" Lara looked at her husband and hoped that her husband would clear her doubts.

"I will explain everything. Let's not waste any more time." Aditya started eating. After Aditya, everyone also started eating their breakfast. Breakfast wasn't anything special. Breakfast was rice with curry. This isn't the meal that royalty would have but Aditya didn't care. Everyone was content with this breakfast.

Lara picked up the chopsticks and started eating breakfast with everyone. But compared to others, Lara's eating speed was slow. She mixed the curry with rice before putting the mixed rice in her mouth. She then slowly chewed her food. She did all of this while keeping her back straight.

There was an Aura of royalty around her. Like a proper noble lady, she did everything in an orderly manner. Her movements were smooth and fluid.

While eating, Aditya looked at Lara. If Lara wasn't comfortable with this breakfast, he would simply ask the maids to make something that Lara would like to eat. For Vampires, their real source of food was blood. But aside from drinking blood, anything that Vampires eat goes to waste. Other than blood no other food gives vampires any nutrition.

Previously since Lara hadn't awakened her bloodline, she was like a human. Her body was able to absorb nutrition from the food that she had. Now that Lara also had awakened her vampire bloodline, she needed blood. Her thirst and hunger cannot be satisfied with human food.

To Aditya's surprise, Lara didn't look the least bit uncomfortable having such a simple breakfast. But Aditya can tell that this kind of breakfast didn't suit Lara's taste.

'I should ask Lara about her likings.' Aditya noted this in his mind.

"When I was trapped in the Icy Shattered Ruin, I saw a big mural. Before others can understand what story was written on the murals, the Maneater monster had killed them." Hearing Aditya's words, everyone turned their attention to Aditya.

"Aditya, did you understand what was written on the murals?" Asked Adam to which Aditya nodded his head.

"These murals were about different eras. This world has a long long history. The history of this world is so long that we don't even know 5% of the world's total history. The universe is very complicated. There are so many things that are shrouded in mystery. You all might wonder why I am saying things like this. It is because of the story that I understood from reading the mural."

"Among all the eras that have come and passed, there were a select few eras that are still remembered to this day."

"Let's talk about an era that changed the shape of this world. This is the era that is also considered the darkest era of this planet."

"You're talking about the time when Demons managed to find their way to this world?" Sophia asked.

Aditya was a little surprised that Sophia knew about this era. Sophia noticed her daughter giving her a surprised look.

"Now what's with that look? Nowadays, you are staying here. Zak is at school. And your father is working. So how am I supposed to spend my time? I have picked up a habit of reading books from the library." Hearing Sophia's words, Julia felt guilty.

'I should visit more often.' Julia made up her mind to visit her mother at least once a week.

"In one of those books that I read around a year or two ago, I came to know more about the Demon invasion. Unfortunately, reading that book only made my confusion grow as there wasn't sufficient information."

"I know that the Demons somehow managed to come to this world but I don't know how. I don't know what started this massive fight between Demons and the residents of this world. I know what was the motive of the Demons in coming to this world. In the book, I only managed to learn about the casualties and the effects of the Demon Invasion." Sophia hoped that she would be able to learn more from Aditya.

"In the mural, it was shown that the Demons came to this world using the portals. As for how the portals were created, I am not sure. Maybe someone from the Demons side had the ability to open portals between these two worlds. Maybe the demons managed to influence someone in this world to open portals to the Demon world. Anything can be possible."

"In the murals, the demons first came to the Westnia. Later from Westnia, the demons came to the Dying Isle continent and later, the demons attack the Celestial Terrain and The Dry Savanna. All of this happened within the span of a few months. Seeing this, the powerhouse of that time came together. Among them, there were seven prominent heroes."

"Hero?"

"Yes, Hero. The names of the 7 Heroes have been long forgotten. I doubt anyone in this current world remembers the names of the 7 Heroes." With time people forgot about their savior.

"The 7 Heroes possessed extraordinary powers. Along with the seven Heroes, the inhabitants of this world fought and engaged the Demons in a long fierce battle. A war that would continue for more than 1000 years. This era is known as the Ages of Cruelty."

"The Ages of Cruelty started when the world was consumed in darkness...

when there was misery everywhere.....

when there was poverty and suffering in every direction...

when the smiles of the people had been taken .....

when the land had turned red from the blood of the fallen..."

"It was an era that saw the end of more than hundred of millions of lives. More than 50% of the planet's total population had been wiped out in this Invasion. In this darkness, the seven heroes came to the world as a ray of hope. The heroes became the sunlight and the source of courage the people needed."

"After The Ages of Cruelty, there was The Aeon of Waste. The era lasted about 5,000 years. In this era, the land and also the population slowly started to recover from the Demon Invasion."

"The Ages of Cruelty had left the entire planet on the brink of collapse. There was suffering everywhere. The population also had fallen all-time low. All the Heroes also disappeared. All the top factions and Empires had fallen by the end of the Invasion. And the empires that managed to survive were barely able to hold themselves."

"Just when the people thought that they would finally be able to enter the golden age, the greediness of many empires started a new age that would go on to last for more than 15,000 years. The Bloodshed Era had begun by the end of The Aeon of Waste. Every Empire in this era fought against each other for dominance."

Aditya drank some water before continuing. "The Bloodshed Era is coming to an end. It was written on the Mural, that in the next 1,000 to 1,500 years, a new Era will come. This new Era will change the shape of the continents. The power structure of the world was about change."

"As 1301 years already have passed, I would say that this current time would truly mark as the end of the Bloodshed era and the beginning of a new era."

"Does that mean, another new threat is going to appear?" Hearing innocent Clara's words, Aditya closed his eyes and remembered the words that the Origin Dragon Michael had told Aditya.

["I had a dream where the Dragon Monarch was in the center of it. The Dragon Monarch would face very strong enemies. Each of them has the power to annihilate a continent. If even a single of them was left behind, they could bring endless chaos to the land. The Dragon Monarch must unite all the Dragon races and Dragon clans in this world to fight these enemies."] Aditya remembered these words said by Michael.

'When I visited the Majin village, Zachery had told me about a prophecy about a Red Dragon. There is no doubt that this Red Dragon in the prophecy is me. This is the markings of a new era and from Michael, I have been warned about the enemies that I will face.' Aditya knew that he had very little time left before the world throws him and his Empire into a new threat.

After a silence that lasted more than 5 minutes, Aditya finally replied. "Nothing like that would happen." Aditya lied to Clara as he didn't this little girl to worry. Clara already had seen too many cruel things in this world. Losing her parents and being forced to live in her homeland wasn't easy for her. Now that this girl had started enjoying her life, Aditya didn't have the heart to take that away from her.

When Aditya replied, everyone except for Zak and Clara knew that Aditya had lied. He had kept some things in his heart.

"There are a few other Eras that existed before The Ages of Cruelty." Aditya now had a big worry in his heart. Though he pretended as if nothing had happened, inwardly he had a sense of urgency. His heart wasn't calm at all. There are tons of things that he needed to do before those beings came.

'The illusion of peace around the world is about to break.' Somewhere far away, a being opened his eyes in the darkness.

"The time has come."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 307

"There are a few other Eras that existed before The Ages of Cruelty." Aditya talked about the other eras which existed before the Age of Cruelty while they had breakfast. When Aditya spoke the whole dining table was silent. No one interrupted Aditya when he spoke.

When Aditya was done, everyone long had finished their breakfast. Everyone was very focused on hearing his words.

"There are so many things that we still don't know about our history." Sophia sighed. Aditya's words seem to have given Sophia a new motive. Out of everyone, she looked the most excited about learning more about history.

"In the future, I might even conduct research to learn more about the Age of Cruelty." Sophia looked like a little child when she spoke of conducting research.

Adam who was sitting beside Sophia sighed. He wasn't going to stop his wife. In fact, he would fund her research and help her in every way possible. He was happy that his wife had found something that would keep her busy.

"Aditya, I think it's time for us to part ways. I have been gone for 34 days. I have to go back. There must be a lot of work waiting for me." Originally Adam and his family came here for a small vacation and also to see how their daughter was living here. Who would have thought that their small vacation would last more than a month?

Aditya felt a little sad and was a little bit reluctant to part ways with Adam. With Adam and his family's presence, the Dragon Palace felt even more lively. If possible Aditya would like Adam to stay with them forever. Adam can go to work using the teleportation array.

But Aditya knew that wouldn't be possible. As the Duke, Adam has to stay in his territory.

"Alright. What about little Zak?" In Adam's absence, Sophia had Zak attend the same school as Clara and Leo.

"Yesterday, Sophia and I talked about this. I have decided that Zak will continue to attend your school. The education level is not only better but also studying here Zak can spend his youth while making real friends." The school that Zak previously attended was in Adam's territory.

Although Sophia made Zak attend a normal school so that Zak can experience the life of a commoner, many nobles knew about this and sent their children to the very same school so that their children can approach Zak and befriend him for their selfish reasons. Adam and Sophia didn't want Zak to stay around noble children. This might change Zak's character and make him arrogant. This isn't something that Sophia wanted her son to become.

"Zak will use the teleportation array to come here every single day and attend school."

"Alright. I will tighten the security around the school." Adam nodded his head with a satisfied look.

Meanwhile, Zak was very happy about the news. Zak loved the schools of the Istarin empire. Studying had become fun for him and also a lot easier. Not only that but compared to the schools in Adam's territory, the school that Zak attended had more than 3 thousand students. What Zak liked the most was the fact that there was no difference between noble and commoner. Everyone was given the same treatment.

"Aditya, in the future, I might need your help." After saying these words, Adam realized just how far Aditya has come. There was a time that just by selling 1/4th of the total pieces of jewelry that his wife had, Adam could buy the entire Istarin Dynasty 5 times. With the Istarin empire now having grown to such an impressive size both in terms of its military abilities and in terms of its economic capabilities, Aditya had gained the power to purchase Adam's entire territory with just one year's worth of Adam's taxable income.

"Sure, Father. Whatever help you need. Please don't hesitate to ask." Adam nodded his head with a satisfied nod. There was a feeling in Adam's head that something big was going to happen in the future. Especially with the sudden rise of the Istarin Empire. In just 9 and half months, Aditya had taken the empire to an unprecedented height.

The whole royal family went to send off the Onard Family. Using the teleportation Array, Adam, Sophia, and Zak, all three soon teleported back to Apogale city located in Echo Dominion Empire.

After Julia's family left, it was time to work.

"You all are dismissed." The seven generals bowed their heads before taking their leave.

"Big brother, I will talk to you later. Today I am going to take out Clara to learn archery." Aditya nodded. Clara said goodbye to Aditya before going with Leo. This only left Aditya with his wives.

"Sister Lara, please come with us. I want to check your body." Julia wanted to make a cure for Lara's mysterious illness as soon as possible.

"Before that, Lara needs to drink my blood." Alicia, Julia, and Riya then remembered that Lara is a vampire and her real source of nutrition was food.

"Alright. We will wait for you at the laboratory." Saying that Julia, Alicia, and Riya began to head toward her Laboratory. It has been almost a month since Julia last went there. Now that she has recovered from her depression, it was time to work and also relieve some burden from Sister Paige's shoulders.

In Julia's absence, Sister Paige has been working very hard. Paige almost stopped coming out of the laboratory. She even started sleeping there.

"Let's go." Aditya took Lara's hand and then teleported to Lara's bedroom. As the Dragon Monarch, Aditya had the power to teleport anywhere within the Dragon Palace and also anywhere within 25 km range of the Dragon Palace. As long as Aditya was inside the dragon palace, he was invincible.

Lara was surprised when she found herself in her bedroom. Rose had cleaned Lara's bedroom.

Aditya sat on the edge of her bed and then revealed his neck to Lara. Seeing his neck, Lara's eyes turned red as her vampire fangs started elongating. The desire to suck blood started becoming stronger and stronger.

"Come here." Aditya said with a smile.

Immediately, Lara walked up to him. She sat on his lap while facing him. After making herself comfortable, without any hesitation, the Vampire Princess sunk her fangs into the Dragon Monarch's neck and started drinking blood from his neck.

As soon as her fangs started drinking his blood, Aditya once again felt his entire body shivering from the intense pleasure. He nearly moaned from the pleasure. His pants also became tight.

Without not being able to hold himself back, he wrapped his hands around her waist and hugged her. He made sure to not exert too much strength otherwise he can end up hurting her. This is because Princess Lara was still weak. She was still weaker than an average human girl of her age.

While Lara drank Aditya's blood, he check her body. Despite being around 15 or 16 years old, Lara's chest was pretty big. Almost big as Julia's breasts. Though Aditya would never say it out loud as he knew that comparing these kinds of things might trigger Julia.

For a few minutes, Lara continued to drink his blood. But compared to the first time, Lara sucked his blood much slower and more gently. Occasionally, she would even pat the back of his head which Aditya liked.

3 and a half minutes later, Lara finally stopped. She didn't forget to lick the last few remaining drops of his blood as the bite marks healed.

huff! huff!

Lara was breathing heavily. There was a healthy blush on her face which only made her look cuter.

"How was it?" Hearing this, she did not reply. She instead wrapped her arms around his neck and then buried her face in his right shoulder.

Aditya could feel that Lara's Aura had slightly improved after drinking his blood. His blood was like a charge that she needs to function. If she doesn't drink his blood, she will fall asleep just like it used to happen back in the day.

"Do you want to drink more?" Aditya asked to which Lara shook her head.

"Husband, please don't leave Lara." Lara said in a low tone.

Muah!

Aditya couldn't hold himself anymore. He kissed Lara's right cheek. This made her blush. Her cheeks turned red as she shyly lowered her head.

"Husband, you bully" Lara said in a low embarrassed tone. But Aditya was able to hear it with his enhanced senses.

"What did you say?" Aditya pretended to not hear what she said and then gave her another kiss on her left cheek.

Muah!

Lara felt very embarrassed. This was the first time she was experiencing something like this.

"Husband, please don't bully Lara" Although Lara loved it when her husband kissed her, she didn't have the courage to say it.

Aditya bought his mouth near her right ear. He then gently bit her right ear making Lara moan.

Ah...h!

"What are you talking about? I still haven't started bullying you. From now on, I will bully you to my heart's content." His words sent made Lara slightly shiver from a strange kind of excitement.

Aditya then pulled Lara even closer to his body. This made her chest press against his body. "Now give your husband a kiss on the cheek." Aditya found more and more similarities between Lara and Julia. Both of them were very shy. Both of them liked it when they were kissed but wouldn't admit it. In a way, Lara was also acting tsundere like Julia.

Although Lara found it very embarrassing, she still did what Aditya told her to do. She quickly kissed Aditya's right cheek before burying her face in his chest as if trying to hide away from all the shame and embarrassment.

"Haha!" Aditya laughed a little.

Sadly, he had to end this here only. As he needs to send Lara to the laboratory. As for Aditya, he was going to have a meeting with his Prime minister and know about the changes that took place in his absence.

Carrying Lara in his arms, Aditya teleported to Julia's laboratory where the three goddesses were waiting for him.

"I hope you had a nice time with, Sister Lara. Hmph!" Folding her arms under her chest, Alicia snorted while staring at Aditya.

Riya did not speak but her gaze carried the message to Aditya.

Aditya put Lara down and then walked up to Alicia with a smile. "I didn't think the goddess of wealth could act as a Tsundere?" Aditya asked.

"I am not a Tsundere. Don't call me that." Aditya just laughed before pulling Alicia into his embrace.

Alicia did not struggle as she accepted his hug. Both of them soon shared a long french kiss.

"I am such a fool for falling for someone like you." Alicia sighed while hugging her beloved.

"You better make it up to me." Alicia was ready to take their relationship to the next level.

"I will. Just give me some time to finish my work and then I am all yours." Saying that he kissed her both cheeks.

"What about me?" Riya asked as she walked behind Aditya.

"That also includes you, Julia, and Lara." Aditya and Riya shared a hug and Riya took the initiative to kiss him.

Lara just stood there watching as Aditya kissed Riya. Although Alicia sounded kind of angry, looking into her eyes, Lara saw no anger in them. Instead, there was a small smile on her face. The same could be said for Julia. Neither of them looked jealous of the other.

Growing up, Lara has known the competition that existed in her father's harem. Lara's mother who was also the Vampire Empress was the main wife and others were given the title of concubine. Lara's mother made sure to keep Jonah under control. The amount of attention that Jonah could give to his concubines was controlled by her mother.

Also, the children of the concubines were not eligible to become the Emperor's successor.

Growing up, Lara has seen her mother dislike and hate the concubines. She thought her sisters would be the same as her. But to her surprise, Julia, Alicia, and Riya, of them looked very happy with Aditya. In fact, neither of them looks jealous or anything. Even when Aditya wasn't there, the three of them worked together like real sisters. Each of them respected the other like real blood sisters.

'Husband is really different from the rest.' Lara was proud that such a man was her husband and also her fated one.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 308

"All of us were able to take down the members of the dragon Slayer guild. After that, I publicly issued a statement saying that the Dragon Slayer guild is the Istarin Empire's number one enemy. And any citizen living within the Empire who is found to have a link or some sort of connection with the Dragon slayer guild will be publicly executed. The shadow guardians have managed to catch many spies of the Dragon slayer guild. All of the spies were publicly executed."

"Good job, Spencer. You did the correct job." Right now, Aditya, Watson, and Spencer were having a meeting. The meeting was held to let Aditya know about all the changes that took place in his absence. And also to inform their King about the attack from the Dragon slayer guild and the reaction of their Allies on the matter.

Aditya was sitting in front of a table. While Spence stood in front of Aditya as he reported everything that took place in Aditya's absence. As for Watson, the former acting prime minister was brewing tea for his King and the Prime Minister.

"Since the statement, all of our allies have cut their cuties with the Dragon slayer guild and have banned the Dragon slayer guild from entering their territory. If any member of the Dragon slayer guild is found within any of our ally's territory, that member will be captured and sent to the Istarin Empire." Basically, the Dragon slayer guild has been declared a terrorist organization. All the members of the Dragon slayer guild were declared criminals.

"Excellent!" This was one of the benefits of having allies. If any Empire or Kingdom offended Aditya or his Empire, he can put sanctions on that Empire that would severely affect that Empire's economy. And with the goddess of wealth by his side, Aditya can even cripple the economy of an Empire. He currently had the power to bring any Empire or Kingdom in this continent to its knees.

"Your majesty, if I may ask, what actions are you planning on taking against the Dragon slayer guild?" This is the reason Spencer did not send the Istarin army to completely destroy the Dragon slayer guild. Spencer felt Aditya should decide the fate of the Dragon slayer guild.

Aditya tapped the table with his index finger as his eyes glowed in Crimson color. "I will personally deal with the Dragon slayer guild." Aditya also wanted to find out who gave the Dragon slayer guild so much courage that they dared to openly came to the Istarin Empire's capital and challenge the mocked Emperor without fearing anyone. There has to be someone who is pulling the strings from the darkness.

"Spencer, I need you to increase the number of soldiers that we are currently recruiting. If necessary I want you to build another training ground. Also, order all of our nobles to increase the number of recruits as much as possible." Hearing Aditya's order, Spencer and Watson both were surprised.

One had to know that given the current strength of the Istarin Empire, they can defeat any Empire on this continent. The current Istarin Empire had the largest troop among all the other Empires on the Dying Isle continent. Yet Aditya still wanted more soldiers to be recruited into the Istarin army. There has to be some reason for this.

"Your Majesty, may I ask why?" Spencer asked in a confused tone.

Aditya looked outside from the window. He was looking at Azure city. There was a time when this city was full of corruption and suffering. Now, this city proudly stood as one of the most populated cities on the continent. The whole city was thriving and prospering. The people living in this city never have to sleep with a hungry stomach. Aditya was proud of what he has managed to build.

This might sound fake coming from the heart of a power-hungry politician. But whenever Aditya saw the smiles of the common people, he felt a sense of peace. There was a sense of satisfaction in his heart that he never felt in his previous life before.

At first, Aditya wanted to change the entire Istarin Empire so that no other Empire can step on Aditya and crush him. But now he wanted to protect what he had managed to build with his hard work. Without even realizing it, Aditya had gone from being a power-hungry politician to a King who wanted the best for his people.

After an entire minute of silence, Aditya looked at Spencer. "When I was stuck in the Icy Shattered Ruin world, I learned many new things about this world. We are not at the top of this world. Just because the Istarin Empire is the biggest Empire with the biggest army on this continent doesn't make us invincible. A long time ago, I heard a quote that I never was able to forget."

?Our power invites Challenge.?

?Challenge incites conflicts.?

?And conflicts breeds Catastrophe.?

"Our success is envied by others."

"Our accomplishment is the cupidity of others."

"Our wealth makes the glutton salivate."

"Our strength makes us a target."

"And finally Our very power will invite conflicts."

"It won't be long before the people from the Main continent sets their eyes on our Empire. At that time, we will be given two choices. Submit and join them or get destroyed by them. Many great empires have been destroyed by the forces of the Main continent. Our Empire doesn't have the strength to take on the forces of the Main continent. So before we get approached by them, we better prepare ourselves."

Aditya has learned the unfortunate fate of the Great Starry Sky Empire. From what he was able to learn, the Great Starry Sky Empire was even more powerful than the current Istarin Empire. But the Empire was still destroyed by the forces of the Main continent.

"From now on, the Istarin Empire will focus not only on developing its territories but also on increasing its military strength." Spencer and Watson exchanged a look before nodding their heads at the same time.

'And I also must reach 4th order.' Aditya can reach Peak 5th-order with all the Experience points that the system has saved up for him. But doing that would make people suspicious and invite unnecessary trouble. But if he does it slowly then no one would suspect him.

'Maybe I should tell Julia, Alicia, and Riya about the system. They will become my wives and spend their lives with me. The longer I keep this a secret, the more heavier it will become with time.' As for loyalty, Aditya was 110% sure that if his life was in danger and the girls were told to sacrifice their lives to protect him, neither of them would hesitate to do that. Aditya also feels the same for his wives.

"Tell me, what else happened in my absence?" Aditya asked while Watson gave him a cup of green tea.

"We suppressed the news of your disappearance. Other than the incident with the dragon slayer guild, nothing major happened. We did catch a few spies sent by the other Empires. Just like you had asked, I had Nathan end their lives. Many of the construction projects have been completed."

"Good. By the way that remains me, how was your meeting with the fox tribe?" Before Aditya was stuck inside the Icy Shattered Ruin World, he had sent Spencer to meet the Patriarch of one of the many fox tribes that lived in the beast continent.

"The meeting was excellent. The Fox Queen of the tribe and I were able to negotiate and sign a contract. In exchange for fresh vegetables, wheat, and salt, the fox tribe would provide us with fresh milk and 1500 wine Goats per month." The beast race living in the Beast continent mostly relied on raising domestic animals. Most beast races prefer fresh vegetables but growing crops or vegetables in the beast continent is nearly impossible. So all the tribes living in the beast continent rely on trading.

The Wine Goat was one of the Domestic animals that many tribes in the Beast continent raised. The Wine Goat is a special type of goat that can grow up to 3 meters long. The Wine Goats mature they become Peak 1st mount. Not only that, the meat and milk of wine goat tasted like wine and were said to be very delicious. The tribes living in the beast continent used the milk of the wine goat as wines.

Aditya was planning on establishing direct trade with many of the tribes in the beast continent in the future. The fox tribe was just the beginning. The current Istarin Empire had millions of people. The meat was one of the things that were highly expensive due to its rarity. Trade relationships with the tribes in the beast and the continent are aimed at fulfilling the demand for meat in the Empire. Also, the wine goat can be used as a magic mount that would make the Istarin Empire even stronger.

"Perfect. Spencer, you should send our messengers to other tribes." Doing trade directly with the tribes makes the wine goat cheaper and also the whole transaction more profitable. The Istarin Empire can gain the faith of the beast tribes.

Also in the Beast continent, merchants are not that liked as most traders often lower the price of wine goats and wine goat milk from the market price. So the tribes are more than happy to directly trade with a big empire rather than trade with a merchant.

While Aditya was having a meeting with his Prime Minister, someone had come to see the Dragon Monarch with a piece of urgent news.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 309

"Kate, I want you to go to the Istarin Empire and give this letter to His Majesty." The expression on Kate's face changed to ugly when she was ordered to go to the surface. Kate did not look comfortable going to the surface.

As her master, Laura knew it. But this was an emergency for Laura. She had very little time. Kate was Laura's most trusted person. Laura can only send Kate to complete this task. If possible Laura would have gone to the Istarin Empire by herself but the situation didn't let her leave the Deep Sea Palace Empire anytime soon. She can only leave the Deep Sea Palace Empire after the competition ends.

Laura had met Aditya around 4 months ago. Back when she met Aditya, she nearly suffocated to death. Her sudden appearance had made Aditya mistakenly assume that Laura was an enemy. Fortunately, all the misunderstandings were quickly resolved. In the end, Aditya and Laura even have a meeting where both become allies in secret.

Laura wanted to become the new ruler of the Deep Sea Palace while Aditya at that time didn't want the Deep Sea Palace as his enemy. Both of them found a common ground. Laura needed a 5-star cultivation pill that would help her break through mid-5th order. In exchange, when Laura finally becomes the ruler of the Deep Sea Palace, she would become an ally of the Istarin Empire and work on bringing the two Empires closer.

Four months ago, the Istarin Empire had just transformed from a Kingdom to an Empire. By defeating all the other Kingdoms, and Dynasties, the Istarin Empire had almost the entire eastern region of the Dying Isle continent under its control. However, the military of the Istarin Empire wasn't strong enough to fight equally or defeat a well-established Empire like the Deep Sea Palace which had many 5th-order powerhouses. This is why Aditya chose to help Laura. Otherwise, the Istarin Empire has to remain on High alert at all times. Who knows when their sea neighbor might attack them?

If Laura becomes the Empress, there won't be any possibility of the Deep Sea Palace Empire attacking the Istarin Empire. To Aditya, investing in Laura was going to give him a big return in the future.

However, choosing to help Laura was Aditya's second option because, at the end of the day, Aditya was someone who liked his Empire to become strong and also self-reliant. Without relying on anyone, he wanted his Empire to be able to deal with any internal and external threat.

4 months later, the standings of the Istarin Empire changed. The Istarin Empire now had the backing of two strong Empires. This itself was enough to make any force think twice before they attacked the Empire. The military power of the Empire has been rapidly rising over the 4 months.

The Empire showed its strength when it managed to capture the Entire Southern Fire Dragon Empire within a week. The Black Dragon King who was said to be one of the strongest Peak 5th-order cultivator was defeated by Aditya.

This just proves that the Istarin Empire has grown into something that no other Empire can defeat on a whim.

"Milady, can't you send someone else?" Kate was reluctant to head to the surface. Whenever she visited the Surface and whenever she saw humans, Kate would recall an event that she wished to forget. The pain in her heart would haunt her like ghost. She felt afraid, terrified, and very sad.

"Kate, His Majesty knows that you're my personal maid. Normally I would have gone to the Istarin empire to call His majesty but in the current situation, I don't think it would be wise for me to leave the Empire. You can deliver this letter in my place. Sending someone else in your place would be disrespectful to His majesty." Right now the entire situation has been reserved.

4 months later, Aditya's political power has changed. He now stood above Laura in terms of political power. Aditya had the power to face the Deep Sea Palace. Before their alliance was built on mutual benefit but now Laura was going to benefit more. Aditya now can just end their alliance if he wants. In Laura's opinion, if she sent someone other than her maid to deliver the letter, this would be disrespectful. This will also show that Laura doesn't value Aditya and the Istarin Empire's alliance.

'If Aditya breaks the Alliance with me there is nothing that I can do. With his aid, my chances of becoming the Empress would increase.' Laura knew that after winning the Competition, all the obstacles from her path to the throne won't be cleared. She will face challenges and trials. If she wants to run the Empire and keep everything within the Empire in her control, Laura cannot allow this alliance to get broken.

"Alright. I will head to the Istarin Empire to deliver the letter." Though Kate hated humans she wasn't stupid. She understood how politics worked.

"Thank you Kate." Laura smiled and then hugged her personal Maid. Laura did not treat Kate like a regular servant or a Maid. To Laura, Kate is her only remaining family member. She treated Kate more like a sister than a servant.

Scene change

The very same day, Kate returned to Laura with a very distressful news.

"What? Kate, are you sure that this news is true?" Laura asked her personal maid with a disbelieved look.

"Milady, I am not lying. I met the former acting prime Minister, Watson. Sir Watson told me that His Majesty had entered into seclusion and was in a critical stage of his cultivation. Disturbing His majesty at this point would only harm him.

Scene change___

"How many days ago did the competition start?" Standing before Kate, Aditya asked.

"The Competition was supposed to start 20 days ago. But Milady used her connections and her resources to push the competition by a month. The competition is going to start 6 days later."

Aditya met Kate and learned everything from her. As for his disappearance, Aditya clarified everything. He gave Kate a simple explanation of the whole story regarding his disappearance.

Kate then proceeded to tell him about the things that he needed to know before he came to the Deep Sea Palace. As of right now, because Aditya had killed half a million of deep Sea Palace troops and their Emperor, the people of the Deep Sea Palace hated him and he wasn't welcome to their Empire. Before coming to the Deep Sea Palace, Aditya would need to change his appearance so that no one can recognize the Istarin Emperor.

"The location of the Competition has been revealed. This time, all the participants are going to face each other in a battle royal. The last one standing will become the new Ruler of the Deep Sea Palace."

"A battle royal huh!" Aditya remembered some old memories.

A battle royal is a barbarous place with no escape. Once someone has entered the battle royal, the only way of getting out of that hell would be to either kill everyone or get killed by someone else.

When Aditya was still the prince, he had seen numerous battle royals in the capital. Battle Royal is a competition that some nobles host for the sake of enjoyment and pleasure. The nobles would use slaves and let the slaves fight each other to death. Of course, independent people were also allowed to join as long as the participant passed the required criteria. While the slaves bleed, the nobles laughed and celebrated. The worse thing about the Battle Royal is the number of lives that it takes.

Some poor cultivators would see Battle Royals as a way of making quick money. These cultivators underestimate the risks involved in the process. As a result, all of these cultivators end up dying. A single Battle Royal with 10,000 participants can last from 3 days to 7 days. By the end of the battle Royal, the whole ground is filled with corpses and the earth would be dyed in blood.

The young Aditya was never fond of such a form of entertainment. He felt disgusted watching some fat noble make a profit from this kind of fight.

Around an hour later, Kate left. After Kate left, Aditya continued his meeting with Spencer and Watson for another 5 hours before having lunch with everyone. At the dining table, Aditya learned that it will take Julia a while before she can find out what kind of illness has turned Lara this weak. This mysterious illness wasn't something that the Goddess of Alchemy and The goddess of Nature has ever seen or heard of.

Riya even sent a letter to her mother asking her if she or the elders knows anything about this illness.

After lunch, Alicia had to leave as she had work. Riya accompanied Julia as she checked Lara's body.

After Lunch, Aditya had gone out of the Dragon Palace for a little walk. Little did anyone know that his little walk was about to send shockwaves throughout the continent.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Sorry for not uploading any chapters the last two days. I am really sorry. I will try to make it up within tomorrow or day after tomorrow. Yesterday I wanted to write But I had no internet. When my internet was restored, it was too late to write a chapter.

I know this chapter might feel a little bit boring but the real fun is about to come. The upcoming arc is not just some useless arc. I am not writing Laura's arc just to fill more chapters. Her story will be connected to the bigger picture.

I have taught of this novel's ending. I have start preparing the stage for the epic ending of this novel. I am not going to drag this novel with useless and boring plot. I don't want to rush things.

Peace out!

Chapter 310

The Dragon Slayer guild also known as the guild that has ended wiped out many Dragon races from its existence. The Dragon Slayer guild was founded by a strong man who had a strong hate for Dragons. Walker was the successor of that person. Now that Walker's story has ended, it was time for Dragon Monarch himself to end this guild.

The Dragon Slayer guild and the Dragon Monarch are always meant to be enemies. Aditya was the King of all Dragons. All Dragons respected him as their God. While the Dragon Slayer guild was the killer of dragons. Throughout their existence, they have driven many Dragon races to the brink of extinction while some Dragon clans were completely wiped out by them.

The Dragon Monarch and the Dragon Slayer's nature clashed. Just like fire and water, like light and darkness, like heaven and hell, good and evil, Angel and Fallen, Hero and Villain, A dragon and a Dragon Slayer can never stop hating each other. The hated between Dragon and Dragon Slayers has existed for eons.

As the Dragon Monarch, even if the Dragon Slayer guild had not sent its members to the Istarin Empire, soon or later, Aditya would have destroyed the Dragon Slayer guild. Only one of them could exist.

As the King of all Dragons, it was Aditya's responsibility to avenge all the Dragon clans and the Dragons who has been killed by the Dragon slayer guild. But that doesn't mean that all the Dragons in the world were totally innocent. No, it was rather the opposite.

Just like Humans, there was both good and evil within the Dragons. Dragons cannot be colored white and black on the basis of good and evil. The world is grey. Not every Dragon is a Saint. Not Everyone Dragon was a Sinner. Good and bad existed in their hearts in a balance. There might be some Dragons who are totally evil. There might be some Dragons who have pure Hearts.

It is also an undeniable fact that Dragons are born with immense powers, and many Dragons grow up to become arrogant. Every Dragon has pride. It is that pride that prevents Dragons from submitting themselves to a person with lower strength and power.

Most Dragons would rather kill themselves rather than become slaves. This is Dragon's pride. However, this pride also is their weakness. Most Dragon's pride tend to be 10 times bigger than their power.

At the end of the day, no race on this Planet was perfect. Not even the angel race was perfect. The word perfect did not exist in any individuals. Dragons were born with flaws just like other races.

The world had become a mixture of blue and white. There were almost no signs of life forms before him. The strong wind current seems to want to push his body back. His mighty Dragon wings pushed the air and continued to move in an up-and-down motion.

While Flying in a certain direction, Aditya appeared to be lost in deep thought. 'I need to know who asked the Dragon Slayer guild to kill me.' Aditya feared that this might an enemy. Maybe it was someone from the Northern Frost Dragon Empire.

In the last 34 days, the Northern Frost Dragon Empire has changed a lot. The Empire's economy has fallen. The Princes of commodities have gone through the roof. The Peasants and the common class people were suffering the most.

The increase in prices also spiked the crime rates throughout the entire Empire. People were now committing robbery to sustain themselves and their families.

Even the commoner class people can tell that a big storm was going to come. The tension of a civil war taking place within the Northern Frost Dragon Empire has reached its Peak.

This has forced many families to move from the Northern Frost Dragon Empires and head to the neighboring Kingdoms. The people's preferred choice was the Southern Fire Dragon Empire which now was under the rule of the Istarin Empire.

There were many reasons why the common class people were moving to the Istarin Empire's territory. One of the reasons was the stable food prices, the very low crime rate in all the cities, almost no corruption, availability of job opportunities, and affordable housing prices. To a common class family, all these factors made the Istarin Empire the perfect Heaven to live.

In simple words, if the situation remained like this, the Northern Frost Dragon Empire will keep on becoming weaker and lose its previous shine. The loss of its population will have an effect on the Empire's economy and on its military power. 'Maybe one of the Princes or a member of the Royal Family wants to eliminate me. I am sure that the members of the royal family are smart enough to know that even with my death, the Istarin Empire can keep going. My death won't change a thing.' Aditya has been working on making the Empire function even without his absence.

The current Prime Minister, Spencer is a really talented Man. Aditya has been teaching Spencer for months now. So that in the future, whenever Aditya has to travel to a faraway place or to a place from where he can't teleport back like the Icy Shattered Ruin, the Empire won't fall as Spencer would be there to look after it.

'Unfortunately, Riya wasn't able to get much information out of Walker's mind. The information that Walker gave was mostly on the members and on the elders that controlled the guild. As for who the contractor was, Walker did not give any information about that. When Riya tried to force him to speak, Walker's soul was ripped apart.' Apparently, Walker's mouth was closed with a soul-binding contract that prevented him from speaking on that matter.

Aditya stopped thinking. Standing 2,000 meters above the sky, he looked at the small island located near the Westnia continent. The Island was not known to the common class people. Only merchants and people with power and background knew about this mysterious island that existed almost 1000 km away from the Westnia continent.

The island was oval-shaped. The island had tall mountains and was covered in a forest. The settlements inside the Islands were built within the forest.

'This is the infamous Fallen Dragon Island. The original name of the Island was something else. But later when the Dragon Slayer guild took over this island, they changed its name to the Fallen Dragon Island.'

The Fallen Dragon island had a big city at its center. At first, this city used to be a marketplace where merchants can buy parts of Dragon's bodies at a much cheaper price. The bones of a Dragon can be used to make strong 1st-order weapons or even higher-order weapons; depending on the skill of the blacksmith. The blood of the Dragon can be used for making many things such as healing pills, stamina recovery pills, berserk pills, and poisons. The flesh of the Dragon was very delicious and increased the speed of the cultivation for a short duration. The eyes of a Dragon can be used to make artifacts or used as a sacrifice in some ancient rituals. In short, every part of a Dragon's body is extremely rare and precious.

To a regular person, this might look like a treasure island but to Aditya, this island was a rotten hell that needs to be burned and cleaned.

Scene change____

Having no idea that the Dragon Monarch was coming, the people of the Fallen Island city carried out their daily activities as usual. The Maragus Brook city, a city that was once a market where parts of dragons were sold by the Dragon Slayer guild now had turned into a huge city where half a million people lived.

This city was the base of the Dragon Slayer guild. No foreign Empire or kingdom dared to step on the Fallen Dragon guild without the permission of the Dragon Slayer guild. Coming to this Island without notifying the Dragon Slayer guild was the same as getting themselves killed.

Every merchant had to pay a certain fee to step on the Dragon Slayer guild's territory. The reason the Dragon Slayer guild is still able to maintain its powers and not get crushed by any other forces is because of this island. Maragus Brook city was a big source of their income.

Though the Istarin Empire banned any merchant from its Empire from coming here, it did not affect the business of the Dragon Slayer guild. As long as there is a demand, the merchants will take the risk regardless of the consequences. Some merchants even used their connections. They sent people from other Empires or Kingdoms to this Island to make big purchases of Dragon body parts. These body parts were later moved to another Kingdom or Empire before entering the Istarin Empire.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 311

"100,000 royal gold coins for just half broken dragon bone? Are you kidding me? This is overpriced. Lower your price. I will buy this half-broken Dragon bone from you right now and right here."

"This isn't some normal Dragon bone. This is the Bone of a Peak 4th-order Dragon. Even if his bone is half broken, this bone can still be used to make a 2-star or 3-star weapon. I am already making a loss by selling this bone for only 100,000 Royal gold coins."

Whenever cultivator reaches a new order, their flesh, their bones, their organs, In short, every single part of their bodies become stronger. The bone of a 4th-order cultivator is so tough that it can be used to make a 2-star or 3-star weapon or armor; depending on the rank of the blacksmith.

The body parts of 1st-order Dragon are the cheapest. While the body parts of a 5th-order Dragon are super expensive. Even the skin of a Peak 5th-order Dragon is worth around 1,000,000 royal gold coins which are 10,000,0000 gold coins.

Many Barons and Viscount rank nobles can never make this much money in 100 years. That being said, slaying Dragons or lesser dragons are extremely tough. Unless it is a Baron or a Viscount of a very powerful Empire, most Barons and Viscounts do not possess the necessary military strength or resources to slay a Dragon or even a Wyvern.

"Stop pretending. I have been in this business for more than 5 years now. I get find a similar half-broken bone of a Peak 4th-order Dragon for only 50,000 royal gold coins. This broken part limits the usage of this bone. If I really want to make a weapon or armor out of it, then I would need to find at least a 3-star talented blacksmith." The old man took out a black leather pouch from his storage ring with the intention of giving the shopkeeper 50,000 royal gold coins.

"Sir, If I sell this bone only for 50,000 royal gold coins, then I would be making no profit at all. If you give me 70,000 royal gold coins, then this one is yours."

"No, 50,000."

"Then I am not selling it." The Shopkeeper shook his head. Fortunately, unlike other Dragon body parts, Dragon bones can be preserved for a long time. So even if he doesn't sell this dragon bone today, he won't need to worry about anything affecting the quality of this bone over time.

The old man gritted his teeth and decided to add another 5,000. "55,000"

"No, 65,000"

"I increase the price by 5,000. You lower the price by another 5,000. How about 60,000?"

"Deal"

Both men shook hands in agreement. Soon, the Shopkeeper wrote the old man's name on a piece of paper before taking the money.

All the records of transactions are recorded and then the profit is calculated at the end of the day.

"By the way, young man, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go on."

The old man looked to his right and left, after making sure that no one was around him, he leaned forward and spoke in a very low tone.

"I couldn't help but notice that the security around Maragus Brook city has been increased. Not only that, but compared to a few months before, the number of people coming to Maragus Brook city has also decreased. What exactly happened?" The old knew that the Dragon Slayer guild had messed up by offending the Istarin Empire. He didn't know the full story yet.

The Shopkeeper came alert hearing the old man's question. Ever since the Istarin Empire killed the members of the Dragon Slayer guild it has become taboo for anyone to talk about the Istarin Empire within the Fallen Dragon City. Three foreign merchants were arrested as they openly spoke about the issue. As for what happened to those men, no one really knows. After that event, no one dared to speak on the matter, especially if they were on the Fallen Dragon island.

The shopkeeper looked around. Seeing that no one other than his customer was looking at him, he sighed in relief.

"The Dragon Guild thinks that the Istarin Empire might attack them which is why they have increased their security around the entire island. Now merchants from the Istarin Empire are not even allowed to come here. The requirements for entering this island also have become very restrictive."

"I suggest you don't talk about this matter while you're on this island otherwise it could get you into trouble." The old man nodded his head.

"Thanks, lad. I will take my leave now. If one of us remains alive, then we will meet again." As the old man walked away, the Shopkeeper felt weird hearing the last part.

"What do you mean by we remain alive? I am still very young. While you look like you might end up dead even if you sneezed too loudly."

The old man soon disappeared into the crowd. No one paid any attention to the old man. The old man walked very slowly. He supported his body with a cane. Each time he took a step, his body would tremble. The old man had covered his entire body with a black cloak.

The city of Maragus Brook was built near the Maragus Brook river. The name of the city was given after Maragus Brook.

As the old man walked throughout Maragus Brook city, no one suspected him. He did his own thing. Occasionally he would stop and buy or sell things. A few hours later, the old man slowly walked out of the city.

Since Maragus Brook city was built at the center of the Fallen Dragon island, no walls were built around the city. The Dragon Slayer guild never saw the need of building a fortress around the city. Since the whole island was under their strict control. Instead, the whole city was surrounded by a deep wide trench around the whole city. The trench was filled with water and deadly aqua magic beasts.

Once the old man was out of the city, the old man suddenly moved into the forest surrounding the entire Maragus Brook city. Inside the forest, the old man removed the wig.

After removing his clothes, in place of the Old man, he was one of the generals of the Istarin Empire. Nathan was sent to this Fallen Dragon island to learn more about the Maragus Brook city and the Dragon Slayer guild. He was also sent here to find out something very important.

"His Majesty should be here soon." At the same time, 1500 meters above the island, Aditya was standing in the sky and looking down at the Fallen Dragon City. Aditya can sense the presence of some powerful beings on the island. But he wasn't scared. Rather he felt excited thinking of killing them in front of everyone.

Since the Dragon Slayer guild had sent Walker to take Aditya's life, it would be only fair if Aditya did the same and returned the favor. Today he wasn't just going to destroy them. He was going to take his sweet time in humiliating them.

Aditya waited another 10 minutes before deciding to take action. "Nathan should be out of the city by now."

Nathan is enough to wipe out 70% of the Dragon Slayer guild. But Aditya wanted to take this matter into his very own hands and show the world the consequences of messing with the Istarin Empire and also get avenge all the Dragons that the Dragon Slayer guild has killed so far.

Storm Summon!

In a big mansion located at the very center of Maragus Brook city, the council of elders that controlled the entire Dragon Slayer guild was currently having a meeting. It was their 6th meeting of this month. Usually, the council of elders would gather once in a month and have a meeting where they would discuss the future plans and actions of the guild.

But ever since the Istarin Empire publicly declared the Dragon Slayer guild as their enemy, the council of elders had to come together a total of 9 times in just 34 days. The reason for this was the Dragon Monarch. It was no secret that Aditya was the type of person who held grudges. His ruthless and cunning personality made him even more frightening.

"Let's start this meeting." The Dragon Slayer guild had 6 elders including the head of the council who was also known as the Supreme Elder. There used to be 7 elders including Walker. In the eyes of the public, it was kept hidden about Walker being a member of the elder council.

After Walker's death, the entire council was shaken. No one was, expecting Walker to get killed by one of Aditya's women. What made the elders tremble in fear is the fact that Aditya's woman was strong enough to kill Walker so easily, then how powerful Aditya actually was.

"First, let's talk about last month's profits. Elder Aydan, please give us the details." The Dragon Slayer guild was a rotten hell where everyone cared about Money over anything. All the elders, including the Supreme elder, gave the most important to their profits above all. Being the strongest Dragon slayer guild in the world, the amount of profit that the guild earned from selling the parts of the dragon bodies was in billions.

Elder Aydan was responsible for the finance of the Dragon Slayer guild. Elder Aydan stood up with a white piece of paper in his hand.

Aydan looked at the face of the Supreme elder who was sitting at the center. "Last month, our sells have slightly decreased. Especially the first week after that incident, the number of merchants that came here decreased a lot. After deducting all the expenses, this month our profit is 11 million royal gold coins."

Hearing this the look on all the elder's faces darkened. Before this month, the Dragon Slayer guild's average profit per month used to be around 35 million royal gold coins. Because of the Istarin empire, their business has taken a hit.

"Supreme elder, we must do something about the Istarin Empire. At this rate, the Empire will affect our business and decrease our profits." Right now the Dragon Slayer guild was stuck in a very difficult situation.

Their contractor, the party who wanted to see Aditya dead refused to help them out. When Supreme elder Quincy Harris personally tried to ask the other party to take action against the Empire, the other party immediately refused by saying that as long as Aditya was alive, they don't stand a chance of winning.

At the same time, the Dragon Slayer guild didn't have enough power to stop the Istarin Empire. Their source of income from the Istarin Empire and its allies has been cut down.

Sigh!

"It has been more than a month since that incident happened. I can't help but feel strange by the sudden disappearance of the Emperor from the eyes of the public. Although most of our spies were captured and executed publicly, the news that I received from our remaining spies says that not even the guards have seen the Emperor for over a month."

"Elder, are you saying that something happened to Aditya?" Other elders looked a little bit hopeful. As long as Aditya was dead, nothing would happen to their guild.

"I don't know. Maybe the Emperor is cultivating somewhere else. We can't make any assumptions." Just as Quincy Harris said these words, he and other elders heard a loud lightning-cracking sound.

As long as the elders heard this sound, all of their faces turned deadly pale. Nowadays it was no secret that the Istarin Empire had Crimson flame and Crimson lightning. Whenever crimson lightning clouds appeared, the enemies of the Istarin Empire always died.

"What is happening?" All the elders looked outside the window only to see the whole sky covered in dark clouds. Crimson lightning was flickering in the dark clouds.

"This..." A drop of sweat rolled down Quincy Harris's forehead as he stared at the sky. He knew it better than anyone else. The calamity was here. After disappearing for more than 34 days, he was here.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 312

Standing above the Fallen Dragon Island, his eyes were dangerously glowing in red as he stared at the oval-shaped island that he was soon going to destroy. Crimson lightning flickered around his body.

As if the magic animals and nature were able to sense the incoming danger, all the wild Magic animals living on the Fallen dragon Island and near the oval shaped Island began to run here and there as if trying to find a place to escape from his calamity. The people in Maragus Brook city were able to sense the tense atmosphere.

The people who were already familiar with the Crimson lightning already began to run out of the city before Aditya started destroying everything.

"Let's get out of this city before the Dragon Emperor attacks." At the same time, all the shopkeepers started shutting down their shops in fear.

"What should we do?" Asked one of the guards to another fellow guard.

"I don't know man. Our best action would be to leave this island as soon as possible. I don't want to be burned alive." The guards have heard how a single attack from the dragon Emperor can wipe out an army of millions of troops.

"No one is going anywhere. This is the Fallen Dragon Island. Everyone will stay here and fight the Dragon Emperor." A loud voice was heard throughout the entire Fallen Dragon Island. It was the voice of the Supreme Elder, Quincy Harris.

On hearing the words of the Supreme Elders, the merchants stopped running and looked at each other. Some merchants decided to trust the Supreme Elder and not run. While others did not stop. They continued to run; trying their best to get out of this island as soon as possible.

"Curse the Dragon Slayer guild bastards. Why can't they allow us to use their teleportation array? We could have gotten out of this hell within a few seconds." One of the merchants loudly cursed the Dragon slayer guild as he ran towards the beach where his ship was docked.

Throughout the entire island, all the merchants who were fleeing for their lives were also doing the same. They openly cursed the Dragon Slayer guild. In this emergency situation, none of the Dragon Slayer guild members had the time to punish these merchants. Normally disrespecting even the lowest-ranking member of the Dragon Slayer could get one in big trouble. But now the Dragon Slayer guild wasn't in the position to punish anyone.

All the guild members can do is grit their teeth and endure. Facing the Dragon Emperor, there was no certainty if they are going to even survive. If it was just a normal Peak 5th-order then the elders could have defeated him. But it was the Dragon Emperor they were going to face.

Meanwhile, Nathan who was hiding in the forest saw the crimson lightning in the sky. A big smile appeared on his face.

While others ran in fear, Nathan opened his arms and embraced the Crimson lightning as his protector.

While everyone's bodies trembled like a bug, Nathan felt his confidence and his courage growing to the height of Heaven with each passing second.

?My King, you're finally here. I have been waiting for this moment for over a month. Let's end the Dragon Slayer guild.?

Nathan who has been hiding his Aura now released his Aura, thus attracting the attention of several Dragon Slayer guild members.

Nathan stepped out of the Forest as a Dark Crimson Aura enveloped his body. His eyes glowed in killing intent. He held two black curved daggers which were coated with poison.

?I am the dagger of My Monarch. I am the Shadow of My King. I am the guardian of my Emperor's Empire. Oh, members of the Dragon Slayer guild. Come out! This servant of the Dragon Monarch is here to take your life.?

With Nathan's roar, he unleashed all of his killing intent. In the presence of his Monarch, Nathan had nothing to fear.

?You small bugs are not worthy of my Monarch's attention. As his shadow, I will eliminate you all.?

At that time, A group of 2nd-order guards came in front of Nathan. Under the black mask, Nathan dangerously smiled before vanishing into the Darkness.

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know. I just saw him disappear within the darkness."

Unknown to all the guards, using the Shadows of all the trees, Nathan appeared behind the guards. He stepped out of the shadow and started killing the guards. His first target was the last guard standing at the very back and looking slightly afraid of Nathan.

Nathan totally suppressed his Aura. None of the guards were able to sense his presence. Like a ghost, Nathan took down the first guard before going back into the Shadow. He killed the first guard so smoothly that no sound was made in the process.

He then appeared behind another guard.

One by one, all of the guards soon fell to the ground. All of their throats had been cut off by Nathan. His curved daggers were bathing in red blood.

Nathan did not stop there. His plan was to eliminate all the small bugs so that his Monarch can focus on the big bugs.

Meanwhile, before Nathan started dealing with the small bugs, Aditya was deciding on something else. Right before he started attacking, he had a sudden idea in his mind.

"System, upgrade my cultivation to Peak limit of 3rd-order." It has been months since Aditya had reached Mid-3rd-order. It is time for him to reach Peak 3rd order.

?Ding! Using the saved Experience points to upgrade the host's cultivation to Peak 3rd-order.?

?Ding! The host's level has increased from 201 to 300.?

?Ding! All of the Host's stats have been increased by [99+] points. You have gained [198+] free stats points.?

'Now I am only one level away from reaching 4th order. I can feel my body has gotten a lot stronger. Not only my bones and my organs have gotten stronger, but my brain also become much sharper.' This feeling was very refreshing to Aditya. The feeling of getting powerful was really addictive.

'Now what should I do with my [198+] free stats points?' Aditya wondered.

'I will think about that later.' Aditya coldly looked at the 6 supreme elders along with thousand of 4th-order Dragons slayers flying in his direction. There were 1 thousand 2 hundred and nine 4th-order cultivators following the Supreme Elders. All of them 4th-order cultivators were riding a 2nd-order magic mount.

The magic mounts that they were riding were Roc. A type of Magic bird that looks similar to an Eagle but bigger.

'The Roc is a raptor of immense size and predominantly white in color. With a wingspan of 48 feet and feathers the size of palm leaves, the Roc could carry away adult elephants with ease. I certainly wasn't expecting the Dragon Slayer guild to possess almost a thousand of Roc.' A Roc is said to be as powerful as a Wyvern. It's no wonder why the Dragon Slayer guild has so many Rocs.

'This is also good. After destroying the Dragon Slayer guild, I will be sure to add Roc to the Istarin Empire's military.' Aditya dangerously smiled. He hadn't seen a Roc before. This will be a good opportunity to test these Rocs powers and capabilities.

Aditya just stood there standing with his arms folded on his chest. He coldly stared at the 6 elders who were cautiously flying in his direction.

Quincy Harris, the supreme elder of the Dragon Slayer looked at Aditya in a mix of surprise and shock. 'Did he manage to reach Peak 3rd-order while he was gone for 34 days?' Harris wondered. This might be possible.

The news was also very bad for his Dragon Slayer guild. Previously, Harris had a little bit of hope of defeating Aditya since at the end of the he was just a Mid 3rd-order. But now that Aditya has managed to reach Peak 3rd-order, even the little bit of chance that he had of defeating Aditya was also over.

'This is really bad. This whole month I have been preparing the Dragon Slayer guild to face Aditya and the Istarin Empire. I thought with all the preparation, we can somehow take down Mid-3rd-order Aditya. But now all of my plans have been spoiled.' At this moment, although Supreme Elder Harris felt very sad and angry to admit it it is true that his Dragon Slayer guild cannot take on the Dragon Emperor.

'Since he still hasn't attacked us yet, I guess there is a chance that I can negotiate things.' Supreme Elder Harris was willing to pay billions to Aditya to compensate him for everything.

'The whole situation wouldn't have happened if I hadn't become too greedy at that time and had accepted that man's request.' Supreme Elder Harris was regretting his choice of messing with the Istarin Empire. Unfortunately, it was already too late and there was no medicine for regret in this world.

'As long as the Dragon Slayer guild survives, we can always return strong and get our revenge in the future. But now the survival of the Dragon Slayer is the most important thing.' That's what Supreme Elder Harris thought. As the Supreme Leader, he wanted to avoid this clash with Aditya. For that, he was willing to give Aditya billions of royal gold coins if necessary. As long as they survived, even billions of royal gold coins can be earned back.

While Supreme Elder Harris was deeply thinking about what he should say in front of Aditya, one of the arrogant elders couldn't control his mouth.

"Aditya, you got some nerves coming to the Fallen Dragon Island thinking you were invincible. Since you came here, we will send your dead body back to the Istarin Empire so they can dispose of it." Hearing the arrogant elder named Ellis's words, the Supreme Elder felt like ending this idiotic man's life.

'What the hell are you even doing? I am here trying to find a way to avoid clashes with Aditya, and here you're provoking the calamity.' Harris almost lost his calm. But he remained cool as getting angry would cloud his judgment and he would end up making decisions that he will forever regret.

Aditya narrowed his eyes hearing Ellis's words. The Crimson Lightning around Aditya became even more strong as he stared at Ellis.

"Shut up! Your Majesty, please don't listen to this fool's words. I know that our Dragon Slayer guild has messed up. We're willing to show our sincerity. Please give us a chance."

From these words, Aditya was able to understand what kind of man the Supreme Elder was. 'It's just like Alicia said. This man is a snake. Very cunning. Once I let my guard down, he will surely bite me.' Aditya has met people like Harris a lot in his past life.

But Aditya decided to play along. "Ohh.....! Exactly how you're going to compensate me?"

Hearing Aditya's words, Harris' eyes lit up. This meant there was a chance that he can avoid clashing with Aditya. He might be able to restore their relationship with the Istarin Empire.

Meanwhile, Ellis understood what the Supreme Elder wanted to do. But he was still dissatisfied. He was disrespected by the Supreme Elder in front of everyone just to please their enemy. 'It's all his fault.' Ellis hatefully glared at Aditya.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 313

But Aditya decided to play along. "Ohh.....! Exactly how you're going to compensate me?"

Hearing Aditya's words, Harris' eyes lit up. This meant there was a chance that he can avoid clashing with Aditya. He might be able to restore their relationship with the Istarin Empire.

Meanwhile, Ellis understood what the Supreme Elder wanted to do. But he was still dissatisfied. He was disrespected by the Supreme Elder in front of everyone just to please their enemy. 'It's all his fault.' Ellis hatefully glared at Aditya.

Aditya noticed the hateful glare that Ellis was giving him. But for now, he decided to ignore his glare and focus on Supreme Elder Harris. At the same time, he secretly began activating his other skills.

Maybe these snakes will try to take him down with a sneak attack. Aditya needs to be on his guard.

"Your Majesty, the Dragon Slayer guild has made a mistake. We realize our mistake. The Dragon slayer guild is willing to compensate the Istarin Empire with a Billion Royal gold coins." Hearing the words of the Supreme Elder Harris, everyone else widened their eyes in deep shock.

Elder Aydan almost slapped Supreme Elder Harris. Giving away a billion Royal gold coins would make them very poor. The Dragon Slayer guild would be left with a few hundred of royal gold coins. And these Billion Royal gold coins didn't just belong to the Supreme Elder, a big part of it also belonged to the other 5th Elders.

'What this bastard is thinking? Giving away 1,000,000,000 royal gold coins is too much.' In Aydan's opinion, even giving 100 million royal gold coins was too much.

Aditya noticed that now, it was not just Elder Ellis, even the other elders and all the members of the Dragon Slayer guild who were hatefully glaring at Aditya. 'Everyone here cares about their wealth more than their lives.' It was very easy to guess this fact.

Aditya summoned the system from the corner of his eyes and looked at the system log.

Storm Summon!

?Ding! The passive boost of the Storm Marshal class has been activated. The host's mana has been temporarily increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind-type attacks has been increased by 50%. Your Agility has been increased by [300+].?

Inferno Overdrive!

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Inferno Overdrive. You have entered into a berserk state. All of your stats except for Mana have been increased by 70%.?

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

Now that Aditya's stats also have increased, his powers have skyrocketed to another level. The current Aditya can defeat the Man eater monster with half effort.

Sensing that Aditya's Aura getting stronger, Supreme Elder Harris started sweating. While others failed to notice this as they were busy glaring at Aditya and inwardly cursing him.

'Is One Billion royal gold coins not enough?' Harris gritted his teeth in anger. Even though giving away one billion royal gold coins would have crippled the Dragon Slayer guild, Supreme Elder Harris was still willing to give such a huge amount of money to Aditya so he wouldn't attack them, but it seems even one billion royal gold coins may not be enough to make Aditya not attack the guild.

"It would be most gracious of us if, Your Majesty, if this amount was not sufficient, we could increase the amount. Each month we will give you 50% of our profits for the next 5 years. We will keep doing this until the profits reach our target." Supreme Elder Harris tried to be as humble as possible. For someone like him, it was not easy for him to lower his head but he was still willing to do it for the sake of protecting his guild.

"Supreme Elder, have you fucking lost your mind? Giving this bastard 50% of our monthly earnings for 5 years on top of giving him 1 billion royal gold coins. Are you trying to destroy the Dragon Slayer guild from the inside? Instead of all this bullshit, it would be better if we just attack this bastard and kill him here. I refuse to believe that 6 Peak 5th-order cultivators cannot kill this bastard." Aaron, another elder completely lost his mind hearing the words of the Supreme Elder.

Supreme Elder Harris, at this moment, was in a very difficult situation. He knew that the other elders were very dissatisfied with him. The other elders would rather face Aditya in battle than give their wealth to Aditya. 'But these fools fail to understand that even all of us here cannot defeat this monster. Since when did you all become so idiot?'

"Your name is Aaron I assume." Aditya coldly looked at Aaron. Facing Aditya's gaze, elder Aaron wasn't the slightest bit afraid. He instead raised his chest high and arrogantly looked at Aditya.

"That's right. My name is Aaron."

Aditya nodded his head before looking at Supreme Elder Harris. "Elder Harris, I don't need one billion royal gold coins from you. Just tell me the name of the party that asked you to take me down. That would be enough. The Istarin Empire won't harm the Dragon Slayer guild. Instead, the Istarin Empire will offer protection to this island."

Hearing Aditya's words, everyone was confused. But Supreme Elder Harris became really happy. These words sounded more like a dream. It was just too good to be true for Supreme Elder Harris.

"Your majesty, you're not lying, are you?" Quincy Harris feared that Aditya would change his words after learning the name of their contractor.

Aditya shook his head. "This Emperor doesn't lie. I never break my promise." Aditya replied with a cold smile.

Supreme Elder was relieved to hear this. The anger in the other elder's eyes also decreased. But Elder Ellis was still hatefully glaring at Aditya. "Around 40 days ago, I was approached by a certain person. He is a very influential person in the Western region of the Dying Isle continent. He is one of the Great Emperors. He is the Emperor of the Shadow Islands Empire."

Aditya coldly smiled after learning.

"As we know, currently Western region is at war with each other. The Shadow Islands and two other Empires haven't been involved in the war and have been remaining neutral. The three Emperors made up a plan to eliminate Your Majesty. Once the Dragon Emperor is dead, taking over the Entire Istarin Empire would be super easy."

Harris didn't need to say more as he knew Aditya has understood everything. 'With this, Our Dragon Slayer guild won't have to worry about the Istarin Empire anymore.' Harris sighed in relief while wiping the sweat from his forehead. This entire time has been very nervous.

'So it was them all along. I thought the war in the Western region would make those bastard Emperors forget about me. I guess I was wrong. This time, I will personally end all of the seven Emperors. I have held back long enough. I was wrong to show them mercy.' Aditya made up his mind to end the Seven Empires in the Western region. Since they had decided to make the Istarin Empire their enemy, why Aditya should show them mercy?

"Your majesty, would you like to come and visit the Fallen Dragon Island?" Supreme Elder Harris had completely let his guard down now. Since it was well known that Aditya was someone who kept his word, Elder Harris knew that there was no need of being worried about Aditya.

"Of course. I am going to visit Fallen Dragon Island. But before that, I have something that I would like to do first." Aditya's cold smile Harris feel something was wrong. His instinct suddenly became sharp. He felt something really bad was going to happen right now.

Before anyone could understand what Aditya was about to do. He moved so first that others it almost felt as if he had teleported right in front of Supreme Elder Harris. Before Harris could even react, Aditya punched Supreme Elder's heart with his full strength.

Crack!

At that moment, everyone's blood runs cold hearing the loud cracking sound. Everyone widened their eyes in deep horror.

From the immense pain, Supreme Elder Harris passed out after coughing out a large mouthful of blood. But before losing consciousness, Harris looked at Aditya as if he was looking at the Devil. There were so many things that Harris wanted to say but he couldn't.

"You bastard." Others became raged seeing this. Destroying the mana heart of a Peak 5th-order cultivator was worse than being killed. Others angrily charged toward Aditya.

"Hmph! Bunch of ants who call themselves slayers of dragons. You're not worthy. This Dragon Monarch has a score to settle with the Dragon Slayer guild. Right now I do not represent the Istarin Empire. I represent all the dragons whose lives that you all have taken since the beginning. This Dragon King is here to take revenge." Aditya wasn't lying. He never said that he was going to spare them. He said that the Istarin Empire won't mess with the Dragon Slayer guild. Aditya wasn't breaking his words.

After saying these words, Aditya stopped suppressing his blood. As Aditya's bloodline was unsuppressed, the Aura around him intensified.

As Dragon Slayers, everyone's faces turned pale as they realized that the Istarin Empire had Divine rank Dragon bloodline. Everyone's body began to tremble to look at the Dragon Monarch. The remaining elders' blood ran cold. Around 6 months ago, a being with Divine Bloodline was born. At that time, the Dragon Slayer guild tried its best to find out who that person was. They never thought that this person was Aditya.

At this moment, the hundreds of dragons who have been captured alive by the Dragon Slayer guild. The captured dragons that were put into the underground prison all sensed the presence of a Divine Dragon.

Inside the prison,

In a place where hundreds of Dragons have been caged for decades.....

In a dark hell where dragons are regularly tortured.....

In a place where sunlight cannot reach.....

A place where thousand of Dragons are regularly brutally tortured and killed.....

A place where hundreds of Dragons have been caged.

Sensing the Aura of a Divine Dragon, all the Dragons opened their eyes and looked at the ceiling. All of them can feel it. Beyond the ceiling, beyond the earth, a thousand meters above the sky, their Savior had finally come.

"Our king has come."

"He is here."

"He is here." All the Dragons Roared at the same time.

"Our King is here." All of their bloodlines reacted.

At the same time, Aditya let out a loud frightening roar that shook Heaven and Earth. Aditya's roar was so strong that some 4th-order cultivators directly lost their consciousness. Everyone was forced to take a step back from Aditya. His Roar was heard even from 100 km away.

Inside the dark prison, all the Dragons heard Aditya's words. All the dragons opened their eyes.

?This Dragon Monarch is here. It's time to rise. Destroy the Cage that has been binding you. Kill any obstacles in your path. Do not fear your enemies as your Monarch is here.?

?Oh, my Dragons, stand up. This Dragon Monarch is calling you. Do not let these filthy beings hold you down. Now STAND UP!?

At that moment, as if something inside all the Dragons broke. It was the moment when a miracle happened. A moment that would be remembered till the end of time.

The call from the Dragon Monarch reignited the once-lost burning passion of the Dragons who have been put into this dark cage for decades now.

?Brothers and Sisters, it's time. Our King is here. Our God is calling us. We cannot disappoint our King. Let's destroy anything that stops us from reaching our Monarch.?

All the Dragons once again roared. The guards who have been put in charge of guarding the prison were completely frightened.

At the same time, Nathan who heard Aditya's words understood that there were Dragons who have been imprisoned. Without any hesitation, Nathan rushed towards Maragus Brook city. Right now Nathan was moving to help out his fellow Dragons. As he is a Dragonian, it was his responsibility to help out a fellow Dragon.

Everyone Dragon is a servant of the Dragon Monarch. Even if the Dragons that were locked inside the Prison hadn't seen Aditya or ever heard of the Dragon Monarch, they still worshipped Aditya like their God. Because to Dragons, the Dragon Monarch was their God and they would never betray their God.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I had a lot of fun writing these chapters. I hope you too had fun reading these chapters. This chapter is a compensation for not uploading a few days ago. I release 2 more chapter tomorrow [one to make up for not uploading the other day and another is regular daily upload.]

Chapter 314

Shadow Manipulation!

A black shadow under Nathan took the shape of hundreds of sharp tentacles. Each tentacle moved as fast as the wind. Before the guards could react in time, the tentacles had already penetrated the guards and had ended their lives.

Nathan did not stop there. This was one of those rare times when Nathan didn't need to hold back. He wildly fought without caring about anything. Usually, Nathan fought to end his enemies' lives as quickly as possible but right now Nathan took his sweet time in torturing his opponents.

The Leader of the Shadow Guardian did not let anyone escape. Using his shadow Manipulation he created hundreds of shadow tentacles. The shadow tentacles prevented anyone from escaping.

If anyone tried to escape, one of the shadow tentacles grab that person and hold will down till Nathan personally ended that person's life.

At the same time, in the underground prison____

Hundreds of Dragons who have now been called by their Monarch had awakened a new side in them. Aditya's call has awakened something in these Dragons that they never thought existed.

This new burning feeling in their heart and in their bloodline.....

This new burning desire to answer the call of their Monarch...

This new Crimson sentiment of breaking all the shackles.....

This new blazing passion for destroying everything in their paths....

These Dragons have never seen sunlight in their lives. Some of them never even knew that there was a giant undiscovered world waiting for them outside of this underground prison. Some Dragons even started believing that this Prison was the whole world.

Aditya's call has given the Dragons new hope.

The Monarch call has given the Dragons a passion.

The Dragon King's Roar has awakened their bloodline.

For the first time in their lives, the Dragons felt angry. They felt at this moment, they can do anything.

Bang!

Bang!

Ahhh!!!!

In one of the prison cells, a giant Dragon whose body has been bound with special chains repeatedly hit the bars of the cell with his head trying to break free. He wasn't the only one who was doing this at this moment. All the dragons inside the Prison were doing this.

At this moment, they wanted to break free. At this moment, they wanted to meet their King. They wanted to meet their Dragon Monarch.

Bang!

Bang!

Drip!

Drip!

From repeatedly hitting the metal bars with their head, blood dripped from their head. But at this moment, this pain was nothing to them. The Dragons did not feel any pain. Right now their heads were filled with just one thought and that was to break free.

Bang!

"Why this thing isn't breaking?" One of the Dragons Roared in frustration. But when he roared, something in his bloodline started burning.

The Dragon felt his body temperature rising rapidly. He didn't know what was going on until he couldn't hold it anymore. By instinct, he opened his mouth and let out a powerful ball of flame out of his mouth.

Bang!

The ball of flame hit the metal bars. The metal bars were instantly melted. Seeing this the Dragon was left stunned for a second before he heard another loud sound.

Another Dragon had just awakened his powers. Using the wind element, the Dragons have managed to destroy the metal bars. The same thing started happening all over prison.

The Dragon Slayer guild has developed a special kind of drug. When this drug is used on newborn Dragon babies, it prevents the newborn dragon baby from awakening their powers and it also keeps their bodies weak.

When the Dragon Monarch called the Dragons with his Roar. All the Dragon's bloodlines resonated with the call of the Dragon Monarch. At that moment something happened within all the Dragons. The call from the Dragon Monarch somehow helped the dispelled the effect of the drug on their bloodline and awakened their innate powers.

?My Dragon Monarch, please wait for this servant. We are coming.?

Also at the same time, Nathan managed to kill all the guards and make his way to the prison.

Scene change_____

Standing 1500 above the Fallen Dragon island, Aditya held unconscious Supreme Elder Quincy Harris. Aditya did not let go of Quincy Harris after destroying his cultivation.

Meanwhile, the members and the elders of the Dragon Slayer guild recovered. Aditya's sudden earth and heaven-shaking roar had stunned them. After recovering, now all the elders and the members of the Dragon Slayer guild looked at Aditya in fear. Some of them even wanted to flee from Aditya as soon as possible. But their pride as the Dragon Slayer came in their way.

The Dragon Slayers had immense pride. The more dragons a member has killed, the more pride and arrogance that member would have. This is especially true for the elders. Despite knowing that they can't win, they still stood in the same place.

"Dragon Emperor, don't go too far. What you're currently doing is pure bullying. Maybe we can't defeat you today, but one day you will get your retribution. Karma will come for you. Someone else in our place will punish you for doing this to us." One of the 5 remaining Elders named Ellis said to Aditya in a shaky tone. While he spoke, his body wouldn't stop trembling.

"Me and bullying you guys? Hahahahaha!" Aditya couldn't help but help out loud.

"I don't fucking care what you guys have to say. All of you here are delusional. The fact that you consider slaying Dragons to be a noble deed is proof that something is definitely wrong with all of your brains."

"Hmph! Don't act as if Dragons are totally innocent. Dragons use their power to mess with people's lives as they see fit. I have lost my entire family at the hand of a Wild Dragon. I don't care if you kill me right now but I won't run like a coward." Such bold and courageous words were spoken by one of the elders named Allen.

Aditya coldly looked at the elder who said those words. "I admit that not all Dragons are good in nature. But, this doesn't mean all of your hands are totally clean. From what I have learned, you guys raise baby innocent dragons in your prison. When those innocent baby Dragons mature, you just kill them and sell the Dragon's body parts. Who the fuck gave you people the right to raise Dragons like Livestock? Those poor Dragons have never even seen the sun in their entire life. From the moment they are born, they are locked in that cage till their deaths."

"This is just one of the evil things that you guys do. The entire Dragon Slayer guild is rotten beyond measure. You guys brainwash children with high potential from a very young age so that you guys can turn those innocent children into your loyal puppets. The members of the Dragon Slayer guild are not only good at slaying dragons but they are also very well known for bullying the people common. The number of common people's lives that you guys take for the sake of your amusement is too many and don't try to deny this fact." Hearing Aditya's words, many members felt ashamed. They averted their gazes and looked somewhere else. They had nothing that could justify their actions.

"Aditya, we had to do this for money." The Elder who is responsible for counting the profit of the Dragon Elder guild spoke with a helpless look. He made it sound as if this was the only way of making money. He made it sound as if he was doing a very noble thing.

"Making money by treating Dragons like livestock. How would you feel if I did the same to all of you and your children?" To the Dragon Monarch, this was unacceptable. How can the King of Dragons let something like this happen to his own kind? What kind of King he would be if he let something like that happen to his own kind? If Aditya does nothing, then he is even worse than these rotten people.

Aydan looked at Aditya with a crazy look. Aydan tightly clenched his fists as his eyes turned red. "THIS IS THE WAY OF OUR LIFE. THIS IS HOW THE DRAGON SLAYER GUILD WORKS AND WILL WORK. WE ARE DRAGON SLAYERS AND WILL EXIST TO SLAY DRAGONS."

Aditya closed his eyes for a second before taking out his Adamantite Doomblade. Opening his eyes, he stared at the elders and said in an emotionless tone. "I am the Dragon Monarch. I am the King of all dragons. As the King, it's my duty to provide protection and also avenge my kind."

Suddenly Aditya's Aura became very sharp. Everyone took a few steps back in fear. Drops of sweat began rolling down the Elders' faces. The Roc birds wanted to flee from Aditya. As Magic animals, these birds realized how dangerous Aditya was.

"Don't worry, I am not going to kill the 5 of you. I will destroy your cultivation and then I will take you back to the Istarin Empire capital. There all of you will be held as prisoners. Every Dragon that visits the Dragon Palace will get the chance of hitting you all with a throned whip."

Aditya took a step forward with a cold smile that sent chills down everyone's spine. "I won't let any of you die. I will make my Dragonians heal your bodies with healing pills. I won't let you guys die. Every day, your suffering will continue. This torture will continue till the end of your lifespan."

Hearing Aditya's words, all the Elders' faces turned deadly pale. Considering the fact that all the Elders were Peak 5th-order cultivators, even if Aditya destroyed their cultivation, they would still live a very long life. This meant that their suffering wouldn't end at least for the next thousand or maybe ten thousand years. Just imagining this kind of life, everyone couldn't help but shake like a leaf in fear.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Support this novel with power stones.

A special thank you for readers - [osomabinsmokin], [LagginDragon], and [aaaninja] for gifting this novel with [Ice cola] and [Inspiration capsule]

Chapter 315

Seeing Nathan, the Dragons at first thought that he was an enemy. But after sensing his Aura, all the dragons let their guards down as they realized this man was a dragon. Not only that, but just by his Aura, all the Dragons can tell that this man is really powerful and very close to their Dragon Monarch. This also meant that their Dragon Monarch has sent his servant to help them.

Nathan looked at the underground dark prison. The air inside the prison was very heavy and very foul. Nathan noticed the entire prison was very unclean. In some corners, he can even see the bones of some dragons.

'How can someone live in such a place?' Nathan wondered. Now he felt even more anger towards the Dragon Slayer guild. Compared to this prison, the prison of the Istarin Empire felt more like Heaven. It's like comparing Hell and heaven even though both places are called prisons.

"Everyone come with me. I will take you all to our dragon Monarch. While we are on our way, we can also get our revenge on these bugs." All the Dragons nodded their heads in unison.

Just as Nathan bought the Dragons out of the Prison, all the dragons went wild. Anyone that came into their view was instantly killed. It didn't matter if it was a merchant or a guard. Regardless of who it was, all were killed. Nathan and the Dragons went on a killing spree. Killing anyone in their sight had become their only goal.

It was as if these Dragons had turned into mindless bloodthirsty monsters. The word brutality wouldn't be enough to describe what the Dragons were doing. It was a one-sided massacre.

Before coming here, Nathan already had taken out the strong ones. The ones that remained were the 1st-order cultivators. The Dragons were easily able to deal with them. Some dragons even started tearing the humans and other beings like a piece of paper. Soon the whole city of Maragus Brook was dyed in blood.

Blood turned the ground of the Maragus Brook city red. Blood had painted the walls of the buildings and the structures. Pieces of dead bodies were lying here and there. Regardless of what it was, whether elder or young, whether woman or male, whether beast or human, all were shown no mercy. Every single being within Maragus Brook city was killed.

The lucky ones were the ones who managed to escape the Fallen Dragon before all this madness started.

"It's time to die." Aditya still held unconscious Supreme Elder Quincy Harris.

Swoosh!

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know."

"I can't feel his Aura either."

"Did he spare us?" The Elder soon discarded this. There is no way that man would let them live. Especially after seeing the cold murderous look in his eyes, he was sure that on one here would be spared. Whether it was a woman, man, teenager, or elder, all shall be killed.

'Dammit. I should have just tried to escape while I still had the chance. I should have listened to these fool's words.' One of the elders who still hadn't spoken to Aditya and had remained quiet was now regretting his choice. When he saw the Crimson lightning in the sky, his first thought was to flee from this island but the Supreme Elder didn't allow anyone to leave. So he had no choice but to come with the Supreme Elder and face Aditya. And this turned out to be the biggest mistake in his life. A mistake that now was going to cost him his life.

Not even 3 seconds had passed since Aditya disappeared, and hundreds of bodies started falling from the sky. The elders looked at the scene in trepidation as each second hundreds of bodies started falling from the sky.

Using his speed kept slaughtering the members of the Dragon Slayer guild as if they were cabbage.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order cultivator. You have earned experience points. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 4th-order cultivator. You have earned experience points. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Mid 4th-order cultivator. You have earned experience points. Your experience points have been saved.?

While Aditya massacred the members of the Dragon Slayer guild, the system was flooded with messages.

'It has been a while since I saw this many messages from the system.' Aditya increased his pace.

A few seconds later, all the members of the Dragon Slayer guild were dead. But strangely all 1000 of Roc's magic birds were still alive.

"If you want to survive then do not move. You move an inch, I end your life." All the Roc birds rapidly nodded their heads. The birds were too scared to even try to Attack Aditya.

"Now that all the small bugs have been crushed. It's time to deal with the 5 of you." Aditya coldly smiled before slowly flying towards the Elders.

Seeing this the elders took steps back in fear. They never thought a day would come when a peak 5th-order cultivator like them would tremble in front of a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. It can't be helped. The current Aditya could be described in a single word and that is monster.

Just as Aditya was about to move, a voice stopped him. "Young Dragon, I would suggest you stop now."

Aditya put the Adamantite Doomblade on his shoulder and his eyes looked to his right. Around 500 meters away from Aditya, a handsome middle age man was standing in the sky. The middle age man wore white aristocratic clothes. He wore golden cross-shaped earrings.

He had golden hair and white skin. His cultivation also appeared to be in Peak 5th order. But compared to the elders of the dragon Slayer guild, he appeared to be much stronger than them. But not strong as the current Aditya.

"Who are you?" Aditya asked. If this man stood in his path, regardless of who this bastard was, Aditya had made up his mind to end his life here. Aditya was sick of the Dragon Slayer guild. Especially after coming here, now that he has seen the disgusting things that the guild was doing to this own kind with his very own eyes, the hatred that Aditya had for the Dragon Slayer has grown a lot.

"I am the crown prince of The Echo Nexus Empire." Aditya was surprised to hear this. Now that he paid a closer look at the middle age man, on his waist, he was carrying a golden coin. The golden coin had the symbol of the Echo Nexus Empire. It was a symbol of a Lion holding a sword.

"Crown Prince of the Echo Nexus Empire, I will ask you once, are you here to stop me from destroying the Dragon Slayer guild?" Aditya asked in a deep voice. Normally he would have stopped here as the Istarin Empire already had too many things going on already. Adding the wrath of the Echo Nexus Empire would only give Aditya more headaches. But now, Aditya had reached a point where it was him or the Dragon Slayer guild. For the sake of his kind, the guild must be destroyed. It didn't matter to Aditya if he ended up offending the Echo Nexus Empire in the process.

The Istarin Empire is called the Graveyard of Empires. Aditya wouldn't mind destroying another Empire.

The Crown Prince of the Echo Nexus Empire certainly didn't like Aditya's tone. Other than his father, no one has dared to speak to him in such a tone.

Louis didn't lose his calm. He took his favorite weapon which was a black spear. Holding the black spear, Louis made his stance clear. If Aditya acted, then he will protect the Dragon Slayer guild. And if Aditya made any move against the Crown Prince, this would mean the Istarin Empire declaring war against the Echo Nexus Empire. Eventually, the whole situation would escalate to a Great War.

"So this is your answer." Aditya wasn't disappointed or anything. To him, it didn't matter if he killed one extra Peak 5th-order while destroying the Dragon Slayer guild.

"Aditya, I hope you can understand that the Echo Nexus Empire is a long-term friend of the Dragon Slayer guild. Our forefathers have helped the Dragon Slayer guild. In times of need, the Dragon Slayer guild also has lent their helping hand to our Empire. If you stop now I will forget what you have done so far. I will this is more than enough to compensate you for what they have done 34 days ago. We can end this matter here. But if you move, I swear to Heaven this won't end well for you."

Hearing Louis's words, Aditya had now lost his mind in anger. Aditya completely released his killing intent on Louis. Instead of the elders, he now focused completely on Louis. "Who the fuck gave you the courage to speak to me in such a tone? Who the hell do you think you're? When you were busy conquering girls at my age, I was busy conquering Empires. Bastard, you might be older than me but it doesn't mean you can just stand in front of my face and disrespect this Monarch. Not even your daddy would dare to do something like this."

Louis's face turned pale from Aditya's killing intent. Louis felt very heavy. He was having difficulty even lifting his body. Aditya's killing intent was even stronger than his powers. He had killed over ten million beings. The more beings he killed, the stronger his killing intent has grown.

"Aditya, if you....da..re...."

"Dare what? Bitch, I will deal with the Echo Nexus Empire. This Monarch isn't afraid. If your Empire wants to fight then let's fight. I am not going to tolerate being disrespected by someone like you." Aditya appeared in front of Louis. Before Louis could do anything, Aditya punched Louis's mana heart.

Bang!!!!

Ahhhhh!!!!

The Crown Prince let out a loud powerful scream. His scream reached the Fallen Dragon island. Louis coughed out a large mouthful of blood before losing consciousness.

"No way"

"He just destroyed the Crown Prince's cultivation." At this moment the despair that the elders felt cannot be described in just words alone.

Aditya threw the bodies of the Supreme Elder and Crown Prince Louis to one of the Roc Birds. The Rock bird grabbed both of them and then looked at Aditya in confusion.

"Keep them with you for now." Aditya then turned towards the elders. At this moment the Elders knew that not even God would be capable of saving them from this devil.

"It's time to pay."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Really hope you all liked the chapter.

This is the make up chapter for not uploading the other day.

Tomorrow, I will try to upload two chapters.

Motivate me to write more chapters, give more power stones!

Chapter 316

Some time later,

Aditya landed in front of hundreds of Dragons. Behind Aditya, thousand of Roc birds obediently landed on the ground. The unconscious bodies of the Elders and Prince Louis were being carried by two Roc birds.

Just as Aditya landed on the ground, Nathan got on one knee and then lowered his head. Following Nathan, all the Dragons did the same. They also got on their knees and lowered their heads. Their eyes were full of respect, and admiration for their Monarch.

"You all may rise." Aditya looked at the conditions of the Dragons. He can see the chain marks on the bodies of the dragons. Seeing this Aditya knew in his heart that he had done the right thing.

Some of the Dragons here were only around 10 or 11 years old. Since birth, these small Dragons have been caged in that dark underground prison and have been tortured who knows how many times.

"Your Majesty, who is he?" Nathan couldn't help but ask about Prince Louis.

"This is Prince Louis. He is the Crown Prince of The Echo Nexus Empire." Looking at the unconscious body of Crown Prince Louis, Aditya mockingly said. "He wanted me to stop. So I took care of him as well."

"Nathan, how is everything?" Aditya asked as he spread his senses throughout the entire Fallen Dragon Island.

"Everyone from the Dragon Slayer guild is dead. Not even a single member was allowed to escape." Nathan answer.

"Good job. When I go back to the Istarin Empire, I will reward you for your hard work." Nathan was one of those people whom Aditya can always trust. Nathan has never failed to meet Aditya's expectations. Regardless of the difficulty of the task, Nathan has always managed to complete it on time.

"Your Majesty, your praise is more than enough for this servant. By the way, Congratulations on making an advancement in your cultivation."

"It's not a big deal. I had a fortune counter that increased by cultivation. With a few more days or maybe a week of cultivation, I should be ready to reach beginner 4th order." Nathan nodded his head. The respect and admiration that Nathan had for Aditya only increased.

Seeing this Aditya sighed. 'If only you knew that I can reach Peak 5th-order at any time. The system is my cheat.' Because of the system, everyone is assuming Aditya to be some heaven-defying genius.

"Your Majesty, I have cleaned the Treasury. Every valuable thing within Maragus Brook city has been put inside this storage ring. If my calculations are correct then all the assets inside this ring are worth over 5 billion royal gold coins." Hearing this Aditya widened his eyes in surprise.

That was too much money. Even the Istarin Empire can hardly take out one billion royal gold coins much less 5 billion.

Aditya took the storage ring from Nathan and then wore it on his left-hand thumb finger.

"Your Majesty, it's a matter of time before the Echo Nexus Empire learns what has happened here. The Echo Nexus Empire is definitely going to wage war against the Istarin Empire."

"I know, Nathan. Let them come. I am not afraid. I will personally lead the Istarin troops against the Echo Nexus Empire. Whose who dare to stand in my path will be crushed. This Monarch isn't going to hold back now." Aditya was fully ready to go against the Echo Nexus Empire.

If it was the Istarin Empire of the past then Aditya might have hesitated but now he wasn't the least bit afraid. Aditya can easily deal with any Peak 5th-order cultivators. Even if there were a hundred of Peak 5th-order cultivators, Aditya can deal with them alone. This was the confidence of the Dragon Monarch.

"Leaving that matter aside, there is something else I am going to focus on." Nathan and the Dragons continued to listen to their Dragon Monarch's words.

"I thought the war in the western region would prevent the great Seven Emperors from uniting. I thought the war would them those old fools busy among themselves. But it seems I was wrong. Three of the neutral empires had given the Dragon Slayer guild the task of ending my life. The reason why the Dragon Slayer guild dared to send its members to the Istarin Empire is that they had the backing of those three Empires."

"Those old fools thought that as long as I was dead, they can deal with the Istarin Empire."

"Nathan, we will attack the Shadow Islands Empire tonight." There were two reasons why Aditya was hurrying. The first reason was related to Crown Prince Louis. It was confirmed that the Echo Nexus Empire will attack the Istarin Empire.

Before the Echo Nexus Empire digested the news and came for battle, Aditya wanted to destroy his enemies in the western regions. The three empires must be eliminated otherwise there is a huge chance that those old fools will join hands with the Echo Nexus Empire. When that happens, Aditya will have a headache fighting the forces of four Empires; also not to mention the allies of the Echo Nexus Empire. If Aditya allows his enemies to join hands and attack his empire, even if he wins the war, the casualties will be too big for the Istarin Empire.

The second reason had something to do with Laura. Since 10 days later, the competition for the Throne will begin in the Deep Sea Palace, Aditya's presence was required there. He had given Laura his word that he was going to be there.

Consequently, Aditya wanted to eliminate the three great empires in the Western region as soon as possible. He also wanted to hold the Echo Nexus Empire for just a few days until the competition came to an end. Certainly, it would be a relatively easy task for him to contain the forces of the Echo Nexus for just a few days. However, it would be impossible for him to hold on if the other three empires joined forces with them. There is no doubt that the Istarin empire currently has the greatest number of troops on the Dying Isle continent; however, even the largest troops inside the continent will not be able to hold the combined forces of four empires on the continent.

"Understood, your Majesty." Aditya then looked at the Dragons. He observed all the Dragon's conditions. Sensing the Dragon Monarch's stare, all the Dragons felt a little bit nervous. After a silence of 10 minutes, he finally broke the ice.

"From now on, you will live with the Dragon Emperor in the Dragon Palace. Take this. This will officially mark you all as my followers." With a wave of his hand hundred drops of golden blood appeared in the air.

The next second each drop of golden blood fell on the body of each dragon except Nathan.

Ahh!!!!!

All the Dragon's bodies started shining in deep Crimson color. Nathan walked behind Aditya and looked at the scene.

Aditya's blood started purifying the blood of the Dragons. Their bloodline rank was upgraded. When the intense Deep Crimson light dimmed down, all the Dragons had transformed into Dragon Soldiers who will serve and die for the Dragon Monarch.

All of the Dragons' appearances also changed. Their scales now had been replaced with even tougher and more majestic scales. Their heights also grew. Some of the Dragons directly reached Peak 2nd-order cultivation rank. While most of the Dragons managed to reach Peak 1st-order and beginner 2nd-order respectively.

"How do you all feel?" Aditya asked with a smile.

Instead of replying, all the Dragons got to their knees and lowered their heads. "We are eternal servants of the Dragon Monarch. We live to serve our Monarch. We die for our Monarch's cause. We serve no master other than our Dragon King. We lower our heads to no being other than our dragon Monarch. We are the Dragon Soldiers."

Aditya nodded his head with a satisfied look. But the smile on Aditya's face disappeared and was replaced with a surprised look as he suddenly sensed 190 dragons heading in the direction of this island.

The Dragons were coming in the direction of this island from all directions. A while back, when the Dragons heard the ROAR of their Monarch, they couldn't resist the urge of heading in the direction of the Fallen Dragon Island. As far as Aditya's Roar reached, as long as the dragons heard the call of their Monarch, they would answer their Monarch's call. Now 190 wild Dragons were heading in this direction to answer the call of their Monarch.

Nathan got on his guard sensing all the presence but he soon calmed down after learning that all the presence was Dragons. 'The Dragons must be heading here to answer his Majesty's call.'

Soon 190 Dragons landed on Fallen Dragon Island. Aditya noticed that a big majority of these Dragons were Water Dragons that lived under the seawater. This meant the Dragon Slayer guild couldn't hunt these Dragons.

The Water Dragons scales were a deep blue. Their pupils are light blue in color. They had white claws. Even the smallest Water Dragon was 12 meters big. There were also some Water Wyverns within the group.

"Greetings to the Dragon Monarch." All the Dragons lowered their heads and greeted their King.

"Do you all want to come with me?" Aditya asked.

"Your Majesty, you would love to come with you. We dragons are eternal servants of the Dragon monarch."

"Alright." Aditya gave a drop of his divine blood to all the Dragons and Wyverns. As a result, their bodies evolved. The Water Wyverns evolved to become real Water Dragons. While the Water Dragons' bloodline was further purified and their strength and their control over water elements increased.

"Nathan, use the teleportation array to take everyone back home. For now, let everyone stay inside the Dragon Palace. Also, don't give any healing pills to these bastards. For now, put them in the prison." Nathan nodded his head.

"What about you, your Majesty?" Nathan asked in confusion.

Aditya looked beyond Maragus Brook city and said in a deep tone. "This island has left a bad taste in my mouth. I am going to destroy this entire island and then leave. Since there aren't any more teleportation arrays nearby, I will need to head to the mainland of the Westnia continent which will take a few hours."

"Alright. Everyone come with me." All the Dragons listened to Nathan since they can see that Nathan was their Monarch's general or someone like a general. This put Nathan in a higher position than the Dragons.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 317

Thank you to the reader [Pecy] for gifting this novel with a 'Message chair'.

After Nathan left with the Dragons, the Roc birds, and his Prisoners, Aditya flew 1000 meters above the sky.

"Now how should I destroy this island?" Aditya wondered. He can use Crimson lightning to destroy everything. Or He can use Crimson Blaze to turn everything to ashes. Or Aditya can just drown the entire island in Magma.

"The last option sounds better."

Magma Manipulation!

The Dragon Emperor's face turned slightly pale as [4000+] mana was consumed when he decided to use Magma Manipulation on such a large scale.

The next moment, from different varieties of the Fallen Dragon Island, crimson blazing magma rose from the ground. Breaking the ground, Magma continued to drown the entire Fallen Dragon Island. Around 5 minutes later, in front of Aditya, the entire Fallen Dragon Island was covered in Magma.

The magma consumed everything in it. All the structures, buildings, plants, trees, bugs, birds, magic animals, and everything that was ever built on the island, or everything that existed on the island, was consumed by the magma.

Crack!

Aditya coldly watched as the Fallen Dragon Island, the base of the Dragon Slayer guild started to sink beneath the seawater. After around 10 minutes, the entire Dragon Island was no more. The entire island was under seawater.

Aditya had completely destroyed the Dragon Slayer guild. He did not leave anything for anyone. There may be a few members of the Dragon Slayer guild who were away during the time Aditya came here, and so as a result they managed to get free from Aditya's grasp, but they will never be able to return after today.

"With this, the chapter of the Dragon Slayer guild is over." Aditya did not waste any time here anymore. This place had no value. The magma had consumed all the corpses. Aditya buried the members of the Dragon Slayer guild along with their base. In the future, no one would be able to find any traces of the Dragon Slayer guild. Only their names would be known to the people. And whenever the people will speak of the Dragon Slayer guild, they will also remember the Istarin empire and the Istarin Emperor.

Aditya started heading towards the mainland of the Westnia continent. But a few seconds later he stopped. "Wait, how did I forget about the teleportation function of the Dragon Palace? I can just teleport back to the Dragon Palace." Without wasting a single second, Aditya teleported back to the Istarin Empire. He directly teleported to his bedroom.

"Now let's check on my stats. It has been a while since I checked my stats."

?_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Divine Crimson Storm Dragon

_Title: - Dragon Monarch

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch, Storm Marshall

_Level: - 201 ? 300

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation, Dragon Roar, Crimson Lightning Manipulation, Dragon Monarch blessing, Storm Summoner, Magma Manipulation

_Passive skill: - Crimson Lightning Blink, Mental Defense, Inferno Overdrive, Soul Blaze, Fiery Eyes, Curse of the Heaven, Blessing of Crimson, Charm Of Plasma, Crimson Lightning Dash, Enraged Lightning Spell, Lightning Armor, Storm Flight, Acid Rain ? Dragon transfer [New skill], Dragon Monarch's domain [New skill]

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 411 ? 510

_Speed: - 753 + [100] ? 852 + [100]

_Stamina: - 386 ? 485

_Health: - 386 ? 485

_Mana: - 4,052 ? 4,151

_Free stats: - 0 ? 198?

'If I add 198 stats points to my agility, my speed will reach 1,000. But focusing too much on my agility is not good either. I also have to focus on raising my health and stamina. The Higher my stamina was the faster my body would heal. Stamina is like fuel that is needed to keep the body going. One of my biggest drawbacks is that I ran out of stamina very quickly.' When Aditya activates all of his stats boosting skills, each second along with his mana, his stamina was also being consumed.

This is why sometimes Aditya becomes unconscious after a big fight.

'The higher my health was, the faster my stamina and my mana would recover. So raising these two stats is very important otherwise this issue will become a big problem in the future.' In the future, Aditya's stats will become unbalanced and when that happens, he won't have any way of reversing it.

"System divide my free stats points and distribute them equally to my health and stamina."

?Ding! [99+] points have been distributed to your Health.?

?Ding! [99+] points have been distributed to your Stamina.?

?_Name: - Aditya Bainnith

_Race: - Dragon

_Bloodline: - Divine Crimson Storm Dragon

_Title: - Dragon Monarch

_Class: - War Dancer, Rune Monarch, Storm Marshall

_Level: - 201 ? 300

_Innate Skill: - Instant learning and adaptation, Crimson Blaze, Weapon Grandmaster, Runic Enchantment, Dragon Transformation, Dragon Roar, Crimson Lightning Manipulation, Dragon Monarch blessing, Storm Summoner, Magma Manipulation

_Passive skill: - Crimson Lightning Blink, Mental Defense, Inferno Overdrive, Soul Blaze, Fiery Eyes, Curse of the Heaven, Blessing of Crimson, Charm Of Plasma, Crimson Lightning Dash, Enraged Lightning Spell, Lightning Armor, Storm Flight, Acid Rain, Dragon transfer, Dragon Monarch's domain

_Artifact: - Bracelet of Wind Fairy, Crown of Seven Sea

_Strength: - 510

_Speed: - 852 + [100]

_Stamina: - 485 ? 584

_Health: - 485 ? 584

_Mana: - 4,151

_Free stats: - 198 ? 0?

?Dragon Transfer?

?3rd Order Passive Skill?

?Description: - A special passive that the host has learned when the Dragon Palace was made. Only the Dragon Monarch possesses this passive skill.?

?Function - Using this skill, the Dragon Monarch can switch places with any of your Blood vessels [Dragonain and Dragon soldiers] at any given second. This skill doesn't require any mana to use. The number of times that this skill can be used is unlimited and there is no cooldown time for this skill.?

'This is one of the skills that I obtained when the Dragon Palace was built. Now that I think about it, I haven't used this skill. Later I must try out this skill. This skill has the potential to become one of my best and strongest passive skills.' Especially during times of war, Aditya would be able to switch places. He would be able to go to multiple battlefields.

'This is the skill that I used to defeat the maneater monster.'

?Dragon Monarch's Domain?

?3rd-order Passive Skill?

?Description: - The Dragon Monarch's domain is a berserk category passive skill that the host learned when the Dragon Palace was created.

When this skill is activated, the host's entire body will glow in deep Crimson. The temperature of the host's body will continue to increase rapidly. The host's body will become hot as magma. The sky will become chaotic. Within 10 kilometers, violent crimson lightning volts will rain from the sky. The temperature of the 10 kilometers of land around the host will continue to rise. ?

?Function 1 - When this skill is used, for the next 5 seconds, all of the host's stats except for Mana will be tripled for a duration of 5 seconds. When the skill is activated, the host will be able to teleport anywhere within 10 meters of range. After 5 seconds, all of the host's mana will be consumed. The host will fall into an unconscious state.?

Aditya couldn't help but recall his fight with the Maneater monster. That fight was one of the toughest fights that Aditya has ever fought. Aditya nearly died in that battle. He would have died if Adam hadn't come in time to save him.

'This skill is too overpowered. Unfortunately, after using these skills not only all of my mana will be exhausted, but I will also be left unconscious for who knows how long.' Aditya put his hand on the left side of his chest.

He closed his eyes while feeling the beat of his heartbeat. 'It's a miracle that I managed to live. If not for the black I probably would have died right there.' Strangely he did not feel any fear. All he felt was regret. He regretted not living a long life with his wives. He regretted many other things.

Click!

Julia was also surprised to see Aditya in the bedroom. She gave him a gentle smile before asking him. "I thought you went out."

"I am done with my work. Wife, I have something to tell you." Hearing this Julia became concerned.

"What is it?" Julia sat next to Aditya.

Aditya did not speak. He just leaned on her right shoulder and then closed his eyes. After 5 minutes of silence, he opened his eyes feeling refreshed. Julia gave him the mental energy that he needed.

"There is going to be another war soon. I also have found the enemies of the Istarin empire. Before they could strike, I am going to attack them. So tonight, I won't be able to come home." Hearing this Julia was a little disappointed but she did not show it to Aditya. Julia can't demotivate her husband by showing her disappointed face at such a time. She felt that as his wife, she would motivate her husband.

"Is it going to be a difficult fight?" The goddess of alchemy asked in a low tone.

"As long as everything goes according to my plan, then nothing will be difficult."

Aditya planted a kiss on Julia's forehead before pulling her into his embrace. "When I am away, be a good girl. If you behave well, then I will work extra hard to reward you during our night sessions." He gently whispered these words into her ears.

Julia pouted upon hearing his first sentence. But the last part of his words made her blush.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Second chapter of the day. Give me power stones. I need some motivation to write more.

Chapter 318

Thank you to readers [Agent_Black], [The_Hatchman], [Spencer_Elizondo], and [osomabinsmokin] for gifting this novel with an Ice cola, a Dragon, an Inspiration capsule, and an Ice cola.

Thank you!

The Shadow Islands Empire,

The Empire is located at the very west of the Western region. The Shadow Island Empire was built upon 9 big islands. Each island is about 2 times bigger than the Capital city of the Istarin Empire; The Azure city.

The word shadow came from the thunderclouds that hover above the 9 islands of the Empire. Thunderclouds would prevent the light of sunlight from ever reaching the Shadow Islands. Only during the month of December, do the Shadow Islands find some sunlight. Storm clouds are covering the sky of the Shadow islands 11 months throughout the year, but it very rarely rains on the islands even though they are covered in thunderclouds.

There were about 5.8 million people who lived in The Shadow Islands Empire. Out of the 5.8 million population, about 3 million of them were humans. There were around 1.1 million beast-race people who lived throughout The Shadow Islands Empire. The remaining 1.7 million population were Vampires, succubus, werewolves, and fallen angels.

The Shadow Islands Empire was the only Empire in the Dying Isle continent to have such a high number of Demon-race people.

There is a reason why the Demon-race people's population was 1.7 million. And this reason has connected to the thunderclouds that block the sunlight for almost 11 months throughout the year.

A certain special kind of herb grew in the 9 shadow islands. This herb cannot grow in the presence of sunlight and in places where the temperature reaches above 20 degrees Celsius. When this herb reaches maturity, the pills created using this herb can help the Demon-race people in increasing their cultivation speed. It takes around 6 to 9 months for this herb to grow and reach maturity.

Only Demon-race people can benefit from this herb. Whether it was Succubus or Incubus Or Fallen Angel or Werewolves, all Demon race people desired this herb. To them, this herb was as precious as gold.

The name of this miraculous herb was 'Thunder Bay Leaf'. And The Shadow Islands Empire was one of those only few places in the whole world where the Thunder Bay Leaf grows.

The people of the Shadow Islands Empire even call the Thunder Bay Leaf their green gold. One reason is that the Thunder Bay Leaf is considered very precious and is exported to many other parts. The fact that the Shadow island Empire is the only place within the Entire Dying Isle continent where green gold which is the Thunder Bay Leaf grows, makes it very valuable.

The Great Emperor and the royal family of the Shadow Islands Empire built their enormous wealth just by selling Green gold to foreign Empires and continents. The Shadow Islands Empire knows the value of the Thunder Bay Leaf and which is why more than 10,000 soldiers are dispatched to guard the Thunder Bay Leaf fields.

The Emperor does not share any profits that he earns from selling the Thunder Bay Leaf with his eight dukes even though around 80% of the entire Thunder Bay Leaf herbs are grown in the Dukes' territories. When the Thunder Bay Leaf herb matures, the Emperor just takes the green gold from the dukes without giving them any penny.

If the eight Dukes were allowed to sell the Thunder Bay Leaf herb on their own, most of the profits to go directly into their pockets and would make the dukes even more powerful. If the Duke of an Empire becomes too much powerful then there is a chance that the Duke might revolt against the Royal family and overthrow the Emperor. This isn't something that the Shadow Islands Emperor and his royal family wanted to see happening. This is why, the dukes were never given the right to sell Green gold on their own.

Around 90% of the Shadow Island Empires' yearly revenue is generated from exporting Thunder Bay Leaf herb. Despite being an Empire that is made up of 9 big islands, the Shadow Islands Empire was able to become of the seven great Empires in the western region with the wealth that the Emperor gained from exporting Green gold.

The territory of the Shadow Island Empires is made up of 9 big islands. Every nine islands are twice or maybe even bigger than the current size of the Istarin Empire's Capital; the Azure city. Ashcour Island is the main and center island. Ashcour Island is located at the center of the Empire. The Ashcour Island alone produces 20% of all Thunder Bay Leaf Herb of the Shadow Islands Empire. The city of Zion is the capital city of the Shadow Islands Empire.

Aside from that, Ashcour Island is also the place where the Emperor of the Shadow islands Empire lives with his family. While the other eight shadow islands are governed by Dukes, the Royal Family directly controlled Ashcour Island. Among the 9 shadow islands, the Ashcour Island is the richest and also the most prosperous Shadow island within the Empire. Around 1.9 million people of various races live on this island.

When the Shadow Islands Empire was formed, the Emperor had appointed 8 noble families to look after the eight islands. The head of each noble family is the Duke who is responsible for governing one of the 8 shadow islands.

[The names of the Eight islands are -

1. Summermond Island

2. The Enchanted Holm

3. Weyden Island

4. Stoneminster Holm

5. The Starfish Island

6. The Pearl Chain

7. Brisburg Island

8. Langboia Islands]

Every eight islands are special for something. For example, The Langboia is not just one big island. The Langboia islands are hundreds of small islands located very close to each other. The Brisburg Island is the second largest Shadow islands. The Enchanted Holm is the biggest among the shadow islands. The size of The Enchanted Holm is around almost 5 times the size of the Azure city.

As the Darkness of the night consumed the entire Shadow Islands Empire, the Dragon Monarch arrived within the capital of the Shadow Islands Empire.

As Aditya stepped out of the teleportation array, the guild master of the Zion city stepped forward. The dark elf offered a bow to the Istarin Empire.

"Welcome to the City of Zion, Your Majesty." Having the goddess of wealth as an ally was one of Aditya's biggest strengths and also advantages. Since Alicia had managed to open branches of her Seekers of Impurity guild all over the Dying Isle continent, it had become very easy for Aditya or anyone from Shadow guardian division to Infiltrate an Empire or a Kingdom.

Each branch of the Seekers of Impurity guild is connected to each other through the teleportation circle. Alicia allowed Aditya and the Shadow guardian to use the teleportation circles.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Aditya walked up to the dark elf man who is the guild master of Zion city. Aditya patted the dark elves right shoulder. "Thank you for providing all the information in such short notice." After returning to the Dragon Palace, Aditya started making plans on destroying the Shadow Islands Empire.

'I don't need to destroy the entire Empire. I just need to remove the Royal family and the Emperor.' Before tonight, Aditya didn't know much about the Shadow Islands Empires. He thought the Shadow Islands Empire to be another ordinary Island Empire. But from the information that he received through Alicia and the information that the Shadow guardian division had managed to gather, Aditya now had become interested in conquering the Shadow Islands empire.

Aditya was especially attracted to the Thunder Bay Leaf Herb. The political structure of the Shadow Islands Empire wasn't that strong. It was the Emperor who held the eight dukes together. If not for the Emperor, by now the eight dukes would have fought each other in multiple bloody wars. From experience, Aditya knew, that these kinds of Empires are really easy to conquer. There won't be any protest from the people even if Aditya removes the Emperor and the Royal Family and takes the whole Empire under the Istarin Empire.

Aditya could have invaded the Shadow islands with millions of his troops and the Dragonians but that would attract too much attention and would alert the other two Western Island Empires. The aim was to conquer the Shadow Islands Empire as soon as possible and then go to the other two Empires. He wanted to do this before the Echo Nexus Empires declares war on the Istarin Empire. If it was before Aditya never would have dared to make such a risky move. But now he wasn't afraid. He can defeat any Peak 5th-order cultivator on this continent. After reaching Peak 3rd-order his powers have soared. Now no Peak 5th-order cultivator can even harm him.

"This humble servant isn't worthy of your praise. I haven't done much. I merely provided the information that I already had gathered." The dark elf man knew the relationship between the Guild Leader and the Istarin Emperor. Although he wasn't 100% sure he has been hearing some rumors about the Guild leader being the Istarin Emperor's fiance.

Aditya nodded his head. "This is my first time coming here. I want to walk around Zion city." The dark elf respectfully nodded his head. He knew that this would be anything but a normal walk around Zion City.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Hello, everyone I hope you all are doing well. First of all, I want to let you all know that I am currently sick. I was planning on uploading two chapters per day but unexpectedly I now have high fever and also runny nose.

Also Ramadan has started, this makes things even more difficult for me. Today I am feeling a little better than yesterday and day after yesterday. If I get well soon, I will release two extra chapters for missing two days.

Chapter 319

On Ashcour Island,

Before Aditya came to the Shadow Islands empire, Nathan, Amber, Josh, and Scott had already arrived in Zion City an hour ago. The four generals of the Istarin Empire were being an important task. Failure wasn't an option for them. If they failed, the enemy will be alerted and their chances of quickly conquering the Shadow islands Empire won't be successful.

The reason Aditya sent Josh, Scott, Nathan, And Amber for this mission was because of their abilities. Nathan was an assassin. This meant that he was an expert in hiding. By using his shadow Manipulation he can secretly move around Ashcour Island without making anyone suspicious.

Amber was an expert in illusion. She was the best illusion magic user that the Istarin Empire currently had. With her magic cultivation reaching beginner 4th-order, she now can use her illusion to hide from anyone except for 5th-order cultivators.

Scott, the dark elf was an expert in using a bow and arrow. Scott was blessed with powerful sight. He can see up to 5 kilometers even during the night time. During day night, Scott spot enemies even from 10 km away. After regaining his cultivation, his arrow-shooting powers only increased. Scott was undoubtfully the best archer that the Istarin Empire had. Scott can shoot arrows from many kilometers away. This made Scott perfect for this mission.

Aside from his amazing vision and archery, Scott was a beginner 4th-order cultivator. He was powerful enough to take down any Mid 4th-order in a fight.

And lastly Josh. Josh is a beast race. The lion tribe man had the power to tear a Peak 3rd-order cultivator with his bare hands. Aditya's divine bloodline has turned Josh into half Dragon. This has turned the captain of the 4th division even more powerful. Josh has managed to reach beginner 4th order.

Except for Amber who had a Royal fox Queen bloodline, the other six generals were Dragonians. Not only that but also the generals were allowed to live and cultivate inside the Dragon Palace. The dragon palace increased the cultivation speed of all Dragons, especially those who had Aditya's divine bloodline in them received maximum benefits.

Also adding, all the cultivation pills that Julia has been making for them, it's no wonder that within such a short period of time, all of the generals managed to become this strong. Normally it takes years for even a genius to reach Peak 3rd-order beginner 4th-order. For some Kingdoms, it takes from 10 to even 30 years to produce a Peak 3rd-order or beginner 4th-order general. But the Istarin Empire was able to do it within less than a year.

While walking on the streets of Zion city, Aditya was completely relaxed. He was sure that his generals wouldn't fail.

Scene change____

At the center of Zion City, there was a huge castle. From the castle, one can see the ends of Zion city. The Castle was the biggest man-made structure of the Shadow Islands Empire. The Royal family and the Emperor of the Shadow Islands Empire lived in that Castle.

More than 1000 soldiers guarded the Castle. The Emperor was a cautious man. So he built another wall within Zion city. The walls were 15 meters tall and very strong. The walls were made around the 5 km radius of the Castle. The walls were made up to prevent anyone from getting near the Castle. Within the walls, all the houses that were built around the Castle belonged to the Emperor. These houses were given to the Royal officials, to the high-ranked soldiers, and to the nobles. Only someone with high political power can live here.

Around two elite soldiers guarded the walls. The elite soldiers didn't let anyone without the Emperor's order get inside the wall. Those who try to enter without permission will be killed. Even if that person happens to be the Emperor's own son. No mercy will be shown.

Overall the security around the entire island was very strict. This is the reason why Aditya chose to send Scott, Amber, Josh, and Nathan for this mission. Aditya could have just openly attacked the Emperor but that would expose him. The plan was to end the Emperor's life as quietly as possible. Also, there is a chance that the Emperor might use the teleportation array to escape if Aditya openly attacks.

Within the Royal Castle of the Shadow Islands Empire, the Emperor was standing in front of a window and looking at Zion city. Whenever he looked at the Zion city, the Emperor's heart was filled with endless pride, arrogance, and satisfaction.

This city signified just how far he has come in his life. This city was a symbol that showed just how much Liam George has accomplished in his long reign as the Emperor of the Shadow Islands Empire.

Sip!

Liam took a sip of the red wine as he stared at Zion city. Every night the Emperor would spend at least an hour watching Zion city from his bedroom's window.

"Oh dear father, I hope you're watching me from Heavens. Before you died you said that I am not fit to be the King. Father, you should look at the current Shadow islands Empire. I am the greatest Emperor that the Shadow islands Empire had. Under my rule, the Emperor has expanded in all directions. The economy of the Empire increased by 3 times. I suppressed any noble that would dare to question me." The voice of the Emperor was filled with endless pride and arrogance.

Liam George is the second son of Lux George. Around 141 years back, Lux' George wanted his first son Luke to become his successor. Liam was considered the most worthless prince. When Liam was young, unlike his brother Luke who was kind, hard-working, and a genius in cultivation, Liam spent all of his time lusting after women.

Liam slept with every beautiful woman in his sight. Unlike his big brother, Liam was lazy, arrogant, and had an average cultivation talent. As more time passed Lux became more displeased with Liam. At that time, the Shadow Islands as knowns as a Kingdom, not an Empire. It hadn't gained its status as an Emperor yet.

Before Luke could become the King, Liam killed his big brother. Liam did not stop there. He killed his father and mother. The people who were very close to his father and his big brother all were massacred within a single night. Liam did not let even the children escape. He killed them all. Before Lux died, he said that Liam wasn't fit to become the King. Since then, Liam has been working to prove his father wrong.

Liam killed all the nobles who opposed him. At that time the Entire Shadow islands Kingdom was in chaos. Over the years, using various underhanded means, Liam has managed to grow this Empire. "I have been ruling this Empire for over 141 years now. You said that I was a failure. Now look at me, do I look like a failure to you father? I have everything that I ever wanted. With each passing day and minute, I can feel my ambition keep expanding like this universe. Before I was satisfied with being the King but now I want to become the ruler of the entire Western region."

Liam had everything that he wanted. He had power, wealth, and women. Liam was enjoying every moment of his life. But somewhere while enjoying his life, Liam's attention came to the Southern region of the Dying Isle continent. It was one Particular Empire that had caught his attention. And that Empire was the Istarin Empire.

That Liam was interested in the Mana stone mines. If Liam is able to get all the Mana stone mines in the southern region, then he would be able to control the prices and the supply of Mana stones within the entire Dying Isle continent. When that happens, no one would be able to stop Liam from taking the Shadow Islands Empire to become the most Powerful Empire within the Dying Isle continent.

"I would need to think of another plan to end the Dragon Emperor's life. This guy has become a big obstacle in my path." As long as Aditya was dead, Liam can join hands with some other Empires and take control of the Entire Istarin Empire.

Little did Liam know how naively he was thinking. Unlike other Empires that like to show off their military strength to spread terror and threaten other Kingdoms or Empires, the Istarin Empire has never truly shown what its capable of.

"I was thinking that the Dragon Slayer guild would be able to do the task of killing Aditya. It seems I was wrong. I wasted my money." Liam filled the glass with wine.

The very glass that Liam was currently using was made by the Istarin empire. But he had no idea of it. This is because Aditya had left the distribution and supply of glass to the Goddess of wealth. Alicia sold glass in a way that no Empire was able to find where or how glass was made.

Nobles are attracted to fancy things. Noble women are attracted to sparkling things. When glass came to replace crystal in the market, it instantly became a hit within all six continents. Alicia had to work extra hard to make sure glass was available on all six continents. As for selling glass in the main continent, even though some merchants approached Alicia with offers, she politely rejected their offers.

While Liam was imagining himself becoming the Emperor of the entire Dying Isle continent, something big happened within Ashcour Island.

On four corners of Ashcour Island, four 1-meter big cubes were glowing in bright white light. The four cubes released a dense mana wave that instantly spread all over Ashcour Island. Very small runic words were drawn on the bodies of the cubes. Because of the intense glow, no one was able to see the runic words on the bodies of the cubes. The mana wave was felt by the Peak 4th-order and the 5th-order cultivators who were rising in Ashcour Island.

"There is an enemy attack" Shouted one of the beginner 5th-order generals.

In the next second, the four cubes rose in the air.

"What is that?" Liam widened his eyes seeing a glowing object in the distance. The next second, under his eyes, a light blue barrier started forming around the entire Ashcour Island.

"It's an enemy attack." The Panic grew over the entire Ashcour Island. No one knew what was happening.

A few seconds later, a light blue transparent barrier had formed around the entire island. At this moment, not even a Peak 4th-order cultivator would be able to exit or enter the island. Only a 5th-order cultivator can break the barrier. But Aditya wasn't going to let that happen.

Bang!

"Your Majesty, it appears we are under attack." 3 beginner 5th-order cultivators entered Liam's bedroom.

Liam did not panic. He looked at the light blue barrier and just smiled. 'I wonder who is foolish enough to attack Ashcour Island? Don't they know that Ashcour Island is the base of the Shadow islands? Here, I am in control of everything. Even a bird has to take my permission if it wants to build its nest here.'

"Can you guys break this barrier?" Liam asked in a soft tone.

"Just one of us would be able to break this barrier." Answered the second general.

"Your Majesty, do you want us to break the barrier?" Asked another 5th-order general.

"There is no need for that." Liam turned to face his three generals.

"I want to see the faces of attackers. It doesn't really matter if you kill them or capture them."

"Understood." The three generals soon vanished from Liam's bedroom.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Sorry for not uploading all of these days. As I said before this whole week I have been sick. I didn't even had the strength to write a chapter.

But Now I am feeling well. I will try my best to release extra make up chapters in the upcoming days.

Chapter 320

"Did you feel as well?"

"Yes, I felt the mana wave."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Aditya watched as the people of Zion city started panicking seeing the barrier forming over the entire island.

"Oh my god!"

"What is happening?"

"Everyone there is no need to panic. I am sure this is just some defensive barrier built by his Majesty to increase the security of this island." One of the men tried to calm everyone. But the man himself looked unsure of his words.

"How can you be so sure?"

"What if this barrier was built to trap everyone within this Island?"

"Don't talk nonsense, there is no way that an enemy would dare to build a barrier around the entire island. And even if this barrier was meant to trap all of us here, I am sure His majesty would send troops to break the barrier and deal with the enemy."

Aditya could see some minor groups of people placing their hopes on the Emperor while most just panicked. Also at the same time, many wealthy people rushed to use the teleportation array. At this moment, they just wanted to escape from this island. These people feared being trapped on this island forever.

The guards in response closed down the gates of the city. No one was allowed to enter or leave the town till things calmed down. The entire Zion city was panicking. The people were afraid of the unknown.

"I guess it's time to finish the job." Aditya put a black mask on his face and then disappeared into the crowd.

"Quickly Activate the Defensive Array." Under Captain Leon's orders, a transparent dome-like barrier formed, covering the entire Zion city.

"Now activate the second defensive Array."

Swoosh!

A second transparent dome-like barrier formed, covering everything within the second wall.

At the same time, hundreds of troops rushed out of the training ground and the camps. Some of the troops joined others in guarding the second wall while the other troops went to guard the first wall. At the same time, a group of troops was dispatched to control the panic situation and keep the public under control.

"Everyone load the Magic cannons. Get ready to fire on my order." Hundreds of magic cannons were loaded with magic cannon balls. At the same time, a greenish transparent barrier formed in front of each cannon. These barriers were meant to protect the soldiers who were responsible for firing and loading the Magic cannons.

"Magic archers, take your position. Get ready to shoot on my order." Thousands of Magic archers stood on the walls. The archers were ready to launch their magic arrows on the order of their Captain.

Everyone was very tense. This was the first time in the history of the Shadow Islands Empire, that someone has dared to openly attack the capital. No Emperor has dared to do something like this before.

Leon stood along the magic archers on the second wall and calmly observed the whole situation. Leon is a high elf. Leon was born with the unique ability to be able to sense any disturbance within the Mana that freely floats everywhere in this world. By sensing the disturbance in the Mana around him, Leon is able to fight cultivators who have the power to hide their Aura or has the skill to become invisible.

30 seconds later, a displeased look appeared on Leon's face. Leon angrily looked back and shouted. "Where are the Necromancers that I asked for?" Leon angrily asked.

The vice-captain of the guards stepped out of the crowd.

"Reporting Captain, we have a big problem on our hands." Unlike Leon, the vice-captain and all other guards were wearing full body armor. Leon had worn battle armor. But he did not wear his helmet.

Leon wasn't a bit happy hearing this. "What problem?" Leon secretly made up his mind to punish whoever was responsible for creating that problem. In such an emergency situation, they needed to move as fast as possible. Every second in this situation mattered a lot.

"Captain, the teleportation array is not working for some reason." The vice-Captain looked a little bit afraid of the reaction that Captain Leon was going to show hearing this. After all, everyone knew how short-tempered Leon was.

Although elves are known to be calm and gentle by nature, Leon is someone who is totally the opposite of this. Leon easily lost his temper. And whenever he lost his temper, someone was destined to suffer or worse die at his hands.

The Previous vice-Captain was killed by Leon when the vice-captain made a small mistake which angered Leon.

"What? The teleportation array was working fine a few minutes ago. If there is any problem then change the Mana stones. The teleportation array must not be working because the mana stones have run out of energy." Leon calmed down after sighing.

Sigh!

"This is the most basic thing. Why did you not change the ...."

"Captain, I apologize for interrupting you but we already have tried it."

"What?" Leon was confused.

"Captain, even after we changed the Mana stones we couldn't use the teleportation array at all. No matter how much we tried, the teleportation array is not even activating." These words froze Leon's brain for a second.

Leon was at a loss. He didn't know what to do in such a situation. The reason Leon called for the Necromancers is that their ability to turn dead into undead would really help them if in case the enemy managed to break the first wall and attacks the second wall.

However, Leon was the Captain of all the guards. He had around 5,000 troops under his command. He quickly calmed himself and thought of a different solution.

"Send someone to call the Necromancers. As for the issue with the teleportation array, I feel that somehow accidentally one of the rune circles was damaged which prevented the array from working."

"There is nothing wrong with the teleportation array." Leon and the Vice-Captain looked at the woman who appeared next to Leon.

The woman had tan skin and neck-length black hair. She had a muscular built body. She was 6 feet tall. She is one of the three generals of the Shadow islands empire. She is an Amazonian serving Liam George. Her name is Melissa.

"General!" Leon and the other soldiers all saluted the general.

Melissa ignored everyone and looked in a certain direction. "It seems the mana wave from earlier is somehow stopping the teleportation arrays from working. This means that at this moment no one can enter or exit this island."

Normally the soldiers would use the teleportation arrays to reach the first wall but now that the teleportation arrays were not working, they had no choice but to run there on their feet which would take 5 to 10 minutes depending upon the soldier's speed. As the entire Zion city population lived between the first and second walls.

Hearing this both Leon and his Vice-Captain were shocked. What kind of power did the enemy have to prevent the teleportation arrays from working?

Seeing the soldiers looking worried, Melissa smirked while placing the black spear on her shoulder. "There is no need to be so worried. Just stay here and defend the second wall. I will deal with the enemy."

"I am here." Suddenly the air around the walls became dense. All the soldiers for some reason felt choked. Even Captain Leon wasn't spared. Leon and others felt suffocated. Even breathing seems to have become the most difficult thing for them.

Melissa widened her eyes sensing Aditya behind her. The Amazonian was shocked by the fact that someone managed to appear behind her without her noticing. Even most Peak 5th-order cultivators can't sneak up on Melissa much less lower-order cultivators. She quickly turned around and face Aditya.

"Who are you?" Melissa took a moment to observe the enemy. The enemy's entire body was covered in Crimson lightning. His entire face was hidden under a mask. He had dark blue hair. He had a black powerful sword in his grasp. The sword seems to vibrate with his Mana and release powerful killing intent.

Though the General appeared to be calm and confident. But in deep the Amazonian wasn't calm. Normally Melissa would welcome challenges and make her excited when facing tough opponents, but this time, when she stood in front of this man whose face was hidden under a mask, Melissa felt fear. She felt nervous. She felt hesitant. For the first time in her life, the general wished to have backups while fighting this man.

"Sorry, but I can't tell you my identity at the moment. But if you agree to work for me then I will not only show you my face, but I will also make you even more powerful. What do you think?" Aditya was interested in Melissa mainly because of the fact that this Amazonian is really young. Melissa was only around 22 or 23 years old.

In Aditya's opinion, it would be a waste to kill this woman. Instead, he invited Melissa to work for him and the Istarin Empire. Using the resources in the Istarin Empire, Melissa could reach Peak 5th-order in no time.

"Work for you? Thank you for the offer but I am not going to betray my King. We Amazonians never break our oaths. I have sworn to serve this empire." Melissa didn't ridicule Aditya or mock him for inviting her. Even though it appeared as if Aditya's cultivation was at Peak 3rd-order, the Aura around him was already something else. Amazonians respected and also admired strong people.

"That's a shame." Aditya was about to end Melissa's life when he sensed the arrival of two other generals.

"So you're the enemy." All the soldiers sighed in relief as they stepped back. The reason for this was the arrival of two other generals.

On Melissa's right, there was a 5 feet 8 inches tall middle man. The middle man had no hair and was completely bald. He held a black staff in his left hand. He is the second oldest general of the Shadow Islands Empire. His name was Clark.

A man with long black hair reaching his back stood on Melissa's right silently. The man had a silver sword. He wore white pants and a white Shirt. The man had red shining eyes. He was a Vampire.

"You're not escaping today." The three generals rushed at Aditya. Seeing this Aditya grinned. If anyone saw his grin that was hidden because of the mask, they would be directly faint from fear. The grin on his face was dead scary.

Inferno Overdrive!!

As the three generals approached Aditya, suddenly Aditya's Aura exploded. His Aura increased to a frightening level. Before the three general's attacks could reach Aditya, three of them were sent flying just from his Aura alone.

Bang!

The generals quickly got up. This time there was a look of fear on their faces as they stared at Aditya. As for how Aditya managed to suddenly rise his Aura to overpower beginner 5th-order cultivators, no one knew the reason.

"It's time for you three to die."

Crimson Lightning Dash!

Swoosh!

As soon as these words were spoken, Aditya vanished. His agility had reached such a terrifying level that killing a beginner 5th-order cultivator was far more easier than killing a chicken.

Bang!

Everyone heard a cracking sound. The next second Aditya appeared behind the three generals.

One second...

three seconds.....

five seconds passed but the generals did not move at all. On the sixth second, red blood started coming out of the three generals' bodies like a fountain. Soon the heads of the generals fell to the ground one by one before their bodies also fell down.

"This....."

"This isn't real."

Leon and others were in complete shock seeing this. The generals were their superiors. All the soldiers respected the generals. In their mind, they can never imagine seeing their generals getting defeated in a battle. Never in their wildest dreams, they did imagine seeing the three generals getting slaughtered like this.

"Now, you all have two options. Put your hands in the air and surrender. Or you all can accept death from me." These words sent chills down everyone's spine.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 321

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 5th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved.?

"Now, you all have two options. Put your hands in the air and surrender. Or you all can accept death from me." These words sent chills down everyone's spine.

Leon and others soldiers were at a loss. Their decision could change their entire life. If they surrendered, they will become traitors of the Shadow Islands Empire. But if they don't surrender, this man was going to end their lives. Except for a few soldiers, almost all the soldiers had the idea of surrendering. After all, their life was bigger than becoming a traitor.

As long as they lived, they would be able to earn and provide for their families. Each soldier comes from a poor background. If they died, no one else was going to provide for and look after their family.

After a few seconds of silence, a certain soldier removed the helmet and dropped the sword on the ground.

Bang!

He then kneeled on the ground with his hands raised.

"Rex, why are you surrendering? Don't you feel no shame for betraying our homeland?" Another soldier who was Rex's friend asked him in a loud tone. While the others soldiers looked at Rex and waited for his answer.

Rex looked at his best friend with a smile and replied. "Let's be honest, the reason that we joined the military was that we wanted to earn good money and provide for our family. Yes, this Empire is my homeland but what this Empire has ever done for my family? Even though under His Majesty Liam, the Empire has grown stronger, the condition of my family never changed. We are not appreciated. We are treated just like slaves. In the end, this Empire needs soldiers to function. Even if we sacrifice ourselves for this Empire, tomorrow the Empire will hire not soldiers and forget about us."

"Tomorrow, if I died, my family won't receive a thing. The Empire won't even bother to retrieve my body and sent my dead body to my family. My position simply would be replaced by someone else. Why should I put risk my life for this empire? To me, my life matters more than anything." There was no passion in Rex's heart to protect this empire.

Hearing Rex's words, the least bit of hesitance that other soldiers had in their hearts also disappeared. Even Rex's best friend surrendered.

"We surrender" All the soldiers kneeled to the ground with their hands raised in the air.

Under the mask, Aditya smiled. "You all made the right decision. A few days later, a powerful Empire from the East will take over this entire Empire. Once the Empire takes over, I promise you all will be hired as soldiers. You all will be given higher salaries and much better treatment."

The soldiers didn't know why they should believe in Aditya's words. After all, he was someone who hid his face under a mask. He didn't even reveal the name of the Empire. But no soldier dared to ask any question to Aditya as they hadn't forgotten how swiftly he ended the lives of three generals. They just remained quiet and hoped in their hearts that he was speaking the truth.

Scene change____

At the same time, the four generals of the Istarin Empire approached the first wall.

"How are we going to enter Zion city?" Asked Josh. After all, now that the defensive dome around Zion had been activated, they can't just walk inside the city.

"Idiot, of course, we're going to break the defensive dome. I am sure his Majesty already has dealt with the generals from the inside. We just need to deal with the smaller bugs while our King ends King Liam's life." Scott replied while loading his golden bow with a black arrow.

Tsk!

"Don't call me an idiot. The real idiot is you who purposely avoids eating meat." Josh angrily replied.

Scott looked at Josh from the corner of his eyes before focusing on shooting his arrow at the defensive dome. "I don't like meat that's why I avoid consuming meat. I like eating vegetables. My lifestyle is much healthier, unlike a certain idiot who can't live without meat and wine." What Scott said was true. Josh likes Meat and wine way too much. No one has hardly seen Josh eating vegetables as the man hates even the smell of vegetables.

"What did you say?" Josh was ready to punch Scott.

"Cut it out! His Majesty has given us an important mission. Please stop your catfight." Amber sighed. This was the fourth time since the start of their mission that she had to step in and stop Josh and Scott from fighting. Both Josh and Scott act like 5 years old child and argues over the smallest things.

The relationship between Josh and Scott is really strange. Both grown men can never get along with each other. Both Captains argue over the smallest things. Even the calm, mature, and intelligent Scott is always acting like a child when arguing with Josh.

"It was him who started it." Josh pointed at Scott and complained like a child.

"I was just educating an idiot." Scott replied in an uncaring tone.

"What did you just call me?" Josh angrily glared at Scott.

"An Idiot who has no brain and only has muscles." Scott put his bow down and looked at Josh.

"I said cut it out!!!!" Amber released a little bit of her killing intent to stop Josh and Scott. Her killing intent worked like perfect medicine and sealed both captains' mouths.

Amber looked at Josh and Scott with a cold smile that sent chills down both Captain's spines. "Next time, I see you two fighting, I put you two under my illusion and make you two sleep together. And this won't be just any normal sleeping together."

Hearing this Both Josh and Scott trembled in fear. Both men clearly understood what Amber was saying. Just thinking of sleeping together made them horrified and also disgusted.

Even Nathan who was remaining quiet the entire thing trembled for a second. 'This woman is ruthless. Fortunately, I always have kept a distance from her. When I go back, I must warn the members of my division to keep a clear distance from Amber and her Division.' Nathan inwardly swore to never provoke Amber. This woman was truly terrifying.

"Alright, now that everyone has calmed down, let's break the defensive array and slaughter some soldiers." The cold Aura around Amber disappeared as if it never existed. She cheerfully smiled as if she was going to do noble work.

'This woman is truly dangerous. She just switched her personality within seconds.' If there was any Captain whom Nathan was scared of, it would be Amber. This fox woman had managed to spread her terror among the 7 divisions.

And just like that, the four Captains were in front of the first wall. "Alright, Scott please break the defensive barrier for us." Scott nodded before loading the golden bow with an arrow.

Nathan wasn't the leader-type Captain. And the soldiers who worked in Nathan's division had Nathan's personality. This is why Nathan never had any trouble controlling his Division.

Josh and Scott were always fighting like children. So Amber had to step up and take the role of leader. Although no one said it out loud Amber has been directing their moves and working as the leader. Without Amber's role as the leader, there was a high chance that the generals were going to mess up.

Under everyone's eyes, the arrow began to shine as Scott poured his mana into the arrow.

A deep purple glow on Scott's arrow attracted the attention of all the soldiers who were standing on top of the walls and guarding Zion city. "The enemy is here. Attack!"

The next second, thousands of arrows rained from the first wall. However facing thousands of arrows, the generals looked very relaxed.

Windshield!

Josh simply created an invisible windshield around him. None of the arrows were strong enough to break Josh's windshield. The Captain just stood there facing the arrows. His wild sharp eyes were on the soldiers that shoot arrows at Josh.

A few archers caught Josh staring at them with a wild smile.

Gulp!

'What kind of animal are we facing?' The archers wondered while taking a few steps back to avoid being seen by Josh.

A 2 meters black round shield formed in front of Nathan's body. The black shield was made from Shadow Manipulation. The shield was strong enough to withstand even magic cannon attacks.

"How long are you going take Scott?" Nathan asked in an impatient tone. The Shadow guardian was losing his patience. He couldn't wait to join his Monarch's side and fight beside him.

"Don't worry, I am almost done charging the arrow with Mana." Scott replied while dodging the arrows that were raining on him. It was unthinkable how a man can dodge so many arrows while getting ready to launch his attack.

As for Amber, the Royal Fox queen had disappeared when the arrows were launched. As for where she went, no one knew.

Tsk!

Josh noticed that because of having to dodge arrows, Scott was taking extra time in charging his arrow. Without saying a single word, Josh created another windshield around Scott so that the dark elf can focus on charging his arrow.

Scott and Nathan noticed the windshield but decided to not comment on it. This is how the relationship between Josh and Scott was. Both of them defended each other on the battlefield but both would always find a topic to argue about.

A few seconds later, the glow on the black arrow had reached its limit. A deep purple shine on the black arrow could be seen even beyond the walls. In the darkness, his arrow shined like the sun and radiated light in every direction.

Swoosh!!!

Under everyone's eyes, the arrow flew toward the defensive dome.

Booom!!!

All the citizens and all the soldiers protecting the first looked at the 1-meter-long arrow that hit the defensive dome. Under their horrified faces, the barrier shattered like glass.

In the distance, standing in his bedroom, Liam George watched as the defensive barrier of Zion city shattered from an attack of the enemy. Liam was still unaware of his three generals' deaths.

Liam tightly clenched his fists. "What are they doing?" By they, Liam meant his generals who had been killed by Aditya.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 322

Shatter!

The defensive dome that kept the minds of hundreds of thousands of people at ease shattered right before their eyes, and all the people within Zion city panicked. The crowd went wild. To make things worse, even the teleportation array also has stopped working.

The people began running here and there. Some people decided to hide in their homes. Some people approached the second wall with the hope that the soldiers would protect them. Unfortunately for them, the soldiers already surrendered to Aditya.

Meanwhile, the situation on the first wall was very different. Even though the enemy was only 4 people, the guards felt as if they were facing Gods on the battlefield. Their mortal bodies can never match the strength of these four. Their mortal minds didn't know what they should do in such a situation. The only that their minds told them to do was to run.

Run from here!

Run to survive!

Run with all of their might!

Run to get out of here!

And Pray that they don't get killed by these four!

One by one, the guards abandoned their positions and began to flee.

"Why should I stay here and get myself killed?"

"Let's flee from here."

Seeing more and more soldiers running away even before the battle started, the Captain and other soldiers who stayed were at a loss. Seeing so many fellow soldiers running away, the ones who stayed also started to feel that they should also run.

"Where are you guys going?" The Captain shouted. He really hoped that the soldiers would stop running and fight the enemy. Unfortunately, in a situation like this, no one bothered to listen to his words. It was chaos.

"Dammit! Where are the generals? In times like this, we really need their help?" The Captain felt useless. Even though he was also a 4th-order cultivator, even he didn't have the courage to face the enemy. His only last remaining hope was that one of the generals would come and stop the enemy. Little did he know, that their generals had been long killed by the Istarin Emperor.

Meanwhile, Josh, Amber, Nathan, and Scott arrived on top of the walls only to find the soldiers running away. No one was even willing to fight them.

"Cowards!"

"Originally, His Majesty told us to give the soldiers two options. Surrender and fight to the death. But it seems the soldiers are too afraid to even face us." Amber didn't know what to do.

"These guys are not fit to be soldiers. They do not have the courage to fight. I am sure they all will easily surrender and start working for the Istarin Empire. But hiring these soldiers would be the same as wasting the Empire's money." What Nathan said was right. Even if the Istarin Empire hired these soldiers and made them work for the Istarin Empire, in times of need, these spineless soldiers will just run from the battlefield.

"Should we kill them?" Nathan asked.

"No, let them escape. From this moment their careers as soldiers are over." Even if these soldiers tried to enter the Istarin Empire's military in the future, they won't be selected.

"Let's hurry up. I can't wait to join his Majesty." The four generals then began slaughtering the ones who opposed them.

Scene change____

On the other side of the battlefield,

Aditya had slaughtered over 12,000 troops. The ones who dared to fight him were dead. The ones who acted smart and surrendered were left alive. And the ones who ran away, Aditya didn't stop them.

Bang!

Opening the doors of the throne hall, Aditya walked towards the golden throne that was located at the end of the throne hall. There was a middle age man sitting on the throne and looking at Aditya.

The man had black hair and yellow eyes. He was 6 feet tall and had a muscular built body. The man was a Peak 4th-order mage. Sitting on his throne, he wore his crown and held a golden staff in his hand.

"Who are you?" Liam George asked.

Aditya did not reply. He instead removed the mask and revealed his face. Seeing his face, Liam's entire body began to tremble. Because of this, the golden crown fell to the ground.

"Yo.....You..."

"It's nice to meet you, Sir Liam. I am sure you know me very well." Aditya introduced himself as he stepped toward Liam.

"Don't come any closer." Liam was horrified. At this moment there were many questions in his mind. He wanted to know why this monster was here. If Aditya was here, then what happened to the Dragon Slayer guild? What happened to his generals?

"Sir Liam, as far as I am aware, there is no blood between us. I don't even know you. Yet you still sent the Dragon Slayer guild to take my life. That's not a good thing."

"After learning your name, I had to pay you a visit. Did you like my surprise?"

"Aditya.....you....." Liam was so scared that he couldn't speak properly. Deep down, he was now starting to regret being too greedy. If he hadn't been so greedy then he wouldn't have made Aditya his enemy.

Aditya stood 5 meters away from the throne. "This is the end of your Shadow Islands Empire. After killing you, I am going to pay a visit to your other two allies as well. Don't worry, very soon you will see your friends in hell."

Bang!

The next second, Liam found noticed something strange about his body. Liam found that the temperature of his entire body was rapidly increasing. "No, stop! Please forgive me." Liam cared about his life more than anything.

"Too late for that!"

Snap!

With the snap of his fingers, the next second, Liam's entire body melted along with the golden throne and his golden crown.

Ahhh!!!!!!

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order cultivator. Your experience points have been saved.?

Sigh!

"Finally done." The next moment Aditya used one of his new skills.

?Dragon Transfer?

?Dragon Transfer?

?3rd Order Passive Skill?

?Description: - A special passive that the host has learned when the Dragon Palace was made. Only the Dragon Monarch possesses this passive skill.?

?Function - Using this skill, the Dragon Monarch can switch places with any of your Blood vessels [Dragonain and Dragon soldiers] at any given second. This skill doesn't require any mana to use. The number of times that this skill can be used is unlimited and there is no cooldown time for this skill.?

The next second, Aditya appeared beside Amber.

Swoosh!

Amber, Nathan, Josh, and Scott, stopped and looked at Aditya. By now the four generals were also done and were heading toward the second wall.

"Your majesty!"

The generals were about to kneel but Aditya stopped them. "There is no need to kneel now. I have killed King Liam. There are around 8,000 soldiers who have surrendered. Amber, you take control of the situation. For now, don't reveal the Istarin empire's name."

"Understood." Amber nodded her head.

"You three come with me. By now, the Dragonians already should have attacked the other eight shadow islands." Nathan, Josh, and Scott were happy to assist their Monarch in battle.

?Dragon Transfer?

The next second, Aditya and the three generals teleported to The Enchanted Holm which is the biggest among the nine shadow islands.

The situation in The Enchanted Holm was the same. A light blue barrier has been built around the barrier. Without any 5th-order cultivator, no one can break the barrier. The barrier also prevented anyone from The Enchanted Holm from escaping.

Around one thousand Dragonians attacked the three cities on the Enchanted Holm. Within just two minutes, all three cities had fallen under the Dragonian's control. Also at the same time, the Duke who governed The Enchanted Holm and his entire has been captured alive.

"Greeting to Dragon Monarch!" All the Dragonians got on their knees to greet the Dragon Monarch.

"Everyone, stand up. I am proud of you all. But this isn't the time to stop." Saying these words, Aditya looked at the Duke whose hands has been tied and he was currently kneeling on the ground.

"Who are you?" The Duke asked.

"I am the Istarin Emperor." Duke Thomas and his wife widened their eyes in shock. Why the Istarin Empire attacked the Shadow islands Empire? Did King Liam offend Aditya in any way? Both Duke and his wife wondered.

One of the Dragonians took out a chair. Aditya sat down and looked at the Duke.

Duke Thomas was a man in his late twenties. He had long red hair and red glowing eyes. Thomas was a vampire and a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. Thomas had a family of three.

"Duke Thomas Evans!"

"You know my name?" Thomas didn't think that the Istarin Emperor would know his name.

"I know many things about you," Aditya replied with a cold smile.

"Duke Thomas Evans, from this moment onwards, the Shadow islands are under the control of the Istarin Empire. Before coming here, I killed your King. Now you have two choices in your hand. You can surrender and work for me or I will have to kill you.....No.....please don't kill Papa!" Aditya was interrupted by a 5 years old small girl.

One of the Dragonians pointed his sword at the little girl.

The 5 years old small girl almost looked like a younger version of Duke Thomas. "Put your sword down." Hearing Aditya's order, the Dragonian put his sword away from the little girl.

Strangely the Dragon Monarch smiled at the girl. This confused the three generals and others.

"Little girl, why should I spare your Papa?" Aditya asked in a stern voice.

"Because Riya loves Papa." Hearing this Aditya widened his eyes before a small smile appeared on his face. Aditya closed his eyes and couldn't help but think about his third wife whose name was also Riya.

'Why I am hesitating?' The Dragon Monarch asked himself.

Normally Aditya would never be hesitant when facing his enemies. His resolve always had been clear. He would never be hesitant to kill his enemies. For today, Aditya was feeling hesitant. He found his resolve shaking because of this little girl.

If Thomas rejected Aditya's offer, he was planning on killing Thomas and his entire family. But now he couldn't even bring himself to say these words. 'Normally I would kill Thomas's entire family along with him. But why I can't bring myself to kill this little girl? Have I become too soft or what?' In the past, Aditya would never hesitate.

Aditya looked at the little girl. Children are said to be angels because of their innocence. Children are not corrupted by the evil of this world. They are the purest being in this world.

"Your Majesty?" Nathan hesitantly called out to Aditya.

In his response, the Monarch showed a small smile before looking at Thomas. "Thomas, you have done many wrong things in your life. Normally I would kill you and your entire family. But your daughter has changed my mind now." Everyone noticed that Aditya's tone seems to have gotten softer.

Meanwhile, Thomas widened his eyes upon hearing Aditya's words. At this moment something changed inside Thomas as well.

"Thomas, if you're ready to serve me under a contract then I will let you remain as the Duke of this island. But do know that, serving me would mean that you would have to change. You cannot continue doing your illegal business. You have to change your path. Or I will destroy your and your wife's cultivation and kick your entire family out of this Empire. Now chose your and your family's future."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[Compensate chapter - 1/6]

Chapter 323

"Now chose your and your family's future." These words impacted Thomas deeply. Especially the words 'your family'. Thomas was blessed with a loving family and an adorable daughter. If his cultivation was destroyed and he along with his family was kicked out of this Empire, Thomas would have no place to go.

The future of his daughter would be in danger. Here, Thomas can ensure his daughter's safety. But if he suddenly loses his powers, then his entire family would be in danger.

'Fate has given me a second chance. I am not a good husband. I am not a good father. Maybe it's time for me to change.' Thomas closed his eyes and accepted what Fate has bought upon him.

"I accept."

.

.

The next few hours, Aditya spent traveling to the other seven Shadow Islands. All the Dukes agreed to accept the contract. The contract prevented any Dukes from betraying Aditya and the Istarin Empire. The contract gave the Dukes more freedom.

The reason all the Dukes easily accepted Aditya as their King is because from the beginning none of the Dukes were happy with Liam George. Liam restricted their earning, restricted their powers, and restricted their authority. Under Liam's rule, none of the nobles had much political power. On the other hand, joining the Istarin Empire gave them all of it. Their powers and their authority had increased. They were in charge of the Shadow islands.

Scene change_____

A few hours later, Aditya returned back to Zion city. As for the other generals, they were dealing with the small bugs.

A few hours later, Amber returned to the Castle only to find Aditya waiting for her. "Your Majesty?" Amber was surprised to see Aditya return so quickly. It only has been a few hours since Aditya left Amber here.

"Amber, how is everything going?" Aditya asked.

"I have captured King Liam's family members." King Liam had 1 wife and 18 concubines. But he didn't have any children. It seems he didn't want any children.

"What should we do with them?" Amber asked.

"Give them 1000 Royal gold coins each and let them go. Also, return their belongings as well." Aditya wasn't the least bit interested in Liam's family. The reason he was willing each of them 1000 royal gold coins was so that these women can live a good life without needing to worry about money. But Aditya was sure that most of these women would just remarry after some time.

"Let them go? Your majesty, I don't think this is a good choice." Liam's wife and concubines will definitely hold grudge against Aditya. In Amber's opinion letting them go wasn't a good choice.

Aditya rubbed the back of his head and replied in a lazy tone. "Those women are free to do whatever they want. I don't really care. If you're worried that Liam's women will try to get revenge on me, then you can rest assured. Now that Liam is dead, no one would value these women. His wife and concubines have lost their status. Even if they want to get revenge on me, it would a dream that they can never accomplish."

"Alright. I will order someone to release them." Before capturing Liam's wife and the concubines, Amber had confiscated their belongings.

Snap!

A Dragonian walked inside the throne hall. By now, Amber had replaced the previous throne where Aditya had melted Liam's body along with his throne with a chair.

The Dragonian found his King sitting on a chair while Amber standing a few meters away from him. "This humble servant greets the Emperor." The Dragonian greeted Aditya by kneeling on one knee.

"Stand up."

As the Dragonian stood up, Amber told the reason why he was called.

"Release King Liam's wife and concubines with their belongings. Also, give each of them 1000 royal gold coins."

The Dragonian was confused about why the Emperor wanted to get the wife and concubines of the enemy go. But he didn't ask any questions and did what he ordered.

After the Dragonian left, Amber looked at Aditya with a hesitant gaze. "What are you thinking?" Aditya understood that his Fox general wants to tell him something.

"Your Majesty, you will be offended if I tell you what I am thinking right now."

"Don't worry. You can speak. I promise I won't be offended." Aditya was curious to know what his general was thinking.

"Alright." Suddenly the Aura around Amber completely changed. Amber now looked very serious. Her eyes became cold. She looked at Aditya as if she was looking at her enemy.

"Your Majesty, do you have any idea how much you have made my best friend suffer while you were gone for over a month?" Amber asked while pressuring Aditya with her killing intent.

Aditya "___"

The Emperor was left speechless.

"Right now, I want to climb those stairs and beat the living hell out of you for making Julia cry all those times." Amber took a deep breath; trying to calm herself and prevent herself from making any rush move that she might regret in the future.

"Your Majesty, please don't do something like this ever again." Saying these words, Amber turned away. Her back faced Aditya while she hid her expression.

Aditya was really amused. To think Amber was willing to go as far as getting angry in front of Aditya and say these words to him in such a tone really goes to show just how much Amber values Julia. 'Julia has found a really nice friend.' Aditya thought in his mind with a small smile.

After a minute of silence, Amber faced Aditya. Lowering her head, she apologized. "My apologies for saying these words. But I have been wanting to say these words to you for a while now. Your majesty, you can punish me for my rude behavior."

"I did promise that I won't be offended. If I punish you, it would mean that I am breaking my promise. And I never break my promise. I am a man of my word after all. Besides, I am also glad to know that Julia has found such a nice friend."

Amber was really surprised. After saying those words, she was expecting to be punished by Aditya. Deep down she was even expecting to lose her position as the Captain. But nothing like that happened.

Lifting her head, Amber saw a genuine smile on the young man's face. It was the very same young man who ruled the lives of millions. It was the very same young man who was known for his cruelty. To the world, Aditya is the Dragon Monarch and the Emperor. But at home, he is a good husband. His wives and his family are his top priority. His family comes before his duties. Right now, the person smiling at Amber wasn't the Emperor, rather it was Julia's husband.

"Your majesty" All the generals returned to Zion city after 10 minutes.

"Our work here is done. The entire Shadow Islands Empire has fallen. No one knows that the Istarin Empire is responsible for this. Two more Empires left."

With the Dragonians, the entire process was extremely easy. The Dragonians were able to enter the enemy cities using the teleportation arrays that each branch guild office of the Seekers of Impurity guild had. The enemy had no idea what hit them. Using the element of surprise, Aditya was able to take down the enemy Empire within a few hours.

Aditya killed all the 5th-order cultivators, while his generals took care of the 4th-order cultivators. As for the lower-order cultivators, the Dragonians easily killed them.

"The night is far from being over. I believe before dawn we will be able to take down the other two Empires."

"I hope everyone is ready. If anyone is tired or out of Mana, use 4-star stamina recovery and 4-star Mana recovery pills." Aditya was only planning on dealing with the 5th-order cultivators and leave the rest to the generals and the Dragonians.

Till now the 7 generals have been led by Aditya. But now Aditya wanted the 7 generals to lead the Dragonians in this war.

"Alright, let's head out." Just as Aditya stood up to leave, a certain someone barged in.

Bang!

"Aditya, I also want to come with you." The one who came was none other than the goddess of nature. The goddess's words left, the generals, the Dragonians, and even the Emperor in shock.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 324

"Aditya, I also want to come with you." The one who came was none other than the goddess of nature. The goddess's words left, the generals, the Dragonians, and even the Emperor in shock.

For a moment the whole place fell into silence. No one spoke a single word. Everyone was looking at Aditya and Riya in silence.

Aditya looked at Riya for a few minutes before sighing.

Sigh!

"Why do you want to come with me?" Aditya asked after failing to guess why the Goddess of Nature suddenly wants to join him.

The goddess's cheeks turned slightly red as she replied. "Because I want to spend time with you."

'Lady Riya is so straightforward.' One of the female Dragonians thought in her mind.

'Maybe I should also become more aggressive like Lady Riya.' Thought another Dragonian.

'Lady Riya is so cool.'

Every Dragonian had a different thought hearing Riya's words.

Sigh!

"Alright. Come here." Aditya just accepted. Since Riya was already here, sending her back was useless. Especially with her strength, Aditya won't have to worry about her safety. In fact, with her help, things might become even easier for them.

After the goddess walked in front of Aditya, the Dragon Monarch did something that surprised everyone. Under everyone's gazes, he patted his lap and signaled Riya to sit there.

Seeing this the goddess was more than happy. As she came in front of Aditya, he made her sit on his lap while leaning her back against his chest. He also wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body.

'This is kind of embarrassing but I love it.' Riya thought as she felt her cheeks heating up. Aditya generally refrains from being intimate with his wives in front of others. In fact, this was the first time he was doing something like this in front of the generals and the Dragonians.

Riya sat on his lap and remained quiet like a little girl. Aditya resumed his meeting without showing any emotions. He gave out several orders before everyone was dismissed.

The plan was simple but very effective. The surprise element was the Sapphire barrier.

The 4-star barrier that Aditya learned after becoming a 4-star runemaster. The Barrier was just a simple 4-star defensive barrier. Aditya then added another feature within the barrier. Before the barrier is formed, the four cubes release a mana wave that prevents anyone from using teleportation magic or a teleportation array within the barrier. The name of this barrier is the Sapphire barrier. Unlike normal defensive barriers, the Sapphire barrier can be activated using the four cubes.

The four cubes act as a battery by holding a large amount of Mana within them. When the four cubes ran out of Mana, the cubes can be recharged with Mana from mana stones or Mana provided by cultivators.

The four cubes allow the Istarin Empire to create a protective barrier in any place. Unlike traditional defensive domes that can only protect cities, the Sapphire barrier can be set up in any place or in any region. This gives the Istarin Empire more flexibility and more defensive powers.

After everyone left, it was only Aditya and Riya in the throne hall. "Today, you're oddly romantic." Riya asked with a smile. Aditya is not the type who shows affection in public. It's not that Riya hated it. It was the opposite. The goddess really liked this side of Aditya.

In response, Riya felt his strong and muscular arms tightly holding her waist. He buried his face in his right shoulder. "I always have been romantic. Today I just felt like hugging you. Am I not allowed to do that?" In response, the goddess giggled.

"You're tired, aren't you?" Aditya opened his eyes.

"What made you assume this?" Aditya asked in a soft tone.

Riya held Aditya's arms and replied in a calm and soft tone. "I am not assuming anything. I can feel it. What kind of wife I would be if I can't even feel my Husband's exhaustion?" She didn't realize that her words shocked him.

At this moment only if Riya had seen his shocked face. She continued....."To us, you have been gone for over a month but in reality, while you were stuck in that world, you have been fighting. Even before you went to that world, you were working very hard. I very rarely saw you take a break. Now after coming back, you're back to work once again. First, the Dragon Slayer guild, second the Shadow islands empire, and now this. A day later, you will be facing the Echo Nexus Empire, and a week later, you will go to the Deep Sea Palace to help Laura."

"Even for a cultivator, this is just too much. Sometimes you need to take a break. Right now, you might not feel fatigued. But over time this fatigue will slowly grow into something big. Even cultivators need to give their bodies rest." In a way Riya was right. Aditya did more than fight the Man eater Monster. His visit to the Icy Shattered Ruin had resurfaced some painful memories. He met one of the Origin dragons. He found a sleeping Princess. He even met the sleeping Princess's parents. And all the new information that was given to him. All of these facts did make him a little exhausted.

For a moment Aditya didn't know what to say in response. He was really lucky to have Riya and others by his side. Otherwise, he surely would have fallen a long time ago.

Aditya lifted Riya. He made her turn around facing him. Without saying a single word, he buried his face in her chest. Riya smiled and gently caressed his head.

"I am not tired yet. Right now, I have to do this because I need to ensure my family, my friends, and my people's safety. After dealing with the Echo Nexus Empire and after helping Laura, maybe then I will take things a little easy."

"Please do."

For a few minutes, both remained like this. "You know, this is the first time I am hugging you like this. I like it when you let go of your worries and lean on me."

"Someone is jealous....."

"I can't help it you know."

"When all of this is over, I will take you out somewhere."

Suddenly Riya couldn't help but feel excited. "Where are you going to take me?" The goddess asked like a little child.

"You will just have to wait."

Seeing Aditya being mysterious, Riya gave up. "By the way, this Sapphire barrier that you came up with is really awesome. As far as I know, the Istarin Empire is the only Empire in the whole world that has something like this. The Sapphire barrier can be used in so many ways."

"Thank you for the compliment. There are still many ways for me to improve the Sapphire barrier. For example, I can add Mana gathering arrays on the four cubes. So when the Sapphire barrier is activated, the barrier will gather Mana from the atmosphere. The people who are inside the Sapphire barrier will be able to cultivate much faster. Or I can add an illusion array that would not only hide the barrier itself but also trap anyone who tries to break the barrier in a powerful illusion."

"Hehe! As expected of my husband." The goddess couldn't help but give a kiss on his lips.

"I should return the favor." Saying that he held his cheeks with his palm and started kissing her.

"Wait......Ah!!!"

The goddess moaned as his hands went down and squeezed her ass cheeks.

Scene change______

Around 5 hours later,

All the generals had returned to Zion city. The generals also bought some prisoners with them.

"Good job everyone." Aditya smiled looking at the prisoners. Riya was standing behind Aditya. Her cheeks were red. Her breathing was ragged.

'It seems we interrupted them.' Amber thought while observing Riya.

Aditya did not cross the line yet. Both of them played around a little bit before everyone returned.

"Aditya, what's the meaning of this?"

"Why did you suddenly attack our Empires? We didn't harm you in any way."

Among the prisoners, there were two individuals who stood out from the rest because of their unique features.

The first still had a half-broken crown on his head. He was an old man who had white hair and a big white mustache. The old man was 6 feet 4 inches tall. Despite looking old, he had a muscular built body. The name of this old man was Elio.

Aditya coldly looked at Elio and the other Emperor named Gian. "There is no need to pretend, old fox. I already have ended Liam's life. Now it's time for both of you to pay." Hearing Aditya's words, both Elio and Gian's bodies stiffened. Both of them struggled to get away from Aditya. But doing that only earned them two kicks in their stomachs.

"Now, let's talk."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 325

It was 4 in the morning. While the people of Zion city were sleeping, their new ruler, the Dragon Monarch, and his companion were busy vanquishing another neighboring Empire.

After the Chaos that Aditya, and the four generals caused in Zion city, things have finally calmed down. The people of Zion city were assured that no one was going to attack them. This assurance gave them the peace that they needed to fall asleep. Otherwise, there is no way that the people of Zion city would be able to sleep peacefully knowing that they were trapped within a barrier and there was no way for them to leave this island.

Amber announced the death of King Liam George and told the people of Zion city that this entire Shadow Islands Empire was under their control. The people of Zion city and the people of the Shadow Islands Empire were going to have a new Emperor. As for who was going to be their new Emperor or which Empire has managed to overthrow Liam George, the previous King, no one had any idea about it. The people could only speculate till things comes to light.

Using 8 thousand soldiers that previously had surrendered to Aditya, Amber was able to stabilize the entire city. A sent four thousand soldiers to protect the first wall. The entire city was shut down and no people were allowed to go out or come in.

When the Defensive dome was broken, the people panicked and began running here and there. The whole of Zion city had temporarily fallen into Chaos. It took Amber a few hours to calm the chaos using the soldiers.

The Defensive dome of Zion city still needs to be fixed.

Back to the Royal Castle____

The Royal Castle of Zion city used to be the home of King Liam George. The people of Zion city could only dream of living at least one day of their life in such a grand place. To the people of Zion, the Royal Palace of Liam George is the most beautiful building structure that they have ever seen.

But in Aditya's eyes, the Royal Castle was nothing special. In his eyes, the Royal Castle belonged to the category of average. As someone who lives in the Dragon Palace, not even 100 Royal Castles can match the beauty and the value of the Dragon Palace.

Since the entire Shadow Islands Empire is now a territory of the Istarin Empire, Zion city will no longer be called the Capital. Aditya was planning on appointing a capable person to be in charge of Zion city and this island. Previously all the powers of the Shadow Islands Empire were concentrated within Ashcour Island but now this was going to change. Ashcour Island has gained the same status as the other eight shadow Islands.

And whoever is made in charge of governing Ashcour Island will use the Royal Castle of King Liam George. Aditya wasn't planning on using the Royal Castle. In his eyes, the Royal Castle is another man's property. Even if Liam is now dead and Aditya has taken over his Empire, it kind of felt strange for him to use someone else's thing. After all, King Liam has spent over 141+ of his life in this Royal Castle.

Thought it would be a different thing if the entire Royal Castle was renovated to suit Aditya's taste. But why Aditya would be interested in bronze when he owns diamonds?

"I truly never expected you to do all these in just a single night. This goes to show that from the beginning you had the power to crush us whenever you wished to. We were fools to think that we could defeat. Maybe if all of the western region's Emperors had managed to come together then maybe the whole outcome could have been changed."

Sigh!

"It looks like getting old has declined my thinking capacity. I should have understood this." Gian sighed in regret. Unlike King Elio whose eyes were full of fear, Gian's eyes were calm. Aditya can see regret in his eyes but there was no fear of death.

When Aditya learned that all seven Superpowers of the Western region were aiming for the Istarin Empire, more specifically the Southern region territories, he pulled a few strings to start a war among the four of the seven superpowers. Even now the four Empires are still fighting each other without knowing that it was Aditya behind all of this.

The other three Superpowers remained neutral. Aditya thought that this war would end the Western region's ambition of conquering the Southern region. However, he was wrong when the remaining three Superpowers gave a big sum of money to the Dragon Slayer guild to end the Istarin Emperor's life.

No one expected, the Dragon Slayer guild to be defeated even without Aditya. When their plan failed, the three Emperors were not frightened or anything. At that time, they didn't think that Aditya would later go on to annihilate the entire Dragon Slayer guild and drown the base island of the Dragon Slayer guild.

When their plans failed, the three Emperors were angry and frustrated as they had spent a lot of money hiring the Dragon Slayer guild for this job. Also not to mention the risk that they had taken. The three Emperors met and agreed to remain silent for the next few months till they can find a perfect plan.

The three superpowers thought all of these would be kept super secret but tonight they learned that Aditya was aware of their little plan. Not only that but also he had come in the darkness of the night to take revenge.

Now the Qezia Empire and the Niwen Empire also had fallen. In a single night, three superpowers fell into the hands of the Istarin Empire. This is something that no other Empire has managed to accomplish before. Taking down three Empires in a single night is an accomplishment that will surely send shockwaves throughout 6 continents.

Gian Harper is an old man who looks like he is around 80 years old. Gian had long white hair that reach down his waist. Unlike Emperor Elio, Gian was thin and skinny but tall as King Elio. He was fair-skinned. He had a long white beard. He wore white clothes. Gian is 149 years old.

The Emperor of the Niwen Empire is a Peak 2nd-order cultivator which is a surprising thing.

But according to Spencer, around a hundred years ago, Gian took a life-taking blow from a Peak 4th-order cultivator. As a result, Gian's cultivation directly fell from Peak 3rd-order to Peak 2nd-order. The Emperor tried everything in his power to heal his body but not even a Peak 3-star pill was able to help him. It was also because of this injury that, Gian started aging rapidly.

"King of Niwen Empire, do you regret your actions?" Aditya asked.

"I have very few regrets in life. But overall, I have lived a beautiful life. I might not have been a good man but I don't regret my action. Istarin King, you can kill me if you want. I have one last dying wish. Would you hear me out?" Aditya can sense that Gian is too prideful to lower his head to anybody. Even though he has been captured, unlike King Elio, Gian is totally calm and in control of his emotions. Old man Gian had the Aura of a King. But he was still willing to bend his head and request his enemy. This meant whatever Gian was going to wish for was something that is even more valuable than his pride and his honor.

"Oh, King of Niwen Empire, This Dragon Monarch will hear out your dying wish." Aditya was interested in a man like Gian. In the face of death, he had seen great figures discarding their pride and begging for their life. But this man was very different and unique.

"Just leave my family alone. Make them sign a blood contract and let them go." Aditya widened his eyes in surprise. Riya who was standing behind Aditya was also surprised. Instead of begging for his life, this man was asking him to spare his family's life.

If Gian had asked for his life, then Aditya wouldn't have killed him. He would have put Gian in his prison. But contrary to his expectations, this man chose his family.

Aditya smiled and nodded his head. "Alright, I give you my word."

Gian nodded his head with a relieved smile. The next moment, under everyone's shocked eyes, the old man took out a sword from his storage ring. He then gave one last nodding look to Aditya before stabbing himself with his sword.

"Farewell....!" Aditya, Riya, and everyone was still in deep shock.

Elio was petrified looking at Gian's dead body. Just like that, the old man had taken his life. There was no hesitation and no fear on his face. His resolve was strong as a mountain.

'Old man, you have earned my respect despite being my enemy. You died like a Hero.' Aditya then turned his attention to King Elio

"Now, what path are you going to choose, King Elio?"

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Chapter 326

"Now, what path are you going to choose, King Elio?"

"I..." King Elio, the King of the Qezia Empire was in dilemma. Seeing Gian take his life scared him. Right now Elio's legs were trembling. His mind was a mess. He didn't know what to do.

'I am not brave enough to take my life like Gian. I don't want to die yet. I don't want to lose my Kingdom. Yet the choices in hands are limited to two. Either I take my life or I suffer in Aditya's hands.' No matter how much Elio thought, the concept of death scared him. Elio was scared of death.

"I.....I surrender." Elio lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Aditya observed Elio's reaction for an entire minute. "Elio, I will not kill you. From now on you will become my slave. You will spend the rest of your life working in a gold mine."

A part of Elio was relieved that Aditya didn't kill him immediately. Elio was more afraid of death than any other punishment in this world. Elio had gone from being the Emperor to be a mere slave who was going to work in mines for the rest of his life.

Henry stepped forward and put a slave collar around Elio's neck. When Elio was captured, his cultivation already had been crippled. Henry then took away the storage ring that Elio had worn. While doing that, he also took out the storage ring from Gian's dead body.

Henry gave two storage rings to Spencer. The Prime Minister was going to put everything in both Emperor's storage rings in the treasury.

"Someone take him away." Two Dragonians soon dragged Elio away. As for what was going to happen to his family, Elio didn't care. Unlike Gian who loved his family, Elio was never that close to his family.

Aditya glanced at Gian's dead body before ordering. "Bring Gian's family." A dragonian nodded his head and then walked out of the throne hall.

"Your majesty, what should we do with Elio's family?" Asked Prime Minister Spencer.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but Elio has two wives and 2 sons right?" Spencer nodded his head.

"Tell me about his family. Are they like Elio or....?"

"Elio's first wife and his first son are just like Elio. Cold, cunning, ruthless, and arrogant. But his second wife and his second wife's son are different. The second wife and her son were always bullied by Elio's first wife and her son. The second wife is a kind-hearted woman. She has raised her son to become a kind-hearted young man. Elio knew about the bullying but he never did anything against it."

Aditya closed his eyes and began to think. "Send the first wife and her son to Elio. The family can spend the rest of their lives working in mines. As for the second wife and her son, bring them to me."

"As you command." Spencer signaled someone to fetch Elio's second wife and her son.

Meanwhile, Gian's family members entered the throne hall. Aditya was expecting the family members to break down upon seeing Gian's dead body but strangely none of the family members made any sound. Tears fell from their eyes. It was as if they knew that Gian was going to die and seeing his dead body they just accepted the whole thing.

"D you not hate me?" Aditya couldn't help but ask Gian's wife.

Wipe!

Gian's wife wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked at Aditya. "I hate you but I have promised my dear husband that I am going to start a new life and not pursue revenge. I had a feeling that this day would come." A long time ago Gian had told his wife and his family, in case the Niwen Empire was to fall and they were captured, Gian wanted his family to start a new life in a new place without thinking of revenge.

The wife and the family members kneeled around Gian's dead body. While gently caressing Gian's hair, the wife continued. "My husband is a greedy man. But he has a kind heart. Since our marriage, I have tried to change him. Unfortunately, I wasn't successful. What happened to him today was a result of his greed."

"You can take Gian's dead body with you. Give him a proper burial." Aditya knew that the people of the western region had different beliefs. The body of their loved ones or their family is buried after properly dressing the dead. The western region people believed that there is a life after death and that burying their loved ones in proper dress would ensure prosperity in their next life.

"Thank you, Your Majesty" Gian's family was grateful to Aditya for allowing them to give Gian a proper burial.

"There is no need to thank me. Spencer, give them 10,000 royal gold coins." Hearing this all members of Gian's family widened their eyes in surprise.

"Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness but I don't think there is any need for you to give us such a big amount."

"To start a new life, you would need money. And I don't think you have enough money for that." After all, when the members of the royal family were captured, all of their belongings and their assets were also taken away.

"This....." The Former queen knew what Aditya said was right. She didn't wish to receive any support from the enemy. Even if she and her family wasn't going to pursue revenge for Gian, it didn't mean that the royal family didn't hate Aditya.

Seeing the former queen still hesitating, Aditya quickly added. "Think of these 10,000 royal gold coins as me returning some of your assets in cash." Gian's wife nodded her head with a conflicted look. She still found it humiliating to receive money from her enemy. But she knew that this money would help them start a new life.

Aditya sighed seeing Gian's family leave with Gian's dead body. As soon as Gian's family left, a beautiful mature woman and a 19 years old young man walked in.

The woman had black long hair and a beautiful face. The woman is a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. While the young man walking beside the woman is a Mid-2nd-order cultivator. They were Elio's second wife and Elio's second son.

According to what Aditya has been told by Spencer, Elio's second wife's name is Nylah Thomson, and the young man standing beside her was called Isaac Thomson.

"Your Majesty!" Both Nylah and Isaac got to one knee and lowered their heads.

"Stand up. I have something important that I want to discuss with both of you."

After Nylah and Isaac stood up. "Do you know what I have done to your husband and to the Qezia Empire?"

"Yes." Nylah and Isaac have seen Elio being dragged away by two guards. From the Dragonians, Nylah has learned that the Emperor has turned Elio into a slave. He was going to work the rest of his life in a mine.

"I will keep things straight and clear for you two." Nylah was still confused about why she and her son hasn't been punished. Standing in front of the Dragon Monarch both mother and son were feeling nervous.

"The Qezia Empire has four major islands that previously were ruled by Elio and three Dukes. I can't just leave these four islands without a governor. The sooner I find a governor the faster things will improve."

After a short pause, Aditya turned his attention to Elio's second son. Unlike Elio, Isaac was kind and hard-working. Aditya liked Isaac's character. "Isaac, Do you have any experience in governing territory?" Hearing Aditya's question, Nylah was able to understand why the Emperor wanted to meet them. Realizing this, inwardly Nylah became really happy and also excited. She tried her best to not show it on her face.

Isaac nodded his head. Even though Elio neglected him and his mother, as the second prince, he was taught a lot of things. Isaac knows how to rule a territory.

"Good. This makes things easier."

"Isaac, I will give you an opportunity. As of now, you're no longer a prince. Isaac, what do you kind of become the governor of Bursberry Island?" Isaac widened his eyes in deep shock. On the other hand, Nylah was able to take the news calmly but inwardly she was beyond excited.

Previously Nylah saw no hope for her son to become the Emperor as Elio kind of favored his first son and was also thinking of declaring the first prince as the crown prince.

Bursberry Island is the capital island of The Qezia Empire. Even if Isaac was no longer the prince if he agreed, he would become a noble of the Istarin Empire and would become the governor of Bursberry Island.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 327

"Isaac, I will give you an opportunity. As of now, you're no longer a prince. Isaac, what do you kind of become the governor of Bursberry Island?" Isaac widened his eyes in deep shock. On the other hand, Nylah was able to take the news calmly but inwardly she was beyond excited.

Previously Nylah saw no hope for her son to become the Emperor as Elio kind of favored his first son and was also thinking of declaring the first prince as the crown prince. When Aditya attacked the Qezia Empire and the royal members were captured by the dragonians, Nylah thought that she and her son were going to become slaves or worse executed.

In her mind, Nylah was praying to every God whose name she has heard in her life for her son's safety. Rather than getting executed, she wanted her son to live.

When the Dragonian told her that the Emperor wanted to meet her and her son, Nylah became nervous. As the Emperor's words would decide their future. Never did Nylah think that the Emperor would give her son such a big opportunity despite her son being the son of the Istarin Emperor's enemy.

Bursberry Island is the capital island of The Qezia Empire. Even if Isaac was no longer the prince if he agreed, he would become a noble of the Istarin Empire and would become the governor of Bursberry Island. This was 1 million times better than becoming a slave or getting executed.

Standing behind Aditya, Riya observed Nylah and her son Isaac. The goddess didn't like politics. Just like Julia, she preferred to stay away from this kind of thing. The only reason that she was still here is that she wanted to spend more time with Aditya.

Looking at Isaac, the goddess of Nature sensed something wrong with Isaac's body. 'It looks like he has been poisoned and he is not even aware of it.' Riya thought in her mind. For now, she decided to observe Isaac a little to learn more about the poison while Isaac decided his fate.

Isaac recovered from his shock. Isaac didn't reply immediately. The reason for this was the confusion and the hesitance that took over his heart. Isaac knew that he never was going to become the King. From a young age, he understood this fact very well.

Now that he was given a chance to start a new life, Isaac wasn't sure if he should just accept Aditya's offer. Aditya's offer really tempted him but Isaac wasn't sure if he was ready to serve someone.

Isaac turned his head to his right and looked at his mother. The young man saw his mother nodding her head at him with a smile. 'That's right. I am not alone. I just can't think about myself. From now on I must take care of my mother. She is my only remaining family.' As for Elio and his stepmother, Isaac didn't really care what happened to them.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how I will thank you for giving me such a huge opportunity. You have given me and my mother the chance to start a new life. I gladly accept your offer. I may not be experienced as other nobles but I am someone who learns this rather quickly. I promise to not disappoint you in the future." Hearing this Aditya nodded his head with a satisfied look.

Nylah was proud of her son.

"My apologizes for interrupting but this is something very important and it concerns your future." Riya's voice made everyone look at her.

Isaac and Nylah both looked at Riya. Isaac has to admit that Riya is the most beautiful woman that he has ever seen in his life. As the former prince, the number of beautiful women that Isaac has met in his 19 years old life is too many to count. But none of them comes closer to Riya.

"You're poisoned?" Everyone within the throne hall widened their eyes. Nylah covered her mouth in shock.

"What? Me and poisoned?" Isaac asked while pointing at himself.

Riya just nodded his head. "I don't know when you were poisoned but this poison has slowed down your cultivation speed. I am still not sure what kind of poison is this?"

To know more about this poison, Riya would Isaac's blood. But she was lazy to do that. Using her powers, she can easily cure the poison in his body regardless of its type and its powers.

"It must have been that bitch." Nylah's hair started floating as she released her killing intent. All of her anger was directed toward Elio's first wife. Nylah didn't come from a powerful family. In front of the first wife, Nylah's powers and authority were very less. For years, she and her son has endured all forms of bullying from Elio's first wife.

Now that she has learned that her son was poisoned, Nylah had finally reached her limit. Her eyes turned red from anger. Right now, if Elio's first wife was in front of Nylah, she would have killed this bitch using her bare hands.

Sensing his mother's killing intent, Isaac tried his best to calm his mother. "Mother, please calm down. Those people are going to spend the rest of their lives as slaves."

"You're right.' Nylah took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Your Majesty, my apologies. I lost my calm there." Aditya waved his hand to tell her that he was not offended. Any mother in her position would have the same reaction.

"Riya, can you help Isaac?" Aditya asked.

Riya nodded her head. The next second, she took out a dark green apple from her storage ring and threw it to Isaac.

Isaac caught the apple and looked at Riya for some explanation. "This isn't any simple apple. It's a 4-star magic fruit. The healing apple can cure any 4-star or lower-star poisons." Riya hoped that the poison in Isaac's body wasn't a 5-star poison. If it was a 5-star poison, then it would be very troublesome for her.

Hearing that this was a 4-star magic fruit, everyone in the throne hall was surprised. One had to know that magic fruits were extremely rare and very difficult to find. Magic fruits are mostly guarded by powerful magic animals. This is why, Magic fruits are so costly as it is extremely difficult to obtain them. Magic fruits are like natural pills. To a cultivator, Magic fruits are like priceless treasures. There are many kinds of magic fruits with many kinds of properties.

"Your Majesty, this is really valuable. I don't know how I will ever repay you for giving me something valuable like this."

"Thank Riya not me. And also there is no need for any repayment."

"Thank you, Lady Riya." Both mother and son bowed to Riya to express their gratitude.

"It's alright." To Riya, this wasn't any big deal. Being the goddess of Nature, Riya had many kinds of magic fruits. Normally a 4-star magic fruit takes up to thousand years to grow. But with her powers, she can accelerate the growth of the Magic fruit. The fruit that she has given to Isaac was one of those magic fruits that she had found in the forest.

Isaac put the dark green apple in his storage ring. He was planning on consuming the magic fruit when he returned home.

"Alright, it's time to talk with others. The former Dukes of the Shadow Islands Empire step forward." Hearing this Isaac and Nylah stepped back. While 8 figures stepped forward. These eight figures were 8 dukes who previously served King Liam.

Now they have agreed to serve Aditya.

Looking at the eight dukes the Emperor thought. 'Normally, I would appoint someone I trust in charge of the shadow islands. But now I have very little time. Within tomorrow, the Echo Nexus Empire will surely find out everything and declare war against the Istarin Empire. In times like this, I cannot leave the position of 9 governors vacant. Since the 8 dukes have agreed to serve me and with the soul-binding contract making sure that they can't betray me or the Istarin Empire, I don't have to worry at all.'

"I have decided to give you all a second chance. Do not disappoint me otherwise, you won't be able to handle the consequences." Aditya said while releasing a little bit of his killing intent.

All 8 dukes trembled to face the Dragon Monarch's killing intent. Even his little killing intent was just too much for them. After all, the Emperor had slaughtered millions of beings. His killing intent was very potent.

"We won't. My King, you were kind enough to spare me and also give me a second chance. I promise I won't let you down." Replied Thomas who previously governed The Enchanted Holm. Aditya spared Thomas mainly because of his daughter.

"We won't disappoint you. This is our promise." All the other 7 dukes said simultaneously.

"Alright. Before we begin, there is a person that I want to see."

"Your Majesty, please tell me that person's name" Spencer asked.

"I believe his name was Leon. He was the captain-ranked soldier."

"Go and bring Leon." Obeying Spencer's order, a Dragonian went out. A few minutes later, the guard returned with a Leon.

Leon walked in. His gaze fell on Aditya who was sitting on a chair and looking at him. Seeing Aditya, Leon gulped remembering how quickly he ended the lives of the three beginner-5th order generals.

After greeting the Emperor, Leon stood up wondering why he was summoned here. After Amber took over Zion City, she ordered him to organize the 8,000 soldiers who also had surrendered and calm the Chaos within the city.

"Leon, I want to make you the governor of Zion City and Ashcour Island. Just so you know, I am not pressuring you to take this position or anything. I am offering you this position. You're free to reject my offer if you think that you are not suited for this role." Hearing Aditya's words, Isaac, Nylah, Thomas and other captured nobles were shocked. They didn't think the Emperor would give such a big opportunity to a mere Captain.

The more Leon heard Aditya's words, the more wide his eyes became. In the end, his mouth was wide open. Leon just couldn't believe it. The Emperor himself was giving him such a huge opportunity.

Leon came from a poor family. Just like any other soldier he also became a soldier to have a stable income. Due to his talents and also his hard work, Leon was promoted to become the Captain of the guards. After the Istarin Empire took over, Leon thought that his rank in the military was going to fall. But he was still satisfied as he had heard how well the Istarin Empire treats its soldiers.

In the Istarin Empire, becoming a soldier is seen as a symbol of pride. Not to mention, the countless benefits that an Istarin soldier and his family received.

'This offer is really tempting. If I accept, the condition of my whole family will change overnight. I won't have to worry about money again in my life. My family can live a luxurious life. But...' Leon was really happy receiving such a kind offer from the Emperor but he felt that he wasn't worthy.

'Other than being able to write and read, I don't know anything about governing or ruling. I will just end up disappointing His Majesty.' Leon wasn't wealthy enough to attend school. Leon only learned to read and write after he became the Captain.

"My King, this humble servant is not worthy of accepting such a big position." Hearing Leon's reply, everyone was surprised.

But Aditya smiled.

"Why do you think that you're not worthy?" Aditya asked but he already knew the answer.

"Because I have spent my whole life as a soldier. I have used these hands of mine to swing a sword. I am not educated enough. I don't have any experience in this field. I am not suited to become a noble. It would be better if you appoint someone else to this position." In the end, Leon couldn't bear to disappoint the Emperor. It was not as if he was desperate. Leon was happy with his current position and with his current salary.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 328

"Because I have spent my whole life as a soldier. I have used these hands of mine to swing a sword. I am not educated enough. I don't have any experience in this field. I am not suited to become a noble. It would be better if you appoint someone else to this position." In the end, Leon couldn't bear to disappoint the Emperor. It was not as if he was desperate. Leon was happy with his current position and with his current salary.

'He is being honest. If he was greedy then he would have accepted this position without a question.' Aditya wanted Honest people like Leon to work under him. What's the use of having talented men when you can't trust them?

"Leon, you can learn. The most important thing is taking the first step." Since the Emperor's tone had left no room for discussion, Leon could only agree. It would be deemed rude and disrespectful if he still rejected Aditya's offer.

"Alright." Leon still looked reluctant. Aditya was satisfied with Leon's reaction.

Aditya then looked at Spencer. "Spencer, make the declaration."

Spencer nodded his head. Under everyone's gaze, the Prime Minister took out a golden royal scroll.

Opening the golden royal scroll, Spencer made a few changes and added Leon's name.

Leon and the other eight former dukes kneeled before Aditya and lowered their heads.

?From this moment onward, under the order of His Majesty, the 8 anterior dukes along with Leon will be appointed as the governors of the 9 Shadow Islands. Leon, Thomas Evans, Lewis Wright, Zachary Jackson, Morgan Barrett, Charles Thompson, Nicolas Chaney, Robert Kidd, and Blake Holmes, have been given the rank of Viscount.

- 1. Ashcour Island - Viscount Leon

- 2. Summermond Island - Viscount Lewis Wright

- 3. The Enchanted Holm - Viscount Thomas Evans

- 4. Weyden Island - Viscount Zachary Jackson

- 5. Stoneminster Holm - Viscount Morgan Barrett

- 6. The Starfish Island - Viscount Charles Thompson

- 7. The Pearl Chain - Viscount Nicolas Chaney

- 8. Brisburg Island - Viscount Robert Kidd

- 9. Langboia Islands - Viscount Blake Holmes

From this moment onward, Leon, Thomas Evans, Lewis Wright, Zachary Jackson, Morgan Barrett, Charles Thompson, Nicolas Chaney, Robert Kidd, and Blake Holmes will accommodate the His Majesty and the Istarin Imperium with their heart and soul.?

?His Majesty has placed his hope and prospects on you. You are authoritatively mandated to develop your territories and live up to His Majesty's prospects.?

?From this moment onward, your souls and your bloodline will be bound to the terms and conditions of this contract. Failing to follow any one of the conditions will result in your and your family's death.

- Work to develop your territories.

- Work for the golden future of the Istarin Imperium.

- Do not do anything to apostatize the Istarin Imperium and His Majesty.?

"Now, I need a drop of your blood to make everything official." Spencer stepped towards the kneeling Viscounts. While others watched the entire process in silence.

Leon was the first one to give a drop of his blood. The drop of his blood fell on the golden royal scroll. As soon as the blood touched the royal scroll, the scroll glowed in bright white light. A few later, the bright white light dimmed down and then disappeared.

Spencer then moved to Thomas. Aditya silently watched the process. 'Normally I would have held a big grand ceremony for this kind of event but now I simply don't have time. Maybe after I am done with the Echo Nexus Empire I will hold a banquet so that all the nobles can meet each other.'

After Viscount Blake Holmes was done, Spencer closed the golden royal scroll.

"Congratulations!" After congratulating the new viscounts, Spencer returned to his original position.

"I want the nobles of the Niwen Empire to step forward." Hearing this the nobles who have been bought to the throne hall along with Elio and Gian nervously nodded their heads before stepping forward. While the newly appointed Viscounts went back and stood along with other Dragonians.

The Geography of the Niwen Empire wasn't that complex. The Niwen Empire was even bigger than the Shadow Islands Empire. The Niwen Empire is located next to the Shadow Islands Empire. Both Empires have been friends for centuries. Hence, there was no friction between them. Both Empires have always stood together.

The Niwen Empire was made up of 5 Islands. Unlike Shadow Islands where clouds prevented the sunlight from reaching the Shadow Islands 11 months out of 12 months, the Niwen Empire total opposite. The five islands that made up The Niwen Empire were big as the largest Shadow Island; big as The Enchanted Holm. The Niwen Empire was the third-largest Empire within the Western region.

The Niwen Empire is an agriculture-based economy. Around 69% of the entire Niwen Empire's revenue came from agriculture. Agriculture was the way of life for the people who lived in the Niwen Empire. The five islands that made up the Niwen Empire had fertile land. The climate and the availability of water made agriculture a very profitable occupation.

The Shadow Islands relied on the Niwen Empire for their food supply. Whether it was meat or vegetable or rice, almost everything came from Niwen Empire.

Militarily the Niwen Empire wasn't strong as the Shadow Islands Empire. The Empire had an estimation of around 500,000 troops. Among them, 500,000 troops only a few thousand troops were 3rd-order cultivators. The Niwen Empire had only two beginner 5th-order cultivators.

After Istarin Empire took over, around 100,000 troops surrendered while the other 400,000 troops were either killed or fled from the battlefield. As for the two 5th-order cultivators, Riya was the one who killed them.

Just like the Shadow Islands, Gian directly kept the capital island of the Niwen Empire under his control. While the other four Niwen Islands were controlled by four noble families. Just like Liam, Gian never allowed the political power of the four noble families to grow as this would threaten his position.

But Gian wasn't cruel as Liam. Gian had no ambition of expanding this empire. The only reason he supported Liam and Elio is that he wanted to decrease his Empire's dependency on other Empires for the supply of Mana stones.

"Istarin Emperor, don't think that I will serve you. I don't want to become a slave to the contract." Before Aditya could say anything, Duke Alexzander Burke made his position clear. Duke Alexzander saw the contract as a way of turning the nobles into slaves. Alexzander was a prideful man. Even during the reign of Gian, he never bowed his head.

Hearing this Aditya's eyes became cold. Aditya wasn't offended by the fact that Duke Alexzander refused his offer even before he could say anything. He was offended by Duke Alexzander's attitude.

Bang!

Riya angrily stomped the ground with her right foot. The power from her right leg caused spider web-like cracks to appear around her.

At this moment, the goddess's eyes were glowing in cold green. Seeing her gaze, Alexzander's body started shaking. Drops of sweat began rolling down his face. Alexzander felt as if he was staring at the goddess of death. His body felt heavy. He knew that his next mouth could be the end of his life.

"Watch your tongue peasant. Say another rude word to Aditya and I swear on my husband's name, I will slaughter your entire family right before your eyes." Riya's words weren't just empty threats. If this man really said another rude thing to Aditya, then no one can stop her from slaughtering this man's entire family and his bloodline.

In Riya's eyes, even a man like Duke Alexzander was a peasant. After all, Riya was the Goddess of Nature. She was the princess of The Celestial Terrain continent. Even 0.1% of Riya's wealth can buy this man at least 100 times.

Normally Riya isn't the type to look down on others. The goddess of Nature believed that every being that Nature has created was equal and important to this world.

However, the Yandere goddess wouldn't tolerate it if her husband is disrespected right before her. 'I would have killed this man if Aditya wasn't here.' Riya tightly clenched her fists in anger. She felt her blood boiling. The kind and merciful goddess wouldn't feel any guilt or regret if she slaughters this man's entire family right now.

Hearing Riya's words, not just Alexzander, but also the other three ex-nobles of the Niwen Empire stepped back while looking at Riya in fear. They were afraid. Looking at her face, who knows when this woman might end their life. After all, she was a beginner 5th-order cultivator.

"Aditya, let me kill this guy." Riya gritted her teeth and look at Alexzander as if she was looking at her prey. Seeing this Alexzander took a few steps back in fear.

The generals, Spencer, the Dragonians, and Viscounts frowned and gave Alexzander cold gazes.

"There is no need to dirty your beautiful hands." Aditya took out another chair and placed the chair next to his.

"Sit down." Like an obedient child, the goddess quickly calmed down and sat down. Aditya then held her right hand making the goddess smile in happiness.

Seeing this others were dumbfounded. Just a second ago, this woman was looking like a wild animal that couldn't wait to kill Alexzander. But now this woman changed into a gentle wife.

'If I let Riya do whatever she wants, I am sure she will end up destroying this whole place.' Aditya knew that his 3rd wife had Yandere tendencies. It's not that he hated her personality or anything. He found her Yandere personality to be cute and charming to a certain extent and only to a certain extent. Too much obsession and possessiveness weren't healthy at all.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 329

This chapter has been edited.

Seeing Riya calming down, Alexzander secretly sighed in relief. He also swore in his heart to not say anything rude to Aditya. Aditya wasn't Gian who endured Alexzander's rude attitude. Alexzander had mistakenly thought that the Emperor wouldn't be offended by his attitude.

"Alexzander, earlier you said that contract is a way of making the nobles slaves, right?" Aditya's words attracted Alexzander's attention.

"Guess what, you're right to a certain extent. At the end of the day, you all are my enemy. Normally I would just put you all in prison or just end your lives. The contract is to make sure that none of the nobles can betray the Istarin Empire. The contract does not make you a slave in any way. All one has to do is follow the three conditions written in the contract." Aditya said these words to let everyone, including the newly appointed governors know that Aditya wasn't trying to control them in any way.

"Aside from Alexzander, is there anyone else who wishes to follow him?" The entire place fell into silence. They would be fools if they rejected Aditya's offer. Even Alexzander was starting to regret rejecting Aditya's offer.

"Good. Alexzander, since you don't want to serve me, let Spencer tell you about your future." At that moment, Alexzander that he was done. His lips quivered to speak but no words came out of his mouth.

Spencer coldly looked at Alexzander. "Your cultivation will be crippled. All of your belongings and your family's belongings will be seized. And lastly, you and your family are banned from ever stepping into the Istarin Empire." Aditya then looked at Spencer and nodded his head.

"Please.....don't do this to me." Alexzander fell to his knees and started beginning Aditya. However, Aditya didn't look at Alexzander at all. He totally ignored the man.

Alexzander bought this fate with his own hands. If he wasn't rude to Aditya, then Aditya would have given Alexzander a new chance to start his family outside the Istarin Empire. But now Aditya didn't care what happened to him.

Spencer looked at Josh and said. "Do it."

Josh stepped forward. Before Alexzander could react, a strong punch landed on his heart.

Bang!

Ahhhhh!!!!!

Cough!

Alexzander fell to his knees before coughing out a mouthful of blood. He then looked at Aditya and then passed out. Seeing what was happening in front of them, some nobles had to turn their heads away. This was just too cruel. Destroying a cultivator's cultivation was much more painful than killing them.

"Throw him and his family in the White Desert." Hearing this the other ex-nobles' bodies trembled in fear. One had to know that The White Desert that Prime Minister Spencer was talking about was located in the Dry Savanna continent. The Dry Savanna continent was the hottest continent out there. The White Desert is the largest desert in the whole world. It is said that once someone is lost in the white desert, that person's life is basically over as getting out of the White Desert is like looking for a needle in Haystack.

Two Dragonians grabbed Alexzander and dragged him out of the throne hall.

"Now let's continue," Aditya said with a smile. He pretended as if Alexander didn't exist.

"Kenny Norman, Joseph Andrews, and Yasmin Parker, I am willing to give you three a second chance. If you don't want to serve me that's fine. You can reject my offer. I swear I won't harm you."

Kenny Norman, Joseph Andrews, and Yasmin Parker looked at each other and nodded their heads. They have lived their entire lives as nobles. They were not sure if they can live a normal life at this point. Besides, the offer came from the Istarin Empire. In the Dying Isle continent, who doesn't know about the Istarin Empire and the Istarin King? Getting the chance of serving the Istarin Emperor would be an honor.

"We accept."

"Good." Aditya nodded his head with a satisfied look.

Aditya then moved to call the ex-nobles from the Qezia Empire. Just like the ex-nobles of the Niwen Empire, they too also accepted Aditya's offer and agreed to serve him.

The Qezia Empire was a very small Empire. The Empire was made up of four islands. What enabled the Qezia Empire to grow into an Empire is its natural resources. The four islands of the Qezia Empire had a total of 9 gold mines. Among the three Empires that Aditya conquered, the Qezia Empire was the richest Empire. Mainly because of the 9 gold mines.

Being rich meant that the Qezia Empire also had a strong military. The four islands had 800,000 troops. Out of the 800,000 troops, 300,000 troops surrendered. The rest were either killed or managed to flee. 300,000 troops were more than enough to protect the Islands. If Aditya turned even 10,000 of the troops into Dragonians, then these 10,000 Dragonians would be able to take on an army of 300,000 and win.

"The Lion Island and the Kingfisher Island are still left without a governor. Spencer, do you have any capable and also trustworthy individuals who can take on the role of governing these two Islands?" Aditya asked his Prime Minister.

Spencer replied with a smile. "Your Majesty, in fact, there are many individuals who are more than capable enough to take on this role. The first one is a Dragonian. His name is Mason Lynn."

"Ohh.... Tell me more about him?" Aditya became interested. If Spencer was speaking highly of this Dragonian, then this Dragonian must be someone extraordinary or must be someone who has accomplished something extraordinary.

"Mason Lynn is one of the first 100 Dragonians. Mason is talented in Managing. Mason received high-level education before joining the Istarin Military. He often helps me out with skills. Aside from Management, Mason is talented, hard-working, and has a nice personality. Mason is diligent. He spends most of his free time cultivating. He has now reached beginner 4th order."

"Alright. Tell me about the other person?" Aditya nodded his head and asked Spencer about the other person.

"The other person whom I would like to recommend is Lucas Brooks. Your Majesty, Lucas Brooks is the cousin of Duke Zayne."

Hearing this Aditya wasn't surprised. In fact, he also thought of Lucas Brooks when asking Spencer.

Previous Duke Eastgard had betrayed the Istarin Empire. Zayne who was the commander of Duke Eastgard helped Aditya. Aditya later appointed Zayne as the Duke. Zayne also married Eastgard's daughter Kaia as both of them were in love.

Zayne's cousins worked under Zayne for a short period of time before deciding to join the Istarin Military. When Lucas joined the military, Watson had informed Aditya about this. Watson had asked the superiors to keep a close eye on Lucas. Aditya thought that Zayne would use his powers to promote Lucas in the military but nothing like that happened.

Instead Lucas never even mentioned to anyone that he is the cousin of Duke Zayne. Within a month, Lucas proved himself that he had the potential to become one of the best. Whatever mission, he was given, he was able to complete it in time and perfectly. In a few months, Lucas became one of the best Istarin soldiers. Not only that but also, Lucas became the fastest soldier to reach the rank of Captain.

Because of this, Aditya had turned Lucas into a Dragonian as well.

"Spencer, tell me why are you recommending Lucas?" Aditya wanted to know. Even Watson had praised Lucas many times in front of Aditya.

"Your Majesty, I think General Henry should speak of Lucas's character." Lucas joined Henry's division. In fact, Lucas was one of the best soldiers that Henry had in his division. So it would be fair if Henry spoke instead of Spencer.

Everyone's attention fell on Henry. The cold, ruthless general of the Istarin Empire. The general always wore a cold expression that kept others away from him. Henry remained quiet most of the time. But when he opened his mouth, others always listened to him.

"Your Majesty, Lucas is the best soldier that I have ever trained. Lucas is much smarter than me. He is intelligent, he knows how to lead and command. He is a hard-working young man. He isn't the type to be distracted from his goal easily. Lucas has also worked under Duke Zayne so he has experience in governing. I think Lucas is perfect for this job." And so, another declaration was made.

"Alright. Bring them here." Aditya had no problem with Lucas and Mason becoming nobles.

Within 5 minutes, both tan-skinned, muscular men were kneeling before Aditya.

"Stand up." As both of them stood up, they raised their chest high. Both Dragonians had a different Aura from normal cultivators. Their Auras were much more fierce. Just from a glance, People would be able to tell that they are not ordinary soldiers.

Their eyes were filled with respect and endless admiration for the Dragon Monarch. Aditya felt if he ordered them to take their own lives, they wouldn't hesitate to do it.

"Lucas and Mason, I want you to become the governor of The Lion Island and the Kingfisher Island. What do you think?" Aditya asked. If both of them refused, Aditya would just send them back.

"It would be our honor."

"Good." Aditya looked at Spencer and nodded his head. Spencer understood what he need to do.

And so, another declaration was made.

?From this moment onward, under the order of His Majesty, the 7 anterior dukes along with Captain Lucas and Mason will be appointed as the governors of the 9 Islands. Lucas Brooks, Mason Lynn, Kenny Norman, Joseph Andrews, Yasmin Parker, Isaac Thomson, Aiden Clark, Damon Chavez, and Thomas Wallace have been given the rank of Viscount.

- Bursberry Island - Isaac Thomson

- Suna Tropic - Aiden Clark

- White Tiger Haven - Damon Chavez

- Green Island - Thomas Wallace

- Pink Turtle Island- Kenny Norman

- Gorgons Reef - Joseph Andrews

- Sweetfish Island - Yasmin Parker

- Lion Island - Mason Lynn

- Kingfisher Island - Lucas Brooks

From this moment onward, Lucas Brooks, Mason Lynn, Kenny Norman, Joseph Andrews, Yasmin Parker, Isaac Thomson, Aiden Clark, Damon Chavez, and Thomas Wallace will accommodate the His Majesty and the Istarin Imperium with their heart and soul.?

?His Majesty has placed his hope and prospects on you. You are authoritatively mandated to develop your territories and live up to His Majesty's prospects.?

?From this moment onward, your souls and your bloodline will be bound to the terms and conditions of this contract. Failing to follow any one of the conditions will result in your and your family's death.

- Work to develop your territories.

- Work for the golden future of the Istarin Imperium.

- Do not do anything to apostatize the Istarin Imperium and His Majesty.?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[Compensate chapter - 2/6]

Chapter 330

After signing the contract, Spencer and Aditya spent some time distributing the troops who had surrendered. At the same time, each Viscount was given 100,000 royal gold coins to run and develop their own territories. The responsibility of production and the profits that are earned from selling Thunder Leaf Herb were handed to the 9 viscounts that governed the Shadow Islands.

Aditya let the small problems that the Viscounts were going to face into their own hands. He wasn't going to participate in such small matters. After all, he had bigger things in his hand. The contract prevented the nobles from betraying the Istarin Empire. And with the Shadow Guardian, from now on, their activities will be watched by Aditya. If any corruption was found, the shadow guardians would report it to Aditya.

Spencer also told the newly appointed viscounts about the Point earning system and its usage. He also explained why their ranks started from Viscount. As long as a noble had enough merit points, He can upgrade his rank to Earl or Marquess or even to the rank of Duke. He also explained the benefits that came with each higher rank.

Finally, after 3 hours of meeting, Aditya sent everyone to their territories. Before leaving, he gave each Viscount twenty 3rd-order Dragonians. The Dragonians would ensure their territories are protected till they build their own armies. Once the nobles are capable enough to stand on their own, the Dragonians would return.

By the time, Aditya was finished it was already 7 in the morning. Leaving Viscount Leon in charge of Zion City and Ashcour Island, Aditya, and others left the Shadow Islands Empire and returned to Azure City.

Aditya knew that in a few hours, the Echo Nexus Empire was going to find out what had happened and was going to declare War on the Istarin Empire. At the same time, when the news of the Istarin Empire conquering three Western powerhouses within a single night comes out, it was going to send shockwaves across the whole continent.

"Just thinking of what is going to happen in the future, I am already feeling tired." Aditya rubbed his forehead while walking toward the dining table. It was already time for breakfast. So instead of returning to his bedroom, he would have breakfast and talk with his family before this peaceful time runs out.

Once the War starts, Aditya would become super busy. He also has to finish this war or at least bring it to a standstill within 9 days. Aditya hopes that he won't have to spend too much time in Deep Sea Palace. Normally, Aditya wouldn't go there. No King would leave his Kingdom while his Kingdom is at war. But he had given his word to Laura. And he wasn't the type of person who would break his word.

"Good morning, everyone." Walking to the dining table, Aditya greeted everyone. There was Watson who was serving food. Spencer was sitting next to Leo. His seven generals were also present. Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Lara were also there. Lara's maid was standing behind Lara. She wore a mask. Lara's food was very different from others. Lara's maid personally prepared her lady's breakfast today. It was a special type of breakfast that Vampires enjoy a lot. The food that Lara's maid prepared was rich in Iron.

"Good morning, Aditya."

"Good morning."

"Good morning"

"Good..."

Aditya nodded at everyone before sitting down. Unlike other days, today's breakfast was different. Watson had specially asked the royal chief to cook Flaming chicken meat for everyone.

Flaming Chicken was a special chicken breed that is said to be a descendant of Phoenix. Flaming Chickens are like Wyverns that have connections to Dragons.

An average Flaming chicken is 3 to 4 times bigger than a normal chicken. Upon maturing, Flaming chicken can become Peak's 2nd-order powerhouse. Unfortunately, the attacking power of Flaming Chicken is really low. Even a Peak 1st-order human cultivator would easily win against Peak 2nd-order Flaming chicken.

Ironically Flaming Chicken can't use any flame-type attacks. The reason they were called Flaming Chickens is because of the Amber that radiates from their body.

The meat of Flaming Chicken is very delicious. Especially in noble circles, the meat of Flaming chicken is considered a luxurious treat. As Flaming Chicken is extremely difficult to capture. And they are only found in certain parts of the world.

"Let's eat." After Aditya, everyone else started eating. Watson took a chair next to Spencer and sat down to eat. No one said anything. Even though Watson was officially Aditya's personal butler, everyone knew that the old man was Aditya's right hand. Watson had more power and authority than even Spencer. Aside from that, Watson was the eldest one here. Everybody highly respected the old man.

"Did you find out anything about Lara's illness?" Yesterday, Riya and Julia had taken Lara to the laboratory.

Julia sighed in depression. "Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this kind of illness. The whole night I read many old books. But I couldn't find anything that matches Sister Lara's illness. I will need to do more research."

Julia was hoping to find something that would help her. But she couldn't find any related to Lara's illness. The only choice that Julia was left with was to create a pill that can cure Lara's illness. But to create a pill, Julia will need to learn more about her illness.

Aditya smiled and encouraged his wife. "Don't worry, take your time."

Julia nodded her head with a smile. "With Sister Riya's help, I should be able to find a cure for Sister Lara's illness in no time." At least this is what Julia hoped. Lara's illness was very mysterious. Deep down, Julia knew that it might even take her months if not years to develop a pill that is capable of curing Sister Lara. But Julia refused to acknowledge that. Julia felt that she can quicken the process with Riya's assistant.

"Thank you, Sister Julia." Yesterday, after spending the whole day with Julia, Riya, and Alicia, Lara got to learn many new things about this world. She also learned more about her husband and her sisters.

"Silly girl, there is no need to thank us. It's my responsibility to find a cure for you." As the goddess of Alchemy her pride wouldn't allow her to let her sister die because of some illness. Not to mention the fact that Julia saw Lara as her real Sister. It would make her sad if the sleeping princess died under her watch.

"Everyone, I want to tell you all something." Everyone's gaze was on Aditya.

"There is going to be a big war. This time our opponent will be the Echo Nexus Empire."

Silence!

The entire dining table fell into deep silence after Aditya finished his words. Everyone except for Lara knew about the tremendous power that the Echo Nexus Empire held. The Empire had the strongest military and the Empire had the strongest political allies.

Whenever the Echo Nexus Empire has gone to war, it has shaken the Entire Dying Isle continent. The Echo Nexus Empire is so strong that it wouldn't be wrong to call the Empire the King of the Dying Isle continent. Even though the Echo Nexus Empire is not big as the Istarin Empire, the Echo Nexus Empire had a huge history.

Whenever any Kingdom or Empire managed to get on Echo Nexus Empire's bad side, various kinds of sanctions would fall upon the enemy Empire. These sanctions would cripple the economy of the Enemy Empire. Their Empire would become totally isolated from the rest of the continent.

There was a certain Empire that had raised its voice against the Echo Nexus Empire. Within a month, that Empire lost all of its political support and its allies. Export and import with other neighboring Empires and Kingdoms were completely cut off.

Even though the Empire had the second-largest reserve of Mana stones in the Dying Isle continent, no Kingdom or Empire bought Mana stones from them because of the economic sanctions. To make matters worse, in the name of killing criminals and terrorists, the Echo Nexus Empire sent its troops to that Empire and killed over a million, innocent civilians.

As a result, right now that Empire that once proudly stood that the 5th-order strongest Empire in the Dying Isle continent was now considered the weakest Empire in the Dying Isle continent.

That Empire is now a place where criminals and terrorists from others Empires and Kingdoms would come and live. It had become a hub of all sorts of illegal activities. Every single day, many innocent civilians living in that Empire die at the hands of criminals. The Empire that once stood up as paradise now had turned into a Hell. Although the Echo Nexus Empire did not attack directly, indirectly they completely destroyed this Empire.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 331

After breakfast was over, Aditya took Lara and teleported to her room. Although the sleeping princess had breakfast with them, it was not enough for her. As a vampire, her real food was drinking blood. Otherwise, she would be sleeping most of the time and her body would also become weak.

After teleporting into Lara's bedroom, Aditya sat on the edge of the bed. He then looked at Lara and signaled her to come to sit on his lap.

The Sleeping princess blushed but did not refuse. Lara always welcomed intimacy with her husband. In fact, she enjoyed it more than anything. Although she would never admit it, she is always looking forward to this moment. This moment makes her whole day much brighter. For her, this moment is more enjoyable than her whole day.

Although she appeared to be shy, she loved it when her husband teased her and played with her.

Lara put her hands on his shoulders and sat on his lap facing him. Aditya naturally wrapped his arms around her soft waist.

"How are you feeling?" Aditya could have let Lara drink his blood and gotten it over. But he wanted to use this private moment to develop their relationship and know more about Lara.

"Ever since Lara drank her husband's blood, Lara feels better. Now Lara can stay awake for almost 10 to 12 hours. Lara doesn't feel weak as before. So Lara can use my time to do other things." Aditya nodded his head with a satisfied look.

"How others are treating you?" Even though he knew it wouldn't happen, he was worried that others might treat Lara rudely behind his back.

"Everyone treats Lara with kindness. Lara feels happy here." Aside from Julia, Riya, and Alicia who already saw Lara as their little sister and treated her like one, others were also really kind to her. Leo's little sister, Clara dragged Lara to play with her as both were almost the same age.

"That's glad to know. In the future if you ever want anything or if you want to go anywhere, don't be shy. You can always ask me. If I am busy, then you can ask your sisters."

"Alright."

"Lara is spending her days reading books while Sister Julia researches on Lara's illness. Lara is learning more about this world." Aditya nodded in agreement. This way, Lara wouldn't feel lost in this current world.

"What about your Maid?"

"Rose spend her whole day cultivating. Since the mana density in the Dragon Palace is really high, Rose feels that she would be able to increase her cultivation realm very quickly."

Rose is a cautious person. She wants to be ready for unpredictable future circumferences. Since Lara's parents had told her to protect Lara, she wants to increase her cultivation so that in emergency situations she could protect her lady.

"Hmm" Aditya nodded in agreement. Aditya had told Watson to not treat Rose like any other maid in the Dragon Palace. Compared to other maids who worked in the Dragon Palace, Rose had more freedom and more authority.

Lara continued to speak she didn't realize Aditya's face had gotten close to hers. By the time she noticed it, he was already kissing her. His lips were on her lips. He lightly bit her lower lips earning a moan from her closed mouth.

Mm...!

Lara opened her mouth and let him in. His tongue entered her mouth and started wrestling with her tongue. Lara could only grab his neck and struggle to defend himself against Aditya's fierce attacks. Poor Lara couldn't compare against Aditya who had a lot of experience in kissing. In the end, Lara was completely dominated.

The Sleeping princess's face was full of joy and happiness. She was in her husband's arms. His strong arms gave her a sense of security. His chest covered her fragile body and protected her from the outside world. And his deep kiss reflected the Love and warmth that he had for her.

Right now her heart was satisfied.

But.....

At the same time, her husband's deep kiss was starting to awaken something inside her. Lara wasn't sure how to describe these strange feelings.

Back in the past, Lara was taught about sex, and, marriage by her royal mother. At that time, she only has been taught the basics. She was told that a man put his stick inside and babies are made. Her royal mother never went on to describe the emotions, the pleasure that a girl would feel in the process.

Now Lara was discovering these new emotions within her thanks to her husband.

The kiss went on for about an entire minute. Aditya had to stop because while he can hold his breath for a long time, Lara can't do that. If he kept going, then she would suffer.

After they stopped, Lara breathed heavily as she stared at Aditya. Both of their foreheads were touching at the moment. Both could each other's hot passionate breath. There was still a bridge of saliva that connected both of their lips.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

After being kissed by her husband, Lara's cheeks flushed red.

"Husband.....husband.....please kiss Lara again." Lara did not shy down from asking for another kiss. After all, the sleeping princess was the type of woman who enjoyed her intimate moments with her husband and always looked forward to them. She wasn't like a certain princess who was too embarrassed to ask for more.

"Anything for my princess." Aditya smiled before leaning his face down. The second kiss lasted an extra 10 seconds longer. When the kiss ended, Lara had a satisfied smile.

She looked slightly embarrassed but the happiness on her face couldn't be hidden. Those eyes of hers were in love and were filled with passion.

Lara felt her entire body was on fire. There was something magical about his touch and his kisses that made her want to ask for more.

Huff! Huff!

Putting his forehead against her forehead, he looked into her eyes. There was a soft and gentle smile. This is the kind of smile that the fierce and Dominating Dragon Monarch wouldn't show to others. Only his women got to see this kind of smile.

"Husband, Lara feels happy. Lara loves her husband." Saying that without daring to look into his eyes, like a frightened rabbit she buried her face into his chest.

'Royal mother, I have found my happiness in this time. He is my fated one. I hope you have found your peace in Heaven.' Lara thought before closing her eyes.

No pillow in this world can match this feeling. His heart heat was like a magical drum that calmed her heart and relaxed her entire body. Lara was able to let go of her worries. She felt if she stayed in his arms like that for a few seconds, she might fall asleep.

Aditya patted her back with a smile on his smile. 'With time, I am starting to get attached to you as well. If one day you disappeared, I don't know what I would do.' Just thinking of Lara dying because of her illness, Aditya felt as if his entire world was being split apart.

'I really hope, Julia finds a cure for her illness.' Aditya closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment with Lara. Sometimes, Aditya really wished to let go of all the outside world matters and spend his whole life with his wives. But unfortunately, it was not possible. The position and power of the Dragon Monarch came with a heavy responsibility.

"Husband, can I ask you something?"

"Hmmm?"

"Earlier, you talked about war..." The pleasant atmosphere around them suddenly disappeared.

Aditya looked down to find a worried face of Lara. "Isn't there any other option besides starting a War?"

"Unfortunately no." Aditya also didn't like War. Yet in the span of 9 and half months, the Istarin Empire had to fight so many kingdoms and Empires. The Istarin Empire was already so big. Aditya would prefer not to start another war but if the other party is hostile and wants war, Aditya isn't the type of man to back down.

"Is it dangerous?" Lara asked while biting her lower lip.

"Not for me. Even if the whole continent comes I will still win this war." Aditya knew even if he wins, a huge number of people would die if that ever happened.

After a moment of silence, Lara asked another question.

"Can husband win this war?" Lara worriedly asked.

"I have won every single war in my life. Don't worry, I won't lose this one either. I will try to finish it as quickly as possible." Though Aditya knew that this war was going to be on a complete different level than other wars that he has fought. The power of the Echo Nexus Empire cannot be underestimated.

Aditya didn't want to say these words to Lara as it would worry her for no reason.

"Alright, enough talking. It's time." Saying Aditya exposed the right side of his neck.

"Go Ahead." Lara's eyes sparkled in excitement. The next second those gems of hers shined in a red glint.

A next second Lara's fangs elongated. Without wasting a single second, her fangs pierced his skin.

Mm.....!!!

Aditya tightened his grip on her waist. He experienced this intense pleasure every single time when she drank his blood. His breath quickened.

Lara who was sitting on Aditya's crotch felt something poking her. She quickly understood what was happening. She was embarrassed and also happy at the same time.

After a while, Lara stopped.

Huff! Huff!

Both of them looked at each other. As if by instinct their faces moved toward each other. Both of their lips connected. Both of them began to express the passion in their hearts.

Around an hour later,

Aditya stopped. Even though he wanted to continue, he knew others were waiting for him. Also, Aditya had to start preparing for the war.

Huff! Huff!

After an hour of kissing, Lara's whole face was flushed. Her whole body was on fire.

"Can you walk?" Lara shyly nodded her head.

"Husband, Lara's lips are swollen because you kissed Lara too fiercely."

"Really! I guess a few more kisses will help you out." Aditya was about to move his body to kiss her when Lara stopped him.

"Bad husband, big sisters are waiting for you." Aditya laughed upon hearing this. The next moment he picked her up and teleported to Julia's laboratory.

"Took you long enough."

"I thought you won't come."

"'Hmph!"

Aditya put Lara down while staring at Riya, Julia, and Alicia with a helpless smile. It seems his three wives are jealous.

The next second Aditya teleported in front of Julia. Before she could react, she found herself being kissed by Aditya.

Mm....!

Julia was embarrassed being kissed in front of others. Even though she weakly tried to push Aditya away, he didn't move an inch. The kiss went on for 10 minutes.

"No fair." Riya walked up to Aditya. Seeing this, Alicia also didn't want to be left out.

The next two hours were spent kissing. All the kissing sounds made everyone horny. In the end, everyone's clothes were messed up. Their faces were flushed red.

Even Lara wasn't spared.

"I will take my leave. I have some work to do. You guys can have lunch and dinner without me." Aditya now needed to start preparing for the war. There was one important thing that he wanted to do before the war officially started.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Sorry for not uploading yesterday.

Chapter 332

In his personal study room,

Aditya was sitting on the floor with his Adamantite Doomblade on his lap. The Dragon Monarch looked really focused on his work. He was drawing runes on his 5-star Adamantite Doomblade sword.

Since a war on his foot doors, Aditya wanted to prepare as much as he could. Even without using the Adamantite Doomblade, he was confident that he could beat his enemies but having his Adamantite Doomblade will make him even stronger.

Besides Aditya, there was also a 5-star full-body Crimson armor. This time, he was going to the battlefield fully prepared. Other times, Aditya never bothered to wear full body armor. But this time, the role he would play in this war would decide the outcome. Using Dragon transfer, Aditya would be able to fight on multiple battlefields.

After becoming a 4-star runemaster, his engraving speed has doubled if not tripled. Previously this would have taken him more than half a day to finish but now he was able to finish enchanting the Adamantite Doomblade within a few hours.

"It's done." Aditya held the Adamantite Doomblade with a proud smile. The system showed him the description of his work.

?Adamantite Doomblade?

?Peak 5-star (?????)?

?Description - A special sword forged from a special ore only found under a volcano. This sword was forged by a talented blacksmith. This sword is extremely sharp and 3 tons in weight. The Adamantite Doomblade can withstand heavy pressure and temperature.

After being enchanted by a talented 4-star runemaster, the rank of his sword has been raised from Mid-5-star to Peak 5-star.

The Adamantite Doomblade has only one true master. No other being in this world other than the true master will be able to use the full power of this sword.?

?Functions 1 - The Adamantite Doomblade can change its shape and its size according to the will of the True master.?

?Function 2 - «Overheat»

• Each strike dealt or each hit taken has a chance to put a buff on you that makes your next strike inflict 200% more damage. This chance depends on the power of the enchantment. The chances of activating «Overheat» increases when fighting lower-order cultivators.

When «Overheat» is activated, the color of the Adamantite Doomblade will change to Crimson.?

?Function 3 - «Bleeding»

• A chance that the enemy will start to lose 3% health every 5 seconds after being hit. This change is proportional to the damage dealt and the power of the enchantment.?

?Function 4 - «Frenzy»

• A chance to increase your melee damage by 150% for 5 seconds after dealing or receiving a hit.?

?Function 5 - «Bloodlust»

• The Adamantite Doomblade reacts with your killing intent. When «Bloodlust» is activated, your physical strength will be increased by [400+].?

"Perfect" Aditya was very satisfied with his work.

He then picked up the crimson armor set lying beside him. As he did, the description was shown by the system.

?Crimson Warlock Set?

?Mid 5-star (?????)?

?Description - Crimson Warlock set was made by a talented goblin blacksmith. The Crimson Warlock set was made for Kings and Emperors. The armor set was made from a special ore that can conduct electricity and absorb damage to a certain extent.

The power of The Crimson Warlock set was raised from beginner 5-star to Mid 5-star after a talented 4-star blacksmith added enchantment.?

?Function 1 - «Crimson Corruption»

Successfully attacking your foe with a weapon will curse him. He will receive periodic damage.

The mythical enchantment of Warlock's Set.

• For every 10% damage received by the opponent with a weapon or unarmed attacks gives a curse to the opponent, marked with a red sparkling aura around the opponent.

• Each curse inflicts a bleeding effect on the opponent and increases with

each stack.

• The curse lasts for 5 seconds. However, the curse expiration is refreshed with every successful hit. This curse effect can stack up to 3.

• This ability will not work against cultivators whose cultivation is above Peak 5th-order.?

?Function 2 - «Life Drain»

• When your health drops by 75%, The Crimson Warlock set will activate «Life Drain». When «Life Drain» is activated, each time damage is received by the opponent with a weapon or unarmed attacks, you will recover a small portion of your health. The amount of health that you will recover is directly proportional to the amount of damage that your attacks do to your opponent.?

?Function 3 - «Safeguard»

• 75% of attack damage will be reduced from cultivators whose cultivation is below 5th-order. «Safeguard» won't work against 5th-order or higher-order cultivators.?

With a satisfied smile, Aditya put the Crimson Warlock Armor Set in his storage ring. He was going to wear this Armor set during this war.

"And lastly, we have this." Aditya smiled looking at the light blue cubic-shaped pendant in his hand. The runes on his pendant were almost non-existence. One would need to take a very close look if he wants to see the runes.

Aditya worked on his pendant in his spare time. At first, this pendant was nothing but an experimental product. He used his 4-star runemaster skills on making this artifact. Since he was going to war, Aditya decided to use this artifact. So he took 15 minutes to modify this pendant a little bit.

Holding the pendant, Aditya stared at the description of this pendant.

?Shard of Life?

?Beginner 4-star (????)?

?Description - A normal light blue cubic-shaped pendant that has been turned into an Artifact using the skills of the Rune Monarch. Unlike other 4-star artifacts, this Artifact only has one function.?

?Function 1 - «Mana recovery array»

• There is a small Mana gathering array on his cubic-shaped pendant. The main function of the pendant is to increase your mana recovery speed. The pendant increases your mana recovery speed by 30%.?

"The Shard of Life will help me recover my Mana as quickly as possible. This pendant will be of great help on the battlefield." Aditya wasn't planning on using the Crown of Seven Seas unless he had been cornered by the enemies and had no other choice. But Aditya didn't think he would face anyone that strong.

The current Aditya can destroy any Peak 5th-order cultivator. He can even take on a beginner 6th-order cultivator with no problem. Even if high-order cultivators try to fight Aditya, their cultivation will be lowered to Peak 5th-order. The law of this world forbids any high-order cultivator from attacking any lower-order cultivator.

Aditya wore the pendant around his neck. Just as he stood up and stretched his body, someone knocked on the door.

Knock! Knock!

"Who is it?" Aditya asked even though he knew who it was.

"Your Majesty, it's me, Spencer. I came to report."

"Come in." Behind Spencer, Watson also walked in. Aditya didn't stop Watson as the old man's presence was needed. Even though he was a butler, his rich experience can help them out. Besides, Watson was also Aditya's first Dragonian. That itself gave him almost the same position as the generals within the Istarin Military.

Aditya sat down on a chair. He then signaled Spencer and Watson to sit on the couch that was located opposite the table. This was Aditya's personal study room. Behind the couches, there were wooden shelves with many old books on them. Most of these books were about history, geography, and war tactics.

From the look on Watson and Spencer's faces, Aditya already knew what Spencer's first sentence was going to be. "Your majesty, the Echo Nexus Empire has officially declared War against us."

Aditya smirked expecting this sentence from Spencer and Watson. The atmosphere in the room changed as Aditya's smile faded and was replaced with an icy cold gaze. "So it's here."

"What did you say?"

"The Echo Nexus Emperor is demanding you to release the Crown Prince." Back then instead of killing the Crown Prince, Aditya kept him alive. But he had destroyed the Crown Prince's cultivation.

"In exchange for what?" Aditya asked.

"Your Majesty, The Emperor just demanded you to release the Crown Prince. He said the following words, "The Istarin Empire has dared to destroy the Dragon Slayer guild even though the world knows that the Dragon Slayer guild is an important friend of the Echo Nexus Empire. Istarin Empire prepare to face the wrath of Echo Nexus Empire."

"That's some bold and arrogant words." Watson did not look pleased with all. Right now he felt angry. But everyone in the room knew that the Echo Nexus Emperor had the power to back his arrogance.

"That being said, the Echo Nexus Emperor has called for a meeting with all of his Allies. Your Majesty, you should know what that means right?" Aditya nodded his head with a serious look. He already saw this coming. The aim of the Echo Nexus Empire was to crush the Istarin Empire. Even before Aditya attacked the Dragon Slayer guild, the relationship between the Istarin Empire and the Echo Nexus Empire wasn't that good. Both Empires remained neutral toward each other.

One reason why the Istarin Empire and the Echo Nexus Empire weren't that good is because of Echo Dominion Empire. Both Echo Nexus Empire and the Echo Dominion Empire have been rivals for centuries. Their rivalry was even bigger than the rivalry between the White Dragon King and the Black Dragon King. Since the Echo Dominion Empire was an official ally of the Istarin Empire, the Echo Nexus Empire wasn't going to become allies with their enemies' friends.

Another main reason why the relationship between the Istarin Empire and the Echo Nexus Empire wasn't that good is because of the Istarin Empire's rapidly growing power and influence in the Dying Isle continent. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the Echo Nexus Empire is the Crown of the Dying Isle continent. The Empire was so powerful and influential that it can control the entire continent.

The rapid rise of the Istarin Empire has threatened the long dominance of the Echo Nexus Empire. The Echo Nexus Empire was afraid that the Istarin Empire would replace them and soon become the next big powerhouse of the Dying Isle continent. They were also afraid of the fact that their biggest rival's friend was going to end their dominance.

Now the Istarin Empire's actions against the Dragon Slayer guild and against their Crown Prince gave the Echo Nexus Empire and its allies the perfect excuse to take out the Istarin Empire before it grows into a threat that they can't handle.

The fact that the Echo Nexus Empire was calling for a meeting showed that he did not take the military of the Istarin Empire lightly. He wasn't willing to take any chances.

"The outcome of this meeting will affect the future of the Istarin Empire." The Echo Nexus Empire's had powerful allies from other continents as well. If all allies attacked the Istarin Empire, the whole war will become a one-sided battle.

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Yesterday's chapter. More chapters are coming. Just keeping supporting this novel with power stones.

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Chapter 333

Fifteen lean, round towers dominate the skyline of this massive castle and are connected by large, chunky walls made of sandstone.

Crude windows are scattered thinly across the walls in an asymmetric pattern, along with holes of various sizes for archers and artillery.

A moderate gate with great wooden doors, a regular bridge, and large crenelations guard the last stronghold along this rough shoreline and it's the only way in, at least without taking down the castle walls.

Various large houses are scattered outside the castle gates, surprisingly the rich are comfortable with living outside the gates as well. This castle is relatively new, but it stood its ground with ease and will likely do so for ages to come.

This was the Castle of Echo Nexus Emperor. This newly built Castle was made for the Crown Prince. This Castle was going to be given to Louis as a gift by the Emperor the day when Louis becomes the Emperor. And that day was going to come very soon. Originally, the Emperor had planned to make Louis the next Emperor within 6 months. But all of his plans now had failed. Louis was captured, and their ally was attacked.

The atmosphere of Ostrance City was very tense. Originally, under Emperor Lucca Mcneil's orders, the whole of Ostrance City was preparing for the days when the Crown Prince will officially become the Emperor. The whole city was decorated. On this joyous occasion, the Emperor even reduced the tax on food products.

But all that went down the drain when the news of the Crown Prince is captured by the Istarin Emperor reached the ears of Ostrance. The celebrative atmosphere of the city and of the Empire disappeared.

The atmosphere of the whole city became cold and gloomy.

Ostrance means ?The City Above Demigods?. The Ostrance City is the capital of the Echo Nexus City. The city of Ostrance was built in the shadow of a rugged volcano and is truly an extraordinary display of wonder. Its wonder is matched by the backdrop of modest hills which have helped shape the city into what it is today.

The riches these hills brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings follow the flowing round shapes of those very same hills and continue the overall aesthetics.

Culture is rising in Ostrance and it has attracted a lot of attention. Countless cultures have left their mark not just on the city's development, but also on the city's identity. What historically was a city of plain, ordinary people has grown into a fusion of everything and it's this that unites the 8 million people to this day.

It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of concession stands, theme restaurants, and restaurants offer a plethora of culinary choices.

Meanwhile within the Royal Castle,

Massive braziers half enclosing each of the ten travertine columns light up most of the throne hall and mantle the hall in warm yellows. The paintings of angels and cherubs on the bowed ceiling dance in the flickering light while marble icons and memorials look down upon the maple floor of this regal hall.

A carmine rug runs from the throne to the doors and is matched by smaller ones on either side of the hall while square dag banners with burnished tassels dangle gently from the walls. Between each banner sits a small altar full of candles, almost all of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the depictions of other leaders of the world below them.

Massive, stained glass windows depicting important royal moments are enclosed by curtains colored the same carmine as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with impressive needlework and decorated tips.

A regal throne of stone sits behind a lavish gate of gilded wood and is adjoined by six rather plain-looking seats for visiting dignitaries.

The throne is covered in complicated marks and fixed on each of the broad feet is a crystal dagger. The comfortable pillows are a dark carmine and these too have been adorned with emblazoned sigils.

Those listening to their royal highness can do so on the abundance of lightly illuminated oak benches, all of which are perfectly aligned in rows. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the gorgeous mezzanines facing the benches below.

A man wearing a simple white T-shirt and black pants was sitting on the regal throne of stone and resting his body on the dark Carmine pillows. The man was tan-skinned. Under his simple loose clothes, his muscular body was adorned with old scars and marks.

Standing at a height of 6 feet 6 inches, his tan skin and his muscular body made him look like a beast folk even though he is a human. His intimidating eyes and his stoic face made him unapproachable. The man had an Aura of a Ruler around his body. This Aura of his made it difficult even for the nobles of this Empire to tremble in front of the Emperor.

This was the Emperor of the Echo Nexus Empire. His name was Lucca Mcneil. The feared Emperor who controls the whole Dying Isle continent.

As of this moment, The Emperor had an impatient tone on his face. The fall of the Dragon Slayer guild and the news of his son being taken away by the Istarin Empire had pissed off the Emperor.

"Philip, did you send my words to the Istarin Empire?" Asked Lucca to his Prime Minister Philip.

"Your Majesty, by now your words should have reached the ears of the Istarin Emperor."

Hearing this a freezing smile appeared on the Emperor's face. With his freezing smile, some advisors felt their blood running cold. Whenever the Emperor has shown this kind of smile on his face, nothing good has happened. The advisors even felt pity for the Istarin Empire and the Istarin Emperor.

"Philip, do you think my son is still alive." Lucca dearly loved his firstborn. Even though the Emperor had many sons and daughters, Louis always remained his number one favorite. No one clearly knew why Louis was so favored by the Emperor. The Emperor would go as far as to personally teach Louis about cultivation. This isn't something that he did for his other children.

The Emperor has carefully raised his son to take his throne and manage the Empire so that Lucca can rest. Despite looking like a middle-aged man, Lucca was over [700+] years old. Lucca is a man who had seen the rise and the fall of Empires. He and the Echo Nexus Empire managed to survive and become the Superpower of the Dying Isle continent because of his cautious and sly nature.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. I am sure not even the Istarin Emperor dares to do any harm to His Highness." Little did Philip and Lucca know that Aditya had crippled the Crown Prince's cultivation. And each with passing second, his sufferings were only growing. As two Dragonians were constantly torturing the Crown prince.

The Emperor was waiting for the other Emperors to arrive. It was no hidden fact that any force that messes with the Echo Nexus Empire or with any of its allies will face wrath from the whole alliance. The head of the Alliance was the Echo Nexus Empire.

'I wouldn't have called for this meeting if I hadn't heard this news.' Along with the news of his son being taken away, Lucca also got the news about how the Istarin Empire managed to defeat three Western Empires within a single night and had taken total control over them. This news greatly bothered the Empire.

Lucca wasn't a fool. If he was then he wouldn't have lived for [700+]. Hearing the news, he knew that he needed to reevaluate the military strength of the Istarin Empire once again.

The plan of attacking the Istarin Empire was called off. 'It wouldn't be wrong to assume that the current Istarin Empire is even stronger than the Echo Dominion Empire. If it is, then fighting the Istarin Empire alone would leave us weakened. It would be better to fight Istarin Empire using The Oracle Alliance.' Lucca knew once the Echo Nexus Empire loses its strength it would lose its position and powers that it currently holds. This is something that Lucca wanted to avoid at all costs. So he was going to use the Oracle Alliance to fight this war.

The Oracle Alliance was an alliance formed between the 11 Empires and the Dragon Slayer guild. The Dragon Slayer guild was an unofficial member of the Alliance. The Echo Nexus Empire added the Dragon Slayer guild to the alliance for its protection. The Alliance members benefited from the Dragon Slayer guild. So no one raised any objection. The head of the Oracle Alliance was the Echo Nexus Empire. It is an Alliance that was formed between the friends of the Echo Nexus Empire.

The Oracle Alliance was the Echo Nexus Empire's biggest strength and the Echo Nexus Empire was the Oracle Alliance member's biggest strength. The whole alliance was more like a one-sided dominance. The other 10 Empires had to listen to the Echo Nexus Empire no matter what.

If any party, faction, Empire, Kingdom, Dynasty, or foreign power attacked any member of the Alliance, every other member of The Oracle Alliance will deploy its military to fight.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 334

A few hours earlier, Lucca had personally written 11 letters to the Alliance members asking them to attend the meeting. Of course, Lucca knew that he was making an unreasonable request by forcing the alliance members to gather for an emergency meeting. The Emperors must be busy with their own work. But he didn't care.

This was about his son. Lucca wanted to waste no time.

"Your Majesty, everyone has arrived. They are waiting for your presence." Lucca opened his eyes upon hearing this.

He looked at Philip. "Let's go."

Meanwhile,

Within the Echo Nexus Empire, far from the Capital, on a small island, there was a big Mansion. This whole small island is a special place. Only the members of the Oracle Alliance can come to this island.

The Mansion is the place where all the meetings and talking's of the Oracle alliance took place. The Mansion on this island was big enough to let around 500 people stay.

In the living room, there was a big round table. 10 out of the 11 chairs around the round table have been occupied. Everyone has arrived. Only the Echo Nexus Empire hasn't come.

To the Other Emperors, this was very disrespectful. Since the Echo Nexus Emperor is the one who had called for this emergency meeting, he should come before everyone but he is late. This isn't the first time Lucca was doing it. In fact, everyone in the Alliance knew that Lucca was only using them for benefits. Everyone allowed it to happen as they also received many benefits from joining this Alliance.

"I assume, that you all know why this emergency meeting was called." The Emperor of the Socotra land asked others.

"It seems Crown Prince Louis has been captured. Also our only non-official ally, the Dragon Slayer guild has been destroyed. Not only that but also I have heard that our enemy has managed to conquer three western Empires within a single night."

"What's more, it appears the three Empires had no idea about the attacker they revealed their identities. The enemy first took out their 5th-order cultivators and left the lower-order cultivators at the mercy of the Dragonians."

In the end, the words left some faces totally shocked with their eyes wide open while others remained calm as they already knew this.

Silence!

Silence took over the meeting room. No one spoke. Everyone looked at each other's faces. Especially the shocked faces of those Emperors were amusing to see.

Around 5 minutes later, the man who sat next to the empty chair looked to his right and asked in a trembling tone. "Can you accomplish the exact same thing within a single night?" Asked Logan Hussain who was the Emperor of the Vermillion Empire.

The question was asked to the Emperor of the Mountain Light Empire. Hearing this question, the Emperor helplessly smiled and replied. "It's utterly impossible for My Empire to accomplish something like this within a single night." Conquering Empires without alerting the enemy, even if the Mountain Light Empire used all of its resources, it still can't accomplish this kind of feat. Forgot about conquering three Empires, without alerting the enemy, Layton Valentine wasn't sure if he can even bring his army to the enemy cities.

Even though some Emperors hated to admit it, the truth was very obvious. No matter how much they tried to deny it, the truth would be still there. The Istarin Empire was too strong. Maybe almost strong as the Echo Nexus Empire. Some Emperors secretly began to think that the Istarin Empire might be even stronger than the Echo Nexus Empire but they didn't say it out loud.

"I suspect, that the Istarin Empire has been planning for this invasion for months. Otherwise, how can they bring their troops to the enemy cities without alerting them? This kind of Invasion needs information about each city. Someone must have sided with the enemy." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. This was the only possible and also reasonable explanation that they can come up with.

"To think all of this was achieved by a young man who is only 19 years old. It makes me question myself my whole life. What did I do my entire life? I have ruled the Mountain Light Empire for over 100 years now yet I haven't achieved a fraction of what the Istarin Emperor has managed to achieve in just nine and half months." Some Emperors are just too prideful to admit something like this out loud. But the Mountain Light Emperor was different from those Emperors.

Sigh!

Hearing this, the other Emperors also felt depressed and disrespected. They knew that instead of putting the blames on others' heads, it was their fault.

"Just imagine. Just how much The Istarin Emperor would achieve if he manages to rule the Istarin Empire for 100 years?" Hearing this everyone felt a chill running down their spine. This was something that was out of their imagination. But they knew one thing for sure and that was, the power structure of the whole world would completely change.

"Hmph! There is no need to imagine such a useless thing. Layton Valentine, don't tell me that you're scared?" Asked the Emperor of the Mystic Spring Empire.

The Mystic Spring Empire is a neighbor of the Echo Nexus Empire. The Emperor of the Mystic Spring Empire whose name was Reese Gilliam was the number one bootlicker of the Echo Nexus Empire. Some people secretly even called him the Bootlicker Emperor.

"The Istarin Empire won't be there after messing with the Echo Nexus Empire and the Oracle Alliance. No matter how much potential that brat has in him or no matter how strong the current Istarin Empire is, don't forget that he will be facing the whole Oracle Alliance." The words Reese had spoken had an impact on others. The faces of other Emperors lit up after hearing Reese's words.

"The Echo Nexus Emperor, His Majesty Lucca is coming." Hearing this all the Emperors stood up to greet the Echo Nexus emperor.

Click!

The guard politely opened the door for Lucca. Unlike all 11 Emperors, the dress that Lucca wore made him look like a commoner. But no one dared to look down on him or comment on any word on his clothes. To the eyes of Royalty and the nobles, these kinds of clothes are garbage. They wouldn't wear it even if they had to stay naked. No one can understand why Lucca wore these types of clothes. Lucca always has been like that. The man liked wearing this kind of clothes. Even on special occasions, no one can make him wear anything formal.

Lucca walked inside the meeting room. He was followed by the Prime Minister, Philip.

The Emperors and their Prime Ministers who has been standing behind all were about to greet Lucca when he signaled them to stop with a frowning face.

Lucca sat down on his chair and signaled everyone else to sit down as well. "For today we can leave the greetings and the formalities behind. Let's get into the main topic of our discussion." Lucca observed the reactions of everyone.

Lucca can see that some people here were dissatisfied with him. But he couldn't didn't care. For years, these fools have taken benefits from Lucca and His Echo Nexus Empire. Making this Alliance has helped these fools more than it did the Echo Nexus Empire.

'After I deal with the Istarin Empire, I will personally settle things with each of you.' Lucca was especially unhappy with the Mountain Light Empire and Emperor Layton Valentine.

"I assume you all know why I have called for this emergency meeting." Everyone nodded their heads. Since everyone knew about the reason, Lucca didn't want to waste time and directly move on to the main topic.

"Good"

"This time, our enemy is the Istarin Empire. In the last 9 and half months, under the rule of a 19 years old young man, the entire Istarin Empire has changed. This time our enemy is an intelligent, cunning, strong, and ruthless man. What makes the Istarin Emperor dangerous isn't this strength or the Dragonians that the Empire has. It is his cunning and calculative nature that makes him dangerous. Every Empire or Kingdom that has tried to take down this man has failed."

Knock! Knock!

Hearing someone interrupting their meeting everyone frowned. Especially Lucca looked like he would kill that person who dared to interrupt him. Philip, the prime minister quickly took matters into his own hands.

"I will deal with him. Please continue." Lucca nodded while Philip walked out of the meeting room.

"As I was saying, Aditya is really dangerous. Last night he took down 3 Western Empires. Letting this man grow would only make him more dangerous. Sooner or later, his interest will conflict with our interests. That's why I think we all should unite our military strength to destroy this....Your majesty." Lucca glared at Philip in anger.

However, the look on Philip's face told Lucca that there must be a big reason for his Prime Minister to interrupt him.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 335

"As I was saying, Aditya is really dangerous. Last night he took down 3 Western Empires. Letting this man grow would only make him more dangerous. Sooner or later, his interest will conflict with our interests. That's why I think we all should unite our military strength to destroy this....Your majesty."

The look on Philip's face told Lucca that there must be a big reason for his Prime Minister to interrupt him.

Sigh!

Lucca somehow controlled his rage. "What is it?" Hearing the cold tone of the Emperor, Philip's legs began to shake in fear. But he still needed to say it otherwise, everyone sitting here could be in big trouble.

"Just now, a letter has been delivered by an elf. This letter came from the Celestial Terrain." Hearing the name of the Celestial Terrain regardless of who it was, their faces turned pale. At that moment everyone knew that ignoring the letter of the Celestial Terrain would be the same as inviting Death to kill them. Not even Lucca or the Oracle Alliance dared to be arrogant in front of the Celestial Terrain.

Hearing Philip's words, Lucca's expression changed. Lucca couldn't think why the Celestial Terrain would suddenly send the Oracle Alliance a letter. This was the first time something like this has happened. The relationship between the Oracle Alliance and the Celestial Terrain wasn't anything special.

'None of the members are that close to the Celestial Terrain. At most, the relationship between the Oracle Alliance members and the Celestial Terrain was limited to export and import.' Lucca worriedly thought in his mind.

In the past, Lucca has tried many times to befriend the Elven Empress who is also the mother of the Goddess of Nature. But all of those times Lucca's efforts have failed. There was a point when Lucca wanted to propose an engagement between the goddess of nature and his son Louis.

Lucca even personally visited the Celestial Terrain and met The Elven Empress to discuss the engagement. He tried to tempt the Empress with the countless benefits that both parties would receive from their engagement but within 5 minutes, Lucca was forced to leave. To this day, Lucca remembers the terrifying expression on the Elven Empress's face when he talked about the engagement.

Even if Lucca was disrespected that day, there is nothing that he could do. Even if he uses the whole Oracle Alliance to attack The Celestial Terrain, he would still lose against the Elven Empress. Not to mention the fact that the Elven Empress had powerful backing in the Main continent.

The Celestial Terrain was the home of Elves. A whole continent is a place where Elves lived. Other races do not live there. From the beginning, The Celestial Terrain has kept minimal connections with outside forces. The Elven Empress and The Celestial Terrain never cared what happened outside their continent.

Lucca wasn't the first person who tried to befriend The Celestial Terrain and become their ally. Every one of them failed.

It was a fortunate thing that The Celestial Terrain wasn't closed to the outside world. Around 99% of the Magic fruits that are in the market came from The Celestial Terrain. The Celestial Terrain had everything that an Empire needed to become a super Empire.

Since The Celestial Terrain has sent a letter to the Oracle Alliance, this means that the matter wasn't a simple thing. Something big must have made them send this letter here.

Lucca opened the letter and began to read. There wasn't much written in the letter. There was only one sentence but reading that very sentence left Lucca's mouth dry.

?If Any Peregrine Imperium gets directly gets involved with the matters of the Dying Isle Continent, The Celestial Terrain will have no cull but to join this war as well.?

Seeing Lucca frozen, others looked at each other in shock. Meanwhile, Philip also read the sentence. As he began reading, drops of sweat began rolling down his neck. When he finished, Philip's entire body was soaked in sweat.

"What does the letter say?" Asked Logan Hussain, the Emperor of the Vermillion Empire.

?If Any Foreign Empire gets directly gets involved with the matters of the Dying Isle Continent, The Celestial Terrain will have no choice but to join this war as well.?

Hearing this not just Philip, but even other Emperors began sweating. Some Emperors and their Prime Ministers began to tremble in fear.

Silence!

The whole meeting room fell into deadly silence. Everyone had a different expression on their faces. Hearing that The Celestial Terrain was telling Lucca to not get any Foreign Empire involved in this matter, the 6 Foreign Empires who were also a part of the Oracle Alliance sighed in relief. It seems as long as they don't participate in this war, nothing will happen to them.

In a way, this was good news. 6 of the Foreign Empires were unwilling to participate in Lucca's fight in the first place. Now The Celestial Terrain's words gave them the perfect excuse to not join this war. They didn't even know the Istarin Emperor. The 6 Emperors saw no benefit in joining this meaningless war. Even if they win, it would be the Echo Nexus Empire who takes all the benefits. In the end, they would be just wasting their resources and their troops for nothing.

Meanwhile, the other 5 Empires that belonged to the Dying Isle continent were deeply worried. The Celestial Terrain words had made them think about the relationship between the Istarin Empire and The Celestial Terrain.

'As far as I know, Neither the Istarin Emperor nor The Celestial Terrain had made any contact with each other. How come The Celestial Terrain is suddenly willing to threaten us for the sake of the Istarin Empire?' Reese Gilliam who was the Emperor of the Mystic Spring Empire asked himself this question.

'If more than half of the Oracle Alliance members are not allowed to join this war, then it would put more pressure on us. It would force us to deploy more troops and use more resources. Previously I wasn't worried about the war as all the members were going to fight together. This meant that all the resources and the troops that I would need to use in this war would have been negligible. But now Lucca would expect the 4 of us to provide him with all the helps that we can give in place of the other 6 Empires.' Another thing he knew was that when the War would start, he and his Empire would become the enemy of the Istarin Empire. And from what he had learned of Aditya, that man was the type who held grudges.

Suddenly he was also unwilling to join this War but he couldn't say it to Lucca. The Oracle Alliance was created on the basis that all members would deploy their troops if one or multiple members were attacked by an enemy. In the current situation, Many Emperors saw their resources and troops getting used by Lucca.

After a long moment of silence, Lucca broke the ice. "In this letter, it is stated the Foreign Alliance Empires cannot directly get involved in this war. Meaning that the 6 of you won't be able to send your troops to the battlefield."

Hearing this All 6 Emperors inwardly smiled in happiness. Right now, the six Emperors were repeatedly thanking the Elven Empress in their hearts.

However, Lucca's next words changed their faces. "But that doesn't mean that you six can't indirectly help us out. Since you six can't send your troops, you guys can help us indirectly with funds, food, equipment, cannons, armor, and weapons." Right now their faces looked very ugly. As if they wanted to cry but their eyes had no tears. As if someone had slapped their faces and had turned their faces red. They are in a situation where they wanted to protest but if they said a single word, their Empire would be in deep trouble.

Meanwhile, Lucca's words had pleased the other 4 Empires. The four Emperors were grinning while staring at the ugly faces of the other six. 'Good job.' The four of them were inwardly praising Lucca with all sorts of flattery words.

"Then, it's settled." Seeing no one objecting to his words, Lucca nodded his head with a satisfied look. It's not like anyone can object or show any protest anyway. Not when Lucca is here.

"Philip, I hope you have made preparations for the meeting." Philip nodded his head.

"Your Majesty, the mirror already has been delivered to the Istarin Empire."

"Good. Set things up. I want to see that bastard's face." As for the letter that came from The Celestial Terrain Lucca was going to worry about it later.

If the Celestial Terrain really wanted to protect the Istarin Empire, then in the letter the Elven Empress would have warned them to not attack the Istarin Empire. But it was clearly mentioned in the letter that no Foreign Empire was allowed to directly get involved in this war. This meant that The Celestial Terrain wasn't trying to protect the Istarin Empire or anything.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 336

Under everyone's gaze, a two meters sized mirror was bought by two guards. The mirror was placed against the wall so that everyone in the meeting room could see it clearly.

Philip looked at Lucca to silently ask for the Oracle Alliance Leader's approval to which Lucca nodded his head.

Scene change____

In the Dragon Palace, Aditya was sitting on his throne. The black Adamantite Doomblade could be seen lying next to the Throne. When looking at the black sword, people could feel violent killing intent suppressed into this sword and waiting to be unleashed.

Aditya was in his regular outfit. Even though Watson advised Aditya to get dressed and also wear the Crown before the meeting, the Dragon Monarch didn't listen.

These people are not worth it. Why bother being polite and respectful to these people when Aditya knows he will be threatened in this meeting? Lucca was probably going to use the Oracle Alliance to pressure Aditya and would ask him to hand over his son.

Watson and Spencer were standing in front of Aditya. Watson had a bright glowing round-shaped crystal in his hand. The crystal was given to Watson by the envoy of the Echo Nexus Empire. The sign of this crystal glowing meant that the meeting was going to start now.

Watson looked at Aditya to ask for his silent approval to which he replied by nodding his head. Without wasting any second, the former prime minister inserted a bit of his Mana into the glowing crystal in his palms. As soon as his mana reached the crystal, the round-shaped crystal began to float.

Seeing this Spencer and Watson stepped back. While the round-shaped Crystal started floating in the air. The bright light coming from the crystal intensified.

The next second the intense bright that covered the entire throne hall began to dim down. The crystal had changed its shape and had turned into thin 2 meters long glass.

Aditya narrowed his eyes as he stared at the 22 faces that appeared on the glass. Among the 22 faces, Aditya recognized a few of them. As Watson had shown him their portrait.

Even though he didn't know who the Echo Nexus Emperor was. Even though he didn't know how the Echo Nexus Emperor looked, just from that man's unique Aura alone, Aditya was able to guess who the Echo Nexus Emperor was.

It was the man who sat in the very middle. Behind him, there was an old man who Aditya guessed to be the Prime Minister of the Echo Nexus Empire.

'So every member of the Oracle Alliance is here with their Prime Minister.' Aditya thought as he observed each face. Just one look for him was enough to remember these faces for the rest of his life thanks to his sharp memory.

?All-Seeing Mirror?

?Peak 4-star (????)?

?Description - An mysterious artifact that was found in an old ruin. The origin of this Artifact remains mysterious to this day.

Some scholars believe that this artifact used to belong to one of the Heroes who defeated the demons and finally ended the ?Age of Cruelty Era?. While some firmly believe that this mysterious artifact belonged to one of the Demon Commanders. Some even say that this mysterious Artifact existed even before the ?Age of Cruelty Era? and belonged to one of the Superpowers of that time.

Over the hundred thousand years, the quality and many functions of this mysterious artifact were lost, resulting in the rank of this artifact dropping from 5-star to Peak 4-star.

One of the core functions of the All-Seeing Mirror was to allow the user to teleport anywhere on this planet. The core function of this powerful artifact has been lost.?

?Function 1 - Using the All-Seeing Mirror, two parties can see and communicate other even if both parties are continents apart. The All-Seeing Mirror has 10 round-shaped crystal orbs. As long as the second party has one of the crystal orbs, the second party would be able to use the first function.?

?Function 2 - The All-Seeing Mirror can see through any illusion under the 5th order.?

Aditya wasn't interested in what dress the Echo Nexus Emperor or any other Emperors wore. He wasn't interested in any of the Prime Ministers either. The same could be said for Lucca as well.

Watson and Spencer were able to see the faces of the 11 Emperors and their Prime Ministers from the other side.

Meanwhile, on the other side_____

In the mirror, A handsome young man appeared to be sitting on his throne and staring at them. He was neither otherworldly handsome nor ugly. He had unique blue long hair. He had Crimson pupils. Staring at those eyes, the Emperors felt as if they were looking at the wild beast. Those eyes of his were calm. His eyes were so calm that the Emperors found it disturbing.

The Crimson color of his eyes seems to represent his violent and his ruthless nature. The Crimson color reflected the color of his skin. It reflected the millions of lives that this man had taken.

Sitting on his throne, the young man stared at the 11 Emperors with a calm face that made them think as if he was looking down on them. Just like Lucca who had the Aura of a King around him. The young man also had a special Aura around him that made others feel inferior.

'He is even younger than my son. To think, at such a young age, he has managed to achieve so much.' The Vermillion Emperor was impressed with Aditya. He was so young yet his actions were so mature.

"So you're Aditya" Finally after staring at the man who had destroyed the Dragon Slayer guild and who had captured his dear son for a long time, the Echo Nexus Emperor broke the silence.

"I assume you're Lucca."

"Hmph!" To which Lucca snorted as his expression became more arrogant. Seeing how young Aditya was, Lucca felt his confidence increase. His thoughts were, no matter how much Aditya has accomplished, at the end of the day his experience can never match Lucca who has been ruling the Echo Nexus Empire for many centuries.

'There is no way that I would lose to a 19-year-old boy who has just grown his balls.' These were Lucca's thoughts.

"Brat, it seems your parents didn't teach you well. They forgot to teach you the difference between a Dragon and an ant. But no worries, in their place, I will educate you."

Hearing Lucca's Comparison, neither Watson nor Aditya nor Spencer was able to stop themselves from laughing out loud. Suddenly, Aditya started laughing while holding his stomach.

"Hahahaha!!!"

"That was a nice joke." Aditya said while giving thumbs up to Lucca. Seeing this Lucca's gritted his teeth while tightly clenching his fists. His eyes turned red from anger. His shoulders were shaking in anger. If Aditya was in front of him, Lucca already would have attacked Aditya in anger.

Seeing this the other Emperors and their Prime Ministers all felt ashamed.

"Did you seriously compare yourself to a Dragon? I guess, you're stupid like your son." Aditya's words left Lucca a little confused.

"During the Goblin Invasion, I am sure you all have heard of a Dragon evolving his bloodline to Divine Rank." Aditya looked at Lucca with a smirk.

"What are you trying to say?" Asked the infamous bootlicker of Lucca, Reese Gilliam who was the Emperor of the Mystic Spring Empire.

"Idiots, I guess you don't know. If only you guys had done a little bit deeper research on my life." Hearing this Every Emperor felt anger building up in their hearts.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Aditya, the only Dragon in History with Crimson Divine Dragon Bloodline. I am the Dragon Monarch. I am the King of all Dragons. And I am your destruction."

Just as these words were spoken out, Lucca felt as if he was hit with lightning bolts. Lucca and his Prime Minister widened their eyes in deep shock. Meanwhile, the other Emperors' and their Prime Ministers' faces turned pale as they remembered the destruction Aditya had done to the goblin race.

For months everyone in the meeting room has been trying to find the identity of the man who had Divine Bloodline. This same man was the fiance of the Goddess of Alchemy. No one thought that Aditya was that person.

'Now I finally understand why that bastard suddenly allied with the Istarin Empire.' Lucca has thought about the Echo Dominion Emperor.

After the Goblin invasion, Lucca was confused to find the Echo Dominion Empire who was their biggest enemy and their rival allying themselves with the Istarin Empire. After a few months, of seeing the exponential rise of the Istarin Empire, Lucca assumed that the Echo Dominion Emperor was trying to increase its influence by allying itself with a rising powerhouse.

Now it all finally made sense to him. As Aditya was the son-in-law of the Onard Family head. And as the Onard family served the Echo Dominion Empire, it's only natural for the Echo Dominion Empire and the Istarin Empire to become allies.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Note - The public is still not aware that the goddess of Alchemy is married to the Istarin Empire

- Even though Aditya is the Dragon Monarch, his name hasn't become popular yet. Other than the ones who are associated with him, no one else knows that he is a Dragon Monarch. Even if they knew, they wouldn't think much about this title and think that Aditya has given himself this title because of having divine blood.

We are yet to see the Monarch of Destruction in action with his full army. But we are getting closer to that part.

Chapter 337

?Let me introduce myself. I am Aditya, the only Dragon in History with Crimson Divine Dragon Bloodline. I am the Dragon Monarch. I am the King of all Dragons. And I am your destruction.?

Remembering these words, Lucca felt really ashamed and embarrassed. No wonder why Aditya was laughing like that. But being thick-skinned, Lucca did not show it on his face. His expression returned to normal.

The words Aditya said shocked each one of them. Now in their eyes, Aditya had become a much bigger level of threat.

"I don't care if you're the Divine Dragon. I don't care if you're the fiance of the Goddess of Alchemy. I don't care if you're Emperor of the Istarin Empire and I really don't care if you call yourself Dragon Monarch or whatever. You have dared to harm my son. You have captured the Crown prince of the Echo Nexus Empire. You have destroyed one of our Allies. The Oracle Alliance and the Echo Nexus Empire will settle matters through war."

Hearing this Aditya just smiled and said nothing in response. In Aditya's eyes, Lucca was currently being ignorant, over-confident, prideful, and arrogant. It was clear that this man needed a reality check but unfortunately being the Emperor of such a powerful Empire and with the backing of the Oracle Alliance, no one can do anything to him. These traits of his will definitely bring him to his knees.

"Istarin Emperor, I am giving you exactly 24 hours to release my son. Within 24 hours if the Crown Prince of the Echo Nexus Empire isn't sent home, I swear on this Empire's name, this will be more than just a war."

Hearing this Aditya finally stopped smiling and seriously looked at Lucca. "Old man, perhaps living for more than [700+] years has clouded your sense of judgment. I think you don't understand the current situation. Your son is in my prison. Why the hell I should let him go?" Aditya wasn't going to let Louis leave like that.

Judging from the words of the Echo Nexus Emperor, it was clear that even if Aditya releases Lucca, a War was inevitable. And as for Lucca's threats, Aditya wasn't bothered about it.

"Since you want war, The Istarin Empire will give you one." At this point, Aditya was fed up. The interests of the Istarin Empire and the Oracle Alliance were bound to clash at some point in the future. Both Empires had different policies and interests. Meaning that a war was going to happen between them regardless of Aditya's actions.

This war was a good chance to eliminate the big fishes and take complete dominance of the entire Dying Isle continent.

Hearing this Lucca gritted his teeth. He was hoping to use the Oracle Alliance to pressure Aditya into releasing his son. And once his son was released, he was going to attack the Istarin empire. But Aditya did not follow the script that Lucca had thought in his mind.

Seeing the expression on Lucca's face Aditya was satisfied but he wasn't done yet.

The next second Aditya's expression turned dark. His eyes started glowing dangerously. His Aura became cold. He put his right elbow on the armrest and supported his face on his palm.

"The Istarin Empire is taking proper care of Louis. Every single day my servants have been working really hard. Don't worry, I am feeding your son three meals per day. He is getting regular body massages. Since he has nothing to do in the prison, I even made him do some workouts so that he won't gain any fat." Everyone was confused between Aditya's cold voice and his words.

Snap!

Before Lucca could say anything, the next second with a snap, a figure suddenly teleported in front of the throne.

Seeing the figure, Lucca and other Emperors stood up in deep shock. Lucca couldn't just bring himself to believe that this was his beloved son. In just a single day, he had changed so much. His appearance was even worse than a beggar's.

His hair was dirty and disheveled. His entire body was covered in a mix of dried blood and mud. His clothes had been torn apart. The Crown Prince looked really weak. There was still a trail of blood coming from his mouth. His nose has been broken and disfigured.

The more Lucca watched the more intense his emotions became. Lucca loved his son more than he loved his whole family together. Seeing his son in such a condition, he felt a volcano erupting in his heart.

There were countless wounds all around Louis's body. Lucca could see whip marks all over his son's body. Before Aditya teleported Lucca here, he was continuously getting beaten with an electric whip by two soldiers.

Louis looked in the mirror. Seeing the face of his father, his lifeless eyes regained some hope.

"Dad.....Dad....please save me." Louis pleaded to Lucca with tears falling from his eyes. Ever since he was captured by the Istarin Emperor, his life had become a living hell. He wasn't just physically tortured. He was tortured mentally as well. He was tortured to the point where he was begging his own father with tears to save him.

"Son..." Seeing this, Lucca's heart was in deep pain. At this moment, arrogance, over-confidence, and pride, nothing remained on Lucca's face. Lucca looked like a desperate father.

Seeing the look on Lucca's face, Aditya coldly smiled before he went to kick Louis in front of everyone.

Bang!

Louis's head hit the floor and started bleeding.

"Bastard!!!!!!"

Bang!

Lucca smashed the table. His eyes completely turned red from anger. The Emperor's entire body was trembling in anger. Never in his life, Lucca had felt such humiliation and pain.

"Now you realize the position you're in. Lucca if you surrender your Empire to the Istarin Empire, then I might consider letting your son lives." Aditya was testing the water. He wanted to see how far Lucca was willing to go for the sake of his son.

Hearing Aditya's words Lucca's entire body trembled. Lucca looked at his son who was also looking at Lucca with a hopeful gaze.

But.....

Seeing his father not speaking, a bad feeling rose in Louis's heart. Time passed quickly. And soon everyone found the Emperor standing and looking at his son silently for over 5 minutes. With each passing second, the suffocation in the meeting room grew. And with each passing second, Louis soon began to understand the answer that his father was about to give.

"No.....No....." Louis refused to acknowledge the reality. Never did Louis think that a day would come when his father would abandon him.

Lucca looked at his son with a sad face. "Forgive me, my son. But I am not going to give up on this Empire. I have built this Empire. I can have another son but I cannot have another Empire." Hearing this Louis's eyes became lifeless. He knew that he was abandoned. Louis thought that Lucca loved him more than anyone in this world but today that very same father abandoned him at the mercy of the enemy.

"Don't worry. Soon I will end the Istarin Empire. I will rescue you."

Snap!

Aditya had seen enough. So with a snap, he sent Louis back to prison. Aditya wasn't going to kill Louis now. Not until he defeated Lucca and the Oracle Alliance.

"You have no idea what you just provoked." The current Lucca was a man who had learned to control his emotions. The rage in his heart was slowly building up.

"Let's start this war." Saying that Aditya destroyed the mirror with a small Crimson lightning bolt.

Aditya knew that this war wasn't going to be easy like the other wars that he has fought. In this war, Aditya will be fighting against someone who didn't lack resources, soldiers, equipment, and weapons.

After the meeting ended, there was silence in the Throne Hall. Aditya appeared to be thinking something.

A few minutes later, Watson broke the silence and asked. "Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

"First, let our allies know about the War. I want to have a meeting with the Echo Dominion Emperor and with our other allies. Spencer, please arrange it for me. I want to meet him today itself. Watson, please send a letter to Father informing him about the war." Spencer and Watson nodded both of their heads.

"Your Majesty, are you planning on requesting help from the Celestial Terrain?" Because Aditya knew what Lucca wanted, he was able to ask the Eleven Empress for a favor through Riya. Because of Aditya, the letter was sent to the Oracle Alliance.

"The purpose of asking The Elven Empress's help was to prevent any foreign power from helping the enemy in this war. Right now, though this war is going to be tough, I am confident that we will be able to fight them without needing the Celestial Terrain's help." Aditya wasn't going to involve anyone from outside the Dying Isle continent in this war. That means, the Ethereal Empire also can't participate in this war and help the Istarin Empire. In a way, this war would determine the next Superpower of this continent. This was an internal conflict. So Aditya didn't want to involve any Foreign powers in this war.

Aditya was keeping the Ethereal Empire and the Celestial Terrain as backup support. If he faces a situation where the Istarin Empire absolutely needs support only then he was going to involve them in this war.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 338

"Today the weather is really nice. Everything feels peaceful."

"Yeah. It's not bad to take a break once in a while."

Sitting under a large Oak tree in their garden, Adam and Sophia were enjoying their afternoon tea. Today the weather was really peaceful. The sun was hidden by the clouds. Gentle cold northern wind currents were making their time in the garden even more pleasant.

Normally The Duke and family would be having lunch at this time. Since their second child, Zak had gone to school and wouldn't come back before evening, they decided to skip lunch and enjoy their time in the garden with tea.

Leaning his back against the trunk of the Oak tree, Adam put his head on Sophia's right shoulder and looked in the distance.

"It's peaceful. But I strangely get the feeling that this peace is just silence before the storm." Adam said while remembering the shock that he got this morning.

Flashback____

After having a light-balanced meal with his family, the Head of the Onard Family, Duke Adam went to his study room to work. As he had left for over a month, he lot of work still remains pending. On Adam's desk, there were multiple mountains of papers that needed his attention.

Sigh!

Looking at the mountain of papers on his desk, Adam deeply sighed. The man who once was known as the Wild Lion of Echo Dominion now had been tamed by mountains of papers.

"I miss my old days when I used to sleep on the battlefield." But what can poor Adam do? His wife Sophia had asked if he needed her help but the man was too prideful to let his woman work. Now Adam was kind of regretting this.

Adam picked up one of the papers and read it.

?Pardon me, Your Grace.

They came in the night and took the life of some of the villagers. Friends, family, husbands, and wives, were gone in a flash. We know who did it, but we lack the power to avenge our fallen. Please, hero, be our vengeance and unleash our fury upon those abominable beings. Unfortunately, I cannot join you, but I have faith in you, and I know you'll succeed.

They'll be no match for you, those beings. You can take out as many of them as you like, the fewer of those low lives there are in this world, the better.

We don't have enough money to hire adventurers. We could only place our hope on the Onard family. But we'll still be able to reward you with something decent.?

Adam checked the date. He found that this letter was sent to the Onard family around 4 days ago. The village head of Spring Village has written this letter to the Onard family requesting help.

Sigh!

This wasn't the first time that the people of this territory had asked for his help. Adam always tries his best to help out the people who lived in his territory. "Another pending matter. I should just hire someone who would do these small tasks."

Putting the paper aside, Adam picked up another letter and began to read what was written on it.

?Budget report of the last month.

- 10,000 gold coins on salaries.

- 5,000 gold coins on food.

- 12,000 on armor and potions.

-....?

This was Adam's regular job. The territory of a Duke was very big. While Apogale City was the main city within Adam's territory, there were other small cities, towns, and villages that Adam needed to look after as well. To make things easier, the Duke was allowed to give the rank of Barons and Knights to trustworthy men. The Barons were in charge of the smaller cities and towns while the Knights were in charge of the villages.

Each month the nobles under Adam gave him report on their budget and on their earnings and other important things. Since Adam was left for over a month, a lot of work was pending for him.

Knock! Knock!

"Walter, you can come in." Adam was able to sense Walter's Aura.

Click!

Opening the wooden door, Watson's twin brother walked inside. This was Walter. Unlike Watson, Walter was already married and had a family of his own. But compared to Watson, Walter looked much older. He had hair white and his skin was wrinkled. If both Watson and Walter stood together then no one would say that both of them are twins as Watson currently looks like he is 45 years old while Walter looks like a 69 year old grandpa.

"Walter, I am not in the mood of drinking anything." Adam said without looking at Walter. Adam just had breakfast around 30 minutes ago. He had no appetite for tea or snacks right now. Adam thought that Walter was here to give him tea and some snacks.

"Your Grace, this isn't about Tea and snacks. This is a very serious matter." Walter wasn't the type to become serious easily. But when he did become serious, it means that something very serious has happened.

So hearing Walter's serious tone, Adam immediately turned his full attention to Walter. "What happened?"

Walter looked very serious. He was deeply frowning at the same time. Walter only makes this kind of face when something really bad or something really shocking has happened. And Adam has seen this face of Walter only a few times throughout his life.

"Your Grace, I think it would be better if Her Grace was also here. Her Grace also needs to hear this."

"Alright. Someone call Sophia here." Adam said in a loud voice.

A few minutes later, Sophia was sitting next to Adam and looking at Walter. "Walter, what is it? You're making us nervous."

"Your Grace, something very shocking happened yesterday. And it's related to the Istarin Empire."

"Aditya..." Hearing this both Sophia and Adam wondered what Aditya had done this time. It only had been one day since they returned from that Icy Shattered Ruin world. Adam thought Aditya would take things easy but it seems he was wrong.

"Your Grace, you should know about the Dragon Slayer guild and how they sent its members to kill Aditya." To which Adam and Sophia nodded both of their heads.

"Yesterday, The Istarin Emperor personally went to the Dragon Slayer guild and destroyed everything. No one from the Dragon Slayer guild was spared. But this was just the beginning."

Both Adam and Sophia widened their eyes in deep shock. Both of them knew that Aditya had directly messed with the Oracle Alliance. Adam and Sophia knew would guess how the Oracle Alliance was going to retaliate.

"His Majesty, Aditya didn't stop there. When the Crown prince of the Echo Nexus Empire tried to stop him, Aditya captured Louis instead and put him in prison. The very same night, His Majesty, went on to destroy three Western Empires and gained full control of those three Empires. Now the Shadow Islands Empire, The Qezia Empire, and the Niwen Empire have become a territory of the Istarin Empire."

Hiss!!!!

Hearing all of this, Both Adam and Sophia shivered. This was just too much for them to take at once.

'There must be a good reason for Aditya's actions.' Saying these words, Adam tried to calm himself. But unfortunately, Walter wasn't done yet.

"And lastly, The Oracle Alliance and the Istarin Empire, both have declared War on each other. But in this war, no foreign Empires are not allowed to join. This means the Empires that are located in the Dying Isle continent can participate in this war. If anyone breaks this law, then the Celestial Terrain would personally intervene and take matters into their hands."

Boom!!

Both Adam and Sophia's minds froze in shock.

By now the news had spread throughout the entire Continent and was spreading throughout other continents like wildfire. Since the Celestial Terrain made this law, no other Foreign Empire or force dared to take part in it. Everyone's attention was on the Oracle Alliance and on the Istarin Empire.

End of Flashback_____

"Do you think Aditya can win this war?" Sophia asked while gently stroking Adam's hair.

"I have fought beside Aditya two times. The first time was during the Goblin Invasion and the second time was when we were trapped in the Icy Shattered Ruin. Trust me, no one else knows about Aditya's power better than I do. Becoming his enemy was the worse mistake any Empire could make." While saying these words, Adam was also getting excited at the thought of fighting beside Aditya for a 3rd time.

Adam would love to see Aditya taking on armies alone. Just the thought of it excited the Wild Lion.

While Sophia and Adam were enjoying their time, Walter came to them with a letter.

"Your Grace, His Majesty wants you to go to the Capital as soon as possible. Other Dukes also have been summoned."

Hearing this Adam stood up and looked at the sky. "It's time to work."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 339

As soon as both the Oracle Alliance and the Istarin Empire declared War on each other, it sent shockwaves throughout the 6 continents. Even some people who lived on the Main continent heard of the news and were surprised.

This War between the Oracle Alliance and the Istarin Empire would be the largest and fiercest War fought in the last 500 years history of the Dying Isle continent. The news itself had bought unrest among the common and peasant class people. As these two classes, people suffer the most during times of war.

Fortunately, the citizens of the Istarin Empire were not that worried. This wasn't the first time their Emperor has gone to War with another big Empire. In fact, the Istarin Empire fought wars in a way that the common and peasant class people couldn't even feel the ripple effect of the war.

Commonly when a War takes place, the prices of commodities spike. Which severely affects the common and peasant class population within the Empire. At the same time, an Empire wouldn't hesitate to increase the tax to raise enough funds to continue the war.

The economy of an Empire may suffer devastating impacts during and after a time of war. Everyday activities of a community or Empire are disrupted and properties may be damaged. When people become misplaced, they cannot continue to work or keep their businesses open, causing damage to the economy of the Empires involved. The Empire decides to direct money to fund war efforts, leaving other institutions with little or no available budget.

But in the Istarin Empire, the prices of commodities never increased. It always remained the same. The tax wasn't increased. No property was ever damaged. The people weren't forced to move from one city to another. And even if a situation like that did occur, the Empire would send relief funds.

Every Empire and Kingdom in the Dying Isle continent had to take a stance. Everyone had to pick one side. It's a completely different matter whether they joined the war. As the winner of this war would decide the new Superpower of the Dying Isle continent.

Most Kingdoms were fed up with the Echo Nexus Empire for years. They wanted to see the Echo Nexus Empire fall. Some wanted the Istarin Empire to become the new Superpower of the continent. While some Kingdoms that had received help from the Echo Nexus Empire chose to support Lucca and the Oracle Alliance. And a few Kingdoms and dynasties remained neutral in this matter.

But it was clear that the entire Dying Isle continent currently was divided in two. One side wanted to see change and wanted a new power to rise. While the other side wanted the current order to remain and didn't want a new Superpower to emerge. As they feared that the change in Superpower would affect them and their interest.

In all of this, the Hephaestus Kingdom which previously used to be an Empire but was destroyed by the Echo Nexus Empire, and the Oracle Alliance openly supported the Istarin Empire.

The Hephaestus Empire was a victim of the Oracle Alliance's bullying. Lucca did not like the Hephaestus Emperor who went against his interest. So Lucca decided to kill the Hephaestus Emperor and place a puppet that would listen to Lucca. At the same time, it was because of the actions of the Oracle Alliance, that the peaceful Hephaestus Kingdom had now turned into a criminal hub. It had become a place where publicly killing people had become very normal. Where publicly doing crime is very normal. Where soldiers and the nobles are not respected.

However, the puppet that Lucca placed didn't want to be under Lucca's control. He wanted his Kingdom to be free from the Oracle Alliance and its big influence. Also, he wanted to get revenge for the death of his uncle who was the previous Emperor. The current situation was in favor of the Hephaestus Kingdom.

In the Western Empire,

Around a month and a half ago, The princess of the Mist Ocean Empire was kidnapped by the commander of the Ageless Islands Empire. Learning that his only daughter and family member has been kidnapped by their rival's commander, the Mist Ocean Emperor was furious and demanded his daughter be given back. An hour later, he learned that his daughter had been killed.

The pain of losing his only family member and his only daughter drove the Mist Ocean Emperor to war with the Ageless Islands Empire without caring about the consequences of his actions. He didn't care that his war was going to affect his people. He didn't care that this war would severely affect his Empire's economy. He didn't care that this war might end up crippling his Empire. All he cared was about getting revenge.

Since the War between the Mist Ocean Empire and the Ageless Empire started, two other Empires also jumped in. Those two Empires were the Cloud Earth Empire and the Storm Empire. Both Empires were big rivals of each other for centuries. The Mist Ocean Empire was backed by the Cloud Earth Empire while the Ageless Islands Empire was backed by the Storm Empire.

What they didn't know was that the Istarin Empire was responsible for all of this. Since all seven Western Empires were planning on uniting their military strength to take down the Istarin Empire, Aditya created a big misunderstanding between them and which started a war. And Aditya wasn't guilty about it. He just played the game smartly.

With each passing day, the War became more and more dangerous. More and more people were killed with each passing. The ones that suffered the most in this war were the common class people.

Within the time frame of one and a half months, numerous battles were fought. All four Empires lost lots of troops and resources in that period.

But today, on the 47th day of the war, the four western Emperors learned very shocking news. It was news that shocked them to their very core. Just the news, none of the Emperors were able to believe it till they saw it with their own eyes.

The news was so shocking and terrifying that the four Empires who had been fighting each other had to put a temporary stop to the war and come together for a meeting.

The four Great remaining Emperors of the Western region were currently sitting around a big square-shaped table. The meeting was taking place outside the four Empires. It was taking place in a Kingdom that was located at the very center of the Western region. Previously, whenever a meeting was called, all 7 Great emperors would gather. But now their numbers had decreased to 4. This once again made them realize while they were busy fighting each other, their enemy had sneaked in and taken down three Great Emperors.

The Ageless Islands Emperor Larry Franks and the Storm Emperor Uriel Gonzalez were sitting next to each other. Their closeness symbolized the great friendship that these two Emperors had between them.

Sitting opposite them were The Mist Ocean Emperor Joshua Andrews and The Cloud Earth Emperor Apollo Gamble. Both Joshua and Apollo were sitting close to each other and glaring at the other party.

In response, Larry and Uriel also glared back. This continued for a while as a result no words were spoken in the meeting room.

Sigh!

"Let's stop with this." The Cloud Earth Emperor Apollo Gamble broke the silence within the meeting room. Causing the other three to look at him.

"The current situation is more dangerous than we think. Within a single night, the Western Empires were conquered by the Istarin Emperor. I suspect Aditya has been planning this since the very day when the war started. Last month Aditya wasn't seen anywhere. I think he and his men had secretly infiltrated the three Empires. Yesterday happened to be the night when he and his men finally took action."

The other three Emperors nodded their response. Apollo's words made sense. Aditya had disappeared for over a month. When he finally appeared, he took down the three great Emperors. They also felt that Aditya was secretly preparing for this in the last month.

Even if Larry and Uriel did not like Apollo, they had to agree with Apollo's words.

"Normally, this entire situation would have been very bad news for us. But by luck, we also have good news that will help us immensely."

"You Mean the Oracle Alliance and the Echo Nexus Empire?" Asked Larry.

The four Emperors knew what Aditya did to the Dragon Slayer guild and to the Crown Prince. "Yes." The four Emperors grinned knowing what they needed to do now.

"Let's put a temporary stop to this war between us. For now, let's join our military on taking down the Istarin Empire with the Echo Nexus Empire and the Oracle Alliance's help. Then we can settle our own matters." The other three Emperors nodded in heads in agreement. Thus, an agreement between the four Emperors was made.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 340

In the Throne hall of the Echo Dominion Empire,

Slender braziers surrounding each of the fourteen marble columns light up every part of the throne hall and bathe the hall in a dancing glow of orange. The gemmed runes on the rounded ceiling dance in the flickering light while gargoyles look down upon the limestone floor of this imposing hall.

A lavender rug runs from the throne to the doors and is matched by smaller ones on either side of the hall while matching banners with adorned quilting hang from the walls. Between each banner sits a small altar full of candles, they've all been lit and in turn illuminate the depictions of heroes and Kings of the Empire below them.

Slim windows are shrouded by veils colored the same lavender as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with burnished corners and jewels.

A grandiose throne of porcelain sits below a grand chandelier made out of Lunar crystal and is adjoined by three equally impressive seats for those closest to the royal highness.

The throne is covered in hallowed motifs and fixed on each of the front legs is a sparkling lion's head. The soft pillows are light lavender and these too have been adorned with adorned borders.

Those expecting an audience with their royal highness can do so on the countless brightly decorated maple benches, all of which are facing the throne in a V-shape. Those of higher standing can instead take seats in the extremely lavish balconies facing the benches below.

Normally the Throne Hall of the Echo Dominion Empire would be filled with people. But today, the entire Throne hall was empty. Only the Emperor, his guards, and the nobles whom he summoned were present.

"Your Majesty, it has been a while since I last saw you." Right now Duke Adam, Duke Elliott Campbell, and other powerful nobles of the Echo Dominion Empire were kneeling before the Emperor.

"It only has been a few months since I last saw you Adam." Said the man who was sitting on the throne. The man was wearing luxurious clothes and a golden cape was covering his back. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall. He had a lean body and fair skin. He had short black spiky hair. He had a slightly above-average, handsome-looking face. The most noticeable thing about him was the golden crown that had 9 different color jewels on it.

Daxton Ferguson looked at Adam and felt that the wild lion had changed a little bit. Daxton has heard rumors about Adam suddenly disappearing around a month ago. But Daxton didn't believe in those rumors at the beginning. But after a month, Daxton was becoming suspicious. He was planning on sending a few of his spies to check things out. But fortunately, Adam returned.

Since Adam did not talk about his disappearance, Daxton did not question him. Daxton trusted Adam. Adam controlled 25% of the Echo Dominion Empire's military. He knew Adam wouldn't do anything to betray the Empire. As for his private life matter, Daxton saw no reason to interfere.

Daxton's eyes then moved to the person who was kneeling next to Adam. He was Duke Elliott Campbell. Daxton knew about the bitter rivalry between the houses of Campbell and Onard. For generations, their families have been rivals which was a good thing in Daxton's opinion. As long as both noble families didn't go as far as to kill each other, Daxton kept silent about the entire matter just like his father did.

Before the Onard Family was blessed with the goddess of Alchemy, the power of both noble families was equal. But after Julia was born, slowly the power shifted more towards the Onard Family. As of now, the Campbell family controls around 10% of the entire Empire's military.

"Duke Campbell, How are you doing? I heard that you're preparing for your son's marriage. Is that true?" Daxton was talking about Duke Campbell's only son who is going to be the next head of the Campbell family.

Lucian Campbell

The very same man who once held the ambition of marrying Julia and using her Alchemy powers for his own benefit. Before the goblin invasion, he even came and challenged Aditya to a duel during Julia's birthday. But later, the duel never happened as Lucian Campbell was shown the power difference between them in the goblin invasion.

Hearing Daxton's words, Adam was surprised. 'It seems I have missed out on many things.' Adam thought in his head.

Duke Elliott Campbell did not try to hide this. He calmly nodded his head. Since his plan of getting Julia married to his son had failed, Duke Elliott Campbell had found another candidate. She is the daughter of a Viscount from another continent.

"Your Majesty, if everything goes well, then in a few months' time, we will hold an engagement ceremony." Daxton nodded his head.

"You all can stand now." Suddenly the friendly tone of the Emperor changed. Daxton spoke seriously. The friendly smile on his face was long gone and was replaced with a frown.

"As you all know, the Istarin Empire is a big ally of ours. Now that our biggest rival, the Echo Nexus Empire has declared war on the Istarin Empire, it's time for us to decide whether we will be participating in this war." Hearing this everyone straightened their backs and seriously began to think.

"I have summoned you all here to hear your opinion on this matter. I am debating whether our Empire should participate in this war or stay out of it." It's true that the Echo Dominion Empire is an ally of the Istarin Empire but Daxton has to think about his own Empire before helping out his allies.

If Echo Dominion Empire joined this war, then the Echo Nexus Empire and the members of the Oracle Alliance will target the Echo Dominion Empire first. The Istarin Empire is located in other regions but the situation in the northwest region is different.

The Echo Dominion Empire is surrounded by the Oracle Alliance members. Excluding the Echo Dominion Empire, there are 6 Empires and one Kingdom in the northwestern region.

There is The Echo Nexus Empire, The Echo Dominion Empire, The Mystic Spring Empire, The Hephaestus Kingdom, The Methia Empire, The Qeyesha Empire, The Uzacan Empire, and The Queenstown Empire. At a certain point in time, all of these every faction in the northwest region used to be an Empire which goes to show just how advanced the northwest region was compared to other regions in the Dying Isle continent.

The Hephaestus Kingdom used to be an Empire before the Echo Nexus Empire killed the Emperor of the Hephaestus Empire. The Hephaestus Kingdom lost its former powers and glory and fell into the ranks of a Kingdom. At its best, the Hephaestus Kingdom can be considered a 4-tier powerhouse.

If The Echo Dominion Empire joined this war, most probably the Oracle Alliance was going to attack The Echo Dominion Empire from all sides. If that happens, not even the Istarin Empire would be able to help them. Knowing this, Daxton felt hesitant and confused. Although he wanted to help out the Istarin Empire, he was that his Empire would become the battleground. And Daxton wasn't sure if his empire can withstand attacks from all sides.

"Your Majesty, we should just stay out of this. Yes, we can provide support to the Istarin Empire by giving them resources but directly joining this war would bring us too much trouble. I don't think the current Empire can withstand attack from all sides." Duke Campbell voiced his opinion.

Hearing this Daxton deeply began to think. He was considering Daxton's idea. A part of him wanted to do what Campbell suggested to him. But a part of him was hesitant to take such actions.

"Your Majesty, I think we should join this war. Trust me, when I say the Istarin Empire is going to win I am not lying. I have seen what the Empire is capable of. There is no doubt in my mind that the Istarin Empire will become victorious in this war." Adam was 100% certain that Aditya will win.

"Let's say we decided to remain neutral in this whole war. Since we as their ally hadn't helped them during this war, the relationship between the Istarin Empire and Our Empire will become very stiff. That would be a big loss for our Empire. When that happens, even I won't be able to do anything to repair this stiff relationship between the two Empires." Daxton widened his eyes upon hearing this. Daxton understood what Adam was trying to say here.

Meanwhile, others felt confused hearing Adam's last sentence. Even Campbell looked confused.

"We have been troubled by the Oracle Alliance for years now. Over the years, the tension between the Oracle Alliance and our Empire has been rising. The Oracle Alliance has been regularly sending their troops to our borders. I know about the situation in the borders better than anyone else as I have spent a few years fighting them."

Adam gained his Wild Lion nickname during that time. Adam alone guarded the northern border of the Echo Dominion Empire with just 1000 troops. It was at that time when the world got to see just how wild Adam can become.

Campbell stared at Adam and remembered a rumor that he heard a long time ago. To this day, Duke Campbell is not sure if those rumors are true or not. These rumors had frightened Campbell.

According to the rumors, Adam was surrounded by 3000 Peak 3rd-order soldiers. At that time Adam was also a Peak 3rd-order cultivator. He was badly injured. Both of his arms were broken. But even with broken arms and an injured body, the man managed to slaughter Peak's 3rd-order soldier and before finally losing consciousness. It was said that the fight went on for more than 2 days. Even with his injured body, he managed to hold on.

Who would want to face a wild beast like Adam? After hearing this, Campbell swore to be careful in front of Adam. Who knows when this guy might snap and start killing everyone in his sight?

"This is a great chance. We can take part in this War and finally get our revenge." Adam said the last part while releasing a little bit of his killing intent causing everyone's faces to turn pale. Not even the Emperor, who was a beginner 5th-order cultivator managed to endure his killing intent. Just a tiny bit of his killing intent was extremely suffocating.

Everyone was once again reminded why Adam is the Called the ?Wild Lion of Echo Dominion?.

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[Compensate chapter - 3/6]

Chapter 341

After Adam finished his words, everyone deeply started to think. Adam's words had made Daxton rethink this entire matter from a different angle.

'My mind is telling me that supporting Aditya in his war would lead to the end of My Empire. But my heart is telling me otherwise. I feel if I miss out, the entire Echo Dominion Empire will make a huge loss.' Daxton stared into Adam's eyes. Daxton never questioned Adam's loyalty.

He knew even if the world were to end, Adam would never betray this Empire. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Daxton had blind faith in Adam and the Onard Family.

'Aditya is his son-in-law. Adam knows more about Aditya and the Istarin Empire than me. And I am sure Adam knows what he is suggesting.' Daxton sighed before making up his mind to follow what his heart was telling him.

"I have made up my mind. The Echo Dominion Empire and the Istarin Empire are close allies. Hence, we won't let our ally go to this battlefield alone. The Echo Dominion Empire will help the Istarin Empire in this war. While doing so, we will also get our revenge on our greatest rival."

"Your Majesty, please reconsider. Going into war would mean that we would be facing enemies from all sides. Facing attacks from all sides, I don't think we can hold on till the Istarin Empire's troops arrive." Duke Campbell was really worried. Not just Duke Campbell, other than Adam, all other nobles looked worried as well. But they didn't have to courage to say it in front of the emperor like Adam and Campbell.

"I know you all are worried. But Aditya is my son-in-law. I know him very well. Did you guys forget what he did during the Goblin Invasion? Now that his strength has grown, he can wipe out an entire army with a single attack. How can we lose when we have someone like him on our side?"

"Adam, what are you saying? How did the Istarin Emperor become your son-in-law?" Duke Campbell and others were still confused. Even though Adam's son-in-law and the Istarin Emperor had the same name, they always thought that both were different persons.

"Adam is not lying. The Istarin Emperor is the future husband of the goddess of Alchemy." Daxton now looked even more resolved to take this path. Adam's words had given Daxton the courage and the hope that he needed.

"Your Majesty, a letter from the Istarin Empire has arrived." While everyone was still in deep shock over the news, a letter from Aditya came to Echo Dominion Empire.

"Aditya wants to meet you and talk about this war." Without even needing to read the letter, Adam was able to guess what was written in that letter.

Daxton took the letter from the guard and read it for a minute before nodding his head in agreement. "You're right. I will have to make this trip to the Istarin Empire. Campbell and Adam, come with me." Daxton would have taken Adam only since Aditya is his son-in-law. But doing that would show that he is favoring Adam. He didn't want Duke Campbell to negatively view so he also asked Campbell to come.

Hearing the words of the Emperor, Campbell nodded his head. After so many months, Campbell wanted to see with his very own eyes just how far that monster had grown. In the goblin Invasion, Aditya had left a deep impression of his powers in Campbell's heart. He also wanted to use this chance to visit the Istarin Empire and see the Aditya with his own eyes.

Meanwhile, at the Istarin Empire

"Your Majesty, they are here."

Aditya who was making plans with Watson stopped and raised his head. "Bring them here." With his order, the big metals of the throne hall were opened by the guards.

As soon as both doors were opened, Aditya got to see more than 10,000 soldiers. Under Spencer's signal, all of them slowly walked inside the Throne hall.

A whole minute later, the whole Throne hall was filled with soldiers. This was the first time, that the throne hall had this many people. Aditya wasn't the type of King who would invite poets and musicians to his court to sing or make poetry for him. He would rather spend his time with his wives than listen to poetry and songs.

Of course, poetry and songs had their own beauty and Aditya appreciated good poetry but he didn't like poetry to the point where he would spend hours listening to it.

This is why, Throne Hall always had very few visitors. In fact, unlike other Kings, Aditya very rarely sat on the Throne. When he did, it would only be when he is meeting someone or having an important discussion with his people.

"I won't take your time. I know that you all have to prepare for the upcoming war. Since all of you are here, that means you're eligible to become Dragonians." Aditya can see the excitement in the eyes of the soldiers. It was to be excited. After all, the rank of the Dragonian was even higher than the elite soldier's rank.

When a soldier within the 7 Divisions became a Dragonian, their ranks within the 7 Divisions also rises. Their salaries and the benefits that they received were also increased. Compared to a normal soldier, a Dragonian received 10 royal gold coins per month as a salary.

Other than doing missions given by their Captains and Sub-Captains and other than participating in combat when needed, the Dragonians are given free time to cultivate. Unlike soldiers who are given various kinds of duties, Dragonians are given more resources and time to cultivate. While a normal soldier could only dream of cultivating inside the Dragon Palace, a Dragonian can come and cultivate inside the Dragon Palace depending on his rank and on his merits.

The Istarin Empire focuses on rising the strength of the Dragonians. Dragonians are given more importance than soldiers. Dragonians hold a unique prestige that a normal Soldier could only dream of. Dragonians are not treated as cannon fodders. Dragonians are the main core power of the Istarin Empire.

Every soldier in the Istarin military desires to become a Dragonian. It's a soldier's ultimate dream. It is said that when one transforms into a Dragonian, their talent for cultivation increases. Their cultivation makes a big jump. And their powers become very terrifying.

"However, becoming Dragonian comes with heavy responsibility. Each of you will become a frontline soldier. The Empire will rely on your strength to fight wars. Dragonian is not just a promotion or a power upgrade, it's a responsibility. You were chosen here because you all are worthy to carry the title and my Dragon blood. If I deem anyone to be unworthy of being a Dragonian, then I won't hesitate twice to take back what I will be given you now." Though Aditya has never tried it, he was sure that he can take back the powers of a Dragonian that came from his bloodline.

Hearing Aditya's words a few soldiers among the 10,000 showed a displeased look. They thought that becoming Dragonian would let them live a workfree life. Each month they would receive a big salary without having to do any work. But it seems they were wrong.

While some soldiers showed a look of fear after learning that they will become frontline fighters. These soldiers lacked the courage and the gut to become a true Dragonian.

Aditya noticed everything. Not just Aditya, Spencer, and Watson also noticed the changes in everyone's faces.

"You...you.....you...and you four....leave." Aditya said in a cold tone.

Hearing this soldiers at whom Aditya had pointed looked at Aditya in disbelief while some looked at Aditya in relief as they didn't want to become Dragonians after hearing about their responsibilities.

"You on the right end of the 4th row, leave."

"The one standing in the middle of the 9th row, leave."

"Leave....."

Around 10 minutes later, the number of soldiers standing in the throne hall had decreased. Now there are around 9,500 soldiers remaining.

Aditya stood up from his throne and looked at the soldiers. "I don't need cowards as my Dragonian. I don't want lazy soldiers either. If I find any of you not taking this seriously, I will strip you of your powers and title. If I can give it to you then I can also take it from you."

Today the soldiers saw that their Emperor can be cruel and cold towards them as well. Hearing his words, everyone nodded their heads in fear.

Seeing the faces of all the soldiers, Aditya nodded his head with a satisfied smile.

"Being a Dragonian means that you must be prepared to sacrifice your life for this Empire. You must be brave. You must be responsible. You must be hard-working. The Istarin Empire does not feed lazy people." As for the lazy soldiers who tried to become Dragonian, Aditya will ask Spencer to fire them and send away.

"Prepare yourselves. Don't resist. Just embrace it." Without wasting any more time, Aditya summoned his divine blood.

Those who had been sent out of the throne hall earlier saw an intense bright golden light coming from the Throne hall. A large amount of Mana was released.

At the same time, the Auras of nearly 10,000 soldiers began to rapidly change.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 342

When the bright golden light dimmed down, in front of Aditya, there were around 9,500 Dragonians. Spencer had picked 2nd-order soldiers to become Dragonians. Now most of them had become 3rd-order cultivators. The ones that were still stuck in the second order were very close to breaking through the third order.

'With this, now I have more than 20,000 Dragonians. Normally I would like to have more Dragonians but turning almost 10,000 soldiers into Dragonians does put a burden on my mental health. Not to mention the huge amount of Mana that I had to exhaust. The biggest obstacle was my own blood. I had to take out 9469 drops of blood. Taking out this much blood will definitely leave me weakened. Fortunately, I have Julia's special pill. Consuming the pill, within a day or two, I should be able to recover all of my lost blood.'

'Also not all soldiers are qualified to become Dragonians. I had asked Spencer to pick the exceptional ones to become Dragonians.' Aditya believed that 20,000 Dragonians were more than enough.

If he pushed his body any more than that, Aditya would collapse right before the war. This is something that he desperately needed to avoid. The pills that Julia made can be consumed once every week. Consuming several pills within the same week neither increases the recovery rate nor gives an extra boost. It does the opposite. If this pill is taken more than once a week, then it permanently harms the body.

'I still have my Dragon Warriors army. Not to mention the fact that each Dragonian will be given a full body armor set according to their cultivation rank. They would be given various kinds of pills which would allow them to quickly recover and fight for a long time.' Fortunately, Julia and Paige had a stock of pills for emergency use.

"Everyone can now return back to your division and take orders from your Captain. You all are free to cultivate in the Dragon Palace if you have free time before you're deployed."

"One more thing, before you're deployed, I suggest you write a letter to your loved ones or to your family. As this War will continue for a while. It might be a while before you guys can return home." Aditya didn't add the bitter fact that some of them may never return from the battlefield. He just hoped that the Dragonians understood what he was trying to say.

A Farewell letter.....

As the Dragonians left, the throne hall became empty again. Spencer was making a list of resources that they had and the things that they needed in this war. While Watson was back to his Prime Minister job again. Though this time, it's only temporary. After the war, he would return back to his original job of being a butler.

"Your Majesty, the Alliance members are here," Watson said to Aditya in a low tone.

Aditya closed his eyes and sensed that some foreign people trying to enter the Dragon Palace. But they did not take the final step. These people were familiar to Aditya. There was the Echo Dominion Emperor, Adam, Duke Campbell, The Thera Kingdom's King and commander, and lastly, the Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress. They had bought some powerful guards with them.

Without Aditya's permission, no outsider can enter or exit the Dragon Palace. He just needed to think to let them enter.

Aditya put his hand on Watson's shoulder. The next moment both of them teleported to the entrance of the Dragon Palace.

Meanwhile,

"This is the Dragon palace...." Everyone couldn't stop staring at the Dragon Palace. The Palace was no doubt the best architecture that was ever built.

"Seeing the Dragon Palace, for some reason my own Palace feels like a beggar's house." The Echo Dominion Emperor, Daxton Ferguson looked at the Dragon palace in envy. He has long heard of the unrivaled beauty and majesty of the Dragon Palace. Seeing it with his own eyes made Daxton believe that no other Palace can be compared to the Dragon Palace.

"I feel as if a God himself has built this Dragon Palace." Campbell murmured in a low tone.

The guards who heard Campbell's words nodded their heads while staring at the Dragon Palace. They felt just being able to look at something like this, their eyes were blessed.

The Thera Kingdom's King and the Commander and the Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress had similar reactions. Everyone was in a daze while staring at the Dragon Palace.

Seeing Aditya suddenly teleporting in front of them, everyone was shocked. Campbell felt his heart nearly stopping.

"Hello, Everyone! Welcome to the Istarin Empire. Please come inside." Regardless of their social standing and powers, Aditya treated his allies with respect and with dignity.

As everyone walked in, they saw more of the Dragon Palace. They were able to see the powerful beings who lived here.

"Such a powerful presence." Emperor Daxton felt a sweat rolling down his neck. If Aditya wanted to he could end everyone's life here within a few minutes and no one would know anything about it.

'So many powerful presences. Aditya has been hiding true strength from the world all along.' Thought Campbell as he looked around. Campbell now felt more assured about this war.

The Thera King and the Storm Isle Empress had similar expressions on their faces. As for the guards, they were trembling in fear. How they were supposed to protect their Kings and Empress from such powerful people? They felt like crying but their eyes had no tears.

From the outside, no one is able to feel anything within the Dragon Palace but when coming inside, it was a different story.

'The Mana density in this place is really high. If I also had something like this, then within a decade or two, I could build an army that is strong enough to defeat the Echo Nexus Empire and the Oracle Alliance alone. Later when I have time, I must ask Aditya to tell me the way to build something like this.'

Little did Daxton know how childish and ridiculous his thoughts were. Aditya can build only one Dragon Palace. And he was able to do it because of the system. Not to mention, the huge amount of resources that he had to gather to build this. Even if Daxton manages to gather all the materials that Aditya gathered, without a system, he can't build the Dragon Palace. And not even a God would be able to copy the Dragon Palace.

Aditya led them to the meeting room which Watson had prepared. On their way to the Meeting room, everyone got to see many things. The more time they spent here, the more they realized just how valuable the Dragon Palace was. This Palace was a treasure itself.

"Please sit." Everyone sat around the round-shaped table. On top of the table, there was a giant map of the Dying Isle continent. Several points on the map had been marked with red pencils. These marked points are the places where Aditya was expecting the Echo Nexus Empire to attack in the upcoming days.

Aditya sat next to Echo Dominion Emperor, Daxton. He made Adam sit on his right. This symbolized the close relationship that Aditya had with the Echo Dominion Empire.

"Your Majesty, I will just stand behind you." Duke Campbell refused to sit next to the Emperor thinking that Daxton would take this as a sign of disrespect. Also, Duke Campbell didn't feel worthy of sitting next to Daxton as he was just a mere Duke. A Duke who served the Emperor.

Sigh!

"Duke Campbell, this isn't the time for worrying about such small matters. We can ignore these small things for now. Sit down." Hearing this Campbell was surprised. This was the first time he was seeing this side of Daxton. Duke Campbell nodded and then hesitantly sat down.

The Thera Kingdom's King and the commander both sat next to each other. The Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress sat on Thera King's right.

"Let's begin the meeting." Aditya took the lead. He took out a small 1-meter-long thin metal stick.

"You all are the close allies of the Istarin Empire. Even if you don't want to fight, I am afraid the Oracle Alliance will still target your Kingdom."

"Your Majesty, I think you're misunderstanding. We're here because we want to fight together with the Istarin Empire." The Empress of the Storm Isle Dynasty said. Others nodded their heads along.

Seeing this Aditya smiled and said nothing in response. In the end, they weren't helping Aditya because they were allies of the Istarin Empire. They were willing to stand alongside the Istarin Empire because of the benefits that they will receive once this War ends. This is especially true for the Echo Dominion Emperor. As for the Storm Isle Dynasty and the Thera Kingdom, both didn't have much choice.

"Your Majesty, we have another visitor."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 343

Watson came and informed Aditya. "Your Majesty, we have another visitor." Everyone became curious about this visitor.

Aditya already knew who this visitor was. Aditya knows every person that enters and exits the Dragon Palace. "Let him come." Aditya let that person and his colleague pass through the gate. As long as Aditya was inside the Dragon Palace, no being would be capable enough to harm him unless he willingly lets himself be harmed. Aditya wasn't worried about this new visitor coming to the Dragon Palace with malicious intent.

Even if he dared, inside the Dragon palace, no one would be able to save him. Aditya was in total control here. Other than Aditya, there were multiple Fifth-order cultivators in the Dragon Palace. With Aditya's order, these Fifth-order Dragon Warriors will rip him and his guards to shreds.

'I don't think the Istarin Empire has any other allies.' Daxton thought that all the alliance members were there. But it seems he was wrong.

He and others patiently waited for the person to enter. They did not have to wait long as a minute later, a young man entered the meeting room. An old man followed the young man.

Seeing the young man, Daxton, Adam, and Campbell widened their eyes in shock. They weren't expecting him here. This was completely shocking to them.

Meanwhile, others had no idea who this young man was. But they were able to guess that this young man was another ally of the Istarin Empire. Since only allies of the Istarin Empire would be allowed to come to this meeting room.

"Your Majesty, I have always wanted to meet you. And today I was able to fulfill my wish. It's really nice to meet you." The young man removed the hat and gave a small bow to Aditya. Following the young man, the old man behind the young man also bowed to Aditya. But unlike the young man, the old man's bow lasted an extra second longer. This symbolized the position of the old man and the young man.

A King is not required to bow in front of another King. But by greeting Aditya with a small bow, the young man was acknowledging Aditya to be superior in power. And as the old man was his Subordinate and was someone in a lower position of power, he bowed for an extra second long to show his respect to the Istarin Emperor.

"There is no need to bow. Your arrival is a surprise for me and my Prime Minister. Watson, please prepare one more chair." Aditya had heard of the declaration that The Hephaestus Kingdom made a few hours ago. Aditya wasn't sure if the King of the Hephaestus Kingdom was going to come. Aditya had made his plans without considering any help from The Hephaestus Kingdom.

As for the old man, he wasn't going to sit along with others. As his status was lower than others, letting him sit along with others would be considered disrespectful to others. Instead, he was going to stand behind the young man as his prime minister.

The status of Duke Adam and Campbell was higher than the old man because both of them belonged form a powerful Empire. And the fact that Adam is Aditya's father-in-law, puts Adam in the same position as the Thera Kingdom's King, Charles, and the Storm Isle Dynasty's empress.

The head of the table was obviously the person with the most influence and power. And that person was Aditya.

Watson bought a chair and placed it next to the Empress. "Thank you, Sir Watson." From the way, he was addressing, it was clear to others that he knew the Istarin Empire very well. He had done his homework before coming here.

"This is King of The Hephaestus Kingdom, Aidan Scott. And this is the prime Minister of The Hephaestus Kingdom, Fabian Snow." Aditya then introduced The Thera King Charles and his commander Ren. And then the Storm Isle Dynasty's Empress, Sofia Davis.

The Empress of the Storm Isle Dynasty was the quiet one. Ever since she came here, she has very rarely spoken. Not only that but also her face was hidden under a black veil. The dress that she wore covered all of her skin. Aditya was already used to her.

Sofia was just like that only. She wasn't a speaker. She would only open her mouth when it is necessary. The way she presented herself in front of everyone was very elegant and gracious.

"Alright, let's start the meeting." The head of the table spoke and everyone went quiet. The meeting was all about Aditya explaining his plans to everyone. Before the meeting, he had taken a few hours to make a few surprise plans for the enemy.

Aditya pointed at The Hephaestus Kingdom on the map. Just like the Echo Dominion Empire that was surrounded by the Oracle Alliance members from its three sides, the same had happened to The Hephaestus Kingdom. The Kingdom was surrounded by members of the Oracle Alliance from three sides. If they were ever attacked from all three sides, then the population would have to escape through the sea.

"Judging from the current situation, there is going to be at least two active frontlines. One is going to be in The Hephaestus Kingdom and the other is going to be in the Echo Dominion Empire. So I am planning on sending my elite troops to your territory."

"It would take weeks if not an entire month for your troops to reach our territories. By then, the Oracle Alliance would be done with us." Daxton's expressed his worried to everyone.

"By Elite troops, I meant my Dragonians." Everyone widened their eyes. They all have heard about the Dragonians. When the Istarin Empire invaded the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, the Dragonians played a huge role in taking down the Empire. Or when the Istarin Empire invaded the three Western Empires, the Dragonians managed to take over the cities in no time, allowing the Istarin Empire to capture three Empires within a single night.

Daxton and Aiden didn't think that Aditya would send his Dragonians to their territory. This made them excited. With the Dragonians, they would be able to give a tough fight to the enemy. "One Dragonian is equal to one thousand regular soldiers. Having just 100 Dragonians on the battlefield could change the whole tide."

However, the next second, the excitement from Daxton's face disappeared. "But how are you planning on sending them to our territories? At most, by tomorrow, the soldiers of the Oracle Alliance members will be deployed."

"I am going to use the Teleportation array, of course," Aditya said as if there was nothing wrong with his words.

"Your Majesty, do you realize that using teleportation arrays to send the Dragonians would be extremely costly?" This is why an Empire can't use the Teleportation Array to send its troops. Teleporting just a thousand troops requires a lot of mana stones and which is really expensive. In everyone's opinion, by doing that, Aditya would be wasting a lot of money.

Only Adam, and Watson remained quiet. Unlike others, they did not question Aditya. They knew that Aditya would make such decisions without thinking thoroughly.

"I have used this method to send over a thousand of my Dragonians to the Western region. Sending the Dragonians through the sea would take too much time. By the time they will arrive in the Northwest region, both the Echo Dominion Empire and The Hephaestus Kingdom had already fallen or would be on the brink of defeat."

Hearing this both Daxton and Aiden went silent.

"I want to end the Oracle Alliance before they bring their troops to the Eastern region. I am going to bring the fight to them. As for the cost, I will worry about it."

The current Istarin Empire didn't lack money. Especially after it had begun selling glass. It earned a lot of profits. The Istarin Empire had more money than it could spend. And the money that Aditya got from the Dragon Slayer guild was still there. Not to mention the fact that the Istarin Empire had mana stone mines. Aditya had the luxury of sending his troops using the teleportation array. No other King or Emperor in this continent had the same luxury.

For the next two hours, Aditya explained how everything will go. At the end of the meeting, the alliance was sent out by Watson. Only Aditya was left sitting in the meeting room. As for Adam, he didn't immediately go back along with Daxton and Duke Campbell. Instead, he went to meet his baby daughter since he was here.

Watson came back to find Aditya looking at the map while deeply thinking about something. "Your Majesty, what are you thinking about?" Watson asked.

Aditya pointed at the Western region on the map. His fingers were resting on the remaining four Western Empires. "For some reason, I have a feeling that the four remaining Emperors are going to attack while we are busy fighting at the frontlines."

"But even if they were to attack, this time I will personally head to the battlefield and take care of everything." Aditya's eyes became cold. From time to time, he had made his intentions clear. As long as the other party did not provoke him, he won't act against them. But every idiot kept on making the same mistake.

"Your Majesty, the cannons are ready. If you would like we can test them out right now."

"Alright. I also want to see the power of those cannons." Meanwhile, the other allies returned to their territories and began to prepare for the war.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 344

Far from the Istarin Empire's capital, on a remote island that happens to be the Istarin Empire's territory, Aditya, Watson, Percy, and 10 soldiers had come here.

The main reason, Aditya chose this island is because no one lives on this island. Around 6 or 7 years ago, a volcano erupted on his island. The volcano destroyed everything. Around 5,000 original inhabitants died while the other 4,000 original inhabitants of this island managed to escape.

The volcanic eruption destroyed everything. No living being was spared. In the end, what remained was a barren land covered in Volcanic ashes. There was no sign of living beings on this island.

Aditya and Watson are on the sidelines while Percy who was the 3-star blacksmith of the Istarin Empire started working on setting up the Solar Cannon. The 10 soldiers that came with them, helped Percy.

Meanwhile, Aditya and Watson observed the Solar Cannon with deep interest.

Unlike normal cannons, this cannon did not have wheels. The barrel of the cannon was twice big compared to normal cannons. Unlike normal cannons, this cannon did not have any gun power, ignition chamber, and Cannonball. Instead, in place of the gun power, and the ignition chamber, a yellowish glowing stone was placed.

These stones were solar stones. Solar stones worked just like Lunar Stone. In the darkness, the Solar stones would glow like Sun.

"Your Majesty, the Solar Cannon is ready." Aditya stepped towards the Solar cannon.

"How do I use it?" Aditya asked while staring at the Solar Cannons.

"It's really simple. Your Majesty just needs to place your hand at the back of the Barrel. As long as even a tiny amount of Mana is pushed inside, the Cannon will activate. Unlike normal Cannons, the Solar Cannon harvest energy from Solar stones. To charge the Cannon with enough solar energy, 30 seconds is required."

Aditya put his hand on the Barrel and then pushed a little bit of his Mana on the barrel. A second later, a yellow ball of energy started forming at the Muzzle of the Cannon. At the same time, the whole barrel of the Cannon started glowing. With each passing second, the glow brighter. The yellow energy ball also started getting bigger and much brighter.

30 seconds later, the solar cannon was fully charged.

"Your Majesty, please take your hand off the barrel to allow Cannon to fire." Aditya did what Percy told him.

Just as he took his hand off the barrel, a yellow beam of light was shot out from the Solar Cannon. Under Aditya, Watson, and the soldier's shocked gaze, the beam of light hit the mountain that was located on the other side of the island.

Boooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!

A huge explosion took place. The entire island was shaking. The shockwave generated by the explosion sent a large amount of dust and pebbles into the sky.

"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Percy asked while staring at his creation. He was really proud of what he had created. This was his best creation.

"Amazing" Watson said while staring at the mountain which now had been destroyed completely. In place of the mountain, a huge crater remained.

"The beam of light can travel up to 5 Km. If its anywhere outside of 5 Km, then the beam of Light loses its energy and power. If the enemy is within the 5 Km range and was hit with a beam of light, then it will land serious damage."

"The Solar Cannon is really easy to use. Unlike Traditional Cannons, this Cannon is more effective and also not that costly." Unlike Mana stones, Solar stones were very cheap. Now that Percy had managed to build a weapon that runs by harvesting the solar energy within the solar stones, the Istarin wouldn't have to worry about the cost of the materials.

"Percy, How many Solar Cannons have you built so far?" Aditya can tell that the power behind this shot was enough to seriously injure even a Beginner 5th-order cultivator. Just a single shot of this cannon would be enough to wipe out thousands of soldiers.

"Your Majesty, unfortunately, up until recently, I was perfecting this Solar cannon. Even now I can feel that the power of this Cannon can be increased if I managed to reduce the charging time. I only have built one Solar Cannon. To build multiple of these Solar Cannons, I would need funds and also manpower."

"Watson, give whatever Percy needs to make more of these Solar Cannons."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

"Now that I have seen the power of the Solar Cannon, it's time to head back." Aditya teleported everyone back to the Dragon Palace.

Meanwhile, after Aditya left, the volcano that destroyed this island had activated once again. The shockwave from the explosion caused another eruption to occur. This time, the Volcanic Eruption was even stronger than the previous times.

Scene change_____

Meanwhile, somewhere else,

An old man wearing a dark cloak entered a tailoring shop. The man walked inside the shop. He then stopped in front of one female tailor.

Noticing the old man..."Hello Sir, How can I help you?" The woman asked with a professional Smile.

The old man silently placed a golden coin that had Skeleton's face on it. Seeing the coin, the woman took the coin and put it in her pocket.

"Please come with me, Sir." The woman then led the old man to an ungrounded chamber. The underground Chamber of the tailoring shop was dark and gloomy. The old man can see many Assassins idly sitting.

As the woman bought the old man, all the assassins looked at the old man. Feeling everyone's gaze on him, the old man shivered in fear. He began to sweat in nervousness. This was a place that he would never want to return to again.

The woman bought the old man to the receptionist who was a beautiful seductive Succubus.

"Target?" The Succubus professionally asked without wasting any time. Indicating that she has been doing this job for a long time now.

"Istarin Emperor." The old man replied in a nervous tone.

Hearing this the Succubus showed a surprised look. "The Istarin Emperor's head is very costly. Not everyone can afford it."

"100 million royal gold coins."

The Succubus shook her hand with a smile. "Too little." Normally 100 Million royal gold coins would be considered a huge amount of money. But the target was really strong and it would nearly impossible task to kill him.

The old man gritted his teeth before adding more money. "500 million royal gold coins."

The Succubus licked her lips in excitement. The receptionist loved money more than anything. Hearing that the old man was willing to give 500 million royal gold coins, had made her excited and horny.

"Please wait here for some time."

"Why?" The old man asked in fear. He didn't want to stay in a place where he would be surrounded by Assassins.

"I will have to meet My Queen and get her approval on the Mission before the bounty can be made official." The old man nodded his head.

Seeing the old man look scared, the Succubus felt pity for him. "Don't worry, no one in this place would harm you. We don't harm our clients. Just order a drink or two and relax. If everything goes perfectly, then I will return within 30 minutes."

Scene change_____

Using a hidden teleportation array, the receptionist went to see her Queen.

Knock! Knock!

"What is it?" The Succubus heard a cold voice.

"My Queen, we have a 500 million royal gold coin bounty on the Istarin Emperor's head. Should we accept the Mission?" The Succubus asked as the last time someone put a bounty on Aditya, her queen had rejected accepting the Mission.

"No. Send our client back. We don't accept missions on the Istarin Emperor." The Queen replied in a stern tone. For some reason, she sounded really displeased.

"Alright." The Succubus sighed feeling depressed. She didn't understand why her Queen rejected such a big amount.

A few minutes later, the Succubus returned.

"My apologizes but we can't accept this Mission." The Succubus said in an apologetic tone.

Hearing this the old man was surprised. As he was about to leave, an Assassin who had heard what the receptionist said followed him. As the man exited the tailoring shop, the Assassin put his hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Who is it?" The old man was frightened.

"Do you want the Istarin Emperor dead?" The Assassin asked.

The old man nodded his head. "I will do the job for 100 million royal gold coins."

"But....."

"Keep this a secret between us. Follow me. This place has too many ears and hidden eyes." The old man followed the Assassin. Soon both of them left the city and went somewhere else.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 345

The inevitable was already upon them whether the people were ready or not. The Black clouds of the war were hovering above the land. Even before the bloodshed began, everyone could feel the casualties of this war.

In the darkness of the night, more than a half million troops were sent from the Istarin Empire. Without worrying about the huge cost that the Empire would need to bear for deploying so many troops to a different region of the continent, under Aditya's orders, more than a half million troops were sent to the Echo Dominion Empire and to the Hephaestus Kingdom.

"I am leaving everything in your hands. Don't let me down."

"Do not worry, Your Majesty. Your humble servant won't allow any enemy to enter the Istarin territory."

"I will focus on decreasing the enemy troops' numbers. If anything serious happens, then sent me a message. I will return immediately."

"Understood."

It has been a few minutes since 500,000 troops were deployed. Now Aditya and some of his generals were preparing to leave for the Northwestern region as well.

"Well, it's time...." Aditya put his Crown on the throne before walking down the stairs.

At the end of the stairs, Alicia, Julia, Riya, and Lara were waiting for Aditya. All four of them looked very reluctant to let Aditya go to war. Especially, Lara looked very reluctant. Julia, Alicia, and Riya had seen Aditya going to War and they were used to it. They know whatever happens, he was going to return. But this wasn't the same for Lara. No matter how hard the young maiden tried, her heart wasn't at peace seeing him leaving.

Seeing Aditya stopping in front of four wives, others quietly left the throne hall. Now only 5 people were present at the Throne Hall. The King and his wives.

"I have given Julia a few tubes of my blood. For the next 4 or 8 days, I might not be able to return." Lara nodded her head while lowering her head. She was trying her best to hold her tears. As her Royal mother once said that a girl shouldn't send her man to war in tears as this might bring misfortune to her man.

Previously Lara never felt the shockwaves of War as she mostly stayed in her room and very rarely went out. Whenever she did go out, no one would tell her about the War or anything related to it.

But here, she had read how unforgiving a War can be. Her little mind was nervous, worried, and anxious.

Aditya smiled seeing Lara like this. 'She is trying her best to appear strong.' Aditya patted her head which calmed her down.

He then suddenly pulled her and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. Their kiss only lasted for 3 seconds but it was enough to calm her down and make her smile.

'This guy has become an expert in coaxing girls.' Alicia thought while biting her lips.

"I also want to come with you." Riya has been wanting to come with Aditya but he refused to let her join her battlefield.

"Like this said before, just stay home and wait for me. Be a good wife and trust your husband." Hearing the word 'Wife' the goddess melted like butter in his arms.

"Okay." Riya obediently nodded her head while hugging Aditya. Seeing this Julia and Alicia felt speechless.

"If you listen to me then after all of this, I will take you out somewhere. Riya's eyes lit up in excitement after hearing this.

"Kiss me." Riya closed her eyes and demanded a kiss. Especially after seeing Aditya kiss Lara, she also wanted one.

"What a needy girl!" Aditya smiled before lowering his head to face to kiss Riya. Both of them kissed for about 5 seconds before Aditya stopped.

"Not enough. I want more." Riya won't be seeing Aditya for a while so she wanted more than just one kiss. The next second, Riya took the initiative to kiss Aditya. This time she boldly put her tongue inside and pressed her soft and seductive body against his hard body.

All of this aroused him. He wrapped his hands around her soft and slim waist. For a moment both of them were lost in their own worlds while the other girls looked at them in jealousy.

After a moment, both of them finally separated. When they did, a string of saliva still connected both of their mouths.

Seeing her moist her eyes and wet lips, Aditya couldn't control himself. He ended up giving her another deep kiss before releasing her.

"If you make me wait for too long then you will miss your opportunity." Riya said while seductively licking her lips while staring into his eyes. Aditya instantly understood what Riya was talking about.

"I will try to finish as soon as possible and return home. That's a promise." Riya nodded her head with a satisfied look.

Meanwhile, Poor Lara looked confused by this. She didn't understand what both of them were talking about.

He then turned his attention to Alicia. Seeing this gaze, Alicia folded her arms on her chest and proudly looked at Aditya.

"What?"

"I don't need your kiss. If you're done then you can leave."

"Really....!!!" He asked with a teasing smirk.

"Yes. I don't need your kiss. Take care of yourself out there." Even though Aditya has been kissing them in front of each other, Alicia was still shy. Falling in love had changed her. But she was still proud and full of pride. Her pride came in her way when expressing her love for Aditya.

Unlike Riya, Lara, and Julia, Alicia was too prideful to openly express her love for Aditya.

Ignoring the words of the goddess, the Dragon Monarch pulled her towards him. The next second, the goddess found herself hugged by Aditya. She did not refuse. She buried her face in his chest and hugged him shyly.

Julia, Riya, and Lara looked at each other and smiled. They knew that their second sister was shy and prideful. She was too shy to show her feelings for their husband. But she is not willing to be left behind.

"Don't work too much. Be sure to take proper rest and also spend at least a few hours every day cultivating." Whenever Aditya wasn't around, Alicia had a bad habit of working for a long time without taking proper rest. She would even skip her meals and focus solely on working. This wasn't good for her health even if she happens to be a cultivator.

Aditya knew that Alicia had very high cultivating talent. It would be a waste if she did not cultivate. Also cultivating was for her own benefit. If she became stronger, Aditya won't have to worry about her.

"Stop acting like my mother" Alicia replied in an annoyed tone. But she did not hate it. In fact, she liked this.

"The future mother of my child must be strong and healthy." Aditya replied while patting her head.

"Screw you! I am not bearing your child." Alicia replied in an angry tone. She was ready to give herself to Aditya but this guy is too busy with his work. Seeing how Riya openly seduced him, Alicia knew that it was a matter of time before that deed happened between them. But he can sleep with her, She wanted to claim the second spot. Also, she is too shy to take any initiative in this matter. She was waiting for him to take the initiative.

"Haha!" Aditya can somewhat understand why Alicia sounded angry. It's not like he was purposely avoiding Alicia or anything. Aditya just felt that the time wasn't appropriate.

"Don't worry, my little mermaid. This master will start hunting once this storm passes away. At that time, no one would be able to save you from me." Aditya whispered in her right ear.

As soon as these words were spoken, her entire face turned red. The next second, she found her lips taken.

"Now it's your time." Aditya opened his eyes and looked at Julia. His eyes were full of emotions. In such a short time, this shy woman has matured a lot. She is now a responsible, hard-working, and caring big sister. After turning into a woman, she has become the lady of this Palace.

Julia is growing up just like her mother. She not only has inherited her mother's beauty but also her gentle and caring personality. Over the months, she has changed a lot. She has matured a lot.

Aditya and Julia hugged each other for a long time. Neither of them said any words. Both of them could guess each other's thoughts. This moment of silence was what they needed.

After hugging each other for a long time, Julia looked at looked into his eyes.

"You look weak. Did something happen?" Hearing this Alicia, Lara, and Riya were surprised and shocked. They looked at Aditya to see if Julia was telling the truth.

"Haha!!! As expected, I can't hide anything from you." Aditya dryly laughed and replied.

Hearing this, Julia did not smile. She narrowed her eyes and coldly looked at Aditya. "What happened?" Julia knows that her husband is capable enough to annihilate an entire army in his Peak condition. But she felt uneasy knowing that her husband was heading to the battlefield while not at his peak.

"Nothing much. When I gave my blood to turn 10,000 soldiers into Dragonians, I kind of pushed myself. It will take 2 or 3 days before I can recover all that blood. But don't worry, this wouldn't affect my fighting ability." Aditya hoped that his women wouldn't make a big deal out of this. This is why he didn't tell them about this.

Sigh!

"I suggest you stay away from the frontline for the first few days. But knowing your character, I am sure you won't listen to my words." Hearing this Aditya smiled while holding her hands.

"Be careful out there. Don't take unnecessary risks." Aditya nodded his head in response. After giving a kiss to Julia, he then teleported away.

After Aditya left, the four girls were left in the throne hall. "You are letting him go even though you know that he is not at his Peak. Why?" Riya asked. She and Alicia wanted to stop Aditya but earlier Julia signaled them to stop.

Sigh!

Julia sighed while looking at Aditya's throne.

"Aditya is a stubborn man. Even we if all told him to stay, he still would go and fight. He is not afraid of anything. Even when he was surrounded by millions of goblins, he fought without caring about himself."

Julia then looked at her sisters with a smile and replied. "As his wives, we should support our husbands in his decisions. He isn't the type to take reckless decisions and get himself killed. We're his biggest mental support."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Hello guys!

I apologize for not uploading these many days. This Ramadan didn't go that well for me. For me Ramadan started with one week long high fever and it also ended with one week long High Fever. I couldn't celebrate Eid or go anywhere during Eid. [How frustrating.] I couldn't wear the news clothes that I bought for this special occasion.

Now I deeply hate the term Fever.

The doctor said that this was a covid variant [big brother or something...]. I tried writing even with my weak body but I just didn't had the strength to write. The last 5 days I barely ate anything. Whatever I put in my mouth, I ended up vomiting.

For now I am doing fine. I will try to upload regularly. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Chapter 346

In the Capital of the Echo Dominion Empire,

The Capital of Echo Dominion Empire was bustling with multicolor lights and noises. The Capital is home to more than 3.4 million people. The Capital was said to be one of those cities in the Echo Dominion Empire that never sleeps. Even during the night, people still can be seen walking, drinking, partying, and working, all over the city.

However, unlike the usual times, when there is a peaceful atmosphere around the Capital, currently, the atmosphere in the whole city is tense and tension was in the air.

The marching sounds of the soldiers can be heard all over the city. Tonight, the streets of GoldLeaf City have been taken over by millions of troops. Most of the shops were shut down. Most common class people stayed home tonight.

Some people were scared of war. Some people were excited to see the entire Empire in action. As it has been a long time since the Echo Dominion Empire had been at war.

March!

The citizens of GoldLeaf City watched as the millions of troops left the capital. Some people saluted the soldiers knowing that some of the soldiers might never return.

Watching millions of troops marching out of the city, a family of two was watching everything from their balcony. Watching the soldiers carrying weapons and leaving the city, the small child standing next to his mother couldn't help but get curious and asked.

"Mom, where are they going?" Asked the 7 years old small boy.

"These brave men are going to fight bad guys and protect our home." The Boy's mother replied with a stiff smile.

"Mom, are they Heroes?" The boy innocently asked. As he has been taught that Heroes are brave people who fight bad people.

"Yes, they are Heroes." The mother replied with a sad smile on her face. This woman's father was a soldier who died in the line of duty. Her husband also joined the military around 5 months ago. She just prayed in her heart that her husband wouldn't be sent to the frontline. She prayed for her husband to return home safely.

Outside GoldLeaf City,

The Emperor of the Echo Dominion Empire stood on the walls of the city and watched his troops gather outside the city. This War was going to be intense. He was putting his entire Empire at risk by trusting Aditya. Daxton did not regret his decision. He was tired of being oppressed by the Oracle Alliance.

"Your Majesty, the Istarin Empire has sent 500,000 troops to the three frontlines. Among the 500,000 troops, 10,000 of them are powerful Dragonians and Dragon Warriors. While His Majesty has sent around 250,000 troops to the Hephaestus Kingdom." Hearing this Daxton showed a look of surprise before nodding his head in acknowledgment. Aditya told them that he was going to send around half a million troops but he had sent more troops than he had promised.

"Also, His Majesty has sent a message that he will be personally joining the frontlines. If Additional reinforcement is required, then the Istarin Empire will send more troops." Now everything depends on their first battle.

"I see." Daxton wasn't expecting Aditya to join the battle. Even during the meeting, Aditya never told them that he would join the frontline so early. Daxton was expecting Aditya to first wait and test the other party's military power before deciding to join the frontline.

In a war, usually, the first few battles are fought to test each other's powers, but from the looks of it, Aditya was planning on going all out on the enemies from the beginning.

"If he is going to join the frontlines, then how can I as the Emperor of the Echo Dominion Empire stay behind and rest at my Castle while he and millions of other troops will be fighting at the front line?"

"Your Majesty, you don't mean.....?"

"Yes, I am also going to the front lines," Daxton said with an excited smile. During the goblin invasion, Daxton had seen the Istarin Emperor fight at the frontlines. Aditya had left a big impression in Daxton's mind at that time. And now that he had grown strong, he was excited to see Divine Dragon in action. This time he wanted to see the whole thing in front of his own eyes.

Hearing this the Prime Minister deeply sighed feeling another headache. There are many things that needed to be prepared since the Emperor is going to the front lines. As the Prime Minister he has to worry about Daxton's safety, his comfort, his food, shelter, and all other basic necessities. All of these take time to prepare.

"Your Majesty, should we bring the two elders with us?" Asked the Prime Minister. The two elders were 5th-order cultivators who remained at the Castle and protected the Echo Dominion Empire. Very rarely these two Elders made their appearance.

"There is no need. Both of them need to stay behind and protect the Capital." If the Capital were to fall, then the entire Echo Dominion Empire will fall in no time. The Capital was the core of an Empire. This is why the safety of the Capital must be ensured.

"Your Majesty, I suggest, you bring at least one of the Elders with you." The Prime Minister was worried about the Emperor's safety and wanted at least one of the elders to come with them to the front lines. Who knows what kind of monsters the enemy might send to the front lines? The safety of the Emperor was the Prime Minister's biggest worry. In front of the unknown, he felt it would be better and safer to bring an elder with them.

Daxton looked annoyed at his Prime Minister. He knows that his Prime Minister won't stop nagging him unless he brings a 5th-order cultivator with him. "Instead of taking the elders, bring someone younger." The elders were even older than Daxton and his father who had long died. He felt that instead of troubling the old men, it would be better to bring young blood to the battlefield.

Sigh!

The Prime Minister nodded his head in defeat. But he still felt that bringing one of the two elders would have been a better choice. definitely com

"Alright."

Scene change___

The Echo Dominion Empire had to defend itself from three sides. This is an unfortunate situation for the Echo Dominion Empire. The members of the Oracle Alliance had surrounded it from three directions. The same could be said for the Hephaestus Kingdom. Though the situation in the Hephaestus Kingdom is very chaotic. The Hephaestus Kingdom is a place where wanted criminals and gangs from all over the entire Dying Isle Continent come. The Oracle Alliance can attack from one direction.

The Oracle Alliance sees the Echo Dominion Empire as the Istarin Empire's biggest ally. If the Echo Dominion Empire were to fall, then they can easily win the war. With such thoughts, Lucca ordered the Oracle Alliance to focus on taking down the Echo Dominion Empire as soon as possible. He wanted to invade the Echo Dominion Empire before the Istarin troops reached the northwest region. Little did Lucca know that the Istarin Empire already had sent 500,000 troops to the Echo Dominion Empire.

On the eastern border,

The Echo Dominion Empire shared borders with The Mystic Spring Empire. And as one of the members of the Oracle Alliance, The Mystic Spring Empire was preparing to send its troops to the Echo Dominion Empire from the Eastern border.

"They would be here in an hour."

"Let them come. This time, not even a single one would be going back alive." Adam bought his greatsword while looking in the direction of the east.

Behind Adam, there was an army of 600,000 standing and waiting to welcome the enemy.

"Need some assistance?" Adam and others looked up only to find a bright Crimson light descending towards them. The crimson light stopped 100 meters away from the ground.

As the light dimmed down, everyone was able to see Aditya.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Adam almost called Aditya by his name. Adam thought Aditya would join some other front line.

"This is going to be a long night for me. The other two front lines still have a few more hours before the enemy comes." From Aditya's words, it was clear that he was planning on joining other battlefields.

"If you want I can go ahead and annihilate the enemy even before they can cross the border." Some new soldiers thought that Aditya was only pretending.

Hearing this Adam shook his head with a smile. "Your Majesty, I suggest you preserve your strength." Aditya smiled before landing beside Adam. Even if Aditya were to wipe out the entire incoming army, he would be left with no strength and mana to assist head to other battlefields.

The next moment Adam sensed something. He raised his right hand and ordered in a loud tone. "On my orders, Load the Magic Cannons."

"Archers, get ready to fire arrows."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 347

The eastern border between the Echo Dominion Empire and The Mystic Spring Empire is a mountainous region. Tall trees covered the mountains. This whole region is home to many Magic animal species. The magic animals that lived in this region were mostly 1st or 2nd-order magic animals. Most of the magic animals that lived in this region were herbivorous magic animals. And most herbivorous magic animals are peaceful by nature. These magic animals would run away if they see large groups of people. They wouldn't attack unless they are provoked.

Feeling the presence of 600,000+ soldiers, these Magic animals kept themselves far away and hidden.

A path between the mountains and the dense forest connected the Echo Dominion Empire and The Mystic Spring Empire. This path was mostly used by adventurers, Rogue cultivators, bandits, merchants, and travelers. But now due to the War, there was no one in this path. Knowing that this path will become a battlefield, no one traveled using this path anymore. Even the mountain bandits that lived by robbing and killing the travelers had no choice but to leave. For them, till the war ended, the business had been closed down.

Both the Echo Dominion Empire and The Mystic Spring Empire also had closed their borders and didn't allow anyone to travel using this path.

The army of 600,000 silently waited for The Mystic Spring Empire's troops to arrive.

"General Eddie, you're here as well. It's nice to see you again." Eddie Wood is the commander of the Onard Family and Adam's right-hand man. Back when Aditya first came to meet Julia's parents, he had met Eddie and had fought with him. At the end of their fight, they ended up destroying half of the Onard Family's Mansion.

Eddie is someone who would rather betray Adam. His loyalty lies with the Onard Family and with Adam. "Your Majesty, I didn't expect you to remember me." From Adam, Eddie had learned of Aditya's real identity. He thought such a high-profile man wouldn't remember him.

"Of course, I remember you. I still remember the spar that we had that day." Hearing this Eddie remembered the half-destroyed Onard Family's Mansion and the things that Aditya did during the goblin invasion.

"Your Majesty, it's nice to have you here with us." Eddie saw Aditya as a one-man army. As long as Aditya was here, their victory was confirmed.

'I don't care what kind of monsters we are going to face. Even if the enemy sends millions of troops, we would still win because of him.' Eddie thought while looking at Aditya.

"Father, where is old man Tobias?" Tobias is the old Vampire who had taught Aditya about runes. Because of Tobias's teachings, Aditya was able to become a 3-star runemaster within a very short time.

If Eddie is considered Adam's right-hand man, then old man Tobias is Adam's left-hand. Old vampire, Tobias is wise, intelligent, strong, and powerful. Aditya was looking forward to seeing him.

"Someone needs to stay back at the Apogale City." Apogale city is the place where the Onard family Mansion was located. Since Adam had bought his entire army to this battlefield, Tobias would be staying at the Apogale city to make sure the city is protected.

After silently waiting for a few minutes, Aditya, Adam, Eddie, and a few other sensory cultivators sensed some beings with cold and dark Aura heading in their direction from the East.

After a few minutes of waiting, everyone saw some skeleton figures flying in their direction. Upon a closer look, everyone discovered these skeleton figures to be undead magic birds.

"It seems the enemy has bought Necromancer with them." It was rare to use Necromancer on a battlefield. In this world, Necromancer is a profession is that not liked by most people. Necromancer is seen as a creepy and low-status job.

Necromancers have the ability to raise the dead and turn them into undeads. If a Necromancer is bought to the battlefield, he can turn the dead soldiers into undeads and force the undeads to continue the war. Many factions see this as a low thing. So they don't bring any Necromancer with them. There are some Kingdoms and Empires out there that have banned Necromancers and dark mages.

"There are at least 10,000 undeads heading in our direction." From this Adam and Aditya were able to conclude that the enemy had more than 100 Necromancers in their ranks.

"Father, let me deal with them." Adam just nodded his head and allowed Aditya to act first. The ranks of these undeads were not that high. At most, these undeads were Peak 2nd-order or beginner 3rd-order. While the majority of the undeads were 1st-order.

Under everyone's gazes, Aditya stood in front of the undeads paths.

At the same time, Crimson lightning started coming out of his body. The Crimson lightning danced around his body like snakes. More and more Crimson lightning gathered around his body. After a certain point, everyone saw Aditya's entire body covered in Crimson lightning-like lightning armor. The Crimson lightning had formed a red-lightning skin around his entire body.

"There are coming." The undeads approached Aditya. The undeads failed to sense the danger in front of them.

Just as the undeads came within Aditya's 50 meters radius he snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The next second, fierce crimson lightning cracking sounds were heard. Crimson lightning snakes came out of Aditya's body and started attacking the undeads.

Boom!!!

Boom!!

Boom!!

Each time the Crimson lightning snakes touched the body of an undead, the bodies of the undeads instantly exploded like balloons.

While the Crimson lightning snakes were destroying the undeads at a rapid speed, Aditya sensed a powerful presence within the enemy. The Aura that he sensed was a Powerful Peak 5th-order cultivator. The Aura he sensed was cold, violent, and bloodthirsty. It was as if the Aura was searching for blood.

"I guess, I should also get serious now."

?Ding! The passive boost of the Storm Marshal class has been activated. The host's mana has been temporarily increased by 50%. The power of lightning and wind-type attacks has been increased by 50%. Your Agility has been increased by [300+].?

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

Aditya decided to hold himself from using Inferno Overdrive and Dragon transformation. He felt that activating those two kills at the same time would be an overkill. Now that he had reached Peak 3rd-order, even without needing to activate those two skills, he can deal with any Peak 5th-order cultivator. Unless the enemy has the stats of a Mid-6th-order powerhouse, Aditya has nothing to worry about.

And in this continent, it is impossible for even a 6th-order cultivator to retain his original powers because of the law of heaven.

Adam, Eddie, and others sensed the Aura around Aditya getting strong with each passing second. Seeing this Aditya was sure that Aditya must have sensed a strong presence in the enemy troops.

"Everyone, today we all have come here to protect our children, our family, our wives, our parents, our birth town, and our Homeland. It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by fighting this war. Under the starry sky, we will face our enemies without any fear. By making death our ally, we will become immortals on this battlefield."

"Now raise your swords, spears, and bows, and follow me to the battlefield." Adam's speech seems to have affected every soldier standing behind him. Their blood boiled hearing his passionate words. And seeing Aditya destroy the undeads like nothing seems to have given the soldiers the courage that they needed.

"Fight for our family."

"Fight for our children."

"Fight to defend our homeland."

All the soldiers roared along with Adam and Eddie and followed Adam toward the enemy.

On the other side, The Mystic Spring Empire's troops also raised their swords high and increased their marching pace. Soon the troops of both sides clash. This will mark the official beginning of this War.

Meanwhile, 15 away from the NewMoon Woodlands, Daxton had come using the teleportation array.

"Your Majesty, it looks like we are already late." Said Prime Minister who had been forcefully dragged along even though he didn't want to come to the battlefield.

"Let's hurry up. We can't miss this battle." Daxton dragged his Prime Minister like an excited child.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 348

After dealing with the undeads, Aditya did not join the Army. He instead stood in the air and watched as both sides were about to clash.

Meanwhile, the enemy commander who was a beast-man swung his axe at Adam with a roar. The enemy commander was 2.5 meters tall. His body was muscularly built. He had tan skin and a scary face. In front of him, Adam looked like a teenage boy even though Adam is tall and muscular. He had a violent Aura around him.

The enemy commander's appearance was scary. There were numerous long and small scars all over his body. He wore a Silver chest plate. He did not bother to wear any protective gear on his arms and shoulders.

If Aditya had to describe the enemy commander then he would say, 'Badass violent beast.' Being a beast-man, the enemy commander was taller than humans. His muscles were filled with raw power and strength. Those long scars of his reflected the countless life and death battles he had over the years.

clang!

Adam blocked the enemy commander's attack with his greatsword which weighed tons yet Adam had no problem using the greatsword.

As both weapons clashed, they created sparks of flames. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Adam." The beast-man grinned while looking at Adam.

"Lawson, I see you're in good health." Adam kicked Lawson. But the beast-man was able to block Adam's kick with ease.

"Mr. Adam, you have gotten weaker in the last few years. I heard you have become a family man. Is it true?" Adam's face darkened hearing Lawson mention his family. He did not reply as he knew that Lawson was just taunting him.

Seeing Adam remaining calm, Lawson was disappointed and very unhappy. Lawson took a step back before diagonally swinging his Axe at Adam again. Adam blocked the attack but felt the impact of the enemy's attack on both of his arms. The impact of the attack nearly forced Adam to take a step back.

Clang!

"Mr. Adam, you have changed. Where is the Lion Wild of Echo Dominion?" Lawson asked while swinging his Axe at Adam again. This time, he put more strength into his attack.

As Adam blocked the attack, the impact of the attack traveled through the greatsword and reached his arms. Adam felt his arms becoming numb from too much pain. This time, Adam couldn't control and hold his ground anymore. He had to take a step back. This surprised Adam as he and Lawson had similar cultivation ranks and similar strength the last time they fought.

Seeing Adam's shocked face, Lawson felt angry. He spat on the ground and looked at Adam in deep hatred. "Pathetic! I guess the Wild Lion has died. Becoming a family man has weakened your resolve."

Lawson and Adam had fought many times back in their young days. Lawson was sent by the Mystic Spring Empire while Adam represented the Echo Dominion Empire. Back then, whenever both of them fought, Adam who was in his prime days, always managed to defeat Lawson even though he had more men and resources than Adam.

On this same border, he and Adam had fought many times. Each time they fought, Lawson was severely injured by Adam to the point where he would need to stay in bed for months. Even with the advanced healing pills, Lawson would need to stay in bed for months. Back then, Lawson was the only one who could take on the Wild Lion. But Each time they fought, he always narrowly escaped with his life.

Over time, Lawson began to see Adam as his number of enemy and rival. A deep respect grew in his heart for Adam. As a beast-man, Lawson respected the ones with power. Adam had earned his respect by defeating him even though the odds were against him.

In their last battle, Adam did not kill Lawson. Instead, he spared his life. Adam even took the unconscious Lawson to the border of Mystic Spring Empire. If Adam hadn't done that, then Lawson would have died either from bleeding or he would have been eaten by some Wild Magic animals.

However, this is exactly what Lawson hated. As a beast-man, Lawson lived his entire life as a warrior. Lawson never saw the need of having family and friends. His life was full of training and training. As a Warrior, Lawson believed that getting killed Adam who is his enemy and his biggest rival would be the greatest way of moving on to the next life but he didn't expect the Wild Lion to show mercy.

Lawson hated it whenever people pitied him. He felt he was being looked down upon.

After years, nearly 2 decades later, Lawson had come here fully prepared to face Adam one last time. Lawson was greatly disappointed by his biggest rival. But this wasn't the Adam that Lawson wanted to face. This Adam had lost his sharpness. This Adam had become an old blade full of rust. This Adam was dull and lacked the fighting spirit that the Adam from 2 decades back had.

This pissed Lawson. He continuously pushed himself for 2 decades just for this moment. Yet his rival had left his past and had become a family man. This angered Lawson very much.

"You're not the Adam that I know. Bring him out. I want to face that Furious Lion." With a crazy grin, Lawson looked like a madman. He kicked Adam in the chest.

Adam was able to block the attack by placing his greatsword in front of his chest. But the impact of Lawson's kick, sent Adam flying.

Bang!!!

Adam crushed landed on the ground and groaned in Pain. From the impact, the ground beneath him had cracked like a spider web and a small crater had formed. Without even realizing it, a few drops of blood came out of Adam's mouth and fell to the ground.

Adam felt all of his ribs nearly been broken from the attack. "He has gotten stronger." Even though both of their cultivation were in the same rank, while Lawson regularly trained his body, Adam had neglected his body from any kind of training. Physical training is important for all cultivators.

Also being a beast-man, Lawson had an advantage over his strength. Compared to an average human with no cultivation, an average beast-man with no cultivation was stronger. Beast-man were basically half-animals and half-humans. This is what made Lawson's attacks so deadly and powerful.

Adam raised his head and looked at Lawson who was 110 meters away from him. Carrying the large black axe on his right shoulder, Lawson was slowly walking in Adam's direction.

A few soldiers saw the enemy commander walking without any guards, the soldiers tried to take out the enemy commander which would instantly end this battle in their victory. But before the soldiers could even attack Lawson, arrows from the sky started raining down on them.

Looking back, behind Lawson, 50 archers, riding magic horses were protecting Lawson from any kind of sneak attack. Whenever any enemy soldier got close to Lawson, these archers would shoot arrows and take down the soldiers.

"Lord Adam, are you alright?" A few soldiers stopped fighting and came to help Adam stand up. Using their bodies as support, Adam stood up while keeping his eyes on Lawson.

"I am alright. You guys focus on taking down the other soldiers. I will handle this guy."

The soldiers hesitantly looked at each other. They have seen that Adam cannot match Lawson in strength. They were not sure if Adam can win against the enemy commander. If something happened to Adam, who is the commander, then the enemy will win this battle. The same could be said for the Mystic Spring Empire's commander.

"Let Lord Adam fight this guy. I will stay with Lord Adam if in case, he needs any assistance." The soldiers looked back and saw the second commander, Eddie who was Adam's right-hand man. Seeing Eddie, the soldiers felt relieved.

"Alright."

Meanwhile, Adam ignored the conversation between Eddie and the soldiers. He knew in his heart that other than Aditya no one here can kill Lawson. Adam wasn't confident in defeating Lawson. In the past, he has defeated Lawson countless times. But now times have changed and Lawson has grown a lot stronger.

'We won't know if I can without trying.' Adam wasn't afraid of facing someone stronger than him. This was not the first time he was going to do something like this.

But it was just as Lawson said before. Adam had gone soft. The rage and the violence that he used to have back in his Prime had long been erased from his character. Adam was now a different man. And he didn't regret his choice. Life gave him a chance to enjoy life with his family and Adam took that chance.

"This reminds me of a quote that my old man used to say."

[The Older you get, the more quiet you become. Life humbles you so deeply as you age. You realize how much nonsense you've wasted time on. You start to accept things for what they really are. You stop forcing friendships and connections with people and you just learn to grow.]

'Although cultivators can live for millions of years. But not even immortals can escape time and its influence.' Adam thought while staring at Lawson.

Remembering these words, Adam fueled his determination to defeat Lawson. His time still hasn't ended yet. There are so many things that Adam wanted to do in life. His days as a Wild Lion might be over but his life as a father,

As a Duke,

As a husband,

As a Family man,

And

As a Head is still far from being over. After all...

"Life is all about changes."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 349

Clang!

Clang!

"I will never be defeated by this you." Saying that Lawson threw a giant heavy Axe at Adam. Just like Adam's greatsword, the Giant black Axe weighed tons and Lawson had no problem using this heavy weapon on a battlefield.

Adam knew that even if he stopped the attack with his greatsword, he would be injured from the impact so he moved to the right and chose to dodge the attack.

"The Adam of the past isn't the type to back down from a fight." Saying that Lawson pulled his black Axe towards him. There was a thin almost-invisible chain attached to the handle of the Axe. The other end of the chain was wrapped around Lawson's left arm. Grabbing the chain, he pulled his Axe back.

"Time changes people. I have changed as well. I would have been happy if you also had changed yourself. But look at you. You still look the same. Your personality is still the same. You haven't changed a bit."

Lawson started rotating the giant Axe using the chain that is attached at the end of the handle. While rotating the giant Axe, he coldly looked at Adam and replied. "I don't need to change. If my change is going to make me weak like it did to you, then I would rather stay the same my whole life."

Lawson always has lived the life of a Warrior. It's not that he didn't want to change. It's just that, a Warrior who has lived his whole life with the purpose of getting stronger and dominating his opponents has never known or has thought of life beyond fighting and training. Lawson thinks that if he changes his lifestyle, then he will become weak just like Adam.

Lawson doesn't know the happiness that Adam has found after changing his life. The happiness and the peace that he discovered. Lawson views Adam's current life as worthless. He thinks that giving in pleasure and enjoyment makes a man weak.

Lawson released the Axe toward Adam. The giant black Axe flew toward Adam at a very fast pace. Adam was somewhat able to dodge the Axe in time but the two soldiers who were fighting behind him weren't so lucky. The black Axe hit their bodies.

Bang!

The next second both of their bodies were crushed. They turned into human meatballs. Their heads exploded like water balloons and their bodies turned into meat paste.

The ones who saw this trembled in fear. Even the soldiers on Lawson's side stepped away from him fearing that his Axe might fly at them next.

Seeing that he had missed, Lawson was pissed. He pulled his Axe back. As the Axe returned to Lawson's hand, he found a shadow above his head. Just as he looked up, he saw Adam's greatsword descending towards him with the intention of cutting him in half.

"That's not enough, Mr. Adam. I can't feel your intent to kill me. The previous you would have been overflowing with killing intent." Saying that Lawson put his left arm above his head. The chains that were wrapped around his left arm blocked the attack. Lawson felt his left arm becoming numb from the impact. He was sure that some areas of his arm had cracked from the impact. But he did not show any pained expression on his face. This kind of pain is nothing.

As Lawson calmly blocked the attack, from his right side, a shadow appeared in his vision. Before he could react or do anything, the shadow punched the right side of his face and sent him flying.

Before Lawson could land on the ground, Adam grabbed the chain that was attached to his Axe and pulled Lawson towards him.

Lawson felt his body being pulled before he could react, Adam kicked him in the gut and sent him flying with greater force.

Bang!

If not for the Axe connecting to Lawson through the chain, he would have been sent flying to the other side of the battlefield. Lawson crushed and landed 10 meters away on the ground.

Ah.....!!!

He coughed out a mouthful of blood. As Lawson stood up, his eyes searched for Adam but couldn't find Adam anywhere.

"Looking for me...." Hearing this Lawson's entire body froze in fear as Adam's cold voice reached his left ear. Before Lawson could react, Adam vertically swung his greatsword to kill Lawson.

Just as the Greatsword was about to cut Lawson in half and end his life, a skeleton body appeared in front of Lawson and took the hit in Lawson's place.

Bang!

Seeing this, Adam wasn't pleased. "Who is it?" Adam asked while moving back.

"Sir Adam, my apologies for interfering in your battle. Please understand that I can have you end our commander's life." Adam turned to his right to find a woman whose entire body was covered under a black cloak and a black hood. Because of the hood, Adam couldn't see her full face.

There are hundreds of undeads and zombies around the woman. Her Aura was dark and sinister. She held a skeleton staff in her right hand. Adam can tell that his woman had white pale skin but he couldn't tell if this woman was human or if she belonged to some other race.

Meanwhile, Lawson had recovered and was ready for round 2 with Adam. Though he didn't like the fact that someone intervened in their battle. Lawson hated it when someone inferred in his fight. Because she had saved his life by intervening, Lawson let it slide but he wouldn't tolerate it if she tried to fight Adam in his place or if she interfered again.

"Adam, it's time for round 2." Lawson cracked his neck while grinning at Adam.

Adam faced Lawson while keeping his eyes on the Necromancer that managed to appear on his right without him noticing. He had to be wary of both. Adam can tell that this Necromancer was almost powerful as him.

Meanwhile, the female Necromancer slowly began to retreat from Adam and focus on killing the enemy soldiers using her undeads and using some dark spells. Seeing this Adam inwardly sighed in relief. Fighting Lawson was already too much for him. If he was forced to fight this Necromancer at the same time, then he definitely would die here.

Lawson charged at Adam. Just when he was a meter away from Adam, both of his fists began to glow. Adam can tell that he was concentrating his Mana on his two fists.

Beast Technique Number 8 - Flaming Fist!

The next second, both of Lawson's fists were covered in flames. The flame didn't seem to affect Lawson.

"Take this." Lawson punched Adam.

Adam crossed his arms on his chest and took his right fist which was covered in flame.

Bang!!!

The Onard Family's head was pushed back while the skin on his arms was slightly burned.

'Damn, that hurts.' Adam shook his hands while keeping his eyes on Lawson. He can tell that Lawson was getting serious with each passing second.

'It feels as if I have returned back in time.' Around two decades ago, Lawson fought Adam using the same technique. Nothing has changed over the years.

Beast Technique Number 7 - Flawless Titan!

An illusionary image of a black Titan figure appeared behind Lawson's body. The titan was 15 meters giant tall. Its entire body was black. It had sharp teeth and wolf claws. Its red eyes were glowing.

'Flawless Titan...? That's new. He never used this when we fought back then.' Adam became cautious seeing Lawson's entire body glowing. At the same time, he felt his Aura rapidly growing stronger.

"Good job, Ruby." The Necromancer that replied to save Lawson was called Ruby.

Amidst all the chaos on the battlefield, Ruby and the man beside her were comfortable enough to stand and have small conversations. It was as if they did not care about the enemy soldiers. Their mind was totally worry-free. It was because their undeads were doing all the same work. The undeads were eliminating the soldiers.

Whenever the number of the undeads would start decreasing, Ruby and other fellow Necromancers would just turn the dead soldiers who were lying around the battlefield into undeads. Thus, continuing this vicious cycle. It's not like Ruby and other Necromancers can keep doing this forever. The process consumed a huge amount of Mana. And since the battle had just started, neither of them had to worry about running out of Mana.

Just like Ruby, every other Necromancer on this battlefield were wearing a black cloak that covered their entire bodies and covered their faces under a hood. No one on Lawson's side knew what Ruby and other Necromancers looked like. The soldiers feared the Necromancers and kept a distance from them. The Necromancers also were not that good at socializing so they also keep a distance from others in the military.

"Xavi, are you done with your task?" Ruby asked while observing Lawson and Adam. Before this fight, Lawson had long warned them to not get in his way. This was his fight and his fight alone. No one had any problem with Lawson fighting Adam. It's not like no one on the Mystic Spring Empire's side had the courage or the strength to go against Lawson.

"Unfortunately, no I am not done. Eddie is proving to be much more powerful than I had initially thought. I would need your assistance to eliminate him." Before coming here, Lawson had assigned Xavi, who was another powerful Necromancer to kill Adam's right-hand man, Eddie Wood. But Eddie is proving to be far more powerful than Lawson and others had expected.

Ruby glanced in Eddie's direction only to find him easily destroying Xavi's undeads. "Do you need any help?" Ruby knew that Xavi wouldn't approach her unless he needed some help. He wasn't the type to make small conversations.

Necromancers in particular did not like social interactions. They preferred to live in a quiet place and work quietly. Some Necromancers would only speak when absolutely necessary.

Sigh!

"Please help me out this time." Xavi felt ashamed to ask for Ruby's help. Even though both of them knew each other and have worked together in the past, Xavi felt very ashamed to ask for Ruby's help as Ruby was supposed to be his junior. Yet she is talented enough to become strong as him in such a short time.

"You know I have helped you twice in this month. When are you going to pay me back?" In the Necromancer community, no one would help each other for free. Naturally, Xavi has to offer something in return for getting help.

Sigh!

"What do you want?" Xavi asked while looking back. Eddie nearly had destroyed all of his undeads. Seeing this, his heart was in pain. It would him years to cultivate these undeads. Years of his hard work were being cut like cabbage.

"Last me you promised to give me 100 mana stones. This time, I want you to give me one of your strongest dark spells."

"What? That's too much." Xavi was very unwilling to give something this valuable to Ruby.

Unlike Aditya who had a system to upgrade his skills rank each time he reached a new order, the cultivators of this world have to work hard to find and learn high-order skills. Especially Necromancer like Ruby and Xavi has to work extra hard as they have no backing. They didn't have access to a library from where they can just learn whatever skill they wished to learn. Instead, they had to earn enough merit points to get high-order skills from the Empire.

"Then Forget it. I am sure you will find some way to defeat Eddie. I am going over there." Ruby pretended to walk away.

Xavi gritted his teeth for a moment before stopping Ruby. "Wait. I agree. I will give you my 4th-order Dark Mist skill book if you agree to help me."

"Done." Ruby was excited to learn this skill. The skill that she knew was a 3rd-order Dark Mist skill. She has been wanting to upgrade her Dark Mist skill to 4th-order for a while now.

"Let's end this quickly. I want to go back and create more undeads." Ruby had a habit of spending most of her time creating powerful undeads. Most of the time, she would be at the graveyard trying to summon strong undeads.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 350

"Last me you promised to give me 100 mana stones. This time, I want you to give me one of your strongest dark spells."

"What? That's too much."

"Then Forget it. I am sure you will find some way to defeat Eddie. I am going over there." Ruby pretended to walk away.

Xavi gritted his teeth for a moment before stopping Ruby. "Wait. I agree. I will give you my 4th-order Dark Mist skill book if you agree to help me."

"Done." Xavi couldn't help but feel depressed seeing Ruby's excited face. He felt as if he had been cheated. Xavi couldn't help but curse his luck. Why he was given the mission of killing Adam's right hand? He knew that if he disobeyed the commander, he will be killed. It didn't matter who was right and who was wrong. The higher-ups wouldn't care even if hundred or even thousand like Xavi were killed. Xavi believed that Ruby should have been given this mission instead.

"Let's end this quickly. I want to go back and create more undeads." Xavi felt anger seeing Ruby's uncaring attitude.

Ruby waved the bone staff in her hand to cast a spell that every Necromancer knows.

?Undead Summoning!?

A black magic circle formed under Ruby. The round Magic circle was glowing. The magic circle was 5 meters big.

In the next second, 20 skeleton bodies started emerging from the magic circle. Each undead skeleton wore a 1st-order armor set and had a 1st-order weapon. Their eyes were glowing red. The size of the undeads varied from 2 meters to 1.5 meters. The majority of the undeads were males. Only a few of them were females.

Compared to the normal undeads that Ruby had previously summoned to fight the enemy soldiers, these undeads were very powerful. Even the least strong undead had the power of a beginner 3rd-order cultivator. While the strongest undead had the power of Peak 3rd-order.

Facing this many strong undeads, even someone like Eddie would find it troublesome. It wouldn't be easy for Eddie Wood to take out this many undeads at the same time.

All the complaints, anger, and dissatisfaction that Xavi had towards Ruby disappeared seeing 20 powerful undeads. Xavi already summoned around a few hundred undeads and ordered those undeads to attack Eddie and keep him busy. With Ruby's help, he would be able to kill Eddie and complete his mission.

'What the hell? Why are all the undeads are attacking me?' While dodging the attacks of the undeads, Eddie glanced in Adam's direction from the corner of his eyes. Eddie has been planning on helping Adam if in case Adam was attacked by multiple opponents or if Lawson was about to land the killing blow.

As Adam and Lawson's battle started, Eddie found himself surrounded by a few hundred undeads. It was easy to deal with these few hundred undeads. What made things complicated was the dark spells that some of the undead mages used while keeping themselves hidden.

Each dark spell served as a source of distraction for Eddie. Sometimes, the undead mage would cast a dark spell that would cause him to feel confused. Sometimes, the dark mages would use dark spells that temporarily curse him.

?Curse of Sand!?

?The Thunder Curse!?

?The Undead Curse!?

Although non of the undead mage spells truly harmed him, these spells were like mosquitoes that were constantly biting him and leaving him distracted.

'I had enough of this.' Frustrated, the right-hand man of Onard House, Eddie punched the ground after gathering his Mana in his right fist.

Bang!!!!!

The punch sent a shockwave around Eddie. Some undeads who were very near Eddie instantly fell as the ground beneath them cracked while other undeads felt the shockwave and struggled to keep their balance.

Finding the opportunity, Eddie took out several triangular-shaped metal objects from his pocket.

"What are those?" Asked Xavi in confusion. Ruby also looked confused.

Meanwhile, Eddie threw the triangular-shaped metal objects around him with a grin on his face. He was truly fed up. These undeads had annoyed him so much that he decided to use these triangular metal objects.

As soon as the triangular metal objects fell to the ground, they started shining brightly. The next second, all the triangular metal objects blew up.

Boooom!!!

Boooom!!!!

The sudden explosion left Ruby, Xavi, and the undeads surrounding Eddie unprepared. The explosions were powerful enough to destroy all the few hundred undeads but it was not strong enough to harm any 4th-order or 3rd-order cultivators.

Seeing the explosion around Eddie, he sighed in relief. He could have used his power to deal with the undeads but he was just too fed up. Especially those undead mages had pissed him off.

'It seems the explosion metals that old man Tobias made works perfectly. Sadly, the cost of making these and the power of explosion metals are not worth it.' What Eddie just used was meant to be used as experimental products.

As the black smoke around Eddie disappeared, he sensed around 40 powerful undeads surrounding him again.

'I guess the enemy wants me dead regardless of the cost.' Eddie thought sensing Xavi and Ruby's presence beyond the army of undeads.

Although Eddie is a 4th-order cultivator, surrounded by this many 3rd-order undeads, he was at a disadvantage. If the fight was a front battle, then he wouldn't have been worried. But the presence of those undead mages among the undead army made it difficult for Eddie. Previously even the 1st-order undead mages constantly created trouble for Eddie and constantly annoyed him with their low-level dark spells.

Now that there were 3rd-order undead mages, they would be able to cast powerful dark spells that can injure Eddie or distract him long enough for other undeads to land the killing blow.

However,

'A 4th-order cultivator is a 4th-order cultivator. There is no way that I am going to lose to a bunch of 3rd-order undeads.' Eddie closed his eyes and decided the use a special 4th-order spell that he had learned after the goblin invasion.

?Misdirect!?

"Attack!" Under Xavi and Ruby's command, all the undead mages that they had summoned released various kinds of spells at Eddie at the same time.

Seeing Eddie not dodging, Xavi and Ruby smiled thinking that Eddie's death was confirmed. Xavi was very happy seeing this. He had a big smile on his face.

But....

.

Just as the attacks from the undead mages were about to hit Eddie as if there was an invisible rubber wall built around Eddie, the attacks changed their paths and hit the undeads that had surrounded Eddie.

Boooom!!!!

Seeing this the smiles on both Ruby and Xavi's faces disappeared as they stared at Eddie in deep shock.

?Misdirect - A special type of skill that can reflect any kind of attack from 3rd-order or lower-order cultivators for 5 seconds.?

This skill was one of Eddie's trump cards.

"Now who is smiling....." Eddie asked while a wave of flame started forming under him.

Meanwhile,

?Beast Technique Number 7 - Flawless Titan!?

An illusionary image of a black Titan figure appeared behind Lawson's body. The titan was 15 meters giant tall. Its entire body was black. It had sharp teeth and wolf claws. Its red eyes were glowing.

'Flawless Titan...? That's new. He never used this when we fought back then.' Adam became cautious seeing Lawson's entire body glowing. At the same time, he felt his Aura rapidly growing stronger.

A few seconds later the illusionary image of a black Titan figure disappeared but Lawson's Aura remained the same.

"Adam, this is the end. I am going to kill you."

At this moment, Adam felt as if Lawson had become a truly wild animal. He had become someone who had discarded his rationality and embraced his wild nature.

Facing current Lawson, Adam looked very cautious and did not blindly charge at Lawson. Although he can tell that Lawson had become much more powerful after using that skill, he wasn't sure how much strong, Lawson had become at this moment.

Seeing this Lawson mockingly looked at Adam. "Adam, you have truly lost it. You have lost yourself. The Adam of the past would be ashamed of you."

But Adam did not react to his taunting words.

"Since you care so much about your family, maybe after killing you, I will kill you, dear Wife....

Your previous children...

and destroy all the people that you love."

As if these words were the last push Adam needed....

Hearing Lawson's words, Duke Adam's body began to tremble. His body wasn't shaking because of fear. Rather his body was shaking from pure anger.

Lawson's words had managed to touch Adam's sensitive nerve. No one, not even the Emperor of the Echo Dominion Empire or the Emperor of other Empires has ever dared to threaten Adam using his family. Everyone that this was his bottom line. He wouldn't endure it when it came to his wife and his children. His words had successfully angered the calm lion. The sleeping lion had finally woken up.

Booom!!!

Eddie who had just finished dealing with the undeads and now was taking his sweet time hunting two Necromancers suddenly felt dense killing intent. The killing intent was so violent and suffocating that Eddie found it hard to breathe even though he was a 4th-order cultivator.

It was not just Eddie who was experiencing this killing intent.

The soldiers of both sides felt this killing intent. Whether it was the Dragonians or the Necromancers or the sub-commanders of both sides, all had to stop because of the killing intent.

Boom!!

"What is happening?"

"I can't breath."

"Someone save me."

Almost half of the soldiers from both sides instantly fell to the ground as they couldn't withstand Adam's killing intent. Some weak ones even directly fainted.

Eddie looked at his Master. A dense Red mist was coming out of Adam. The mist surrounding Adam was so dense that Eddie couldn't see Adam or Lawson anymore.

"Master..." Eddie had seen Adam's violent side. Even during the goblin Invasion, Adam never lost control of his emotions but now, it seems someone had managed to awaken the sleeping beast.

Eddie almost felt pity for Lawson knowing what is going to come next.

While everyone on the battlefield felt frightened or oppressed due to Adam's killing intent, there was one person who was extremely happy seeing this.

"Hahaha!!! This is it, Mr. Adam. This is what I have been waiting for. The real Adam is back."

However, Lawson's joy was short-lived as the next second, a giant claw that was made out of flame hit his body and sent him flying like a cannonball.

?Hellfire Claw!?

Boooom!!!!

Lawson was sent flying all the way to the other side of the battlefield. The attack was so fast that Lawson didn't even see it coming.

The silver cheat plate had started to melt. While Lawson got up from the crater, Adam already had come in front of him.

"Lawson, today I will rip your body apart. I won't stop till every single part of your body has been torn by my own hands." Saying that Adam grabbed Lawson's left leg and threw Lawson in the air.

When Lawson opened his eyes, he found himself flying in the air. Before he could understand the situation around him or think about what to do next, Adam appeared behind Lawson as if he had teleported.

When Lawson turned around after sensing Adam's presence, he was welcomed with a punch in the face.

Booom!!!!

The punch sent Lawson back to the ground. Lawson crashed into the ground, creating another big crater beneath him.

Ahh.....!!

Lawson felt his entire body was breaking down. His entire body was in unbearable pain. However, despite the pain, he quickly stood up and looked at Adam who was standing 20 meters away from him. Under Adam were dead bodies of soldiers belonging to the Mystic Spring Empire.

The Adam in front of Lawson was completely different from before. He had completely changed. There wasn't any emotion on his face. His had was stoic. The red mist was constantly coming out of his body.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 351

'Something about Adam has changed.' Although Lawson was happy to see the real Adam back, he was also worried in his heart. He knew this battle might as well be his very last battle. Lawson wasn't afraid of death. He would be glad to die on the battlefield.

Swoosh!

Adam disappeared faster than the wind. While charging at Lawson, he began infusing Mana into his greatsword causing the black greatsword to glow in dark purple light.

All this happened in less than 2 seconds. Lawson saw Adam disappear and then reappeared in front of him.

Lawson widened his eyes, seeing the famous greatsword that Adam always had used heading in his way with the intention of cutting his body in half. But as Adam thought that his attack would end Lawson's life, a dark claw stopped the greatsword before the greatsword could touch Lawson's body.

A dark claw had come out of the crack that appeared before Lawson's chest. The crack was the size of a football. The crack gradually expanded in size. The being that managed to block Adam's attack slowly came out of the void.

?Beast Technique Number 5 - Wandering Release of Void Salamander!?

2 meters long-sized dark Salamander came out of the crack and stood facing Adam. The Salamander's entire body appeared to be slightly transparent. Its eyes were glowing red. The amphibian licked its black tongue and hissed at Adam.

'Is that a Salamander?' Adam asked himself while staring at the Void Salamander.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Lawson appeared behind Adam.

?Beast Technique Number 14 - Ki Blast!?

Lawson condensed his Mana into an orb on his right fist. The Mana orb hit Adam's back.

Bang...!!!!

Adam felt as if he had been hit by a cannonball. The attack was so strong that Adam couldn't keep on standing. He fell to his knees. He felt excruciating pain in his back; especially in his spine. The attack had burned his skin and almost tore his back muscles.

Seeing Adam on his one knee, Lawson was very delighted.

"This is the end...."

?Beast Technique Number 19 - Butterfly Stab!?

As Lawson prepared to stab Adam in the back, suddenly an invisible shockwave spread from Adam's body. Lawson felt as if some mysterious force had violently pushed him away. It was not just Lawson, even the void Salamander was pushed away.

Ha...!!!

With a heavy breath, Adam stood up and charged at the void salamander. What he did just now was nothing but a simple trick that he had managed to pick over the years. He condensed Mana around his body like a bubble and then violently pushed the Mana around his body which pushed Lawson and the void Salamander away. This is a cheap trick. And Adam knew that it won't work twice.

"Time to end you." As Adam run towards the void Salamander, just when he was 4 meters away from the void Salamander, he suddenly found both of his legs stuck. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't move his legs.

Looking down, Adam was surprised to see feet were stuck inside two void cracks. Realizing that this was created by the Void Salamander, he tried to free himself before the Salamander attacked him.

However, to Adam's surprise, he saw the Void Salamander gradually becoming more transparent with each passing second. The Void Salamander did not attack Adam. It stood in its place and hissed at Adam. Adam understood that this void Salamander is a summoned beast that will disappear after a certain amount of time. And that time is less than one minute.

Adam suddenly felt someone coming from behind. When he turned around he was hit with a giant silver hammer. The hammer was around 4 meters huge in size. Despite being twice his size, Lawson was able to wield it without any problem.

As Adam's body was hit by the giant hammer, he couldn't resist the pain anymore. His eyes rolled back as his body flew backward at an uncontrollable speed. He almost lost consciousness from the pain.

Bang!!!

He was sent flying more than a few hundred meters away. As his back crashed into to hard ground, he almost closed his eyes feeling his entire body very heavy.

Right now his entire body was a mess. Blood had covered his entire body. Many of his bones were broken and shattered. It's a miracle that he was still alive after he took such a powerful attack.

The red mist that previously came out of Adam's body stopped. At the same time, the killing intent emitting from Adam also stopped.

Previously Adam had used a secret technique that uses killing intent to temporarily boost his stats. This secret skill is a berserk type of skill. Now that the berserk-type skill had been deactivated, the temporary boost that he received also disappeared; leaving Adam even weaker than before.

At the same time around the battlefield,

The soldiers who had been feeling suffocated and oppressed because of heavy killing intent, finally felt the killing intent disappear. All the soldiers from both sides sighed in relief. This killing intent was making them feel as if they had been put under a mountain. For some low-order cultivators, it was extremely difficult to breathe.

"Finally, I can properly breathe now."

"I thought I was going to run out of air." For low-order cultivators, even breathing had become very difficult. They felt as if the air had become heavier.

"Did the enemy commander get defeated?" Noticing that the killing intent had stopped, one of the Necromancers from the enemy side couldn't help but ask.

"No, their battle has reached its peak. The victor of their battle will be decided at any given moment." Another Masked Necromancer replied while summoning a new batch of undeads. As the previous batch of undeads that he had summoned had been destroyed by the Dragonians.

"Did His Grace win?" Eddie asked. Eddie couldn't tell what was happening as he was on the other side of the battlefield.

Meanwhile,

Adam was about to lose his full consciousness, but right before he fell into the abyss, he saw a picture of his family. His wife and his children were smiling at him. As if seeing the picture of his family, had reignited the candle that was about to burn out inside Adam.

'This isn't time for me to lay down.' Adam tried to move his body.

'I endured much worse injuries back in my prime days. This is nothing.' Gritting his teeth, once he tried to push his body to move. Even moving an inch felt extremely difficult to him.

'If I don't open my eyes now, then we will lose. I have to stand up.' Adam tried to open his eyes. But the pain was just too much. He felt no matter how much he tried his body wasn't responding to his call.

'I don't care for my family even if I had to use my lifespan. MOVE DAMMIT!!!!' Inside, Adam shouted in anger and in desperation.

Lawson who was approaching Adam. Seeing Adam lying in a small crater, with his whole body covered in blood and with his eyes closed, For a second, he thought the fight was over.

But his entire body froze in deep shock as he watched Adam opening his eyes and staring at him. His eyes were filled with blood. Adam looked like a corpse that had a bath in a river of blood.

"Just die already." In a desperate tone, Lawson raised his giant hammer to land the final blow.

At that moment, Adam felt as if time had slowed down. He could see the giant silver hammer approaching him. As long as this attack hit his body, there is no doubt that the Wild Lion of Echo Dominion Empire would be slain by the enemy commander.

'Earlier, when I used berserk, I had consumed most of my Mana. Now I don't have enough mana to use any powerful skill. I have been defeated.' This time the enemy was too prepared to take him down.

Adam could only watch but not move his body. His reaction was not fast enough to dodge.

Just as the hammer was about to hit Adam, a purple-color barrier stopped the attack. Both Lawson and Adam were shocked to see this. Adam shocked face told Lawson, that even he couldn't understand what just happened.

The purple barrier was transparent. The barrier stopped Lawson's attack. Lawson felt as if he had hit an iron wall. Even though the barrier looks thin and weak, it was extremely strong. Strong enough to withstand attack from Peak 4th-order cultivator.

"This....."

Adam noticed the engagement ring on his left hand was releasing some kind of purple energy. Adam was once again shocked to see this. He never knew that this engagement ring had this kind of function.

'Now that I think about it, after our marriage, Sophia did take this ring to be customized. She returned the ring around a week later.' Now Adam finally understood that other than customizing, his wife had spent a big fortune on turning his ring into a life-saving artifact that would activate if Adam's life was in danger.

Realizing this, Adam was deeply touched. He felt his love for his wife growing.

While all these were happening, certain someone sneaked behind Lawson. Lawson couldn't even detect his presence. But Adam widened his eyes seeing that person.

Suddenly Lawson found his entire body tied with metal wires. "When did this happen?" He asked himself in confusion. It didn't take long for Lawson to feel Nathan's presence.

Seeing Nathan, Lawson frowned in displeasure. This was supposed to be a battle where no one was going to interfere. Nathan had broken that unspoken and unwritten rule.

Adam used his hands to drag his body away from the hammer that was currently being stopped by the purple barrier. Who knows how long this purple barrier will last?

"My Apologies for interfering. Since earlier, one of your underlings had saved your life by intervening, we can call things even." Without waiting for Lawson's response, Nathan walked up to Adam. Meanwhile, Lawson was deeply thinking. Since when did the enemy have an assassin like Nathan on their side? Since the start of the battle, Lawson didn't sense or saw Nathan anywhere on the battlefield.

"Your Grace, this is something that Lady Julia has sent for you. I apologize for being late." Secretly Nathan was sweating. He has been observing the battle between Adam and Lawson since the beginning. If not for the purple barrier, Nathan wouldn't have made it in time to save Adam. Inwardly, he was thanking whoever made this purple barrier.

"What is this?" Adam was looking at the test tube that was filled with a strange sparkling orange liquid.

"This is a special type of liquid that Lady Julia has recently invented. It is called 'Flask of Speed'. After drinking this, your agility will be boosted by 3 minutes." With the goddess of Nature's help, Julia has managed to upgrade the 'Flask Of Speed' to 4-star.

Saying that Nathan gave a 5-star healing pill to Adam. Without needing to say a word, Adam ate the pill first and then drank the orange sparkling liquid that his daughter made for him.

"Lawson, you're right when you said that I have changed. I don't regret it. Family is never a weakness. I am still alive because of my wife. And I will defeat you with my daughter's help. Unlike you, I am not alone." At that moment, Lawson truly had a sense of loneliness. Unlike Adam, Lawson never had forged any relationship ties with anybody.

Adam did not doubt Nathan's words. After all, Nathan was one of the seven generals of the Istarin empire. Even though this was their first time interacting, Adam had met Nathan a few times when he had visited Aditya in the Istarin Empire.

Meanwhile,

Lawson could do nothing but grit his teeth in frustration and anger watching Adam take the 5-star healing pill.

'Dammit! I was so close to killing Adam. It feels as if Heaven is favoring Adam and wants him to live.' Right now Lawson was very angry. These metal wires were very strong. Even though Lawson used his full strength, he still couldn't break free. He also knew that Nathan can cut his entire body into pieces just by pulling a few strings.

Right after drinking the 'Flask of Speed', Adam felt his body was becoming lighter. His body was rapidly healing. The mind that almost shut his brain was slowly disappearing. At the same time, the purple barrier around Adam finally started fading as it run out of energy to function.

Nathan turned to Lawson. He pulled a few strings and released Lawson.

"I won't intervene anymore. Please take your time." Saying that Nathan disappeared into shadows.

A few seconds later, Nathan appeared 300 meters away from Adam and Lawson. Without making any noise, like a ghost, he resumed killing the enemy soldiers. Ever since the start of the battle, Nathan has been silently killing the enemy soldiers. Till now, no one had managed to see him. In the sea of soldiers, Nathan was a ghost that killed silently without making any waves.

"Time to end this." Adam stood up and then grabbed his Greatsword.

"Yes." That was the only time Lawson agreed with his biggest rival and enemy. Adam was slightly surprised when the silver hammer in his hand began changing shape. The hammer changed to take the shape of an Axe. It was the same Axe that Lawson was previously using.

Lawson's weapon had the ability to change into a hammer and an Axe whenever he wished.

Grabbing the silver Axe with both of his hands, as his arm muscles bulged and his veins expanded, Lawson swung his Axe at Adam using his full strength.

Adam knew that he cannot block this strike. Using his increased speed, he silently jumped to the right.

As the Axe struck the ground instead of Adam, it sent shockwaves in all directions. On the ground where it struck, a massive fissure appeared. The fissure was so big that some soldiers who were fighting in the distance fell into the fissure.

Meanwhile, Adam moved as if he was constantly teleporting. One moment he appeared on Lawson's right. When Lawson tried to attack him but Adam again disappeared. He appeared on Lawson's left.

Like this Adam kept appearing around Lawson. Leaving him confused and frustrated.

"If you're a true warrior, then fight me head-on. Stop using such pathetic moves." Lawson roared in frustration.

"I think you forgot when you summoned a Salamander. A win is a win. I admit that I am not a warrior like you. But in the end, I am going to win." The next moment, a punch landed on Lawson's face.

Bang!

Blood started coming out of his nose. The next second, another punch hit him in the chin. The next second, another punch landed in his throat. Adam started punching Lawson. The enemy commander couldn't stop Adam.

After taking repeated punches, the silver Axe fell down.

"And this is the end." Adam appeared in front of Lawson.

bang!

Ah.....!

Cough...!!!!

Lawson coughed out a large amount of blood. His entire body trembled as he glanced at his chest. The Greatsword left a big hole in Lawson's chest. His heart and other organs were missing. A hole was big as a human head.

He then looked at Adam. Gradually his eyes were losing light. His consciousness was fading. "I won."

Just before Lawson lost his consciousness, he saw an image. It was Adam standing surrounded by people. There was his wife, his daughter, his son, his son-in-law, his right man, and many other people. Opposite of Adam, Lawson saw himself. He was standing in darkness. He was completely alone. No one even cared about his existence.

"I see......." Lawson's body fell to the ground.

Meanwhile,

Back when the battle began, Aditya came to face another powerful woman from the enemy side. She was a Peak 5th-order cultivator. She kept Aditya occupied as a result he couldn't lend any help to Adam or anyone.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

A big chapter to make up for not uploading yesterday. Hope you guys liked the chapter.

Chapter 352

Meanwhile,

Back when the battle began, Aditya came to face another powerful woman from the enemy side. She was a Peak 5th-order cultivator. She kept Aditya occupied as a result he couldn't lend any help to Adam or anyone.

"Who are you?" Aditya curiously asked. Aditya would have joined the battle with others but her presence stopped him. The same could be said for her. Aditya's existence was something that neither she nor the commander nor anyone from the Mystic Spring Empire had expected.

Mystic Spring Emperor sent her to the battlefield. The Emperor wanted her to use her Peak 5th-order strength to crush the enemy and ended the battle as quickly as possible with very few causalities from their side. Another reason why she was sent here is because the Emperor did not trust Lawson. Although Lawson is technically the Commander, he had no authority to command her as her ranking in the military was higher than Lawson's. The Emperor feared that Lawson would only care about fighting Adam and wouldn't care if they won the battle. And just as the Emperor feared, Lawson stopped caring about his role as the commander once he saw Adam. So the Emperor trusted her to wipe out the enemy with her Peak 5th-order strength alone.

But Aditya's appearance was completely unexpected. His presence had spoiled their plan. Before sending her to the battlefield, the Mystic Spring Emperor had warned her about Aditya. Lucca and other members of the Oracle Alliance have been worried About Aditya. Looking at Aditya's history, no one has ever managed to stop him or defeat him. And what he did during the goblin Invasion left a deep impression in everyone's minds. On top of that, they didn't know where Aditya was going to appear. This worried them a lot. It was not a secret that despite being a Peak 3rd-order cultivator, Aditya somehow was able to defy the odds and even kill powerful Peak 5th-order cultivators.

"The name is Victoria Baxter. It's really nice to meet you, Istarin Emperor." The woman named Victoria Baxter was 6 feet tall. She had tan skin and black hair that she tied into a ponytail. Despite being a human woman, her body was really muscular which was very rare in this world. In fact, this was the first time Aditya was seeing a woman so muscular. Those muscles did not reduce her feminine beauty or anything. Rather, those muscles were well-balanced and made her look sexy.

Victoria had dark brown eyes. The dress she wore revealed most of her skin and highlighted her curves making her even more seductive. She has big breasts and a round ass. Bandages were wrapped around her big chest. Her stomach and her abs were left exposed. And she wore black tight-fitting leather pants. She wore two golden bracelets on her wrists and had black gloves covering her palms.

Her seductive body made Aditya doubt if she was really human. Not only she was tall like a beast-woman, but also she was very sexy and seductive. It was as if she was half-Succubus and Half beast-woman.

Victoria appeared to be around 25 years old. But Aditya felt that she was much older than that. She had a wild Aura around her.

'So she is Victoria.' Aditya had learned a few things about Victoria. As Aditya knew that a war will begin, he ordered Nathan to send the shadow Guardian squad to gather as much information as they could about the enemy forces.

The result did not disappoint Aditya. Now he had general information on all the 5th-order cultivators. This also included Victoria.

'If I remember correctly, Victoria was raised by the Mystic Spring empire. She along with many other orphan children was recruited by the Mystic Spring empire's Military. Mystic Spring Empire's military had a special squad that recruited young orphan talents and nurtured them from a young age. Victoria was one of those orphans who grew up to become one of the best most powerful generals in the Mystic Spring empire.'

'Victoria Baxter is known for her monstrous strength. Despite being a human, her strength is far superior to even Dragons. According to sources, no other Peak 5th-order cultivator in Mystic Spring Empire can match Victoria's strength. She relies solely on her strength to destroy her enemies. It wouldn't be wrong to call her Female-hulk.'

'As long as I stay out of her range, defeating her shouldn't a difficult.' Fortunately for Aditya, he had several skills that boosted his agility and also his strength.

"I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here." Aditya could feel the hidden rage and frustration behind her words.

"What can I say? I am a free soul. I love traveling."

Victoria looked past Aditya. Her eyes landed on another powerful figure who was standing beside Emperor Daxton. 'That's the Echo Dominion Emperor. If I manage to capture him or kill him with the Istarin Emperor, then we will instantly win this war. And I will be rewarded by His Majesty. But....'

Victoria glanced at Aditya. She took a moment to appreciate his handsome face. Although Aditya was far from being super handsome or the perfect male, Victoria found herself attracted to him. Victoria is someone who loved strong people. 'Killing him would be a waste. As long as he surrenders, I will take him.'

Although Victoria has been adopted and raised by the Mystic Spring Empire since she was young, she did not love the Mystic Spring Empire to the point where she would sacrifice her dream for the Empire. And her dream was to find a handsome, young, and strong husband. Aditya perfectly fits the criteria.

Although Victoria wasn't sure, she had heard that the Istarin Emperor was very young. He wasn't even 20 years old yet. Despite being Peak 3rd-order cultivator, he was perfectly capable of killing Peak 5th-order cultivators. Victoria can only imagine how powerful he would become once he reaches Peak 5th order.

'Let's see if he is strong as the rumors say.' Victoria decided to test Aditya. Victoria had made a plan in her mind. If everything went according to her plan, the war would end, and she would get a husband, and everyone will be satisfied.

Aditya and Victoria stared at each other for a second before both of them disappeared.

Swoosh!

As if both of them had just teleported. Both of them met above the battlefield. As soon as Aditya was in her range, she started punching him. But he was able to dodge her punches. Within a few seconds, Aditya dodged around 19 punches.

Boom!

Boom!!

Boom!!!

Each of her punches seems to carry great destructive power. Her punches seem to generate strong shockwaves.

On the 20th punch, Aditya moved to her right and grabbed her right-hand wrist. Aditya did not hesitate to punch her in the stomach.

Boom!!

The punch was powerful enough to push her back by several meters. Victoria touched the area where Aditya had punched before looking at Aditya with an excited smile.

"You're perfect." Her words left Aditya speechless. He couldn't tell if his punch had hurt her. She now looked much more energetic and excited. This made Aditya think that his attack didn't harm her much.

Aditya's punch did cause her some pain. This pain also excited her as she learned the potential that her future husband held.

Once again Aditya was dodging crazy strong punches from Victoria. The peak 5th-order woman looked like she had gone crazy. She had a crazy face as she tried to land a punch on Aditya. Her movement had gotten faster. As a result Aditya also had to react a little faster to be able to keep on dodging her punches.

Aditya was being pushed back. He was overwhelmed. Her punches were very fast and very powerful. She did not leave enough time for Aditya to attack back.

'Let's try something else then.' Victoria stepped forward and tried to punch Aditya with her right fist. As he moved to the right and dodged her punch, something fell from the sky and hit her.

Bang!

A crimson lightning bolt hit Victoria's body and sent her flying.

Victoria's back hit the ground which created a large crater. But before the next second could pass, she was back on her feet. She did not look like she was injured or harmed by the attack in any way. Other than some smoke coming out of her body, she looked completely fine. There wasn't a scratch on her body.

'Since when did my lightning attacks become so weak?' Seeing her completely fine, Aditya doubted if his lightning attack had become weak.

'Let's try multiple lightning bolts.' Victoria was about to sky towards Aditya. Just when her feet left the ground, lightning bolts started raining down on her. One after another, crimson lightning bolts continuously kept striking her body.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The large crater that formed from the impact of the previous attack now had turned into a mega crater. The forest and the mountain around had been destroyed. Victoria was lying in the middle of the crater.

When the smoke cleared, Aditya was shocked to see her without any injuries. Instead of injuries, smoke was coming out of her body. Victoria looked at Aditya with a smile before trying to stand up. But this time, it took her a few seconds of struggle to stand. This relieved Aditya knowing that his attacks had worked to some extent.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 353

Despite being hit with so many lightning bolts, Victoria remained completely unharmed and injured. While flying out of the huge crater, she was grinning while staring at Aditya. Her grin creeped him out.

'If this isn't enough, then let's try something else shall we?' Although Aditya appeared to be calm, he knew better than anyone that the current him was far from his Peak. Not so long ago, he turned 10,000 soldiers into Dragonians. The process had taken a toll on his body and on his mind. Aditya had to use a lot of his blood in the process. As a result, he wasn't in his best form.

Victoria was about to attack Aditya when she and others noticed something strange happening in the sky. Daxton and his protector stared at the sky in deep fear. Adam, Eddie, Nathan, the Dragonians, and the soldiers all stopped fighting and stared at the sky. As Nathan knew what was going to happen, he was slightly excited. But others did not share his excitement. Others instead panicked seeing the almost countable number of lightning bolts of different colors in the clouds.

Some soldiers lost their strength to keep standing.

Some felt that this was the end.

Some stopped fighting.

Some looked desperate.

Some looked like they had given up.

Some just blankly stared at the sky and laughed in agony.

'What is this?' Victoria asked herself while staring at the sky. Right now Victoria felt as if she had lost all of her confidence. In front of such a massive attack, she couldn't gather any confidence. She wasn't sure if she will be able to dodge such a powerful attack.

Unlike Aditya who had an information-gathering system that was spread to every Kingdom, Empire, and Dynasties on the Dying Isle continent, Victoria and the Mystic Spring Empire didn't have such an information-gathering network. As a result, neither she nor the Mystic Spring Empire was able to find out too much about Aditya's abilities.

Right now the sky was shining in a mix of different colors. There were 7 different colors of lightning bolts running through the dark clouds.

Looking at the sky, Daxton felt a chill running down his spine. He was sure that no one from his Empire would be strong enough to stop this attack. "Do you think you can stop this attack?" Daxton asked in a hopeless tone.

The beginner 5th-order cultivator who had accompanied Daxton here shook his head with a bitter smile. Ashton never have felt this useless in his life before. He felt like an ant in front of such a powerful attack. "Your Majesty, I don't think even 100 more beginner 5th-order cultivators could survive this attack."

Watching this, Daxton realized just how powerful Aditya had become. It is unbelievable to think just some months ago, Aditya struggled to defeat peak 4th-order cultivators, now he had grown powerful enough to kill Peak 5th-order.

'Is this the crazy godly talent a Divine Dragon possesses?' Daxton asked himself.

Within a few seconds, all the lightning bolts combined. The next second everyone, whether it was Aditya or Ashton or Daxton Or Adam, was blinded by a bright flash of light.

Booooooooooooom!!!!!

The next second a thunderous earth-shaking sound reached everyone's ears. The earth began to tremble. The trees began to shake violently. The Magic Animals who were nearby started running away.

Aditya really hoped that this attack would work against Victoria otherwise it would be very difficult for him to defeat her.

Huff! Huff!

"That should have seriously injured her." His breathing was ragged. His face slightly looked pale and tired. This was because of the loss of [1000+] Mana.

?Enraged Lightning Spell?

?3rd-order?

?Description: - Another special skill that was learned because of having Storm Marshall class. This is a special skill that once even harmed powerful gods and goddesses. This skill was said to be lost. Currently, the host is the only one possessing this skill?

?Function 1: - By consuming [1000+] mana, the user can summon a powerful bolt of chaotic lightning. Chaotic lightning is twice more powerful than regular lightning. Note: - this can be used once every 4 hours.?

As the mushroom cloud of dust and pebbles began to clear up, Aditya finally saw Victoria lying in the middle of a crater that was 10 times bigger than the previous crater. The attack was so strong that a small part of the forest and mountain had disappeared from the map and was replaced with a crater that would later become a lake.

Lying in the middle of the crater, Victoria found it extremely difficult to stand up. She never expected the Istarin Emperor to use something this powerful.

The attack had torn some parts of her black leather pants. The bandages around her chest were ripped. Under the bandages, she was wearing something very bold and sexy. Aditya didn't think she would be this bold.

Under the bandages, she was wearing a sexy black bra. The black bra wasn't just any bra. It was made from see-through fabric. Fortunately, the black bra at least kept her mini mountains covered otherwise, it would have been too distracting for Aditya.

The black bra can barely contain her huge melons.

Her arms and legs were slightly burned.

Other than some small burns, Victoria looked completely fine. This shocked Aditya. But he quickly noticed something.

The black burns on her body were rapidly healing. It was as if time was reversing and her skin was returning to its previous state. At the same time, the gold bracelets that she wore on her wrists were shining in golden color.

Before Aditya can come to any conclusion, under his eyes Victoria rose from the crater and started heading in his direction.

Seeing this he took out the Adamantite Doomblade from his storage ring and charged at Victoria.

'After finishing things here, I have to head to other battlefields to ensure our victory. I want to finish this fight without using Inferno Overdrive.' Aditya planned on using Inferno Overdrive only when he found himself in a dire situation where he has no choice but to use it. The same could be said for the 'Dragon Monarch's Domain' skill. That skill was too powerful. And after using that skill, Aditya would be knocked out for some time which would be really bad in the current situation.

It's not that Aditya did not trust his troops and his generals to win the battles, it was rather the opposite. He completely trusted his generals to win the battles. Aditya was worried that the Oracle Alliance might send Peak 5th-order cultivators. Although they also had 5th-order cultivators, the enemy had some Peak 5th-order generals who were ridiculously strong.

'Time to test out the power of my enchantments.' This time Aditya did not back down. In the beginning, he repeatedly dodged her attacks. Now that he had an idea about her powers, he was going to use his sword.

Swoosh!

As Victoria was about to punch Aditya, she stopped midway as her entire body froze in fear. She began to sweat. The world around her had completely changed. Looking at Aditya, she felt as if she was staring at a Crimson abyss. Everything around her had become Crimson. Blood was flowing everywhere. Aditya stood in front of her. She felt his crimson eyes could see through her soul. She felt no secret can be hidden from those divine eyes.

It was as if she was an ant in the presence of a Greater Being. She felt inferior. Despite being so powerful, she felt that she could never reach his height. The difference between them was clear.

'What is happening?' Victoria has never felt something like this. Behind Aditya, she saw countless corpses lying around. There were corpses belonging to many races. There were goblins, there were Dragons, there were Wyverns, there were beastmen, humans, elves, dwarves, and all kinds of races.

For some reason, Victoria found it difficult to even breathe in this world. The next second as she blinked her eyes, she found everything has been returned back to normal. She was standing in front of Aditya. Her eyes couldn't help but get drawn toward the black Sword that was in his hand.

She suspected whatever she just saw was because of this sword.

The next second Victoria saw a fist heading in her direction. She tried to defend the attack but she was too late. He punched her stomach. This time, Victoria felt the power behind his punch had increased. The punch had forced her to cough out a mouthful of blood.

Bang!

Victoria was pushed back. Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she looked at Aditya in deep shock. She couldn't understand what just had happened.

'How did his strength increase suddenly?' She asked herself while cautiously staring at Aditya.

Seeing that she was beginning to take him seriously, Aditya smiled.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 354

Seeing Victoria heading in his direction, Aditya had released his killing intent. This activated one of the functions of the Adamantite Doomblade.

?Ding! Function 5 of the Adamantite Doomblade, «Bloodlust» has been activated.?

?Function 5 - «Bloodlust»

• The Adamantite Doomblade reacts with your killing intent. When «Bloodlust» is activated, your physical strength will be increased by [400+].?

Victoria looked slightly pale after taking Aditya's punch. But that paleness quickly disappeared as the golden bracelets started shining once again. A second later, she looked completely fine.

'Those bracelets are not simple.' Aditya guess that those golden bracelets that she wore must be some kind of powerful artifact that has the ability to heal any injury at a super fast speed or something similar.

Although Aditya sent the shadow guardian to gather information on all the 5th-order cultivators that the enemy had, it was impossible for the shadow guardian to find out every single thing about the enemy. Aditya didn't know that she would have such a powerful artifact in her possession.

After Victoria recovered, she started condensing her mana into several orbs. 7 dark purple-shaped football size orbs formed before her. The orbs began shining brightly as she continued putting her mana into them. After a certain point, the orbs began to shrink in size.

Aditya instantly realized what she was doing. 'She is shrinking the mana orbs.' Aditya did not stand there without doing anything. The next second, in front of Aditya, a big orb of Crimson flame formed. As the mana orbs kept shrinking in size, the size of the Crimson flame kept increasing.

Around a few seconds later, the football size mana orbs had shrunk to become as small as bullets. But each 9 dark purple mana bullet was shining very brightly. Whereas, the football size crimson flame orb now had turned into a small sun. The Crimson orb had 20 meters big in size.

?Compressed Mana bullets!?

?Crimson Flaming Orb!?

Both attacks were released. The Compress Mana bullets moved faster than the Crimson Orb. Soon both attacks met each other and then turned into a huge explosion.

But just before the explosion, Aditya put used the first function of the Adamantite Doomblade.

«Enlarge!»

Just as the Explosion took place, Aditya's black sword expanded to become a gigantic black sword that was over 25 meters long and 10 meters wide. Aditya hid his body behind the Adamantite Doomblade. Knowing that his sword was made from very tough metal and was a Peak 5th-order sword, the sword should be able to take the impact of the explosion and protect him from any harm.

Booooooooooooooom!!!!!

On the other hand, Victoria did not do anything. She happily embraced the explosion. Just as the explosion took place, not even a second had passed before she was completely engulfed in it. She didn't even try to protect her body using a Mana barrier.

Once again the entire battlefield and the NewMoon Woodlands shook from the explosion. The sound of the explosion traveled beyond the NewMoon Woodlands and reached the ears of both Empires.

For a short period, both parties had to temporarily stop fighting as they watched the huge mushroom cloud rising in the air in deep shock. Most soldiers have never seen something like this before. This also made them realize the heaven and earth difference between their powers and the power of a Peak 5th-order cultivator.

Seeing a large wave of flame heading in their direction, Ashton quickly covered his body and the Echo Dominion Emperor's body in a layer of Mana. Daxton widened his eyes in fear as he watched the huge wave of flame approaching him. At that moment, he was regretting his decision to watch Aditya fight. He was cursing his luck.

Fortunately, as he found himself engulfed in a sea of flames, nothing really happened to him. Even though he can feel the terrifying temperature of the Crimson flames, not a single inch of his body was harmed. Daxton soon realized that a layer of Mana had covered his skin and was acting as protective armor.

Seeing this, Daxton suddenly felt grateful to his Prime Minister who forcefully sent Ashton with him. If Ashton hadn't come, then his life would have ended here.

Meanwhile, as everything cooled down, Aditya moved the Adamantite Doomblade and looked at his surroundings. This time, the damage that this land had suffered from their battle had reached a new record. The explosion had changed the terrain of this land forever. It has destroyed countless habitats. The Magic animals that were previously hiding in their nest and caves died without knowing what killed them. All the mountains, trees, rivers, waterfalls, and valleys, had been destroyed and now have been replaced with a humongous size crater. Fortunately, Aditya and Victoria were fighting away from the main battlefield, otherwise, there is no doubt that this attack would have nearly killed all the soldiers from both sides.

'If this kind of explosion takes place in Azure city, then it would destroy nearly 60% to 70% of the entire capital.' And Azure City was the largest City in the Istarin Empire.

On the other side, the opposite of Aditya,

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Victoria was violently coughing out blood. She underestimated the power of the explosion. Even with her artifacts, she should have been cautious and never should have taken the explosion head-on.

Her entire body was a complete mess. Around 90% of her body's skin was very badly burned. Right now she looked really ugly. There was no sign of her former beauty. What remained was burned skin.

Her entire body was in agonizing pain. Victoria wanted to lie on the ground and scream as it hurt like hell. If she wasn't a Peak 5th-order cultivator, she would have died right now. 'This was a very stupid move. I am never doing it again.'

'But it was worth it.' Victoria revealed her teeth which now had been covered in blood while staring at her bracelets that were glowing very brightly.

But just a minute was enough for her to recover around 50% of her injuries. The pain was reduced to half as well. As Victoria was recovering, Aditya emerged from the black mushroom cloud with his Adamantite Doomblade.

Unlike Victoria who was a complete mess, Aditya looked completely fine. Seeing Victoria this injured, he felt he needed to strike while the iron was still hot. Before she completely recovered, he wanted to take her down.

Aditya appeared before Victoria in less than a second. At the same time, the golden bracelet that was shining in bright golden color changed to dark purple color. But Aditya didn't notice this at that moment,

He drove the Black sword at her chest. Aditya thought that she would try to dodge his attack. However, instead of dodging, she revealed a bloody smile as she allowed the black sword to penetrate her heart.

Bang!

?Ding! The «Overheat» effect of the Adamantite Doomblade has been triggered!?

?Ding! «Overheat» - Each strike dealt or each hit taken has a chance to put a buff on you which makes your next strike inflict 200% more damage.?

With the activation of «Overheat», the color of the Adamantite Doomblade changed to crimson. Aditya ignored the words of the system as he thought that the battle was over.

Just as the tip of the black sword went all the way and appeared behind her, Victoria did something that confused Aditya. She put her right palm on his chest.

Aditya saw Victoria's bracelets releasing dark purple energy. The dark purple energy traveled through the arm and reached her right palm that she had placed on his chest.

"What are....Boooooooooooom!!!!"

A powerful shockwave, followed by a powerful explosion came out of her right palm and hit his body.

Ashton and Daxton who were watching widened their eyes in deep shock as they saw Aditya sent flying. Aditya's entire body was engulfed in flames as his back flew toward the distant forest and mountain.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Everything was blurred to Aditya. All he was saw a blur. At that moment his mind was busy processing what just happened and couldn't process what was happening around him. His back hit countless tree trunks, mountains, and boulders. Whatever came in his path was destroyed completely. Nothing was able to stop him.

While breaking everything in his path, a meteorite-like object flew in a straight path for almost 15 km.

Bang!

His back hit a 5-meter-wide tree trunk. The hundred years old tree trunk was completely shattered making the tree fall while his body continued flying back. All these happened in less than a second. This process was repeated countless times.

Until his body crashed into a 100 meters big rocky mountain.

Bang!!!!!!

A few seconds later, Aditya tried to open his eyes, only to find his vision, half recovered in blood. Blood was rolling down his eyes. He somehow looked at his right and his left. There were rocks around him.

The impact had created a mini crater on the rocky mountain itself. The violent impact had caused large cracks to appear all over the mountain. It's a miracle that this mountain hadn't collapsed yet.

Aditya couldn't move. One moment he saw everything clearly, the other moment everything became blurry. His consciousness was on the brink of collapsing forever. His entire body was in tormenting pain. The pain was unbearable. And here Aditya used to think that he was used to pain.

'I can't move. I can't eat any 5-star healing pill that Julia has made for me.' Aditya blinked his eyes and remembered what happened after he stabbed her in the heart.

'Those bracelets are not super healing artifacts. Rather, those bracelets have a different function.' Aditya mocked himself for thinking that those bracelets were healing artifacts.

His entire body was covered in blood. His handsome face was covered in blood. Almost every single bone in his body was broken. At most, he had a minute left before he would eventually die in this place.

'Those bracelets can absorb damage. Each time my attack damaged or injured her body, those damages were absorbed by the bracelet, making it look as if she was healing. But in reality, those bracelets stored all the damage and released everything at me. This is also why she didn't protect herself from facing such a powerful explosion. From the beginning, she had set a trap for me.'

'If I die here, then we will surely lose this war. If that happens, many people are going to suffer.' Aditya was now regretting not using Soul Blaze and Dragon Transformation. He thought that he can defeat her without using those two skills.

If not for those bracelets, Aditya would have defeated her within a minute.

"Hehe! This is my chance." Hiding in the shadow, a man creepily smiled while staring at Aditya.

Soon, an Assassin whose entire body was covered in black clothes emerged from the shadow. Seeing the Assassin, Aditya felt that this truly was the end of him. There is no way that he can fight the Assassin in his current condition.

"With this, all the money will be mine." The Assassin took out a dagger to end Aditya's life.

Meanwhile,

As Aditya was sent flying, Victoria had a bitter smile on her face as she stared at the golden bracelets. These golden bracelets were her trump card. The ability to absorb any physical damage and release it to the opponent gave her an upper hand. Today she had no choice but to use its function as she knew that she cannot defeat Aditya without using it.

Victoria took out the Adamantite Doomblade from her heart. While her body healed, the golden bracelets slowly began to crack. With second passing seconds, the cracks slowly spread. As her body was almost finished healing, the bracelets shattered.

«Damage Absorption»

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 355

"Hehe! This is my chance." Hiding in the shadow, a man creepily smiled while staring at Aditya.

Soon, an Assassin whose entire body was covered in black clothes emerged from the shadow. Seeing the Assassin, Aditya felt that this truly was the end of him. There is no way that he can fight the Assassin in his current condition.

"With this, all the money will be mine." The Assassin took out a dagger to end Aditya's life. When the prime minister of the Echo Nexus empire went to put a bounty on Aditya's head, the assassin organization refused to accept the mission even though the prime minister was willing to pay a lot of money.

Without giving any reasons, his mission was refused. But fortunately, one of the assassins who happened to hear everything approached the Prime Minister. Usually, Assassins would receive bounty through the organization. The prime Minister and the Assassin who came to kill Aditya completely ignored the middleman who was the organization and decided to work with each other. Both parties reached an agreement.

Initially, Ewan has been searching for Aditya in the Echo Dominion Empire. He had a feeling that Aditya was going to appear on one of the 4 battlefields. Fortunately for Ewan and unfortunately for Aditya, Aditya came here.

Seeing the target in front of him, Ewan was very happy, knowing that he won't have to waste time searching for the target anymore. However, he did not immediately attack Aditya. He was an assassin. He was not suited for front assault. He just needed one single opportunity to kill the target.

Ewan knew that he was taking a huge risk by taking this mission. Aditya was someone who is capable of killing a Peak 5th-order cultivator. It wouldn't be wrong to say that his strength was in the same league as Peak 5th-order cultivators. And he was a mere beginner 4th-order cultivator. Even Aditya's weakest attack would kill him.

Fortunately, as an Assassin, Ewan had something that made him stand out from others. It was his ability to hide his Mana even from Peak 5th-order cultivators.

Ewan kept waiting. He hoped that Victoria would provide him with one single opportunity that he needed to complete the job.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait long for that opportunity to come. Ewan wasn't expecting Victoria to surpass his expectations and bring Aditya so near death. She had made his job so easy.

'I should thank Victoria.' Ewan grinned staring at Aditya. At first, he thought that this job would be the hardest and toughest job that he had ever taken. But now he felt as if this job was the easiest job he ever had.

'I just need to put this dagger in his head and the job will be done.' Ewan approached Aditya.

While Aditya could do nothing but watch as Ewan walked towards him. He never imagined that he would die at the hands of an assassin.

'Since the start, I felt weak because of losing so much of my blood. I couldn't fight at my 100%. I didn't think that Victoria would have such a powerful trump card under her sleeve. If I had known about this, I wouldn't have held back from the beginning.' Aditya reflected on why he lost his fight against Victoria.

This fight was the first time, Aditya has officially lost a fight. Before today, no matter how tough things became he always managed to make a miracle happen and gain victory over his opponents.

"Your death will bring me countless benefits. Farewell, Dragon King." As Ewan prepared to slash Aditya's throat, suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew. At the same time, a powerful pressure descended on Ewan.

Booom!!!

The pressure was so strong that, Ewan instantly fell to his knees. Aditya looked down at Ewan who now had fallen to his knees and was looking pale. His entire body was trembling. His teeth were clattering. Aditya could see drops of sweat rolling down his forehead.

This made Aditya wonder what could have turned Ewan this frightened. Who had come to save him? 'Is it someone sent by Daxton?' Aditya did notice that Daxton had bought a beginner 5th-order cultivator with him. But he didn't think that beginner 5th-order would be able to arrive this far so soon. Not to mention the fact that Victoria wouldn't allow Ashton to save Aditya.

'What she is doing here?' Ewan felt he had made the biggest mistake of his life. He had made a mistake that could potentially cost him his own life. A mistake so big that it had summoned the Empress.

Even though Ewan has never seen her face.....

Even though he has never seen how she looked.....

Even though he was never seen how beautiful she was, Ewan and every other Assassin that worked for the organization knew her Aura. There was no mistaking this Aura. Only she could have this Aura. Ewan and the other members are taught to remember her Aura to the point that even if the Assassin members were brainwashed, they would still instinctively remember her Aura.

Ewan knew that he has violated the code of the organization by independently accepting the Mission of the client. Every Assassin that worked in that Organization had to follow and live by a certain set of rules. If one rule was broken, that Assassin would be executed. It doesn't matter if the Assassin ran away to another continent or hide under a rock, that organization would still find him and kill him.

The Assassins of the organization are never allowed to independently contact the client or accept a mission from the client. Anyone who violates this rule will be executed.

Ewan contacted, the Prime Minister of Echo Nexus Empire despite knowing the consequences of his actions. The greed of getting so much money blinded him. But now he was regretting it.

A figure flew down the sky. The figure's whole body was shining in gold. To Aditya, he felt as if he was watching a Divine Figure descending from Heaven. The golden radiance from her was so intense that he couldn't see her face or know how she looked. But from the outline of her body, Aditya can guess that she is a breathtaking beauty.

The figure looked at Ewan in silence. The silence was suffocating to Ewan. Judging from her Aura, she was a powerful 5th-order cultivator. She pressured Ewan with her cultivation. Making Ewan feel as if his entire body was being crashed. Right now, Ewan felt like he was an ant who was going to be squeezed to death by her cultivating pressure alone.

"Ewan, you have broken the 37th code of the organization. From now on, you will no longer be a member of the organization. Also, for violating the rule of the organization, The Echo Nexus Empire will be banned from contacting the organization. The organization won't accept any mission from the Echo Nexus Empire. Now you will be punished to death."

Aditya felt as if the woman looking at him when she was speaking about the Echo Nexus Empire. From her words, it was clear that Ewan was sent by the Echo Nexus Emperor.

"Please have some mercy." Ewan put his head on the ground and begged her for his life. But there wasn't any trace of mercy in her eyes. The next second, A giant hand came out under Ewan. The shadow hand grabbed Ewan and dragged him into the portal through which it had come.

Ahhh...!!!!

"Save me....!!!"

Aditya felt as if Ewan was being sent to the Abyss.

After the shadow hand disappeared and as the portal on the ground closed down, she looked at Aditya who was also looking at her.

"This is the first time we are meeting, My so called-Husband." Just as Aditya heard those words, his eyes were full of shock. Before Aditya was having some suspicion about who this woman might be, but now he was 100% sure who she was.

She did not sound too pleased to see Aditya. In fact, it looked as if she was reluctant.

Aditya saw a green bead-sized pill floating toward him. The pill reached his mouth. Knowing that this pill wasn't anything dangerous, Aditya ate it without wasting any more seconds. As the pill reached his stomach, his body began to heal itself. Although this pill wasn't strong as the 5-star pills that Julia made, the effect of the pill was still very good. Aditya could feel his body healing. He was able to slightly move his body with each passing second.

"Since my life is tied to yours through that damned contract, I can't have you die. This also means I can't accept any bounty on your head. How frustrating!" The goddess sounded frustrated and annoyed.

Aditya did not speak. He couldn't speak at that moment. The only thing he could do is watch and listen to her words.

"Since we have met, let me make this clear. Don't ever come to search for me. I might be married to you but I don't see you as my husband. You live your life. I will live mine. Farewell." Knowing that Aditya's life wasn't in danger anymore, soon she disappeared. No one was able to sense her presence. If Aditya hadn't seen her, he also never would have sensed her presence.

Before leaving the goddess made her will crystal clear. She wasn't interested in the contract. She wanted to live her life and wanted Aditya to stay out of it.

'Although I always have been curious about you and wanted to see you at least once. After meeting you, I also feel that our paths should be different. You and I live in completely different worlds. It's impossible for us to be together.' After meeting her, Aditya now wanted to become a 7th-order runemaster as soon as possible so that he can break the contract without harming his or any of the goddess's souls and free them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 356

Meanwhile,

Victoria was heading in Aditya's direction as fast as she could move, when she was around a few hundred meters away, she stopped seeing a golden figure.

'Who is she?' She could tell that this being was a woman. But she couldn't tell who exactly she was. Even from a few hundred meters away, from sensing her Aura, Victoria was sure that even with her bracelets, she won't be able to beat her.

Even though both she and Victoria were Peak 5th-order cultivators, Victoria felt inferior when comparing her strength to this woman.

A second later, she disappeared. Seeing this Victoria sighed in relief. Her plan was to save Aditya. If this woman got in her way, she isn't sure if she can save Aditya in time.

'Fortunately, she did not do anything to him.' Victoria didn't want Aditya to die. Aditya was the perfect mating partner. Victoria isn't sure if she will find another Dragon with a Divine bloodline in her lifetime. Not to mention the fact that she was into young men and Aditya was only 19 years old. And after the sacrifice that she made, she didn't want her potential future mating partner to die.

Aditya raised his head sensing something heading in his direction. Releasing that it was Victoria, Aditya got ready to use Soul Blaze. Now that he has recovered some of his Mana, thanks to the healing pill and because of the Shard of Life which was a beginner 4-star artifact that he made to increase his Mana recovery speed by 30%, he had enough Mana to use Inferno Overdrive at least for 30 seconds.

Though in his current injured state using Inferno Overdrive could harm his body even further. 'Hold on...' Suddenly Aditya realized something as waited for Victoria to arrive.

'Why I didn't use teleportation or Dragon Transfer back then?' At that moment, Aditya felt like slapping his own face. Since when did he become so dumb? If he had used teleportation, then he could have returned to the Dragon Palace. Or by using Dragon Transfer, he could have switched places with another Dragonian.

'But then again, If I had used teleportation, I would have missed the chance of seeing her.' Aditya consoled his heart with this excuse.

Victoria arrived to find Aditya sitting on a rock and waiting for her. His whole body was covered in blood. Despite being seriously injured, he didn't look like he was going to die. He cautiously stared at Victoria. He looked like he can still keep on fighting.

Crack!

At the same time, the sky which had temporarily cleared up after Victoria's attack was now beginning to darken once again. The sound of Thunder reached her ears.

Victoria was very surprised to find Aditya like this. She was expecting him to be on the brink of death. But this only made her admiration and respect towards him grow even more.

Aditya noticed that the bracelets that Victoria previously wore were no longer there. As he was about to activate 'Inferno Overdrive', Victoria quickly stopped him.

"I surrender. Can we talk?"

"Huh?" Aditya was completely perplexed.

Taking advantage of the silence, Aditya silently ate a 5-star healing pill. As soon as the pill reached his stomach, his healing speed almost tripled. The wounds on his body began to heal rapidly.

"You left your sword with me." Just as Victoria was about to return to the Adamantite Doomblade, Aditya suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of Victoria. He grabbed her by the throat and raised her up in the air.

Ah.....!!!

Victoria struggled to breathe. No matter how much she struggled she was unable to free herself. Looking at Aditya, she found the Dragon King coldly staring at her. There wasn't any hint of mercy on his face. She can tell that he won't hesitate to kill her.

"What do you want?" He asked in a whispering tone.

Victoria decided to be honest with her answer. "I want you to become my mating partner and my husband."

"Woman, do you think I am joking right now?" Aditya asked as he raised his tone while tightening his grip. Victoria felt choked.

Victoria endure the pain and then replied in a sincere tone. "I wasn't trying to kill you from the beginning. Seeing your power, I had a feeling that you would be able to survive the power of my golden bracelets. I rushed after as fast as I could so that I can save your life and then take you away from here." Victoria was thinking of betraying her Empire and leaving with Aditya to another continent or to another region.

After hearing her words, Aditya loosened his grip making Victoria feel much better. But he still did not release her as he still did not trust her completely. "So what do you want now?" Aditya understood that she wanted to defeat him and then take him away while he was still weak and recovering.

Hearing his questions, her eyes sparkled as a small smile appeared on her pained face. "I wish to follow you. I know that making you my mating partner is impossible. So I want to become your subordinate and gain your trust first." The reason she wanted to follow him is because she believed that this would be the only way she can get close to him. Even though her initial plan had failed, she still hasn't given up on trying to make him her mating partner.

Aditya coldly smiled while releasing a little bit of his killing intent. "And why should I believe in your words? This whole thing could be planned by the Mystic Spring Empire. You could be a spy. I don't want any backstabbers as my subordinate. I hate backstabbers." Aditya remembered the time when an elder from the Ethereal Empire betrayed them. This had caused them to be trapped in a forest that was the home of Mutant Fire ants. Aditya in rage had killed him.

Aditya had too many secrets. Although it sounded tempting to know that a Peak 5th-order cultivator wished to serve him and follow him, he did not let greed blind his eyes. She could be a spy and this whole thing could be part of a bigger plan that the Oracle Alliance has set to learn his secret. Aditya did not trust Victoria.

Hearing Aditya's words, for a second Victoria felt helpless. She was feeling helpless seeing how cautious Aditya was.

"I have taken an Oath to never betray the Mystic Spring Empire. For 25 years, I have served the Mystic Spring Empire with my heart and soul. I have followed every command and every order that I was given by my superiors and by the Emperor. But now I want to think about myself. I have served the Mystic Spring Empire long enough. I want to work on building my own future."

Aditya reminded silent and listened to her words. Slowly the cold expression on his face was fading. "But now that Oath doesn't mean anything. Not after I have witnessed the cruel things that the Empire was doing to its own people. I don't want to serve an Emperor who makes profits from his people's suffering. I have been thinking of leaving the Mystic Spring Empire for a while and work on making my dream come true. This war gives me the perfect opportunity to leave. Since the Emperor's hand is occupied with the war, he can't send his forces to search for me."

"After seeing you, I have decided to take you as my mating partner seeing how strong and powerful you're. I was planning on capturing the Echo Dominion Emperor and handing him over to the Empire and then leaving this place with you to somewhere far."

Aditya released Victoria. He had decided to believe in her words for now. "Why would you choose me as your mating partner just because of my power?"

She smiled in response and replied. "I have been raised by an Amazonian. I may be not Amazonian but I have inherited most of their teachings. Just like any other Amazonian, I seek to get the strongest male as my partner. And that male is you." She didn't reveal the fact that she was into young men.

"Raised by Amazonian? This explains why you're like this." Hearing this she blushed.

"I don't fully trust you." Victoria bit her lips and nodded. She knew that it wouldn't be easy to gain his trust. Not when she had nearly killed him. But she still couldn't hide her disappointment.

"But if you agree to become my Dragonian, I will make you my subordinate." Even now the Istarin Empire still did not have any Peak 5th-order cultivators. Besides, Aditya who is capable of killing Peak 5th-order cultivators, the Istarin Empire really needed a few Peak 5th-order cultivators. After all, an Empire's strength is determined by the number of 5th-order cultivators the Empire has.

Aditya has strength Victoria's strength. As long as he turns her into a Dragonian, her strength would be multiplied. She would obtain a new level of power. Also letting transforming her into his Dragonian, he won't have to worry about her betraying him.

"I agree." Without any questions or without hesitation, Victoria agreed to become Aditya's Dragonian.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 357

"I agree." Without any questions or without hesitation, Victoria agreed to become Aditya's Dragonian.

"Let me warn you, Once you have become a Dragonian, there is no going back. Whether you like it or not, you will have to serve me for the rest of your life. You will have to follow my every order." After hearing his words, Aditya wanted to see if she would change her mind. If she showed even a slight trace of hesitation, then she is not fit to become a Dragonian. And as his enemy, he will have to kill her.

"I am prepared for my duties. There is nothing that would change my mind." She sounded very determined. This made Aditya very satisfied with her attitude.

"Alright, I will begin now." Although Aditya is still suffering from turning 10,000 soldiers into Dragonians at once, he can still push himself to turn Victoria into a Dragonian. Turning her into a Dragonian would give the Istarin Empire a powerful Peak 5th-order warrior. Victoria can even take Aditya's place on the battlefield. Not only that but also, becoming a Dragonian, she can't betray Aditya or do anything against him or the Istarin Empire.

Aditya felt the benefit of her turning into a Dragonian was too many. While the disadvantages were only a very few and very small matters.

"Close your eyes." Aditya put the Adamantite Doomblade in his storage ring.

He saw Victoria on her right knee. Her head was lowered and she had closed her eyes. Both of her hands were placed on top of her right knee.

Without wasting any time, Aditya took out a drop of golden blood. The drop of blood floated above her chest. Upon contact, a golden shine soon spread throughout Victoria's whole body. Her body began to shine in a golden Aura.

'My body is changing.' Victoria thought as she gritted her teeth in pain. She felt her insides burning. The burning sensation inside was making her feel as if she had been sent to hell. She felt Aditya was intentionally punishing her for seriously injuring him.

But she knew that this wasn't true. If he wanted to hurt her, he could have done it when she had surrendered. Also, she could feel her blood changing. She could feel her power and strength rapidly increasing.

It was a mysterious feeling. It was difficult to describe what she was feeling in just a single word. She felt her spine is getting stronger and something on her back is changing. As time passed, Victoria sensed a deep connection between her and Aditya being forged. She felt like she was able to understand Aditya more. She felt much closer to Aditya. A strong connection with other Dragons had formed. She could feel many kinds of changes taking place.

Around a minute later, the golden Aura surrounding her body finally disappeared. As Victoria opened her eyes, she raised her head and stared at her master.

"How do you feel?" This was the first time, Aditya has turned a Peak 5th-order warrior into a Dragonian.

"I feel wonderful. Even though my cultivation has remained the same, I can feel my power has increased by several folds." In truth, Victoria couldn't wait to try out her new strength. If Aditya wasn't her master, she already would have challenged him to test out her powers and her new limit.

"I can't believe what I am seeing right now. To think a peak 5th-order cultivator from the enemy side would submit herself to the Istarin Emperor....today has been full of shock." Aditya and Victoria have long sensed his presence. It was Ashton.

Daxton had sent Ashton to save Aditya. But being a beginner 5th-order cultivator, his speed was really slowed compared to Victoria. When he arrived, he found Victoria kneeling in front of Aditya. A golden glow surrounded her body.

'If only I had arrived a few seconds earlier, I could have seen how the Istarin Emperor turned Victoria into a Dragonian.' Ashton was full of regret. Ashton moved as fast as his body could move but he still was late.

He can tell that Victoria is several times stronger than her previous self. This is the benefit that comes from being a Dragonian. Ashton has even heard that becoming a Dragonian can push cultivation to the next realm or to the next rank. Ashton was envious and jealous of Victoria. Unfortunately, he can't change his master. If he could, then he also would have served Aditya.

Meanwhile, Aditya removed his T-shirt which had been torn apart and was soaked in his blood. By now the injuries on his body were almost healed. This goes to show the power that Julia's 5-star healing pills had. Just two minutes ago, Aditya was seriously injured and was on the brink of death. And now he is almost recovered and was ready for another fight.

'From time after time, her pills keep on saving my life. My dear wife, without you, I might not have survived so far.' Aditya thought in his head.

"You two go back. I want to clean myself in a nearby river or lake." Victoria wanted to watch Aditya take a bath. Unfortunately, it was not possible. She could only satisfy her curiosity with her imagination.

As the two were about to head back, Aditya's voice stopped them. "Victoria, I want you to kill them all." He then vanished in thin air.

She was smart enough to understand what she needed to do now. Her role now had completely changed. She was a Dragonian of the Istarin Empire. And the Mystic Spring Empire was her enemy now.

"Your Grace, are you alright?" Asked Eddie Wood, the right-hand man of Duke Adam Onard.

"I am still alive." Adam was feeling slightly exhausted. Eddie was also exhausted. It wasn't easy to take down two powerful Necromancers.

"What about you?" Adam asked as he started killing the enemy soldiers.

Eddie who was standing behind Adam scanned the battlefield while replying. "I can still go on. By the way, where is His Majesty?" As Eddie was scanning the battlefield, he noticed Aditya couldn't be found anywhere.

An arrow flew towards Adam. Adam grabbed the soldier who had the gut to fight him by his throat. Adam shielded himself using the body of the poor soldiers who could do nothing. As the arrow stuck the head of the soldier, Adam calmly threw away the soldier's body before focusing his sight on another enemy soldier.

"I don't know. Maybe they are fighting somewhere far from the battlefield." Adam and others felt the shockwave when Aditya and Victoria's attacks collided. Since neither Victoria nor Aditya wanted their battle to bring any harm to their soldiers, both of them gradually moved away from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Eddie was scanning the battlefield. It has been around 7 or 9 minutes since the battle started. In that short time period, many things have changed. The Necromancers that the enemy force bought with them has been slaughtered mostly by the Dragonians. Now only a very few Necromancers remain standing.

Previously the undeads summoned by the Necromancers were starting to overwhelm their soldiers but now the tide has shifted. It was the Mystic Spring Empire that was feeling the pressure. The pressure on the Mystic Spring Empire's Soldiers was increasing.

The army of 600,000 had around 5,000 Dragonians. Each Dragonian was in a league of his own. Even the weakest Dragonian was smashing everyone in his sight.

When the battle started, half of the Dragonians started taking down the enemy archers and started destroying the magic cannons or killing the soldiers who operated the magic cannons. While the other half stayed at the center of the battlefield. They took down all the powerful soldiers and the Necromancer.

Among the soldiers, Dragonians, Necromancers, archers, and knights, there was one other individual who had killed the most soldiers. No one from the enemy side knew his identity. he was a silent killer. No one knew when he arrived and when he left.

He was the shadow of this battlefield. He silently observed and killed. No one was able to sense him.

He was Nathan, the best Assassin of the Istarin Empire, the Captain of the Shadow Guardian Squad, and one of the most powerful generals of the Istarin Empire.

Adam and Eddie knew even without Aditya's help, they would in the battle. The situation was in their favor. The enemy commander has been killed. This has killed the morale of the enemy soldiers. The soldiers were confused. Some didn't know if they should continue. Some wanted to surrender thinking now that their commander has been killed, there was no use in fighting anymore. While most soldiers harbored the thought of running away.

When the enemy commander was alive, the Mystic Spring Empire's soldiers were full of spirit and fighting intent. But now they had lost their will to fight.

"The commander has already died, why are we still fighting?" One of the archers asked. With his enhanced vision, he can see that some soldiers already had started fleeing the battlefield. They were running away in every direction.

"Should we also run?" Asked another Archer. The Mystic Spring Empire had 60,000 archers. The archers were divided into three groups. Each group had 20,000 archers. Group A already has been slaughtered by the Dragonians. When the Commander died, some Group B archers run away while some died in the hands of the Dragonians and some were still fighting the Dragonians.

The Group C archers knew that soon it would be their turn. Once the Dragonians finish everyone from Group B, they will become their next target.

"Is that even a question that needed to be asked?" Answered a third archer. The archers of Group C looked at the battlefield. All they saw was their soldiers brutally getting killed. Especially the sight of Adam and Eddie killing their soldiers made them tremble in fear.

The enemy was gradually pushing them. Gradually their soldiers were spreading out and were trying to surround them entirely. Once that happens, there is no escaping. Not to mention, a few minutes later, the hungry Dragonians will be charging at them from the left. At least now they can escape from the back.

"Let's run." The Captain of Group C who has been relentlessly shooting arrows and was trying to take down as many enemy soldiers as possible, suddenly found his group members running away.

"What the hell are you guys doing? If we abandon this battlefield, then this is equal to betraying our homeland. Do you guys want to live as traitors?" His loud words did not stop anyone. After the death of the commander, their morale had completely shattered. They had no will to fight anymore.

"Sir, I think we should retreat. Unfortunately by the looks of things we already have lost this battle. It would be better if we retreated and regrouped at Oakbank City." Hearing the words of the vice-captain, the Captain did not hesitate anymore. It was as if the words of the vice-captain gave him the perfect excuse and the final push he needed to flee.

As soon as the captain lowered his bow and started running away, all the reminding archers also followed him and started fleeing the battlefield. Even the Captain was running away, why they should stay here and wait for death? This was the thought of all the fleeing archers.

As the archers started fleeing, seeing them, other soldiers also followed. The fleeing of the group C archers had caused a chain reaction to occur. More and more archers, knights, and soldiers started fleeing from the back.

But how can Nathan let that happen? If all of these archers and soldiers reached Oakbank city which is the defensive fort located at the border of the Mystic Spring Empire, it would be troublesome when they attack Oakbank city.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 358

As the archers started fleeing, seeing them, other soldiers also followed. The fleeing of the group C archers had caused a chain reaction to occur. More and more archers, knights, and soldiers started fleeing from the back.

But how can Nathan let that happen? If all of these archers and soldiers reached Oakbank city which is the defensive fort located at the border of the Mystic Spring Empire, it would be troublesome when they attack Oakbank city.

While the infantry, archers, foot soldiers, and knights were fleeing the battlefield, everyone failed to notice the shadow that was moving toward them.

Among the fleeing troops, the knights moved the fastest as they were riding magic mounts.

"Why I am always so unlucky? Never did I imagine I would be sent to the battlefield even though I am one of the weakest Knights. Once I return, I am going to fuc.....Clang!

The knight stopped as he felt his horse had stepped on something.

Booooom!!!!

The next second, a big explosion took place. The explosion was strong enough to instantly kill 20 Knights and injured 20 more. Despite the explosion, no one stopped running. They instead became even more desperate to flee.

The next second, following the first explosion, 4 more explosions took place.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Each explosion killed around 20 to 30 soldiers and left 20 more with serious injuries. Amidst all the explosions, the knights noticed a certain figure wearing a mask standing in their path. But when the knights blinked their eyes, they found the masked figure had disappeared. For a second they felt as if they were hallucinating.

"I must be hallucinating. Maybe I should stop drinking for some day....." The words in his throat stopped as he saw the very same masked figure in front of him. The next second, the head of a knight flew in the air and fell down. While his headless body rode the horse for a few seconds before falling down to the ground.

A few other knights saw what happened. They nearly pissed their pants at fear. In the next few seconds, their fears became reality as Nathan proceeded to Assassinate them like a ghost.

Nathan moved like he was teleporting. Each second he would appear somewhere else. The soldiers that saw him died. Nathan continued to kill as many soldiers as he can for over a minute till he realized that too many soldiers were running away and it was simply impossible for him to stop them alone.

'I guess I will have to use Dragon Transformation then.'

Booom!!!

Nathan no longer hid. This time everyone was able to see him. Using his Dragon wings, Nathan became even faster. Nathan flew up in the air. When he was 20 meters from the ground he stopped.

?Rain of Poison Needle!?

The soldiers completely ignored Nathan. No one bothered to stop and try to attack him. Their whole focus was on fleeing and saving their lives. But this was their biggest mistake.

Thousands of shadow needles started falling from the sky.

"What the hell is that?" The sharp needle pierced his skin and reached his bloodstream. The Archer took out the needle from his and threw it away while thinking how this kind of attack is supposed to hurt them.

But the next second he got his answer.

His skin started to turn black. His skin began to wrinkle as if he was aging rapidly with each passing second. His organs began to wither. The poison spread throughout his body and changed the very nature of his blood. His bones grew weak and became weak as rotten wood. And his hair started falling.

A few seconds later, he simply fell to the ground and lost his life. His corpse looked like a thousand years old mummy.

The same thing happened to every infantry, knight, foot soldier, and archer. Within a few seconds, more than a few thousand soldiers had died like that.

?Rain of Poison Needles!?

Once again, Nathan used the same technique. This time he put more mana into his attack, increasing the size and power of his attack.

Ahh.....!

This time the attack took out almost 10,000 troops. But this wasn't anywhere nearly enough. As the number of troops running away is not small.

Once again Nathan used the same skill. After using the same skill three times in a row, Nathan's face became pale. His Mana was almost drained.

'All of my skills are meant for single targets or multiple targets. My attacking moves are not meant for large crowds. My attacks are not destructive.' Nathan's skills were mostly silence, fast, deadly, and quick. All of his skills were meant to end the enemy's life within a few seconds.

'«Rain of Poison Needles» is an exception. If not for His Majesty helping me get this skill book, I never would have learned this powerful skill. Without the «Shriveling Torment Poison», it is impossible to learn this technique. Unfortunately, my mana reserve is not monstrous as His Majesty's. Among all the generals, I have the second lowest Mana reserve.' Nathan never needed a large mana reserve as his fighting style revolved around ending the enemy's life as quickly as possible.

?Rain of Poison Needles!?

?4th-order Skill?

?Description - The Rain of Poison Needles is a special Assassin class attack. Only cultivators with dark Mana and Assassin classes can learn this skill. In order to fully master this skill, one must find a deadly poison and combine it with this skill.

It is known from where this skill came from. The Rain of Poison Needles skill was made during «The Aeon of Waste» era. The Rain of Poison Needles fell into the possession of the Royal Family. Since there were no dark mages within the Royal Family, the skill was sold at an auction.

There are only a few individuals in this world who knows this skill.?

?Function - The skill increases the power of any Poison by 3 times. The user can summon hundred or thousand or even millions of rain shadow needles. The number of needles that one can summon depends on the amount of Mana one possesses and depends on the individual's level of affinity with dark nature. Each needle is filled with poison.?

?Shriveling Torment Poison?

?Description - The Shriveling Torment is a special type of poison that produces inside a magic black apple. Once the magic black Apple reaches 10,000 years of age, the poison inside the apple becomes potent enough to instantly end the life of cultivators below the 4th order. With enough poison concentration, the Shriveling Torment is even capable of ending the life of a 4th-order cultivator.?

Meanwhile, seeing almost all the troops were beginning to run away, Adam issued an order. He amplified his tone using Mana so that his voice can reach throughout the battlefield and all the soldiers would be able to receive his command.

?Everyone, listen to the command. The enemy commander is dead. The enemy troop is running away like cowards. Don't let them run away. Hunt them down like animals. I don't want even a single enemy soldier escaping. Whatever you must, kill them if they refuse to surrender.?

Adam's words also reached the ears of the soldiers who were fleeing. Some soldiers felt their faces were burning from shame. They felt ashamed. The enemy commander just compared them to an animal. But most soldiers didn't care. After hearing Adam's words, they quickened their pace knowing that the enemy troops are going to hunt for them.

Following Nathan, all other Dragonians also used Dragon Transformation. After using Dragon Transformation their powers rose to another level. From the sky, the Dragonians kept attacking the escaping troops.

A new problem emerged at their hands. Although the Dragonians managed to kill many fleeing troops, it still wasn't enough. There are about almost half a million Troops that were currently fleeing. This meant that a lot of enemy troops will still be able to escape and make it back to the Mystic Spring Empire.

The option of letting the troops escape wasn't available to them. After all, this was just the first phase of the war. Once the escaping troops return to the Mystic Spring Empire, their number would increase the troop number while minimizing the Mystic Spring Empire's casualties. Right now, this was an excellent opportunity to reduce the military power of the enemy Empire. The more troops they kill or capture as war prisoners, the fewer troops would make it back to the enemy Empire.

The entire battlefield was in chaos. Troops were running away like ants. Soldiers were running in every direction. The Mystic Spring Empire troops had zero motivation to keep fighting this battle. Even the soldiers who wanted to keep fighting gave up after seeing most troops from their sides running away.

By now many of the soldiers had managed to escape into the forest and the mountains that surrounded the battlefield. Adam, Nathan, Eddie, the Dragonians, and everyone else was trying their best to take down as many enemy troops as possible. Even if they can capture 1000 enemy troops as war prisoners, they can use those 1000 troops in the next battle against the Mystic Spring Empire.

Bang!

While killing Enemy troops, Nathan looked around and scanned his surroundings. 'At most, we would be able to kill around 100,000 enemy troops. Meaning that more than 400,000 troops will be able to head back to the Mystic Spring Empire. If that many troops managed to escape back to the enemy Empire, this defeats the very purpose of this battle even though we have won now.'

400,000 troops were not a small number. With 400,000 the Mystic Spring Empire would be easily able to recover their losses and use those 400,000 troops against them in the upcoming battles.

Daxton, the Echo Dominion Emperor, did not join the battlefield. But seeing how many enemy troops were fleeing, he couldn't help but awaken the desire to join the battle. His Prime Minister advised him to stay out of the battlefield. He too knew the consequences of that many enemy troops fleeing back to their Empire.

When Daxton and Nathan were feeling helpless and frustrated, a figure with Crimson wings arrived at the battlefield. She stood in the sky and watched how the troops run for their lives.

'I never knew the Mystic Spring Empire troops would be this spineless. Disgusting.' Even the little bit of hesitation that Victoria had about killing the troops from Mystic Spring Empire disappeared after she saw this.

"What she is doing here?" Adam, Daxton, Eddie, And Nathan, all stopped fighting after feeling Victoria's strong presence. Adam, Emperor Daxton, and Eddie were confused and in doubt. If Victoria was here, then what happened to Aditya or Ashton, they wondered in their minds.

Meanwhile, as a Dragonian, Nathan was able to feel that Victoria has become a Dragonian as well. 'What happened?' Nathan could somehow guess that Victoria has switched sides and had become their ally but he couldn't guess how this happened.

As the troops were running away, suddenly a bright golden light crashed into the ground at a sound-breaking speed.

Booooom!!!!!!

A cloud of dust and pebbles rose in the air and blocked everyone's vision. The troops were not planning on stopping till they were forced to stop because of Victoria's powerful Aura. She used her Peak 5th-order cultivation to pressure all the fleeing troops and make them stop.

"I never knew you guys were so spineless." A cold familiar voice sent shivers down every fleeing soldier's spine. How can they not recognize this voice?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 359

"I never knew you guys were so spineless." A cold familiar voice sent shivers down every fleeing soldier's spine. How can they not recognize this voice?

It was nonother than Victoria. Seeing her, their faces immediately lit up in joy like Christmas trees. Originally they had forgotten about her while some thought that she had died at the hand of the Istarin Emperor. But now that she was here, all the soldiers felt as if Heaven was helping them. Their faces couldn't hide their excitement. With Victoria here, she alone can take out the enemy troops and let them retreat peacefully.

"We might have lost this battle. But as long as we retreat, the victory will be ours next time." This is what almost all the soldiers thought. Seeing Victoria, the soldiers were no longer in a hurry to escape. They all assumed that Victoria was going to protect them.

Looking at Victoria Adam frowned. He had many questions in his mind such as where was Aditya? Who won the battle? But right now he had a bigger and far more important issue at his hand. If Victoria stood against them, then even if they all attack her at the same time, they would still lose and end up dying at her hand.

A Peak 5th-order cultivator is a nuclear missile. They are known as Calamities. Their attacks are capable of destroying an entire city. Some people also call them Demi-Gods as 5th-order cultivators stand at the very top. One nuclear Missile can be stopped with another Nuclear Missile.

Everyone on the battlefield stopped and nervously looked at Victoria. The fleeing troops of the Mystic Spring Empire looked happy, and excited and were looking at their enemies with a mocking face.

However,

A few seconds later, the smiles on all the soldiers started disappearing one by one as they realized they were still under her pressure. The pressure coming from her body was so strong that they could not move. If Victoria hadn't held back, her cultivation pressure would be instantly killed all the 1st-order soldiers.

"I understand that she is angry with us for being so cowardly but why is she pressuring us with her cultivation." All the soldiers had similar thoughts in their heads.

The silence was very suffocating. After an entire minute, someone from the Mystic Spring Empire's military couldn't keep silent anymore. After all, being pressured by a Peak 5th-order cultivator wasn't exactly pleasant. Even though he was a beginner 3rd-order cultivator, he still was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Being pressured like this, he couldn't circulate his Mana. His legs and arms were in pain. He felt slightly suffocated and found it a little bit hard to breathe.

He could only imagine what the lower-order troops are going through. The sufferings of the lower-order troops were many times harsher than his.

"Lady Victoria, I know that you don't like cowards. But if you continue to pressure us with your cultivation, I am afraid the lower-order soldiers won't be able to take it for much longer. You might end up making some unconscious." As he finished speaking, a few weak soldiers already had lost consciousness.

He spoke respectfully as possible so that Victoria won't get angry at him and end up killing him. It took him a lot of courage to say these words. After all, he was dealing with a Peak 5th-order cultivator. Even a small mistake could cost him his life.

He was trying to make her remember that they were on the same side. Inwardly he was feeling very frustrated and angry for being treated like this. Because she is a Peak 5th-order cultivator, he can't say or do anything against her.

Victoria glanced at the man who spoke just now. "Who are you?"

"____"

There was an awkward silence. The man who spoke felt very embarrassed after hearing her words. The anger in his heart increased.

Victoria wasn't pretending to not recognize him or anything like that. She was genuinely confused about who this person was. In the Mystic Spring Empire, there were thousands of other high-ranked soldiers like him. It is impossible for her to remember all of their names and faces. Also besides fighting and carrying out the orders of the Emperor, Victoria spent all of her time in training just like Lawson.

As a result, there is a rift between her and others in the military. She doesn't like parties or any social gathering as she is a socially awkward person. She hardly ever interacted with anyone from the military.

"First, I would like to make things clear once and for all." She looked at everyone who was also looking at her.

"From now on, I am no longer a part of the Mystic Spring Empire. I have severed all of my ties with the Mystic Spring Empire." For a moment non of the soldiers believed what they were hearing. But as they digested her words, their expressions became horrified as they realized why they have been pressured by her till now.

Gulp!

The soldiers gulped and nervously waited for her next sentence that could decide their fate. Everyone from the Istarin Empire and the Echo Dominion Empire was also shocked and surprised. Only the Dragonians looked calm as they could sense a fellow Dragonian from a far distance.

"I have pledged my loyalty to the Istarin Empire. His Majesty, Aditya, is my master and I am his Dragonian."

Booom!!!!

Just as she finished saying these words, Crimson red Dragon wings appeared on her back, proving that she has become a Dragon now.

Seeing this, the soldiers knew that it was over.

Crack!

Suddenly the pressure coming from their former general intensified. Giant cracks started to appear on the ground around her. However, none of the Istarin and Echo Dominion Empire's troops felt any pressure.

It was as if the gravity around Victoria had been increased by several times and denser.

All 3rd-order Mystic Spring Empire's troops fell to their knees and grabbed their throat as they struggled hard to breathe. As for the second-order and first-order troops, the pressure was just too much for them.

The bodies of the 1st-order soldiers directly exploded like a water balloon while most of the second-order soldiers died as their hearts stopped beating. The ones that managed to survive were either very close to reaching 3rd-order or had some kind of magical artifact to barely protect themselves.

Victoria did not show any mercy even though these soldiers were her subordinate just an hour ago. Her eyes were cold as ice.

Boom!!!

Once again Victoria increased the pressure. This time, all of the second-order soldier's bodies exploded like water balloons; leaving behind small pieces of meat and bones all over the place. While the 3rd-order cultivators were on the verge of death.

The pressure was just too much for them. Their bodies were in immense pain. It was as if they were buried under a mountain. Their bones were slowly cracking and getting crashed. As their lives were being squeezed out, they couldn't even scream due to the immense pressure.

This horrifying scene was just too much for the other soldiers to watch.

"This is too much to watch." Seeing how the bodies of the soldiers were exploding like water balloons and leaving behind small pieces of their bodies all over the place, the soldier couldn't take it anymore and ended up vomiting.

"If possible I would like to erase this horrifying memory from my brain." One soldier said as he stared at Victoria. His entire body was shaking in fear. Today Victoria has left a deep mark on everyone's mind. She showed what a Peak 5th-order cultivator is capable of. She showed the difference between them and her.

"Thank God, that she came to our side. Just imagining myself in their places, I can feel my very soul screaming in agony." The second soldier shuddered as he spoke.

"She has gotten stronger after becoming a Dragonian." When the battle started, Adam was able to sense her Aura. Comparing her past Aura with her current Aura, Adam could see a big difference. Previously her Aura wasn't strong to do something like this.

A minute later, the remaining Mystic Spring Empire's troops that stayed on the battlefield when Victoria arrived had been killed by her Aura pressure alone.

She was standing while being surrounded by blood, small pieces of meat, and bones. The ground around her had been painted with blood.

When Ashton arrived at the battlefield, he saw this and was very surprised. "Where is she?" He asked Adam.

"Before she came, many other troops had managed to flee. She had gone to chase them down along with the Dragonians." While the normal soldiers were tired after fighting a battle, the Dragonians had enough stamina left to chase the enemy troops and kill them.

Ashton looked at Daxton who had come out of his hiding and was standing next to Adam and talking with him about their upcoming actions. Previously Ashton wasn't planning on showing himself but seeing how things went, he had to come out.

Ashton couldn't leave even though he wanted as he was currently the guardian of the Emperor. This is also why he refrained from joining the battlefield even though he desperately wanted to. "Ashton, don't let anyone cross the border. Go!"

"But..." Ashton was still hesitant. The safety of the Emperor was more important.

"I have Adam here. Besides, I don't think anyone has the courage to attack me right now." Daxton wasn't joking. If anyone did try to claim his life, Adam and all the soldiers is going to rip them apart.

"Alright." Ashton sensed Aditya's presence. Feeling relieved that Aditya was here, he left without wasting any more time.

Scene change

The Emperor and the Mystic Empire's Prime Minister watched the whole battle using an artifact. He was standing in front of a well. On the well water, a projection of what was happening on the battlefield was seen.

And when the Emperor saw Victoria killing his troops, he completely lost his mind.

Bang!!!!!

"This damn Bitch. I never thought the dog I raised would become bold enough to bite me." The Emperor of the Mystic Spring Empire was fuming in anger. His anger and eyes had turned red in anger. He wasn't angry about the fact that he lost the battle. He wasn't angry at the fact that his troops were running away like cowards.

But seeing the very woman who had been adopted by the Empire and raised to serve the Empire betraying him, made the Emperor extremely mad and pissed.

When He sent his troops to fight the enemy, he did not send his full troop which was in millions. The Oracle Alliance's leader, Lucas, ordered him to first send a small number of troops to test the waters. The same could be said for the Echo Dominion Empire.

This is what he did. He sent Victoria so that she can keep their casualties as minimum as possible while winning the battle. Now all of his plans had been ruined. Not only did his troops brutally lose the fight but they also left the battlefield like cowards. On top of all that, one of the strongest pillars of his Empire and one of his most trusted subordinates just betrayed him. And turned against him. The situation was in no way acceptable to the Emperor.

"Write a report about everything that happened and send it to His Majesty Lucas. I am going to cool my mind." The Emperor left this work to Prime Minister and went to cool his head as he knew without cooling his head off, he will make rush decisions which might cause them to lose the war.

Whenever the Mystic Empire Emperor talked about cooling his head, someone in the castle definitely died. As for who killed that person, no one dared to question it. Everyone just lowered their heads and ignored the dead person.

The Mystic Spring Empire still had an advantage in this war. As long as He don't allow the enemy to enter into his Empire, everything was good.

Seeing the Emperor leave, the Prime Minister sighed before deciding to watch the battlefield for a little longer to see if he can learn anything more interesting.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets and gifts. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 360

"Father, how did everything go?" After Aditya returned, Adam told him what Victoria did there. Aditya didn't mind her actions.

"We lost around ten thousand men. And another 20,000 thousand injured. The rest of the troops are perfectly fine as the battle wasn't lengthy. Thanks to the Dragonian, this whole has become really easy for us."

"I came here, preparing for the worst but with you here, we won." Aditya briefly nodded his head before looking around the battlefield.

"Your Majesty, what are you planning on doing now? Should we march our troops forward and cross the borders of the Mystic Spring Empire?" Earlier Adam and Daxton had discussed this matter. Now he was asking Aditya's thoughts on this matter. After discussing, both of them came to the conclusion of letting Aditya choose what they are going to do.

"For now, Father I think you and the troops should camp here. I will head to other battlefields and make sure that we win. By tomorrow, we will begin marching towards the Mystic Spring Empire." Rather than waiting for the enemy to send its troops, it would be much wiser to send their troops to conquer the enemy Empires.

"Alright." Daxton and Adam saw no problem with the arrangement. Since Aditya was personally going with them, what could possibility go wrong?

Aditya stayed behind for some time. He then left everything to Adam and Nathan. He went to the second battlefield.

Scene change______

"Buddy, I don't know why but I have a bad feeling. Something is telling me that we are going to get into big trouble."

The archer's best friend rolled his eyes and replied in a sarcastic way. "The fact that we are getting chased by half a million hungry soldiers looking to hunt us down is just a small trouble not worth mentioning. How about we stop by the waterfall and cook some fish?"

"I am not joking brother."

"I am taking your brothers VERY seriously. What could be more life-threatening than our current situation? We are in a place where powerful Magic animals live. If we are lucky we could meet one of these powerful and furious magic animals and we could end up becoming their breakfast, lunch, or maybe dinner. Not to mention, the poisonous plants and the deadly traps that some magic animals make to catch its preys. Falling into one of these traps would be surely very exciting. On top of that, we are being chased by nearly half a million troops."

"Unless a Peak 5th-order cultivator personally comes for us, I don't think the situation could get any worse."

Ironically, just as he finished his words, Victoria flew in front of them. Seeing Victoria, the first archer looked at his best friend with a happy smile.

"You and your garbage mouth!"

Meanwhile, Victoria heard what they were talking about. "You guys have two choices. Surrender or Die."

Both soldiers were completely confused as they thought that Victoria was from their side. So why she was asking them this question?"

"But you are...Don't make me repeat myself, otherwise, I will kill you two." Hearing this both archers gulped nervously.

Of all the soldiers she has met, she had given them two choices. And every time, she gave them two choices, instead of replying they would ask why she was asking them this question. If these two wasted her time any longer, she would just kill them and move on.

"We surrender." Who would want to die? Both archers were orphans and were singles. At least by surrendering they would survive longer.

"Good choices. Now head back to the battlefield and surrender yourselves. Don't try to play any tricks as I can sense you. The moment you try to play any tricks, I am going kill you two." Both archers repeatedly nodded their heads.

They couldn't see that Victoria was lying. Obviously, she can't sense that far. She wasn't a sensory cultivator. Her senses were sharp as Aditya's.

The hunt went on for around 3 hours. In her hunt, she met many troops. Most became cowards facing her and chose to surrender. And the ones that didn't surrender were instantly killed by her.

Following Victoria, Ashton also was doing things differently. Any soldier that he saw was instantly killed. The enmity between the Mystic Spring Empire and the Echo Dominion Empire runs deep.

In the last two decades together with the Echo Nexus Empire, the Mystic Spring Empire had bullied the Echo Dominion Empire in many ways. Both Empires sent their soldiers to cause chaos in the Echo Dominion Empire.

Many of the soldiers from the Mystic Spring Empire caused trouble at their borders. They attacked the people who were traveling. They stole the goods of the merchants. They attacked nearby villages and captured the villagers and sold them as slaves. Some low-lives even r*p*d the captured village girls and sold them to prostitute businesses that were mostly run by Succubus or Incubus.

The soldiers of the Echo Dominion Empire had hatred for the Mystic Spring Empire. This is the first time Ashton was given the independence of doing whatever he wished. He was going to use this chance to kill every single one of them.

Previously whenever the Mystic Spring Empire's soldiers caused trouble nearby the borders, the Emperor couldn't send any 5th-order cultivator. He instead used to send Adam. Sending a 5th-order cultivator is not a small matter. Sending a 5th-order cultivator is indirectly considered a declaration of war.

If Daxton had sent a 5th-order cultivator, then the Mystic Spring Empire would have responded by sending their 5th-order cultivator. And from there the whole situation would have turned into a war. And in the past, Daxton did not start a War even though his Empire was bullied so much because he knew that starting a war with the Mystic Spring Empire would mean that the entire Oracle Alliance would attack him. And no matter how strong his Empire was, The empire won't be able to withstand attacks from this many powerhouses. Now with the Istarin Empire, things obviously had changed.

Besides, two 5th-order cultivators, there were also the Dragonians who were chasing the fleeing soldiers. In the end, around 90% of all the fleeing troops either had been captured or surrendered, or killed. Among the remaining 10%, some died at the hands of wild magic animals or had fallen into traps built by magic animals. The troops that did manage to make it back alive, were injured and won't be able to fight for the next 4 to 7 days. In the end, the Mystic Spring Empire lost 500,000 troops.

The result of their first confrontation ended in the Mystic Spring Empire's loss. The Empire lost one of its best and most powerful Peak 5th-order cultivators, they lost their powerful commander who had the potential to become 5th-order in the near future, 500,000 troops have either died or surrendered, and all the magic cannons that they left behind. All these were a major loss for the Empire.

Scene change_____

From a top of a tree, a man who was wearing a black outfit to blend into the darkness was holding a big eyeball in his hands. The eyeball in his hand was pointed in the direction of the enemy camp that was currently being built by the soldiers. Some other soldiers were cleaning the battlefield. Using this eyeball, the Mystic Spring Emperor and the prime Minister were able to see what happened on the battlefield.

Right now, after the battle ended, the enemy troops were building camps. Some soldiers were cooking fresh food. The injured ones were taking rest and not doing any work. And the ones who were not injured were cleaning the battlefield and disposing of the dead bodies. Some Earth mages used their elemental power to bury the dead soldiers while some Mages used simple fire magic spells to burn their bodies to ashes.

'How long I will have to remain standing on this tree?' He has been sent here to use this artifact so that the Emperor could see what was going on on the battlefield. After the battle ended, he thought that no one has managed to find his presence so he decided to keep monitoring the enemy for as long as he can.

But it was his biggest mistake thinking that no one has sensed his presence.

"If you don't want to die, then I suggest you leave this place." The man's entire body was petrified in fear as he saw Victoria standing in front of him.

"We only allowed you to stay here because we wanted the Emperor to see what was happening here. Now that the battle has ended, your task is over. Now get lost before I change my mind and decide to kill you." This man wasn't even a complete soldier. He was more of a messenger and an envoy. This is why Victoria did not kill him. Instead, she gave him a chance.

It's not like he gained any valuable information. If he had, she would have killed him.

"Alright." Victoria kept an eye on the man as he slowly retreated back towards the Mystic Spring Empire's border through the dark forest.

As soon as the envoy left, the fleeing soldiers that surrendered started reaching the camp one by one. As she had sent the envoy away, the Empire won't know how many of their soldiers were captured and would be used against them in the upcoming battles.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Two chapters! I hope I can continue doing this till the end of this month.

Chapter 361

Hephaestus Kingdom

The Hephaestus Kingdom is a place that is called the hub of all illegal activities in the Dying Isle Continent. Over the years, this Kingdom has grown into the capital of the Dying Isle Continent's underworld. All kinds of illegal activities existed here.

People were killed in broad daylight. This was the only place in the whole continent where the nobles had no respect or real power. The nobles were basically dogs of the big gangs. It was the big gangs and thugs that ran the Hephaestus Kingdom.

The boundary between legal and illegal had been erased. This was a place where most of the common people earned their income by working for the big gangs and thugs. The big gangs provided jobs to many common people. But that doesn't mean that these big gangs were made up of good people. The workers were treated like slaves and received very little salary or no salary at all.

The king of this Kingdom wasn't taken seriously and was openly mocked by anyone and there is nothing that the King could do to stop it. The big gangs were more dominant than the King in the Hephaestus Kingdom. If the big gangs wanted, then they could easily overthrow the King and all of the nobles and take control of the entire Hephaestus Kingdom. But doing that would bring them more chaos.

Even though the King had no real power, his presence kept the whole Kingdom together. Once the King is removed, a big fight among the big gangs will break out on the matter of territory control. At the same time, the possibility of another neighboring Empire trying to take over the Hephaestus Kingdom existed if the King happened to be removed.

The Echo Nexus Empire already had a big influence in the Hephaestus Kingdom. It was because of the Echo Nexus Empire that the current Hephaestus Kingdom had become so miserable.

The Hephaestus Kingdom was located at the edge of the Northwest region. In terms of power, the Kingdom is considered to be the weakest among the 8 Empires that existed in the Northwest region.

The geography of The Hephaestus Kingdom is quite interesting. The southern and Eastern sides of the Kingdom are coastlines. The Kingdom has the longest uninterrupted coastline in the Northwest region of the Dying Isle continent.

In the west, the Kingdom shares borders with The Uzacan Empire. However if one wanted to head to the Hephaestus Kingdom from the Uzacan Empire, there is two ways of going there. Due to the presence of the Hargeo Mountains, one cannot directly walk straight into the Hephaestus Kingdom. Because of its presence, travelers and merchants from The Uzacan Empire would need to take a detour around either side of the Hargeo Mountains and reach The Hephaestus Kingdom.

And finally, the North, Hephaestus Kingdom faces most threats from their northern neighbors. The Methia Empire is an Oracle Alliance member and a close friend of the Echo Nexus Empire. Travelers from The Uzacan Empire has to go to The Methia Empire to reach the Hephaestus Kingdom. Or the travelers could take head towards the sea and use a boat to travel. But most travelers and Merchants retrain from using this route.

The first and most important reason for this is the numerous pirates that have spread their terror into the sea. The pirates live happily among themselves and solve their disputes by hosting swimming competitions. There is almost no fighting among the pirates or the gangs on the land. Besides the pirates, the Sea was active with powerful Oceanic Magic Beasts.

If one did manage to survive the pirates and the Oceanic Magic beasts, once they reach the shore of Hephaestus Empire, criminals would be waiting to charge them 100 or even 1000 gold coins sometimes; depending on the traveler's appearance, the gangs could charge more and less. And most of the travelers don't usually have this much money with them. If they had 1000 gold coins, they would use the teleportation array which was way quicker than a month-long journey to the Hephaestus Kingdom.

The Hargeo Mountains are the tallest in the whole Dying Isle continent. The Hargeo Mountains were almost double the size of Mount Everest. The Hargeo Mountains acted as a natural barrier and prevented any direct interaction or trade between the Hephaestus Kingdom and The Uzacan Empire. Not only that but also, the Hargeo Mountains are one of the few forbidden places in the Dying Isle continent.

There are a few places in the Dying Isle Continents that are considered Forbidden zones or Forbidden places. The Hargeo Mountains were one of those places. Not even a Peak 5th-order cultivator can make it out alive. Hargeo Mountains and almost 100 km of surroundings remain covered under snow and frost. It is said that powerful Magic monsters capable of using Ice Magic live in the Hargeo Mountains.

Some think that Ice Phenix also lives at the top of the Hargeo Mountains. No cultivator to this day has managed to reach the top of the Hargeo Mountains. The cultivators that did try to explore the Hargeo Mountains and their surroundings never made it back. Hargeo Mountains is a place that is avoided by everyone.

In this war, the Echo Dominion Empire is very unlucky. The Empire has been attacked from three sides. While the Hephaestus Kingdom only has to face attack from one side. This meant, that the Hephaestus King won't have to divert his attention, resources, troops, and money.

Several Kilometers away from The northern border of the Hephaestus Kingdom, the Kingdom's troops stopped for a break. The troops that King Aidan Scott was leading himself were mostly Istarin Empire's troops. If Aditya hadn't sent 500,000 troops and 5,000 dragonians to the Hephaestus Kingdom, the Kingdom would have been the first one to fall in this war. Excluding the half Million troops of the Istarin Empire, the Kingdom barely had 100,000. And among the 100,000 troops, almost all of the troops were lacking the proper training, discipline, and basic equipment that a soldier needs to have.

The troops of the Hephaestus Kingdom looked more like thugs than Soldiers. Their dresses were dirty. Their appearance was disheveled. And some of them were even fat and had big stomachs which were as big as the stomach of pregnant women.

This was all the troops that the Hephaestus Kingdom had left. Honestly looking at his own troops, the Hephaestus King felt embarrassed and ashamed. He felt he wouldn't give them a single penny. Other than licking the boots of the gangs and thugs all day around and bullying the common class people with their authority, these soldiers did nothing else. Abusing their authority, they eat and slept for free.

Standing on top of a small mountain, King Adian And his Prime Minister Fabian watched their soldiers while sitting on horses. "Sometimes, I feel I have been raising an army of pigs."

Prime Minister Fabian chose to remain silent at this moment as he didn't have any words to respond to the King. "Look at the soldiers that I have raised. They look so strong and frightening. Just seeing them, the enemy troops will flee from the battle. My Troops are the best army in this continent." Beneath these Sarcastic sentences, the pain of King Adian was felt by Prime Minister Fabian.

"Your Majesty, if we win this war, then we can ask His Majesty to help us out. With the Istarin Empire's help, soon everything will be fixed. There will be no matter gangs, thugs, and corruption in this Kingdom. Peace will once again return to the land of Hephaestus Kingdom."

Sigh!

Adian came down and looked at the night sky. "If we win, we win everything. If we lose, we lose everything."

The reason Adian joined this war by offending the gangs in his Kingdom is because of a ray of hope that he saw in the Istarin Empire. It was the very ray of hope that he and his Kingdom's people desperately needed to bring peace and to find their happiness. And that ray of hope lay inside the Dragon Palace located at the Capital of the Istarin Empire.

For years Adian has been enduring everything that the gangs were doing. But after years of enduring, just when he thought that he was going to be consumed by darkness and lose everything, a light shined upon him from Heaven. The light guided him to Aditya. The light gave him an opportunity. It was an opportunity to take revenge for the death of his father, it was an opportunity to rebuild and restore everything that he has lost over the years, it was an opportunity to bring peace to his people, and finally, it was an opportunity to wipe out all of his enemies once and for all.

The Echo Nexus Emperor, Lucas was responsible for the fall of the Hephaestus Empire and Adian's father.

His own nobles called him a fool when he declared that they were going to join the Istarin Empire and wage war against the Oracle Alliance. But Adian didn't care. He was tired. He wanted to change. Whether this change was going to end him or bring great revolution to his Empire was still unknown to him. But Adian felt it. His heart told him that this was the chance. This type of opportunity won't knock on his door for the next thousand or even ten thousand years.

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Chapter 362

While Adian and Fabian were talking among themselves while looking out for the enemy troops, the atmosphere within the troops was tense. There was clear-cut tension among the Istarin soldiers and the Hephaestus soldiers.

When the Istarin troops arrived here, instead of being greeted with smiles and pleasant words, they were greeted with ridicule and cursed words. Under General Henry's orders, none of the Istarin soldiers replied back even though they were boiling in anger.

Seeing them in silence, the Hephaestus Kingdoms' soldiers became bolder as time passed. They started bullying the Istarin Soldiers in every way possible. Whether it was through words or through actions. The Istarin Soldiers tried their best to not lose their minds in anger and started beating the living fuck out of them 'thug-looking' soldiers.

Within the army,

"Brother, what happened? What are you looking for?" Harry who was Peak's 2nd-order Knight of the Istarin Empire asked Ryan. As both of them knew each other, both called each other brothers. In the military, it was quite normal to call each other brothers or big brothers or small brothers, depending on the soldier's age and superiority.

Ryan is a Mid-2nd-order soldier. Just like Harry, he was also a Knight. Harry and Ryan became soldiers around the time when the Istarin Empire had managed to defeat the Zulux Dynasty's King and take over the entire Zulux Dynasty. Normally it's impossible for both of them to reach the second order within just 8 or 9 months. And given their financial conditions, they can't afford any cultivation resources. If they hadn't joined the military, both of them would have either become farmers or would have chosen some other profession in the Capital.

"I am looking for the ring that I bought for my wife. But I can't find it anywhere. I remember I put it in my pocket. But now it's gone." When Istarin Troops arrived at the Hephaestus Kingdom, they had stopped for a few hours and were allowed to roam around the city. Ryan had found a nice ring. He had spent his 8 months' salary on buying that ring for his wife whom he had married around a month ago.

At their wedding, he didn't get the chance to give her anything special because he was mostly busy with work and didn't have time to shop. And their wedding was rushed. So he thought of compensating her with this ring but now it was gone.

"Carefully check! Where you have put the ring?" Harry frowned after hearing Ryan's words. He can guess that the ring must have cost him a lot if Ryan is looking that desperate and panicked.

Ryan belonged to a middle-class joint family. After he married, he moved out to the Capital as he worked there and wanted to be with his wife. And As soldiers of the Istarin Empire, Ryan received discounts on rent and daily commodities. So with his income, he and his wife were able to live a very comfortable life in the capital. Ryan had used his eight months of salary to buy a ring for his wife. If he loses the ring, then he won't have enough money to buy anything for his wife for the next few months.

"I have checked everything 6 times already." Ryan replied in a desperate and panicked tone.

"Brother, when was the last time you saw the ring?" Harry asked.

"The last time I saw the ring was when I was in front of the restaurant...." Ryan stopped speaking as he realized something. On his way, a few soldiers from the Hephaestus Kingdom came up to him and offered to treat him to a meal. Even though he refused, they kept insisting and wouldn't let off his hand.

"It was them." Ryan then realized that those soldiers had tricked him. They took the ring from him when he was distracted. They must have seen him buying the ring earlier.

At the same time, a few soldiers happened to walk by.

Ryan immediately recognized them. "Rogers, you better return my ring to me otherwise I am going to complain about this to your superior and get you punished," Ryan said in a loud angry tone attracting the attention of the nearby soldiers from both sides.

The 5 feet 5 inches tall, Rogers stopped. Behind him, his lackeys also stopped. Both of them licked Roger's boots to survive in the military and outside.

"Ryan, is that you?" Rogers acted surprised seeing Ryan.

"Brother, I hope you liked the meal. You left so early without finishing everything. Next time, I will take you to a better restaurant." Rogers intentionally spoke in a loud tone which further attracted more attention.

"Stop with your nonsense, you bastard. And return my ring." Normally Ryan is an easygoing guy who can get along with pretty much everyone. But when he is pissed, he becomes a different person.

"Return your ring? Brother, you have forgotten that this is my ring from the beginning?" Rogers took out a silver ring from his pocket and showed it to everyone. He was making it look as if Ryan was lying there. But the soldiers from the Istarin Empire believed in Ryan. They knew that Hephaestus Kingdom's soldiers had questionable characters.

Someone once said that never judge a book by its cover but here their appearances perfectly matched their personalities. They were dressed like local thugs and their personalities matched their dresses.

By now, this had created a big commotion. Almost all of the soldiers were looking in their direction. The Knights were almost ready to fight. If Rogers kept doing this, a fight was surely going to break out.

Every Knight here knew Ryan and knew his character. Ryan was a good and honest man. He wasn't the type who would lie and cause a commotion. Also, every Knight from the Istarin Empire held certain hate for the Hephaestus soldiers. As from their arrival, they have been doing all of sorts things to them which had pushed their endurance to the very limit. If not for their Captain personally telling them to not respond, all the Hephaestus soldiers would have been dead by now.

"You took me to the restaurant. While you kept me distracted, one of your lackeys took my ring."

"Hahaha! I remember now." Suddenly Rogers laughed. He realized in this situation, lying won't help him. The tension in the atmosphere had reached its peak. The Hephaestus soldiers disliked the Istarin soldiers as because of the Istarin Empire, their King had forced them to head to war.

They were dissatisfied that their King Adian had declared war. The Hephaestus soldiers had gotten used to the easy life and easy salary. Now they were taking their anger out on the Istarin soldiers. Aside from that, they were also jealous of the Istarin Soldiers. Compared to them, the Istarin soldiers looked like rich merchants. Their bodies were covered in armor. They had powerful and expensive weapons. And they were strong, The Hephaestus soldiers had neither of those.

At the same time, the commanders of both sides noticed this. By now Adian and Fabian also had stopped talking and were observing the situation with their enhanced senses. "Since this is your first time here in the Hephaestus Kingdom, let me tell you something. In this Kingdom, whatever we take isn't considered stealing. Now that I have this ring, this ring belongs to me."

"You're going too far." Ryan gritted his teeth in anger.

"I was planning on giving this ring to your mother....." As soon as these words came out of Roger's mouth, he felt a gust of wind before he loud slap landed on his right cheek and put him to the ground.

Bang!

"How dare you?" Ryan had completely lost it. He sat on the ground and started punching Rogers in the face.

"You dare to attack one of our own kind in front of us. Kill him." The Hephaestus Soldiers rushed at Ryan.

Seeing this Henry looked at the Hephaestus Kingdom's general and asked. "I will stop them."

However, just as Henry stepped forward, he found an arm stopping his path. "Let them be. It wouldn't be right if the superiors got into the small matters of our juniors. Let me resolve this." The Hephaestus Kingdom's general was clearly enjoying this. He had a small smile on his face.

Hearing this Henry's face became colder. Since the beginning, he had held his troops back. But there is a limit to everything. These dogs won't shut up unless a few of them dies. Since the Hephaestus Kingdom's general was telling him to no interfere, Henry did not move. But seeing Ryan getting attacked, the Knights were the first ones to attack. Following the knights, the Dragonians joined the brawl. Though not every Dragonian joined the fight.

In 30 seconds, in front of the powerful Istarin troops, the Hephaestus Kingdom's soldiers were brutally getting beaten. The remaining Hephaestus soldier did nothing but stand there and watched their subordinates and colleagues get beaten. They looked like they were watching movies. The smiles on their faces proved this.

Seeing his soldiers getting beaten, Hephaestus Kingdom's general's face became ugly. He quickly turned to Henry and asked. "Sir Henry, please stop them." Before he never addressed Henry this respectfully.

"How can I stop them? As someone said that seniors shouldn't interfere in the small matters of the juniors." Hearing these words, he felt as if he has been slapped by Henry. He felt his face burning in shame and embarrassment.

"Your Majesty, shouldn't we stop them?"

Even the Hephaestus King did not like his troops. In fact, he was happy seeing these arrogant thug-looking bastards getting beaten up. "This was clearly their fault. Let these pigs enjoy their sweet massages for a few more minutes." None of the soldiers used any mana to attack. They used their fists and legs to attack. And their attacks were life-threatening either.

"What's happening here?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 363

"What's happening here?" Using Dragon Transfer, Aditya arrived. Seeing what was happening, he was left stunned. Aditya knew that his troops weren't thugs or types of soldiers who would beat their own ally soldiers without a good reason. Every Istarin Soldier is trained to follow orders and be well-mannered.

When a recruit starts his journey, the first thing that he is taught is 'You represent the Istarin Empire.' You must be mindful of your actions and your behavior as you represent the Istarin Empire.

bang!

Seeing the fight between both sides was showing no sign of stopping and was getting worse, Aditya decided to intervene.

As the fight continued, all the soldiers stopped as they felt the night sky getting brighter. Glancing up, they soon saw a huge fireball above them. Seeing the fireball, all the Istarin Troops stopped fighting. Their attention was drawn to Aditya who was standing in the air above them.

"Stop fighting. Otherwise, I will personally punish you." Even the soldiers of the Hephaestus Kingdom obeyed Aditya's order.

Aditya landed next to Henry and asked. "What happened here?"

Henry proceeded to explain everything that the Hephaestus soldiers have been doing ever since they came here. The more Henry spoke, the uglier Hephaestus Kingdom's general's face became as all of this was his fault for failing to discipline the troops under him.

Normally he wouldn't care if Henry had said these words to Adian but this was the Istarin Emperor. He has long heard of the Istarin Emperor and knows that, unlike Adian, Aditya won't hesitate to end everyone's lives.

After listening to Henry's words, Aditya turned to the troops who now had separated into two groups. On the right side, the Istarin troops were standing in order. While on the left, the Hephaestus soldiers were standing in disorder. Some of them were sitting on the ground and were groaning in pain.

"Who are you?" Aditya asked while slowly walking towards the Hephaestus soldiers.

Hearing his cold tone, the Hephaestus Soldiers unconsciously straightened their backs. Hearing his question, no reply was heard.

"Are you soldiers or are you thugs from the streets?" Even though the Hephaestus soldiers felt insulted non of them dared to say anything. They silently accepted his words.

Meanwhile, Aditya continued to step toward them. "Fat stomaches, yellow teethes, dirty clothes, long, dirty, and disheveled hair. Is this how a soldier is supposed to present himself?"

Seeing Aditya getting near them, the ones that previously sat on the ground stood up.

"How do you guys plan on fighting without any weapon? How do you guys plan on surviving without any armor? Do you think the battlefield is a playground?" Aditya slowly released a little bit of his killing intent on the Hephaestus soldiers.

His killing intent, immediately the faces of all the soldiers turned pale and drops of sweat began to fall from their faces. Their hands and legs started shaking in fear.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Aditya walked in front of Rogers who was standing at the front. Rogers's entire body was shaking in fear.

The Dragon Monarch looked at all the Hephaestus soldiers before looking at Rogers. He came near Rogers and said in a whispering tone. "I can kill you all before you guys can birth your next thoughts."

At that moment, looking into those deep crimson eyes that seems to contain the blood of millions in them, Rogers felt his very soul tremble in fear.

Aditya stretched out his right hand in silence. Rogers understood what he needed to do. He took out the ring that was the source of all of this. Aditya took the ring and called Ryan.

"Your Majesty, I apologize." The Hephaestus King felt very embarrassed because of his soldiers. On behalf of the soldiers the King apologized to the Istarin Emperor so that the Istarin soldiers won't hold any more grudges towards the Hephaestus soldiers.

"There is no need to apologize, Sir Adian. I know fully know about the situation in your Kingdom."

Aditya put his hand on Adian's right shoulder to comfort him. "As soon as this war ends, The Istarin Empire will clean all the mess within the Hephaestus Kingdom. This is a Promise." Aditya can understand why Hephaestus King joined them. He is grateful that Hephaestus King joined them even though the Kingdom's condition was really worse. And there weren't in a position to fight another Kingdom much less an Empire.

Aditya had planned to help Adian with his Kingdom.

Hearing this Adian slightly became emotional. He tried his best to not show it on his face. "Thank you." The Hephaestus King thanked Aditya from the bottom of his heart.

Aditya just nodded his head.

"Everyone let's move forward. I can sense the enemy troops." Aditya can sense that the enemy troops had a Mid-5th-order cultivator.

However, once again the Hephaestus soldiers started causing trouble. "I am not going."

Aditya, Adian, Fabian, and others looked at the soldier. The other Hephaestus soldiers moved out of the way.

"Do you think this is a field trip?" Adian angrily asked.

"I am not going to fight for you unless you pay me my pending wages."

"Yeah, I am also not going to the battlefield unless you pay us our wages."

"It has been 6 months since I got any salary."

Joining the soldier, the other Hephaestus soldiers also started protesting. This made Adian further embarrassed. To think his own soldiers would do something like this right when the fight is about to begin made Adian very embarrassed in front of Aditya.

It was not Adian's fault that he failed to pay the soldier's salaries. Because of the gangs, there was barely any income. The people prioritized paying protection fees to the gangs rather than paying taxes to the Kingdom. And almost all of the government officials were corrupt and kept most of the revenue money for themselves.

Aditya thought for a second before speaking. "The Istarin Empire will pay all of your pending salaries after this fight."

Hearing this all the Hephaestus soldiers were very happy. The Istarin Empire was one of the richest Empires in the whole continent. Paying their salaries would be very a small thing for the Istarin Empire.

"Sir Aditya, you don't have to....." Adian didn't want to burden Aditya with such a small matter.

"It's alright." Aditya waved his hand before speaking to the Hephaestus soldiers.

"Now start moving if you want your pending salaries to be paid." None of the Hephaestus soldiers complained this time. They silently followed the Istarin Soldiers and headed toward the Northern border of the Hephaestus Kingdom.

"Henry, take the lead. I will take care of the fifth-order and the fourth-order cultivators. Sir Adian, I hope you won't mind if Henry takes the lead. Henry has fought multiple wars and has experience in leading troops." As for the nameless general of the Hephaestus Kingdom, Aditya completely ignored him. He was good for nothing. Even though the Hephaestus General appeared to be a beginner 4th-order, Aditya felt even a Peak 3rd-order soldier from his Empire can defeat this man.

"Of course, I don't mind." Adian wasn't experienced in leading troops into the battlefield. Henry was more suited for this role and Adian did not mind Aditya giving this role to Henry.

As they approached the northern border of the Hephaestus Kingdom, they saw the enemy troops were waiting for them. The enemy had bought exactly half a million troops with them. While the Istarin Empire and the Hephaestus Kingdom had bought 600,000 troops.

Both sides had almost the exact number of magic cannons. Aditya sent Magic Cannons along with other necessities when he sent 500,000 of his troops to the Hephaestus Kingdom. He knew that given the poor condition of the Kingdom, there is no way, the Kingdom would possess powerful siege weapons that could compare against the enemy Empire.

Aditya let Adian and Henry stand in front and face the enemy commander who appeared to be very young. Aditya stood in the second row and observed the enemy.

"Sir Adian, do you know the enemy commander?" Anyone can tell by looking at the enemy general that he is someone of high status. His background must be extraordinary. He can tell this from the luxurious clothes that he was wearing. There were four guards standing around the generals. One can tell that these four guards were sent here to protect him.

"He is the 4th son of the Methia Emperor if I am not wrong. His name is Hamza."

Adian proceeded to give more information on Hamza. "Hamza is the youngest son of the Methia Emperor. Around a month ago, Hamza turned 18. After turning 18, the Methia Emperor gave him the rank of a general along with 10,000 troops. The Emperor did this so that his youngest son can gain experience in battles and war."

"I wasn't expecting the Emperor to send someone this inexperienced to lead his troops. I don't know what he is thinking." Adian shook his head. In his opinion, this was a very stupid move.

Just looking at his face, one can see that arrogance and pride were in his bones. He was born with a diamond spoon in his mouth. He is one of those good-for-nothing useless nobles.

However, Aditya thought differently. "I think the Emperor wants his son to gain experience and earn a reputation from this war. Obviously, they didn't expect the Istarin Empire to send half a million of its troops using the teleportation array. They thought with just half a million troops they can easily take the Hephaestus Empire."

Aditya's words were on the spot. When Hamza saw an army larger than his army, his confidence began to crumble. At first, he wondered where King Adian has managed to bring this many troops. After all, reports said that King Adian had around 100,000 useless troops that he can easily defeat. But these troops did not look anything but useless.

'Useless my ass....!!! These troops look even more trained than my own army.' But then Hamza saw the flag of the Istarin Empire.

'How did the Istarin Empire's troops come here this fast? By logic, it should at least take 2 to 3 weeks to come from the Eastern region to the northwestern region. Unless the Istarin Empire used a teleportation array.......But that would cost them a huge sum of money.' Just thinking how much money it must have cost the Istarin Empire to send their troops here, made Hamza's heartache in pain. So much money was wasted. He couldn't understand what good will happen by saving a good-for-nothing Kingdom.

'There is no need to fear. I have a Mid-5th-order cultivator by my side. Nothing can go wrong.' Thinking this Hamza regained his lost confidence.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 364

Meanwhile,

In the Methia Empire,

The Methia Emperor looked very relaxed and happy. There is a reason for his happiness. And that is the reason is the promise that he got from the Echo Nexus Emperor, Lucas. As long as the Methia Empire manages to bring all of The Hephaestus Kingdom's territory under its control after the war ends, the Methia Empire will be allowed to keep a large portion of the Hephaestus Kingdom's territory under its control.

Hearing this made Kayden Green very happy. For a long time, Green has been wanting to expand his Empire towards the South. As long as the Hephaestus Empire falls under his control, he would be able to multiply his Empire's total revenue by almost 3 to 4 times. To him, the Hephaestus Empire is a treasure that is still unexplored.

"Your Majesty, what would you like to drink?" Just like the Mystic Spring Empire, the Methia Empire had an artifact that allowed them to see what was happening on the battlefield.

Watching his son lead the 500,000 Green felt very proud. His mischievous son had finally grown up.

"Bring me the milk wine that you previously bought from the Beast continent." The milk wine is very famous in the beast continent and among the beast race. Humans or races mostly don't like milk wine because of its smell. But Green found no problem in drinking milk wine. In fact, he enjoyed milk wine very much.

The Prime Minister was about to call someone to bring His Majesty milk wine when a servant came up to him with a letter in his hand. Seeing the silver color of the envelope, Green immediately realized that this letter has been sent by Lucas himself.

Green immediately took the letter.

?Green, this is an emergency. The first battle has just ended and the result was completely unexpected. The Mystic Spring Empire has lost. More than half a million troops were killed. The Istarin Emperor has used the teleportation array to half a million troops to the battlefield. I am starting to feel that Aditya has sent his troops to all the battlefields. You must take proper precautions before the battle starts.?

Reading this Green was completely shocked. He gasped as he tried to count how much gold coin it would cost Aditya to send 500,000 troops using a teleportation array.

'The price of Mana stones is always increasing. For 500,000 troops it must have taken around 100,000 mana stones or maybe even more.' Green's heart nearly stopped as he realized that the Istarin Empire has spent around 10,000,000 royal gold coins just to send 500,000 of his troops.

'If Aditya is crazy enough to do the same with other battlefields, then the number will still increase. 40,000,000 royal gold coins is not a small joke. 40,000,000 royal gold coins are 4 billion gold coins.' Even Methia Empire would go broke if he spent 4 billion gold coins.

'This isn't important right now. This means, that instead of 100,000 troops, my son will have to face 600,000 troops. I have to stop him.'

Green was about to order someone to bring the message to his son to retreat immediately but it was too late as the words on his throat got stuck seeing the army of the Istarin Empire and the Hephaestus Kingdom.

'If the Calamity is also here then We are fucked. I can forget about my son.!'

The Methia Emperor was panicking. He knew that his son was in a life-and-death situation. He had to do something but there wasn't enough time. Even a Peak 5th-order cultivator won't be able to reach up to his son in time.

Scene Change____

The second battle had finally started. Under the command of the generals, both sides charged at each other. The archers fired their arrows. The Magic cannons launched explosive cannonballs. Things became heated.

While everyone was fighting, Aditya kept his attention on the Mid-5th-order cultivator.

Sylas, was completely relaxed even though he was on a battlefield. The reason he was so relaxed is that the enemy didn't have any powerful cultivators that could stop him. While humming a song, he grabbed a dragonian by his throat and lifted him up in the air using his right arm.

"You have the Aura of Dragon but you're weak as an insect. Pathetic!" Sylas was about to end the Dragonian's life when a small cut appeared on his right arm. Sylas looked at the cut in confusion.

But that confusion turned into horror as he saw that cut slowly expanding. What appeared to be a cut turned out to be the place from where his right arm was severed.

Ahhhhh....!!!!

As his right arm fell to the ground, Sylas grabbed his arm and screamed in deep pain. The Dragonian fell to the ground. He stood up and wondered who saved him, only to see Aditya standing behind Sylas. Seeing Aditya, he left things at the Dragon Monarch's hands and focused on taking down other soldiers.

Meanwhile, Sylas turned around and looked at the person who just did this time. 'What a speed! I couldn't even see him when he cut my arm. He is strong. Too strong for me to even stand in front of him.' Sylas realized the power gap between them.

Sylas saw a young boy whose entire body was surrounded by Crimson lightning. Seven orbs of Crimson flame were floating behind him.

Rumble!

At the same time, the sky started to darken.

"You're Aditya.....?" Sylas never thought that his luck would be so bad that he would meet Aditya here.

"Die." Aditya wasn't interested in wasting his time talking with this dude. There wasn't anything interesting about this man. He wore plain black clothes. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall and had a muscular body. He had black hair and black eyes.

The seven Crimson flame orbs behind Aditya shot toward Sylas. The attack reached Sylas before he could even think of dodging it. The next second Sylas found his entire body covered in Crimson flame.

Normal flames wouldn't affect a Mid-5th-order cultivator like him. But The Crimson Flame was the most powerful flame in this world. Feeling himself being burned alive, Sylas screamed in agony. But within 10 seconds his screams faded as his body turned into ash.

?Ding! You have Killed a Mid-5th-order cultivator. Your Experience points have been saved for future use.?

Seeing this, Aditya wondered if he would use some experience points to directly jump to Beginner 4th-order. He was really close to reaching that level. But he decided not to level up. He wasn't in a hurry nor he was desperate. He wasn't in any need of power or strength. He wanted to take some time to discover the limits of his current powers.

As Sylas died, Hamza was the first one to notice it. Unlike Henry who fought along with the Istarin And Hephaestus soldiers, Hamza was sitting on a luxurious chair with four powerful guards surrounding him and protecting him. They made sure nothing happened to Hamza who was their master.

'No way. Is he...' Hamza has been long warned about a certain person by his father before he came here. His father told him as soon as he saw Crimson lightning or Crimson flame or saw the sky darkening for no reason, he needs to run as far as possible. Because the Calamity was here.

Gulp!

'I have to run.' The previous Arrogance from Hamza's face completely disappeared. Hamza quickly ordered his guards to carry him out of this place. Like a woman, Hamza was being carried away by one of his guards while the other three followed him and made sure no one landed any attack on the 4th Prince.

Aditya didn't know but the Methia Emperor called Aditya the Calamity. He was a walking army capable of destroying an empire with his own powers.

Meanwhile, Methia Emperor saw how easily Sylas died at Aditya's hand. At this moment, his entire body was shaking. The Crown from his head had fallen to the ground. The Emperor who controlled the lives of millions and had the strength to conquer any land on this continent was looking very desperate and helpless. At this moment he was praying to every single God and Goddess that he can think of. He wanted a miracle to happen. He wanted a miracle to save his son's life from the Calamity.

Aditya saw Hamza running away. He wasn't letting that going to happen. So Aditya slowly started chasing after Hamza. He purposely kept a distance from Hamza as he wanted to see and keep enjoying that frightened look on his face.

Meanwhile, Adian and others noticed that Aditya already has killed Sylas. As the Mid-5th-order cultivator from the enemy side died, this served as a morale boost from the Istarin And Hephaestus Army. They now didn't need to fear a Mid-5th-oder attacking them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 365

"Move faster." Hamza shouted in a panicked tone as he watched Aditya calmly chasing them. No matter how fast they moved, Aditya was right behind them. Anyone who tried to get in Aditya's way or anything that tried to block his path was instantly destroyed.

The four guards felt very helpless. The fact that he can kill Sylas within a few seconds speaks of his terrifying power.

Among the four guards, one of the guards was carrying Hamza and was running at the front. The other three guards purposely remained behind to watch over and attack Aditya if he managed to catch up to them. Even though they can't defeat someone who can kill a Mid-5th-order cultivation within a few seconds, they hoped that their sacrifices would let their lord escape.

'Where he did go?' One of the guards wondered as he couldn't spot Aditya anywhere behind them. The guard looked to his right and then looked to his left to see if he can find Aditya.

'No, he is....' The guard realized where Aditya could be. As his eyes turned around at lightning speed, a black sword severed his head from the rest of his body and sent his head flying in the air.

The guard suddenly found himself flying in the air. His eyes managed to spot Aditya who was standing in front of his body. The Red Demon was shrouded in Crimson lightning. His cold and emotionless Crimson eyes were the last thing he saw before losing consciousness.

?Ding! You have a Peak 4th-order cultivator. Your Experience points have been saved.?

The speed of a Peak 4th-order cultivator was very fast. But it was not enough. The Next moment when Hamza looked back to see where Aditya was, he was horrified to see the three dead bodies lying far behind them.

The next moment the guard who was carrying Hamza also stopped. Hamza turned around. The moment he turned his head around, the size of his pupils contracted to the size of a needle as he stared at the Red Demon.

"For a Peak 4th-order cultivator, you're very fast. Faster than more average Peak 4th-order cultivators. That's very impressive. Unfortunately, it's time to die." Aditya wasn't here to recruit anyone into his military.

"Young Master, you must run. Don't stop running until you reach the nearest city. I will try to hold him back." The guard was raised and trained for Hamza's protection. He wouldn't hesitate to give up his life to protect Hamza.

Hamza cautiously stared at Aditya as he slowly stepped back. When he was around 15 meters from Aditya, he started running at full speed without looking back.

"Do you really think that your young master can escape from me?" Aditya put his sword on his right shoulder and asked with a smile.

The guard did not reply. He looked back and saw his young master running without even looking back.

Looking at Aditya, he finally spoke. "Even if there is a one percent chance of young master surviving, it's worth it."

"What if I kill that young master of yours without moving and right in front of your eyes?" the guard narrowed his eyes. Aditya pointed his black sword towards Hamza who was running in a straight line.

"Don't you dare...." The guard couldn't finish when he heard a loud Crimson lightning bolt falling from the sky.

Boooom!!!!

His pupils dilated when he found Hamza lying dead on the ground. The Crimson lightning had turned his entire body into an unrecognizable black piece of meat.

"See it was easy as that." Aditya spoke as if it was not a big deal. But seeing the death of the very same whom he has been taught to protect no matter the cost, the last remaining guard broke down.

From a young age, he and the other guards have been brainwashed to follow Hamza and protect him no matter the cost. Now that he had failed, he suddenly felt that his life had become meaningless. He suddenly that he had lost his purpose.

"I kill you...." The mix of anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment, and vast emptiness in his heart influenced his mind. In a rage, he rushed towards Aditya and tried to kill him.

"Unfortunately, you're too weak to achieve that. No hard feelings." Aditya said as he severed the head of the last guard.

?Ding! You have a Peak 4th-order cultivator. Your Experience points have been saved.?

"It's over." The Methia Emperor sat on the ground as he saw the death of his own son. The Emperor had lost one of his precious sons. The Emperor dearly loved his sons more than his daughters. Now that he had lost one of his children, as a father it hurt him more than any other loss in this world.

And as an Emperor, he lost one of his potential successors. The pain was just too big for the Emperor to take in. He was in pain. Tears dropped from his eyes. The mighty and proud Emperor couldn't escape the emotional tangles of this world and had broken down just like any other intelligent being would.

This was the ugly side of the War. People from two sides are bound to die. The only people that hope that makes a profit from War are the people that stand at the very top of society and the social power structure. In this age and world, these people are usually the Kings, Monarchs, and Emperors.

"My dear son, your bravery shall be remembered by the People of Methia. As long as I am alive, I am never going to let your name be forgotten. I will return this pain to the Istarin emperor by taking the lives of 10,000. I will not let your death become meaningless." Before The Methia Emperor saw this War be unnecessary War. He felt the Echo Nexus Emperor was just using them to deal with the Istarin Empire and eliminate a powerhouse that could potentially overthrow them in the future.

But now, by killing his son, Aditya had just taken things to the personal level.

The Emperor looked at his Prime Minister as a dark and gloomy Aura surrounded the Emperor. "Send someone to retrieve my son's body. Today will be remembered as a Black day. Today, we not only lost 500,000 soldiers but we also lost the 4th prince. Today is one of the darkest days of the Methia Empire. For the next 7 days, any form of celebrations or festivals within the Methia Empire will be banned to mourn the death of the 4th prince. Any kind of entertainment whether it's bars or love hotels or prostitute centers will remain closed."

"Understood. Today, Public announcements will be made in every city, every town, and every village."

"Those who break the rule, kill them. Tell the soldiers and the nobles to not show any mercy. If anyone is found that they are showing mercy or not doing their work properly, that person will be tortured in the Ice chamber for 7 days and then will be publicly executed." Hearing the last sentence, the Prime Minister shuddered in fear.

The Ice Chamber is a special torturing chamber. Those who get tortured in that chamber get broken spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. The torture was so intense that it was worse than death. It was common for the prisoners who has been sent to the Ice Chamber to take their own lives as they feared the Ice Chamber even more than death.

"One more thing, Write a letter to Lucas and tell him everything that happened." Methia Emperor said in an exhausted and tired tone. The man just lost his son. He wasn't emotionally well enough to write a letter to Lucas. So he asked his Prime Minister to take his job.

"But Your Majesty, the battle is still going on."

"That doesn't matter. We already have lost. Do you really think that 500,000 troops can stop Aditya?" Hearing the loud words of the Emperor, the Prime Minister lowered his head. He also realized that there was no more hope left. They had lost this battle. Their losses were too big this time.

"Alright."

Scene change______

After a few minutes as the battle started, everyone noticed something strange. The soldiers of the Hephaestus Kingdom couldn't keep up with other soldiers. The Hephaestus Kingdom's troops were slow, some of them were fat, they had very low endurance, and most importantly, unlike other soldiers, almost all of them didn't bring any weapon or armor with them. It is not that they didn't want to bring any weapons with them, it's just that they had sold their weapons thinking that there never will come a day when they would need to use weapons.

This is also one of the reasons why the soldiers were angry with their King for joining this war. This War had disturbed their peaceful lives. Before they worked with gangs and earned some extra gold coins and lived a very fulfilling life. The soldiers stood above the common class people. Within the common class becoming a Soldier meant becoming rich, powerful, and wealthy. None of them were prepared to go to a war.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 366

The soldiers of the Methia Emperor had no idea what happened to their general. The death of their Mid-5th-order cultivator Sylas had shattered their Morales. Even though Hamza was their commander in this battle, he failed to gain the soldier's respect. Instead, Sylas was more popular than Hamza among the soldiers and everyone respect him more than they did Hamza. The reason the soldiers even tolerated Hamza's arrogant behavior and allowed him to do whatever he wanted to do is because he was the son of the current Emperor and he could potentially become the next emperor.

So seeing the death of Sylas had a bigger impact than it did seeing Hamza running away with his four guards. Once the morale of the soldiers broke down, they lost their will to fight. The energy shifted in favor of the Istarin army. But not in favor of the Hephaestus soldiers who couldn't win against the Methia Empire's soldiers who constantly trained themselves, had better equipment, and kept themselves in shape, unlike the Hephaestus soldiers.

Even though the Methia Empire was losing, the Hephaestus Soldiers were getting killed the most. And after what the Hephaestus soldiers did to the Istarin soldiers, no one from the Istarin Empire tried to save any of the Hephaestus soldiers from the enemy. The Istarin troops ignored them and continued with their fights.

Even though Aditya has made them stop fighting among themselves, the hate between the soldiers of the two allies still existed.

Fortunately, Aditya returned in the 6th minute. His return immediately shifted the scale of the power. Aditya was that level 100 player who had been put on a battlefield full of level 10 players. His very existence was a cheat code for his allies.

Just as Aditya appeared, chaos began taking place. Loud explosions and Crimson lightning bolts shook the entire battlefield. He became the center of focus.

Magma Manipulation!

"Is it me or do you also find that the ground beneath us is strangely getting hotter?" Asked one Methia Empire's troops.

"It's not just you." Their leather shoes began burning. Not just theirs, but other soldiers also had similar experiences.

Crack!!!

booom!

Large and small cracks appeared on the ground. From the sky, Magma started flowing out.

Ahh.....!!

Many soldiers couldn't get away in time as Magma surrounded them from all sides. Within a few or two, the magma completely consumed them.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. Your experience point has been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 1st-order cultivator. Your experience point has been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Beginner 1st-order cultivator. Your experience point has been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order cultivator. Your experience point has been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a....?

Aditya ignored the buzzing sound coming from the system and continued to slaughter the enemy soldiers.

Aditya's attack had reduced the number of enemies by almost 80,000. He was about to use another of his skill when he sensed someone approaching. Thinking that approaching a person is an enemy, he decided to kill that person first.

But when Aditya turned around, he found a beautiful female soldier kneeling in front of him.

"This humble servant greets the Dragon Monarch." The woman said making Aditya surprised. After all, he always kept his bloodline suppressed, meaning that unless someone is extremely sensitive to another bloodline, no one would be able to know that Aditya is a Dragon. And the fact that Aditya is the Dragon Monarch is not known by many people. After all, he never went ahead and proclaimed himself as the Dragon Monarch.

"Who are you?" Aditya asked seeing the woman kneeling before him. He can tell that this woman was also a Dragon. He can sense a Dragon bloodline in her.

"My name is Mila. Mila Mcdonald."

Mila has blue eyes and hair that falls down to her waist when untied. She is rather short and has a modest chest. Mila ties her hair to chin-length with a white ribbon that extends to her knees. Mila's regal uniform is blue and exposes her belly button, and her skirt is semi-transparent (see-through), which reveals her light blue underwear.

"What do you want?" Aditya did not forget that this woman was still from the enemy side.

"My clan has been looking for you ever since your bloodline evolved during the goblin invasion." Mila and her clan are a powerful noble clan within the Methia Empire. Her clan has a special Dragon bloodline in them. Mila and her clan members possess the Ice Lotus Dragon Bloodline. The Ice Lotus Dragon bloodline is one of the rarest Ice-type Dragon bloodlines.

"Now that I have found the Dragon Monarch, we, the Ice Lotus Dragon Clan wish to serve you and follow you forever."

'Ice Lotus Dragon? This is the first time I am meeting a Dragon with Ice nature affinity.' Aditya thought in his head.

"Why did you join the army?" Aditya couldn't help but ask. If Mila's clan is so powerful, then surely her clan must possess a certain reputation and political power. Aditya refused to believe that the Ice Lotus Dragon Clan didn't have any political power or influence in the Methia Empire.

And why someone from such an influential and powerful clan would join the military?

"My King, I recently joined the military because my clan wanted me to gain experience from working as a soldier." There is another reason why Mila joined the military. It was because, before joining the military, as the youngest member of the Ice Lotus Dragon Clan, she was very naughty and mischievous in nature. She was uncontrolled and disorderly. She had no discipline. She did not cultivate or train properly.

Mila's parents and the clan elders were tired of this. Unable to endure it anymore, after Mila made a mistake, she was punished to serve in the military for a year. It only has been 5 months since Mila joined the Methia Empire's military. The Ice Lotus Dragon clan's Patriarch who was Mila's father personally wrote a letter to the Emperor and asked him to let her join the military. Mila's father requested the Emperor to keep Mila's identity a secret. Meaning that unless she was in a life-and-death situation, she wasn't allowed to use any of her dragon powers.

Of course, Mila couldn't tell this to Aditya as she was too embarrassed to say it to the Dragon Monarch. Staying in the military drastically changed Mila. She had now become calmer, more discipline, and, hard-working.

"Joining me will mean that you and your clan will have to betray the Methia Empire. Are you prepared to Betray the very place that you and your clansmen have called Home for years?" Aditya also wanted to ask how Mila was able to tell that he was the Dragon Monarch. After he had suppressed his Divine Blood. This meant Mila either had extraordinary other bloodline sensing ability or she had a unique artifact capable of finding his Dragon bloodline.

She did not waste a single second to reply. "Yes, we are prepared. Ever since we heard the news of a Divine Dragon being born, we have been preparing to leave the Methia Empire and join the Dragon Monarch." Her clan had stopped their businesses in the Methia Empire. They had to be careful to not alert anyone about their plan so they didn't hastily take action.

Aditya looked behind Mila and saw that after his magma attack, almost all of the soldiers from the Methia Empire's side has started running away. "Stand behind me. We can talk about this after I am done with them." Mila did as Aditya asked and stood behind.

'I guess it's time to use Acid Rain. It has been a while since I used this skill.'

?Acid Rain!?

Pitter! Pitter!

It started to rain. But strangely enough, the rain did not touch the battlefield. Instead, it fell around the Battlefield. The Methia Empire's soldiers already had left the battlefield, suddenly their bodies started burning and melting upon coming into contact with the raindrop. Their skins, armor, and even some low-quality weapons began to melt.

Ahhh....!!!!

Within a few seconds, thousands of fleeing soldiers had died from their entire bodies burned in acid rain. Compared to normal Acid rain, this Acid rain was many times strong and was capable enough to kill even a Peak 3rd-order.

Seeing the soldiers in the rain dying like that, the ones that followed them behind immediately stopped and stood away from the rain. The rain was like a barrier that can kill them upon contact.

"What the hell is this?" They knew that this was probably done by Aditya.

Meanwhile, Mile who was standing behind Aditya was in awe watching this. The admiration that she had for Aditya only increased. 'What a power!'

The Emperor summoned a ring of Crimson flame around him and Mila. He then created a second ring of Crimson flame above the first ring. He then made the third ring of Crimson Flame. The ring of Crimson flame was 20 meters in radius.

'What is he trying to do now?' She has long heard that Aditya used Crimson flames. Seeing the Dragon Monarch fight with her own eyes, it was very special.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 367

The Emperor summoned a ring of Crimson flame around him and Mila. He then created a second ring of Crimson flame above the first ring. He then made the third ring of Crimson Flame. The ring of Crimson flame was 20 meters in radius.

'What is he trying to do now?' She has long heard that Aditya used Crimson flames. Seeing the Dragon Monarch fight with her own eyes, was very special. Even with her cultivation powers, she had begun to sweat just from being near one of the rings of the Crimson flame.

Aditya went ahead and created the fourth and fifth rings of crimson flame. Each one is bigger than the previous one. Each ring of Crimson Flame was rotating like a wheel at a very fast pace. The rotational speed kept on increasing till the crimson flames started taking the shape of something that looked like a tornado. It was a Crimson flame tornado.

'OH, My God!' Mila covered her mouth in shock. Being inside the crimson flame tornado, she can sense the true power that this tornado had.

Looking at Aditya's face, the dragon Monarch looked completely fine. He was very calm. From this Mila can guess that creating an attack of that caliber is really easy for him.

Gradually the size of the tornado increased as Aditya kept pouring more of his Mana into the Crimson flame. Around 10 seconds later, the whole battlefield had become silent. Everyone had stopped fighting and had their eyes set on the giant tornado that was over 300 feet (91 meters). 'I can't even imagine how much Mana it must have taken to create something so big and powerful.'

'So this is nothing but a fraction of the power that the Dragon Monarch possesses.' The respect that Mila had for Aditya grew. She began to Admire him even more. Looking at his back, her eyes felt attracted to the Dragon Monarch.

Even though she knew that it was wrong to have such feelings and thought for the Dragon Monarch, she just couldn't help it. She was drawn to his strength and power.

Meanwhile, others on the battlefield had a very different kind of reaction.

When the Hephaestus Kingdom's soldiers saw the giant 91 meters tall tornado in the middle of the battlefield, they began to sweat feeling nervous.

'I can't believe we tried to mess with someone who can do this. Thankfully we didn't anger him otherwise, we would have been turned to ash.' Especially Rogers and his lackeys looked really frightened.

Meanwhile, the Istarin Soldiers were feeling of pride seeing this. And as for the Methia Empire soldiers, they were terrified. Their current expressions were worth looking. A few of them directly fainted seeing this. While the rest that did not run away and instead kept fighting with the enemy instantly lost their will and courage to continue this fight.

"Methia Empire soldiers, you all have two options, give up or get turned to ash by my Crimson flame." Aditya's voice was heard all over the battlefield.

Hearing the Dragon Monarch's words, the Methia Empire's soldiers did not even hesitate a second to drop their weapons and kneel on the ground with their hands raised in the air.

Slowly the Crimson Tornado started disappearing as Aditya stopped feeding it mana. If Aditya had released this attack on the battlefield, it would have destroyed everyone, whether it was an ally or enemy no one would have been spared from the destruction of this tornado attack.

This attack was to show the Methia Empire's soldiers what they were up against. Aditya wanted to break their will and courage to continue fighting. And it worked. None of the soldiers had any will to continue fighting.

"Capture everyone" Aditya ordered Henry.

As for the troops that had fled, Aditya had taken care of them with Acid rain. Only a few or dozen have managed to escape. Even if a few thousand were able successfully escaped, it still wouldn't harm Aditya or his interest in any way. He can just kill them in the next battle.

While the Istarin soldiers captured the Methia empire's troops, the Hephaestus Kingdom's soldiers sat down on the ground and took a rest instead of helping. It was the Hephaestus Kingdom's soldiers that suffered the most in this war. Their number had been reduced to only 40,000 even though the battle only went on for less than 15 minutes. Among the 40,000 surviving soldiers, 21,000 of them had been severely injured. They had either lost an arm or leg or sustained serious injuries that had damaged their cultivation or their body to the point where they won't be able to fight anymore. Meaning their lives as a soldier was basically over from this point.

And for the other 19,000, they had suffered some minor or small injuries. But they too will need to take at least two or three days of rest to recover. As for healing them with healing pills or recovery potions, Aditya didn't even think about that option and the current Hephaestus Kingdom did not have enough funds to buy healing pills for every soldier.

'Why should I waste my healing pills and recovery potions on these useless donkeys? It would have been much better if all of them had died. Now they are nothing but dead weight.' Aditya was planning on rebuilding the entire Hephaestus Kingdom. The first step in rebuilding the Kingdom was to eliminate all of these soldiers.

These soldiers have long lost the core foundations that made them a soldier in the first place. They have been corrupted. And in the future when the Kingdom brings new recruits, they too will also be corrupted if these soldiers are allowed to remain in the military.

Why the gangs and criminals would fear the King if his own soldiers don't respect him and follow his orders?

"Now let's talk." Facing Aditya, suddenly Mila started to feel a little nervous. Her heart began to beat loudly as she looked at his face.

"I and my clan would like to serve the Dragon Monarch."

"To what extent are you prepared to serve me?" Aditya asked with an amused smile. He can see that this girl had a crush on him.

"Sorry, I don't understand your question," Mila replied.

"Never mind. I will turn you into a Dragonian later. For now, you can join the Istarin army and fight the Methia Empire." Aditya carefully looked at her expression after saying those words.

Mila seriously nodded her head without showing any hesitation or anything.

"Are you not feeling any hesitation fighting against the Methia Empire which is your homeland and also your birthland? You're going to be fighting against your friends and the people you know." Aditya wanted her to answer honestly.

As expected, Mila looked a little uncomfortable. Before she could reply, Aditya spoke. "Answer Honestly."

Nodding her head and she opened her mouth. "I don't have many friends. And in the military, I only have a few friends. If possible, I would like to try and make them surrender or bring them to this side. But I am sure it won't be easy to change their minds."

"What if your friends try to kill any Istarin soldier? What action will you take?"

Mila bit her lips. Her eyes showed struggle. But a second later, her eyes became firm and determined. "I will kill them if that were to happen." Aditya smiled before leaving Mila alone. The girl needed some time to think. It was certainly no easy to fight a friend.

Around 10 minutes later, Henry came up to Aditya to report.

"Your Majesty, we have captured 210,000 enemy soldiers. And after counting the dead bodies on the battlefield, I estimated that around 150,000 had died on the battlefield while the remaining has managed to flee but also has been killed by your attack." The previous attack that he used killed 81,000 soldiers.

"Good job, Henry. Now I want you to remain here till any further order. For now, I am going to focus on taking the Mystic Spring Empire and then we will focus on the Methia Empire." Aditya was planning on going after each enemy empire one by one. He was personally going to attack the Empire and bring it to its knees and take control of it.

The plan is really simple. Go to the enemy Empire, kill the soldiers who want to fight, and capture the soldiers that want to surrender and use them in the next battle. Or somewhere along the lines. As things didn't always go as planned.

"Understood."

"Also, there is a girl named Mila. She is an Ice Lotus Dragon." Henry followed Aditya's sight and found a young girl helping others in cleaning the battlefield. Mila looked lost in her thoughts. Compared to others, she was working very slowly. She looked like she was distracted.

"She and her clan has alleged their loyalty to me. But I don't completely trust her yet. So keep an eye on her while she is here. If she does anything suspicious report it to me immediately."

"Understood your Majesty."

"I will leave everything in your hands. I will head to the next battlefield." Henry nodded and watched as Aditya walked up to Adian.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 368

"Sir Aditya, your strength is really admirable. Without you, winning this battle wouldn't have been easy for us." Adian was respecting Aditya even more after witnessing what he was capable of.

"Sir Adian, I can't spend any more time here. I will head to the other two remaining battlefields and help our side win the battle with the least causalities. Sir Adian, I think it would be best if you and your prime minister head back to the Capital." The current Hephaestus Kingdom was extremely unstable. Who knows, the powerful gangs might try to take over the entire Kingdom in the absence of the King. The Kingdom was full of corruption and traitors. The King cannot trust anyone.

And also, Adian isn't that powerful. He is a mage. He can be easily replaced by another Mage. Aditya felt Adian and his Prime Minister wasn't that useful on the battlefield. He was too passive and soft. He can't even control his own army.

It would be better if Adian returned to the capital. If the King were to die on the battlefield, there would be a throne succession conflict in the Hephaestus Kingdom. Even though Adian had lost all of the powers and authority that a King should have, the throne of the Hephaestus Kingdom was still the dream of many greedy people who wanted to rise in powers. This would create another big mess for Aditya.

Adian thought for a bit and nodded his head. Adian has seen that General Henry was even more capable than him. Henry is more experienced and also very powerful.

"Alright."

"I will send 100 Dragon warriors. You can use them to start cleaning the capital and maintain order." 100 Dragon warriors would be more than clean the capital and bring order to the capital. This would be the first second step towards rebuilding the Hephaestus Kingdom.

"Thank you." Adian thanked Aditya from the bottom of his heart.

"There is no need to thank me. I am a man of my word. I always keep my promise. And I always look out for my allies." Saying these words, Aditya teleported to the third battlefield. In place of Aditya, there was a young female Dragonian, standing there, looking completely lost and confused about how she came here.

Adian smiled before looking at the night sky which now had cleared up. Adian could see that beyond the dark sky, there was a bright blue sky waiting for him and for his people. Adian felt he had made the correct decision.

'Even if the world were to turn its backs on the Istarin Empire, I and my Kingdom will always stand beside you and support your Empire.' Adian swore in this heart.

Scene change_____

At the Capital of the Echo Nexus Empire,

The Capital of the Echo Nexus Empire, Ostrance known as the ?The City Above Demigods? currently looked dead. It was as if the Capital of the strongest Empire had lost its glamor and its sparkle. The Ostrance City is home to 8 million people. All kinds of races lived here happily. There was no discrimination against any race.

Being the capital, the emperor made sure that Ostrance City was safe for everyone. The capital was so safe that even if a girl were to walk on the empty streets of the Capital in the middle of the night while wearing expensive jewelry, she doesn't need to fear anyone robbing her or harming her.

In Ostrance, the real power belonged to the Emperor. Lucas was so influential and powerful in the Capital, that he had everyone in his calm. He controlled the lives of the 8 million people who lived in the Capital. The people feared him and respected him. Even if he did controversial or made wrong decisions, no one in the capital would talk badly about him. Whoever talked badly about the Emperor always mysteriously disappeared the very same night and never was found again.

It hasn't been 24 hours since the War started. Contrary to everyone's expectations, every single war declaration was made, it was the Echo Nexus Empire who has been losing. The Emperor chose to give up his favorite Son who was going to become his Successor. Even with the Emperor's powers, he couldn't stop rumors from spreading throughout the entire capital. The rumors spread faster than wildfire. By now almost every citizen was aware of this.

The defeat of the Mystic Spring Empire quickly spread throughout the city. And now, the news of the Methia Empire losing its battle against the Hephaestus Kingdom had become a hot topic within every bar and restaurant throughout the Capital.

"Did you guys hear the news?"

"What news?"

"The Methia Empire has lost to the Hephaestus Kingdom."

"Impossible."

"How could Methia Empire's troops lose to the Hephaestus Kingdom?" A retired soldier whose age was 39 years old refused to believe what he was hearing. As a soldier, he has been deployed to the Hephaestus Kingdom. He saw it with his very own eyes. That Kingdom was a horrible place to live. It was full of corruption and criminals. He knew how weak the King was in his own Kingdom. He just couldn't imagine such a weak and internally broken Kingdom defeating one of their powerful allies.

"Big brother Jordan, I am not lying. Small merchants who happened to pass by the area saw how the battle ended. The Methia Empire's army has been led by the fourth prince. The army had one mid-5th-order cultivator and the size of the army was 500,000 million. The Hephaestus Kingdom had a powerful cultivator. That powerful cultivator was so powerful that he was able to bring the entire Methia Empire's troops to its knees. Just with the wave of his hand, he created attacks powerful enough to wipe out the entire army."

At that moment, it was not just the old retired soldier named Jordan who was listening to this, but also the other customers who had stopped talking and focused on listening to Axel's words.

After all, everyone knew that Axel isn't the type to lie about something this big. Axel is a person who had connections in every neighboring Empire. His information always has been reliable. 90% of the time, he always has been true.

Just like Axel, many others spread the news. From one mouth to another, the news finally reached everywhere within the city. The most shaken ones were the soldiers of the Echo Nexus Empire. Hearing that the enemy had someone who is capable of wiping out an entire army, they were scared.

Within an hour or two, the news even reached the Emperor's ears.

"Philip, what the hell is happening? Who is leaking such information to the public?" Currently, the Echo Nexus Emperor was in a very bad mood.

A few hours ago, when he heard that the Mystic Spring Empire has been defeated, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But when he heard that the Istarin Empire's troops along with the Istarin Emperor had joined the battle he was shocked. For a moment, he just couldn't believe the news. After all, he knew how costly it was to teleport 500,000 troops using a teleportation array. But after reading the report sent by the Mystic Spring empire, all of his doubts have been cleared.

Lucas tried to warn the Methia Emperor about this. But it was too late. Aditya somehow managed to arrive and change the tide of the entire battle. He, along with his 500,000 troops, destroyed the Methia Empire. The Methia Emperor even lost his 4th son.

"My apologies. I have tried to find who is spreading such news but I still haven't been able to find the source. And given the huge population of Ostrance city, it is nearly impossible to find who had spread this news." This was a problem that the Emperor has never faced before. This problem was giving him a headache.

"I don't want to hear the word Impossible. Deal with this situation as soon as possible." Philip could only awkwardly nod his head hearing the Emperor's stern voice.

"There is another thing that I would to tell you," Philip said in a timid tone. Almost as if he is scared of the Emperor's reaction after hearing his words.

"What is it?"

"Earlier, I got words from that organization. The organization has blacklisted the Echo Nexus Empire. From now on, the organization won't accept any bounty from us." Hearing this Lucas showed a surprised look. Seeing that Lucas hasn't gotten angry at him, Philip secretly sighed in relief and thanked his luck.

"But why?" Lucas frowned and asked.

Philip's face became ugly as he said the three words. "The Istarin Emperor."

"Aditya.....?" Lucas still looked confused. Lucas hoped to eliminate Aditya. If the mission was successful, then winning this war would become 100% easier for them.

"I am not sure either. We even offered to pay them a huge sum of money but they still refused to accept this bounty." The organization is known to do anything for money. Everything had a price. The organization will do anything for money and it was how they always have worked. If Aditya paid enough money for Lucas's head, then the organization will end Lucas's kill. Even if Lucas surrounds himself with 10 5th-order cultivators, he still won't be able to save his life from the organization. This made the organization super dangerous.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Guys I have exams from tomorrow. So for the next two weeks, my updates will be a little slow. I will still try my best to find time and upload 2 chapters per day. If not I will go with one chapter.

Chapter 369

Back to the Echo Dominion Empire,

The geography of the Echo Dominion Empire is very unique and special. On the east side, the Mystic Spring Empire shares a border with the Empire. Being located at the very eastern edge of the Northwest region, the Echo Dominion Empire has direct access to the sea from the northern side. Due to its unique location, the Empire always held a big geographic advantage over the other Empires.

Using its unique geographic location, The Empire successfully managed to build the largest port in the northwestern region of the Empire. All the cargo ships coming from the Dry Savanna Continent stopped at the Echo Dominion Empire to restock their supplies before heading to other regions of the Dying Isle Continent.

Most cargo ships from the Dry Savanna Continent were full of Mana stones or precious metals that cannot be found in the Dying Isle continent. The Echo Dominion Empire was able to take advantage of this and earn a big amount of profit.

In the West, the Echo Dominion Empire shared borders with its biggest rival and enemy, the Echo Nexus Empire. Both Empires had a long history of rivalry and enmity between them. Although now the tides have changed and the Echo Nexus Empire has been able to suppress the Echo Dominion Empire to a certain extent using the authority of the Oracle Alliance, there was a time when the Echo Dominion Empire dominated the entire northwestern region. That period is also considered the golden period of the Echo Dominion Empire's history. Sadly, with time, everything declined and the roles changed.

And Finally, on the southern borders, the Echo Dominion Empire shared its borders with the Qeyesha Empire. However, the area near the Southern borders was very unique and was the second coldest place in the Northwestern region.

Glouto Mountains formed a mountain range on the southern borders of the Echo Dominion Empire. Glouto Mountains has the second-highest peak in the northwestern region. The Glouto Mountains acted as a natural barrier. Especially during the months of summer, when the northern rain clouds entered the northwestern region through the Echo Dominion Empire, almost all of the rain clouds were blocked by the Glouto Mountains and forced it to rain.

This left the other side of the Glouto Mountains extremely dry. The Qeyesha Empire was located on the southern side of the Glouto Mountains and did not receive any rainfall as a result. Because the Glouto Mountains were blocking almost all of the rain clouds, the Qeyesha Empire was very dry and struggled during the months of summer.

Qeyesha Empire was located in a very bad position. From the south, during the winter time, the rain clouds that the rain carried from the sea to the northwestern region through the Hephaestus Kingdom cannot go past the Hargeo Mountains. Because of this the Methia Empire and the Qeyesha Empire barely receive any rainfall.

Fortunately, the Methia Empire is not dry as the Qeyesha Empire as it has access to the sea from the eastern side. And also water from Hargeo Mountains came to the Methia Empire in the form of rivers and streams. When ice and glaciers of the Hargeo Mountains melt, it supports the entire Methia Empire with water.

However, the Qeyesha Empire was located in a place where it was completely surrounded by a land mass. It did not have any direct access to the sea. And the two giant mountains in the north and in the south blocked almost all of its rain. And to make matters worse, the rivers from originated from the Hargeo Mountains mostly dries up even before reaching the Qeyesha Empire.

This makes Qeyesha Empire extremely hot during summer. And during winter, the Qeyesha Empire rarely sees any snow. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Qeyesha Empire and the area surrounding the Empire is a big desert.

In the Qeyesha Empire, water is more valuable than gold. If not for the Mystic Spring Empire which fulfills the Qeyesha Empire's water needs, the Qeyesha Empire's population would have been reduced by 1/3.

If the Echo Dominion Empire were to fall the Empire that would benefit the most in the long run would be the Qeyesha Empire. After all, the Echo Dominion had everything that they desperately needed. The Empire had abundant food, water, rainfall, and fertile land. On the other hand, the Qeyesha Empire had desert and desert. Only around 5% of the Empire's total land is suited for cultivation.

Life in Qeyesha Empire is truly difficult. In the Oracle Alliance, the Qeyesha Empire is the weakest and poorest Empire. Due to its unique geography, the Empire didn't have any natural resources other than a few silver mines. If the Echo Nexus Empire were to stop supporting Qeyesha Empire with resources and the Mystic Spring Empire stopped supplying its water, the entire Empire will collapse within a month.

Qeyesha Empire was slightly stronger than the Hephaestus Empire. Before joining the Oracle Alliance and finding itself under the wings of the Echo Nexus Empire, the Qeyesha Empire supported itself by robbing resources. The Empire did not exactly have a pleasant past to look at.

To make sure that it would keep on surviving in the desert, the Qeyesha Empire sent its troops outside the northwestern region. Around a few hundred years ago, The Qeyesha Empire captured many small and big islands located around the Northwestern region and in the Western region. Using teleportation arrays, the Empire bought water and other valuable resources from those islands and supported its small population.

But when it joined the Oracle Alliance, all the members of the Alliance had helped the Empire. It was also during this time, the Empire's military strength grew and it finally rose to the rank of a 5-tier Kingdom.

Qeyesha Empire had sent 1,000,000 troops toward the Echo Dominion Empire. Due to the Glouto Mountain range, the one million troops of the Qeyesha Empire had to take a detour. They had to head to the southeast side of the Glouto Mountains where the Glouto Mountains range is not that high and can allow the troops of one million to go beyond the Glouto Mountain range.

However, the Echo Dominion Empire had long known about this part of the Glouto Mountain range. People of the Qeyesha Empire use this route to illegally get into the Echo Dominion Empire to have a better life. Leaving this point unguarded wasn't an option. So, around 20,000 soldiers always guarded this site and made sure that no one from the Qeyesha Empire passed through without proper documents and identification cards.

Now this site was going to become the battlefield between the two Empires. Knowing this, Daxton had sent 500,000 troops along with two beginner 5th-order cultivators. Daxton would have sent more troops but the Istarin Empire also had sent 500,000 troops of their own along with a beginner 5th-order Dragon Warrior and one of their generals.

The allied troop of the Istarin Empire and the Echo Dominion Empire were waiting for the Qeyesha Empire's troops to come. But climbing the Glouto Mountain range was anything but easy. The southern side of the mountain range was full of rocks. The troops of the Qeyesha Empire have to climb 4000 meters before reaching the battlefield.

Although cultivators had better stamina and physique compared to normal humans, after climbing 4000 meters, most of the soldiers who were 1st-order cultivators would be pretty much half-exhausted or fully exhausted.

So even before the war began, the Oracle Alliance was in a disadvantageous position. They were in a position where they would most likely lose this battle. However, to counter this, Lucas allocated more resources to the Qeyesha Empire's army so that they would be able to win this war.

At first, Lucas wasn't worried. Even if they lost this battle, it wasn't going to affect them. Under constant attacks from three directions, the Echo Dominion Empire was going to fall. But never did Lucas expect Aditya to be crazy enough to waste his Empire's wealth by teleporting around 2,000,000 troops to the Echo Dominion Empire and the Hephaestus Kingdom. This was completely unexpected and ruined Lucas's plans.

And after knowing that they had lost the first two battles, Lucas gave more firepower to the Qeyesha Empire's army. The 1,000,000 troops did not lack anything. They had high-quality weapons and armor. Their pockets were full of pills and potions. And most importantly, they had multiple 5th-order cultivators.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 370

At the top of the mountain, there was tension in the air. Everyone looked very serious. As the darkness of the night descended on the Glouto Mountain range, the atmosphere started to get colder. And the glacier around them had dropped the temperature even further.

The Glouto Mountain range is almost covered in glaciers. Almost all its peaks have glaciers. Some of these glaciers are old as 100,000 or even 200,000 years. With each passing year, the thickness of these glaciers only keeps on increasing.

The water that comes from the melting of the glacier mostly runs through the Echo Dominion Empire before reaching the sea. And other remaining rivers go into the Mystic Spring Empire and the Echo Nexus Empire. Despite having the second-largest mountain range in the northwestern region at its border, the Qeyesha Empire doesn't really get any water from the Glouto Mountain range.

And the Echo Dominion Empire never shared abundant fresh water with the Qeyesha Empire. As the Qeyesha Empire always stood with the enemies of the Echo Dominion Empire and never had any good political relationship.

"Reporting! Our scouts have spotted the enemy troops."

"Good job. Continue with your work."

Receiving a compliment from the commander himself was a big thing for a mere low-rank soldier. The soldier was very happy.

As the soldier walked away, the Commander of the 1,000,000 troops turned to the young Fox woman sitting opposite of him in the tent.

"Amber, what do you think?" Asked the tall blond-haired man named Alexander Dixon. Alexander Dixon has been made the commander of the combined army of the Echo Dominion And the Istarin Empire. Amber has been made the vice commander. The main reason, Alexander was given the position of commander is because of his age and experience. Alexander Dixon led the Echo Dominion Empire's army the last time, they went to war against a foreign empire which was around 67 years ago. It was because of Alexander Dixon, the Echo Dominion Empire was able to win the War within three weeks.

Amber is very young and inexperienced compared to Alexander Dixon. Not only that but also, compared to Amber, Alexander Dixon is more powerful which gave him an edge. Alexander Dixon was one of the best Peak 5th-order mages in the entire Echo Dominion Empire. He was the best fire user in the empire.

Even though Amber didn't become the commander, she wasn't sad about it or anything. She just accepted her position and was doing her job but this Alexander Dixon has been getting on her nerves for a while now. Ever since both of them met along with their Empire's army, Alexander Dixon has been flirting with Amber.

Amber can see that Alexander had a big crush on her. But she wasn't the least bit interested in him. She couldn't even imagine someone like Alexander as a lover. And at this point in her life, she was ready to commit herself to any relationship.

"Let's welcome our enemies with fireworks." Amber was talking about using Cannons to welcome the enemies.

Amber did not look at Alexander. After their first meeting, she always put a distance between them. Amber couldn't reject Alexander's advances when he never made things clear. Other than some hints and passively trying to flirt with her, Alexander never did anything else.

"It will a while before the enemy comes." Alexander took out three cups from his storage ring. He then filled the three cups with a strange light green liquid.

Alexander Dixon pushed one of the cups slightly toward Amber who was sitting to the other side of the table. There was another person sitting Next to Amber but he was so quiet that his presence was almost invisible. He always kept his eyes closed as if he was lost in his own thoughts. Neither Amber nor Alexander Dixon distributed as they knew that he always listened to whatever they discussed. Sometimes, he would even give his opinion on the matter and make suggestions. Other than that, he completely kept himself isolated.

"What is this?" A sweet aroma reached Amber's nose.

"This is a special liquid made from a rare herb known as 'Sun Joy'. The herb can only be found near the Glouto Mountain range. This herb doesn't look anything special. It looks like grass. Anyone can mistake this herb for a simple grass and step on it. This is why these herbs are extremely hard to find. The only time the Sun Joy herb can be distinguished from regular grass is during dawn. At the time of dawn, for a brief period, the entire body plant glows in yellow."

"That's really interesting." Amber replied with an awkward face.

'I only asked what is this? There was no need for such a lengthy answer.' Amber thought in her mind. On the surface, she was listening to everything but inwardly, she was cursing this man. The more she interacted with him, the more she came to dislike him.

"After harvesting the Sun Joy herb, salt is sprayed on the herb and then the herb is stored in a very cold temperature for over 6 months. When 6 months pass, the taste of the herb completely changes. The Sun Joy herb is mainly used for making Sun Joy Juice. Aside from that, the herb is also used by alchemists to make low-ranking healing potions. The Sun Joy juice is very popular, especially in this part of the Empire."

"Drinking this juice would slightly increase the healing speed. Regularly drinking this juice for 6 months can clean the impurities within the body. Though the juice isn't that effective for cultivators who are above 3rd-order. But I still drink this juice as it's very delicious and tasty. You will also become addicted after drinking this juice." Alexander Dixon continued to speak about the Sun Joy herb while holding the glass cup.

'Will he shut up already?' Amber was inwardly losing her mind. Alexander thought that his knowledge would impress Amber but instead, it was doing the opposite. Her impression of Alexander Dixon was only getting worse.

What she would do knowing about a herb that is completely useless for her? In the Istarin Empire, she never really lacks herbs or pills. Having the goddess of alchemy as your best friend makes sure that you never run out of pills or potions.

Alexander Dixon began to enjoy the Sun joy juice. The other person sitting next to Amber also silently drank the juice. But Amber did not even touch the juice. After listening to Alexander Dixon, she already had lost her appetite to drink this juice.

"Amber, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Suddenly Alexander asked failing to see that Amber hasn't even touched the drink that he had served to her. Her face was slowly becoming more and more cold with each passing second.

She couldn't wait to get out of this tent. The only reason she was here, is because Alexander Dixon had called them for discussion about the upcoming battle. She came here thinking that they were going to discuss and make plans and strategies. She never thought that this guy would call her here just to flirt with her.

"Not interested." Hearing Amber's cold response, Alexander Dixon felt awkward. He suddenly found himself lost. He didn't know what to do in such a situation. Alexander Dixon never has found himself in such an awkward position in his life. After all, he was very handsome, charming, powerful, and gentle; especially towards the girls. That's why, he always has been able to get the attention of the girls.

But Amber was totally different. She wasn't attracted to him. And her cold response made him realize, that he was over-pushing things. She wasn't the slightest bit interested in him.

'That can mean one thing...She has a crush on someone or She is in love with another man.' Alexander Dixon wanted to Amber. Ever since he saw her, he was in love with her but Amber unfortunately didn't share the same feelings.

With a smile, Alexander took another sip of the Sun Joy juice before looking at Amber. Amber was ignoring Alexander and was looking at the map of the entire Glouto Mountains.

"Amber, why are you so secretive about your personal life? Do you have any crush or any boyfriend or maybe a fiance?"

Amber gave Alexander a frosty glare before responding. "I don't want to speak about my personal life. Let's keep things professional and not bring your personal lives into it. If there is nothing else to discuss, I will take my leave." Saying that Amber left without saying another word.

Seeing this Alexander was left stunned.

A minute after Amber left, Alexander turned to the man who has been sitting next to her and asked.

"Why is she like this?"

"Don't worry. Even though both of us serve the same Master, she and I very rarely interact. But from her reaction, it was clear that she isn't interested in a human like you." Spoke the beginner 5th-order Dragon Warrior who has been sent here along with Amber.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 371

"Why is she like this?"

"Don't worry. Even though both of us serve the same Master, she and I very rarely interact. I don't know much about her. But from her reaction, it was clear that she isn't interested in a human like you." Spoke Greenwood, who has been sent here along with Amber. Greenwood is the Guardian of the Dragon Palace. Ever since he swore allegiance to the Dragon Monarch, he has never taken part in any battle. So this time, Aditya sent him with Amber to gain experience while another beginner 5th-order Dragon warrior replaced him temporality.

"For some reason, I feel like you're looking down on me." Replied Alexander while taking another sip.

"I am not looking down on you. The Istarin Empire is full of Powerful Dragons and Dragonians. As someone who has the Royal Fox Queen bloodline, A Dragon or a Dragonian is more suited to become her future partner."

"She has Royal Fox Queen Bloodline?" Alexander gasped in shock seeing him nod his head.

Greenwood was very bored. He is very diligent and would spend most of his time cultivating inside the Dragon Palace. Greenwood was one of those rare few cultivators who were able to detach themselves from worldly matters and focus completely on cultivation. Not even once, he felt bored while staying inside the Dragon palace for months without going out.

He loved silence more than anything. He didn't like speaking too much either. He is somehow who finds peace in cultivating. Even when he was a wild Dragon, most of his time was spent cultivating in his cave. The only times he would go out of his cave is when he needed food and water.

"That's just my opinion. I am interested to see what kind of powers the child would have whose parents have a Dragon bloodline and Royal Fox queen bloodline. As for who she chooses as her future partner that's entirely up to her to decide." Greenwood replied before taking another sip. As the sweet drink passed through his throat, Greenwood frowned before looking at the cup.

Meanwhile, Alexander looked defeated hearing Greenwood's words. But it didn't even take him 5 seconds to recover his confidence and his resolve to keep pursuing Amber. 'No matter what happens, I am not giving up.'

"By the way, why does this juice have the flavor of a strawberry?" Greenwood broke the silence as he stared at the green liquid.

Alexander brightly smiled and replied. "Because I love strawberries. I think adding a strawberry has made the Sun Joy juice more tasty."

"What's with this cringy name?"

"___"

After a few seconds of awkward silence and failing to come up with any answer...."Don't ask me. How would I know something like that?"

"....Makes sense." And then took another sip.

Two men kept each other company in silence. Alexander was not an introvert. He was an extrovert who loved socializing. For him, this silence was suffocating. It was as if with each passing second, the burden on him to say something was increasing. While Greenwood enjoying this silence.

"I have noticed this before. Despite only being a beginner 5th-order cultivator, I can't help but feel as if you're almost strong as me if not equally strong as me. How are you so strong?" Alexander never thought he would find himself asking such questions to a lower-order cultivator. But Greenwood's strength had made him very curious.

Greenwood lightly glanced at Alexander who was pouring himself another cup of Sun Joy juice and before responding. "It's difficult to answer. If I had to reply, I would say my race and my bloodline give me an edge." Even before meeting Aditya, Greenwood was a wild Dragon. Being a Dragon he was very powerful. But after he became a Dragon warrior, his bloodline became even purer which made him even stronger.

Sigh!

"Sometimes, life can be unfair." Alexander again felt depressed. Every Dragonian that Alexander has met was extremely powerful. It was as if Heaven had blessed the Istarin Soldiers to be special.

"Alexander, I want to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Don't fucking add any strawberries into this juice. It tastes horrible."

"....Okay. You're not exactly kind with your words."

"That's how I am. With each sip, the taste only keeps on becoming horrible." Watching Greenwood leave, Alexander sighed before taking out a bag of strawberries. Feeling depressed, he put several strawberries in his mouth and began to eat them with Sun Joy juice.

As he chew the strawberries, he smiled like a small child who was eating his favorite food. "I am definitely not changing anything."

Scene change______

Amber returned to her tent which was set up for her by the soldiers of her division. Around 30% of Amber's division was made up of Fox race people. All the Fox race people loved and respected Amber. They treated her like their Queen.

As Amber entered her tent, she found her right hand looking very excited. Ella is also the 5th division's vice Captain and was the second most powerful soldier in Division 5 after Amber. "Lady Amber, after this fight is over, do you want to go with us to see the pink lake?"

"Pink Lake?"

"It's a special lake located in the Qeyesha Empire."

Hearing this Amber frowned. In the middle of the war, how can they leave their positions and go sightseeing? And that it is also inside the enemy's Empire. Amber found this idea to be crazy. She was about to scold Ella for this.

"Lady Amber, this lake is very near the Glouto Mountain range. And the area around the Lake and the Glouto Mountain range is totally empty. Hardly anyone lives in this part of the Empire." Hearing this Amber didn't know what to do anymore. She was also tempted to go and see this pink lake but she was still hesitant. Her duties were stopping her from going.

"It is said that near the Pink Lake, there grows a special type of fruit. After eating this fruit, one would dream about His/her Soulmate." Ella's words broke the last bit of hesitation that Amber had. Just like Ella, Amber also wanted to know who will become her future partner.

"How did you know about this?" Amber asked as she and Ella had never come to this region.

"A friend of mine from the Echo Dominion Empire's army told me this." Ella met her when they were setting up tents.

"I happen to meet her......Boooom!!!"

Everyone in the tent became alert hearing the sound of magic cannons being fired. Amber ran out of the tent to see what was going on. Outside, she was soldiers running here and there. The whole situation was chaotic.

"Prepare the Magic Cannons!!!" Her voice reached the ears of the soldiers who were assigned to load and fire Magic cannons.

"Greenwood, what is happening?" Amber quickly found Greenwood who was standing a few meters above the ground and looking in the direction of South.

"It appears, the enemy is attacking us with Magic Cannons." Saying that he created a giant dark green shield that was over 20 meters big in size. The Dark green shield was transparent in color.

Booooom!!!!

The dark green shield blocked the magic cannon attack. But the attack left a small crack in the middle of the shield.

"How did the enemy come so near to us? What happened to all of our scouts?" Amber was angry at the soldiers who had been put in charge to look out for the enemy troops and alert them. She thought those soldiers were slacking off. She even decided to harshly punish them later once this fight ends.

Booom!!!

Blocking the second magic cannon attack, Greenwood frowned and replied. "The enemy has someone who is very good at illusion magic. This means, our soldiers were under an illusion this whole time." Amber and Greenwood noticed the crack on the dark green shield expanding.

Amber frowned hearing Greenwood's explanation.

Booom!!!

His Shield blocked the third attack. The shield was on the brink of collapsing. Probably another attack would break the shield.

"Amber, what is happening?" Alexander ran in front of Amber.

She and Greenwood can smell strawberries from Alexander. This guy was busy eating strawberries. His pant pockets were full of strawberries. He must have hurriedly stuffed all the strawberries in his pocket before running here.

Drop!

Suddenly a strawberry fell out of his pocket. Seeing this Alexander hurriedly kneeled to the ground and gently picked it up.

Unknowingly all the respect that Amber and Greenwood had for this man had begun to disappear. At first, they saw Alexander as someone who is very serious and smart. But now he looked like an idiot to them. Especially in Amber's eyes, she had no respect for this man.

Booom!!

This time, the shield broke down. But by now, the troops were ready to counter back.

"Fire!" On Alexander's commander, 10 magic cannons were fired at the same time.

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Chapter 372

Booom!!!

"Lady Amber, what's your command?" Asked Amber's right hand and the vice-captain of the 5th division, Ella.

"Just focus on defense." Amber, Alexander, Greenwood, and other powerful 3rd-order and second-order cultivators were focusing on creating 'Mana Defensive Barriers' to protect themselves and the soldiers from the Magic cannon attacks.

However, the Mana barriers that 4th-order and 3rd-order soldiers made were really weak and could hardly withstand the Magic cannon's attacks. The soldiers instead worked in groups. The soldiers divided themselves into small groups containing 50 to 100 soldiers. Multiple 3rd and 4th order soldiers came together to make a strong Mana barrier capable of taking the attack of the Magic cannons.

But this does not mean that everyone was safe. The enemy also adopted the same strategy. But the Mana barriers were not unbreakable shields. Each time the magic cannon attack hit a mana barrier, the barrier became weak causing cracks to appear. The troops must put more of their Mana to repair these cracks. The mana barrier would fall once the troops were out of the mana.

Booom!!!

Booom!!!

Both sides continued to fire Magic cannon attacks at each other for a while. As a result, a large amount of dust and pebbles rose in the air and blocked everyone's vision. But both sides kept firing at each other. As they knew the general direction of the enemy.

Amber could sense that many of the Istarin and the Echo Dominion Empire's soldiers were seriously injured. Some already had died. And Some were on the verge of death. If they acted quickly enough, they might be able to save their lives. But for that, they needed to stop them or destroy them with something stronger.

Amber saw no other choice but to use that Solar cannon that Aditya gave him. "Greenwood, I need you to cover me." Greenwood created another mana barrier in front of Mana without asking any questions.

As Amber took out the Solar Cannon, Alexander's eyes were completely drawn to it.

The Solar cannon did not have wheels. The barrel of the Solar cannon was twice big compared to normal cannons. Unlike normal cannons, this cannon had no gun power, ignition chamber, or Cannonball. Instead, a yellowish glowing stone was placed in the place of the gun power and the ignition chamber.

'What kind of Cannon is that?' The Magic Cannons that the Echo Dominion Empire used were really advanced. The Emperor had burned millions of gold coins and manpower to research and improve the power of the Magic cannons. Alexander always felt proud of their Magic cannons as despite not having any help from allies, they were able to develop magic cannons as strong as the Magic Cannons that the Oracle Alliance possessed.

In the past, The Echo Dominion had to be very worried about their border situation. Their enemies had surrounded and it was only a matter of time before they attack the Echo Dominion Empire and tried to consume it. As a result, a large portion of the Empire's revenue went into the military. In fact, the Echo Dominion Empire had the biggest military budget in the northwestern region with the Echo Nexus Empire being the second.

Amber put her hand on the Barrel and then pushed a little bit of her Mana on the barrel. A second later, a yellow ball of energy started forming at the Muzzle of the Cannon. At the same time, the whole barrel of the Cannon started glowing. With each passing second, the glow brighter. The yellow energy ball also started getting bigger and much brighter.

After 30 seconds of charging, she lifted her hand. A bright yellow ray of light temporarily blinded everyone's vision.

The Qeyesha Empire troops and commander only saw an intensely bright flash of light before an earthshattering explosion took place.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

"I think the world is ending." The soldiers who were near the explosion were blown away. The shockwave of the explosion severely injured them. While some weak soldiers couldn't even survive.

The remaining other soldiers had to create mana barriers to protect themselves or take cover behind stones or magic cannons.

The Echo Dominion Empire and the Istarin Empire's soldiers were left totally stunned seeing this. Their eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. To think a Magic cannon attack is that powerful.

Suddenly the entire battlefield turned very silent. The Echo Dominion side stopped firing Magic cannons. Everyone was just too shocked.

Alexander looked like he was seeing the world ending. His pupils had contracted to the size of a needle watching the explosion take place. At that point, his heart pounded wildly. The shock that he received was just too much.

'If I was to be attacked by this cannon, then I don't think I can dodge it. It will leave me half dead. It would be a miracle if I managed to survive without any injuries.' As a Peak 5th-order Mage, Alexander admitted that his main powers were spells. Compared to warrior-path cultivators, it was far easier for Mages to reach Peak 5th-order. While his Magic power was very high, his body wasn't strong as the bodies of Peak 5th-order warrior-path cultivators.

As the smoke and dust settled, it revealed a gigantic crater. Around 1/10 of the enemy troops were completely gone. There were no signs and no traces of them. They simply vanished. Around the crater, there were many troops lying around and groaning in pain. Their bodies were full of injuries. But one by one, they started taking the healing pills that they have been given.

The 2-star healing pills started healing their bodies. But it would take them an hour or two to fully recover; depending on the degree of burns and injuries that the soldiers had taken.

Meanwhile, as the explosion had taken place, Amber, who was completely unfazed seeing this, began to prepare for a second strike.

Everything began to calm down, she coldly smiled and then lifted her hand from the Barrel. "Time for the second strike."

The enemy commander widened his eyes in fear as he saw another bright golden light. "Jacob, do something." The commander shouted. His eyes and his voice were full of fear. If this second attack hit them, this was over for them.

"On it." Jacob was one of the beginner 5th-order cultivators from the Qeyesha Empire. He flew in front of others and stood in the face of the second strike.

But he had greatly underestimated the speed of the attack. The golden ray of light pierced his armor and then made a hole in his stomach and then went on to destroy the soldiers standing behind him.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

'This Magic cannon is almost like a cheat weapon. If our Empire had this type of weapon, then we can crash the Oracle Alliance without needing anyone's help.' Alexander stared at the Solar Cannon in envy. He was going to report this to Daxton. Since the Istarin Empire and the Echo Dominion Empire were allies. Maybe they can use this to ask the Istarin Empire to tell them how Solar Cannons can be made.

"Jacob!!!!" The Qeyesha Empire's commander saw the dead body of Jacob lying in the middle of a second giant crater. This time also, another 100,000 troops died from the attack. And also left a large number of troops severely injured and unable to fight.

Even before both parties directly clashed, the battle was already over. They already had two 200,000 troops. Another 200,000 was severely injured. One of their 5th-order cultivators was also dead. Things couldn't get worse than this.

"Everyone retreat. We cannot win this battle anymore." After giving an order for retreatment, the enemy Commander flew away and fled as fast as he can. Following the enemy Commander, the Mid-5th-order cultivator who had been sent by Lucas to help the Qeyesha empire win this battle also left.

The remaining 800,000 began to run. They began to run. No one bothered to take the Magic cannons. Each magic Cannon was a million royal gold coins worth yet nobody bothered to even look at them. Their lives mattered more than a magic cannon.

"Do not let the enemy troops retreat. Chase them."

"There is no need for that." Amber's voice stopped everyone from chasing after the enemy.

Under everyone's gaze, Amber fired a third strike. Compared to the previous two strikes, this attack was even more powerful and dangerous.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

A huge cloud of smoke rose in the air. The cloud of smoke was so large that it could be seen in the Mystic Spring Empire. The People of the Echo Dominion Empire and the Qeyesha Empire were able to see it as well. In the west, the people who lived near the Echo Nexus Empire's border were able to see it as well.

That day, the shape of the Glouto Mountain range had slightly changed forever. Making this part of the Glouto Mountain range a more gentle slope.

"Dragonians, it's your turn to chase down the enemy." Thousand of Dragonians flew away and started hunting fleeing enemies.

The attack had killed an estimation of around 250,000 to 300,000 troops. This meant that nearly half of the total enemy troops were dead. The ones that did manage to survive were mostly probably seriously injured. With their flight ability, hunting those fleeing soldiers shouldn't be much of a problem.

Under everyone's eyes, Amber put the Solar Cannon back into the storage ring and walked back to the place where her tent was previously set. With all the Magic cannon firings, most of the tents had been destroyed.

Fortunately, she had another large tent in her storage ring.

Meanwhile, Alexander snapped out of his daze. He slightly felt embarrassed. He felt Amber was more suited for leading the troops. In this fight, she was very calm and she acted more like the commander than he did. Not to mention the Solar Cannon that he had displayed had taken the spotlight.

'I must report everything to His Majesty as soon as possible.' As Alexander was about to order the soldiers to clean up the surroundings, he suddenly found someone teleporting a few meters away from him.

Arriving at the third battlefield, Aditya was surprised to see everything was over already. He couldn't see any signs of battles being fought. But he can see signs of large destruction taking place. It was as if someone had bombarded this whole place. There were small, large, medium, and tiny, all sizes of craters.

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Chapter 373

Ignoring Alexander, Aditya observed the state of the battlefield. Greenwood saw Aditya and immediately got on one knee and greeted him.

"Stand up Greenwood." He looked in the direction of the South. He can sense many enemy troops running away. This was something unacceptable to Aditya. Even if 100,000 troops managed to return, the enemy would gain additional 100,000 troops for their next fight. This is why he wanted either all of the troops to be killed or to be captured and turned into war prisoners.

"Hunt them down." Just three words were enough.

Greenwood nodded his head. He bent his legs slightly before jumping into the sky. The next second, his entire body morphed into something bigger. He turned into a giant Dragon that was over 15 meters in size.

Swoosh!

The giant Dragon's roar was heard as he disappeared into the distance.

Aditya then turned his attention to Alexander.

"Your Majesty!" Alexander greeted Aditya with a small bow.

"I want to know what happened here?" Aditya could sense Amber a little bit far away from his. He can sense that most of the Istarin Soldiers were alright. Only a small percentage of the 500,000 soldiers were injured. The injured troops can easily recover using the healing pills that every Istarin Troop was given before being sent to War. And the healing pills that Julia made were more effective than normal pills.

But sadly around 11,500 soldiers seem to have died. There is nothing Aditya can do about this. Deaths are inevitable in War. It was a cruel and bitter fact. No Emperor wants his troops to die. At least, Aditya doesn't want to see his soldiers die.

But Compared to the Istarin Empire, the Echo Dominion Empire had lost even more troops. The Empire had lost 21,900 soldiers. More of their soldiers were injured as well. The Istarin troops were very well equipped. Each troop had full armor, a weapon, and multiple kinds of pills. Even the weakest soldier had 1-star armor and 1-star weapon. Whereas most Echo Dominion troops only had chest plates as their armor. The soldiers were given only one healing pill. And the quality of the pill wasn't that great either.

"The enemy had an illusion master. Using illusion, they managed to come near our base and launch attacks using Magic cannons. We somehow managed to....." Aditya's cold-icy stare completely shut Alexander's mouth.

"So you're telling me that the enemy troops managed to get this near to the base yet, you as a Peak 5th-order cultivator failed to sense their presence." Before Alexander could react, a hand reached his throat with a lightning pace.

He grabbed his throat and then lifted him up in the air. He felt choked. He felt like Aditya was going to crash his throat.

The Echo Dominion and The Istarin Empire's troops gulped in fear as they watched this scene unfold.

"Do you better have some reasonable explanation for this? Otherwise, I am going to drown you in that pink lake and feed your dead body to the dogs. This is a War. I need responsible people." Fortunately for Greenwood, he wasn't here otherwise, he too would have suffered the same fate.

As for Amber, her cultivation limited her senses. And she wasn't a sensory-type cultivator either. So her range was very limited. But 5th-order cultivators can easily sense other cultivators' mana signature within the 5km to 10 km range. The maximum range a 5th-order cultivator can sense depends on many factors such as; bloodline, nature affinity, class, skills, and sensitivity to Mana.

Even the 4th-order Dragonians can only sense up to a 2 or 3-km range.

The commotion bought Amber to Aditya. Seeing Alexander being choked by Aditya, she was a little happy in her heart. But she did not show it on her face as she did not want anyone to get the wrong idea. She did not like this man. And this man has been pestering her. She was fed up with him.

"Please forgive me. I was wrong." Alexander then gasped for air. He was struggling to breathe.

"Our Scouts said that it would take more than hours for the enemy troops to come. But the enemy had an illusion, Master. I suspect, he had put our scouts into illusion and made the scouts think that the Qeyesha Empire's troops is very far away and would take a long time to reach the battlefield."

"But that does not explain how you and Greenwood failed to sense the approaching troop's presence. I understand that 4th-order cultivators can't sense that far. But what excuse do you two have?" The enemy attacked them from 4 km away.

"I and Sir Greenwood were having Sun Joy Juice. The Side effect of the Juice is that for 10 or 20 minutes, our senses would be dulled."

Aditya let Alexander go. Alexander fell on his butt. He inhaled as much air as he could. "So even though you knew about this, you still drank this juice and even made Greenwood drink it as well. How can you who is the Commander of 1 million troops be so irresponsible?" Hearing this Alexander felt a chill running down his spine.

In this continent, being a Peak 5th-order cultivator meant, that he was an existence who stands at the very top. Peak 5th-order cultivators are considered Demi-God for a reason. Hence, for them, even the laws are bent. Even if a cultivator broke some laws and did something wrong, the Emperor can't just punish the cultivator too cruelly as that would mean losing the loyalty of that cultivator and potentially losing one of their strongest military pillars that ultimately holds and supports the Emperor's Empire.

In this regard, Daxton was also the same. As long as they don't go too far, he would just ignore their actions and continue with his life as if he is blind.

But Aditya isn't the same. He had the strength and the boldness to kill a Peak 5th-order of his own Empire, unlike most Emperors. Daxton might not punish Alexander as ultimately they won the battle, The Dragon Emperor wasn't going to let go of this matter easily. What happened today was a sign and a reflection of the future. If the matter is not taken seriously, then in the future, this entire situation can be repeated again.

"It's decided. Alexander, from now on, you're no longer in charge of these troops."

"What?" Not just Alexander, but all the troops listening to this were deeply shocked.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, how are you planning on winning the next battle without me?" Alexander asked in a somewhat shaky tone. He tried his best to keep his composure and calmness.

"Do you think that you're the only Peak 5th-order we have?" Alexander didn't have an answer for that.

"Your Punishment will be decided later. For now, go back to the Capital and wait." Having no other choice, Alexander could only nod his head while holding back his anger and frustration. Alexander was angry at being humiliated in front of his own troops by the Istarin Emperor. Aditya could have done this in private but he chose to humiliate him in front of everyone.

'It would be better if you just accept your failure and stop putting the blame on others' heads. That way, you will find inner peace and won't be consumed by hatred. If you let yourself be consumed by this growing hatred, then you will leave me with no choice but to cut you down.' Seeing Alexander leaving, Aditya inwardly thought.

'This situation wouldn't have happened if Daxton had kept his dogs under control.' The Istarin Empire also had a few 5th orders in the military. But Aditya never gave these 5th orders more privilege than his own generals. He never gave them any political powers. Sure, they have a big influence in the army but their influence was just a tiny fraction compared to the influences of the 7 generals. He never wanted them to think that because they were 5th-orders they could do whatever they wanted.

"Your Majesty!" Amber greeted Aditya.

"Forgive me."

"This is not your fault. Once Greenwood returns, tell him to meet me." Aditya can't be biased and only punish Alexander. It was somewhat Greenwood's fault as well. If he only punished Alexander and left Greenwood without any punishment, then the Echo Dominion Emperor and others would think that Aditya is biased and is purposely targeting the Echo Dominion Empire. This would mark the beginning of a crack in their alliance which he didn't want to see happening especially in the middle of the war.

Hearing this Amber knew that Greenwood was screwed. Fortunately, she had decided to not drink this juice and had left Alexander's tent early.

"Amber, have someone gather the dead bodies of the Istarin troops and sent them back to the Istarin Empire. We're going to give them a proper burial and the respect that they deserve." This was the least that he can do for the fallen soldiers.

"Understood."

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Chapter 374

Seeing that the third battlefield already had ended, Aditya teleported to the fourth Battlefield. While Aditya was going from one battlefield to another and the whole Oracle Alliance was in chaos. Before this war started, no one in their wildest dreams dared to think that they would lose the first three battles. But now Given how things were going, the Istarin Empire would win its fourth battle as well.

The Mystic Spring Empire, the Methia Empire, and the Qeyesha Empire, all three Empires have suffered a lot because of Aditya. Especially the Methia Empire who had lost its whole army and also the fourth prince had died at Aditya's hands. The majority of its troops were captured as war prisoners.

At the same time, another problem arose. The news about The Mystic Spring Empire, the Methia Empire, and the Qeyesha Empire, losing their battle spread in all directions like wildfire. The news quickly spread to all of the powerhouses in the northwestern region. In every major city, the news had currently become a very hot topic. It was as if someone was deliberately spreading this news.

Scene change_____

"So what happened?" Seeing his cold and merciless eyes, Smith lowered his head and looked at the ground. Smith was the mid-5th-order cultivator sent by Lucas to help the Qeyesha Empire to win their battle. But for some reason, His man ran away from the battlefield like a coward.

Smith had directly returned to Ostrance which was the Capital of the Echo Nexus Empire. As soon as he returned, he was taken to have a meeting with the Echo Nexus empire.

By now, almost everyone within the City was asleep, the Emperor and everyone within the Echo Nexus Emperor Castle were still awake. Lucas had placed this rule in the royal Castle that no servant or maid living in the Royal Castle is allowed to sleep before Lucas. This meant, if Lucas stayed awake for days, then all the servants and maids would also need to stay awake.

No one really knows the reason for such strange law to exist. But a law is a law. And the punishment for breaking such a law was death. And that's why no Servant or Maid dared to close their eyes while they are working inside the Royal Palace. This is also why, most of the servants and maids who worked in the Royal Palace did not live inside the Royal Palace. Instead, they lived in the Capital with their families.

Smith's entire body trembled in deep fear. He didn't dare to look at Lucas who was sitting on his throne. Instead, he stared at his own feet and repeatedly prayed in his heart that he doesn't get killed by Lucas for his failure. "We managed to launch a surprise attack on the enemy using Magic cannons. At first, everything looked in our favor but a few minutes later that completely changed."

"What happened? Did the enemy commander summon a meteorite and threw it on you guys? Or did the enemy commander suddenly create a skeleton Avatar of 600 meters and attacked you with that?" Lucas asked in a sarcastic tone. From his tone, he was really angry.

"No, nothing like that happened. The vice commander of the enemy suddenly took out a uniquely shaped Cannon. I don't know what this Cannon is called but it takes around 30 seconds to fire. Instead of firing Magic cannonballs, it fires a powerful golden ray of light that looks like sunlight. The Cannon is powerful enough to kill a beginner-5th order mage. It was able to kill around 100,000 of our troops with a single strike."

Hearing this Lucas nearly fell from his throne. He suddenly found strength leaving his body, filling his whole heart with fear. Just imagining a Cannon capable of taking out 100,000 troops chilled his heart.

'What kind of Cannon was that?' Lucas rubbed his forehead while deeply thinking.

After around a few minutes of deep thinking, Lucas turned to Smith. "Tell me more about this Cannon. Tell me how it looked."

"The cannon did not have wheels. The barrel of the cannon was twice big compared to normal cannons. A yellowish glowing stone was placed in the place of the gun power and the ignition chamber. The yellowish glowing stone looked somewhat like a solar stone. Though I am not completely sure as we were a few kilometers away. Even with my heightened senses, there is a limit to how many details I can see from that distance."

Hearing this Lucas fell into a silence once again. 'So it's Cannon that can somehow harvest the light energy inside the solar crystals and turn into a beam-like attack. Even after years of time and countless resources in research, the Oracle Alliance has never been able to make something this powerful, yet a recently formed Empire was able to do it. How Pathetic! I feel as if I had just wasted my time and millions of my gold coins for no reason.'

'How should I even deal with such a weapon? Just one cannon was able to kill about 400,000 troops and a beginner 5th-order. What would happen if the enemy came with 100 or even 1000 of these?' Just thinking this, Lucas felt his entire body trembling in fear.

'Then should I just surrender and end this war? If I surrender at this point, even though the Oracle Alliance will have to pay compensation, I can still keep my power and status.' As soon as he thought these words, he quickly shook his head. Lucas did not want to stop there.

Not all hopes were lost. It might look as if the enemy has an advantage, Lucas also had a few secret weapons as well. What worried Lucas is the mass production of such weapons and their use against his alliance. If he had known about this, then he would have delayed this war and first would have taken some time to prepare something that can counter the enemy's cannon.

After around 5 minutes of complete silence, Lucas's eyes finally focused on Smith. This made Smith stiffen. He felt very nervous.

"Smith, although I am disappointed in you for running away from the battlefield which had ruined the Echo Nexus Empire's name, just this time, I won't punish you." Unlike other Emperors, Lucas had the power to even punish peak 5th-order cultivators. There is only one Peak 5th-order cultivator in the Echo Nexus Empire that he can't punish even if he wanted to. Fortunately, he is one of the most loyal men out there. On the orders of the Emperor, he wouldn't even hesitate to give up his life.

Sigh!

'Thank God.' Smith sighed in relief. The invisible pressure that Smith was feeling this whole time seems to have disappeared. As his worries faded, Smith was able to breathe deeply and relax his body in front of the Emperor.

Lucas and other Emperors planned everything without considering the Istarin Troop's involvement. Everyone thought, at most, Aditya would send powerful 5th-order and Peak 4th-order cultivators. But never did the Oracle Alliance think that he wouldn't care about his wealth and would send around 2,000,000 troops to the northwestern region. "I won't punish you because you have provided the Echo Nexus Empire with very valuable intel. And also, the situation wasn't exactly in your favor."

Smith lowered his head and nodded his head.

"So I have another task for you." Smith thought that he was going to be sent to another battlefield or something similar. But thinking about the battlefield, he couldn't help but think about that Cannon that the enemy vice-commander used.

"I want you to go to the Obi Islands and give this key and this letter to the gatekeeper of the old abandoned church which is located in Sunflower City." The Obi Islands are located northwestern side of the Echo Nexus Empire. The Obi Islands are big as the Queenstown Empire.

Smith was confused hearing the Emperor's words. Why he was being sent to do a delivery job? This should be the job of the regular soldiers or servants. But knowing that he had angered the Emperor and would only end up angering him again if he showed any objection, he silently accepted the order.

A key green old key along with a letter was handed to Smith's hand by the Emperor. Holding the green key, Smith felt a small trace of Evil energy in it.

"Once you give this letter and key to the gatekeeper, he will explain everything to you. I expect you to return within 24 hours."

"Understood." Smith bowed to the Emperor and then walked out of the throne hall. After Smith exited the Throne hall, Lucas began to grin. Smith had no idea what he was about to unleash on this world. If Smith had known about it, then he wouldn't have went there.

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Chapter 375

On the western borders of the Echo Dominion Empire, the fourth battle is yet to be fought. The troops from the Echo Nexus Empire did not cross the border. They did not step into the Echo Dominion Empire.

"What is happening?" Asked General Josh.

On the Western fronts, Scott was appointed as the Commander's role while Josh was given the vice commander's role. Scott had 1,000,000 troops under his control. Among the one million, 500,000 of the troops were the Istarin troops.

Around 200,000 Istarin troops belonged from Scott's first division and were archers. The majority of the 200,000 archers were mostly dark elves. Unlike other kinds of elves that can mostly be found in The Celestial Terrain, dark elves can be found on all continents of this world. This is because there is a sort of racism against all dark elves by other elven species. Also unlike other elves who preferred to live in the wild and along with nature, dark elves can adjust themselves rather very quickly and live alongside humans and other races without any physical or mental problems.

As the Istarin Empire grew, more and more dark elves who lived in the Dying Isle continent came and joined the military under Scott's division. Scott had managed to turn a large number of dark elves who previously were slaves into powerful archers of his division by repairing with mana crippled hearts with Julia's help.

On the other hand, Josh's squad was mostly made up of beast race people. He almost had bought his entire division with him. He had around 250,000 beast soldiers in his 4th division. The 4th division was made to train beast men into soldiers. Beast-man does not really need the training that humans and other races need. As beast-men, their bodies are filled with power, and superior.

Most of his division's members were half-beast and half-humans. These were the people whose ancestors had somehow reproduced with beast-race men or females. Some of them totally lost their beast-race features and the gifts that a beast-race man possesses. They looked almost no different from regular humans. As the beast-race gene in their system almost disappeared as their parents reproduced mostly with humans; which eliminated beast-race genes from their system over time. While some of them retained their beast-race traits but had lost their beast-race features such as tails or whiskers. Maybe with the next generation, they will completely lose any connection to the beast race.

The rest 50,000 were made up of troops from other divisions. A few thousand came from Amber's division. Around ten thousand came from Eleanor's division. Around thirty thousand came from Henry's division.

Like from Nathan's Shadow guardian division, a few hundred troops were sent. Their main job was to infiltrate, gather information, torture the enemy, and most important of all scout. Scouting was a very important job. Without scouting, there is no way of knowing from where the enemy was going to attack them. Or the location of the enemy.

A good scout can bring valuable information. And valuable information can change the tide of the war.

As the Echo Dominion Empire shared its borders with its greatest enemy and rival on the west, the Emperor always kept around half a million troops in the nearby cities that can be deployed at any given time if the Echo Nexus Empire were to attack.

The Echo Nexus Empire often held military drills near their borders. Oftentimes, the enemy troops even entered their Empire. Although the troops never went 1 km away from the borders, it still kept Daxton on his guard.

At one point, Daxton was even thinking of building a giant wall across the long western borders. The giant wall would start from the coastlines and would end near the Glouto Mountain range which extended to the borders of the Echo Nexus Empire in the west. However, the plan only remained as an idea as Daxton's Prime Minister calculated that around 10 billion gold coins would be needed to complete such an ambitious project.

According to an estimation, it would take more than 40 years to complete the project. These two factors made Daxton give up on this idea. 10 billion royal gold coins wasn't a small amount even for the Echo Dominion Empire. Taking out such a large amount of wealth would leave the Empire in a net of debts from which they can never escape. In his opinion, instead of spending such a huge reserve of money on a wall, even if he spends around 10% of that sum on his Empire's military, the results would be far better and quicker. Thus, Daxton increased the military budget.

The Istarin troops along with Josh and Scott had teleported near one of the border cities. It has been a few hours since they have been waiting for the enemy to attack. In these last few hours, the news of the Mystic Spring Empire, the Methia Empire, and the Qeyesha Empire losing their battles had managed to reach their ears. The positive news boosted the morale of the 1 million troops.

"Reporting! Sire, the enemy has stopped marching."

"What?" Josh interrupted the Scout who was one of the shadow guardians.

Scott gave a silently cold glare to Josh that instantly shut his mouth before looking at the scout. "You continue."

"The enemy stopped at their borders. They are yet to step on the Echo Dominion Empire." Hearing this Scott and Josh looked at each other.

"Thank you for your hard work. You can leave now." The Scout nodded hearing Scott's words. After bowing his head to both generals, he quickly left the tent.

Currently, all the soldiers were resting in their tents or filling their stomachs so that everyone would be at their 100% when the battle begins.

"What do you think?" Josh asked. Josh wasn't that good at thinking. Being a lion-man, he was more better at swinging his greatsword than using his brain. This thinking stuff and all was left to Scott. This is also why Scott became the Commander.

"I think Lucas has ordered them to stop."

"Why do you think he would do that?" Josh asked without thinking.

Scott stared at Josh in silence for a few seconds. He looked at Josh in great disappointment. This made Josh pissed. Being a Lion Beastman, Josh was hot-blooded. It was very easy to provoke him.

"Now what's with that look?" Others might not know it but all of the Istarin troops knew that there was a rivalry between the 1st Division and the 4th Division. Josh's division is mostly made up of beastmen or half-beastmen who love to eat meat and wine on the other hand, is mostly made up of dark elves that prefer to eat vegetables. The members of Scott's division are mostly calm and collected.

Neither elves nor beastmen get along with each other. And the often heated argument or debate between Josh and Scott had taken things to the point where the division's members were rivals.

"I am just disappointed in you. If only you stopped eating so much meat and wine, your rotten brain might start to work again." Nathan replied while shaking his head and giving Josh a pitiful look.

This made Josh feel as if Scott was looking down on him. Josh sat down on the chair next to Scott and snorted while folding his arms on his chest. "Hmph! Eating meat and wine is 100 times better than those tasteless green leaves that you eat every single time. This is why I am so much stronger than you."

Scott sat on the empty chair and then closed his eyes as he calmly replied to Josh. "Don't talk about taste when the only thing that you ever eat is meat and wine. And besides, you're not stronger than me. The last time, we fought, I managed to defeat you in a fair fight."

Remembering the battle that he had with Scott around a week ago, Josh felt his anger increasing. While Josh's words did not affect Scott. All of Scott's words stabbed Josh. He was unable to remain calm.

"Just as I fell to the ground, you also fell down. So this is not your win."

"I fell down after you did so it was my win. If you're not convinced then after this war we can fight again."

Hearing this Josh grinned before taking out his greatsword. "Why wait till the end of the war when we can fight now? Or Are you scared of me?"

Scott also took out his bow and looked at Josh. "Who said I was scared? Let's fight now." The heat in the tent had reached its maximum limit when someone entered the tent without their permission.

"Josh and Scott, how many times do I have to tell you two to stop arguing? There is no point in this." Aditya felt exhausted seeing Josh and Scott holding their weapons and facing each other. This isn't the first time such a thing has happened. Though Aditya wouldn't admit it, the rivalry between division one and division 4 makes things very interesting around the Dragon Palace.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 376

"Josh and Scott, how many times do I have to tell you two to stop arguing? There is no point in this."

Hearing this both Captains froze. The duo stared at their master in silence. After a few seconds of silence, Scott quickly put his bow inside his storage ring. Josh followed Scott and put his greatsword in the tent. Both of them pretended as if nothing happened.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Scott changed the subject. Inwardly he felt embarrassed for behaving like this in front of the Emperor.

"Amber used the Solar Cannon to defeat the Qeyesha Empire's troops. I came here to lend a helping hand and finish this battle as soon as possible. But it seems the battle hasn't even started yet."

Scott nodded his head in agreement and added. "The enemy has stopped advancing. I feel the enemy has become cautious and has decided to not recklessly charge into the battle."

"That is very possible."

"But it does not mean that we will wait here for the enemy."

"Your Majesty, you can't mean....." Josh couldn't even finish his words.

"Yes, prepare yourself. We are going to attack the Echo Nexus Empire's troops." Scott and Josh exchanged a look before smiling.

With Aditya by their side, who in this world can stop them? Who in this world can defeat their King? Having the Dragon Monarch by their side, they had nothing to fear.

Scene change_____

On the other side,

The Echo Nexus Empire's troops had set tents and were resting. It was obvious that they were not going to step inside the Echo Dominion Empire and start the war.

The army of 1 million troops was doing many kinds of activities. Some soldiers were using this opportunity to sleep and recover their energy. Some troops were busy playing card games. Some of them were in charge of cooking wheat and meat that they bought with them.

A few thousand troops were responsible for constantly scouting the surroundings and keeping a watch on the borders. If the enemy were to move, the scouts would be able to report as soon as possible.

In the dark forest, The Echo Nexus Empire's troops had set many campfires. The light of the Campfires could be seen many kilometers away. This part of the forest had no trees. The place where they had stopped was an open space near a small river that flowed from the Echo Dominion Empire. Being close to the water, allowed the troops to bathe, get access to drinking water, and wash their clothes.

Many soldiers were sitting around the Campfires and sitting idly. They were talking among themselves; telling each other their life's stories and laughing. Some of them even formed groups containing hundred or thousand of soldiers. In each group, there was a person who was either telling others stories and rumors or making them laugh through jokes. Overall, the atmosphere was very pleasant. No one looked worried about the upcoming battlefield. It was as if the Echo Nexus troops did not felt any pressure.

Around 10 meters away from the small river, there were hundreds of gigantic cooking pots set on fire. Cooking food for a million troops is not a small thing. More than 20,000 soldiers were working on making food. A few thousand soldiers were constantly stirring the cooking pot. The others were either cutting the vegetables or doing other small chores. In short, no one was just idle standing and wasting time.

Of course, the Commander and the Vice Commander of the Echo Nexus Empire's army wouldn't eat such basic-level food. The Commander had bought a professional chef with him. While the soldiers were going to have meat soup and bread, the Commander and the Vice-commander were going to have luxurious food freshly made by the chef. This was a luxury that only the top level of the military was able to enjoy.

A strong appetizing smell of the meat soup drifted in the air. The soldiers inhaled this aroma and suddenly started to feel very hungry. To them, even this kind of food was very high standard. After all, not everyone in this world is blessed to be able to eat meat every single day. As vegetables were cheaper and easier to get, vegetables were what they ate mostly. However, there were some exceptions for the soldiers that came from middle classes families.

"I can't wait to have dinner. It's going to be very delicious."

"Can't you think of anything besides eating? Why are you all not worried about this war and our upcoming battle?" It was only a matter of time before the battle between both sides took place. If the enemy were to advance into Echo Nexus Empire, then the battle will take place much earlier. In his opinion, instead of relaxing, they would be on their guards and sharpen their weapons for the battle.

Among the 1 million, there were many who thought this way.

A Captain ranking soldier who had worked under the Commander decided to reply and clear his doubts.

"We are not being careless or anything. But we are not absolutely certain when the enemy is going to attack. Instead of waiting for the enemy throughout the entire night without taking any rest, the Commander wants us to rest properly and preserve our stamina. Our Scouts are really hard-working. If anything did happen, we will be notified." Hearing this, all the soldiers nodded their heads.

"Captain, are you not scared? I heard that the Istarin Empire has bought their troops. Meaning, we just won't be facing troops from just one Empire."

"Why we should be scared. Did you forget who our Commander is? With him here, how can we lose this fight?" The source of their confidence was their Commander who was the most powerful Peak 5th-order cultivator in the Echo Nexus Empire.

While everyone was busy with their activities, a loud voice reached their ears. "Everyone's Food is ready." Hearing this many of the soldiers cheered. Some of them began to droll from the appetizing smell of the food and hardly was able to control themselves.

As prepared to eat, suddenly a bright golden beam of light lit the entire forest. The area around the tent had become bright. Everyone realized the light was getting brighter. Before everyone could stand what was going on, they were horrified to see a giant golden beam of light heading in their direction.

Just as the golden beam of light was about to devour them, a man stepped in front of the beam and stopped the attack from ending their lives. A giant dome-like barrier started to form around the entire camp. Using his body, he stopped the beam of light from going any further.

Boooooooooom!!!!!

A huge explosion took place. A giant mushroom cloud rose in the air. The sound of the explosion reached the ears of the near cities in both Empires and the citizens were able to feel the heat of the battle. The explosion had shaken the entire camp. If not for the dome-like barrier that the man had built around the Camp, the shockwave would have wiped out the entire camp in a matter of seconds. The shockwave had cleared everything within a few kilometers range. The tall trees, grasses, and magic animals, everything had disappeared; leaving behind a large space.

However, the explosion did not harm the man nor did the terrifying shockwave. He did not protect his body with any armor. He did not protect himself with any artifact. Nor did he use any mana to shield his body. He took the explosion and remained completely fine; there wasn't even a single burn mark on his body.

"The enemy has attacked. Everyone get ready to fight." Unfortunately for the soldiers who were relaxing and were excited to have food, their wishes remained unfulfilled. The enemy was here and they needed to fight.

All the troops took out their weapons and wore their armor. The archers got ready to fight by loading their bows with arrows. The foot soldiers got ready to use Magic Cannons. The knights got on their magic mounts back and were also ready.

As everything died down, the dome-like shield started to disappear.

Aditya who was around 3 km away, narrowed his eyes as he saw a shadow figure stopping the Solar Cannon's attack from destroying The Echo Nexus Empire's troops.

'He is a powerful one.' He can sense it. This man was far more powerful than Victoria or any other Peak 5th-order cultivator that Aditya has met since the start of this War. Aditya suspected that no one in the Istarin Empire and in the Echo Dominion Empire would be strong enough to defeat him. He was the only one who had some chance of defeating him.

Sensing his presence, Aditya was feeling fortunate that The Echo Nexus Empire's troops did not attack. If the fight had started, then that man alone would have wiped out every single one of their troops.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 377

Several Kilometers away from Aditya's location. The army that was being led by Commander Scott and Vice-Commander Josh was still in the territory of the Echo Dominion Empire. They still hadn't crossed the borders. Aditya came forward to take out the enemy troops by surprise using Solar Cannons.

As the massive explosive lit the night sky, all the soldiers stopped moving and took a moment to stare at the sky. Watching the explosion, the soldiers were able to guess the scope of the explosion and gulped in fear. Their mouths were wide open in shock.

Scott and Josh also looked very impressed. They couldn't stop staring. Although Aditya had told them about the Solar Cannon, he never explained how powerful the cannon truly was.

"Let's hurry up." Seeing the explosion, Josh felt excited at the thought of seeing fighting the Echo Nexus Empire's troops.

Scene change_____

Meanwhile, Aditya put the Solar Cannon in his storage ring. As silence slowly returned, Aditya who was standing on top of a rocky mountain waited to face the enemy commander.

"Your attack wasn't strong enough." As he approached, the moonlight finally reflected on his body. Aditya was able to get a glimpse of his appearance and know how he looked.

The man was standing in the air with his hands folded on his chest.

"You're Arturo Travis."

"And you must be the Istarin emperor, Aditya." Both men have heard about each other. There were many myths and stories about them floating around the continent. It was difficult to gather information about them. What Arturo and Aditya have done to their enemies is very widely known.

The sole reason Aditya was personally getting involved in every battle was because of one man. Because of him, he didn't dare to recklessly invade the Echo Nexus Empire on his own.

He is someone who Aditya believed had the strength and power to defeat him. Aditya was cautious of this man. Even in the rank of Peak 5th-order, this guy was in a complete different league.

The power gap between a normal Peak 5th-order and someone like Arturo creates lots of confusion. Since cultivators in the 6 continents cannot go beyond the Peak 5th-order realm unless they go to the Main continent, over time, the power definition of the Peak 5th-order cultivators have been erased within the Peak 5th-order cultivation rank.

The amount of power a Peak 5th-order cultivator would possess depends on bloodline, class, and skills. There are also additional factors that can influence the power of the Peak 5th order. Such as the possession of rare artifacts or 5-star pills or 5-star armor or weapon. Adding all these factors together, the power of Peak 5th-order cultivators is very different from each other.

Peak 5th-order Mage cultivators like Alexander are good at using spells and magic-type attacks but their physical stats are not that great. Even someone like Greenwood who is a beginner 5th-order Dragon with a unique class would be able to beat Alexander in a battle.

And there are also a few individuals like Arturo who has been able to increase their powers to a higher level despite their cultivation being restricted to Peak 5th-order. Cultivators like Arturo and Aditya can easily defeat even beginner 6th-order cultivators because their of their massive stats. Whereas Aditya was able to use multiple skills simultaneously to defeat strong opponents, Arturo trained his body to reach the utter limit of the Peak 5th order, which is very different for everyone.

He had made his body so strong that he was able to take the full hit of the Solar Cannon without getting even a small burn mark on his body. He took the power of the full explosion and he looked completely fine.

'Arturo is the greatest and most powerful weapon that the Echo Nexus empire has under their possession. If I manage to kill him, it would be the same as the Echo Nexus Empire losing 50% of its total military power. Rumor has it that the Emperor is really fond of Arturo. He is very loyal to the Emperor and would do whatever the Emperor orders him to do. In the past, Lucas used Arturo's powers to remove all of his obstacles. No one was able to stop this monster.'

'His unbeaten record has given him the nickname of 'The Unbeaten Barbaric King'. The name was personally given by Lucas to Arturo when he helped Lucas capture the Obi Islands that were previously ruled by an outside Empire.' The Obi Islands were full of resources and a strategic location for the Echo Nexus empire. Without the Obi Islands under their control, the Echo Nexus Empire wouldn't have been able to grow this strong.

As the Echo Nexus Empire grew, Lucas made sure to eliminate all of his potential threats. He eliminated every Empire that could potentially threaten his rule. The Echo Dominion Empire survived because of its extraordinary strength. But unfortunately, with time, the Empire has been losing its former glory and strength. When Daxton took over, the Empire already had lost too much strength and their rival had grown too strong.

'Although it isn't confirmed rumors say that Arturo has a very rare mythical class. His mythical class makes him very strong with each passing battle.'

?ALPHA KING!?

?Class - Alpha King

Description - Alpha King is someone who is born superior to others. A cultivator with the Alpha King class can grow extremely powerful.

The Alpha King is a very special class that integrates both Warrior-path cultivation and Mage-path cultivation into one. As the Cultivator progresses in his cultivation, his stats keep on expanding.

Having the Alpha King class gives the cultivator special talents.

«Functions»

«Fast Learner» - With every battle, Alpha King class holders keep on becoming stronger. The more Alpha King class holders fight the more experience he gains. He faster he can adapt and learn new techniques.

«Blessing» - Being the bearer of the Alpha King class, the cultivator can bless his subordinates and the people around him. When blessed, the strength and mana reserve increase by 10%. The number of people that Alpha King class holder can bless depends on the cultivator's cultivation rank. A Peak 5th-order cultivator can bless up to 10,000 troops or subordinates or comrades.

«Determination of a King» - Alpha King class holder is on the verge of dying, with enough determination and willpower, 'Determination of a King' can be activated. Once it gets activated, the cultivator's stats will be temporarily boosted by 200% for 3 seconds in exchange for the remaining health.?

'Arturo also has a special bloodline in his body. His bloodline makes him even more powerful and dangerous.'

?Bloodline - Amethyst Berserker!?

?Bloodline - Amethyst Berserker!?

?Description - Amethyst Berserker is a superior bloodline that forms from the Lion beastmen bloodline and Orc Bloodline. Amethyst Berserker is a mutational bloodline, that occurs only in very rare and exceptional cases.

The holder of the Amethyst Berserker is born extremely strong. Because of the mutation, the features and some traits of the Lion beastmen and the Orc are lost.

To make up for this, Amethyst Berserker is born with supernatural strength that can rival even dragons. Amethyst Berserker is born with a very high Mana capacity.?

Arturo is 5 feet 5 inches tall which is very unusual for someone who is half Lion Beastmen and Half-Orc. Arturo's skin is dark green. He had a very muscular body. He had very short hair brown hair and the sides of his head were fully trimmed. His brown beard reached to his Adam's apple.

He had a long black spear on his right and a black sword on his left hand. A had a vertical scar on his left eye. His right pupil was deep Amethyst in color. There were numerous scars and wound marks on his arms. He wore a leather vest to protect his upper body and a simple black long pant. He did not wear any armor.

But he did wear gauntlets. Both gauntlets were black in color. Looking at those Gauntlets, Aditya can tell that they were fire-resistant. This means that normal fire-type attacks won't be able to harm him. He wore a purple pendant on his neck and had a bracelet on his right wrist. Aditya can tell both items were powerful 4-star artifacts.

"Let's fight." Arturo was very excited and pumped to fight powerful as Aditya. If all the rumors that he had heard about Aditya is true, if everything that he has been told about this man is true, then this man had the potential to kill him. And this itself made Arturo super excited.

The Unbeaten Barbaric King wanted to slay the Divine Dragon.

"Let's fight." Aditya replied as he activated all of his passive skills.

Inferno Overdrive!

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

?Ding! You have activated Inferno Overdrive. You have entered into a berserk state. All of your stats except for Mana have been increased by 70%.?

?Ding! You have activated Storm Flight. Due to the storm, the agility boost from the Storm Flight has been doubled. You have obtained [200+] Agility points.?

?Ding! You have activated the Lightning Armor. Your defense has increased. You have obtained [100+] strength.?

?Ding! You have activated Crimson Lightning Dash. By consuming [20+] mana per second, you have obtained [200+] agility points.?

Dragon Transformation!

?Ding! As you have transformed into your Dragon Form, all of your stats except for mana have been doubled.?

?Ding! Your mana recovery speed has been increased by 60%.?

?Ding! 500+ extra agility has been added to your base stats.?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 378

Clang!

From a far distance, people saw two rays of light heading in each other's direction. There was a Crimson ray of light and a Blue-ray of light. Both lights moved at a speed that is unimaginable. Within a few seconds, they covered 1000 meters.

Under their eyes, they witnessed the unbelievable sight of two strange rays of light colliding.

Booooooom!!!

Crack!!!

A violent shockwave spread as a result of their collision. The shockwave was strong enough to destroy the surroundings. The thick and tall trees couldn't remain standing. Anything that came in within the radius of the shockwave was blown away.

The ground also had cracked and a large crater had formed. But the two rays of light did not stop there.

From the border cities of both Empires, the people who lived in high elevations were able to see this strange sight. The rays of light repeatedly kept clashing as if trying to destroy one another. The people didn't know the great damage that both of them were causing to the land as a result of their fight.

To the people, it was a very strange sight. It was not every day that they saw two rays of light clashing against each other. But there were some individuals among the crowd who were able to guess what was happening.

People would never think that these two rays of light are cultivators who were currently fighting with everything they have.

The Echo Nexus empire's Commander and their strongest Peak 5th-order cultivator were against the Istarin Emperor.

?The Unbeaten Barbaric King was fighting the Dragon Monarch.?

"Mommy, what are those rays of light?" Asked a little girl to her mother. The little girl and her mother were watching two rays of light clashing.

"Sweetie, these two rays of light must be angels fighting each other." The girl's mother had no answer to her daughter's question. She could only make a fake answer.

Clang!

Clang!!

Clang!!!

The two rays of light collided once again. Their collision sent another massive shockwave that surrounded the surroundings. This battle was destroying the trees and the habitats of the magic animals that lived on the borders.

Boom!!!

After clashing, both rays of light went in two separate directions. Both rays of light changed their direction after flying for 10 seconds. In that 10 seconds, Aditya and Arturo had traveled almost 3000 meters distance. From 3000 meters distance, both turned around and charged at each other at full speed.

The people saw that the two rays of light seems to have gotten faster.

Booooooooooooom!!!!!

As both rays of light collided, a sound sonic boom was heard across the Earth and Heaven. This time even the people who were watching the fight were able to hear the sound After a second. Though the sound was very small since it was nighttime and everyone was asleep, those who have been watching this were able to hear that small sound.

Meanwhile, a second later after their collision, everyone saw both rays of light going upwards together.

After their massive collision, Arturo was somehow able to grab Aditya by his throat and then take him up in the air.

Under the eyes of more than ten thousand people, the two rays of light continued rising upwards. Eventually, the rays of light disappeared beyond the white clouds. It was as if Heaven was trying to hide the two rays of light from the People.

Meanwhile, Aditya was gasping for Air. He tried his best to free himself but no matter how much he struggled or tried to free himself, he couldn't move Arturo's left hand.

Ahh!!!

Blood painted his teeth as he tried to free himself. He could feel his consciousness slowly getting blurry. He knew that he didn't have much time. Just when he thought that there was no hope of freeing himself, he suddenly remembered his black sword.

Arturo looked confused seeing Aditya taking out a Black sword from his storage ring.

Enlarge!!!

Seeing the black sword growing in size, Arturo let go of Aditya. Using this chance, Aditya swung the large Adamantite Doomblade at Arturo.

Arturo dodged the attack and managed to punch Aditya in the stomach.

Bang!!!

The power of the punch made him fall from the sky. Arturo did not let go of Aditya.

Arturo's Pov____

Arturo was very good today. As someone who has been crowned with the title of The Unbeaten Barbaric King, Arturo always has desired to meet an opponent who would be able to push him to his very limits. But he never found anyone that strong.

Over time, Arturo gave up trying to find someone stronger. He had the option to head to the Main continent and Breakthrough Peak 5th-order and then fight strong cultivators that live there. Arturo did not choose that option. Even though he was very interested in the thought of being able to fight the strongest cultivators in this world on the Main continent, he always felt that he hasn't reached his peak limit yet.

Even after his cultivation reached the Peak limit of Peak 5th-order, instead of spending his time cultivating, Arturo spend all of his time training. He spends all of his time training his body. Making his body a weapon itself.

Arturo believed that once a cultivator reaches the Peak-order of any cultivation, even though he can't cultivate without breaking into the next order, the cultivator still can continue to become stronger. He believed that each time a cultivator reached a new order, even though the cultivator's powers significantly increased after each breakthrough, the cultivator was still far from reaching his limit. Whenever a cultivator broke through a new order or rank, that cultivator's maximum capacity also increases along with it.

Though it was impossible to grow the mana reserve of a cultivator without cultivating, it was possible to improve the cultivator's other stats through intense training. And this is what he did. All those years, he trained like a crazy man and eventually reached this level.

Each cultivator's maximum capacity depends on factors such as the cultivator's bloodline, class, skills, and environment.

"You're Arturo Travis." 'I was surprised to know that someone like him knows about me. But then again, it is normal for the enemy to know about me. As I am their biggest threat.' Arturo did not show his surprised face.

"And you must be the Istarin emperor, Aditya," Arturo replied back.

'I was able to train my body and come this far because of the rare mythical class and my bloodline. I have already reached my limit. Even if I continue to train, I won't see any improvement unless I break through the next order. If it wasn't for this war, within a few months, I would have gone to the main continent. But this man is already this strong even though it only has been several months since he awakened his divine bloodline.'

Arturo shivered at the thought of fighting Peak 5th-order Aditya. Once he reaches Peak 5th-order, he would be the biggest monster this world has ever seen. No one within the 6 continents would be capable of defeating him anymore.

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

Arturo and Aditya continued to clash. Both of them exchanged moves and learned about each other's strengths. As the fight went on, Arturo gradually stopped and began holding back and increasing his attack powers.

And to his surprise, Aditya was able to keep up with him. It seems he too was holding his powers back.

Realizing this made Arturo even more excited. He started using his full power without holding. Just as he did that, he was able to overwhelm Aditya. Although Aditya was extremely powerful, he was falling a little short in front of Arturo's powers.

Arturo took him to the sky. As expected, Aditya was able to free himself from his grip. But that was what he wanted him to do.

As Aditya fell down from the sky, Arturo chased after him.

Arturo's PoV End____

The people were able to see the Crimson ray of light followed by the blue ray of light.

While chasing after Aditya, Arturo bought his palms together and fired multiple ice lightning bolts at Aditya. Aditya in response sent several Crimson lightning bolts to counter.

Booom!!!

Crack!!!

As seconds passed, Aditya realized that Arturo's lightning bolts were no ordinary lightning bolts. The Crimson bolts of lightning were being pushed back. Seeing this, Aditya moved out of the way. The Ice Lightning bolts failed to hit Aditya and hit the ground.

As soon as it came near the ground, everything turned into a frozen statue. An area that was nearly 500 meters big was completely frozen in ice.

Aditya saw this and looked at Arturo who sent a 10 meters giant orb of blue flame.

'This isn't some ordinary flame.' Aditya thought as he proceed to counter the blue flame orb with a 10 meters big crimson flame orb.

Boooooooom!!!!!

As both attacks collided, Aditya and Arturo continued their chase. Arturo continued to chase after Aditya.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 379

Aditya saw this and looked at Arturo who sent a 10 meters giant orb of blue flame.

'This isn't some ordinary flame.' Aditya thought as he proceeded to counter the blue flame orb with a 10 meters big crimson flame orb.

Boooooooom!!!!!

As both attacks collided, Aditya and Arturo continued their chase. Arturo continued to chase after Aditya.

"You cannot get away from me." Just when Aditya looked back, the last thing he saw before turning into a statue of ice was a blue lightning bolt in front of his eyes.

Booom!!!

The crowd watching the fight saw the Crimson ray of light had vanished from their sight. They could only see the Blue ray of light. This made them assume that the Crimson ray of light has been defeated.

Aditya's entire body turned into a statue of ice. His body fell to the ground.

Arturo frowned while staring in Aditya's direction. As he can still sense that the Istarin Empere was still alive.

Crack!!!!

A small crack appeared on the Ice statue of Aditya. Following the small cracks, many other small cracks started appearing.

Shatter!!!

Breaking all the ice, Arturo found his opponent in Crimson Flame. Crimson lightning was violently flickering around his body.

"I expected this to happen. I wonder how you will face this?" As Arturo finished his sentence, the night sky suddenly brightened making everyone look up. When they looked up, they all gasped in shock at seeing thousand of golden shooting stars.

Aditya found over one thousand golden shooting stars over his head. He knew that it was too late to dodge the attack.

«Enlarge!!!»

He grabbed his black sword and used it to shield himself from the attack.

Booom!!!!

Booom!!!!

Boooom!!!

The Adamantite Doomblade which had grown well over 20 meters long and 5 meters wide took all the shooting stars.

Looking at the Peak 5-star black sword, Arturo once again frowned. From their exchange, he can tell that this Black sword is really special.

While Aditya was busy defending himself from the shooting stars, unknown to Arturo, the dark clouds above him started gathering more Crimson lightning bolts. The Crimson lightning in the clouds became more violent.

Even from a far distance, one can see the dark clouds and the Crimson lightning bolts.

Meanwhile, Arturo took out an old rusty-looking Mantle. The Mantle was torn from many sides and had lost its deep red color. It was slightly dirty. No one would imagine a Peak 5th-order wearing this. Other than Appraisers, no one would even think that this old worn-out Mantle is a powerful Artifact.

Just when Arturo finished wearing the Mantle, he sensed something was wrong with the dark clouds. And then…..

Booom!!!

Booom!!!

Booom!!!

«Enraged Lightning Spell!»

The people watching in the distance covered their mouths in shock as they witnessed thousand of Crimson lightning bolts raining down the sky.

Arturo was hit more than thousands of Crimson lightning bolts. At the end, he was sent flying.

He crashed a few thousand meters away from Aditya. As soon as he fell, he didn't even take a second to stand.

"Not good." Arturo body was in pain but he liked this pain very much. How long it has been since he had met someone who could make him feel pain? Even he forgot the last time he had been pushed this far.

At the same time, the shooting stars that was raining upon Aditya also stopped. Extending his Dragon wings, he flew up in the air to meet Arturo.

"You came at the perfect time." Aditya found Arturo wearing a old worn out red Mantle. One thing that he immediately noticed about this mantle was it was made from dragon scales. The Dragon Scales weren't that visible but Aditya was perfectly able to see it.

"What is that?" Aditya couldn't help but ask Arturo.

A dark green Aura surrounded his entire body. Arturo smiled and replied. "Something that you will give me more power."

?Mantle of Dragons!?

?Description - Dragonhide and scales harvested over centuries were used to create this wondrous cloak. Magicks that were the sum of a full coven's efforts were infused into it and the cloak forged a connection to the draconic afterlife as a result. Power radiates from it.

An intoxicating power that calls forth and begs you to don the Mantle of Dragons.

This cloak requires attunement to gain its effects. Once attuned, the wearer learns that the cloak grants the ability to change in a manner similar to the True Polymorph spell. The cloak allows one to transform into a dragon of the same alignment as themselves. All items held or worn during the change are absorbed into the dragon form.?

ROAR!!!!!!

A thunderous spread everywhere. Aditya widened his eyes seeing Arturo's body changing. His entire body was covered in bright blue light. With each second, his body grew in size.

His body gradually changed shape and started to look more like a giant Snake. Dark green scales began covering his skin which increased his defense powers.

When the transformation was over, in front of Aditya, there was a 25 meters giant snake flying in the fly.

'It's an Eastern Dragon.' The green Dragon's whole body was covered in thick and shiny scales. It had sharp claws and large teeth. The color of the dragon remained purple.

"The mantle of Dragon is a Beginner 5th-order artifact that I managed to take after killing a beginner 5th-order cultivator in Westnia." Over the years, in search of powerful cultivators, Arturo has travelled to all the six continents. In his journey, he had challenged countless cultivators.

Each time he defeated a cultivator, he would keep whatever they had. Arturo would keep the valuable things in his possession and give the remaining loot to the Echo Nexus Emperor. This made sure he kept the Echo Nexus Emperor happy as well.

The previous owner of Mantle of Dragon was a beginner 5th-order cultivator from the Dragon Slayer guild. The beginner 5th-order cultivator had been sent to Westnia to slay a Dragon.

Arturo knew about this magical artifact and wanted it for himself. He knew that the Dragon Slayer guild wouldn't agree to give such a valuable artifact if he asked for it. So when he found the beginner 5th-order cultivator alone, he killed the cultivator and took away his possessions. Although some elders from the Dragon Slayer guild suspected that Arturo was behind this, they couldn't take any action against him.

This was because Arturo was the most important asset to the Echo Nexus Empire. And Emperor Lucas wouldn't blame Arturo for what he had done. Arturo even suspected that the Emperor also knew about this but chose to remain ignorant.

In the end, this matter was buried and no one spoke about it. The Dragon Slayer guild received huge support from the Echo Nexus empire and they didn't want to risk damaging their friendship. If the Echo Nexus Empire stopped supporting the Dragon Slayer guild, then the Dragon slayer guild would be destroyed.

"It allows me to temporarily change my race to a Dragon." Aditya could feel it. Arturo's Aura has gotten stronger after he transformed into a Dragon.

"At the end of the day, you're nothing but a FAKE. You're not a real Dragon. You can morph your body into a Dragon but you can never copy the very essence and traits that we Dragons possess."

"And there is no way, this Dragon Monarch will be defeated by a Fake Dragon." This was a matter of pride to Aditya. Aditya was the Dragon Monarch. How can be live up to Name of being the King of all Dragons if he is defeated by a Fake Dragon?

"Dragon Monarch..." Arturo repeated the name after Aditya. The respect that he had for Aditya only increased. This fight could become the most important and the most entertaining fight of his whole life.

"So what are you waiting for? I want to fight you at your greatest."

"I wasn't planning on holding back." Aditya smiled and replied.

ROARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

After entering into his dragon form, by instinct, the Dragon Monarch let out a powerful roar that shook the land and pushed the snow away from him.

Aditya was in his dragon form. Aditya's Dragon form was 50 meters in size. He had two large strong beautiful Crimson dragon wings. His arms morphed into dragon claws. His claws were white in color. His entire body was covered in thick red scales. His eyes were dark and his pupils were crimson red with vertical slits in them. He had two large straight horns on top of his head.

His teeth were white and extremely large. Small wisps of crimson flame could form near his nose when he breathed. His tongue was crimson red. The ending of his tail was burning in Crimson flame.

"Heavenly...." Arturo couldn't resist his urge to say this word. Looking at Aditya, he felt he was in the presence of a true divine being.

Looking at Aditya's Dragon form, Arturo felt jealous of someone's bloodline for the first time. If only he possessed Divine Dragon Bloodline like Aditya, how great would that have been?

<Picture of Mantle of Dragons is in the comment section>

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 380

Wisps of Crimson Flame danced around his mighty imposing body. The unbreakable Crimson scales covering his body were shining brightly in the dark. The shine gave him a unique glow in the darkness of the night.

It looked as if he was a True Divine out of this world. A divine who had descended to the mortal realm to rule and conquer.

Intemperate Crimson lightning bolts were flickering around his body. Those who even come near him would be hit with a bolt of Crimson lightning.

In the distance, the Istarin and the Echo Dominion Empires' troops saw all of this. Once again, the army of 1 million stopped advancing just to look and admire the Divine Dragon form of the Istarin Emperor.

"Beautiful"

"So this is the Dragon Form of Our Emperor." None of the Istarin Soldiers has ever seen their Emperor's Divine Dragon Form. Almost every Istarin troop wanted to see their Emperor in his Divine Dragon Form. And Today, they were lucky enough to witness it.

"Majestic..."

"I honestly have no words to describe astonished I am currently." Said the Echo Dominion Emperor's troops.

"I feel as if I am in the Presence of a True Divine being...…A Dragon God."

Scott stepped forward and said in a soft tone that reached everyone's ears. "No, he isn't the A Dragon God.....

?He is the King of All Dragons, he is the ruler of Earth, he is the Divine, he is the ever-powerful and undefeatable, He is, The Dragon Monarch?

As these words were spoken, the soldiers had goosebumps while staring at the Giant imposing Divine Dragon. Their eyes were full of awe and reverence.

On the other side, the reaction of the Echo Nexus empire's troops was quite ugly. The soldiers had been attacked by the enemy. Without their commander protecting them, they would have been dead by now. With their empty stomachs, they had been forced to prepare to face the enemy. Many troops were annoyed as they were woken up from their sleep to fight.

Since their Commander and the enemy were fighting far away from their location, they couldn't exactly see what was going on. From time to time, they saw two rays of light repeatedly clashing and destroying the environment and changing the shape of the land with their attacks.

And now even from such a far distance, they witnessed two different kinds of Dragons facing each other. Their Commander had turned into a Snake-like Green Eastern Dragon. While the enemy had transformed into a Might imposing-looking Western Dragon. When Comparing both Dragon's appearances, even though it hurt for them to admit it, deep down they knew in their hearts that the Western Dragon looked more imposing, threatening, and powerful than the Eastern Dragon.

Tap! Tap!

A 5 feet tall 17 years old young boy called his 19 years old friend.

"Brother, while everyone is distracted, let's escape."

"Billy, what the hell are you saying? Are you seriously trying to betray your own home?" The 19 years old soldier name Steve became enraged when his friend Billy wanted to flee from the battlefield.

Steve grabbed Billy's both shoulders and seriously looked into his eyes. "This Empire is our Home. We were born in this Empire and we have an obligation to serve this Empire. We swore to defend this Empire from its enemies and protect its honor. We swore to help His Majesty in making this Empire a paradise for your children and our families." This was the narrative that the Empire used to brainwash its soldiers.

"After all that the Empire has done for you, how can you possibly harbor the thought of betraying your own motherland." Steve tried his best to keep his tone low so that others won't hear his words. If others knew that Billy was trying to flee, then the others would consider Billy a traitor and would instantly kill him. This isn't something that Steve didn't want to see happening as Billy was his best friend and was also like his little brother whom he had looked after ever since he had joined the military.

Steve's last sentence about the Empire snapped something inside Billy. Billy pushed Steve's hands away from his shoulders and angrily asked. "What has the Empire done for me?"

"Ever since I joined the military I have been told by countless people including the Emperor that the Empire has done so much for me and others like me. But What exactly did the Empire do for me? I have lived on the streets and ate rotten food to survive. Did the Empire give me food and shelter to survive? The answer is No."

"I didn't have the money to attend school. Growing up, I have always been kicked around and humiliated by the rich, by the soldiers, by the nobles, and by everyone in society. Where was the Empire when I needed them the most? This narrative that the Empire has done so much for me and people like me is complete utter bullshit. I never expected you of all people to get brainwashed by such a stupid narrative." In the end, Steve was left stunned.

He had never seen Billy this angry before. And Billy's words have shaken his core beliefs about the Empire. He was starting to doubt his own words, his own heart, and his own choices.

To the middle class and especially the lower-class people, the fastest and the easiest way of becoming rich and having a better quality of life and rise in social status would be to let one of their family members become a soldier.

The Echo Nexus Empire had the second-largest army in the Dying Isle Continent after the Istarin Empire. Each year, the Empire kept increasing the size of its army. The Echo Nexus empire only recruited men who were around 17 to 25 years old. The Empire focused on cultivating new and fresh seeds and didn't give any chances to the men who were older than 25 years of age.

Recruiting young soldiers meant that the soldier can work for the Empire for the next 15 to 20 years. Recruiting a 20-year-old soldier guaranteed the Empire that the soldier would work for the Empire for the next 15 to 20 years, as the average retiring age for a low-ranking soldier is above 35. If the soldier has good talent and is hardworking and if he manages to reach second order, then the retiring age of the soldier increases to 60 or even 70 years old.

The Empire would be easily able to mold the young recruits into whatever they wished. Since the young recruits are not experienced in society and the life of an adult, the Empire would be able to brainwash them and make them patriotic towards the Empire. This ensures that the soldiers remain loyal and a puppet to the Empire.

"Are you coming with me or not?" Billy asked one last time. He was sick of this. Being in the Capital, he had seen just how much the Emperor is in control of the people. He saw no reason to give up his only life for the sake of an Empire that only used him as a tool.

A complicated look appeared on Steve's face as he stared at the distance. He then looked at Billy and asked. "Even if we escape, we can't return to the Empire as we would be executed for fleeing. And with the current ongoing war, our escape to the Echo Dominion Empire is closed. We can't also head to the other Empires as those Empires are close allies of the Echo Nexus empire. Unless we have a crazy amount of wealth to buy tickets and use the teleportation array and run to another region or continent, there is no escape route for us." Low-ranking soldiers like them can never afford the 1000 gold coins needed to use the teleportation array.

"We are not going to escape the Echo Nexus empire.." Even though Billy was young he was very smart and his trait of being able to quickly read the situation and think under tense situations allowed him to come this far in life.

"Then what are we....."

"We will wait. If our commander wins, then we will make some excuses and stay in the army. If our commander loses, then we will surrender and become war prisoners of the Istarin Empire."

"That's crazy. Why would we do that?" Steve asked while looking completely confused.

"The reason is simple. Our Commander is the main power of the Echo Nexus empire. If he is defeated, then there is no one who would be able to stop the Istarin Emperor. This means the Echo Nexus Empire will fall. If the Leader of the Oracle Alliance falls, then the other members of the Oracle Alliance will either lose or just surrender and look for a peace treaty." Billy understood that the power of the Oracle Alliance is concentrated in the hands of the Echo Nexus Empire. As soon as the Echo Nexus Empire falls, the Oracle Alliance would be dissolved and the war would end.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 381

????

The Eastern Dragon flew towards the cloud at a very fast pace. Under everyone's gaze, the Eastern Green Dragon created a hole through the clouds and went beyond the clouds.

However, the Western Dragon did not chase after the Eastern Dragon. Aditya stared at the sky and waited to see what Arturo wanted to do.

The next second, an intense bright blue light pierced the dark clouds and reached the earth. The bright light was so intense that anyone within 100 km was able to see this light.

????

Letting out another thunderous Roar, Arturo descended on Aditya at lightning speed. His whole body was covered in blue flames. As he flew down, his body left a blue streak behind.

Seeing this, Aditya's Dragon senses flared up; as if trying to warn him about the potential danger coming from the Eastern Dragon.

Aditya briefly glanced at the list of passive skills and the Innate skill he was currently using. Among all of his skills, there was one certain skill that he couldn't use according to his will. And that passive skill was ?o?? ????e.

Seeing that Aditya is not doing anything to counter his attack or defend himself, Arturo suddenly felt a little bit suspicious in his heart. But that did not stop him there.

'If you think that you're strong enough to take this attack without using any skills or artifact, then I will be disappointed to know that my opponent is an idiot.' Arturo thought in his mind. Strangely enough, Arturo did not want his attack to end Aditya just like that as he can tell that this man had so much more to offer.

It's not every day that he meets someone like Aditya with the power and potential to end his kill. Their battle has just started. It would be a shame if their battle just ended just like that.

Scott, Josh, and other Istarin and Echo Dominion Empire troops saw the Eastern Dragon smashing at the Western Dragon.

What followed was a loud explosion that send shockwaves in every direction and earthquake to take place.

?oooooooooom

With the shockwave, a cold frost energy spread everywhere. As the shockwave traveled in every direction, the frost energy completely froze everything in its path. Nothing was spread whether it was trees, animals, insects, rocks, stones, or rivers. Whatever came in contact with the Cold Frost energy which was released due to the blue flame, instantly froze.

Watching the destruction taking place, Josh and Scott gulped and thought. 'Fortunately, we are very far away from them otherwise, just this shockwave would have been enough to end us.'

"Did we win?" The Echo Nexus Empire's soldiers were very happy at this moment. There is no way the enemy King would be still alive after taking such a powerful attack.

Or….At least that's what most soldiers thought in their minds.

However, Arturo didn't look too happy. He calmly walked out of the crater that formed as a result of his attack. At the very last moment, Aditya suddenly disappeared. Arturo didn't take long to figure out that Aditya had managed to teleport.

??mm??

Arturo was extremely frustrated at this moment. He was very angry. The battle was just getting started but his opponent had to flee.

'I didn't know Aditya can use teleportation skills.' Even if he knew about this, there is nothing that he could have done to stop Aditya from teleporting away.

Arturo ended up slightly injuring himself as a result. This is why he was so angry. When Aditya teleported away, he couldn't stop himself in time and ended up hitting the earth at full speed.

"Now what should I do?"

Meanwhile,

"Let's escape."

"But..."

"Don't say any word. Our lives are more important."

Like Billy and Steve, a few other small groups of soldiers managed to flee in the darkness of the night without anyone noticing them.

In the Echo Dominion Empire's territory,

"Scott, where is His Majesty? I can't see him anymore." Josh asked.

"I am here."

Josh and Scott almost jumped in fright as they heard Aditya's voice behind them.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Scott asked while looking completely surprised.

"I teleported back to the Dragon palace before Arturo's attack would hit me. Then I switched places with one Dragonian to return here." Aditya explained as if what he did wasn't a big deal. But others were completely shocked hearing what the Istarin Emperor was shocked. Their jaws almost fell to the ground.

Aditya's human body started to transform into the body of a Divine Dragon. "Arturo will sense my presence. I can't stay here. I have to end this battle." Saying that Aditya flew off to the sky and headed in Arturo's direction to continue their battle.

Arturo was about to leave when he faintly sensed Aditya's presence. At first, he thought he couldn't believe it. But with each second, the presence became more apparent.

"So he didn't just run away?" Arturo was appreciating Aditya for not running away like a coward.

Meanwhile, the Echo Nexus troops saw dark clouds containing Crimson lightning over their heads. Seeing this, everyone had some doubts in their hearts.

'Aditya is busy fighting the commander, how can he have time to attack us?' That's what's what more soldiers thought in his mind.

However, contrary to their wishes and expectations, the next second, countless Crimson lightning bolts started raining down on them.

?r???

?oooom

??n?

??....

"?omeone ??ve me."

"??n"

The army of 1 million became chaotic. The soldiers abandoned their posts and began to run here and there; trying to escape the Crimson lightning. Even the Peak 4th-order cultivators weren't spread.

Multiple Crimson lightning bolts hit the Peak 4th-order soldiers and ended their lives. Some lucky ones did manage to survive by using their artifacts or weapons or by sacrificing other soldiers.

???n?! ?o? ??ve ??lle? ?e??'? 3r?-or?er ??l??v??or. ?o? ??ve ???ne? e??er?en?e ?o?n??. ?o?r ???er?en?e ?o?n?? ??ve been ??ve? for l??er ??e. ?olle???n? ?m?ll ??r?? of ??e enem?'? ?o?l...…?

???n?! ?o? ??ve ??lle? ?e??'? 4??-or?er ??l??v??or. ?o? ??ve ???ne? e??er?en?e ?o?n??. ?o?r ???er?en?e ?o?n?? ??ve been ??ve? for l??er ??e. ?olle???n? ?m?ll ??r?? of ??e enem?'? ?o?l...…?

???n?! ?o? ??ve ??lle? ???-3r?-or?er ??l??v??or. ?o? ??ve ???ne? e??er?en?e ?o?n??. ?o?r ???er?en?e ?o?n?? ??ve been ??ve? for l??er ??e. ?olle???n? ?m?ll ??r?? of ??e enem?'? ?o?l...….?

???n?! ?o? ??ve ??lle? ???-2n?-or?er ??l??v??or. ?o? ??ve ???ne? e??er?en?e ?o?n??. ?o?r ???er?en?e ?o?n?? ??ve been ??ve? for l??er ??e. ?olle???n? ?m?ll ??r?? of ??e enem?'? ?o?l...…?

Within a few seconds, more than ten thousand troops has been killed by Aditya even though he was more than 20 kilometers away. Using Crimson lighting from such a far distance consumed more Mana than usual. This is why Aditya never uses Crimson Lightning in this manner.

But in the current situation, it was necessary for him to take such steps to defeat Arturo.

'Here it comes.' Aditya thought as he charged at Arturo while wrapping his entire body within Crimson Flame.

???n?! ?o?l ?l??e ??? ?olle? eno??? enem?'? ?o?l? ?o re??? 100%.?

???n?! ?o?l ?l??e ??? been ????v??e?. ?or ??e ne?? 10 m?n??e?, ?ll of ??e ?o??'? ????? ??ve been ?n?re??e? b? 45%.?

?ooom

Aditya experienced a huge boost in his powers. His speed suddenly exploded. Arturo widened his eyes watching this.

'What happened? Suddenly he feels different.' A cold sweat rolled down Arturo's neck as he stared at the Crimson Dragon who was charging at him. He could feel it, the current Aditya was as strong as him. In fact, in some areas, Arturo felt Aditya was superior to him. Aditya had a huge mana reserve. He can keep throwing attacks at him without getting tired.

"Not good!!!" Arturo realized at the speed Aditya was currently moving, it would be nearly impossible to stop him. Also, he was already slightly injured but Aditya wasn't. This would make a big difference in their strength.

The Eastern Dragon took a deep breath and then opened its mouth. A blue ball of energy started to form in its mouth. He then fired a blue beam of frost energy at Aditya.

?ro?? ?re????n?

Aditya who was charging at Arturo with his whole body covered in Crimson flame was met with a blue beam of frost energy. Instead of dodging, the Dragon Monarch took the attack head one.

?ooom

The blue beam wasn't enough to stop him from charging. It did slow down his speed. He invested more mana to increase the temperature of his Crimson flame and continued to force himself forward while taking the blue beam.

At the same time, the sky strangely began to brighten. This caused everyone to look up at the sky. But Arturo was too busy firing the blue beam at Aditya. He refused to believe that Aditya can keep taking his attack and continue charging forward. He was determined to stop him with his attack.

More than ten thousand different colors of lightning bolts started gathering in one single point. The Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet colors lightning bolts started to fuse to form something even stronger and greater.

?nr??e? ?????n?n? ??ell

?r???

Just like before Arturo sensed something dangerous above his head. He stopped firing the blue beam and glanced up. The last thing that he saw before being struck by a powerful white bolt of lightning was a bright flash of light.

?oooooooooooooooom

Everyone gasped seeing the power of the white lightning bolt. Some even thought that this was the end of Arturo Travis.

A moment later, as things calmed down, Aditya landed on the ground and looked at Arturo. The lightning bolt had forced Arturo to return to his original form. As his Dragon form wasn't his original form, rather it was a Dragon morphing skill that he gained due to the ??n??e of ?r??on.

Under all the ice, dust, pebbles, and debris, Arturo was lying on the ground. ??n??e of ?r??on had been torn apart. The Artifact was severely damaged by the white lightning bolt.

Arturo's face was completely covered in blood. His clothes were torn apart. The skin on his chest has been completely burned black. He was bleeding heavily. His Aura was getting weaker with each second.

"I guess the battle is over." Aditya was about to deactivate his passive skills when he heard a sinister and dark voice.

????? m??e ?o? ???n? ??e b???le ?? over? ? ?m no? ???n? ?ere ?lone. ? ?m ?o?n? ?o ?r?? ?o? w??? me.?

?!

Aditya looked at the place where Arturo was previously lying. The Arturo that was lying on the ground disappeared. Aditya sensed Arturo's Aura behind him.

'Not good' Aditya knew that he cannot react in time to dodge or counter back.

«?e?erm?n???on of ? ??n?»

?«?e?erm?n???on of ? ??n?» - ?l??? ??n? ?l??? ?ol?er ?? on ??e ver?e of ???n?, w??? eno??? ?e?erm?n???on ?n? w?ll?ower, '?e?erm?n???on of ? ??n?' ??n be ????v??e?. ?n?e ?? ?e?? ????v??e?, ??e ??l??v??or'? ????? w?ll be ?em?or?r?l? boo??e? b? ?wo ??n?re? ?er?en? for ??ree ?e?on?? ?n e????n?e for ??e rem??n?n? ?e?l??.?

From the corner of his eyes, he could see a black spear aimed towards his head. Aditya knew that he needed to survive only for 3 seconds. Everything was happening too fast for him. Arturo's bloody smile disappeared when he saw Aditya's head and his body turning into a bolt of crimson lightning before the tip of the spear could even touch his head.

?r?m?on ?????n?n? ?l?n?

Arturo couldn't land the final blow. The Crimson lightning bolt turned into seven lightning bolts and spread in seven directions.

?!

Arturo felt very helpless. He thought he could take Aditya with him but now he found that his opponent had another hidden move. He only had less than two seconds to live. It was impossible for him to survive at this point. Nothing in this world would be able to save his life at this point. He had traded his remaining life force to buy himself 3 seconds of 200% super boost.

He could have used the teleportation crystal in his storage ring to retreat and fight Aditya after preparation. But he was so into this battle that he didn't wish to retreat.

'I guess this is it for me.' Arturo closed his eyes.

??owever, ? w?ll ???ll rem??n ??e ?nbe??en ??rb?r?? ??n? ??ll ?e???. ? won'? ??e ?? ?o?r ??n?.?

?!

Arturo opened his eyes. The look on his face had completely changed. He had a crazy smile on his face. Aditya could tell that Arturo was about to do something crazy. He began to move away from Arturo.

?? ??ron? ??rr?or ?oe? no? fe?r ?e???. ??? ??e e?e? of ??e ?ow?r? never f?n? re?? even ?n ?lee?.?

The three artifacts that Arturo was wearing suddenly began to glow very brightly.

?!

Compared to previous times, a powerful golden ball appeared. The golden ball was more than 500 meters big in size. It was so big, that the golden ball could be seen from the other end of the Echo Nexus Empire. As the golden ball continued to grow in size, Aditya who was in the form of lightning bolts moved as fast as his body would allow.

?oooooooooooooooom

And it happened. The explosion was so big that everything within 25 km was instantly wiped out. The Echo Nexus troops were caught in the explosion and almost all of the soldiers were instantly killed.

A large mushroom cloud rose in the sky. The view of the starry sky had been blocked by a large cloud of dust. Fortunately, Aditya and his army were just out of the range. It could be said that Aditya and his troops barely managed to escape the explosion.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 382

???! ???! ???!

??n?!

Prime Minister Philip entered Lucas's bedroom by opening the door without first knocking or taking the emperor's permission. Philip found the Emperor standing on his balcony and staring at the giant mushroom cloud that had covered the sky.

Even though the capital of the Echo Nexus empire is around 850 kilometers away from its border eastern borders, even from such a long distance, the Emperor was able to see the explosion that destroyed an area of 25 kilometers.

Philip took a deep breath to relax his nerves and stop his body from shaking. The news of Arturo's death was so shocking to Philip that he couldn't stop shaking in fear. His whole body was covered in sweat. His face looked pale. His eyes were full of fear. It was as if he had met the God of Death.

"Your Majesty, Arturo Travis is dead." Even though Philip tried, he couldn't stop his voice from being shaky which showed how nervous and frightened he was.

Arturo Travis was the very best that the Echo Nexus Empire had to offer. With Arturo Travis, the Echo Nexus Empire had nothing to fear. No one was able to challenge their rule.

When Lucas decided to send Arturo to the eastern borders with one million troops under his command, Lucas trusted Arturo's abilities to the point where he didn't even monitor what was going on at the front line. In his heart, from the beginning, he had considered this battle to be their victory. With Arturo Travis, nothing can go wrong.

Lucas did not reply. He kept staring at the sky. Within just a single day, he had lost too many things in life. In the beginning, he lost his dear son and his future heir to the enemy Empire and watched him getting tortured by the enemy. The Oracle Alliance that he always has been proud of failed to meet his expectations and ended up losing to the enemy. The most powerful cultivator in his Empire was killed along with one million of his troops. This day couldn't get more worse and shitter than this.

Around 10 minutes passed in silence.

In those 10 minutes of silence, Philip waited for the Emperor to say anything but no words from his mouth were heard. Philip also tried his best to think or come up with any kind of solution. If the enemy Emperor did have the power to defeat their strongest, then it was the worst thing that could happen to them.

No matter how much he run his brain, no matter how much he tried to look for a solution, his brain simply couldn't find an answer to their problem.

At this point, the winner of this war already has been decided. If Lucas decides to stubbornly continue this war, then the Istarin Empire wouldn't stop till every single ally member of the Oracle Alliance including the Echo Nexus Empire has fallen into their hands. If they surrender, the enemy would demand some outrageous compensation. And they would have no choice but to agree. Without their strongest cultivator, disagreeing with the enemy Empire's demand would only mean their end.

'How to matter how I look at it, currently we are in a clear disadvantage situation. The intervention of The Celestial Terrain has limited our options. If we could use our other allies' powers and forces, then maybe we could have altered the outcome of this war.' In all honestly, Philip was expecting this War to go on for months or even for years. But the war ended within a single day.

Although neither party has surrendered yet, meaning that the War is still ongoing, it was clear that the Winner already has been decided and meaning that the War will end soon.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" Philip hesitantly asked. He feared that the Emperor would be extremely angry now given that he is very egotistical and short-tempered. The Emperor hates losing.

But contrary to what Philip was expecting, the Emperor replied calmly and tiredly.

Sigh!

After sighing, Lucas took out a bottle of red wine and a glass from his storage ring. He poured the wine into his glass and put the bottle on the floor. After emptying the glass, Lucas turned around and looked at Philip.

"What else can we do now? Continuing this war would mean the end of us. Let's hope that Our Enemy doesn't demand anything outrageous." Hearing this Philip bitterly nodded his head.

This marked the end of their Dominance over the entire Dying Isle continent and the rise of a new powerhouse.

"But first send my words to all of our allies."

Meanwhile,

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Josh and Scott were the first ones to find Aditya. After the explosion, they couldn't find Aditya anywhere near them. This made them slightly worried. Fortunately, Aditya wasn't that far from their location, hence they were easily able to find him.

Josh and Scott found Aditya sitting on a rock and staring at the 25 kilometers-giant crater. The deepest point of the crater was 15 kilometers. The crater was so big that it could be the second biggest city of the Echo Dominion Empire and still would have space left in it.

Looking around, Josh and Scott only saw chaos and destruction. Parts of the land had been turned to frost. Some parts of the land had been completely turned to ashes. The rivers and lakes have been frozen in ice. Mountains and valleys have been destroyed. Apparently, this battle destroyed many habitats and greatly damaged the land.

"This land will take a long time to heal and recover. Perhaps this big crater and the other smaller craters that our attacks have created will turn into big lakes. Over time a new ecosystem will be built. Nature can balance everything in this world."

Josh and Scott looked at each other, not understanding why the Emperor was talking about the land.

"Today morning, when the War was declared, I thought this was going to be a long war for us. But this war turned out to be one of the shortest wars that we have fought."

"Your Majesty, you mean...."

"Yes, By tomorrow morning, the other party will surrender if he is smart enough to know what is good for him. Otherwise, I will personally kill them all."

Aditya was so tired that he barely had enough energy to keep his eyes open. This whole day he has been working. He went to all four battlefields. He fought against three 5th-order cultivators. One time he even nearly died and the second time, his opponent was unbelievably powerful. Too many things have happened in one day. The Dragon Monarch was exhausted.

"Scott, stay here with Josh and be on stand-by mode. Let our troops rest."

Scott nodded his head without showing any emotions.

Meanwhile, Josh wasn't pleased about staying with Scott. After all, this dark elf always managed to find a way to get under his skin.

"I will head back to the Dragon Palace." Saying that Aditya teleported away leaving the whole Dying Isle Continent in chaos. As the news of the Istarin Emperor defeating Arturo has already begun to spread in every direction. With the wind, the news spread all over the continent and even outside the continent.

After Aditya left, Josh and Scott were about to head back when both of them sensed two presences approaching them. Both Josh and Scott looked at each other and nodded their heads. Both took out their weapons and became cautious.

Sigh!

"We are finally out of the forest."

"Man that was exhausting."

"By the way, where are we....?" Steve and Billy widened their eyes in shock seeing the enemy troops.

"Enemy….."

"Let's kill them quickly and head back." Scott placed one arrow on the bowstring and was ready to shoot.

"Wait...Wait..." Both Steve and Billy raised their hands and surrendered themselves.

"What?" Josh asked in a displeased tone. Josh was already pissed about having to stay with Scott. He was looking to vent his anger on these two enemy troops.

"We surrender. Please don't kill us. Please take us with you." Billy and Steve pleaded with kneeling on the ground with their hands raised in the air.

"Surrendering time over. You two can die." Hearing this both Steve and Billy stiffened. Their eyes were full of fear.

"Wait." This time Scott stopped them.

"What?" Josh now looked even more displeased.

"Since they have surrendered, let's take them back to the camp. There is no need to kill them." Scott saw no value in killing these two low-ranking troops. It would be better to take them as war prisoners. Maybe in the future, these two can become even a part of the Istarin empire.

Unlike Josh, Scott thought more rationally.

"Do whatever you want." Josh did not argue with Scott. He coldly looked at Steve and Billy making them shiver in fear before leaving.

Sigh!

Scott sighed before lowering his bow. He knew that Josh has returned to the camp. Even if went somewhere else to cool his head, he won't be in any danger so Scott wasn't worried.

"Get up you two. Let's go." Steve and Billy timidly nodded their heads and followed Scott back to the camp.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 383

Aditya couldn't keep his eyes open. He somehow teleported back to the Dragon Palace. With his eyes closed, he somehow found the bed and the comfortable pillow under his head. Just as he lay down, he fell into a deep sleep, not realizing that he had made a big mistake.

Alicia's Pov_____

'I wish I could support Aditya in this war in any way.' The goddess of Wealth proposed using her wealth and the connections she has built over the years to help Aditya win this war. She was already helping Aditya by using her Guild to help the Istarin Empire gather information about the enemy Empires. Through her guild, the shadow guardians gain free entry to any enemy cities without having to sneak inside the city or use disguise both methods involved much more risks.

At first, Alicia wanted her father to send troops to help Aditya. But since this war is an internal matter of the Dying Isle continent, outside forces were not allowed to get involved. But she could still help him indirectly. What's the use of having so much power and money, when she can't even help the people close to her when they are in desperate situations? But he refused any help from her saying the following words.

?? ?m re?ll? ????? ?o ??ve ?o?r ?n? o??er? b????n? on ????. ??? ?or now, ? ?on'? re???re ?el? from ?n?one. ?f ? ever were ?o re???re ?n? ??n? of ?el? or ???????n?e, ? wo?l? ???ro??? ?o? before ???ro????n? ?n?one el?e. ??o??? ??ere ?? ?ome???n? ???? ? w?n? ?o? ?o ?o.?

Hearing these words, the goddess was extremely happy. He melted her heart with these words.

In the end, Aditya asked Alicia to spread their battle results throughout every corner of the Northwestern region.

By Controlling the flow of information, the Istarin Empire will be able to spread fear among the Oracle Alliance member Empires. Tension among the common class people will slowly start to build up. If the war lasted for weeks, then the people's unrest would have slowly grown into fear and panic. This would have affected not just the common class people but also the people with other professions.

The trade and other activities with other regions and continents would have slowed down or stopped. Controlling the flow of information also would have given the Istarin Empire the ability to control public opinion to a certain extent.

The joint economy of the Oracle Alliance would have suffered devastating impacts during and after a time of war. Negative unintended consequences occur either concurrently with the war or develop as residual effects afterward thereby impeding the economy over the longer term. Everyday activities of the Oracle Alliance would have been disrupted and property might have been damaged. When people become misplaced, they cannot continue to work or keep their businesses open, causing damage to the economy of the countries involved.

"Recently, my mother has been pestering me to return home. I am tired of this. Alicia, can you please do something to keep my mother busy?"

Sitting on the chair, the goddess looked very distressed when talking about her mother. Ever since Riya came to live here, her mother has been constantly trying to make her come back. But Riya didn't want to go back so soon. It only has been a few months since she came to live here.

Since leaving the Main continent, Riya never went out of The Celestial Terrain. The goddess had grown up there. Even though she wished to go out and explore other continents, her over-protective mother always stopped her from going.

Growing up, Riya never saw her father. She only had her mother. And her mother only had Riya. Both of them supported each other emotionally. Both mother and daughter pair is really close. There weren't any secrets between the mother and daughter duo.

Now that the goddess had come here, Her mother must have been feeling very lonely.

Hearing Riya's words, Alicia raised her eyebrow and gave Riya a silent look.

????!

Riya sighed feeling slightly annoyed and tried about this whole matter. "Every single day she is sending me multiple letters. At first, I tried to ignore her letters but now it was becoming impossible to do so as she has been sending multiple letters each day."

On the other hand, Julia was working. She made Lara lie down and then she began to carefully inspect her Mana veins to see if there was any problem with her body.

Each person and Magic magic in this world had mana veins in their bodies. It was Mana veins that allowed Mana to circulate throughout the whole body and also allow all beings to draw pure Mana from the atmosphere to cultivate.

Mana veins were connected to the Mana Heart which is the storage and main organ that allows a cultivator to draw pure mana from the atmosphere.

Lara was observing the interaction between Alicia and Riya. The more time she spends with her future sisters, the more comfortable she felt with them. Each sister had a distinct character and personality.

"Why do I feel as if you're trying to run away from your mother? Are you hiding something from us?" Hearing this even Julia also paused and looked at Riya.

"I just want to stay here and spend more time with my beloved."

The Ethereal Empire's princess grinned evilly as she took out a letter that was inside a blue envelope. "Do you know what it is?"

"What?" The goddess asked back innocently.

"This is an invitation letter."

Riya still failed to understand what Alicia was hinting at. But Lara and Julia already understood. Knowing this both girls had smiles on their faces.

"Who are you planning on inviting?" Riya curiously asked.

"You know I feel bad for your poor mother who wants nothing but to see her daughter. So I have invited Her Highness to the Istarin Empire. I am sure she would be more than happy to come here and see her daughter."

Hearing this Riya became agitated. "If you dare to send this letter to my mother, then I will tell Aditya your little secret." Hearing this Alicia's face visibly paled. This made Julia and Lara very curious.

"What secret are you talking about? Share it with us." Julia asked with a soft smile. Alicia is probably the smartest one in this room. It is extremely hard to win against her in any debate or in any argument. It was even harder to make Alicia lose her calm.

This secret could be the weapon that Julia could use if she finds herself losing against Alicia.

"No don't" Alicia wanted to stop Riya but she couldn't. After all, Riya was the strongest one in this room. The Ethereal Princess can't stop the Nature goddess through force.

"Despite looking so innocent and virtuous, our sister Alicia is secretly a pervert."

"What?" Seeing Julia and Lara's shocked faces, Alicia's entire face turned red from embarrassment. She buried her face in between her palms.

Seeing Alicia like this, Riya was very happy. With a beautiful smile, she continued. "Whenever she is alone in her room, she is always masturbating. I have even found many dirty novels in her bedroom."

The revelation was very shocking to Julia and Lara. Neither of them would have guessed that Alicia is secretly a pervert. After all, The Ethereal Empire's princess was basically perfect. She is beautiful, intelligent, and wealthy. She can handle herself almost in any situation. No one has ever seen her undisturbed. She always keeps the situation under her control. When she is working she is very professional. There was always an Aura of nobility and elegance around her. No one would ever think even in their wildest dreams that Alicia is a pervert.

"Please stop....!!!!" A small voice reached the ears of the other three. Alicia was very embarrassed and ashamed. She was regretting her decision of leaving her bedroom door unlocked.

Not even her personal maid knows about this. That day, after a long day of work, Alicia laid down and decided to read her favorite Erotic novels. Reading Erotic Novels is a hobby of hers. This was her biggest secret. She never told a single soul about this. Not even her best friend knew about this.

After masturbating, she fell asleep. She completely forgot to clean the mess that she had made. And that morning Riya came to wake her up in the absence of her personal maid who had returned to Westnia to complete Alicia's orders. Riya saw everything. She even read a page of her erotic novel.

'It's over. My reputation...my image and everything.' Alicia was regretting the mistake she made. Alicia read erotic novels to relieve her stress. Over time, she had become found herself slightly addicted and unable to stop.

Nowadays, she imagines Aditya while masturbating.

"Alicia, there is nothing to be ashamed about. You don't need to feel embarrassed." Hearing this she raised her head and looked at Julia who was speaking like an old woman with thousand years of experience.

"Each of us has an inner face that we don't show to anyone. That inner face may be our deepest desires or hobbies or wishes, or hidden personalities. I believe in order for us to come even closer as a Family and connect emotionally as sisters, we need to talk about such matters. It's a matter of time before all of you do it with Aditya."

Hearing these words, Alicia wanted to hug Julia. Instead of teasing her, Julia comforted her.

And then the girls had a secret conversation. Julia gave Alicia to speak about her experiences. Other than Lara who mostly listened, the girls shared experiences and laughed together.

Around a few hours later, Alicia went back to her work. While Riya went to cultivate. Julia was still working in her lab and Lara was accompanying her.

Since Aditya didn't join them for dinner, the family had dinner without him and everyone went back to their bedrooms.

?l???!

"A cold shower before sleeping is the best." The goddess walked out of the washroom with a white towel wrapped around her.

This time she learned from her mistake and made sure to lock the door. The whole room was dark. She lit a candle and placed it on the table which was next to her bed.

Lying down, she took out her favorite book and began to read with an excited look. As she began reading, her face flushed from excitement. She was rubbing her thighs together while reading and also imagining herself and Aditya in that scene in her mind.

???! ???!

Suddenly someone came into her bedroom. Alicia was startled to see a shadow suddenly appearing in her room out of nowhere. Soon she calmed down as she realized that it was Aditya. While Alicia was frozen in shock, Aditya just laid down on the other side of the bed and fell asleep.

Seeing him, there were so many questions in her head. But she also realized that this was a golden opportunity for her. Tonight, Aditya was all hers.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 384

"??????...??????...!" Seeing that Aditya wasn't waking up even after she called him a few times, a strange emotion began to arise deep in her heart.

The goddess was already aroused. And the current situation was making her more excited. It looks like Aditya is very exhausted as he instantly fell into a deep sleep. She can do whatever she wants to do with him. She can fulfill her secret desires.

??ff....??ff.....

''???? ?? b??. ? ?m ??r?n?el? ?e???n? e????e? ?n ???? ? ???????on.' Even though she knew that this was wrong, she couldn't help it. After all, she had lost the number of times she had imagined doing with Aditya.

Her hand slowly reached his left cheek. Looking at his sleeping face, she smiled while caressing his left cheek. As if responding to her gentle touch, Aditya turned to Alicia's side.

Looking at his deep sleeping face, Alicia calmed down. Her hands lovingly caressed his long dark blue hair. She took a moment to observe his face. This was the first time she was getting the chance to observe this sleeping face so close.

Although he wasn't the most handsome male out there, Aditya was still very handsome. And the more Alicia looked at his face, the more handsome he looked in her eyes.

'Since Aditya has returned, this means, everything has gone really well.' The goddess leaned forward and gently kissed his forehead.

'Tonight I will keep him by my side.' Just for this night, Alicia decided to become selfish. Though she did feel a little bit bad for hiding Aditya from Julia and Riya. If she told them that he has returned, she won't be able to spend the night with him.

Reluctantly, the goddess got up and then wore her pajamas. She likes to sleep naked. But tonight it was different. She was going to sleep with her fiance. As this was their first time sleeping together, she was still shy and embarrassed.

She removed his shoes after changing. After blowing out the candle, she lay down next to Aditya. She covered herself and Aditya under one large and cozy blanket.

A few minutes later, Aditya in his sleep put his right hand on her soft waist and pulled her closer to him. Alicia's face blushed for a second. She really liked being hugged by him.

"Good night."

Next morning,

It was around 7 in the morning. As the light of sunlight brightened Alicia's room, Aditya slowly woke up.

Opening his eyes, he was confused as this room looked very different from his bedroom. He rubbed his eyes for a few seconds before realizing that he was in Alicia's bedroom.

'Last night I must have been too exhausted that I teleported to the wrong room.' As the owner of the Dragon Palace, Aditya had the power to teleport anywhere within the Dragon Palace. This meant that he can teleport to anyone's bedroom. But he never did that and respected everyone's privacy.

'After all that happened yesterday, the Oracle Alliance should have no choice but to surrender. If they don't do that, then this war will last for a long time.' Aditya wanted this war to end. It was not that he was afraid or anything, the longer this war went on, the more soldiers from his Empire will be killed.

'I have very less time. In 8 days' time, I would have to go to the Deep Sea Palace and help Laura in becoming the Next Empress. I also need to put some attention to my newly conquered territories. Although I have appointed nobles for each island, there are still many more things that I need to do. There is also the ongoing conflict in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. If the matter is left unchecked a big civil war will start in that Empire.' Aditya thought in his mind while staring at the ceiling.

In such a short time the Istarin Empire had expanded to the Southern region, and the Western region, and now once this war ends, the Empire will expand to the Northwestern region as well. And with that, the Istarin Empire will have territories in every four regions of the continent.

'Everything can be done later but now I need to give some attention to my wife.' He looked at the cute innocent face of his wife. Her face was near his face. Her big breasts were pressing against his chest.

From this angle, Aditya was able to look inside. Her deep cleavage was in front of his eyes. Alicia was from a traditional family. She always dressed modestly. She always wore kimono and covered her face with a veil. So seeing her like this, Aditya felt aroused. And Also sleeping with Julia, he had developed a habit of doing it with her for hours before going to sleep.

Feeling something hard against her inner thighs, Alicia woke up feeling slightly uncomfortable. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her.

"Good morning."

"Good morning." She replied while rubbing her eyes. Tonight, she had a very good sleep. She felt very comfortable and energetic for some reason.

Feeling something against her inner thighs, the goddess looked down. Seeing the long hard stick, her face instantly turned red. She then realized that she had spent the night with her fiance.

"You have woken this monster. Now it's your duty to calm it down." Aditya whispered in a husky tone in her ear. His voice sends shivers down her spine. She also started to feel hot. Last night, she was unable to relieve herself so she was also sexually aroused.

"What...do you want?" In front of Aditya, the cold guild leader had disappeared. She was nothing but a shy girl who was about to be eaten by a Dragon.

She was nervous and also excited. After reading so many erotic novels, she knew what was going to come next. But reading is very different from experiencing it for the first time.

Bring his face even closer, he replied. "Of course, I am going to eat you." Saying that his lips touched her lips.

???!

Her entire body melted from this. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed her soft body against him.

His tongue entered inside and started to fight with her tongue. While kissing, his right hand slowly went down and touched her breasts. Feeling her breasts being touched, her body trembled for a second; showing how sensitive she currently was to his touches.

The next second, Alicia found herself pinned under Aditya. While kissing her, she played with her breasts with his two hands for a while.

After a while, Alicia's whole body was on fire. She never felt so aroused before. She wanted him. And her eyes clearly expressed her intentions.

"??ff....??ff.....?????? ???e me....." In between his kisses, she expressed her current desire.

That's what he needed to hear. In the next second his hands went under her baggy T-shirt. As his hands touched her hard nipples, once again her entire body trembled. She moaned in pleasure.

?mmm...!

"Your nipples are already hard. You must have been expecting this, weren't you?" Saying that he slightly pinched her nipples. This earned him a sweet moan that she failed to suppress.

??.....!

"BAKA! Don't say such embarrassing words." The goddess's cheeks turned red from embarrassment. Alicia refused to look into his eyes.

"Why are you so damn cute?" Her embarrassed face captured Aditya's heart. Aditya started to kiss both of her cheeks and then her forehead and then her nose. All these actions further made Alicia very happy and feel very sweet inside.

Meanwhile, his hands continued to play with her breasts. After a while, Alicia became even more sensitive. She was more aroused than ever. She was panting.

??ff...??ff.....!!

? w?n? ?o?...!

Aditya removed the white baggy T-shirt that she was wearing. As her breasts were revealed, rather than feeling embarrassed she openly invited him. Her mind was clouded with lust and the desire to become one with him.

"Anything for you." Aditya started kissing her collarbones. Alicia was expecting him to suck her breasts but he didn't do it. This only made her groan in frustration. She needed strong stimulation to release everything that was building up in her.

As minutes passed, Alicia became more and more frustrated. She was feeling uncomfortable. Her lower body was drenched in her holy juices. Yet he didn't touch her there. He even stopped playing with her nipples. Instead, his fingers were circulating around her breasts.

Unable to take it anymore, Alicia began to plead. "Aditya, touch my breasts. I can't take it anymore."

However, contrary to his expectations, he never paid any attention to her breasts. This made her further frustrated. Aditya can tell that she had reached the edge. Just a little bit of push would come her come.

Around a few minutes later, Aditya stopped kissing her. He looked very satisfied seeing the red marks on her collarbone and her neck. Around 30 minutes had passed since he started stimulating her. In these 30 minutes, Aditya was also in pain. His lower self wanted to break out of his pant and be free. But he controlled himself.

"Aditya....!!!" The frustration in her voice was very clear to him. Her eyes were pleading with him to make her cum.

Aditya didn't reply. Seeing his hands going down, Alicia's eyes looked very happy. After removing her pants, under the expectant gaze of Alicia, his finger slightly poked her Clitoris.

At that moment, Alicia's entire body trembled. The dam inside her was finally broken. Alicia raised her hip and squirted all over Aditya.

Seeing this Aditya was very satisfied. He licks his lips as the main thing was just going to start.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 385

??ff...??ff.....!

With blurry eyes and with a flushed face, Alicia lovingly looked at Aditya. "I want you." Alicia has waited for this moment for a long time.

Aditya nodded his head with a smile. Under her greedy eyes, he began to remove his clothes. As he removed his underwear, her eyes were attracted to the standing giant. For a moment she wondered if it will fit inside her. This was her first time seeing a real-life male phallus.

As if he understood her concerns, he gently smiled and comforted her. "Don't worry about it. Just trust the process and leave everything to me."

Aditya was about to put his phallus inside when someone knocked on the door.

?no??...?no??....!

Hearing the knocks, both Aditya and Alicia frowned. Neither of them looked happy about the situation.

"Milady, it's me. It's time to get up for breakfast. I also have bought very investing news." It was Alicia's personal maid. Every morning, her maid came to wake her up. And today was also the same.

Aditya wasn't the least bit happy about this but there was nothing that he can do about it. He was very aroused and wanted to do it. But after hearing the Maid's words, Aditya began to think about the entire situation.

'I went with the flow. I guess this isn't the proper time or place to take Alicia's virginity.' He knew that woman cared a lot about her first-time partner. This was especially true for someone who belongs to a traditional conservative family like Alicia.

Aditya and Alicia looked at each other for a second before Alicia sighed feeling depressed. "I guess we will have to stop now." The romantic atmosphere had been broken. And she also realized that now wasn't the time proper time to lose her virginity. It was early in the morning. By now everyone must have been waiting for them at the dining table. It's not good to keep everyone waiting.

Aditya gently smiled and then kissed her forehead and then both of her cheeks to show his affection for her. Alicia enjoyed every single microsecond of this. Just a small kiss from the person whom she loved was a thousand times better than masturbating. Each time he kissed her, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She felt she could fly. She felt her world brightens.

"We will join others in 20 minutes." Hearing the voice of the Emperor coming from Alicia's bedroom, the maid widened her eyes in shock. She then realized the mistake that she had made just now. She felt like slapping her forehead for such a mistake. But how she could have known that Aditya was in her Lady's bedroom?

'I will apologize for Lady Alicia later.' The maid thought in her mind.

'It looks like Lady Alicia has finally moved to the next step.' The Maid was very happy seeing this. While giggling about her Lady's future, she returned to the main hall.

Meanwhile, inside Alicia's bedroom, Alicia was looking very embarrassed and also a little angry at Aditya. "You should have kept your mouth shut." The goddess pouted.

Seeing this Aditya laughed. "Don't tell me you're embarrassed that your maid found me sleeping with you." He replied while poking her cheeks with his index fingers.

He guessed it correctly. She wanted to keep this a secret for some time. And the fact that their maid unintentionally interrupted them when she and he were about to do it made it even more embarrassing for her.

?m??!

The goddess just snorted before looking away.

Seeing this Aditya only laughed as he continued poking her cheeks. "Why you should feel embarrassed about this? You're my wife and I am your husband. It's not like we are doing something illegal." Alicia did not respond.

As someone who is very conservative and also traditional, even this kind of small thing made her embarrassed.

??n??!

Aditya gently pinched her cheeks. The goddess glared at him in anger.

"Stopppp!!!"

"Why?" Aditya innocently asked.

Before she could reply, his mouth was shut with his lips. The goddess responded by wrapping her hands around his neck. Her hands run their his long hair and his back while her tongue fought with his. After a few minutes, both of their mouths separated.

"Let's wash ourselves." Alicia nodded her head. The next second she found herself in his arms. Aditya carried her to the bathroom. On his way, he grabbed a white towel as well.

As he put her down, she immediately started pushing him out of the bathroom. "What are you doing?" Aditya asked innocently.

"This is too early. I am not ready for this yet." The goddess replied with a red face before forcing Aditya out of the bathroom. Once he was out, she shut the door.

?l???!

And then locked it from the inside.

Aditya did not force himself inside. "Alright. I am going back to my room. Don't be late." He decided to use the bathroom in his bedroom.

20 minutes later,

Instead of teleporting directly to the main hall, Aditya walked out of his bedroom. On his way, he met several maids and servants who were cleaning or working some other activities. He greeted the ones who had been working here for 7 or 8 months now.

As he entered the main hall, Aditya saw his personal butler Watson.

"If you make another mistake then you can pack your things and leave."

"Sir, please forgive me. I would never make the same mistake again." Watson was talking to a new servant who appeared to have broken an old flower jar while trying to clean it.

"Clean this mess and continue with your work." Seeing Aditya, Watson quickly dismissed the servant and then approached his master.

Seeing Aditya, Watson was really surprised. This time everyone thought that it would take more than a month for the war to end. So everyone thought that their Emperor wouldn't return for a while. But Aditya was back.

"Your Majesty, you have returned.

"Things went much better than we had initially planned and expected. We managed to achieve victory on all four battlefields."

"That's really good news." Watson smiled hearing the news.

"It gets even better. I will tell you about it after finishing breakfast. For now, join me to have breakfast."

At the dining table, he found everyone. Riya, Julia, and Lara's eyes lit up seeing Aditya. Leo, Clara, and others were happy to see him back so soon as well.

At the same time, Alicia made her entrance. As she sat down next, Riya, Julia, and others immediately noticed the love bites all over her neck and collarbone.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Alicia felt confused.

"Alicia, what is that?" Riya asked.

It was then Alicia understood why everyone was looking at her like this. Her face instantly turned red. When she went to shower, she had seen the love bites and thought of covering them with makeup after showering. But somehow this matter entirely slipped out of her mind as she was in a hurry to join everyone.

"This...." The goddess's brain worked at super speed to find some excuse.

"I was bitten by a mosquito." In a panic, she said whatever came to her mind. But as these words slipped out of her mouth, she realized that she had made a grave mistake.

The girls first looked at Alicia and then looked at Aditya who was silently having breakfast without looking bothered at all. Even a fool can understand who was responsible for the love bites on Alicia's neck and collarbone.

"It must have been a big mosquito." Alicia only lowered her head in shame.

Riya felt slightly jealous. When she looked at Aditya, he playfully blinked his right eye at her.

No one asked any questions anymore. Even little Clara was able to guess some things. But knowing that nothing good would happen by asking any questions, she kept her mouth shut.

Alicia tried her best to keep a straight face and eat but failed miserably. The constant teasing stares from Julia and Riya made her even more embarrassed. Lara didn't mind this. After all, Alicia was one of her husband's wives and had every right to spend time with him. If anything, she was happy for her future sister.

Cough!

"Watson, did anything happen while I was away?" Aditya changed the topic and started a conversation with Watson to lighten the mood. Alicia understood this and was grateful to Aditya.

"As soon as the declaration for war was made, the remaining four Western Empires stopped fighting among themselves."

Hearing this Aditya looked surprised. But for a different reason. "I didn't expect those fools to be this stupid." How can he not guess that the four Western Empires are trying to use the Echo Nexus Empire to get the Istarin Empire out of the Western region and get the territories of the three Empires that Aditya conquered just two days ago back?

????!

"Sometimes greed for power can really blind people and make them dumb."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 386

After a light breakfast, Aditya met Watson and Spencer in the living room.

"Your Majesty, what actions should we take towards the 4 Western Empires?" Asked Prime Minister Spencer.

Yesterday, the Western Empires stopped fighting among themselves and joined hands to drive the Istarin Empire out of the Western region and regain control of the 3 Empires that the Istarin Empire has taken control of.

"Normally I would have personally gone to the Western region and personally would have dealt with his matter. But today I have to be available for something much more important." After a little bit of thinking, Aditya decided who would lead the Istarin troops against the Western Empires.

"I don't want to engage the Western Empires in a war. Instead, I want the four Western Emperors to die along with all of their loyal men and subordinates. As for their family members, give them some gold coins, then make them sign a non-aggression contract against the Istarin Empire and then throw them out of this continent to some other continent."

Compared to the Oracle Alliance, the Western Empires were not that strong. If this had happened a few months ago, then this would have been a big matter to Aditya. But now the Istarin Empire has grown strong enough. Besides, the four Western Empires have been fighting for months. This meant their strength has significantly weakened and their resources has been exhausted. Even without Aditya, his men can go to the Capital without anyone noticing and kill the Emperor and his subordinates within a day.

"For this mission, sent Tyler, Eleanor, Zachery, Morgan, and all the Dragon Warriors and the Dragonians." Tyler and Eleanor weren't sent to the northwestern region to fight the Oracle Alliance. Instead, both generals were ordered to stay at the Capital and wait for their deployment.

If in case, the situation escalated at the frontline or if in case, the Empire was attacked by a foreign Enemy, Tyler, and Eleanor would be responsible to take care of it.

Zachery is the patriarch of the Majin tribe. Although Zachery temporarily retired a few months ago, he still should have enough juice in his bones for one last ride. After all, after Nathan and Eleanor, Zachery was best at silent killing. Although Zachery wasn't an Assassin, being a Majin gave him the power to move through Shadow and silently kill his targets. In the entire Majin tribe, no one was more experienced and powerful than Zachery.

Morgan is a 3rd-order Necromancer who once served the Zulux Dynasty's King. After Aditya made her into his slave, she had become a part of the Istarin Empire and has been training a few other recruits who happen to have talent in dark magic in Necromancy.

Morgan isn't part of any Division. Instead, she is a special case. She is a Dragonian. She is one of the most powerful 4th-order cultivators within the Istarin Empire. With her abilities and skills, she can easily come in the rank of the top 10 most powerful 4th-order cultivators in the Istarin Empire.

With her Necromancer abilities, she can keep the enemy occupied.

And lastly, to deal with the 5th-order cultivators that the enemy Empires had, Aditya was sending all the powerful 5th-order Dragon Warriors that the Istarin Empire had.

"Understood." Spencer wrote everything down and then took his leave.

Aditya and Watson were left. Watson was serving Aditya a cup of green tea. After Spencer had taken over his work, these past few months have been really peaceful for Watson. Unlike before, Watson now was able to do what he liked. He can focus on serving his Master.

Although the Role of the Prime Minister is more important and bigger than the role of a Butler, Watson was happy with his role and wanted to continue doing it as long as his body can move and work.

???.....!

"In a few hours, there will be a meeting with the Oracle Alliance members. I want you to come with me. If possible I would like to bring Alicia with me."

"Your Majesty, I think it would be better to bring Spencer in my place. Spencer is the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire. He is very talented. I am certain that his presence will help you more."

"Alright." Aditya decided to listen to Watson. After all, it's not every day that Watson praises others in front of Aditya. If Watson has praised someone highly in front of Aditya, that does mean something. And so far, Spencer has been doing an excellent job. Behind the scenes, he has been working really hard. Because of Spencer Aditya's workload also has decreased to some extent.

???!......???!

Aditya saw Alicia walking towards him. This morning, after having breakfast, the goddess hurried to her bedroom. As for what she was doing in her bedroom, everyone can easily guess.

Seeing her, he gently smiled. But his smile was met with a cold glare.

'It seems she is still angry at me for giving her those love bites.' Aditya smiled looking at her face that was a mix of anger and embarrassment. Honestly, she looked so cute right now.

"You finally came. I thought you were going to take the entire day. Not that I mind if you did that, but in a few hours, we are going somewhere." Aditya then closed his eyes and took another sip.

???.....!

Hearing his words, the goddess gave him a hateful glare before standing in front of him. "And whose fault it is that I have to spend hours putting makeup on my neck and collarbone?"

Hearing this, Aditya innocently looked at Alicia and replied. "Don't blame me. If only a certain person hadn't moaned sweetly to my ears I would have stopped a long time ago. You shouldn't pu....?mm!" Aditya found his mouth shut by the goddess both hands.

Looking at her face, her whole face was completely red. Even her ears had turned slightly red. "Shut up, idiot. Why are you describing everything?" Alicia realized that this Wolf greatly enjoyed teasing her. Whenever he had the chance, he would tease her.

Aditya used his free hand to pull Alicia towards him.

?el?...!

The goddess found herself sitting on his thighs. "What are you doing?" Alicia felt even more embarrassed. As they were doing this in front of Watson and the maids who were cleaning at the moment.

Aditya couldn't reply as his mouth was shut by her hands. He only pulled Alicia closer and made her chest press against his chest.

Watson turned around and pretended to not see anything. But inside he was extremely happy.

'It seems I won't have to wait too long before I can play with Master's children.' Just imagining playing with Aditya's children made him grin like an idiot.

Watson loved children more than anything. He always had a soft spot for children. He had taken care of Julia. Now he was looking forward to taking care of the Emperor's children.

The maids who have been cleaning the living room blushed. They quickly lowered their heads and continued working while pretending as if they hadn't seen or heard a thing.

'I never knew, His Majesty could be this bold.' One maid thought in her mind.

'I wish I could find someone like His Majesty.' Another young maid thought.

Aditya moved his head forward. Alicia understood he wanted to kiss her. She quickly stopped him with an embarrassed face. Although she didn't hate this kind of bold intimacy, doing it in front of people made her very shy about it.

"??o?!" The goddess said in a cold and stern tone.

Seeing that Alicia was really serious, Aditya nodded his head and let her go.

????....!

Alicia sighed in relief. She felt relieved that he listened to her words and let her go. Alicia stood up and then started fixing her kimono.

"I can help you with this." Aditya was talking about helping her fix her Kimono.

Alicia glared at Aditya knowing that this pervert was only looking for another chance to molest her in front of others. "I don't need your help."

After she was done, Instead of sitting next to Aditya, the goddess sat opposite him. "Lady Alicia, would you like to have a cup of green tea?" Watson politely asked from behind.

"No, thank you, Watson." Alicia sweetly smiled at Watson. To Alicia, Watson was like a Grandfather figure. She never saw him as a mere butler. She respected him very highly.

"Alright. If there is nothing else, I would excuse myself." After giving a short bow to Aditya, Watson went to the kitchen.

"Just like you told me, I have cleaned all of my plans for today."

"Thank you."

Hearing this a smile bloomed on her face. "Is there any need for thanks? If we don't help each other then who will?" Aditya also smiled and then nodded his head.

Aditya put the teacup on the table. And then stood up. Alicia watched as he walked towards her. The next second her smile froze as he gently lifted her chined and kissed her. This time, she didn't push him away. Instead enjoyed it and also responded back.

The kiss ended around 5 minutes later. When it ended, Aditya had returned to his seat. But the goddess was blushing and panting. Her whole body was on fire. It took her an entire minute to calm herself.

"Did you like it?" The goddess replied with a glare. This made him smile.

Aditya continued playing and teasing Alicia until Watson interrupted them.

"Your Majesty, we have received a letter from the Oracle Alliance." With a letter in his hand, Watson made his way towards Aditya.

"It's about time......"

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Chapter 387

I have drawn the map of the Northwestern region and the Anna Maria Icelands. Please check it in the comment section.

?nn? ??r?? ?ce??n?? are fourteen frozen islands located in the northeastern. The Anna Maria Icelands are claimed by the Echo Dominion Empire and also the Mystic Spring Empire. The Anna Maria Icelands have been a conflict zone for years between these two Empires.

Only around 2000 people call this frozen island home. The Anna Maria Icelands are home to Ice elves, Snow Bears, and Yetis. When both Empires claimed these islands are their territories, more people settled in these islands.

According to a rough estimation, there were a total of 900 ice elves inhabiting the Anna Maria Icelands. And the rest 1100 were mostly fishermen and hunters who came here to hunt Snow bears and Yetis.

Fishermen sometimes stay at one of the Anna Maria Icelands for a few days and then after catching sufficient fish they mostly return to the mainland. Over time there were some fishermen that moved to The Anna Maria Icelands with their families and started living there. The Same could be said for Hunters.

Hunters are different from Adventurers. Hunters are trained experts who know everything about their targets. Hunters are not powerful as Adventurers and they do not work for the Adventurer guild. A hunter's profession comes with more freedom. But the death rate of hunters is as high as the death rates of Adventurers. Hunters catch their prey using traps and poison.

The hunters of the Anna Maria Icelands are experts are hunting snow bears. The Skin of Snow Bear can be sold for a very high price. And also Snow Bear's meat is very tasty. And Snow bears' bones can be used to make weapons. In short, no part of the Snowbears is ever wasted.

But because of overhunting, the population of the Snowbears has started to decline. There was a time when all 14 islands were filled with Snowbears. But now the population of Snowbears had dropped significantly. Compared to the past, nowadays it was extremely tough to find Snowbears. But that didn't mean that Hunters stopped hunting. Although some hunters had already begun looking for a new profession, some did not give up and continued to hunt Snowbears.

Before the mainland people came to the Anna Maria Icelands, the Ice Elves lived peacefully with the Snowbears. The Ice Elves are divided into 14 small tribes. Each tribe settled into one of the 14 islands. The Ice Elves were experts are hunting. Since the Ice Elves only hunted Snowbears for consumption, they did not overhunt the Snowbears and let their population grow. Also, the Ice Elves relied on fish, wild fruits, and berries to survive.

It wasn't uncommon for the 14 tribes to trade with each other or also with foreign traders for their goods. But as the mainland people started coming to the Anna Maria Icelands, the balance was disturbed. The peace was disturbed.

So far there hasn't been any solution for this. Neither Empires put any focus on listening to the demands and the wants of the Ice Elves. The Ice Elves were ignored by both Empires. Instead both Empires focused on fighting each other on their claims of these 14 islands.

The Blackburn Village was located on one of the small islands. The Blackburn Village is where one of the 14 Ice Elves lived. After the mainland people came, the Tribe leader let the outsiders live in their village. The tribe leader wanted to be on friendly terms with the Mainland people. But everyone in the tribes strongly opposed this idea.

As time passed and the situation of the islands became chaotic. Because of the decline in the population of Snowbears, the Ice Elves were losing their source of food. Even with the restrictions placed on the hunters, many Snowbears were killed.

This created a hostile situation between the Ice Elves and the Mainland people. The Ice Elves wanted to drive out the mainland people and live peacefully as they did before.

And today something very important was going to take place in the Blackburn village. The Ice Elven tribe leader knew and saw this as an opportunity to try and communicate with the Emperor.

Around 8.30 the Oracle Alliance sent a letter to the Istarin Empire. In that letter, the Alliance stated its intention to surrender and end this War. And it was decided that the Blackburn village was going to be the place where the meeting will take place.

The meeting was scheduled to take place around 3.00 in the afternoon. The Istarin Emperor along with his subordinates had arrived a few hours early. It was mostly because Aditya had nothing else to do. His work was given to Spencer as he was planning on focusing entirely on fighting the war. But the war ended within a day. This left him a few days of free time.

Also, the reason he came a few hours early has another reason as well. Before the meeting started, he was going to use this free time to take Alicia out and spend some time with her.

From the far distance, the Ice Elves and some fishermen at the dock noticed a big ship approaching their island. Since they already have been notified about the meeting and the arrival of the Emperors, the Ice Elven tribe Patriarch and some of his men had personally gathered to welcome their guests. After all, they can't afford to offend any of the guests.

"I have never seen such a big Ship before." Standing at the Dock, the Ice Elves were amazed seeing the huge size of the approaching wooden ship. Only a very few of the Ice Elves had actually visited the Mainland. There weren't any teleportation arrays in the Blackburn village or in any of the other 13 islands.

"Of course, how can you see such a big ship when you have never left this place and gone out to explore the outside world?" Sontar Xyrphyra was the son of the Patriarch. Growing up he had received more benefits and resources than other Ice Elves. At some point in his life, he was allowed to go to the Mainland and learn more about the world. He had visited the Mainland for a year. So he was more knowledgeable about the world than compared to other tribe members. But this also made him feel as if he is superior and look down on others.

There isn't any need for such big ships to stop on these small islands. So the elves mostly saw small boats that the Fishermen used.

The wooden ship was 59.7 meters in length and the beam of the Ship was 13.2 meters. The wooden ship was called ?rovence.

As the ship neared, The Elven tribe Patriarch noticed that the Ship had around 50 soldiers. But the strength of each soldier was above 3rd-order. Each soldier looked extremely powerful and had the Aura of someone who had been through a lot of fights.

"So powerful"

"The people of the Mainland are on a completely different level. Even our best archer can be easily defeated by the weakest among them." As the Ice Elves had never gone out, they have never seen powerful cultivators. Some of them even thought that 5th-order cultivators were just myths and no one has been able to reach that level yet.

Under everyone's eyes, The Istarin Emperor himself walked down. He was holding the land of a young beautiful lady who had covered her face with a veil. She was wearing a pink Kimono. Just looking at her, one can tell that she is very beautiful.

Behind her, there was an average-looking young man. He had long black hair that reached down his waist. He was wearing a black long coat.

As Aditya stepped on Eldoria Island, the patriarch of the Elven tribe stepped forward and bowed to Aditya. Following the Patriarch, all the fishermen and the other Elven tribe members bowed their heads.

"Welcome to this small Eldoria Island. It's an honor to meet you." All 14 islands are collectively known as the Anna Maria Icelands. Every 14 islands had their own names given by elven tribes. Though these names were not that popular outside.

"Everyone raise your head. Thank you for hosting us. My apologies for causing you trouble." Spencer had told Aditya about the condition of this island. He knew that the Elven tribes will try their utter best to please him and other Emperors. But in their current poor condition, the tribe didn't have enough money to prepare any luxurious food or services for the Emperors.

Seeing the Emperor apologizing and being so humble, the patriarch and others were very surprised. The young man in front of them was very gentle and radiated a kind Aura. Unlike the rumors that managed to reach here, he wasn't some ruthless monster.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to apologize. It is our honor to serve you." Aditya just nodded his head.

"Raise your hand. Introduce yourself."

"Your Majesty, my name is Sam Xyrphyra. I am the Patriarch of this small elven tribe." Aditya nodded his head. The next second Sam found a bag of cold coins in his hands.

"Your Majesty.....This..." All the elves and the fishermen looked at Aditya in shock.

"Keep this. I am sure your tribe will need this money." Knowing the dire situation of this tribe, this money was exactly what they all needed. The Patriarch almost cried. He was so moved by Aditya's kindness.

"Thank you."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 388

"Keep this. I am sure your tribe will need this money." Knowing the dire situation of this tribe, this money was exactly what they all needed. The Patriarch almost cried. He was so moved by Aditya's kindness.

"Thank you." Sam thanked Aditya from the bottom of his heart. This money gave him hope for the future of his tribe.

Scene change_______

"So this is the place where the meeting is going to take place." Aditya and others stopped in front of the small two-story wooden house. The wooden house was 5,000 square feet (464.5152 square meters) in size.

"My apologies if this doesn't suit your liking." Feeling slightly embarrassed, the Ice Elven tribe leader Sam apologized to Aditya. This was the first time that their Tribe was hosting someone so powerful and influential. Sam knew that this house isn't much in the eyes of an Emperor.

The house is majestically on a sprawling land surrounded by tall trees which were covered in a layer of snow. The exterior is clad in cedar siding, creating a warm and natural appeal. The two-story house features a combination of traditional and modern elements, with a charming mix of gables and large windows that allow an abundance of natural light to enter. A welcoming porch wraps around the front of the house, adorned with wooden railings and comfortable seating, creating an inviting spot to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

"I like this house. It's pretty." Alicia replied while looking at the house. This house looked like the perfect place for a normal family. And Alicia had lived in a similar type of house with her family.

"Yeah." Aditya also felt the same.

"We will explore this island." Saying that Aditya looked at Spencer. Spencer understood what his job was and firmly nodded his head. While Aditya and Alicia were away, he and the soldiers were going to check the entire house and the surrounding area. After all, Aditya can't just blindly trust the Ice Elven Tribes. Who knows the enemy might have set a trap for them in advance. It's better to be careful.

"Your Majesty, would you like me to send someone to show you around?" Sam asked quickly.

"There won't be any need for that. We will return before the meeting starts." Saying that Aditya grabbed Alicia's hand and left under everyone's gaze.

Seeing Aditya and Alicia leaving, Sam had some doubts in his head. So he decided to ask the Prime Minister about it.

"Sir Spencer, Can I ask you something if you don't mind." Sam asked while watching Aditya and Alicia walk toward the East in the thick snow. Like other islands, this island was always covered in a layer of snow for most parts of the year.

Spencer could tell what Sam wanted to ask him. He was sharp enough to read the thoughts on Sam's face. "Yes, Lady Alicia is His Majesty's second fiance. As for Lady Alicia's identity, I can't reveal it to you."

Hearing this Sam nodded his head. It wasn't that surprising. After all, he had heard that it was very normal for an emperor to have multiple Wives. He even heard of a King who had 100 wives and Concubines in some legends. It would be strange if Aditya didn't have a fiance or any wife even though he is only 19. In Noble Societies, it is quite normal to get engaged or Married at Aditya's age.

"Tribe Leader, I am afraid you will have to let us search this entire house and the surrounding area. You know, for safety measures."

Sam did not stop Spencer. He understood that he would do the same if he was in Spencer's position. After all, this was the first time the Emperor had set foot on his island. And given the ongoing conflict, it was normal for the Istarin Empire to be cautious. "I understand. I leave someone here to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"I appreciate that." Spencer thanked Sam. He knew that this meeting was mentally and physically burdening all the Ice Elven tribe members and the fishermen that live in the Blackburn Village.

Scene change_____

While walking around the Village, Aditya and Alicia came across many things. There were many small wooden houses around the village. But none of the wooden houses could match the size and beauty of the first two-story wooden house that belonged to the Elven Tribe Leader and his family.

The village didn't lack any trees. There were tall trees almost everywhere. Each tree was covered in thick snow.

As they continued walking, they came across many kinds of Ice Elves. According to Sam, this tribe had 27 Ice Elves. A few weeks back their population was 28 but one of their tribe female married another tribe's Man and left this tribe to live with her husband. Among the 14 Anna Maria Icelands, inter-caste Marriage was a very common thing.

The population of the Ice Elves never went past 500 in these 14 islands. One of the main reasons for this is their low-birth rate. And the other reasons were the size of the islands and the lack of food.

Ice Elves in general have white hair and pale skin. Their ancestor's genes must have changed to adapt to the cold environment. Over a long period of time, the Ice Elves had developed resistance to cold temperatures and could live in such places without needing to wear thick clothes.

All the Ice Elves were thin and tall in size. Almost every adult Ice Elves was carrying a bow and arrows with them. Being ice elves, they had a natural talent in archery and in using Ice magic.

"What do you think of this place?" Aditya asked. As they walked around, they had become the center of Focus. Even though this was a big village, there were very few people living in it.

"I like this place. Even though it's slightly cold out here, it's quiet and peaceful. I would say that this place is perfect for vacation."

"If you want then I can build a small house on this island. We can come here to relax and spend our free time here."

Alicia smiled and replied. "That sounds like a perfect idea. Then I will leave everything to your hands, My dear husband." Hearing the last part, Aditya found his body pulling Alicia's towards him. The next second, Alicia found herself kissed by Aditya.

Around a minute later, Alicia couldn't continue anymore. As she felt the stares of the people. So she pushed Aditya away and then lowered her head face.

????!

Aditya then noticed that a group of Ice Elves were staring at them. He took her hand and then continued walking.

A few minutes later, when they were alone, Alicia looked at him in hatred. "What?" Aditya asked.

"Why did you do that?"

"I don't know what are you talking about. I only kissed my wife."

Knowing that she can't continue arguing with this Man, she gave up.

????!

"Listen, Aditya, you can't keep doing this. What people will think if you keep on doing this so openly?"

"Like I care what the people think about me."

"But still you can't..." Aditya stopped her by pinching both of her cheeks.

"Stop thinking what others think about you. The people will say 100 different things about you. You can't live to impress them. Understood?" Alicia nodded her head.

"Now, Let's go outside the village."

Scene change_________

"Jonah, I heard some rumors about you getting engaged. Is this true?" Having nothing else to do, Spencer started a conversation with the soldiers. Sam told them that he was going to send someone with the Key. Without the Key, they would need to break inside the house.

The Soldier named Jonah is one of the first 100 Dragonians. In recent months, his rank had increased along with his salary. As his earnings increased, he didn't waste any time in finding a girl for himself.

"Yes, Sir. We are planning on getting married at the end of this month." Jonah looked really excited about this.

"That's nice."

"Why do I feel as if nowadays everyone around me is suddenly getting married?"

"It's not just you Sir. A new trend has started. Many of the soldiers are suddenly getting married and starting their own families in the Capital. Only people like us are left behind."

Spencer also felt what the Soldier was saying was true. "Sir Spencer, when are you planning on getting married?" Asked Jonah.

"Me? And getting Married? I am not sure." Even Spencer looked confused about this part. After all, he never had any romantic experienced. Spencer is a nerd. Since he was a child, he has been reading books. And after becoming the Prime Minister, Spencer never found any time for relationships. He was already abandoned by his own family. So there wasn't any pressure on him to get married.

As the question was asked, a beautiful Ice Elf was approaching them. The soldiers immediately noticed her presence. But Spencer was lost in his thoughts and failed to notice her. The girl also happen to hear the question that Jonah had asked.

"I don't know. Maybe having a Family isn't meant for me." Spencer replied while looking lost. All of the soldier's attention was on the beautiful Ice Elf, no one paid attention to Spencer's answer.

But the girl named Aria Windrider listened to Spencer's answer. Looking at Spencer's face, Aria became slightly interested in him. She was attracted to Spencer.

?o???!

Aria lightly coughed to get Spencer's attention. Spencer who was deeply lost in his thoughts snapped out of it.

Spencer's eyes fell on Aria. As both of their eyes met, he for the first time in his life felt attracted to a girl. It wasn't her beauty that attracted him. It was something in her that made him attracted to her.

Aria Windrider is 21 years old. She was 5 feet 4 inches tall girl. Compared to Spencer, she looked short. She had long white-silver hair that she had tied into a bun. Her skin was smooth and pale white.

Aria's dress consisted of two parts - a bodice and a skirt. The bodice was fitted and constructed with laces or buttons at the front or back. It had a square or round neckline and short sleeves. The skirt was ankle-length, made of sturdy fabric linen. She wore a black surcoat on the top. The outer of the surcoat was sleeveless and loose-fitting, with side or front openings. She wore a white belt around her waist, that cinched the dress and surcoat together.

For a moment Spencer looked dazed staring at her. Aria also took this moment to look at Spencer. A few seconds later, Aria coughed once again to draw Spencer's attention.

?o???!

"Ah....my apologies. How can I help you?"

Aria slightly smiled seeing this and replied. "I have been sent with the Key." Aria gave Spencer a bronze key.

"Thank you." Taking the key from Aria. Spencer gave it to Jonah.

"Search every single corner of the house. If you find anything suspicious or feel that something is off, report it to me immediately. Did I make myself clear?"

"?e?, ??r"

After the doors were opened all the doors went inside. Spencer and Aria remained outside. Spencer took out a small notebook. He opened the notebook and began to write something on it.

Seeing Spencer being so focused, Aria couldn't help but feel curious. "May I ask what are you doing Sir?" Spencer stopped writing hearing Aria's voice from behind.

"Nothing important. To make sure that I am not forgetting any important tasks, I have developed a habit of writing them down."

"Ohh...." After answering, Spencer realized that normally he wouldn't answer such questions.

He closed the notebook and put it inside his storage ring before turning to Aria. "May I ask what is your name?"

Seeing that Spencer was finally interested in her, Aria smiled and sweetly replied. "It's Aria Windrider."

"Aria.........That's a really nice name." Spencer muttered without even realizing that Aria had heard what he said.

"Well, thank you."

"Can I know your full name?" Aria asked in a hopeful tone.

"It's Spencer. Spencer Newman." Spencer was enjoying his time talking to this village girl.

"Spencer is a nice name."

"Thank you. Aria, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Aria tilted her head and looked at Spencer. She did not realize how cute this looked in his eyes.

"I heard that every Ice Elf are expert at hunting and archery. Is that true?"

"Hahaha! From where did you hear such nonsense?" Aria laughed and asked.

Seeing this Spencer felt a little bit embarrassed for asking such a silly question. "Not everyone is good at hunting and archery. Yes, we are blessed with the natural talent of archery. But without training, we are not that good. In this tribe, out of the 27 members, only 15 of them are proper archers, and among them, only a few of them are experts at hunting."

"I see."

"Sir Spencer, can I ask you something?"

"You can drop the '??r' part and just call me Spencer. I don't mind at all. And go ahead. I will try my best to answer your question."

Aria smiled and nodded her head. "Are you single?"

"No." Spencer replied casually.

"Do you have any crush or anyone whom you love?" Although Spencer didn't understand why Aria was asking such questions, Spencer answer them truthfully. As he saw no reason to hide this information from her. If Aria was asking for sensitive information about the Istarin Empire, then Spencer wouldn't have replied.

"I don't have a crush." Hearing this, Spencer found Aria smiling even more. This made him confused.

'Why is she so happy?'

The next second, Aria took a step forward and came close to Spencer. "If you're free, then I can show you around this island."

"As much as I would like to accept your offer, I can't. But if I manage to complete my work before the meeting starts, then maybe I can spare some time for you." Spencer honestly replied. Spencer has to stay here and oversee everything. After all, Aditya had entrusted him with this job.

Hearing this Aria looked slightly disappointed but she didn't show it on her face. "I......"

????!

She was interrupted by a loud voice. Spencer and Aria both frowned and looked at the person who just called her.

It was the son of the Elven Tribe Leader. His name was Sontar. Sontar was as tall as Spencer. But his body was leaner.

Seeing Sontar, Aria stepped back. Spencer noticed and also noticed the displeased look on her face.

Sontar walked up to Spencer and Aria with a jealous look. "Sir, I would like you to stay away from my fiance. You're our respected guest. Please stay that way." In a meaningful way, Sontar was warning Spencer to not overstep his boundaries.

Hearing this, the frown on Spencer's face grew. Spencer felt like slapping this arrogant ant. Who does he think he is?

Hearing that Aria was engaged, Spencer felt some pain in his heart. He felt uncomfortable. It was very difficult to explain in words. For the first time, in his life, he had experienced such emotions.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[2500+ words chapter]

Chapter 389

"Sir, I would like you to stay away from my fiance. You're our respected guest. Please stay that way." Spencer's eyes slowly became cold.

"Sontar, don't speak nonsense. I never agreed to become your fiance. Stop making things up. I am free to choose whoever I like." Spencer couldn't understand the meaning behind the latter part of her words. He failed to understand that the last part was meant for him.

Hearing that Aria wasn't Sontar's fiance, the discomfort that he felt disappeared. Spencer felt happy and light-hearted.

"You dare to talk back to me. According to the customs of this tribe, as the son of the tribe leader, I am free to choose any woman from this tribe to marry. And I have made up my mind to choose you. And you should know very well that you can't disobey the tribe's rules." Hearing this Aria looked extremely sad. She forcefully bit her lips to stop her tears.

"Now come with me. Father is looking for you." Without giving her any chance, he grabbed Aria's hand and took her away.

Spencer felt complicated as he watched Aria leave. His heart was a mess. He wanted to punch Sontar but he also realized that this wasn't the place. He wasn't sure of his emotions. He was very dense in such matters.

??ene ???n?e________

"Release my hand." Aria was angry and also sad. She did not like Sontar at all. Everyone within the tribe knew that this arrogant man was nothing without the backing of his father. The Tribe leader was too soft.

Although Sam was very kind and caring towards everyone when it came to his only son, that kindness blinded him from seeing the arrogant attitude that his son had developed over the years. All the tribe members were troubled by Sontar's arrogant attitude.

Once Aria and Sontar were far away, Sontar finally released her hand. "Aira, I won't repeat my words again. You're the most beautiful woman on this island. I like you as a woman and I desire you as a mate and a partner. As a son of the Tribe leader, I have every right to choose my future partner. You can't refuse me. Refusing me would be same as breaking the tribes rules. And you know very well what happens to the people that break the tribe's rules."

Aria lowered her head and gritted her teeth in anger. "The only way you can get out of this mess would be if someone from outside the tribe proposes your hand in marriage and my father agrees to that. The possibility of that happening is next to zero. As I have already convinced my father that you're my future wife."

"Within a month, we will get married. Till then, be a good girl and stay away from that bastard." Saying that Sontar left. Aria couldn't handle it anymore. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

In this tribe, women are heavily oppressed. She wasn't even allowed to pick her own future partner. The man of this tribe is given more respect and more opportunities. The women are not even given the chance to become hunters. Without the permission of the Tribe leader, the women of this village can't even leave this village. This tribe was truly a cage for her.

From the top of a wooden house, Spencer watched the interaction between Sontar and Ara. Seeing her cry, Spencer didn't feel good about it. He felt deeply bothered seeing her shed tears. He wanted to go there and comfort her but he didn't.

'Time to go back to work.' Spencer then vanished from the top of the wooden house.

??ene ???n?e________

A few hours later,

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Aditya asked.

"I enjoyed myself. It's relaxing here. If only there was a hot spring in this place. Then everything would have been perfect."

"Hot spring....? Well, this island does have an inactive volcano but I don't think we can find Hot spring water anywhere. That leaves the option of making artificial Hot springs."

"I have never heard of anyone making an artificial hot spring before."

"It's possible. My bloodline gives me the power to control the temperature of my body. If I managed to invent a new rune magic that runs on Mana stones to heat the water, then creating a Hot spring is possible." The more Aditya spoke, the more ideas he had for making in his mind.

"Sometimes, I keep on forgetting that you're one of the best runemasters in this world."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Aren't you super busy all the time? How would you have time to make something insignificant as this?" Alicia asked in a mocking tone.

Hearing this Aditya helplessly smiled. He also realized that because of his work, he has been neglecting Alicia and Riya. This was true for especially Alicia. As she also had work to do. Being the richest merchant on the planet meant that she had a ton of work on her plate as well. Julia at least gets some time with him when they are sleeping together and during their night exercise time. This is why, ever since he returned, he has been trying his best to balance everything. He wants to spend more time with Julia and Riya. Both girls have sacrificed so much for him. This is his biggest duty. Before being an Emperor, his family and his women come first.

"For you, my dear, I always have time." Hearing this the goddess of wealth smiled in happiness.

"Let's make a big Mansion on this island. Our Mansion will be located on the other side of the Island; far from this village. So that not only you and me but also others can come here and enjoy themselves."

"That's a good idea."

While talking both of them returned to the Blackburn village.

By now the Echo Dominion Emperor has arrived along with Adam and his Prime Minister.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty. Here I was thinking that I had arrived first on this island." Daxton arrived an hour before the meeting because he was planning on talking with the tribe leader. Since he was here, might as well resolve the ongoing problem that this tribe along with the other 5 Ice Elven tribes are facing.

But unexpectedly, Aditya already had arrived here 2 hours ago.

"Good Afternoon. I have nothing else to do, so I thought why not spend this time touring this island with my beautiful Fiance?"

Hearing this Spencer's right eye twitched.

'.....'

'These days, all of His Majesty's work has fallen on my shoulders.' Sometimes, Spencer is so busy that he barely gets enough time to have his food or even go back to his bedroom to sleep.

Daxton raised an eyebrow and looked at the black-haired girl with very attractive emerald eyes. She wore a veil that covered her face. Daxton then looked at Adam to see if he knew about her. And from his calm and knowing face, it was clear that Adam knew about this girl. Both must have met before.

"Good Afternoon, Father. I hope you're in good health." Alicia politely walked up to Adam and then greeted him like a good daughter.

"Alicia. It seems you're finally taking a break. It's good. You should keep taking a break once in a while. Otherwise, you will mentally tire yourself out." Adam genuinely sounded very concerned about Alicia.

Watching them interact, Daxton and his Prime Minister felt as if Adam had met his real daughter. This made Daxton confirm his guess about Adam meeting Alicia before. 'He must have met her when visiting the Istarin Empire.' Daxton thought in his mind.

"Don't worry, father. From now on, I am planning on doing that."

"That's good to hear. How are Julia and others doing?" It has been only 3 or 4 days since Adam returned to his territory. And so much had happened in these 3/4 days. The Dragon Slayer guild was destroyed. A huge war was fought and also won by the Istarin Empire.

"Julia is doing fine. She is busy researching a cure. Others are doing well. Father, you should visit us with Mother. After all Last time, you couldn't enjoy your stay at the Istarin Empire." Last time both father and son duo was trapped inside a Frozen World where they had to go through many different trials and fight a terrifying monster.

"My daughter, I can't come right now. Once this meeting ends, I have a feeling that for the next 2/3 months, I will be super busy. Maybe after that, I can find some time to come. You know, you all can come and stay in my Castle. The doors of my Castle are always open for you."

Hearing this Alicia smiled. Adam has been really nice to her and Riya. Alicia also respected Adam almost like a real father.

"That also goes the same for you Aditya."

"When I have time I will come to visit you."

"Brat, even if you're the Emperor of the Strongest Empire of this continent, if I hear that you have treated either of my daughters unfairly, I am coming for your head." Hearing this Aditya smiled. He was very happy that Julia's parents accepted Riya, Alicia, and Lara. Now they treated them like their own daughters.

"My daughter, if this man bullies you, then don't hesitate to tell me. Alright?" Sending a mischievous look to Aditya, Alicia confidently nodded her head.

"I don't mean to interfere but....." It was then Adam, Alicia, and Aditya remembered about Daxton and his Prime Minister.

"Sorry, I forgot." Adam scratched his head while laughing.

"....." Daxton's right eye twitched in response.

"Forgive me for the late introduction. This is my second fiance. Her name is Alicia." Aditya did not mention anything about Alicia's background. It was agreed that the identities of the goddess will be kept secret from the public. Aditya isn't sure how Daxton would feel if he knows that the Goddess of Wealth and the Goddess of Nature is his second and third future wives.

Daxton also noticed this. Since Aditya was keeping Alicia's family name and background a secret, he didn't ask for it. He respected Aditya's secret. After all, he wasn't obligated to tell him his every secret. Every man had their own secret.

"Hello!" Alicia politely bowed to Daxton. Daxton nodded his head in response.

"His Majesty Adian Scott and his Entourage have arrived."

Everyone's attention fell on the King of the Hephaestus Kingdom's King. With a sword on his waist, he confidently walked toward his allies.

"Good Afternoon, Gentlemen. I didn't expect both of you to come so early. And here I thought I had arrived Early." Fearing that he would be late for the meeting, Adian and Entourage came an hour early. It seems it was totally worth it as both his other allies were already here.

Soon the two Emperors and one King found themselves talking among themselves. Aditya introduced Julia to Adian Scott. After the introduction, the three of them found a place to sit and have a serious conversation about the upcoming meeting. The prime ministers also went along.

Scene change________

"In an hour, the meeting will start. In this meeting, we have the advantage. I have prepared a list of things that I want to demand from the Oracle Alliance and its members. Since both of you have helped me, of course, I am going to share some parts of the compensation with you two." Hearing this both Daxton and Adian felt a little bit greedy and also happy.

"Aditya, I want to add one thing."

"What you would like to add?" Aditya curiously asked.

Since the opponent has surrendered, the Oracle Alliance will be forced to pay compensation to Aditya and his allies. The compensation may be in the form of land, money, slaves, cultivation techniques, skill books, artifacts, or any valuable thing that the Oracle Alliance has under their control.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 390

"Aditya, I want to add one thing."

"What you would like to add?" Aditya curiously asked.

"For decades now, My Empire is in conflict with the Mystic Spring Empire on the control of the Anna Maria Icelands. I was forced to settle with 7 islands and the other 7 islands were forcefully taken away by the Mystic Spring Empire. I want total control of the Anna Maria Icelands." Daxton made his intentions clear. The Anna Maria Icelands was a good location for the Echo Dominion Empire.

Using the Anna Maria Icelands, the Echo Dominion Empire would be able to launch an attack on the Mystic Spring Empire from the sea as well. Also, if the Anna Maria Icelands are in Daxton's hands, then no one could use this location to block the foreign ships that come to his Empire.

"Since we're talking about the Anna Maria Icelands, there is something that I want to ask you." After touring around the entire Island with Alicia, Aditya had some plans for this island.

"What is it?" Daxton curiously asked. Adian also looked very curious. He also wanted to know what Aditya wanted.

"This is more like a request."

"Go on. I will try my best to fulfill your request." This war had shown Daxton the powers that the Istarin Empire had. Being an ally of the Istarin Empire would only bring his Empire endless benefits and political powers.

"I want this island." Aditya knew that if Daxton fulfilled his request, then in the future he will owe him one. And Aditya was perfectly alright with that idea.

"Can I ask you Why?" Daxton was curious.

"My fiance likes this place." Not to mention, Aditya also likes this island.

"I don't mind. From this point onwards, this island will belong to the Istarin Empire. The Echo Dominion Empire will have no claim on this island."

"Thank you." Daxton nodded his head.

Scene change________

In the living room, The members of the Oracle Alliance, the Istarin Emperor, The Echo Dominion Emperor, and The Hephaestus Kingdom's King all were sitting on the couches and chairs. Ironically enough, this was the first time all 8 major powers of the northwestern region had gathered for a meeting. And this happened because the Echo Nexus empire had to mess with an Empire from another region.

"It's my and my tribe's honor to have you all on this small island. First of all, I would like to apologize if this isn't up to your standard." Sam bowed his head to show his sincerity. Inside he was extremely nervous. If anything went wrong, this entire island could be destroyed within a few seconds. Each person sitting in this room had immense political and military powers under their command. Just being in their presence made Sam extremely nervous.

"Like I told you from the beginning. There is no need to apologize. We chose this location. If anything it is us who is burdening you and your tribe with our presence." Aditya was sitting in the middle. Alicia was sitting on his right and Spencer was on his left.

"If there is nothing else, then you can get out and let us start this meeting." In an annoyed tone, Lucas told the Tribe leader to leave the room. Sam nodded his head and then left the room with two other Ice elves who were there.

From Lucas's tone, one can easily tell that the Echo Nexus Emperor is very annoyed and displeased. Unlike Aditya who is very relaxed and calm, Lucas looked impatient and looked like he couldn't wait for this meeting to end.

After Sam left, Lucas directly looked at Aditya and asked. "Tell me what you and your allies want?" After all the things that Aditya did, Lucas hated Aditya more than anything else. He didn't want to sit in the same room as Aditya.

Daxton and Aidan turned to Aditya. Neither of them spoke anything. This matter started between the Istarin Empire and the Echo Nexus Empire. Both Emperors were the major power holders in this war and hence had the right to speak while others listened.

"You sound very important, Your Majesty. And here I was thinking of having lunch with everyone." Unlike Lucas, Aditya was completely cool, calm, and collected.

"I don't have for such nonsense. Now tell me what do you want?"

"Since you're being so impatient, then let my Prime Minister tell you what we want from the Oracle Alliance."

'Here it comes.' Prime Minister Philip thought in his mind. He could only pray that the opponent doesn't demand too much.

Aditya looked at Spencer and nodded his head. Spencer took out a golden scroll from his storage ring. Meanwhile, the members of the Oracle Alliance and Lucas himself were curious about the identity of the mysterious woman who was sitting next to Aditya. From the looks of it, Aditya was very close to this woman. So it was very possible, that this woman was Aditya's wife. But as far as they knew Aditya was engaged to Duke Adam's daughter who is famously known as the Goddess of Alchemy. Even though they had questions, no one asked anything due to their pride.

?The Istarin Empire and its allies will accept the surrender of the Oracle Alliance if only the Oracle Alliance agrees to do the following: -

1. First of all, the Mystic Spring Empire will give the Anna Maria Icelands to the Echo Dominion Empire. The Mystic Spring Empire or any member of the Oracle Alliance won't have any rights to conduct any military exercise around the Anna Maria Icelands. If any soldiers or spies from the Mystic Spring Empire or any member of the Oracle Alliance are found near the Anna Maria Icelands then it will be seen as a threat to the Echo Dominion Empire and its allies. In case this was to happen, the Echo Dominion Empire and its allies will immediately take action against the Mystic Spring Empire.?

Hearing this, The Mystic Spring Empire easily agreed and had no problem with these conditions. Although the Anna Maria Icelands were valuable assets to the Mystic Spring Empire, giving up the remaining 7 islands was still acceptable in the Emperor's opinion.

"I agree." The Mystic Spring Emperor easily agreed.

"Next.....

?2. The Echo Nexus Empire will give ownership of the Obi Islands to the Istarin Empire. The Echo Nexus Empire won't have any right to conduct any military exercise near the Obi Islands. If any soldiers or spies or anyone from the military of the Echo Nexus Empire or any member of the Oracle Alliance are found near the Obi Islands then it will be seen as a threat to the Istarin Empire and its allies. In case this was to happen, the Istarin Empire and its allies will immediately take action against the Echo Nexus Empire.?

After Spencer ended his words, everyone's eyes were on Lucas. The Obi Islands weren't just small islands like the Anna Maria Icelands. The Obi Islands were almost big as the mainland territory of the Queenstown Empire. Giving up the ownership of the Obi islands would be a huge loss for the Echo Nexus Empire.

The Obi Island is the largest island in the Northwestern region. The Obi Islands are two islands. One big island and another very small island; the second island is slightly larger than Eldoria Island. Both Islands are often considered one big island. As the distance between both islands is really small. One can go to the small Obi island just by swimming. The Obi Islands are known for their stunning natural landscapes, unique culture, and delicious cuisine.

The Obi Island is renowned for its breathtaking natural scenery. It is characterized by vast open spaces, rolling hills, and rugged mountains. The Obi Island experiences a cooler climate compared to the rest of the mainland. Winters are long and cold with heavy snowfall. The summers are milder and more comfortable and is a popular tourist attraction because of its pleasant temperatures and beautiful flower fields. The Obi Island is home to beautiful lavender fields. Lavender blooms from late June to early August, creating a stunning purple landscape that attracts many visitors.

The Obi Island boasts a rich diversity of magic wildlife. There are magic brown bears, magic deer, magic foxes, and various magic bird species.

The Obi Island is renowned for its hot springs, which are scattered throughout the island. These hot springs offer relaxation and rejuvenation, with mineral-rich waters believed to have healing properties.

Obi Island is also home to the largest Dwarf population in the Dying Isle continent. A major reason why the Echo Nexus Empire's military is so powerful has to do with the dwarves that make high-quality weapons and armor for the Echo Nexus Empire.

The Obi Islands have the second-biggest gold mine. Most importantly, Obi Island also has an Etherium mine. Throughout the entire Dying Isle Continent, only the Echo Nexus Empire has Etherium Mine. Etherium stone is 10 times more valuable than mana stones. The Echo Nexus Empire earns a large chunk of its money through selling Etherium and gold mined from the Obi Islands.

In short words, the Obi Islands were simply too valuable for the Echo Nexus Empire. The two Islands were full of resources and treasures. Giving up the Obi islands would mean that the Echo Nexus empire's GDP was going to shrink by 23.5%. And this wasn't simply acceptable. Not to mention, if the Istarin Empire were to get the Obi islands, then the Echo Nexus Empire will be surrounded from two sides. The Istarin Empire will be able to launch an attack on the Echo Nexus Empire from the northwest. And the Echo Nexus Empire already had the Echo Dominion Empire at its eastern borders.

If in case another war breaks out, this time the Echo Nexus empire will be attacked from two sides. Giving up the Obi islands would be the same as letting an enemy live next to your house.

"Impossible. There is no way I am going to give up the Obi Islands." Lucas immediately refused. The Obi Islands were simply too valuable.

"You don't have any other choice." Meeting Aditya's cold-red eyes, Lucas slightly shivered in fear. He felt frightened. He had no choice but to look away.

"What else do you want?" Lucas asked.

While keeping his eyes on Lucas, Aditya signaled Spencer to keep reading.

?3. The Methia Empire will give ownership of the Catalina Islands to the Hephaestus Kingdom. If any soldiers or spies from the Methia Empire or any member of the Oracle Alliance are found near the Catalina Islands then it will be seen as a threat to the Hephaestus Kingdom and its allies. In case this was to happen, the Hephaestus Kingdom and its allies will immediately take action against the Methia Empire.?

Adian and his prime minister were very surprised to hear this. After all, the Hephaestus Kingdom did not provide much help in this war. It was the Istarin Troops and Aditya who defended his Kingdom and also won the war. If anything, his soldiers were more like a burden to everyone and were hindering their progress. For this, Adian feels very ashamed.

Adian thought that he had made his intentions clear. In exchange for siding with the Istarin Empire, he wanted Aditya's help in rebuilding his Kingdom and getting rid of all waste. Through Aditya, he hoped to re-establish order within the entire Kingdom.

"The Catalina Islands?" The Methia Emperor was surprised. Just like the Obi Islands are very important to the Echo Nexus Empire, the Catalina Islands were important to the Methia Empire.

The central part of the Northwestern region was very hot and dry due to numerous factors. Since a big part of the Methia Empire was in the center of the northwestern region, the Methia Empire did not have much fertile land. Around 20 to 30% of the Empire's food needs were fulfilled by the Catalina Islands which had rich fertile soil and very suitable condition for growing rice.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, giving up the Catalina Islands would be the end of My Empire. We would be struggling to make ends. The food prices are going to rise and millions of people are going to starve to death. Giving up the Catalina Islands isn't an option for me and for my people."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 391

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, giving up the Catalina Islands would be the end of My Empire. We would be struggling to make ends. The food prices are going to rise and millions of people are going to starve to death. Giving up the Catalina Islands isn't an option for me and for my people." The Methia Empire Jonathan sounded really righteous.

"Don't pretend as if you care about your people. If you really cared for your people, then you wouldn't have increased the tax rate in your Empire. You have been squeezing money from the common class people. If you lower the tax rate, then your people would be able to afford food and other commodities."

Hearing this Jonathan's face turned ugly. Whatever Aditya said just now was very true. In the whole continent, his Empire had the highest tax rate. Every year millions of people were sold as slaves due to high taxes.

"An....Anyway, I am not giving up the Catalina Islands." Jonathan also refused to give up his territory just like Lucas.

Aditya's coldly looked at Jonathan for a moment. The cold stare was making Jonathan feel uneasy. He felt nervous and frightened. After all, the man in front of him had defeated the strongest 5th-order cultivator. If this man wanted, he could end their lives within a few seconds and no one would be able to stop him.

"Spencer, continue reading."

?4. The Oracle Alliance shall give 12 billion gold coins as compensation to the Istarin Empire and its allies. Each Alliance member will have to pay 2 billion gold coins as compensation. The 12 billion gold can be paid in cash or in the form of assets. The money has to be paid within one week.?

Hearing this, all the other Emperors looked at Lucas. This meant that each Empire would have to pay 2 billion gold coins. Only the Echo Nexus Empire and the Mystic Spring Empire were rich enough to have billions of gold coins in cash. As for others, they didn't have that much money in cash. And if they wanted to raise this money, they would have to sell a lot of their valuable assets.

"12 billion gold coins? Are you out of your mind? There is no way we can pay this much money within a week."

"Hehe!" Everyone turned their eyes at Alicia who had remained silent up to this moment.

"Aric Darkwood, if I remember correctly, then recently you spend 100,000,000 gold coins building a gold statue of yourself that is over 70 meters tall height And you also have secretly bought 200,000,000 worth of gold from the Echo Nexus Empire to build multiple gold statues of yourselves and your wife."

Apart from Aditya, no one really has seen the Guild Leader of the ?ee?er? of ?m??r???. Alicia went to meet Aditya because she was somewhat curious about her finance, who had suddenly changed. Alicia sent her subordinates to meet the Emperors or Kings of each empire or Kingdom to discuss the conditions to open her guild's branch in their territories.

"This isn't true." Aric immediately refused. Aric Darkwood was the Emperor of the Queenstown Empire. The Queenstown Empire is thought to be the poorest member of the Alliance. But it turned out, Aric has been hiding his wealth.

Hearing Alicia's words, others looked at Lucas and Aric in a mix of shock and surprise. "Your Majesty, is that true?" Reese Gilliam, who is the number one bootlicker of Lucas asked in a shocked tone.

"Yes, it's true." Since the matter was out, there was no reason to hide it.

"But you said that in order to build that statue you had to take a big debt. You said something about fulfilling your dreams." Jonathan who was the Emperor of the Methia Empire asked. Jonathan considered Aric as a friend. Both of them often talked and spent time together.

Aric did not reply. He instead lowered his head and kept quiet.

"That's not all, Last year, your Empire earned a whopping 700,000,000 million gold coins in profits just by selling Starfire Berries." Alicia smirked under her veil.

"Aric is that true?" This time Lucas looked very shocked and shaken by this fact.

Starfire Berries are a special type of Magic fruit that only grows in the Vastmanna Islands which are under the control of Aric. The Starfire Berries are small, luminescent fruit that glows with a soft, celestial light. When consumed, it grants temporarily enhanced agility and night vision and also temporarily increases the cultivation speed of the cultivator.

The Starfire berries are highly valuable due to their demand. Almost every Empire wants Starfire berries. It takes an entire year for Starfire berries to ripen. Given the benefits of the Starfire berries, Lucas made a rule for Aric. Aric would have to sell all of the Starfire berries to the members of the Oracle Alliance at a cheaper price.

But Last year, Aric told everyone that due to a lack of rain, there has been a decrease in the production of Starfire berries. Lucas trusted Aric and didn't really look into this matter. Aric used this chance to sell large amounts of Starfire berries outside and make a lot of profits.

"Your Majesty, this isn't true at all. This bitch is telling lies. This bitch shouldn't be here. This bi......??n?!!

Lucas only saw a blur when the next second, Aric who had been sitting on his left was sent flying.

??n?.....!!!!

Everyone saw Aditya standing. Aric was nowhere to be seen. Looking back, they all saw a large hole in the walls.

Outside, the Ice Elves who were around the house were shocked to find the Queenstown Emperor lying in the snow 100 meters away. His face was completely disfigured. His nose was broken and bleeding. Several of his teeth were also broken. Aditya's punch had also cracked his skull. His whole face was covered in blood.

He was grunting like an animal that was about to die.

"Istarin Emperor, why did you do that?" Lucas stood up, looking completely angry.

However, Aditya did not back down. "How dare that bastard disrespect my wife?" Fierce Crimson lightning flickered around Aditya's body. His eyes turned red. His pupils turned into a vertical slit. Red Scales began to grow over his skin. Aditya was slowly transforming into his Dragon form.

Seeing all this, other Emperors slowly back down in fear. Even Alicia was stunned seeing Aditya's anger. But deep down, she really felt warm.

????? ??. ? ?on'? even ??re ?bo?? ???? ?e??e ?re??? ?n?more. ? w?n? ??r. ? ?m ?o?n? ?o ?rown ?o? ?ll ?n bloo? ?n? ?e??ro? ?o?r ?m??re?.?

?? ?m ??e ?r??on ?on?r???

?? ?m ??e ??n? of ?ll ?r??on??

??o one ???re??e??? ???? ?on?r??'? w?fe.?

Hearing this Lucas instantly began to regret his outburst. The look in Aditya's eyes told him that he and his allies were screwed. Even though he and his allies bought their strongest men with them, even if all of them joined hands to fight this monster, then also no one would be able to stop him.

'If things have come to this, then I have no choice but to use it.' Things had come to the point where only one party could live. And another party had to die.

"Istarin Emperor, you leave me with no choice." A dark Aura surrounded Lucas. The Aura was very cold and sinister. Lucas's eyes turned black. His skin color turned black. The Mana in his body began to change its nature.

Ahhh........!!!!

Lucas suddenly let out a loud painful scream. It was as if he was in great pain. No one could explain what was going on.

Even Aditya felt a big threat from this man. "Get out of here," Aditya told his allies to leave.

"Too late." Aditya widened his eyes seeing Lucas turning into a completely different man. Two black horns had grown on his head. He had bat-like wings. His skin had turned completely black. At the same time, Aditya felt Lucas's Aura was rapidly getting stronger.

"I hope you liked my gift." Aditya saw a black energy orb in front of him. Seeing this, Aditya knew that something very bad was going to happen.

Alicia suddenly found herself hugged by Aditya. She also noticed a transparent layer of skin was covered her entire body. Aditya was focusing entirely on protecting Alicia. Before she could understand what was going on, a huge explosion took place.

?oooooooooomm!!!!!!!!

A huge explosion took shook the core of the island. Even the neighboring islands heard the sound of the explosion. The whole of Blackburn village was shaken by this explosion. The shockwave of the explosion destroyed all of the houses and seriously injured many ice elves. Some unfortunate, Ice-Elves had died along with some soldiers that Aditya and others bought with them. It was because the soldiers were very close to the house.

Ah......!

Alicia felt her whole body was in pain. But fortunately, no bones in her body were broken. Other than some minor burns, she was completely fine. But Aditya wasn't fine at all.

Opening her eyes, the first thing that she saw was his relieved face. "Fortunately, you're alright." He said in a tired voice. He then closed his eyes and buried his face in her bosom.

However, seeing him like this, Alicia panicked. Her hands felt something wet. She widened her eyes in shock seeing his blood in her hands. His back was severely injured. The explosion had burned his skin and exposed his flesh.

Aditya focused entirely on saving Alicia. With so little time on his hand, the first thing that he prioritized was saving the woman who had loved.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 392

"Aditya.....Aditya" Alicia panicked seeing Aditya in such a horrible state.

Aditya groaned in pain and then replied. "I am not planning on dying this soon. At least not until, I give you a Dragon baby."

"This isn't the time to joke." Normally Alicia would have blushed to hear such words. But this wasn't time for such nonsense.

"Open your mouth." She took out a glass tube that was filled with a green liquid. The green liquid was Peak 5-star healing potion. Julia had given Alicia a few of them for emergency situations. Never thought she would find herself needing to use one of them.

??l?!

As the potion reached down his throat, all of his injuries rapidly began to heal. Alicia then took a moment to look around.

Everything within 25 meters radius was completely destroyed. She could sense many people were on the verge of death. One of them happens to be the prime Minister of the Hephaestus Kingdom.

Adian gently put Fabian on the ground. He held his hand and gently asked. "Fabian, talk to me."

Fabian had used this body to protect Adian. Unlike Aditya, he wasn't that lucky. His body wasn't strong enough to withstand the explosion. "Your Majesty, this is the end. I pray that one day, the Hephaestus Kingdom regains its former glory and reaches a new height." Fabian's hand lost strength and was about to fall down when Adian grabbed his hand and tightly held it with tears running down his cheeks.

"Thank you for your years of service, my dear Prime Minister." Adian had great difficulty speaking these words. He never thought that his Prime Minister would leave him this way.

Fabian had served Adian's father for a long time. After his father's death, even when everything went wrong, Fabian was loyal to Adian and served him.

Pushing the debris, Daxton stood up and removed the jacket that he was wearing. Daxton being a 5th-order cultivator was able to survive the explosion even though he was slightly injured. He also managed to protect His Prime Minister. Adam also managed to survive.

"Are you Alright, Your Majesty?" Adam asked.

Daxton rolled his eyes and replied. "Before asking, you should look at yourself." Adam sadly smiled before looking to his right.

"It appears Duke Elliott Campbell wasn't that lucky." Duke Campbell instantly died from the explosion.

"Never thought that this old man would go out this way." Even though the Onard house and the Campbell were bitter rivals for generations, Adam never really hated Duke Elliott. Duke Elliott was from Adam's father's generation. He greatly respected the old man. It's a shame that he died early. As his son is still immature and not ready to handle the duties of his father.

Adam's body began healing after he ate a 5-star healing pill that his daughter made for him. Daxton's injuries weren't that serious. With his natural healing abilities, those burns will heal in no time.

??ene ???n?e_______

"Jonathan, are you still alive?" Lying under the debris of the wooden house, the Emperor of Queenstown called his friend. Although Aric had hidden many things from Jonathan, he still considered Jonathan a good friend.

Pushing away the wooden doon, Jonathan showed his pained face. His forehead was covered in blood. The rest of his body had suffered second-degree burns.

"Yeah." Aric was lying injured on the ground. He saw his friend Jonathan was still alive. Feeling relieved, Aric got up to help Jonathan.

"What the hell was that? Lucas should have warned us about whatever he was planning on doing in this meeting." Aric complained about Lucas while helping Jonathan sit up not knowing that the Devil was behind them and was listening to their conversation.

"I don't want to be part of this shitty Alliance anymore," Jonathan complained. If Jonathan wasn't a part of this alliance, he wouldn't have been forced into this war and wouldn't have lost millions of his soldiers. And he wouldn't have been this miserable.

"Yeah. After all this is over, I am leaving this Alliance. The only party benefitting from this Alliance is Lucas and his Empire."

"Are you sure about that?" A hideous voice reached both Aric and Jonathan's ears. Both of their backs stiffened. Both Emperors started trembling. When they slowly turned their heads, they saw a monster in front of their eyes. This monster didn't have any resemblance to Lucas.

"Who are you?" The monster in front of them was 3 meters tall. It had dark skin, large black bat wings, black eyes, and two sharp horns on its head. The most notable feature of its body was the dark purple color diamond-shaped crystal at its chest.

The diamond shaped-crystal was in the middle of his chest. The crystal was embedded into his ribcage. Dark purple veins were spread from the crystal. Each second, the crystal was pulsing, as if it was alive.

The monster in front of them looked very ugly. To them, it was like a creature that had walked out of Hell. Neither Aric Nor Jonathan had ever seen anything uglier than this creature. Even the ugliest being in this world would look pretty in front of this monster.

The monster had a sinister Aura. Being stared at by this monster, made both of them feel extremely nervous. As if this creature from hell had come here to take them to hell.

"Who Am I? That's a stupid question. Just a few seconds ago, you two were talking about betraying me."

It was then that both Aric and Jonathan realized that this monster was non-other than Lucas. As for how the Echo Nexus Emperor turned into this hideous-looking monster, they had no idea about it. "You're Lucas.....?"

The monster's giant palms grabbed their faces.

"Lucas, please don't kill us."

"For decades, we have been loyal to you and only you. We stood by your side and have helped you."

"We have served and we will of service to the Alliance leader."

Lucas momentarily stopped before looking at Aric and Jonathan's faces. "Unfortunately, it's too late for that."

Ahhhh......!!!!!

Aric and Jonathan's bodies started to wither. Both of them struggled with all of their rights to free themselves but failed to do anything. Lucas raised their bodies up in the air. Wrinkles started appearing on their bodies. It was as if both of their bodies were rapidly aging. A second later, both of their bodies stopped moving.

???!!!!

"I barely received anything. What a waste these two were." Lucas threw away the two dead bodies like garbage.

Aric and Jonathan's bodies had turned withered corpses. Both looked like thousand years old mummies. It was as if someone had extracted every single drop of blood and water from their bodies.

"Time to hunt for some more meals." Lucas then disappeared.

??ene ???n?e_______

"How are you doing?"

"Are you alright?"

"Are you still in pain?"

Aditya just nodded his head. Thanks to Alicia's quick actions, his injuries had 40% healed. Within a few more minutes, his body should be completely healed.

Seeing Aditya trying to stand up, Alicia healed him. After standing up, both of them took a moment to look at the destruction around them. Just a few hours ago, this peaceful village was covered in snow and beautiful houses were around them. But now anything within 25 meters range has been destroyed due to the explosion.

With his enhanced senses, he could feel that many people had died in this explosion. If he hadn't acted even a second later, then Alicia also would have died. And that very thought of her dying scared him very much.

"Aditya...."

"Yeah, I can also feel its presence. There is no way I won't be able to feel his Hideous and Sinister Aura." Both of them were talking about the monster responsible for this destruction.

"How did Lucas suddenly turn into that monster?" Aditya wondered out loud.

Alicia heard Aditya's question. But before she could say anything, her eyes suddenly became dazed and lost focus. It was almost as if she was lost in her thoughts.

"Let us escape this prison."

"I can't wait to return to Earth and conquer the 7 continents once again.""

Alicia suddenly found herself having a vision. In her vision, she saw millions of black humanoid-looking monsters with large bat wings and horns on top of their heads, in a place where Lava was flowing in place of a river, and where the sky was red. It was a different world. No ordinary human would be able to survive in such a place.

"All of these monsters were locked in cages. Amidst all the screaming and shouting, suddenly a wave of golden flame came from the sky.

"It's over for us."

"We are finished"

All the monsters screamed.

The flame then consumed every single one of the monsters. And just like that millions of Monsters were killed."

'What the hell was that?' The vision lasted for a few seconds. Even though it was a vision, she still remembered many details.

''That' Flame looked similar to the Hell Fire that the members of my family are capable of using.' Alicia was a Fire Mage herself. She had been using the Hell Flame with her spells. Because of the Hell Flame, any fire-type skills that she uses don't consume too much of her Mana.

'But it was much more powerful.'

"Alicia, I am going to face this monster." Alicia snapped out of her dazed.

Alicia looked concerned. She knew even if she wanted to stop him, he wouldn't listen. And truthfully, only he was strong enough to stop this monster.

"Take everyone with you and leave this island. This island isn't safe anymore." Once the fight started, the collision of their attacks might even take out the entire island. While fighting this monster, Aditya can't guarantee the safety of his wife and his people.

"Alright. Take care of yourself." Aditya nodded before vanishing out of Alicia's sight.

With each step, one by one, he started activating his passive skills. He also wore the Crimson Warlock Armor Set.

Inferno Overdrive!

Storm Flight!

Lightning Armor!

Crimson Lightning Dash!

??ene ???n?e_______

Gu...!!

When Aditya arrived, he saw a 3 meters tall monster had lifted a Beginner 5th-order cultivator by his throat. Under his eyes, the cultivator's body began to wither rapidly. Within a few seconds, the cultivator's corpse withered like a thousand years of mummy.

"You're finally here. I have been waiting for you." The monster casually threw away the dead body of the cultivator and then turned around. Around the monsters, there were 100 other dead withered corpses. He had killed every single people that came with him to this island.

"Who are you?"

"No.....The question should be what are you? Are you Lucas or a Monster?" Aditya's main objective was to buy time. So that Alicia can take everyone and leave this island. Aditya would be able to fight without having to worry about others.

"That's an interesting question. Even I am not sure about the answer. I am still Lucas. But I am also Beltharos the Devouring Shade."

? ?el???ro? ??e ?evo?r?n? ????e! ?

Aditya started to walk around Lucas. "What exactly you have turned yourself into?" Aditya couldn't help but ask. He didn't have any knowledge about the monster that Lucas had turned himself into.

"I have lived for more than 7 centuries. It had taken me 7 centuries to build the current Echo Nexus Empire. You might be more powerful than me, but I am more knowledgeable than you." Aditya secretly rolled his eyes. He wanted a straight answer.

"In my long life, I was fortunate enough to find the corpses of some beings that do not originate from this realm. It took a long time but I finally succeeded. Through numbers trails and errors, I have become......"

To be continued....!

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 393

"I have lived for more than 7 centuries. It had taken me 7 centuries to build the current Echo Nexus Empire. You might be more powerful than me, but I am more knowledgeable than you." Aditya secretly rolled his eyes. He wanted a straight answer. And he was talking about his life. Aditya wasn't the slightest bit interested in knowing about his life.

"In my long life, I was fortunate enough to find the corpses of some beings that do not originate from this realm. It took a long time but I finally succeeded. Through numbers trails and errors, I have become a Hybrid Hell Monster."

"Hybrid Hell Monster? What's that supposed to be?" Hearing this Lucas was left speechless. Then he remembered that Aditya was only 19 years old. It was normal for him to not know about such a thing.

"There are other realms connected to this living Realm. The Hell is one of them. The Hell monsters are found in Hell Realm."

"So you somehow managed to change yourself into a Hybrid Hell Monster? But Why?"

"Why? Do you even realize the power of a Hell Monster? Even 10 Hell Monsters can take over this entire world as long as they are given a little time to grow. Not even your Mighty Dragons can understand in front of Hell Monsters." Aditya felt Lucas was purposely keeping the main point from him and that is the power of the Hell Monster.

Looking at the withered dead bodies around Lucas, Aditya had some ideas about what a Hell Monster's power may be.

"Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted to surrender?" Aditya had to keep asking questions. He can still sense a few other people on this island. Meaning that the evacuation process wasn't over yet.

"I wasn't planning on facing you here. The plan was to face you at the frontline. But unexpectedly you managed to kill the Empire's strongest cultivator. I had to change my plans."

"Are you still mad about what I did to your son?"

"If so, then you can take your son back. After all, I don't have any use for him. I have to waste my resources to feed him and keep him alive." Aditya's words had managed to anger Lucas. There was still some love for his son.

"Since you have taken my son, I am going to take the life of your wife in front of your own eyes." On hearing these words, he had to force himself to calm down.

"I already know that you're trying to buy time for those people to escape." Hearing this Aditya was surprised. He stopped walking around Lucas.

A black Greatsword appeared in thin air. While keeping his eyes on Aditya, he held the Greatsword. "No matter how far they far run, I am going to kill all of them including your dear Wife."

"As long as I am alive, I won't let that happen." Aditya already had bought out the Adamantite Doomblade.

?woo??!!!!

?l?n?!!!

Both Men's weapons clashed in mid-air producing sparks of flame as a result. As their weapons clashed, both of them gained a little bit of insight into each other's strengths and powers.

As he took a step back suddenly the ground beneath him cracked. From the cracks, many black chains materialized and wrapped around Aditya's legs; pulling him down to the ground.

He couldn't react in time to dodge the black chains that rose from the ground. As he was being pulled downwards, Aditya saw a grin on Lucas's face.

?r???!!!

But that grin soon disappeared as numerous bolts of lightning bolts struck Lucas.

?oom!!!

Meanwhile, Just as Aditya's foot touched the ground, from the cracks, red Magma started coming out. The Magma easily destroyed the black chains and freed his legs.

However, the very next second, the earth slightly trembled. Giants cracks spread everywhere. Piercing the thick blanket of snow, thousands of black chains rose from the ground. The size of the black chains was stronger than before.

All chains had surrounded Aditya. The Black Chains were made from Dark Element. This meant that these chains were much stronger than normal chains. Like snakes, the Chains launched themselves at Aditya.

"Annoying Chains...." Aditya muttered as he tapped the ground beneath him with his right foot. The flow of Magma coming from the cracks suddenly multiplied. Using his ability to Manipulate Magma, Aditya created a wave of Magma. The Magma easily destroyed the black chains.

?oooom...!!!

Just as Aditya destroyed all of the black chains, Lucas appeared on his back. Aditya could feel the Black greatsword heading toward his neck.

?l??!!!!

Two Lava hands rose from the Magma under Aditya's foot and stopped the Greatsword. This left Lucas slightly surprised. The Next second, he looked down and saw that Magma was slowly covering his feet and trying to devour him.

To Aditya's surprise, Lucas did nothing. The Monster creepily smiled at Aditya while letting its body sink in Magma.

'Something is wrong.' Aditya became wary of what Lucas was doing to do. This wasn't the first time he had been deceived by his opponents. Instead of using his eyes, he decided to rely purely on his enhanced senses.

And sure enough, just when he closed his eyes, there was no Lucas in front of him. Instead, Aditya found himself surrounded by more than ten thousand Black Chains. Lucas had managed to hide himself and the black chains using Dark Illusion.

'But the question is Where is Lucas?' No matter how much Aditya tried, he couldn't sense Lucas anywhere. It was highly unlikely that he would just flee when they had equal if not more strength and power than his opponent.

'This must be another trick or skill of his.' Aditya thought as he spread his wings and flew up in the air.

As he started flying, all of the black chains reacted. 10,000 black chains launched at him. Ten Thousand black chains wrapped around Aditya's body.

?oooom!!!!!

He easily destroyed all of the annoying chains using Crimson Flame and then kept looking for Lucas.

'I am getting tired of this sneaky fight.' Before Aditya's battles used to be more direct and destructive in nature. But now he found himself facing an opponent who can move like an expert Assassin. Someone who can hide his presence very well and attack without appearing in front of Aditya. He was clearly an expert at using dark Magic. His opponent was also a master at using Dark Illusions. This was very troublesome for Aditya.

Lucas did not cast an Illusion on Aditya. Rather he perfectly used Illusion to distort reality and used that perfectly with his other attacks making these attacks very deadly. If he wasn't cautious, he might get stabbed in the back.

"Aditya, can you guess where I am?" Aditya tried to trace the voice and find Lucas's location. But he miserably failed to do so. He couldn't exactly tell from where the voice was coming.

"You can't find me, Dragon Monarch. Unless I want you to find me."

?Undead Summoning!?

A small shadow materialized on the ground. In that Split second, Aditya was able to sense Lucas's presence but that presence quickly faded away as the shadow disappeared.

A large black magic circle appeared. Thousand of powerful undeads began to rise from the magic circle. As the undeads started appearing, they also bought a black miasma along with them. The black miasma started to spread around.

'These Undeads are very strong.' Each of these undeads had a very strong Dark Aura.

'If I had Holy Magic, then everything would have been 10 times easier. By now Lucas would have been dead.' It was well known that, Light counters Shadow. Holy Magic was the strongest weapon against Dark Magic. It was simply impossible for both holy magic and dark magic to exist together.

'In that case, let me show my elemental powers.' Aditya invested [1000+] of his mana into his Innate skill.

?Magma Manipulation!?

?r???!

The Snow rapidly began to melt while Magma gushed out of the earth and took over the land.

Meanwhile,

Everything was covered in Black Miasma. The Sunlight was completely cut off. Making the whole Island feel as if it was a hunted place.

'Where are you?' If the situation continued like this, Aditya either would have to last long enough to force Lucas to come out of his hiding. And Aditya had no idea how long that would take. Who knows maybe Lucas can keep hiding for days or even months without needing to come out? Till he comes out of hiding, Aditya would need to deal with sneaky attacks, black chains, and undeads.

With a wave of his hand, A wave of Magma devoured all of the undeads.

Aditya stopped flying around. He landed on the ground and waited for Lucas. And sure enough, as his feet touched the magma on which he had landed, another giant magic circle appeared beneath him.

?owl!!!!!

This time, the magic circle summoned 100 giant black wolves. The wolves had red eyes and the wolves were 2 times bigger compared to normal Magic wolves.

Before the Wolves could even come within his 10 meters radius, the Magma started to devour them.

"Pathetic!" Just as Aditya uttered this word, he suddenly felt a presence on his back. When he turned around, Lucas's Aura disappeared. But Aditya didn't fail to see the small dark shadow that joined his own shadow.

'So just like Nathan, he can use Shadow to travel and also hide himself in Shadow.' Nathan still can't do that latter one. This just goes to show just how proficient Lucas was at using Dark Magic. And Aditya had a feeling that this proficiency came naturally because he had turned himself into a Hybrid Hell Monster.

This time Aditya completely closed his eyes. He knew his real target was hiding in his shadow. Aditya ignored all other distractions and focused completely on Lucas. As for the other distractions that came in the form of Black chains, undeads, and wolves all of them were devoured by Magma.

10 seconds passed in silence and Aditya hadn't moved an inch. He continued to wait for Lucas with his eyes closed.

Another 10 seconds passed. The number of distractions that Lucas threw at him became much more frequent.

Another 10 seconds passed. Aditya faintly felt Lucas's Aura in his shadow. The number of distractions that were thrown at him had almost tripled. Aditya could tell that with each passing second, this guy was becoming desperate. It was as if he wanted to distract Aditya so that he can come out of hiding. At the same time, Aditya moved the tips of his fingers and created a compressed Crimson Flame bullet which took no less than two seconds.

On the 32nd second, Aditya finally felt Lucas's presence. Just as he felt Lucas's presence, he shot a small bullet size Compressed Crimson Flame.

??n?!

The Compressed Crimson Flame bullet managed to hit Lucas. With the hit, Lucas's entire body appeared before Aditya.

?Ding! «Crimson Corruption» has been activated.?

With the activation of «Crimson Corruption» a red sparkling aura appeared around Lucas. Lucas grunted in pain.

?Ding! «Crimson Corruption» has inflicted Bleeding effect on the target. For the next five seconds, the target will lose 3% of Health. This curse effect can stack up to 3.?

In the next two seconds, Aditya created 10 more of the Compressed Crimson Flame bullets and shot them at Lucas who was lying in front of Aditya.

??...!!!

A small groan escaped Lucas's mouth. He was in pain.

??n?! ??n?! ??n?

?Ding! «Crimson Corruption» has been activated.?

?Ding! «Crimson Corruption» has inflicted Bleeding effect on the target. For the next five seconds, the target will lose 3% of Health.?

?Ding! «Crimson Corruption» has been activated.?

?Ding! «Crimson Corruption» has inflicted Bleeding effect on the target. For the next five seconds, the target will lose 3% of Health.?

??...!!!

Lucas didn't know what was going on but he could feel his health was rapidly dropping.

Meanwhile,

"I have been waiting for this." Aditya grabbed Lucas's hair and pulled him up. Aditya was about to punch Lucas when he suddenly found his entire body frozen. His hands and legs were frozen. Other than his eyes, he couldn't move any parts of his body. And to his horror, he couldn't use his Mana or any of his skills.

Lucas freed himself from Aditya's grasp and then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I have won."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 394

Lucas freed himself from Aditya's grasp and then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I have won." Aditya couldn't speak. He couldn't move his body. He couldn't manipulate Mana inside his body. This meant that he can't use any of his skills. Through his eyes, he expressed anger and confusion while staring at Lucas. He wanted to know what this man had done to him and why he couldn't move his body anymore.

"I am not going to kill you now. As I said before I am going to kill your dear Wife in front of your own eyes." Saying that Lucas turned around and began to walk away.

Aditya stared at Lucas's back with his eyes wide open. His pupils were trembling. His crimson eyes were full of emotions.

'No...!' Aditya screamed in his mind. He tried whatever he could to make his body move.

Watching Lucas leave, Aditya became more and more desperate.

'Move Dammit.'

The dead images of his Wives flashed before his eyes. He knew this was going to be the future of his wives and his people if he didn't move right now.

Whatever it takes....

Whatever sacrifice it requires him.....

Aditya wanted to stop Lucas. 'I said MOVEEEE...!!!!'

Crack...!

Lucas who was 100 meters away from Aditya suddenly stopped walking as if he felt something. At the same time, Aditya felt the barrier that was preventing his body from moving shattering.

"No...."

"It's Impossible....unless his Will is strong enough to overpower mine." Lucas turned around and watched in shock as Aditya broke free from his Mind Control.

?Mind Control!?

Since Aditya is too strong, Lucas can never mind control him. He instead tried to paralyze him. But Aditya was able to break the dark spell with his strong will.

As Aditya freed himself, the Crimson lightning swimming at the clouds rumbled. Crimson lightning began to cover his entire body; forming a layer of lightning around his body.

Meanwhile, Lucas knew that he was in trouble so he decided to go back into hiding and play it safe till he can find any weakness of his opponent. With the snap of his fingers, he created a 100 meters massive black magic circle.

?Undead Summoning!?

As he summoned another wave of undeads in front of Aditya, Lucas slowly proceeded to sink into his shadow while staring at Aditya.

"This time you're not getting away." Aditya muttered these words while tapping the magma beneath him with his right foot.

Lucas's entire body already had submerged into his shadow. Only his head and neck remained outside. Suddenly a rainbow color lightning bolt landed on Lucas's head.

Booooom!!!!!

He was thrown out of his shadow. The Rainbow lightning was 10,000 times stronger compared to a normal Crimson lightning bolt.

?Enraged Lightning Spell!?

Meanwhile, a giant wave of Lave rose in the air. The wave had reached a height of 30 meters. The Lave Wave easily devoured all of the undeads in an instant. Aditya didn't even bother to look at the undeads.

Tsk!

'It seems this time my attack failed to activate «Crimson Corruption».' Aditya hoped that «Crimson Corruption» would get activated. Once activated, on top of the damage that Lucas received from the Enraged Lightning Spell, the «Crimson Corruption» would also put the «Bleeding» curse on him once more.

Swoosh!

Within a few seconds, he appeared in front of Lucas who was lying on the ground and groaning in pain.

"Got anything else?" Lucas had used many powerful abilities but failed to harm Aditya. When he did have the chance, he chose to not harm Aditya. He had wasted the golden opportunity that he got.

Cough.....!

Coughing out a large mouthful of blood, Lucas got on one knee and looked at Aditya with a grin. "Well, I still have a few more."

"I am not going to wait till you use them." Saying that he severed Lucas's head.

As he found himself flying in the air, he was confused. But then his eyes fell on his headless body. His head fell a few meters away from his body.

"You're not playing fair..." That was the last thing that he said before he rolled his eyes and lost consciousness forever.

"Everything in a battle is fair." Aditya would be an idiot if he took his time punishing Lucas or wasted his opportunity by talking with him. This was what Lucas did when he had the chance. Aditya learned from Lucas and did not make the same mistake.

Sigh!

"It's Finally over." Aditya looked at Lucas's headless body that was still on his one knee. Looking at the headless corpse, he for some reason had an uneasy feeling in his heart.

"Let's burn this corpse to ashes." Aditya was about to burn the corpse with Crimson Flame when countless black tentacles rose from the ground and surrounded Aditya.

"What the...." He couldn't even finish as he saw the headless body had begun to move. The headless body of Lucas moved like a zombie.

"What kind of Monster is this?" Aditya tried to fly away when he found one black tentacle wrapped around his leg. Even with his full strength, he couldn't free his head. The tentacle was preventing him from flying.

Aditya's eyes fell on Lucas's body. The monster's body was moving very slowly. With slow and unbalanced steps, it moved towards Aditya. Even though fresh red blood was still dripping from his throat, the monster was still moving.

At the same time, more black tentacles moved to grab Aditya's body. Suddenly his body started to change colors. His skin, hair, nails, hands, legs, and everything turned Crimson.

?Ding! Crimson Lightning Blink!?

?Ding! Using Crimson Lightning Blink has increased your speed by [800+]?

Aditya turned into a bolt of Crimson lightning. He easily tore the black tentacles. The headless body was hit with a powerful bolt of Crimson lightning.

Boooooooom!!!!!!!

The headless body was sent flying. When Aditya turned to his human form, he thought that the headless monster would be dead by now but contrary to his expectations, he saw the monster on his feet. The monster was still sloppily walking in his direction.

?Enraged Lightning Spell!?

A powerful rainbow color lightning bolt struck the headless monster's body. After the smoke was cleared, Aditya was shocked to find the monster was still on his feet. Even though by now, the monster's body had turned into a mess. Aditya could see his inner organs and bones. The monster was still walking towards him like before.

"Aditya, you can't kill this monster like this."

"What are you doing here?" Aditya panicked. He looked at Alicia before looking at the Headless Monster. He was afraid that the monster would use this chance to take him. Aditya was also a little bit angry at her.

"I told you to take everyone away from here. Then why did you come here?" Aditya did not hide his anger. Why can't she listen to his words?

"Listen to me. Without the Hell Fire, you can't defeat this monster." It was her words that turned his attention to her.

"Hell Fire?"

"A long time ago, our ancestors somehow managed to obtain the Hell Fire. The Hell Fire only exists in hell. It is the strongest weapon against Hell Monsters. Since then, anyone with Osburn Family blood has possessed extraordinary Fire affinity and the ability to use Hell Fire without even needing to use spells." Aditya was a little surprised. He didn't know about this. But this wasn't the time to talk about such things.

"So What should we do?" Aditya asked while staring at the monster.

"You see all Hell monsters desire to escape Hell and come to this world. Even after death, these monsters do not wish to leave. This is why, even though Lucas is dead, his body is moving without any consciousness. In a way, the current Lucas had become something like a zombie or an undead or Maybe a being that falls in between a zombie and an undead. He is already dead and his body moving like a mindless zombie."

"I will take things over. Just stand back. Today I get to take the spotlight from you." Hearing this Aditya smiled and then moved back.

?Hell Fire!?

Alicia summoned a giant orb of Golden flame. Looking at the golden flame, Aditya can tell that this flame wasn't any ordinary flame. At the same time, the appearance of the Hell Fire began to clear the black miasma that had covered the entire island.

Looking at the Golden flame, Aditya suddenly had an idea in his mind. "Alicia, let's combine our flames." Alicia found the idea very tempting. She also wanted to see the end product of this.

"Alright." Aditya pointed his left palm toward the golden flame. The next second, a Crimson flame from his palm started mixing with the golden flame. Undead both of their surprised eyes, the color of the flame started to change.

The golden flame started to turn into a dark blue Flame. The Dark blue flame looked very majestic. Aditya and Alicia didn't even blink their eyes as if afraid the Blue Flame in front of them would disappear.

The blue flame hit the headless monster. The monster's body instantly turned to ashes. Inside the flame, even those ashes had been broken into something extremely small.

At the same time, the air around the entire island cleared up. The black miasma had completely disappeared. And peace had turned to the island.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 5th-order Hell Monster. Your experience points have been saved for future use.?

"I think our future children will be born with the ability to control this Magnificent looking dark blue Flame." Aditya broke the silence. He held Alicia from behind.

Alicia smiled imagining her children using the dark blue flame. This dark blue flame would represent their union. The Crimson Flame and The Golden Flame would merge to become something much more beautiful. The Dark Blue Flame will be a symbol of their union, love, and their bond.

"I love you." Alicia felt the need to say these words.

"I love you too." Alicia both of her cheeks and continued to hug her from behind.

While enjoying the silence and the peace with her husband, her eyes looked around. Unfortunately, this battle had destroyed almost everything on this island. More than 2/3 of the total forest was totally gone. The whole of Blackburn village was destroyed. No houses were left standing. This place had turned into a barren wasteland.

"Our dream of making a wooden house on this island is over." Aditya tightened his hug and pulled her closer to comfort her in silence.

"Our presence on this island had taken away the Ice Elves' lives. We have destroyed their home. We have destroyed their land. We have destroyed everything that they held dear on this island." Alicia then turned around and deeply stared into his eyes.

"Aditya, you must find these elves a new place to settle down and provide them with all the necessary resources." Alicia had developed a sense of attachment to this island and its people after only spending a few hours touring around the island.

"Of course. Choosing this place for the meeting was a big mistake on our part. I can't return to their old life but I will help them find a new life." Hearing this Alicia smiled sweetly before hugging him.

After a brief period of hugging each other, Alicia couldn't help but feel curious about the end result of this war. Lucas and all other Emperors had died. Aditya and his allies can easily take over their territories.

"What are you going to do now?" Alicia was talking about the end result of this war and what he was going to do next about this whole thing.

Sigh!

"I don't know. Things went very differently than I had initially expected." Taking over all those territories would mean a lot of headaches and work was coming toward him. For the first time, Aditya didn't feel too happy about acquiring so much territory.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 395

The surviving Ice Elves, accompanied by Aditya, Daxton, and their men, made their way toward GoldLeaf City, the bustling metropolis that stood as a beacon of civilization on the mainland. For the Ice elves, this marked their first foray into the vastness of a city, a stark contrast to the quiet solitude they had known all their lives on their secluded island.

As they approached the city gates, a mixture of awe, excitement, and apprehension washed over the faces of the Ice Elves. Their eyes widened as they took in the sprawling streets filled with a diverse array of people, each bustling with their own purpose. The sounds of carriages, laughter, and animated conversations reached their ears, creating a symphony of urban life that they had only heard of in stories.

Their gazes darted from one grand building to another, marveling at the architectural wonders that towered above them. The intricate carvings and embellishments on the facades of the structures captivated their attention, a testament to the craftsmanship and artistic prowess of the city's inhabitants.

The Ice elves, dressed in their traditional attire of white and blue, stood out amidst the vibrant tapestry of colors that adorned the streets. Their expressions held a mixture of curiosity, wonder, and a hint of trepidation. It was a sensory overload for them, as they had never experienced such a bustling environment before.

Some of the Ice elves clasped their hands tightly together, their grip offering a sense of reassurance and comfort amidst the unfamiliar surroundings. Others exchanged hesitant glances, seeking solace in the presence of their fellow elves who shared their awe and uncertainty.

Aditya and Daxton, aware of the Ice elves' unease, exchanged a brief glance, understanding the significance of this moment for their newfound allies. They approached the Ice elves, offering warm smiles and words of encouragement, assuring them that they were not alone.

"Welcome to GoldLeaf City," Aditya said, his voice filled with warmth. "It may be overwhelming at first, but fear not. We are here with you, and we will guide you through this new world."

Daxton added, his tone reassuring, "You will find that the city is full of wonders and opportunities. Embrace the experience, and soon you will discover the beauty and vibrancy that lies within its heart."

The Ice elves, their expressions softening, nodded in gratitude, their apprehension slowly giving way to a sense of trust and excitement. With the support of their leaders and the knowledge that they were not alone in this unfamiliar landscape, they took their first steps into the city, ready to explore the wonders that awaited them.

As they immersed themselves in the bustling streets of GoldLeaf City, their wide-eyed expressions began to transform into ones of curiosity and fascination. They marveled at the bustling markets, the enchanting music that drifted from street performers, and the diverse cultures intermingling harmoniously.

For the Ice Elves, this journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in their lives, filled with endless possibilities and discoveries. And as they ventured deeper into the city, they carried with them the hopes of their people, eager to embrace the mainland and forge new bonds that would shape the destiny of their kind.

The meeting room, nestled within the heart of GoldLeaf City, the capital of the Echo Dominion Empire, exuded an air of grandeur and power. The opulent chamber was adorned with intricate golden accents, reflecting the empire's wealth and influence. The walls were draped in rich tapestries depicting scenes of victory and unity, serving as a constant reminder of the empire's grand history.

Tall, arched windows lined one side of the room, allowing sunlight to filter through and cast a warm glow upon the polished marble floor. The natural light danced upon the ornate chandeliers suspended from the high ceiling, casting shimmering patterns across the room. The chandeliers, crafted from exquisite crystals, sparkled with every movement, adding a touch of elegance to the surroundings.

At the center of the room stood a long, mahogany table, polished to a lustrous sheen. It was adorned with intricately carved designs, showcasing the empire's emblem and symbols of power. Surrounding the table were plush, high-backed chairs, upholstered in luxurious fabrics of deep blue and gold, providing both comfort and regality to those who occupied them.

At the head of the table sat Daxton, the Echo Dominion Emperor, his chair slightly larger and adorned with more elaborate embellishments, symbolizing his status as the host. To his right, Aditya, the Istarin Emperor, commanded a seat of equal grandeur, embodying his importance in the negotiations. Alicia, the goddess of wealth, and Spencer, Aditya's trusted Prime Minister, occupied seats adjacent to their respective leaders, ready to lend their expertise and support.

The room itself seemed to hold an air of reverence, its grandeur only matched by the weight of the decisions to be made within its walls. The echoes of past meetings, negotiations, and historic agreements seemed to reverberate through the room, infusing it with a sense of importance and gravitas.

As the leaders convened around the table, their eyes cast upon the maps and documents before them, they were keenly aware of the significance of the room and the role they played in shaping the future of the Northwestern region. The meeting room served as a symbolic backdrop, embodying the power and responsibility of those who sat within its confines.

Together, in this majestic chamber, the fate of nations would be determined, alliances forged, and the path to a new era of unity and prosperity laid out.

Alicia, the enchanting and shrewd goddess of wealth, joined the meeting, her presence commanding attention and respect. Aditya's trusted Prime Minister, Spencer, stood at his side, a pillar of unwavering loyalty and strategic acumen. Together, they formed a formidable team, ready to navigate the treacherous waters of territorial negotiations.

Aditya leaned forward, his voice carrying an air of authority and conviction. "We must acknowledge the undeniable truth, my esteemed allies and adversaries. The Istarin Empire's intervention turned the tide of this war. Without our forces, the Echo Dominion Empire would have faced irrevocable losses. Therefore, it is only fair that we are rewarded with a substantial portion of the territories."

Daxton furrowed his brow, a mix of admiration and skepticism playing across his features. "Aditya, I concede that your empire's military prowess was a vital asset in this conflict. However, let us not discount the sacrifices made by the Echo Dominion Empire. We fought valiantly and endured immense hardships. I propose that the division of territories be based not solely on the military contribution but also on the potential for future stability and growth."

Alicia, her gaze unwavering, interjected with a measured tone. "Gentlemen, I have witnessed the ebb and flow of power throughout history. In my estimation, a fair division of territories must balance the need for justice with the imperative of ensuring economic prosperity. We must consider the resources, trade routes, and strategic advantages that each territory offers."

Aditya nodded, acknowledging Alicia's astute perspective. "You make a valid point, Alicia. It is crucial that we find a balance between honoring our respective contributions and paving the way for long-term stability. Let us proceed by sharing our preferences for territories, and through open dialogue, we shall strive to reach a fair and equitable agreement."

Daxton leaned back, contemplating his words carefully before responding. "I propose that the Echo Dominion Empire retains control over the territories bordering the Echo Nexus Empire, solidifying our influence in that region. In return, I suggest that the Istarin Empire lay claim to the western coastal areas, rich in resources and strategic importance. This division would provide both empires with significant advantages while maintaining a semblance of balance."

Aditya's gaze intensified as he considered Daxton's proposition. "Daxton, your proposal holds merit, and I see the wisdom in it. If we divide the Echo Nexus Empire into three parts—the central, eastern, and western regions—I am content to take control of the western part. In doing so, the Istarin Empire can safeguard our interests while allowing the Echo Dominion Empire to consolidate its control over the central and eastern regions."

Alicia, her voice a harmonious blend of authority and diplomacy, added her insights. "I concur with Aditya's suggestion. By dividing the Echo Nexus Empire in such a manner, we can ensure a fair distribution of territories while fostering stability and cooperation. Furthermore, we should consider the inclusion of the Obi Islands, known for their Etherium mines, under the control of the Istarin Empire. This would provide a valuable resource and contribute to the prosperity of both our empires."

Daxton leaned forward, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Aditya, Alicia, your arguments are compelling, and I recognize the benefits that this arrangement would bring. I accept your proposal, and I believe it sets the stage for a strong and mutually beneficial alliance."

Aditya's eyes gleamed with a mixture of satisfaction and relief. "Excellent. With this agreement, we lay the foundation for a future of peace and prosperity. Our empires shall unite in a bond forged by strength and understanding."

As the negotiation progressed, the three leaders delved deeper into the specifics, debating the allocation of smaller territories, trade routes, and resource distribution. Alicia's shrewd insights helped steer the conversation towards a middle ground, ensuring that the interests of all parties were considered.

Adam, Aditya's father-in-law and a wise advisor from the Echo Dominion Empire, sat silently, observing the proceedings with a serene composure. He recognized the delicate balance that needed to be struck and trusted in the wisdom of the leaders gathered in the room.

After hours of intense deliberation, a breakthrough was finally reached. The territories of the Echo Nexus Empire were divided as proposed, with the western coastal region falling under the control of the Istarin Empire, along with the coveted Obi Islands. The Anna Maria Islands, once under the governance of the Mystic Spring Empire, were to be ceded to the Echo Dominion Empire.

The Catalina Islands, previously held by the Methia Empire, were granted to the Hephaestus Kingdom, offering them a chance at redemption and growth. The vast expanse of the Methia Empire's territories was also bestowed upon the Hephaestus Kingdom, allowing them the opportunity to restore order and prosperity to the war-torn lands.

Daxton, filled with gratitude and awe, turned to Aditya. "Your Majesty, I cannot express my gratitude enough. My empire owes its survival to your unwavering support. I humbly accept your gift of the Methia Empire and the trust you have placed in me."

Aditya, his voice laced with sincerity, responded, "Daxton, this is not a gift but a testament to our alliance. Your bravery and determination have earned the admiration of my empire. Together, we shall rebuild and forge a future of unparalleled prosperity."

As the division of territories was finalized, a sense of relief washed over the room. The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated, replaced by an air of cautious optimism. The leaders had skillfully navigated a complex negotiation process, ensuring a fair distribution of power and resources.

Aditya leaned back in his chair, a mix of satisfaction and contemplation on his face. The new territories that would soon come under his empire's rule presented both opportunities and challenges. Rebuilding the Hephaestus Kingdom, restoring peace, and developing the western territories would require careful planning and collaboration with his allies.

Daxton, his gaze fixed on the map of the newly defined territories, found himself filled with a renewed sense of purpose. The alliance forged between their empires held the promise of a brighter future, one where prosperity and security could be attained for their people.

As the negotiation drew to a close, Aditya and Daxton shared a knowing glance, a silent acknowledgment of the weight that now rested upon their shoulders. Their empires, once at odds, now stood united in the pursuit of peace and prosperity.

Daxton, a hint of admiration in his eyes, spoke first. "Aditya, I must admit that I underestimated your strength and resolve. The Istarin Empire has proven its mettle on the battlefield and in these negotiations. We have much to learn from your leadership."

Aditya, humbled by the recognition, nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Daxton. Our journey has been fraught with challenges, but together, we have overcome them. May our alliance serve as an example to future generations, showing that even in times of conflict, understanding, and cooperation can lead to a better world."

And with that, the meeting concluded, leaving the room filled with a sense of hope and anticipation for the future of the Northwestern region.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 396

As the meeting came to a close, Aditya graciously accepted Daxton's invitation to spend the night at the opulent Royal Palace. Currently, Aditya and Spencer found themselves engaged in an earnest discussion, with Alicia, Aditya's wife, enjoying a bath in the privacy of her chambers.

Aditya, dressed in regal attire, donned a majestic robe of deep crimson, adorned with golden embroidery that traced intricate patterns along its edges. His presence exuded authority and power, befitting his role as the Emperor of the Istarin Empire.

Beside him, Spencer, the Prime Minister, wore a tailored coat of midnight blue, accentuated with silver accents that shimmered under the moon's gentle glow. Their attire reflected their status and the grandeur of the occasion.

"The ice elves possess a spirit of resilience and selflessness that deserves recognition and protection," Spencer continued, his voice filled with admiration tinged with concern. "Considering their background, I question whether the bustling city life will truly suit them. Perhaps it would be wiser to seek an alternative, such as relocating them to a more suitable island."

Aditya nodded, acknowledging the validity of Spencer's observations. The welfare and adaptation of the ice elves were of utmost importance, and their well-being needed to be carefully considered. Determined to make an informed decision, Aditya made up his mind.

"Tomorrow, let us meet with Sam, the Leader of the Ice Elven Tribe, and discuss this matter further," Aditya proposed. "I wish to hear his thoughts and consider the best course of action for their future."

As they stood on the balcony, the starry night sky spread out above them like a breathtaking tapestry. Countless stars twinkled brightly, casting a serene and ethereal glow over the city. The air was still, allowing Aditya and Spencer to appreciate the beauty that unfolded before their eyes.

Aditya noticed a sense of contemplation in Spencer's gaze as he stared into the vast expanse of the night sky. Something seemed to trouble his loyal advisor, as his focus appeared momentarily distant and preoccupied. Concerned, Aditya gently broke the silence, seeking to understand the cause of Spencer's unease.

"Spencer, what occupies your thoughts?" Aditya's voice carried a note of genuine curiosity, his concern evident.

Spencer's gaze shifted from the starry heavens to meet Aditya's eyes, his expression reflecting a mix of deep introspection and internal turmoil. He hesitated for a moment as if searching for the right words to convey his troubled state of mind.

"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I find myself troubled by an incident that unfolded during our escape from the small island," Spencer confessed, his voice tinged with a touch of vulnerability.

Intrigued by Spencer's words, Aditya leaned in, his interest piqued. "Please, share with me what happened."

Taking a deep breath, Spencer began to recount the shaken event, his voice filled with sorrow and determination.

Scene change______

As chaos ensued on the island, with the urgent need to evacuate, Spencer, along with the ice elves and soldiers, raced towards the sea, their hearts pounding with a mixture of fear and determination. Amidst the flurry of desperate footsteps, Spencer's keen eyes caught sight of a familiar figure lying on the ground. It was Aria Windrider, her delicate form marred by the injuries sustained in the explosion. While others hurried past her, Spencer's heart compelled him to pause and offer aid.

Without a second thought, Spencer knelt beside Aria, his gaze filled with concern and compassion. Aria, unable to move due to her injuries, had resigned herself to the inevitable. Her expression conveyed a mixture of pain, vulnerability, and a flicker of surprise as Spencer appeared before her, offering a lifeline amidst the chaos.

"Are you alright?" Spencer asked, his voice filled with genuine worry as he assessed the extent of her injuries. The urgency of the situation faded momentarily as his attention focused solely on her well-being.

Aria's cheeks flushed a rosy hue as she met Spencer's concerned gaze, her heart pounding with a mix of gratitude and admiration. Aria had a big crush on Spencer. Though her introverted nature and lack of experience in matters of the heart made it difficult for her to express herself. In this vulnerable moment, her admiration for him deepened, overwhelmed by his selflessness and the tenderness with which he approached her.

"I... I'm... I'm hurt," Aria stammered, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes unable to meet Spencer's gaze directly. Her embarrassment heightened as he lifted her gently, cradling her in his arms with an instinctive care that spoke volumes of his nurturing nature.

Unaware of his actions' effect on Aria's heart, Spencer focused solely on ensuring her safety. "Don't worry, Aria. I'll carry you to safety," he reassured her, his voice carrying a warm and comforting tone.

As Spencer carried Aria towards the shore, their steps became synchronized, their journey becoming an intertwining of destinies. The soft rustling of the wind mingled with the rhythm of their breathing, forging an unspoken connection between them. Aria's heart fluttered with every step, her admiration for Spencer blossoming into something deeper, something akin to love.

As Spencer carried Aria in his arms, their eyes occasionally met, and a silent understanding passed between them. Aria's cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and affection, and she mustered the courage to break the silence.

"Spencer, thank you... for saving me," Aria whispered, her voice barely audible above the sounds of their hurried footsteps.

Spencer glanced at her with a soft smile. "It was the least I could do, Aria. I couldn't leave you behind."

Aria's heart fluttered at his words, her admiration for him growing stronger with each passing moment.

As Spencer swiftly carried Aria in his arms, their eyes occasionally met, exchanging unspoken emotions. Aria's heart pounded in her chest as she gazed at Spencer, her feelings for him growing with each passing moment. Spencer remained focused on their escape, his determination shining through.

Aria's mind raced with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, but she couldn't find the words to express herself. She watched Spencer's every move, grateful for his strength and bravery. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, and her cheeks flushed crimson as her feelings for him deepened.

Silence enveloped them as they navigated through the chaos of the island. Aria's gaze remained fixed on Spencer's determined face, unable to tear her eyes away. She marveled at his selflessness, his unwavering commitment to protect others.

Spencer, unaware of the torrent of emotions brewing within Aria, focused solely on their safety. His mind raced with thoughts of escape routes and ensuring Aria remained unharmed. Every step he took was fueled by his determination to see her safe.

Aria's feelings for Spencer intensified with each passing second. Her admiration for him had grown into something more profound, something she struggled to put into words. Her heart danced with a mix of affection, longing, and a newfound vulnerability.

As they finally reached the safety of the shore, Aria's mind was in a haze. She couldn't find the courage to speak, her emotions swirling within her like a tempest. The chaos around them seemed distant as she found solace in the warmth of Spencer's presence.

Spencer, his focus finally shifting from their escape, noticed Aria's dazed expression. He met her gaze, his eyes searching for any signs of distress. Unbeknownst to him, Aria's heart was captivated by him, her face flushed with the intensity of her emotions.

They stood in silence, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air between them. Aria's heart yearned to express her feelings, but her voice failed her at that moment. She hoped that her gaze conveyed the depth of her affection, the unspoken truth lingering in her eyes.

As Spencer carried Aria in his arms, her heart swelled with a realization she couldn't deny. "I love him," Aria whispered softly to herself. The depth of her feelings for Spencer had taken hold of her, but her introverted nature made it difficult for her to vocalize those three simple words.

Spencer's mind was consumed by thoughts of Aria, his heart and focus wavering during the lengthy meeting that seemed to stretch on endlessly. The Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire was troubled by the intensity of his feelings. Since their encounter, his emotions had been in a constant state of unrest, tugging at his thoughts and distracting him from his duties.

Upon hearing Spencer's confession, Aditya observed his friend's face intently. "So, you're in love?" he asked, his gaze steady and understanding.

Spencer's eyes widened in surprise. "Me? In love?" He mirrored Aditya's astonishment, the realization sinking in slowly.

Aditya turned his gaze towards the starry night sky, taking a moment before speaking again. "Have you ever felt like this for any other girl in your life?" His question hung in the air as Spencer shook his head, his attention fixed on Aditya's words.

"Let me ask you this, Spencer. Imagine if tomorrow Aria were to marry someone else because you hesitated. How would it feel to see her slip a ring onto another man's finger and share a kiss with him?" Aditya's words pierced through Spencer's heart, stirring a storm of emotions within him. He looked troubled, his breath quickening.

"I don't want to lose her," Spencer replied, his voice filled with a profound sense of longing.

"This is love, Spencer," Aditya continued, his tone deep and contemplative. "It is a double-edged sword, capable of either harming you or transforming you into a stronger and better person. Love has the power to rebuild and destroy, to give you purpose, ambition, and happiness. Life has presented you with an opportunity to create a family, to find fulfillment."

Aditya placed his hand gently on Spencer's right shoulder, offering him a warm smile. In that moment, he wasn't speaking as the Istarin Emperor but as a true friend, genuinely invested in Spencer's happiness.

"It's time for you to discover a life beyond your work," Aditya advised his words resonating deeply within Spencer. The emotions in his heart grew stronger as he nodded in agreement.

"But according to the customs of the Ice Elven tribe, the tribe leader has the right to choose any woman from the tribe to marry. Sam's son has already chosen Aria, and he warned me to stay away from her," Spencer confided, his face displaying the conflict within him.

Amidst the turmoil, Aditya erupted into laughter, surprising Spencer with his reaction. The Prime Minister looked perplexed, unable to fathom the reason behind Aditya's amusement.

"You're concerned about such trivial matters?" Aditya chuckled, his laughter echoing through the air. He reassured Spencer with unwavering confidence. "Leave everything to me. It is the least I can do for my friend."

With those words, Aditya left the balcony, knowing that Alicia would have finished her bath by now. Spencer smiled gratefully, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. He continued to gaze at the star-studded sky, a sense of hope and anticipation blooming within him.

"Thank you, my friend," Spencer whispered, his gratitude filling his heart as he admired the captivating night sky, knowing that his path had been altered by the power of love.

Scene change________

"Where have you been?" As Aditya stepped into Alicia's lavishly adorned bedroom, his gaze immediately fell upon her. Two maids were attending to her, delicately assisting in the process of getting dressed. Alicia sat gracefully in front of an ornate mirror, the soft glow of candlelight casting an ethereal radiance upon her porcelain complexion.

Draped across the room were exquisite silk fabrics, shimmering in various shades of gold and crimson, hinting at the opulence that surrounded them. The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of jasmine, a scent that seemed to perfectly complement Alicia's presence.

Alicia herself was a vision of regal beauty, emanating an aura that captivated Aditya's attention. Her ebony locks cascaded down her back in elegant waves, accentuated by a jeweled hairpin that held a single crimson gem, reflecting the light and adding a touch of sophistication.

Her attire was a work of art, a Sakura-patterned kimono carefully selected to highlight her grace and allure. The fabric flowed gracefully around her, its intricate patterns depicting blooming cherry blossoms, their delicate petals dancing across the silk canvas. Every stitch and brushstroke seemed to tell a story of beauty and nature's ephemeral wonders.

Adorning her ears were crimson diamond-shaped earrings, their vibrant hue mirroring the blush that graced her cheeks. The gems twinkled as they caught the light, radiating a subtle, captivating brilliance that further enhanced Alicia's charm.

As Aditya took in the sight before him, he felt a rush of admiration and awe, realizing once again how fortunate he was to have Alicia as his wife. Her mere presence exuded elegance, grace, and a captivating allure that transcended mortal beauty.

With each meticulous detail, from the delicate braiding of her hair to the choice of her kimono and the sparkling earrings, Alicia embodied a timeless enchantment, captivating the room and leaving Aditya momentarily breathless.

"My apologies for my delay," Aditya finally managed to speak, his voice filled with genuine admiration. "You are a vision of extraordinary beauty, my love."

Feeling Aditya's intense gaze upon her, Alicia couldn't help but blush, a small smile playing upon her lips, a reflection of her joy in being praised by him.

"You two may leave us," Aditya instructed the maids, who promptly bowed to Alicia before gracefully exiting the room. With their departure, a sense of intimacy and privacy enveloped the space.

Unable to resist his emotions any longer, Aditya approached Alicia, enveloping her in a warm embrace. She appeared breathtakingly beautiful, her emerald eyes drawing his soul towards her in an irresistible manner.

"Aditya, please control yourself. We will be having dinner with His Majesty shortly," Alicia gently admonished, a soft smile gracing her lips. She welcomed his warmth but reminded him of the need for propriety.

"How can I resist? You are simply too radiant," Aditya confessed, pressing a gentle kiss to her nape.

"Aditya... please, not now," Alicia responded, her cheeks tinged with a charming blush. She averted her gaze, feeling a mix of embarrassment and longing.

Undeterred, Aditya showered her cheeks and lips with affectionate kisses. "Very well, my love. Let us proceed then," he said, extending his hand to her.

Alicia, still blushing and with a sparkle in her eyes, placed her hand in his, allowing him to lead her toward the dining hall. The anticipation of the evening's festivities mingled with their shared affection, creating an enchanting atmosphere as they embarked on the of the night's celebration.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This chapter is almost 2,500 words. My apologies for not uploading yesterday. I was too tired to write anything.

Chapter 397

As Aditya and Alicia walked side by side towards the grand dining hall, the soft glow of chandeliers cast an elegant ambiance. Aditya, with his regal attire, and Alicia, adorned in a stunning gown, attracted admiring glances from the palace staff they passed.

"Did you enjoy your day?" Aditya inquired, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.

Alicia's face lit up with a smile as she reminisced about the whirlwind of events that had unfolded within the span of just 24 hours. "Today will be unforgettable for me. So many things happened, and I made countless new memories with you."

Aditya's gaze softened, and a tender expression crossed his face. "It won't be just today," he assured her, his voice carrying a promise of countless more cherished moments to come.

In a brief pause, Aditya's thoughts shifted to a practical matter. "By the way, now that the Istarin Empire's territory has expanded even more, it's becoming increasingly challenging for Spencer to handle all the responsibilities alone. I believe it would be wise to find him a few capable assistants who can lend their support."

Alicia nodded understandingly, her eyes glimmering with determination. "Leave that to me. With my connections and influence spanning all six continents, I can easily find a few capable individuals who can assist Spencer in his duties. Within a few days, we'll have a team ready for him."

Aditya's gratitude shone through his eyes as he gazed at Alicia. "Thank you, my love."

Alicia gently shook her head, a playful smile gracing her lips. "Why are you thanking me? It's only natural for us to help each other and ensure the smooth functioning of our empire." Aditya nodded, appreciating the depth of their partnership and shared responsibilities.

With their hands entwined, they entered the opulent dining hall, ready to enjoy a sumptuous meal surrounded by the warmth of their love and the promising future that lay ahead.

Emperor Daxton, seated at the head of the lavishly set table, exuded an air of regal authority. His attire befitted his position, as he wore a tailored midnight blue velvet robe adorned with intricate silver embroidery, symbolizing his sovereignty over the Echo Dominion Empire. The robe cascaded down his frame, its rich fabric flowing with every movement.

As the centerpiece of the dining hall, the long table groaned under the weight of the culinary delights displayed upon it. The finest chefs from each region had meticulously prepared a feast that showcased the diverse flavors of the empire. The table was a tapestry of culinary wonders, adorned with dishes representing the Northwestern, Eastern, Southern, and Western regions.

As Aditya and Alicia approached, Daxton's face lit up with a warm smile, a testament to his welcoming nature. "Welcome," he greeted them, his voice carrying a hint of excitement and camaraderie. His presence radiated an aura of generosity and hospitality, befitting a ruler who sought to forge alliances and foster unity among nations.

The dining hall itself exuded grandeur, with its high ceilings adorned with intricate chandeliers casting a soft, warm glow over the room. Luxurious tapestries depicting scenes from the empire's history adorned the walls, adding a touch of historical significance to the atmosphere.

Seated beside Emperor Daxton, Ice Elven Tribe leader Sam exuded a mix of relief and gratitude. His eyes sparkled with a newfound sense of hope as he exchanged warm glances with Daxton, indicating a fruitful and promising conversation that had taken place between them.

Sam's attire reflected the natural aesthetics of his tribe, as he wore a finely crafted robe woven with delicate threads of ice-blue silk. Intricate patterns reminiscent of frost adorned the garment, symbolizing the connection between the Ice Elven Tribe and their icy homeland. Despite the simplicity of his attire, Sam carried an air of dignity and resilience, embodying the strength and spirit of his people.

The smile on Sam's face spoke volumes about the outcome of their discussion. It was apparent that Daxton had not only offered the Ice Elven Tribe a new home within his territory but had also pledged his support in providing essential resources, including food and other necessities. The tribe's plight had touched the emperor's heart, and he had taken it upon himself to ensure their well-being.

As they sat side by side, the camaraderie between Daxton and Sam was evident. Their shared vision of unity and compassion bridged the gap between their different worlds, fostering a sense of understanding and mutual respect. Daxton's actions demonstrated his commitment to being a benevolent ruler, extending a helping hand to those in need and creating a harmonious coexistence within his empire.

"Please have a seat," Emperor Aditya graciously gestured to Daxton and the others as they took their places around the long dining table. Alicia gracefully settled in beside Aditya, their connection evident in the affectionate glances they shared.

Daxton, noticing the absence of Spencer, couldn't contain his curiosity and inquired about his whereabouts. However, before Aditya could respond, Spencer arrived in time.

With everyone gathered, Daxton signaled for Aditya to begin the meal, recognizing his honored status as a guest. Aditya, embodying regal elegance, skillfully cut into the succulent Magic Lion Meat steak, savoring a small piece that he delicately placed in his mouth. Following the established noble etiquette of this world, the rest of the guests followed suit, allowing Aditya to initiate the feast.

The table was adorned with an array of delectable dishes representing the various regions of the empire. Culinary delights from the northwestern, eastern, southern, and western territories were carefully arranged, showcasing the diverse flavors and culinary traditions within Daxton's Empire. The tantalizing aromas wafted through the air, heightening the anticipation and setting the stage for a memorable dining experience.

As each person indulged in the flavorsome feast, a harmonious atmosphere enveloped the dining hall. Conversations blossomed, filled with laughter, and the clinking of cutlery provided a cheerful backdrop to the shared enjoyment of the meal.

"Sam, there is something that I want to talk to you about." Curiosity took over the Ice Elven tribe leader and others sitting across the table.

"Sam, My Prime Minister has come to like a girl named Aria from your tribe. Spencer would like to marry her." Hearing this Sam was very surprised. Daxton didn't expect this development.

"Sir Spencer, is that true?" The words of the Emperor were too surprising that Sam had to ask Spencer to be sure about it. Spencer seriously nodded his head.

"Then as the tribe leader, you two have my blessings." Hearing this Spencer smiled.

Sam wasn't foolish. He saw this as an opportunity. By forging ties with the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire, his tribe would receive so many kinds of benefits. This also would give them political powers and protection from others.

After the conclusion of the dinner, Spencer excused himself from the table, his intentions clear to everyone present. It was evident that he had gone to seek out Aria and engage in a heartfelt conversation with her. His absence was met with understanding and a silent acknowledgment of the budding connection between the two.

Aditya and Sam remained with Daxton, engaging in further discussions and solidifying the newly formed alliance between the Ice Elven tribe and the Istarin Empire. Their conversation delved into the intricacies of their cooperation, emphasizing the benefits and support that would be extended to the tribe under the Empire's patronage. Plans were made, promises exchanged, and a foundation for a prosperous future was laid.

Meanwhile, Alicia, adorned in her Sakura-patterned kimono, gracefully made her way back to her private chambers. She had important matters to attend to.

As for Adian, the loss of his trusted Prime Minister had left an indelible mark on his heart. The weight of grief pressed heavily upon him, and he found solace in returning to the presence of his king. Adian did not join his allies for Dinner. Everyone understood his pain and gave him some space.

In the wake of the eventful evening, the palace settled into a serene calmness, each individual occupied with their respective tasks and emotions. The night carried on, enveloping the palace in its gentle embrace, as the destinies of these interconnected lives continued to unfold, guided by love, friendship, and the pursuit of a brighter future.

As news of the defeat of the Echo Nexus Empire and its allies spread throughout the Echo Dominion Empire, a wave of jubilation swept across the land. The people, weary from years of conflict and strife, finally found reason to rejoice. The night sky became a canvas for colorful fireworks, illuminating the darkness with bursts of brilliance, mirroring the collective joy and relief that filled the hearts of the citizens.

In the depths of rivers, the mermaids, known for their enchanting voices, joined together in a melodious chorus, their ethereal tunes resonating through the waters. Their song carried the message of victory, a harmonious celebration of triumph over adversity. The enchanting melodies reached the ears of all who inhabited the rivers and lived near the rivers, filling their hearts with hope and renewed determination.

On the lands of the Echo Dominion Empire, the Lion folks, known for their boisterous and jovial nature, raised their goblets high. They gathered in grand halls and taverns, clinking glasses together in a spirited toast. Laughter filled the air as they reveled in the defeat of their adversaries, savoring the sweet taste of victory as if it were the last night of revelry before the end of the world.

The celebration spanned across cities and villages, unifying the people under the banner of triumph. Streets were adorned with colorful banners and decorations, and the air was filled with the contagious energy of merriment. Families and friends came together, embracing each other with joyous smiles and warm embraces, grateful for the newfound peace that awaited them.

In this moment of collective celebration, the Echo Dominion Empire stood tall, its people united in the shared elation of victory. The echoes of their celebrations reverberated far and wide, a testament to their resilience and unwavering spirit. As the night unfolded, the festivities continued, a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Empire and the triumph of light over darkness.

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Chapter 398

The somber atmosphere hung heavy in the air as the Istarin Empire prepared for the solemn occasion known as "The Black Ceremony." The ceremony served as a memorial to honor and mourn the fallen soldiers who had given their lives in the war against the Echo Nexus Empire. Today, the entire Empire stood united in remembrance, paying tribute to the brave Dragonians who had bled and made the ultimate sacrifice for their homeland.

Aditya, Alicia, Riya, Julia, Lara, Leo, Clara, and Spencer, along with countless others, donned black attire as a symbol of mourning. They stood together, a united front, wearing solemn expressions that reflected the weight of the loss they had endured. Each person carried the sorrow of the fallen soldiers within their hearts, their grief intertwined with a deep sense of gratitude for the sacrifices made on their behalf.

As if to mirror the collective sorrow, the heavens wept, pouring forth raindrops that fell relentlessly from the darkened skies. The raindrops mingled with the tears shed by the grieving Empire as if nature itself mourned the loss of its brave defenders. The sound of rain hitting the ground acted as a solemn backdrop, creating a poignant soundtrack for the ceremony.

In the midst of the downpour, a large gathering had assembled, soldiers and civilians alike, their faces etched with sorrow and reverence. The names of the fallen were read aloud, their heroic deeds and unwavering dedication to their duty recounted, as each name evoked a wave of emotion that rippled through the crowd.

"Captain Marcus Reynolds....."

"Emily Sullivan...."

"Jacob Anderson....."

"Samantha Turner....."

"Benjamin Ramirez...."

"Olivia Matthews..."

Prayers were offered, words of solace spoken, and flowers were laid at a grand memorial erected in honor of the fallen soldiers. The scent of damp earth mingled with the fragrance of the floral tributes, creating a bittersweet ambiance that filled the air. The collective grief of the Empire intertwined with the resilience and determination to carry on, to ensure that the sacrifices made were never in vain.

Through the rain-soaked ceremony, a sense of unity and shared purpose emerged. The loss of these valiant soldiers served as a poignant reminder of the fragile nature of life and the cost of war. It reinforced the Empire's commitment to honor their memory and strive for a future where peace could prevail.

As the day of remembrance unfolded, the extent of the Istarin Empire's losses became apparent. The casualty count stood at a relatively low number, with no more than 10,000 soldiers sacrificing their lives. Among them, only 79 Dragonians had fallen in the line of duty. Compared to the other warring empires, the Istarin Empire suffered the least number of casualties. The weight of their sacrifices was immeasurable.

In recognition of the soldiers' bravery and the burden borne by their families, the Istarin Empire sought to provide meaningful support. Each family of the fallen soldiers was granted a generous sum of 1000 royal gold coins, a considerable amount that would secure their livelihoods for the next decade or more. With this financial support, they could reside comfortably within the capital or even venture into entrepreneurial endeavors, forging a new path in life.

The Dragonian families, who had witnessed their loved ones' valor and paid the ultimate price, were granted even greater compensation. They received 10,000 royal gold coins, a substantial sum that could enable them to acquire a spacious two-story house within the capital, ensuring a life of luxury and comfort.

In this solemn tribute, the Istarin Empire honored not only the fallen heroes but also the resilience and strength of their families, striving to ease their burden and provide a foundation for a brighter future. The gesture served as a testament to the Empire's unwavering commitment to its citizens and the enduring legacy of those who gave their lives in service of their homeland.

The room grew quiet as Julia's words hung in the air. She expressed her hope that the Istarin Empire could avoid future wars, a sentiment that resonated with everyone present. Julia longed for a time when their vast empire would be free from the devastating effects of conflict. With their expansive territory spanning the entire continent, the risk of facing more wars had increased significantly.

Aditya, surrounded by his future wives, nodded in agreement with Julia. "I share your hope, Julia. I truly wish we can prevent any more wars," he said, his voice filled with determination and longing.

They gathered in a spacious bedroom, offering a stunning view of Azure City below. From their vantage point, they could see the city bustling with life, its streets filled with people going about their daily activities. Aditya sat beside Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Lara, creating a sense of calm and tranquility within the room.

Riya, lying beside Aditya, broke the silence, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. "What lies ahead for us now?" she asked, her voice filled with curiosity and a hint of uncertainty.

Aditya's eyes shifted to the window, taking in the view of Azure City before refocusing on Riya. "First and foremost, I need to address the rebels in the territories we have recently acquired," he replied, his voice filled with determination. "I will give them a choice: either surrender to the might of the Istarin Empire and become a part of our unified entity, or step down from their positions and fade away."

Aditya's decision to retain his two million troops became evident. Instead of recalling them immediately, he had deployed them to suppress any rebellion and quell resistance in the newly acquired territories. The goal was to establish firm control and bring unity to these lands under the banner of the Istarin Empire.

"There will be no place for those who oppose the stability and prosperity of our Empire," Aditya continued, his voice resolute. "But for those who are willing to embrace change and contribute positively, there will always be opportunities for growth and a chance to shape our future."

Alicia listened intently, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Aditya's, offering support and encouragement. Lara, seated beside Julia, nodded in agreement, understanding the importance of consolidating power in the face of potential unrest.

The conversation carried on, with each person sharing their thoughts and concerns.

Scene change________

It was a day filled with sorrow as the Istarin Empire and the Echo Dominion Empire mourned the loss of Duke Campbell. The sudden passing of the highly esteemed Duke sent shockwaves throughout the Echo Dominion, leaving a deep void that would be hard to fill.

Adam Onard, Sophia Onard, and their young son Jak stood among the mourners, dressed in somber black attire. The Onard family, known for their close connection to the Campbells, felt a profound sense of loss. Nobles, knights, and high-ranking military officials from both empires had come together to pay their respects at the funeral. The solemn event served as a poignant reminder of how fragile life can be. Even Emperor Daxton himself was present, highlighting the significance of the moment.

As the funeral came to a close, Daxton stepped forward onto the stage. A hush fell over the crowd, all eyes fixed on the Emperor, curiosity and anticipation filling the air. Daxton recognized this as an opportune moment to address the gathered nobles, officials, and military personnel and to make an important announcement that would shape the empire's future.

"Good afternoon, esteemed guests," Daxton began, his voice a mixture of sadness and determination. "Today has been a difficult day for the Echo Dominion Empire. We stand here together in mourning, having lost a man who devoted his life to serving our empire. Duke Elliott Campbell was a stalwart figure, unwavering in his beliefs, and under his leadership, the Campbell house achieved remarkable success."

Daxton paused briefly, turning his gaze towards Elliott Campbell's son, who stood alongside his grieving family. The Emperor couldn't help but contemplate the uncertain path ahead for the Campbell house. With the sudden passing of his father, Elliott Campbell's son found himself thrust into a position of responsibility for which he may not yet be prepared. Immaturity and a lack of readiness plagued him, casting doubt on his ability to carry on his father's legacy. Daxton silently hoped that the guidance of the young man's paternal grandfather would help shape him into a mature and wise leader.

However, if Elliott's son failed to rise to the challenge, the power vacuum left by his father's passing would undoubtedly attract the attention of ambitious noble families vying for influence and prominence. It seemed almost inevitable that a new household would emerge, potentially replacing the Campbells as a major force within the empire. As for the Onard Noble House, traditionally seen as rivals to the Campbells, Daxton remained confident in Duke Adam Onard's leadership, believing that they would continue to grow stronger and prosper.

Daxton's words resonated with the hearts of those present, each individual grappling with their own thoughts and emotions. The loss of Duke Campbell not only affected his family but also served as a reminder of the fleeting nature of power and the ever-shifting dynamics within the empire. An air of uncertainty mingled with the somber atmosphere as everyone contemplated what the future held for the Echo Dominion Empire in the wake of this tragic loss.

The atmosphere grew heavy with sadness as Emperor Daxton continued his speech, honoring the late Duke Elliott Campbell, the last noble from his father's generation. While cultivators were known for their long lives, accidents could happen to anyone. To pay tribute to Duke Campbell, the flag of the Echo Dominion Empire would be lowered for the next seven days, a sign of their deep sorrow and respect for his memory. May his soul find eternal peace.

After a moment of silence, Daxton addressed the crowd once more, his voice filled with determination and a touch of excitement. "But in the midst of our grief, I have some good news to share. As you all know, we have been at war."

"I am pleased to announce that the war with the Oracle Alliance has come to an end, and we have emerged victorious. But our achievements don't stop there. Today, I am proud to declare the creation of the Triumvirate Alliance." People in the audience looked at each other with curiosity, some already aware of this development or able to guess its meaning.

"With the defeat of the Oracle Alliance, we saw the need to establish the Triumvirate Alliance to maintain peace, order, and stability in the northwestern region. The members of this alliance are our own Istarin Empire and our new neighbor, the Hephaestus Kingdom." Daxton emphasized the word "new," acknowledging that their recent meeting had redrawn the borders, bringing them closer together.

The Emperor's words sparked even more questions among the crowd, their minds buzzing with curiosity and speculation. However, Daxton concluded his speech without providing further details, allowing the mourners to disperse and find solace in their own thoughts.

As the crowd slowly dispersed, Daxton remained by the side of the Campbell family, offering his condolences and support. He engaged in a heartfelt conversation with Lucian, Duke Elliott's son, aiming to bring some comfort during this difficult time. The Emperor understood the weight of his responsibilities, especially now that their territories had expanded significantly. However, challenges awaited them, as they faced resistance from those who opposed their control over the territories acquired from the Echo Nexus Empire, the Mystic Spring Empire, and the Qeyesha Empire. Strong rebellions were expected, putting their newfound authority to the test and requiring careful planning and diplomacy.

With a heavy heart, Daxton bid farewell to the Campbell family, knowing that his presence was required elsewhere. The demands of their expanded territories loomed, presenting a daunting list of tasks to tackle. Despite the challenges ahead, the Emperor faced them with unwavering determination, understanding that the future of the Echo Dominion Empire relied on his shoulders and the alliances they had formed.

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Chapter 399

"Your Majesty, I have important news to share. The four Western Empires have surrendered. Your troops have instilled fear in them, and they have also heard about the defeat of the Oracle Alliance," The Prime Minister reported.

Aditya, sitting on his throne, nodded with satisfaction. He took a sip of the herbal tea that his advisor and his butler, Watson, had prepared for him. "That's more good news for the Istarin Empire," he remarked, savoring the soothing taste.

"The four Western Empires have agreed to sign a non-aggression pact with the Istarin Empire. Additionally, they have decided to offer 500 million gold coins as compensation for their actions," The Prime Minister continued.

Aditya nodded again, pleased with the outcome. "It's good that those fools have realized their mistakes and surrendered. Otherwise, I wouldn't have spared them," He stated a hint of satisfaction in his voice. Finally, the Istarin Empire could enjoy a period of peace. The time had come to focus on developing the newly acquired territories, improving the lives of their people, and strengthening their military might.

Aditya felt a surge of strength within him. After transforming 20,000 soldiers into Dragonians simultaneously, he experienced a brief period of weakness. During that time, he faced some of the toughest challenges of his life. Thankfully, fortune favored him, and he emerged victorious.

Curiosity piqued, Aditya took another sip of tea, then set his cup down on the nearby table, fixing his gaze on Spencer.

"What is it, Spencer?" he inquired, his voice filled with anticipation.

"Your Majesty, it concerns the Hephaestus Kingdom," Spencer began, his tone grave. Aditya's expression grew serious as he listened intently.

"King Adian has suffered significant losses in his troops. He currently lacks the forces needed to suppress the rebels that have risen in the Methia Empire," Spencer explained. The Hephaestus Kingdom had been granted control over the Methia Empire, but the nobles, royal family, generals, and other political figures within Methia were reluctant to relinquish their power. Some surrendered but most decided to rebel. Similar challenges were faced by the Istarin Empire when they claimed the Echo Nexus Empire, the Queenstown Empire, and the Uzacan Empire. The Echo Dominion Empire had also faced similar resistance.

Aditya processed the information, contemplating the situation. The Hephaestus Kingdom's struggle to gain control over the Methia Empire posed a serious concern. The stability of their newfound alliance hinged on resolving this issue.

Aditya had a lot on his mind, dealing with important matters within the Istarin Empire. Unfortunately, amidst all the chaos, he completely forgot about the Hephaestus Kingdom, a loyal ally facing their own challenges. As this realization struck him, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

"I'm sorry," Aditya admitted, sounding genuinely remorseful. "I've been so caught up in the affairs of our empire that I neglected the Hephaestus Kingdom. They need our help, and I let it slip my mind."

Spencer, understanding the immense burden Aditya carried, nodded sympathetically. "Your Majesty, it's understandable. You have so much on your plate, especially with our recent expansions. But we must act quickly to support our ally and preserve our alliance."

Taking a moment to reflect, Aditya agreed with Spencer's assessment. "You're right, Spencer. We can't delay any longer. The Hephaestus Kingdom has been there for us in our times of need, and it's our duty to return the favor."

The Hephaestus Kingdom, a crucial ally, was facing a significant challenge. King Adian had lost a substantial portion of his troops, leaving him ill-equipped to handle the rebel uprising in the Methia Empire. Aditya, deep in thought, understood the gravity of the situation. His own troops were already stretched thin, with over 2,000,000 soldiers engaged in suppressing rebel groups in the newly acquired territories. The remaining forces had been deployed to deal with the Four Western Region Empires, and they had yet to return.

Aditya pondered his options, knowing that immediate assistance was necessary for the Hephaestus Kingdom. He couldn't spare any of his troops, as they were already committed to crucial tasks. However, a possible solution emerged in his mind. The Emperor contemplated reaching out to the Echo Dominion Empire for aid. Their alliance had been forged on the principles of unity and cooperation, and now was the time to put those principles into action.

A sense of relief crossed Spencer's face as he saw Aditya's determination. "Absolutely, Your Majesty. I suggest we urgently reach out to the Echo Dominion Empire and ask for their assistance. Our alliance is built on unity and cooperation, and now is the time to show our commitment to those values."

"I was also thinking the same." Aditya nodded, his resolve growing stronger.

"Get a letter ready immediately. We need to apologize for the delay and ask for their support. Let them know we understand the seriousness of the situation in the Hephaestus Kingdom and how urgent their aid is."

Spencer, grateful for Aditya's decisive response, smiled appreciatively. "I'll start drafting the letter right away, Your Majesty. We'll emphasize the importance of our alliance and the need to stand together during challenging times."

Aditya expressed his gratitude to Spencer, recognizing his dedication. "Thank you, Spencer. Your quick action means a lot. Let's make sure the Hephaestus Kingdom knows we're fully committed to supporting them."

Aditya watched as Spencer hurried off to draft the urgent letter. Aditya couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility for his forgetfulness and the impact it had on their allies. 'I must be careful to not repeat the same mistake again.'

Aditya sat on his throne, deep in thought, contemplating the urgent plans he needed to make. Determined not to overlook anything, he focused on the tasks at hand.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps broke the silence, and Watson, his trusted personal butler, and advisor, entered the throne hall. Aditya welcomed his arrival, feeling it was perfect timing.

"Watson, you've come at just the right moment," Aditya said, addressing his loyal companion. "Could you please write letters to all the nobles of our empire, requesting their presence tomorrow? Due to the ongoing war, we haven't had the opportunity to hold a proper ceremony for the new nobles. I want to organize a royal banquet, where all the nobles can come together. It's essential to foster unity and promote peace within our empire. I believe it's important for our nobles to meet one another."

As the Istarin Empire continued to expand, the number of nobles serving the throne also increased. Aditya recognized the significance of the nobles familiarizing themselves with each other. This royal banquet would provide an opportunity for them to connect and establish relationships.

Aditya acknowledged that this was his first time hosting such a social gathering. While he had previously considered such events unimportant, he now realized the value of social gatherings as an essential step in maintaining harmony and cohesion within his empire.

Aditya asked Watson, "Can you make all the arrangements?"

Watson replied confidently, "Yes, Your Majesty. You can trust me to handle everything. I'm good at organizing events, and I won't disappoint you."

Aditya smiled and said, "That's great! I believe in you, Watson. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's always a pleasure to serve you, Your Majesty," Watson said respectfully, bowing to Aditya before leaving the throne hall. Aditya couldn't help but smile upon hearing this.

Scene change________

At Julia's Laboratory,

Julia, Riya, and Lara had surrounded Alicia and was asking her many kinds of questions. The girls were still wearing black clothes that they had worn in the morning. It was evening time. Since Aditya was working, the girls came to Julia's laboratory to talk.

"Yesterday, you spent the whole day and night with Aditya."

"How was your experience?"

".....Which experience are you talking about?"

"You know.......That one..." Riya hinted looking at Julia. The goddess of wealth then understood what she was talking about.

Alicia lowered her head as her cheeks flushed. "No, we haven't done it yet."

"What? I thought you two would surely do it." Julia looked very surprised.

"Last night, I was just too tired. After dinner, I fell asleep while working. When Aditya returned, he found me sleeping so......" Even Alicia sounded a little disappointed in herself.

"So nothing happened." Riya, Julia, and Lara looked at each other.

"Something more interesting happened yesterday."

"Spencer fell for an Ice Elven Girl belonging to a small tribe." No matter which world it was, girls loved to gossip and the same thing was happening here. Slowly but surely, Julia's laboratory was turning into the girl's meeting spot. Nowadays, the girls met here and talked about many things.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 400

The soft hues of dawn painted the sky as the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon. It was an exceptionally early morning in the Dragon Palace, where most residents would still be nestled in the embrace of slumber. However, today was no ordinary day—it held immense significance for everyone within the palace. Amidst the stirring of activity, one man remained peacefully asleep, blissfully unaware of the bustling preparations taking place around him. That man was none other than the revered Dragon Monarch himself.

The previous night had been a busy one for Aditya. Engrossed in his duties, he had toiled until the late hours, diligently tending to the affairs of his empire. When he finally retired to his private chambers, he was greeted by his beloved wife, Julia. The couple shared moments of joy and intimacy, cherishing the rare opportunity to connect amidst the demands of their roles. As the clock struck 1 o'clock, they finally succumbed to the call of sleep. While for most ordinary humans this might have posed a challenge, for cultivators like Aditya, sleep was a mere luxury. Their heightened spiritual essence and profound cultivation allowed them to endure long periods without rest, should the need arise. Nevertheless, Aditya recognized the importance of sleep even for cultivators, understanding that it replenished both the body and soul.

The first rays of morning sunlight gently filtered into the opulent bedroom, illuminating the lavish surroundings of the Istarin Emperor's private sanctuary. The room exuded an air of regality, adorned with exquisite tapestries and intricately carved furniture, showcasing the grandeur befitting a monarch.

As the gentle warmth of the sun caressed his face, Aditya gradually stirred from his slumber, his eyes fluttering open.

"?m...."

"What time is it?" Confusion momentarily clouded his gaze as he surveyed the room, expecting to find the familiar countenance of his wife, Julia, by his side. Yet, the absence of her presence evoked a subtle longing within him, prompting him to wonder where she might be.

"Where is she?"

Rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes, Aditya's gaze settled on the spacious chamber. The room exuded an aura of serenity, its richly adorned walls bathed in soft hues of gold and cream. The intricately woven carpets, adorned with vibrant patterns, caressed his bare feet as he rose from the comfort of his bed.

????!

"Oh.....right! She must be getting ready." A soft sigh escaped his lips as he realized the reason for Julia's absence. Today held immense significance for the Istarin Empire, as it marked the first time Aditya, as Emperor, would host a grand royal banquet. Despite his years of rule, he had never before felt compelled to gather his nobles and dignitaries in such a formal and celebratory manner.

Aditya's naked form, partially concealed by a delicate silk blanket draped over his lower body, stood as a testament to the intimacy shared with Julia the previous night. The discarded garments from the day before lay strewn on the floor, a subtle reminder of their shared moments of passion and connection.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Aditya stepped forward, his bare feet sinking into the plush carpet. He glanced around the room, appreciating the intricate details and fine craftsmanship that adorned every corner. The towering canopy bed, draped with flowing silk curtains, stood as a symbol of his status and authority. The ornate wardrobe, gleaming with polished wood and intricate carvings, held a myriad of luxurious garments befitting his regal stature.

As Aditya surveyed the room, his mind shifted back to the present moment, his thoughts consumed by the impending royal banquet. 'I better get up.'

??ene ???n?e ?o ???re ????________

Located at the center of the bustling Istarin Capital, the Old Palace of the Emperor was a magnificent symbol of the grand history and greatness of the Istarin Empire. Once the home of mighty rulers and the center of power, this majestic palace had witnessed the glorious rise and fall of numerous dynasties, carrying the weight of the nation's heritage within its walls.

In recent years, however, things had changed. The Dragon Palace, built on the outskirts of Azure City, had become the new residence of the royal family, drawing their attention and leaving the Old Palace somewhat forgotten. Nowadays, it was mostly used for special events and important gatherings, its once vibrant halls filled with echoes of the past.

Yesterday was one such special occasion. After a momentous ceremony, the Istarin Emperor and his four beloved fiancées had made their way to the Old Palace. It was a rare opportunity for them to step foot in these regal halls, even if only for a brief period. As they walked through the palace, a nostalgic atmosphere permeated the air, reminding them of the glory days gone by.

Despite its diminished importance, the Old Palace was not entirely abandoned. Around a hundred dedicated maids remained, faithfully carrying out their duties to maintain the palace's former splendor. Their commitment was evident as they tirelessly cleaned, organized, and cared for the palace. Dusting delicate tapestries and polishing gilded fixtures, they poured their hearts into preserving the beauty of this aging structure.

For these maids, their daily routines revolved around the Old Palace, and they took great pride in their work. They understood the significance of their roles in safeguarding tradition and upholding the noble spirit of the Istarin Empire. With unwavering loyalty, they ensured that the palace remained a shining example of the empire's heritage.

As the sun began to rise, casting a warm glow upon the weathered walls of the Old Palace, the maids continued their tasks with unwavering dedication. They knew that, amidst a changing world, it was their responsibility to honor the legacy of their ancestors. They understood that the preservation of tradition and the enduring spirit of the Istarin Empire rested in their capable hands.

And so, the Old Palace stood tall, a silent witness to the passage of time, its magnificence entwined with the history of the nation. With each task diligently performed by the maids, the palace remained a source of pride and a testament to the everlasting spirit of the Istarin Empire.

Next to the Old Palace, the vast Training Grounds of the Istarin Empire showcased the kingdom's dedication to strength and discipline. This impressive area sprawled before the palace, capturing attention with its majestic presence. At the heart of the Training Grounds stood the Barracks, a grand structure shaped like a sweeping arc that encircled the Old Palace, symbolizing unity and protection.

Close to the Barracks, other important buildings thrived, forming a lively center of activity. The Town Hall served as a place for governing and making decisions. The Market Hall buzzed with energy, as merchants and customers gathered to engage in lively trade, offering a wide range of goods. And the Royal Theater provided a splendid venue for captivating artistic performances, inviting the community to enjoy entertainment and enrich their cultural experiences.

Linked to the Old Palace was the renowned Library, a sanctuary of knowledge and wisdom. Aditya, the Emperor of Istarin, cherished the Library dearly, driven by his passion for ancient texts and his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. During the palace's renovation, special care was given to the Library, resulting in its relocation near the Barracks, granting it greater prominence and accessibility.

For Aditya, the Library held immense significance. It offered him a place of solace, where he could delve into the depths of history, unravel hidden secrets, and seek wisdom to guide him in the present. His cherished collection of old books, carefully amassed over time, contained a wealth of insights and captivating stories, waiting to be discovered. Often, he would find respite within the Library's walls, immersing himself in the vast world of knowledge it contained.

The Library itself was an architectural marvel, embodying the Empire's dedication to intellectual pursuits. It was divided into five distinct sections, each catering to different areas of study and presenting a diverse selection of skill books. Within its halls, scholars, scribes, and intellectuals gathered to engage in research, study ancient texts, and expand their horizons. Soldiers and Dragonians who had proven their dedication and earned sufficient contribution points were granted the privilege of selecting one or two skill books to further develop their expertise and enhance their abilities.

In the Library's serene atmosphere, a vibrant pursuit of knowledge flourished. Curiosity filled the air, as individuals explored new ideas, broadened their minds, and reveled in the excitement of discovery. It stood as a sanctuary where wisdom intersected with imagination, nurturing the spirit of learning.

The Town Hall was the busy center of the kingdom's administration, where government officials worked and important decisions were made. Recently, the Town Hall had undergone expansions to serve new purposes and offer more services to the people.

One exciting addition was the Auditorium of Spells, a special place dedicated to the study and practice of magic. Located inside the Town Hall, this unique space had a large hall where expert wizards and sorcerers could share their knowledge and skills through interesting lectures and impressive demonstrations of advanced magical techniques. The Auditorium of Spells was a lively hub of magical learning, where both practitioners and those interested in magic could come together to exchange their knowledge and experiences.

The Town Hall also played an essential role in the kingdom's communication system. It had a dedicated section called the Magical Communication Network, which enabled instant communication between different towns and cities throughout the kingdom. Using a special method similar to teleportation, the network allowed letters and documents to be quickly sent from one place to another. This magical network made communication fast and efficient, bringing people closer together.

The Magical Communication Network at the Town Hall had two parts, serving different purposes. The public section was accessible to anyone and allowed them to use the network to send letters to cities in the Southern and Eastern regions within just an hour. All it took was a small fee of a few silver coins. Once the letter reached the network, it would be promptly delivered to the intended recipient's address, provided an additional fee was paid. If the sender didn't pay the fee, the letter would be kept at the Magical Communication Network for 14 days. If no one claimed the letter during that time, it would be respectfully disposed of by burning.

The private section of the Magical Communication Network was reserved for the Emperor and his closest advisors. It ensured that important documents, confidential letters, and vital information were swiftly and securely delivered directly to the Emperor. Special care was taken to protect the privacy and integrity of these communications, safeguarding the kingdom's most sensitive matters.

Inside the Town Hall, there was also a unique room known as the Magical Courtroom. It was specifically designed to handle legal cases involving magical disputes, enchanted crimes, and conflicts among magical beings. The courtroom's special features and enchantments made sure that these cases were judged fairly and impartially. In this magical courtroom, the complexities of magic and the rule of law came together to ensure justice and harmony within the magical community.

The Town Hall, with its many functions and its commitment to efficient governance, showcased the kingdom's progressive vision and dedication to serving its citizens. From the fascinating lectures in the Auditorium of Spells to the fast and reliable communication of the Magical Communication Network, and the fair resolution of magical disputes in the Magical Courtroom, the Town Hall represented progress and innovation in the Istarin Empire.

In the early morning light, The Emperor, Aditya could be seen engaged in a physical exercise known as push-ups at the training grounds. It was still early, so only a few soldiers had gathered there at that time. Aditya had chosen to use the training grounds belonging to Division 5, which was under the command of General Amber. However, Amber and most of her division had been sent away to fight in a war. At the moment, Amber was leading her troops to quell a rebellion in a newly acquired territory that belonged to Aditya.

"1097....."

"1098....."

"1099...."

"1100...."

Aditya, dressed in special runic enchanted clothes, was diligently performing push-ups at the training grounds. These clothes were incredibly heavy, much heavier than what an average person could bear. In fact, wearing such heavy clothes would be fatal for most people. Aditya's training attire consisted of white garments adorned with black rune writings, adding to their mystical aura.

During his leisure time, Aditya had taken it upon himself to create these unique runic clothes, customizing them specifically for his training sessions. He had learned from his encounters with Arturo, the formidable general of the Echo Nexus Empire, that training could enhance one's abilities and improve their physical attributes. Aditya discovered that as he progressed in his training, his body's capacity and limits expanded, allowing him to become even stronger.

Motivated by this newfound understanding, Aditya dedicated a minimum of two hours to his training regimen every day. He recognized that the morning hours, before breakfast, offered him a precious window of free time to focus on his physical development. And so, on this particular day, he seized the opportunity to engage in his training routine, using the morning's tranquility to his advantage.

Aditya sensed a presence approaching the training ground, causing him to pause his exercises and wait in anticipation. As he waited, he noticed a young man making his way toward him.

Eliseo Brooker came from a humble background, hailing from a poor family with many members to support. Joining the military was his way of seeking a stable income to provide for his joint family, which consisted of thirteen individuals. While Eliseo pursued a military career, his brothers and cousins pursued various other professions.

Eliseo was the first of his family to venture to the capital and enlist in the army. Fortunately, he was assigned to Division 5, led by Lady Amber. This division predominantly comprised members from different wolf tribes, including the Moonshadow Pack, Frostbite Clan, Stormfang Tribe, Emberheart Pack, Silvermoon Clan, Bloodmoon Tribe, and more.

Eliseo considered himself fortunate to be part of Division 5, where there was no discrimination or prejudice. Lady Amber ensured equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of their race or tribe. A few days ago, Lady Amber had taken most of the division's members to the battlefield, leaving behind those who were newly recruited and still needed time to prepare for combat, including Eliseo.

Eliseo's selection into the division was due to his unique fighting style, which revolved around agility and the use of a light, sharp sword. He relied on his quick pace and the Swiftblade he wielded to swiftly dispatch his foes. Even from a young age, Eliseo had always possessed exceptional speed compared to others. He displayed unwavering dedication and diligence, often starting his training early in the morning.

On this particular morning, just like every other day, Eliseo rose early to engage in his routine training. However, upon reaching the training ground exclusively designated for members of the 5th division, he was surprised to find a stranger waiting for him.

Not recognizing Aditya, Eliseo questioned him with a sense of caution, "Who are you?" Having never met Aditya or seen the Emperor before, Eliseo was unaware of his true identity. To him, Aditya was just a stranger who had intruded upon their sacred training ground.

The training ground held great significance for the soldiers, and outsiders or members from other divisions were strictly forbidden from entering. Eliseo shared this sentiment and felt uneasy about the presence of a stranger in their training area.

Before Aditya could respond, Eliseo expressed his concern, "You should know that outsiders are not allowed here. Are you a new recruit from another division?" The barracks itself was off-limits to the general public. No matter how powerful or influential someone might be, if they were not part of the military, they were prohibited from entering the barracks.

Observing that the soldier failed to recognize him, Aditya smiled and decided to conceal his true identity. "I have Lady Amber's permission to use this training ground for practice." Initially skeptical, Eliseo pondered the statement. He considered the fact that no one would dare to use Lady Amber's name to fabricate an excuse. If such false claims were to reach the captain's ears, the consequences would be severe.

However, Eliseo failed to understand that even Lady Amber herself would not challenge the Emperor's authority. Reflecting on this, he nodded his head and said, "Okay." Since this stranger had Lady Amber's permission, then he cannot do anything. Driving out this stranger from here would mean defying lady Amber's words. The consequences of such actions would be severe.

As Eliseo prepared to leave and find his own spot to begin training, Aditya called out to him. "Hey, buddy, would you mind if we had a friendly sparring session?" Aditya's interest was piqued upon seeing the Swiftblade in Eliseo's hands. He desired to engage in a spar with Eliseo, as he believed that through his ability of instant learning and adaptation, he could glean valuable insights from their encounter.

The Swiftblade, Eliseo's chosen weapon, was truly impressive. It was designed to match his quick fighting style, with a blade made of strong steel that shone in the sunlight.

The blade of the Swiftblade was long and slender, curving slightly like a crescent moon. It was about three feet in length, which allowed Eliseo to move swiftly while still reaching his opponents effectively. The blade was polished to a smooth surface, reflecting light and giving it a shiny appearance.

The handle of the Swiftblade was carefully crafted for both comfort and grip. It was made of polished wood and woven leather, providing a secure hold for Eliseo's hand. The handle had smooth curves that felt natural when he held it, making it easier for him to move quickly and accurately in battle. It was also decorated with beautiful engravings, intricate patterns that caught the eye.

At the bottom of the handle, there was a metal pommel that added balance to the Swiftblade. It was not only functional but also had a special symbol on it. This symbol represented the unity and strength of the 5th division, which Eliseo was a part of. It showed a wolf's head, symbolizing the unity and fierce spirit of the wolf tribes within the division. Overall, the Swiftblade was a weapon that combined agility and beauty. Its sleek and well-crafted design made it deadly in combat.

Eliseo's surprise was evident as he processed Aditya's proposal. "You want to spar with me?" The unexpected invitation caught him off guard.

Aditya maintained his friendly demeanor and responded, "Yes, if you don't mind." His genuine interest in testing his skills against Eliseo was clear.

"Alright," Eliseo agreed, intrigued by the opportunity. He had been searching for a suitable sparring partner to gauge his progress in swordsmanship. Facing Aditya would provide valuable insights into his own improvement.

Taking their positions, Eliseo stood opposite Aditya, ready to engage in the spar. "I am prepared. You can come at me whenever you're ready."

As Eliseo observed Aditya, he felt an inexplicable sensation. It was as if he stood before a man who possessed a century's worth of battle experience. The confidence exuding from Aditya surpassed even that of Lady Amber, a seasoned warrior herself. Despite Aditya's gentle and kind appearance, his aura emitted a sharpness that sent shivers down Eliseo's spine. Standing in the presence of this enigmatic man filled Eliseo with a heightened sense of tension.

'Amazing! I don't know who this man is but his identity is definitely not simple.' Eliseo strangely felt excited to fight someone like him.

?l?n?!

?l?n?!

?l?n?!

Eliseo, a skilled warrior at the peak of his training, attacked Aditya with speed and determination. He unleashed a series of carefully practiced sword techniques, aiming to overpower his opponent. But to his surprise, Aditya effortlessly defended against each strike. Aditya seemed to have an extraordinary ability to predict Eliseo's moves and effortlessly block his attacks.

Eliseo's sword swung through the air, performing quick slashes and clever feints, yet Aditya's defenses remained impenetrable. Aditya's swordsmanship was a true display of agility, accuracy, and smart anticipation. His sword moved gracefully, effortlessly stopping Eliseo's relentless assault. No matter how hard Eliseo tried, he couldn't find an opening to land a successful hit.

Amazed and in awe, Eliseo couldn't help but admire Aditya's incredible skill. It felt as if Aditya could read his mind, always ready to counter his every move with precise blocks. The difference in their abilities was stark, leaving Eliseo humbled and full of respect for Aditya's mastery of the sword.

?l?n?!

?l?n?!

The intense spar between Aditya and Eliseo pressed on. Aditya wielded a simple sword, grasping it with one hand, as he skillfully blocked Eliseo's onslaught. It was evident that Aditya had deliberately lowered his cultivation level to match Eliseo's, creating a fair and balanced encounter. Furthermore, he had deliberately donned heavy garments, adding weight to his body and reducing his agility. Despite these intentional handicaps, Aditya remained a formidable opponent.

Aditya's keen observation allowed him to discern patterns in Eliseo's attacks. His experiences from countless past battles honed his ability to read his opponents' movements with remarkable accuracy. Whenever Aditya faced an opponent, he possessed a remarkable talent for instantly assimilating and mastering their sword techniques. It was as if he absorbed their swordsmanship in the heat of combat, effortlessly turning their own moves against them.

In this spar with Eliseo, Aditya's proficiency in reading attack patterns came to the fore. He anticipated and countered Eliseo's strikes with uncanny precision, thwarting each attack with ease. Aditya's adaptability was extraordinary, seamlessly adapting to his opponent's style and exploiting their weaknesses. His ability to assimilate and utilize the very sword techniques employed against him made his defense impenetrable and his counterattacks devastating.

As the spar continued, the dance of swords intensified. Aditya's movements, though seemingly slower due to the weight of his attire, remained fluid and calculated. Each block, each parry, demonstrated his deep understanding of swordplay and his mastery in using his opponents' own techniques against them. Eliseo could only marvel at Aditya's expertise, realizing that he faced not only a formidable opponent but also a brilliant strategist who could turn the tide of battle with remarkable ease.

?l?n?!

?l?n?!

Unbeknownst to Aditya and Eliseo, a hushed gathering of members from the 5th division had quietly assembled at the training ground. Eyes widened in astonishment as they observed the enthralling clash between the two warriors. These newly enlisted soldiers, having joined the division recently, were well aware of Eliseo's reputation as one of the finest swordsmen within their ranks. His exceptional skills had earned him widespread admiration and respect.

"Who is he?"

"I don't know. But look, this man is able to block Eliseo's moves so easily."

"It's as if he has studied Eliseo's attack patterns for years. We know this is impossible."

"The only logical explanation is....."

"This man is better man Eliseo."

Thus, their disbelief was palpable as they witnessed Eliseo's apparent struggle to gain an upper hand against his enigmatic opponent. This unknown figure, who had dared to face Eliseo head-on, had proven to be a force to be reckoned with. The gathered soldiers marveled at the extraordinary display of skill and determination unfolding before their eyes.

Eliseo's every move was met with a formidable defense, expertly executed by this mysterious adversary. The new soldiers couldn't help but exchange astonished glances, their expressions reflecting a mix of surprise, curiosity, and a touch of trepidation. Eliseo, their shining star, seemed unable to make a dent in his opponent's resolute stance, his every strike meeting an impenetrable wall.

Aditya, unyielding from the start, remained rooted in the same position, seemingly unfazed by Eliseo's relentless assault. His unwavering posture and steadfast defense only added to the air of mystique surrounding him. The onlookers couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, realizing that they were witnessing a rare encounter between two extraordinary swordsmen, the likes of which were seldom witnessed within their division.

As the spar continued, the members of the 5th division exchanged whispered comments, their voices tinged with a mixture of awe and intrigue. They couldn't shake the feeling that they were witnessing a clash between titans, a battle that transcended their expectations and left them yearning for a deeper understanding of the enigma standing before them.

After what felt like an eternity, exhaustion began to take its toll on Eliseo's body. The intense spar had stretched on for over an hour, draining his energy and testing the limits of his endurance. Despite his unwavering determination, Eliseo found himself unable to make even the slightest dent in Aditya's immovable defense. It was a humbling experience for him, a first-time encounter with such a formidable opponent.

Sensing Eliseo's weariness, Aditya called for a temporary respite. The young swordsman, his body drenched in sweat, nodded wearily, gratefully accepting the opportunity to catch his breath. Collapsing onto the ground, he sat there, panting heavily, his chest rising and falling with each labored breath. The strain of the intense sparring session was etched across his face, a testament to the physical and mental exertion he had endured.

Silence enveloped the training ground as Eliseo gathered his strength, allowing the tranquility to settle over them. The onlookers, still captivated by the display of skill and resilience, watched in quiet admiration as the two warriors took a momentary pause. It was evident to all that this clash had surpassed their expectations, pushing Eliseo to his limits and leaving him in awe of the untapped depths of his opponent's abilities.

With his heart pounding in his chest and a newfound respect for the strength he had just encountered, Eliseo reflected on the spar. It was a valuable lesson, a reminder that there were realms of martial prowess yet to be explored. As he caught his breath, he couldn't help but feel a sense of determination welling up within him, fueling his desire to push himself further and continue his pursuit of growth and mastery.

??ff....??ff.....!

'There are so many things that I still need to learn.' Eliseo thought while staring at Aditya.

Aditya's smile widened as he observed Eliseo, a sense of satisfaction evident in his eyes. "You fought well, Eliseo. Your skills show great potential. I look forward to our next spar tomorrow. Prepare yourself," he declared, a note of challenge lacing his words. With that, Aditya vanished from the training ground, his form dissipating into thin air as if he had never been there.

A stunned silence settled over the gathered members of the 5th division as they processed the astonishing sight before them. Their eyes widened, mouths agape, as they witnessed Aditya's sudden disappearance. Whispers and murmurs broke out among the recruits, their astonishment painted across their faces.

"Who was that?" one soldier exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief. "I've never seen anyone move like that before!"

"He must be a highly skilled warrior," Another recruit ventured, his eyes still fixed on the spot where Aditya had stood just moments ago. "But who is he? I've never seen him before."

As the confusion and curiosity grew, Eliseo, still catching his breath, turned to his fellow soldiers, a mixture of awe and intrigue in his expression. "I don't know who he is, but his skills are unlike anything I've ever encountered. We'll have to wait and see."

Amidst the speculation and wonder, a hushed conversation unfolded among the members of the 5th division. Whispers filled the air, each soldier offering their own theories and guesses about the enigmatic warrior who had crossed paths with Eliseo. Some speculated that he might be a wandering swordsman, while others pondered the possibility of his affiliation with a secret martial arts sect.

In the midst of the discussions, one soldier dared to voice a thought that sent a shiver of realization down the spines of those nearby. "What if... what if he's someone important? Someone, we should know?"

The question hung in the air, the weight of uncertainty settling upon them. None of the recruits could fathom the truth—that the one they had just faced in combat was none other than their own King, the ruler of their land. Oblivious to Aditya's true identity, they were left with nothing but bewilderment and anticipation for the next encounter, unaware of the destiny that awaited them all.

After his invigorating shower, Aditya emerged from the bathroom only to be met with a surprising sight. To his astonishment, Julia and the other girls were gathered in his bedroom.

"....."

A moment of silence passed as Aditya stood there, the realization dawning on him that he hadn't expected anyone to be in his room. His senses hadn't alerted him to their presence, leaving him momentarily taken aback.

Meanwhile, the girls found themselves equally captivated by Aditya's appearance. Clad in nothing but a pristine white towel wrapped around his waist, his muscular physique was on full display. His long, damp blue hair clung to his skin, adding to his allure. As their gazes fell upon him, different reactions unfolded among them.

Riya felt her cheeks grow warm as her body responded to the sight before her. Innocent Lara, unable to contain her curiosity, shyly lowered her face with her hands, yet stole furtive glances through the gaps between her fingers. Alicia's cheeks flushed a delicate shade of red, memories of their intimate encounter from yesterday's morning flooding her mind.

Amongst the array of reactions, Julia remained the calmest, having grown accustomed to Aditya's presence. Nonetheless, even she couldn't deny the appreciation she felt for the sight that greeted her eyes.

As Aditya calmly made his way towards his wardrobe, he couldn't help but notice the lingering gazes of the girls upon him. With a hint of amusement in his voice, he broke the silence by asking, "Have you all seen enough?"

His words prompted a mixture of reactions from the girls. Riya's cheeks flushed deeper as she averted her gaze, feeling caught in the act. Lara, her curiosity momentarily forgotten, sheepishly nodded, her face still flushed. Alicia, her embarrassment evident, managed to nod with a shy smile. Julia, unfazed by the situation, simply observed with a knowing look.

Realizing that the unexpected encounter had caused a slight disturbance, Aditya reached for a fresh set of clothes from his wardrobe. As he slipped into his attire, a comfortable air settled in the room, breaking the tension that had momentarily hung in the air.

The girls, now regaining their composure, exchanged glances before breaking into light laughter. The awkwardness gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of familiarity and ease. It was another day in the Dragon Palace, filled with surprises, laughter, and the unique dynamics of their shared bond.

This is chapter 400!!! A big milestone for me and for this novel. First of all, I would like to thank you all for supporting this novel with gifts, golden tickets, and power stones. Thank you for reading this novel till here. I know the past few months I have been a little inconsistent with this novel but from now on I am going to try my best. The aim is to release 2 chapters per day from now on. But no promises. My summer vacations have started so I have a lot of free time to write.

For every 100 Golden tickets, I am going to release one bonus chapter. The will be released at the end of this month. (30th June).

As this is the 400th chapter of this novel. This chapter is going to be a long one. [5,300+]. Really hope you all liked this chapter. There was so much more I wanted to include in this chapter but it would make the chapter too long. After this I am planning on reading a chapter on side-characters. I have been planning to do this for a while.

Chapter 401

"You look Handsome." Seated in front of a large mirror, Aditya looked at his reflection and couldn't help but feel handsome on this important day. As the Emperor, he wore clothes that showed his noble status, giving off a sense of grandeur and sophistication. His bright blue eyes sparkled with charm and captivated those who looked into them.

A maid gently combed his long, flowing blue hair, making it shine beautifully. Each stroke of the comb added a touch of magic to his appearance. His hair framed his face gracefully, making his attractive features stand out and adding to his magnetic presence.

Another maid carefully applied kohl to his lashes. Kohl, made from a mix of special ingredients like powdered antimony and black galena, made his gaze deeper and more intense. The tradition of using kohl had been followed by previous Istarin Kings, including his adoptive father, King Ahmed. Aditya found comfort in this practice, as it connected him to the respected line of rulers who had also used kohl. Some people believed that kohl had medicinal properties, which made its application even more intriguing.

Aditya pondered the origins of this tradition. Stories mentioned the Dry Savanna Continent, where people, regardless of gender, used kohl on their lashes. This cultural heritage had made its way to the Eastern region of the Dying Isle Continent through the very first Istarin King, who had journeyed far to establish his reign.

Although the Emperor didn't care much for fancy clothes, he understood the importance of presenting himself with dignity and grace. Aditya wore a splendid robe on this special occasion, carefully chosen by his wives, Alicia and Julia. The robe showcased a simple yet elegant style. It was made of the finest materials and had a rich midnight blue color that resembled the deep ocean under a moonlit sky. Golden details and decorations added a touch of luxury, emphasizing his esteemed position as Emperor.

Looking at his reflection, Aditya couldn't help but appreciate Julia's excellent taste. Her choices always enhanced his features and showcased his handsomeness, whether the outfits were extravagant or more modest.

In the mirror, Aditya saw a majestic figure before him, exuding confidence and humility. His blue eyes, framed by his flowing blue hair, had a captivating charm. The combination of his natural appeal, the use of kohl, and the elegant ensemble he wore elevated his appearance to timeless elegance. Aditya stood as a true Emperor, capturing the attention and admiration of all who beheld him.

Aditya sat there, his lips curling into a warm smile as he noticed Julia coming towards him. At that moment, he couldn't help but be amazed by her beauty. Julia looked absolutely stunning on this special day, her inner grace shining through. She wore a beautiful gown that was both modest and elegant, revealing just enough to leave a sense of mystery while highlighting her natural charm.

The dress, carefully selected for this occasion, showed off Julia's excellent fashion sense and her understanding of what suited her best. Its design was classy and sophisticated, with delicate details that added a touch of royalty. The fabric, a mix of rich colors, draped gracefully around her, enhancing her every move with a subtle allure. Its modest style reflected timeless elegance, allowing her to radiate her ethereal beauty without showing too much.

Aditya's gaze was drawn to Julia's captivating purple eyes, shining like sparkling amethysts. They held a depth that seemed to reflect her gentle and unwavering love for him. In that moment, he felt momentarily stunned, his heart skipping a beat as he looked at her.

Her gorgeous purple hair was styled in an elegant bun, revealing the smooth curve of her neck. Aditya felt an overwhelming desire to lean in and place a tender kiss on that flawless skin. It was a sight that stirred his deepest feelings and reminded him of his deep affection for her.

In Julia's presence, Aditya felt as if a goddess had graced the mortal world. Her regal demeanor, combined with her captivating appearance, exuded a special kind of magic. She embodied beauty and grace, captivating everyone with her innate charm.

As Aditya continued to gaze at his beloved wife, he couldn't help but marvel at how perfectly her captivating purple eyes, the vibrant shade of her hair, and the elegant simplicity of her dress complemented each other. Julia was a true epitome of elegance and refinement, a representation of royalty standing by his side.

"Looked enough?" With a teasing smile, the goddess asked. The goddess behind him. He can see her reflection in the large mirror.

"I can keep staring at your face forever," Aditya replied while staring at Julia's reflection in the mirror.

"Hehe!" Julia giggled. Her heart was overflowing with happiness, love, warmth, and pride.

"You look very handsome today."

"Thank you for the compliment." Aditya accepted the compliment. But then he noticed that his other fiancés were slightly pouting and looking a little bit jealous.

Alicia gracefully wore a traditional Kimono that represented her culture and traditions. Her family cherished these elegant outfits, which showcased their heritage through beautiful designs and vibrant colors.

Today, Alicia chose a stunning Silk Kimono. Its black fabric was adorned with captivating waves of deep blue. Delicate flowers, crafted with great care, adorned the cloth, bringing it to life. The intricate patterns told stories of nature's beauty, giving the Kimono a magical charm.

As Alicia embraced the Kimono, she seemed to transport herself to another time. Every detail enhanced her natural beauty, captivating those who saw her. Her lips were a bold shade of red, reflecting her strong spirit. Her eyes were accentuated with a touch of Kohl, making them even more captivating.

Alicia's long black hair cascaded like a waterfall, held together by a striking black-red ribbon. It contrasted beautifully with her silky locks, and her bangs framed her face gracefully, adding a touch of playfulness to her appearance.

But what truly caught Aditya's attention were the emerald gems that adorned Alicia. They sparkled with a mysterious glow, drawing his gaze toward their enchanting depths. The green gems spoke of mystery and power, adding to Alicia's captivating presence with a touch of allure and fascination.

"Well, how do I look?" Alicia asked seeing Aditya staring at her.

"Your eyes are incredibly mesmerizing. They're like sparkling gems. I can't take my off you."

Riya chose to wear stunning Silverthread Gowns, meticulously crafted by skilled elves. The gowns shimmered like moonlit silver, gracefully draping her slender figure. A beautiful moonlight Sash cinched her waist, its silvery threads shining with a celestial glow.

Her long, silver hair flowed down her back, matching the color of her enchanting dress. Her eyes, a light shade of purple, sparkled with a sense of mystery and wisdom. Riya's presence exuded a regal air, accompanied by a gentle aura of tranquility and grace. Though she appeared slightly more mature than her peers, it only added to her unique charm.

Aditya couldn't help but be captivated by Riya's beauty. The elegant Silverthread Gowns she wore showcased the exquisite craftsmanship of the elves, making her look like a true Elven Empress. With every move she made, Riya emanated a graceful and ethereal presence that enchanted everyone who laid eyes upon her.

On this particular day, Riya's radiance reached new heights. The Silverthread Gown hugged her curves, highlighting her natural beauty. The interplay of moonlight and fabric gave her a luminous glow, as if she stepped out of a fairy tale, embodying the majesty of the elven realm.

Aditya found himself unable to look away, completely mesmerized by Riya's allure. Her elegance, combined with her regal aura, left a lasting impression on his heart. In her presence, time seemed to stand still, as if the world paused to admire her magnificence.

As Aditya looked into Riya's eyes, he could feel that she wanted to hear kind words and feel appreciated. Even though she didn't say anything, her eyes spoke volumes, showing her longing for recognition and praise.

Aditya understood this unspoken desire and took a moment to find the right words to describe Riya's beauty. He wanted his compliment to reflect the magic he saw in her. With a sincere voice, he finally spoke up.

"Riya," he began, his words carefully chosen, "You look absolutely stunning right now. It's hard to put into words just how beautiful you are." His words carried genuine admiration, showing how deeply Riya's presence impacted him.

Upon hearing Aditya's heartfelt compliment, Riya's face lit up with a gentle smile. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. His words brought her comfort and reassurance, dispelling any doubts she had about her own worth. In that brief moment, she felt a surge of happiness, knowing that her efforts to shine hadn't gone unnoticed. Aditya's compliment held so much power because it acknowledged Riya's inner longing and made her feel special.

Lara, just like Alicia, wore a stunning Kimono chosen specifically for her by Alicia. It was a special gift that Alicia bought for her.

The Kimono was a beautiful combination of red and black colors. Its vibrant hues blended together like flickering flames and dancing shadows. The fabric wrapped around Lara's slender figure, hugging her gently and showcasing the careful craftsmanship of the garment.

When Lara put on the Kimono, something magical happened. Her youthful features seemed to glow with a captivating charm, and her innocent gaze held a certain enchantment. A golden head chain adorned her forehead, adding a touch of elegance to her look. With every step, she emanated the grace and beauty of a celestial being.

Lara had a charm all her own, something that made her truly special. Her beauty carried a purity that went beyond the physical, captivating everyone who saw her. In her presence, time seemed to stop as people were entranced by her natural radiance.

On this day, Lara looked exceptionally stunning. The red and black Kimono draped around her like a dream, blending seamlessly with her vibrant spirit. The outfit emphasized her delicate features and accentuated her graceful movements, making her appear like a living embodiment of elegance and magic.

Witnessing Lara's beauty was a truly awe-inspiring experience. Her innocence and allure created an ethereal enchantment, drawing people's hearts and minds into her captivating orbit. She was a vision to behold, a shining example of grace and charm. Alicia's thoughtful gift had transformed Lara into a goddess among mortals. In the glow of her unique charm, she became a symbol of beauty and inspiration, capturing the hearts of all who had the privilege of seeing her.

"You all look so pretty today." Aditya's words reverberated through the air, carrying a sense of awe and admiration. To him, the four girls standing before him seemed to have descended from the heavens themselves, radiating an otherworldly beauty that captivated his senses.

Alicia's lips curved into a gentle smile, a reflection of the gratification she felt upon hearing his praise. The early morning hours she had devoted to perfecting her appearance suddenly held an even greater significance. Every moment spent enhancing her beauty had been rewarded by Aditya's kind words, affirming the effort she had poured into her preparation.

Riya's gaze remained locked on Aditya, her eyes capturing every detail of his countenance. In her heart, she yearned to etch this moment deep into her memory, preserving the image of his captivating handsomeness. She longed to capture every nuance, every line and contour, ensuring that the memory would remain vivid and cherished.

Lara, with her innocence and purity, blushed at the attention directed toward her. Overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment, she averted her gaze and shyly lowered her head. The rush of emotions stirred within her, leaving her unable to meet Aditya's eyes. Her innocent blush spoke volumes, revealing the depth of her feelings in the most tender and subtle way.

"Enough talking. Let's go. Others are waiting for us at the dining table." Julia grabbed Aditya's arm and pulled him with her.

Scene change________

"Marvin Sarlus greets the Emperor." Duke Marvin Sarlus approached Aditya with deep respect, kneeling before him in a display of honor. Aditya recognized Marvin as a loyal and dedicated servant of the Istarin Dynasty, a man who had stood by his side during the Empire's most challenging moments.

Throughout the troubled times when Aditya struggled with his own troubles and faced threats of betrayal, Marvin Sarlus remained steadfast in his loyalty to the throne. His unwavering support and unwavering dedication served as a source of strength for the Empire. Aditya held him in the highest regard, considering him a trustworthy ally he could rely on without question.

The Sarlus family had a long history of faithfully serving the Istarin Empire, and Marvin was a shining example of their loyalty. He had become Aditya's closest confidant and advisor, offering not only his allegiance but also his wisdom and guidance. With the Emperor's backing, the Sarlus House had risen to become one of the most influential noble families, wielding great political power within the Empire.

Marvin's reputation extended beyond noble circles, earning respect from both the elite and the common people. Known for his bravery, kindness, and unwavering loyalty, he was not easily won over as a friend. However, those fortunate enough to earn his friendship discovered a companion who would go to any lengths to protect and support them. Aditya greatly respected Marvin's character, seeing him as a person of honor and loyalty.

The Sarlus family embraced the values of dignity and loyalty, which ran deeply within their heritage. Their commitment to the Empire burned brightly, motivating them to serve with unwavering devotion. Aditya understood that in Duke Marvin Sarlus, he had not only a trusted ally but also a true friend—a guardian of the Dynasty's legacy and an embodiment of loyalty in a world filled with uncertainties.

As Marvin knelt before him, Aditya felt a surge of gratitude and admiration. The presence of this nobleman symbolized the enduring loyalty and devotion that had fortified the Istarin Empire for generations. Marvin Sarlus represented the virtues of honor, dignity, and unwavering allegiance—an unwavering pillar of strength upon which the Dynasty could always rely.

We already have reached 500+ golden tickets. Thank you guys. Let's see how further we can go by the end of this month.

I took most of the chapter in describing how they looked. I don't think I ever wrote such scene in my novel before. Finding the right word and imagining how each of them looked was kind of exhausting. I apologize if you found this boring to read.

2400+ words!

Chapter 402

"Please, Stand up." Aditya's admiration for Marvin Sarlus ran deep, so much so that he held him in such high regard that he would not even insist on Marvin kneeling before him. Marvin's unwavering support during the Empire's most challenging times had been instrumental in Aditya's journey thus far.

Aditya gracefully descended from his majestic throne and approached Marvin. His voice resonated with warmth and sincerity as he spoke, "Your Grace, would you be interested in witnessing the marvel that is the Dragon Palace?" Rumors of the palace's breathtaking beauty and grandeur had spread throughout the noble circles within the Istarin Empire. However, no noble had been fortunate enough to set foot inside its hallowed halls.

From the moment the Dragon Palace had been completed, Aditya had refrained from hosting any extravagant parties or granting access to the nobles of his realm. The secrets held within the Dragon Palace remained concealed, known only to Aditya himself.

Marvin's eyes gleamed with curiosity and anticipation as he responded, "Your Majesty, how can I possibly decline such a generous offer? I have longed to witness the wonders of the Dragon Palace."

A genuine smile graced Aditya's face, pleased by Marvin's eagerness. "Excellent! Then let us proceed." Aditya placed his hands gently upon Marvin's right shoulder. In an instant, both figures vanished from the confines of the Old Palace.

As they appeared in the magnificent halls, a sense of awe and wonder filled the air. The palace was filled with beautiful designs, colorful tapestries, and detailed carvings, evoking a forgotten era. Sunlight streamed through stained glass windows, creating a breathtaking display of colors on the marble floors.

Marvin's eyes widened with amazement as he beheld the grandeur before him. "Wow, this place is even more incredible than I imagined," he whispered, his voice filled with deep respect.

"There's so much more to explore. Join me on a tour of the entire Dragon Palace," Aditya warmly invited. They embarked on their personal journey, engaging in heartfelt conversation along the way. Aditya shared updates on his recent activities, including the Empire's conflict with the formidable Oracle Alliance and the eventual outcome of the challenging war. With complete trust in Marvin's unwavering loyalty, Aditya opened up about the Empire's closely guarded secrets.

As they strolled through the palace's lavish corridors, Aditya's words carried an air of authority and sincerity. He recounted the Empire's triumphs and trials, painting vivid pictures of their struggles and victories. Marvin listened attentively, his admiration for Aditya's leadership growing with each passing moment.

After an hour had passed, Aditya and Marvin found themselves sitting peacefully in the garden. Aditya turned to Marvin, his trusted companion, and asked a question that weighed on his mind, "What do you think? Have I made any mistakes?" Aditya's genuine curiosity stemmed from his deep respect for Marvin, who possessed a wealth of experience and wisdom that made his opinion invaluable. It was a noticeable change in Aditya's character, reflecting the transformative effect this world had on him.

Aditya held Marvin in high esteem, which motivated him to personally show his esteemed companion the wonders of the Dragon Palace, despite his status as Emperor.

Marvin, a man of advanced age and wisdom, closed his eyes briefly, savoring a sip of the fragrant tea gently offered to him by a maid. Aditya, too, held a teacup, mirroring the calmness of the moment.

"Your Majesty, I see no faults in your actions," Marvin responded, his voice radiating a peaceful assurance. "I have witnessed firsthand your unwavering commitment to the Empire's safety and prosperity. Under your capable leadership, the Empire is secure." Marvin's words carried the wisdom of his years, showing the trust he placed in Aditya's ability to govern wisely.

Both men sat together under the shade of a sprawling tree, finding solace in the silence that enveloped them. Marvin took a sip of his tea, relishing its warmth, and then directed his gaze towards the vast expanse of the clear blue sky above. Lost in his thoughts, Aditya absentmindedly stared at his teacup, his mind filled with contemplation.

In the midst of their quiet introspection, Marvin's voice broke the tranquility, carrying a weight that immediately caught Aditya's attention. "Your Majesty, there is something I need to discuss with you," Marvin spoke, his tone steady and serious.

Curiosity stirred within Aditya, prompting him to turn towards Marvin, his gaze still fixed on the teacup before him. "What is it?" he inquired, a hint of distraction coloring his voice.

Marvin met Aditya's gaze directly, his expression calm and unwavering. "I am considering retiring," he revealed, his words hanging in the air, laden with significance. It was evident that Marvin had thought long and hard about this decision.

Surprise washed over Aditya, his eyes widening as he locked onto Marvin's face. The idea of Marvin retiring seemed to clash with the journey they had shared and the deep trust they had developed over the years. However, Marvin's resolute and composed demeanor indicated a firm resolve.

"Are you certain about this?" Aditya asked his voice a mixture of surprise and concern. He understood that if he were to express his desire for Marvin to stay, his loyal companion would undoubtedly reconsider. Yet, he also acknowledged the years of dedicated service Marvin had devoted to the Empire. Aditya would not hold him back if retirement was truly what Marvin desired.

"Yeah......"

"I appreciate your consideration, Your Majesty," Marvin replied, acknowledging Aditya's willingness to hear his thoughts before anyone else. The weight of his decision was evident in his gaze as he continued, "I value your opinion greatly, and I seek your guidance in this matter."

Aditya's voice carried a mix of respect and understanding as he responded, "Your Grace, you have dedicated a significant portion of your life to the service of this Empire. It would be unfair of me to discourage you from retiring. You have earned the right to find some well-deserved rest and peace. Whatever decision you make, whether it is to retire or continue serving in a different capacity, I assure you of my unwavering support, as well as the support of the Sarlus Noble House."

A genuine smile graced Marvin's face, gratitude shining in his eyes. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, looking upward as if seeking clarity from the heavens. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your understanding means a great deal to me," he expressed sincerely.

Marvin's voice held a note of reconsideration as he continued, "However, I have decided not to retire immediately. Instead, my plan is to gradually pass on my duties to my son, who will serve as my successor. Over the course of the next two or three years, I intend to transition fully into retirement, ensuring a smooth transfer of responsibilities."

Aditya nodded, his features reflecting a mixture of support and appreciation. "Your foresight and careful planning are commendable, Your Grace. I have no doubt that your son will carry on your legacy with great honor and skill. During this transitional period, I will extend my full support to both you and your successor, as the Sarlus Noble House remains an integral part of the Empire."

The weight of their conversation hung in the air, but there was also a sense of optimism and a shared understanding of the path that lay ahead. Aditya and Marvin sat together beneath the tree, contemplating the future and the continued prosperity of the Empire they both held dear.

After a few minutes of tranquil silence, Aditya decided to broach another topic that had been on his mind. "Your Grace, there is something else I'd like to discuss," he began, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. The memory of Leo's infatuation brought a smile to his face.

Curiosity piqued, Marvin leaned in attentively. "Yes?" he prompted, eager to hear what Aditya had to say.

With a playful glint in his eyes, Aditya revealed, "It appears that my adoptive little brother Leo has developed feelings for your daughter." The thought of Leo's youthful admiration for Marvin's daughter brought a lightheartedness to the conversation.

Marvin burst into laughter, his joviality echoing through the air. The news of Leo's crush had reached him through his daughter's personal maid, and it seemed that his daughter reciprocated the sentiment.

Amidst the laughter, Marvin spoke with an air of understanding. "Your Majesty, I have no objection to a relationship between Prince Leo and my daughter," he declared, his voice filled with a sense of genuine acceptance. "I have never intended to force my daughter into a political marriage against her wishes. Love should be a matter of the heart, not politics."

Aditya's smile widened, grateful for Marvin's open-mindedness and shared belief in the importance of genuine affection.

As Aditya and Marvin immersed themselves in their conversation, a familiar figure approached them with a sense of urgency. It was Watson, Aditya's butler, who had come to deliver an important message.

Interrupting their chat, Watson spoke with a hint of urgency in his voice, "Your Majesty, the event is on the brink of commencing. All the guests have arrived, and it is time to proceed."

Aditya glanced at Marvin, a mixture of excitement and responsibility evident in his eyes. "Thank you, Watson," he replied, acknowledging the gravity of the moment. "Please inform the others that we shall join them shortly."

Watson nodded, his demeanor displaying a sense of efficiency and professionalism. "Very well, Your Majesty. I will relay the message immediately," he affirmed before swiftly retreating to carry out his task.

Turning his attention back to Marvin, Aditya's expression became one of determination. "It appears that our conversation must be put on hold for now," he remarked, a touch of regret lacing his words. "Shall we proceed to join the gathering?"

Marvin, understanding the weight of the upcoming event, nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Your Majesty. Let us not keep them waiting."

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Chapter 403

The Royal Banquet had generated a buzz of excitement and anticipation throughout the Capital. It was a highly anticipated event, as it marked a significant moment in the Istarin Empire's history. The gathering of all the nobles under Aditya's reign symbolized the unity and strength of the empire.

The streets leading to the palace were adorned with colorful banners and ornate decorations, creating a festive ambiance. Merchants took advantage of the occasion, setting up stalls and shops along the bustling avenues, offering an array of luxury goods and fine crafts to cater to distinguished guests.

The atmosphere crackled with an air of prestige and elegance as nobles, dressed in their finest attire, made their way toward the palace. Elaborate carriages, accompanied by an entourage of servants, lined the streets, signaling the arrival of influential figures from within and beyond the empire's borders.

Gossip and whispers filled the air as rumors circulated about the significant changes that had taken place since Aditya ascended the throne. The nobles, curious and intrigued, eagerly discussed the empire's future under their monarch and speculated about the direction of the empire's policies and alliances.

The palace itself stood as a magnificent spectacle, its grandeur heightened by the elaborate preparations for the banquet. Guards in resplendent uniforms stood at attention, their presence adding an air of formality and security. Lavish floral arrangements adorned the corridors, emitting a subtle fragrance that wafted through the air.

Within the palace walls, the servants and staff worked tirelessly to ensure every detail of the banquet was executed flawlessly. Chefs prepared sumptuous delicacies, sommeliers carefully selected the finest wines, and decorators meticulously arranged the dining hall to create an enchanting setting.

As the hour of the banquet approached, the anticipation reached its peak. The nobles, dignitaries, and influential figures from near and far mingled in the grand reception area, engaging in conversations and exchanging pleasantries. Old alliances were reaffirmed, new connections were forged, and the corridors echoed with the sounds of polite laughter and animated discussions.

The grand reception area buzzed with a lively atmosphere as the royal banquet commenced. A sea of elegantly dressed guests filled the opulent space, their voices intermingling in animated conversation. The air was permeated with excitement and anticipation, as nobles, merchants, and influential figures from both within and outside the Istarin Empire had converged upon the capital for this momentous occasion.

Amidst the vibrant crowd, diligent maids scurried gracefully, weaving their way through the throng of guests. With trays held aloft, they skillfully navigated the sea of people, offering a variety of exquisite drinks and tantalizing beverages to quench the guests' thirst. Their nimble fingers worked with practiced precision, ensuring that no glass remained empty for long.

In this bustling ambiance, a figure of dignified poise and authority caught the attention of Viscount Edward Ashford. Gathering his courage, he approached a nobleman of esteemed stature, someone he had long desired to meet. It was an opportune moment for Edward to forge connections and alliances, a chance to solidify his position and expand his influence within the Istarin Empire.

With a polite bow, Edward addressed the nobleman, his voice resonating with a mixture of respect and eagerness. "Your Excellency, it is indeed an honor to finally meet you," He said, his words filled with sincerity and admiration.

The nobleman, his face adorned with an expression of warmth and grace, acknowledged Edward with a nod of acknowledgment. The air around them seemed to hold an air of camaraderie, recognizing the shared journey they had both embarked upon.

Viscount Edward Ashford hailed from the Southern region of the Istarin Territory, previously known as the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Prior to the Istarin Empire's swift conquest, Edward had served in the military of his former homeland. When the Istarin Empire emerged victorious, Edward pledged his unwavering loyalty, swearing his allegiance to the new reign.

Impressed by Edward's dedication and commitment, Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, bestowed upon him the honored title of Viscount. Along with this distinction came a small but significant parcel of land, a tangible symbol of trust and recognition. Edward's transition into nobility was a recent development, and he recognized the importance of establishing connections and alliances with fellow nobles, solidifying his place within the noble hierarchy.

The grand banquet provided an ideal setting for Edward's aspirations, where he could engage in meaningful conversations, exchange ideas, and seek potential partnerships. As he conversed with the nobleman before him, Edward's underlying goal was to forge alliances that would further the prosperity and stability of his newly acquired territory.

"May I have the honor of knowing your distinguished name?" inquired Duke Zayne with an air of graciousness. Among the nobility of the Istarin Empire, both Zayne and Marvin Sarlus held venerable reputations, their prominence recognized throughout noble circles. As such, lower-ranking nobles aspired to meet them, yearning to establish connections and alliances.

Zayne had proven his loyalty to Aditya by discreetly revealing vital information regarding Duke Eastgard's treacherous intentions against the Istarin Empire. Recognizing his invaluable service, Aditya appointed Zayne to succeed Duke Eastgard, granting him the power and responsibilities associated with his new position. Since assuming the role, Zayne had devoted himself diligently to the development and prosperity of the territory entrusted to him.

"My sincerest apologies for the belated introduction. I am Lord Edward Ashford, a Viscount hailing from the southern region," responded Edward with deference, his tone marked by respect for Zayne's esteemed status.

"Ah, now it becomes clear why I did not recognize you, Your Grace," acknowledged Zayne, his words carrying an air of understanding. "Please, enlighten me. I hope you're enjoying the grandeur of this banquet." Zayne's amiable demeanor exuded approachability and intelligence, reflecting his benevolent and astute character.

Duke Zayne found himself engaged in conversation with a nobleman whose face was unfamiliar to him. Despite being a Duke, Zayne understood that the vastness of the Istarin Empire meant that he couldn't possibly know all the nobles within its borders. He approached the conversation with utmost formality.

Duke Zayne: "Your Grace, please accept my sincere greetings. I have heard of your esteemed reputation and it is an honor to finally make your acquaintance in person."

Viscount Edward: "I am deeply grateful for your kind words, Duke Zayne. The pleasure is mine to be in the presence of such a respected and renowned figure like yourself. Your contributions to the Empire have not gone unnoticed."

Duke Zayne: "Thank you for your gracious words, Viscount Edward. Your transition from a distinguished military career to the noble rank is indeed impressive. Your unwavering loyalty to the Empire is truly commendable."

Viscount Edward: "I humbly express my gratitude, Duke Zayne. It was my solemn duty to serve the Empire, and I consider it a great privilege to be entrusted with the title of Viscount. Your strategic prowess and guidance during the Empire's trials have been widely acknowledged."

Duke Zayne: "I appreciate your recognition, Viscount Edward. I firmly believe that the strength and potential of every noble within our Empire contribute to its prosperity. It is incumbent upon us to work together, fostering unity and progress. I am eager to learn about your aspirations for your territory."

Viscount Edward: "Duke Zayne, my foremost goal is to cultivate my territory into a thriving region, making substantial contributions to the Empire's growth in commerce and agriculture. I strive to promote stability and prosperity among my people, while upholding the values and principles that define the Istarin Empire."

Duke Zayne: "Your vision is admirable, Viscount Edward. I find that our goals align harmoniously in our pursuit of a prosperous Empire. I wonder if future collaborations between our territories could be fruitful. The exchange of knowledge and resources would undoubtedly benefit us both."

Viscount Edward: "Indeed, Duke Zayne. I wholeheartedly share your sentiments. By fostering such cooperative efforts, we can strengthen our respective regions and fortify the unity of our Empire. I firmly believe that together, we can achieve remarkable advancements."

Duke Zayne: "Viscount Edward, let us formalize our connection further. I propose that we exchange contact information and arrange a future meeting. This will enable us to delve deeper into potential joint ventures, pooling our dedication and vision for the betterment of the Istarin Empire."

Viscount Edward: "Duke Zayne, I am deeply honored by your proposal. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to engage in further discussions with you, unraveling our ideas and working in unison towards our shared objectives. May our combined efforts bring lasting prosperity to our territories and further elevate the glory of the Empire."

Both noblemen raised their wine glasses in a toast, expressing their mutual respect and appreciation for the encounter. With a courteous farewell, they gracefully excused themselves from the conversation, each seeking to engage with other esteemed nobles present at the banquet. The purpose of their meeting, to establish a formal connection and understanding, had been successfully achieved.

The grand reception hall buzzed with activity as noble after noble engaged in conversations, forming connections and alliances. The magnitude of this event was befitting the vastness of the Istarin Empire, which spanned a significant portion of the continent. It was a sprawling dominion that commanded the Eastern region entirely, while a substantial portion of the Southern territory had recently fallen under its control. Furthermore, the Empire's influence extended to approximately 45% of the Western Islands, consolidating its dominion over a wide expanse of land and sea.

As Duke Zayne mingled with the esteemed guests, he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer scale of the Empire's reach. It was a testament to the ambitious vision and strategic brilliance of King Aditya, whose determination knew no bounds. The ongoing campaign in the Northwestern region, aimed at quelling the remaining pockets of rebellion, promised to expand the Empire's influence even further, adding to the already considerable number of nobles in attendance.

The gathering of nobles within the grand reception area exemplified the Empire's diversity and its amalgamation of various cultures, each with its own unique customs and traditions. The conversations that echoed throughout the hall mirrored the fusion of voices from different regions, resonating with the aspirations and ambitions of the nobles who sought to secure their positions within the Empire's intricate web of power.

Within this tapestry of noble interactions, Duke Zayne observed the ebb and flow of introductions and formalities. Each encounter held the potential to forge new alliances, strengthen existing bonds, or unravel unspoken rivalries. The atmosphere crackled with a sense of anticipation and opportunity as nobles navigated the delicate dance of social protocols, tactfully seeking opportunities for mutual gain.

Zayne marveled at the intricate network of relationships being woven before his eyes. From the grandest Dukes to the aspiring Viscounts, nobles from all ranks and backgrounds sought to align their interests with those of others, finding common ground amidst the mosaic of ambitions and aspirations. It was an intricate ballet of words, gestures, and exchanged pleasantries, each interaction a delicate step toward solidifying alliances and securing a stronger position within the Empire's power structure.

As the banquet progressed, Zayne couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pride and appreciation for the Empire he served. Its vast territories, stretching from the Eastern realms to the Western Islands and from the Southern lands to the Northwestern frontiers, were a testament to the Empire's might and reach. It was a living testament to King Aditya's visionary leadership and the unwavering dedication of the Empire's noble houses.

In this grand gathering of nobles, Zayne recognized the potential for greatness, the opportunity to shape the future of the Empire through collaboration and unity. He envisioned a tapestry of interconnected territories, each contributing to the prosperity and strength of the whole. The influx of nobles from newly conquered regions promised to add new colors to the fabric of the Empire, enriching its cultural tapestry and fostering a spirit of unity among its diverse inhabitants.

As the conversations swelled around him, Zayne couldn't help but be humbled by the significance of this moment. It was not merely a banquet, but a symbol of the Empire's might, its capacity to bring together nobles from far-reaching corners of the realm, all with a shared purpose of advancing the Empire's interests and securing their own place within its grand tapestry.

In this grand reception, as nobles engaged in animated conversations, exchanged pleasantries, and forged alliances, the Empire's presence loomed larger than ever. It was a testament to the power and ambition of the Istarin Empire, and within this gathering of noble minds, its destiny was being shaped, one conversation at a time.

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Chapter 404

"Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention. I am honored to announce the imminent arrival of His Grace, Duke Marvin Sarlus," the herald's solemn proclamation echoed through the grand reception hall. The assembled nobles instantly fell silent, their conversations fading into the background. All eyes turned toward the entrance, eagerly anticipating the appearance of the esteemed Duke. It was none other than Duke Marvin Sarlus, a figure whose power and influence surpassed even that of Duke Zayne.

Duke Sarlus held a prominent position in the political fabric of the Istarin Empire, standing as the third most powerful figure after the Emperor and the Royal Family. The mention of his impending arrival heightened the collective sense of anticipation, as everyone understood the significance of his presence.

Encountering Duke Sarlus was a rare privilege, reserved for only a fortunate few. Even securing an audience with him required careful planning and a week's notice, regardless of one's noble rank. The Sarlus Noble House enjoyed unparalleled respect throughout the empire, occupying a position of great honor.

For the lower-ranking nobles, simply catching a glimpse of Duke Sarlus was a remarkable blessing, an experience to be cherished. Witnessing his presence firsthand was a mark of distinction, affirming their own standing within the empire's intricate social structure.

As the grand doors swung open, Duke Marvin Sarlus entered the hall, a figure of awe-inspiring stature. Donning regal attire that befitted his exalted position, he exuded an air of commanding authority that demanded attention. Every movement he made carried weight, and his mere presence seemed to fill the room with an undeniable aura of power.

Silence descended upon the hall, as if the very air held its breath in deference to Duke Sarlus. The assembled nobles, captivated by his imposing presence, couldn't help but be overwhelmed with admiration and respect. The weight of his political influence resonated within their hearts, reminding them of the immense sway he held over the empire's affairs.

In that fleeting moment, the reception hall became a testament to the magnificence and grandeur of the Istarin Empire. It symbolized the convergence of noble power and influence, shaping the destiny of nations. Duke Sarlus stood as a central figure in this intricate web of politics, embodying the strength and noble heritage of the empire.

"Your Grace, it is an honor to be in your esteemed presence once again," Duke Zayne addressed Duke Marvin Sarlus with deep respect and warmth. Approaching with elegance, he offered an additional glass of wine, a gesture symbolizing camaraderie and honor.

Duke Marvin and Duke Zayne, being neighbors and ruling territories in close proximity to the capital, often crossed paths. Their encounters were not only expected but also anticipated.

Despite his youth and limited experience, Duke Zayne held profound admiration and reverence for Duke Sarlus. He fully recognized the vast disparity in their power, prestige, and political influence. Standing in Duke Marvin's presence was an unparalleled honor that demanded the utmost reverence.

Accepting the offered glass of wine with grace and humility, Duke Marvin conveyed his gratitude to Duke Zayne through a subtle nod. This simple act underscored the significant gap in authority between the two dukes, reaffirming Duke Marvin's superior position in the eyes of all present.

Duke Zayne couldn't help but feel a mixture of deference and admiration as he witnessed Duke Marvin's acceptance. Duke Marvin epitomized wisdom and distinction, an authority figure whose influence extended far beyond their shared region. His presence served as a guiding light, commanding respect from all who beheld him.

Duke Zayne never considered himself on the same level as Duke Marvin, understanding that no other noble in the empire could rival his power, prestige, and political influence. Duke Marvin's impact on the empire's affairs was profound and awe-inspiring, something beyond the comprehension of most.

As the two dukes engaged in conversation amidst the splendor of their surroundings, the attending nobles observed with curiosity and awe. They recognized the significance of this interaction, witnessing a display of mutual respect and deference between two figures at the pinnacle of noble authority.

The exchange between Duke Marvin Sarlus and Duke Zayne offered a glimpse into the intricate workings of the empire's noble hierarchy. It showcased the reverence commanded by Duke Marvin, emphasizing the weight of his authority and influence.

For the onlookers, this conversation provided a modest window into the inner workings of the empire's political landscape, where the interplay of noble personalities shaped the destiny of the nation. It served as a celebration of power, prestige, and influence within a noble society.

Duke Zayne playfully addressed Duke Marvin, "Your Grace, you're late. What transpired to delay your arrival?" Zayne knew that Marvin was usually punctual and wondered about the cause of his delay.

Duke Marvin, with a composed and regal demeanor, smiled understandingly at Duke Zayne. "I apologize for my tardiness, Your Grace. I had the honor of meeting with His Majesty. We had important discussions, and time seemed to pass quickly."

But the nobles who have been listening to their conversation now had a deeper understanding of Duke Marvin's power and influence. To be able to see the Emperor before such an important event, just shows how important Marvin was to this Empire.

There was another announcement made during Duke Zayne and Duke Marvin's discussion with other nobles during this period.

"Esteemed guests, I kindly request your undivided attention. It is with the utmost honor and reverence that I announce the imminent arrival of His Most Royal Majesty, the Emperor, accompanied by his esteemed Fiancés."

Immediately following the announcement, every nobleman in the room became extremely quiet. It was a pleasant surprise to see the nobles who were seated standing up in order to greet the Emperor. There was a pause in drinking amongst the nobles who were drinking. There was a lot of seriousness in the air. Since it had been quite some time since they had seen the Emperor last, this was their first opportunity to do so.

With the Crown of the Istarin Empire adorning his regal head, the Emperor made his entrance into the grand Banquet hall. His piercing blue eyes surveyed the vast expanse, taking in every detail with a calm and composed demeanor.

The Crimson Regalia, a true masterpiece of craftsmanship, captivated all who beheld it. Its exquisite design, intricately woven with the utmost artistry, reflected the empire's authority, prestige, and majestic splendor. The name "Crimson Regalia" resonated with the rich hue that cascaded across its every curve, evoking a sense of profound reverence for the Istarin Empire.

The crown's delicate filigree, meticulously fashioned from glistening gold, enveloped it in a lattice of breathtaking beauty. Each strand of precious metal seemed to possess a life of its own, intertwining flawlessly to create a harmonious pattern that exuded both strength and grace. As the golden framework glimmered in the ambient light, it cast a warm radiance, symbolizing the empire's enduring power and magnificence.

Nestled within this golden embrace, a resplendent tapestry of gemstones elevated the Crimson Regalia to unparalleled opulence. The deep crimson rubies, reminiscent of the empire's noble heritage, shimmered amidst a dazzling array of sparkling diamonds. These meticulously selected jewels, embodying the empire's resplendent future, caught the eye and imagination of all who beheld them. Their brilliance, rivaling the stars themselves, illuminated the crown and bestowed an ethereal glow upon the regal surroundings.

At the zenith of the crown, a majestic centerpiece emerged—a magnificent crimson starburst adorned with rare crimson fire opals. These fiery gemstones, vibrant and captivating, seemed to pulsate with an inner radiance, symbolizing the empire's unwavering power and vitality. The expertly cut and polished opals danced with an enchanting play of light, their flickering glow casting a spell over all fortunate enough to witness it.

When placed upon the Emperor's brow, the Crimson Regalia bore the weight of the empire's sovereignty. It embodied the enduring legacy of the Istarin Empire, an emblem of the ruler's authority and a testament to the empire's rich history and indomitable strength. Each facet and gemstone spoke of the empire's grandeur and the Emperor's noble lineage, elevating his presence to celestial heights.

Following in the Emperor's wake, his future wives graced the room with their ethereal beauty. Each one was a vision of captivating allure, their individual charms radiating like celestial beings descended from the heavens. As the doors swung open, it was as if the nobles present had been granted a divine glimpse of goddesses in human form. Their exquisite features, unique and incomparable, defied any attempt at comparison, for each possessed a beauty so extraordinary that choosing among them would be an impossible task.

The nobles in attendance were left in awe, their hearts quickened by the presence of such enchanting goddesses. Each of the Emperor's fiancés stood as a paragon of beauty, an embodiment of grace and allure. It was a privilege beyond measure to witness their ethereal presence, and the collective gaze of admiration and reverence followed their every step. In the presence of these celestial beauties, the grand Banquet hall transformed into a sanctuary of mesmerizing charm and the realization of a dream.

Gulp!

'The rumor of the monarch having a fiance is something that I have heard before, but I would never have guessed that he already had four fiancés to his name.'

'Why am I feeling jealous of the Emperor all of a sudden?'

'It is hard to believe that the Emperor has such beautiful women to be his fiances. In all my life, I have never been so jealous of anyone.'

'This Royal Banquet is now starting to feel more like the Emperor showing off his Fiances to everyone.'

All the nobles stood in stunned silence, their eyes fixated on the Emperor's enchanting fiancés. Words escaped them, for they were captivated by the ethereal beauty that graced their presence. Deep within the recesses of their hearts, a mixture of awe and envy swirled, for the nobles couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards the Emperor's incredible fortune.

In their noble circles, finding a companion of such extraordinary beauty was already a daunting task. The quest to discover a woman who possessed both inner and outer radiance seemed like an unattainable dream. Yet, here they stood, witnessing not one, but multiple embodiments of perfection. The nobles' hearts resonated with a mixture of admiration and yearning, their desires echoing through the recesses of their souls.

As they gazed upon the Emperor's fiancés, envy flickered within their hearts like a smoldering ember. It was only natural for the nobles to long for the unparalleled beauty that graced the room. A sense of longing mingled with their jealousy, as they realized that the Emperor possessed what seemed like an unattainable treasure—the companionship of goddess-like beings, each uniquely beautiful in her own right.

The nobles couldn't help but be consumed by conflicting emotions. On one hand, they marveled at the Emperor's remarkable fortune, his ability to secure the affections of these extraordinary women. On the other hand, they were reminded of their own limitations and the harsh reality of their quest for love and companionship. In their hearts, a mixture of admiration, envy, and a tinge of resignation blended together, shaping their emotions like the intricate threads of a tapestry.

The room was enveloped in an electric atmosphere, charged with unspoken desires and suppressed envy. As the nobles struggled to conceal their emotions behind masks of composure, their gazes remained transfixed upon the Emperor's fiancés. Each movement, each glance, and each subtle gesture captivated their attention, intensifying the throbbing ache within their hearts.

In the presence of such unattainable beauty, the nobles felt a profound sense of their own inadequacy. They couldn't help but question their worth and desirability, comparing themselves to the Emperor and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that stood between them and such breathtaking companionship. Though they tried to silence the voice of envy, it echoed through the chambers of their hearts, a reminder of the unfulfilled desires that simmered beneath their noble exteriors.

Unspoken words hung heavy in the air, as the nobles remained transfixed, their thoughts consumed by a mixture of awe, envy, and admiration. Their silence spoke volumes, reflecting the depths of their emotions and the complexities of their desires. In their hearts, the nobles grappled with the truth—that finding beauty as resplendent as that which stood before them was an elusive dream, a yearning that might forever remain unfulfilled.

In the grand Banquet hall, a symphony of emotions played out, each note tinged with the bittersweet melody of unattainable beauty. It was a tableau that spoke to the depths of human longing, reminding the nobles that even amidst the pinnacle of power and privilege, the pursuit of love and beauty remained a journey fraught with uncertainty and unfulfilled dreams.

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Chapter 405

The noble guests were arranged in two symmetrical groups on either side of the grand hall, divided by a long, scarlet carpet that stretched toward the Emperor's resplendent throne. With a regal and measured pace, the Emperor, accompanied by his four captivating future wives, began their procession toward the elevated seat of power.

Among the mesmerized onlookers stood Viscount Edward Ashford, his gaze fixed upon the ethereal beauty of the Emperor's fiancés. Entranced by their enchanting presence, he seemed to drift into a daze, losing himself in their radiant allure. The subtle shift in his demeanor did not go unnoticed by his observant wife, who felt a pang of annoyance and jealousy.

Pinch!

Reacting swiftly, she employed a subtle yet effective strategy to reclaim her husband's attention. A discreet pinch to his waist jolted Viscount Edward Ashford back to reality, his dazed expression replaced by an awkward smile as he redirected his focus to the Emperor and his entourage. He understood the consequences of succumbing to such distractions, particularly in the presence of his ever-watchful and competitive spouse.

Meanwhile, similar scenarios unfolded among other noble couples in the hall. The wives, unable to escape the comparison to the Emperor's future wives, grappled with feelings of inadequacy. Despite their own considerable beauty, intellect, and accomplishments, they couldn't help but feel diminished in the presence of these otherworldly figures. Each noblewoman, renowned for her grace and elegance, found herself plagued by a lingering sense of inferiority that tainted the otherwise joyous occasion.

In the midst of the opulent banquet, Duke Marvin observed the unfolding drama with a mix of satisfaction and curiosity. Having been informed of Julia's exceptional prowess in alchemy, he remained unaware of the identities of the other three extraordinary women chosen by the Emperor. However, his extensive experience in courtly affairs led him to believe that these women, too, possessed exceptional qualities.

As Duke Marvin contemplated the scene before him, a sense of relief washed over him. For years, he had been plagued by concerns over the dwindling Royal Family since the passing of King Ahmed's wife. The empire had teetered on the edge of uncertainty, its future hanging in the balance. But now, with the Emperor's decision to take four fiances, Duke Marvin found solace in the realization that the Royal Family was once again expanding.

The prospect of a larger and more robust Royal Family alleviated Duke Marvin's worries. With four potential successors to the throne, the future of the empire seemed secure. The once-fading dynasty could now flourish and ensure the continued prosperity and stability of the land.

The grand banquet hall buzzed with envious whispers and flickers of hope. The noblewomen, though momentarily disheartened by their own perceived inadequacies, found solace in the knowledge that they were integral to the empire's tapestry. They possessed their own unique strengths and contributions, essential to the success and prosperity of the realm.

Duke Marvin, the astute observer, recognized the complex interplay of emotions unfolding within the hall. Envy and admiration were juxtaposed with insecurity and hope. In the wake of these tumultuous sentiments, the noblewomen and their husbands pledged their unwavering support to the Emperor and his chosen ones, determined to rise above their own insecurities and play their part in shaping the empire's destiny.

As the procession continued down the carpeted path, the radiant presence of the Emperor and his future wives symbolized not only their individual beauty and allure but also the promise of a brighter future for the entire empire.

With measured steps, the Emperor came to a halt before the majestic throne, an aura of regal power emanating from his presence. Rather than ascending the grand staircase leading to the ornate seat of authority, he turned to face the assembly of nobles that had gathered before him, his gaze sweeping across the expanse of the grand hall.

In that pivotal moment, a collective reverence coursed through the noble ranks, prompting them to offer their heartfelt greetings to the Emperor. The male nobles, their countenances radiating dignity and poise, bowed with unwavering precision, their bodies inclining deeply in a profound display of deference. Each motion carried an air of grace, as if choreographed with meticulous care, symbolizing their unwavering submission to the Emperor's supreme authority.

In contrast, the female nobles, resplendent in their resplendent gowns adorned with exquisite jewels, executed elegant curtsies before the Emperor. Their movements were fluid and poised, reminiscent of blooming flowers gently swaying in the breeze. As they gracefully lowered themselves, their eyes averted in a respectful gesture, their curtsies epitomized a profound sense of admiration and reverence, an acknowledgement of the Emperor's elevated status and their unwavering devotion to their sovereign.

In unison, their voices resonated with a melodious harmony as they proclaimed in a formal and reverent tone, "Greetings to Your Majesty." The words, uttered with utmost respect and humility, reverberated through the hall, carrying the collective sentiment of loyalty and allegiance that the noble assembly held for their Emperor.

As the male nobles gradually rose from their bows and the female nobles gracefully straightened from their curtsies, an atmosphere suffused with reverence and loyalty enveloped the surroundings. The nobles comprehended their place within the intricate tapestry of the empire's hierarchy and embraced the profound solemnity inherent in their interactions with the Emperor. These rituals of deference were not mere formalities, but a profound expression of their unyielding loyalty and unwavering commitment to the imperial throne.

Emerging from the shadows with an air of unassuming elegance, Watson, dressed impeccably in a distinguished butler uniform, approached the Emperor's side. In his hands, he carried a delicate crystal goblet, brimming with a rich, ruby-hued wine, as if it were a vessel containing the essence of opulence itself.

With a graceful bow, Watson extended the glass toward Emperor Aditya, his movements executed with the precision and finesse befitting a ceremony of utmost importance. The Emperor, attuned to the subtle cues of his surroundings, accepted the offering, his gaze acknowledging Watson's impeccable service.

Raising the glass to his lips, Aditya took a small, measured sip, savoring the velvety notes that danced upon his palate. A momentary pause ensued, as if time itself had paused to witness the Emperor's actions. And then, with deliberate grace, he slowly elevated the wine-filled chalice, an action that instantly drew the attention of every noble present.

The grand hall fell into a hushed reverence, the rustle of elegant garments and the soft murmur of conversations fading into the background. All eyes fixated upon the Emperor, their gazes reflecting a mixture of awe and curiosity. The simple act of raising a glass had transformed into a symbol, an unspoken proclamation that something of great significance was about to transpire.

In that moment, the atmosphere hung suspended, as if the very air held its breath in anticipation. The noble assembly, their hearts aflutter with anticipation, awaited the words that would follow this momentous gesture. For in the realm of nobility, where every action carried profound meaning, the Emperor's every movement had the power to shape destinies and stir the currents of intrigue.

With his glass poised in the air, Emperor Aditya cast his gaze over the sea of noble faces, his eyes reflecting a blend of authority and warmth. A subtle smile curved his lips, an enigmatic expression that hinted at the weight of his words.

And as silence enveloped the hall, he spoke, his voice resonating with a commanding yet gentle timbre, carrying his intentions to every corner of the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed nobles of the realm,

Today, as we gather in this grand banquet, I stand before you humbled and honored to address this esteemed assembly. It is on this auspicious occasion that we not only celebrate the prosperity of our great empire but also reaffirm our collective commitment to its enduring legacy.

In the presence of such distinguished company, I am reminded of the remarkable achievements we have accomplished together, forging a path of unity, progress, and prosperity. It is through your unwavering loyalty, dedication, and tireless efforts that we have reached new heights as a nation.

Tonight, as we partake in this feast, let us also reflect upon the challenges we have faced and overcome. Our empire has weathered storms of adversity, emerging stronger and more resolute with each trial. It is a testament to our resilience, our ability to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity, that we stand here today, united and unyielding.

Yet, as we revel in the glories of our past, we must not be complacent. The responsibilities that come with our privileged positions demand that we continually strive for progress and improvement. We must embrace innovation, nurture talent, and foster an environment where every citizen has the opportunity to flourish and contribute to the betterment of our empire.

Furthermore, let us remember that our power and influence carry with them a sacred duty—a duty to protect and uplift those who are less fortunate, to ensure justice and equality prevail in every corner of our land. We must extend a helping hand to the downtrodden, provide solace to the afflicted, and empower the marginalized. It is through our collective compassion and benevolence that we can forge a society built on fairness, inclusivity, and compassion.

Tonight, as we feast and revel in the company of our fellow nobles, let us embrace the spirit of camaraderie and unity that binds us together. Let this grand banquet serve as a symbol of our shared purpose, our unwavering commitment to the prosperity and well-being of our empire and its people.

I express my gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering support, for your tireless dedication to our empire's cause. Together, let us continue to nurture a future where greatness thrives, where harmony prevails, and where our empire stands as a beacon of hope and inspiration to all.

May our bonds grow stronger, our ambitions soar higher, and our achievements shine brighter. Long live our empire!

Raise your glasses, noble friends, as we toast to a glorious future filled with prosperity, unity, and the enduring spirit of our great empire!"

"?on? ??ve o?r ?m??re!" resounded throughout the grand hall as the Emperor's commanding voice reverberated among the gathered nobles. It was a resolute declaration, a rallying cry that echoed with unwavering loyalty and unwavering devotion.

In perfect unison, the nobles, their crystal-clear glasses glimmering in the warm glow of candlelight, raised them high in a gesture of profound reverence. As the Emperor's words lingered in the air, a palpable sense of unity and purpose enveloped the grand banquet, binding the hearts and souls of those present.

Their glasses, filled with the finest elixir of celebration, seemed to shimmer with the collective hopes and aspirations of an empire united. Each noble, from the seasoned veterans of courtly affairs to the rising stars of the aristocracy, held their glass with the utmost respect, knowing that this shared moment was a testament to their unwavering allegiance to the throne.

And then, as if propelled by an invisible force, the nobles spoke as one, their voices harmonizing in a chorus of devotion. "Long live our empire!" Their words reverberated with fervor, the weight of history and the promise of a glorious future intertwined.

At that moment, the grand hall seemed to come alive with renewed energy, the air crackling with anticipation. The words they spoke carried the weight of generations past, the echoes of triumphs and trials, and the unwavering spirit of the empire. It was a powerful affirmation, a shared commitment to the preservation and prosperity of their beloved land.

As the echoes of their resounding declaration subsided, the nobles lowered their glasses with a sense of reverence and contentment. The bond between sovereign and subjects had been strengthened, the unbreakable thread of loyalty woven ever tighter.

In this grand banquet, amidst the flickering candlelight and the opulence of the surroundings, the nobles reaffirmed their unyielding support for the empire and its revered leader. Their glasses, now empty but imbued with the collective spirit of their oath, stood as symbols of their commitment—a commitment to honor, protect, and uphold the legacy of their great empire.

As the Emperor gazed upon his loyal subjects, a smile graced his noble countenance. The resounding chorus of "?on? ??ve o?r ?m??re!" had solidified the unity that would carry them forward, illuminating the path to a future filled with boundless possibilities.

With hearts aflame and spirits alight, the nobles stood united, ready to face the challenges ahead and carve a destiny worthy of their illustrious heritage. For in this moment, as their voices merged and their glasses touched, the indomitable spirit of their empire burned brighter than ever before.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 406

"Today, esteemed guests, I am honored to make a momentous announcement," the Emperor declared, his voice resonating throughout the grand hall. The gathered nobles, caught off guard by the unexpected revelation, couldn't contain their excitement. The notion of the Emperor having not one, but four fiances, had been shrouded in utmost secrecy, known only to a select few who resided within the Dragon Palace or the revered Old Palace nestled at the heart of Azure City.

"With great pleasure, I shall introduce my first fiance, a lady of unparalleled beauty and noble lineage, Princess Julia Onard of the esteemed Onard Noble House," the Emperor proclaimed, his words enveloping the room. The reaction was palpable, evident in the widened eyes and stunned expressions of the nobles, their disbelief laid bare for all to see.

Whispers rippled through the assembly, for the mention of the name Julia Onard carried great weight. She was no ordinary lady, but rather the illustrious Goddess of Alchemy, renowned throughout the continent for her ethereal allure and unmatched mastery of the alchemical arts. The Onard household had long been the gathering place for those in dire need of alchemical remedies, with people queuing for hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of the goddess herself and beseech her aid.

Now, the revelation that the Emperor had captured the heart of this revered deity sent shockwaves through the room. The nobles were acutely aware that the goddess's beauty surpassed any mortal comparison, while her alchemical prowess far outshone even the most brilliant minds in the field. Julia's mere presence commanded the desires of men across the continent, her hand in marriage a symbol of ultimate achievement, the pinnacle of their dreams.

Yet, here stood their Emperor, a living embodiment of their aspirations, having achieved what others only dared fantasize about. The nobles marveled at his extraordinary fortune, recognizing the rarity and significance of this union.

In the wake of this astonishing revelation, the nobles' astonishment mingled with admiration, their thoughts racing to comprehend the implications of this momentous occasion. Conversations buzzed with a newfound fervor, as whispers and murmurs filled the air, echoing the shared sentiment of awe and admiration for their Emperor's remarkable accomplishment. The atmosphere crackled with anticipation, as everyone eagerly awaited the introduction of the remaining fiances, fully aware that the revelation to come would be nothing short of extraordinary.

'At this point, what am I even doing with my life and what is the point of it all?'

'It's over. There is no turning back now. It's official.'

'The Emperor, indeed, stands as a man of unparalleled fortune, for the celestial forces have conspired to bestow upon him an enviable fate, one that elicits admiration and marvel from all who bear witness to the extraordinary tapestry of his existence.'

While some noble instantly felt depressed hearing this. Some on the other hand just accepted this fact. After all, Aditya was the best man Julia could ever find. Aditya took the Istarin Empire from a 2nd-tier Kingdom to a 5-tier Empire. In less than a year, he managed to expand the Empire in every direction. The current Empire had territories in all four regions of the Continent. The Emperor was also very handsome looking and also the most powerful 5th-order cultivator on the Planet. He was also the King of all Dragons. He is the Dragon Monarch. He ruled over all Dragons. No King Emperor or Man on this continent can compare to Aditya.

Just like how all noblemen dreamed of marrying one of the goddesses and saw it as their peak ultimate dream, many noblewomen dreamed of becoming Aditya's Wife and the Empress of the Istarin Empire. Becoming Aditya's wife would mean that they would enjoy endless wealth, power, status, respect, and everything that a noble could ever wish for in their lives.

As the news of the Emperor's engagement spread among the gathered nobles, a mix of emotions swept through the crowd. Some felt a sense of disappointment, realizing their own unattainable dreams, while others gracefully accepted the reality before them. They understood that Aditya, a remarkable man in every sense, was the perfect match for Julia, the renowned Goddess of Alchemy.

Aditya, driven by ambition and wisdom, had overseen a remarkable transformation of the Istarin Empire. In a short span of time, he had elevated the empire from a second-tier kingdom to a prominent five-tier power. His bold vision knew no limits, as he skillfully expanded the empire's territories in all directions, firmly establishing their presence across the vast continent. These remarkable achievements showcased his strategic brilliance and earned him widespread admiration.

However, Aditya's greatness surpassed mere political prowess and territorial conquests. His strikingly handsome appearance possessed an otherworldly charm that enchanted all who beheld him. With his well-defined features and an undeniable air of majesty, he embodied the epitome of irresistible attractiveness, captivating the admiration and fascination of people of all genders.

However, it wasn't just his good looks that made him respected and admired, but also his immense power. Aditya was incredibly strong, standing at the top of martial skill as a fifth-order cultivator—a rare achievement attained only by the most exceptional practitioners. But his influence didn't end there, as he also held the prestigious title of the Dragon Monarch, commanding all dragons with an authority that surpassed any king, emperor, or person on the entire continent. His unmatched strength inspired awe and reverence, solidifying his reputation as an unstoppable force.

Amidst the grandeur of the royal banquet, a symphony of hushed conversations enveloped the noblewomen, their voices laden with a blend of admiration and yearning. As they gathered in intimate clusters, their eyes flickered with a mixture of awe and envy, their hearts alight with a fervent desire to be chosen as Aditya's esteemed consort, the illustrious Empress of the revered Istarin Empire. To be bestowed with such an extraordinary honor would unfurl a path paved with opulence, influence, and the veneration of society—a realm where they could luxuriate in the embrace of untold riches, wield the scepter of authority, and revel in the adulation that naturally accompanies an exalted position.

"I cannot help but imagine the splendors that would befall the chosen one," murmured Lady Isabella, her eyes shimmering with a mixture of wonder and longing. "To be draped in silks spun from the finest threads, adorned with jewels that rival the stars themselves—such a life would be nothing short of a fairytale dream."

Her companion, Lady Victoria, leaned in closer, her voice filled with a whisper of anticipation. "And imagine the power that would be at her fingertips. With a mere gesture, the mightiest of nobles would bend to her will, and her voice would resonate through the corridors of the empire, shaping the course of history itself."

As their words intertwined with the air, Lady Amelia, a young and starry-eyed noblewoman, interjected with a sigh. "Oh, to be the one to capture the Emperor's heart, to become the center of his world. It would be the pinnacle of fulfillment, the realization of all our dreams within the realm of nobility."

Nods of agreement rippled through the small gathering, each lady harboring her own aspirations, her own secret fantasies of ascending to such heights. Their gazes lingered on Aditya, a figure of irresistible charisma and unparalleled might, as they envisioned themselves as the fortunate recipient of his affection and devotion.

In these whispered conversations, the noblewomen discovered solace and companionship, united in their shared yearning for a life intertwined with the extraordinary destiny that awaited the chosen one. For within the depths of their hearts, they knew that becoming Aditya's cherished partner would grant them a coveted place in the annals of history, forever etching their names among the luminaries of noble society.

In the midst of emotions and whispered longings, the royal banquet buzzed with a blend of admiration, jealousy, and silent acceptance. The impact of this announcement weighed heavily on the hearts of those gathered, reshaping their dreams and reshuffling the threads of their ambitions.

Previously, Aditya had been deeply afraid of revealing his engagement to the esteemed goddess of Alchemy. He dreaded the potential backlash from her devoted followers and fervent admirers, knowing that his life could be in grave danger if his connection to her was exposed. However, as time went on and Aditya ascended to unprecedented levels of power and influence, his once-prevailing fears dissolved, replaced by an unwavering confidence. He had reached a pinnacle of invulnerability where the concerns of anyone, from this continent or the farthest reaches of the other five continents, held no sway over him.

With an imposing presence befitting his status as an emperor, Aditya addressed the gathered assembly, his voice brimming with authority, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to introduce my second fiancée, the esteemed Princess of the Ethereal Empire, Alicia Osburn. She is revered as the goddess of Wealth." His words resonated through the grand hall, stirring a collective reaction among the assembled nobles. Some struggled to maintain their composure, their legs feeling unsteady beneath them, while others felt as though they had stumbled upon a bewitching illusion. A profound disbelief gripped their hearts, almost compelling them to exclaim in astonishment. However, they wisely suppressed their urge, fully aware of the dire consequences that awaited anyone who dared disrupt the solemnity of the moment.

Indeed, to raise one's voice in defiance before the Emperor, the embodiment of power and sovereignty, would be the epitome of foolishness. Such audacity would surely incur the wrath of Aditya, a force of nature capable of reducing the defiant to nothingness. Thus, faced with this overwhelming revelation, the assembled nobles opted for silence, understanding that preserving their own well-being was the wisest course of action.

As Aditya's words hung in the air, a deep silence enveloped the gathered nobility, broken only by soft gasps and murmurs that escaped the stunned onlookers. Emotions surged within their hearts, revealing their vulnerability.

Lady Evelyn, once filled with joy, now showed her shock by clasping her hand to her chest, her eyes widening in disbelief. "The goddess of Wealth? How is this possible?" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with a mix of surprise and envy.

Lord Henry, known for his wit and sharp tongue, struggled to find words, his face contorting with a blend of resentment and sadness. "To think she, the epitome of wealth, will rise to such heights with Aditya," he muttered under his breath, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice.

Lady Charlotte, her delicate features now touched by a veil of sadness, lowered her gaze, burdened by unfulfilled desires. "Oh, how I wished it were me," she whispered, her voice tinged with sorrow and envy.

Similar sentiments filled the room, as the nobles wrestled with their unrequited longings. Some attempted to conceal their disappointment behind forced smiles and feigned congratulations, while others sought solace in whispered conversations that betrayed their hidden sorrows.

"Do you see how fate can be cruel?" Lady Evelyn confided in her confidante, her voice tinged with desolation. "To think Alicia, blessed with wealth and beauty, has won Aditya's heart. It feels like the gods conspired against us."

Lady Charlotte, barely audible, confided in a trusted companion, her eyes clouded by a mix of sadness and envy. "I had hoped my own charms would capture Aditya's attention. Alas, my dreams were in vain. Witnessing Alicia, the goddess of Wealth, ascend to such heights, is a bitter pill to swallow."

And so, the noble figures, once full of dreams and aspirations, found themselves shrouded in melancholy. Their hearts grappled with the reality that Aditya's affections were now bestowed upon Alicia Osburn, the goddess of Wealth. Though they tried to hide their disappointment, the shadows of jealousy and unfulfilled desires danced behind their somber gazes, quietly echoing the unspoken whispers of longing that resonated within their noble souls.

Before tomorrow ends, I really hope we can reach the 600 golden tickets mark. For each 100 golden tickets one chapter of 2000+ words by tomorrow itself.

This is day before yesterday's pending chapter. I will try to upload two chapters for yesterday as well. Yesterday I was too tired to write. And it was Eid.

On that Occasion I would also like to wish all the Muslim readers

???? ??b?r?? (??? ???? ??? br?n? ?o? ble???n?? ?n? ?????ne??)?

Chapter 407

As whispers of Aditya's double engagement spread among the noble attendees, envy, jealousy, and sadness swept through their midst like a tempest. Conversations, laden with veiled emotions, echoed through the halls as nobles grappled with their unspoken desires.

Lady Margaret, her voice tinged with a mix of envy and resignation, confided in a close friend, "Can you believe it? His Majesty now has two goddesses as his fiancées. It seems his blessings know no bounds." She sighed, her gaze drifting towards Aditya and his ethereal companions.

Her friend, Lady Beatrice, nodded in agreement, her expression clouded with a hint of sadness. "Indeed, it is a remarkable feat. To be chosen by Aditya is an honor beyond measure. Yet, it fills my heart with a twinge of jealousy."

A group of noblemen huddled together, their faces betraying a mix of envy and disbelief. One of them, Lord William, voiced his fears, "His Majesty already has two goddesses as his fiancées. I am starting to fear that his third fiancée might also turn out to be a goddess. I hope that's not true."

Lord Thomas, his eyes widening with concern, replied, "I share your worries, my friend. If that were to be the case, it would be too much for our mortal hearts to bear. We would surely succumb to a heart attack."

In another corner of the room, Lady Isabella, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, engaged in a conversation with her sister. "To think that two goddesses have captured Aditya's heart," she whispered, her voice filled with longing. "I had hoped it could have been me. Alas, my dreams shall remain unfulfilled."

Her sister, Lady Amelia, reached out to comfort her, her own voice filled with empathy. "Oh, dear sister, it is a bitter pill to swallow. But remember, there is still beauty and love to be found in our own lives. We must find solace in the joys that are within our grasp."

As the conversations continued, a tapestry of envy, jealousy, and sadness unfolded among the noble figures. Their longing for the affections of Aditya, now shared with two goddesses, permeated the air, a bittersweet melody of unrequited desires. In the midst of their emotions, they clung to the hope that the Emperor's announcement would not result in yet another divine match, fearing the overwhelming strain it would place upon their fragile hearts.

With bated breath, the assembled nobility awaited the next revelation from their esteemed Emperor. Anticipation hung heavy in the air, mingling with a sense of trepidation and restless whispers. And then, in a resounding moment, Aditya's voice thundered through the hall, "I would like to introduce my third fiancée to everyone here. She is the revered Princess of The Celestial Terrain, Riya Tombrook, and she holds the divine mantle of the Goddess of Nature."

?oom!!!

??n?!!!

As the words reverberated, echoing through the hearts and minds of those in attendance, a collective gasp escaped the lips of the noblemen. The realization dawned upon them like a bolt of lightning, their deepest fears manifesting into reality. The Emperor, their beloved Aditya, had not one, not two, but three goddesses as his future wives. It was an unprecedented revelation that shattered the boundaries of their wildest dreams, leaving them in a state of disbelief.

The impact of the announcement was palpable, as some noblemen, overwhelmed by the weight of the revelation, teetered on the edge of collapse. In that critical moment, their partners swiftly moved to their aid, steadying them and averting the potential embarrassment of a public fall. The partners' quick thinking and support served as a shield, protecting their loved ones from further distress.

Meanwhile, a sense of incredulity and astonishment permeated the room, as nobles exchanged hushed conversations, their words laced with a mixture of awe and unease.

"Three goddesses... It's beyond comprehension," murmured Lord Arthur to his trusted advisor, his voice tinged with a blend of disbelief and admiration. "To think that His Majesty possesses such divine favor. It is a testament to his unparalleled greatness."

Lady Victoria, her eyes wide with astonishment, turned to her companion, Lady Catherine, and whispered, "The Emperor's affections know no bounds. He holds the hearts of three goddesses. It is a testament to his extraordinary charm and power."

The revelation had sent shockwaves through the noble assembly, leaving them grappling with a reality that exceeded their most extravagant fantasies. The sheer magnitude of Aditya's fortune was overwhelming, testing the limits of their comprehension. And yet, amidst the tumultuous mix of emotions, the noblemen found solace in the support of their partners, who stood by their sides, providing the much-needed stability and reassurance in the face of this astounding truth.

Lord Edmund: "Have you heard the latest revelation, Lord Harrington? The Emperor's third fiancée is none other than the Princess of the Celestial Terrain!"

Lord Harrington: "By the heavens! I can scarcely believe it, Lord Edmund. The pieces are falling into place now. It explains why The Celestial Terrain cautioned the outside of the Dying Isle Continent's members of the Oracle Alliance not to interfere in this war."

Lord Edmund: "Indeed, my dear friend. It all makes sense now. The Princess of the Celestial Terrain's engagement to our Emperor holds greater significance than we could have ever imagined."

Amidst the splendor of the Grand Banquet, a symphony of hushed whispers permeated the air, weaving through the opulent hall. Conversations swirled like clandestine currents, fueled by bitter emotions of envy and resentment. The prevailing sentiment among the noble attendees was that this grand occasion had transformed into a stage for the Emperor to flaunt his trio of radiant fiances. The nobles, once immersed in the spirit of the festivities, now found themselves consumed by a bitter cocktail of jealousy and discontent.

As they clutched their ornate goblets, the liquid within seemed to lose its luster, leaving an insipid taste upon their tongues. Each sip served as a poignant reminder of their own unfulfilled desires and the stark contrast between their own lives and the seemingly charmed existence of the Emperor and his illustrious consorts. The once-favored delicacies on their plates became mere decorations, lacking the power to appease their troubled hearts.

The whispers multiplied, as if amplifying the collective bitterness that pervaded the banquet hall. Concealed behind false smiles and cordial exchanges, nobles found solace in hushed conversations, seeking solace in the company of like-minded souls who shared their sentiments of longing and discontent.

"This grand display of his fiances has turned this banquet into a spectacle," Lady Rosalind confided in a trusted confidante, her voice dripping with a mix of bitterness and resentment. "It seems the Emperor is more focused on showcasing his romantic conquests than on the celebration itself."

Lord Percival, his gaze fixed upon the Emperor and his entourage, muttered under his breath, his words laced with envy. "It is as if we are mere spectators in a theatrical production, forced to witness the Emperor's opulence and bask in the glory of his enchanting companions. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

Lady Amelia, her eyes filled with a mixture of longing and disillusionment, confided in a sympathetic friend, her voice barely above a whisper. "Oh, how I yearn for love as splendid as the Emperor's. To witness the joy he shares with his fiances, it leaves my heart heavy with envy and a sense of longing unfulfilled."

And so, the Grand Banquet, intended as a celebration of opulence and camaraderie, became an arena of concealed bitterness and simmering jealousy. The nobles, their spirits soured by the prominence of the Emperor's fiances, found themselves trapped within an unyielding current of discontent, where even the finest delicacies and most exquisite libations failed to offer solace to their troubled souls.

The collective hopes of the noble attendees clung to a single thread of expectation, praying fervently that the Emperor's last fiance would not be revealed as yet another goddess. The mere thought of such a revelation was enough to push them to the brink of their endurance, with some even contemplating the possibility of fainting right then and there.

"And lastly," Aditya's voice resonated through the hall, capturing the undivided attention of the assembled nobility, "allow me to present my fourth fiance, the esteemed Princess of the Great Starry Sky, Lara Murphy." A palpable sense of relief washed over the attendees as they realized that this time, the Emperor's choice did not involve the divine. Yet, their curiosity remained piqued by the mention of an empire unknown to their collective knowledge.

Whispers flitted among the noble figures, their gazes filled with intrigue and a yearning for understanding. Conversations, veiled by a facade of formality, sought to decipher the origins of the Great Starry Sky Empire and its enigmatic princess.

"The absence of yet another goddess brings solace to my weary heart," Lord Archibald confided to a fellow nobleman, his voice carrying an undertone of relief. "One can only endure so much astonishment in a single evening."

Lady Beatrice, her eyes alight with curiosity, turned to her companion and inquired, her voice laced with restrained eagerness, "Have you ever heard of this Great Starry Sky Empire before? Its existence, though fleeting, seems to captivate the Emperor's attention."

Her companion, Lord Reginald, nodded in acknowledgment, a thoughtful expression gracing his features. "Indeed, my lady, the mention of such an empire raises questions of its history and significance. It seems we are witnessing a glimpse into a forgotten era, one that beckons us to unravel its mysteries."

Aditya, attuned to the inquisitive gazes and lingering curiosity, adorned his countenance with a warm smile. "For those of you who harbor curiosity about the Great Starry Sky Empire, I shall elucidate its origin. Long ago, on the Beast continent, this empire stood resolute, though it exists no longer in the present day." His words hung in the air, beckoning the assembled nobles to embark on a journey of forgotten lore and to quench their thirst for knowledge.

Thus, the noble figures, momentarily relieved by the absence of another divine fiance, found their attention redirected toward the enigma of the Great Starry Sky Empire. Their conversations, bound by the decorum befitting the occasion, revealed a collective intrigue and an eagerness to delve into the depths of a bygone era, embracing the allure of forgotten history.

With the formal introductions concluded, Aditya's resonant voice filled the hall, commanding the attention of all in attendance. "Now that I have presented my esteemed fiances, let us proceed without further delay and commence this splendid event." As his words hung in the air, Watson, ever the attentive aide, swiftly retrieved a round table and an array of chairs, arranging them meticulously for the Emperor and his four fiances to take their seats.

Aditya, the epitome of regal grace, guided his fiances to their designated positions, a visual display of their shared bond. As they settled into their seats, the nobles in attendance followed suit, each finding their place at their respective round tables.

Careful consideration had been given to the seating arrangements, reflecting the status and rank of each noble family. The positioning of the round tables was a testament to the hierarchy that governed their noble society. The tables nearest to Aditya's distinguished gathering were designated for Duke Zayne and Duke Marvin, both esteemed figures who held the highest ranks within the Empire.

Whispers of respect and admiration permeated the room as the nobles took their seats, their postures reflecting the grandeur of the occasion. Each noble family occupied their designated round table, the placement a tangible symbol of their standing within the Empire's aristocracy.

As the banquet unfolded, a magnificent feast of epic proportions came to life, orchestrated by the skilled hands of countless maids. With seamless precision, they presented a plethora of delectable dishes, each a culinary masterpiece hailing from various corners of the Continent. The tables, adorned with a cornucopia of gastronomic delights, became a tapestry of diverse flavors, celebrating the rich cultural tapestry of the realm.

Aditya's esteemed butler, Watson, impeccably oversaw every detail, ensuring that the presentation and arrangement of the food were nothing short of perfection. His meticulousness brought forth a symphony of colors and textures, enticing the senses and kindling the appetites of the assembled nobles.

The spread before them was a sight to behold, a visual feast that mirrored the opulence of the occasion. From savory delicacies that teased the palate to luscious desserts that promised sweet indulgence, the fare presented on the tables was a testament to the culinary expertise and craftsmanship of the Empire's finest chefs.

Amidst this culinary extravaganza, the air was filled with melodic strains as a group of talented singers took the stage, their voices soaring with enchanting melodies. Their harmonies danced through the hall, captivating the hearts of the nobles, who indulged in the sumptuous feast while being serenaded by the angelic voices.

A noble, caught in the mesmerizing ambiance, couldn't help but express his admiration for both the singers and the tantalizing fare. Turning to his companion, he remarked with genuine appreciation, "Truly, these singers possess a remarkable talent. Their voices transport us to realms of beauty and emotion. And the food! Oh, the food is a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds. Watson has outdone himself, curating a culinary experience that surpasses even our loftiest expectations."

His companion nodded in agreement, savoring a bite of the exquisitely prepared dish before responding, "Indeed, every morsel is a revelation, a testament to the Empire's rich culinary heritage. And the singers, their voices evoke such deep emotions. This grand banquet is a true celebration of the senses."

The noble leaned back in his chair, a contented smile gracing his lips, as he continued to relish the extraordinary culinary offerings and immerse himself in the enchanting melodies, fully embracing the magnificence of the occasion.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

And this is the last chapter for today. I hope you guys are enjoying this arc. The next arc will be even more amazing. I have been planning that arc for a long time.

Chapter 408

This chapter is specially dedicated to reader Zeko323 for gifting this novel with a Magic Castle. Thank you reader Zeko323.

While immersed in the enchanting melodies sung by the group of singers, the noble attendees reveled in the delectable feast laid out before them, accompanied by their partners.

In the midst of this vibrant atmosphere, Aditya couldn't resist the urge to inquire, "Watson, why do you remain standing? Please, join us at the table." Julia, echoing his sentiment, added, "Indeed, Watson, we insist that you partake in this meal with us." The other ladies also nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with a sincere invitation.

"Milady, I express my gratitude for your kind offer to dine together, but I must humbly decline," Watson responded with a polite bow. "I have already consumed a meal prior to the commencement of this event. Therefore, I implore you to relish your repast without any concern for my well-being." Julia acknowledged his response with a nod and redirected her attention back to her plate, focusing on the enjoyment of her own meal.

Aditya had hoped to introduce Leo and Clara as his adoptive siblings during this grand banquet. However, this illustrious affair was exclusively designed for couples, requiring even the unattached noblemen and noblewomen to bring a partner. Thus, the introduction of his cherished siblings would have to wait for another occasion, a more suitable setting.

As Aditya delved into the succulent fare, dipping a crispy piece of fried chicken into a savory sauce, Alicia playfully posed a question that momentarily caught him off guard. "Your Majesty, amongst us, who do you deem the most resplendent?" Her words lingered in the air, imbued with both curiosity and a hint of mischief.

Aditya, pausing mid-bite, turned his gaze towards Alicia, a subtle flutter of nerves concealed within him. How was he to navigate such a delicate inquiry? The four women surrounding him possessed an unparalleled beauty, three of them embodying goddess-like grace, while the remaining one radiated elegance on par with her celestial counterparts.

Moreover, even if he were to select one, he would inevitably dishearten the remaining three, for even an Emperor of the Istarin Empire must tread carefully, mindful of the potential consequences that his words might carry.

"I... um..." Aditya's mind raced to find an answer that would please everyone without causing any offense.

"I genuinely believe that each one of you looks absolutely stunning," Aditya finally replied, opting for a diplomatic response. It wasn't a lie, as he truly admired the beauty of Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Lara. Their exquisite dresses only accentuated their allure.

"But you have to choose just one," Alicia teased, adding to the pressure. Aditya felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead, his nerves intensifying under the gaze of the girls.

"This is quite a predicament," Aditya thought, feeling the weight of the situation. He carefully considered his words, wanting to avoid any potential disappointment or jealousy.

"It's genuinely impossible for me to single out just one of you. Each of you possesses a unique beauty that captivates me," Aditya replied, hoping his response would diffuse the tension. With that, he redirected his attention to his meal, attempting to regain composure. The girls giggled, pleased by his response, and resumed their own enjoyment of the banquet.

"Your Majesty, you should try these," Riya suggested, gracefully skewering a grilled mushroom with her fork. It wasn't an ordinary mushroom but rather an Emberburst Mushroom she had personally collected from the forest the day before. Emberburst Mushrooms, with their fiery hues, emanated a gentle warmth. They were commonly consumed in cold regions to raise body temperature.

"What type of mushroom is this?" Aditya inquired, eyeing the grilled delicacy on his plate, curious about its origin.

"This is an Emberburst Mushroom. Taste it, and you'll understand," Riya replied, encouraging him. Aditya nodded and took a bite, savoring the mushroom's flavors as they unfolded in his mouth. The taste delighted him.

"Typically, this mushroom is eaten to warm the body. However, with your Crimson Dragon Bloodline, food with stored heat tastes exceptionally delightful to you," Riya explained, acknowledging Aditya's unique heritage.

"These are for you. I hand-picked them specifically," Riya offered with a smile, presenting Aditya with the remaining five grilled Emberburst Mushrooms. These mushrooms were typically found in warm areas or near volcanoes.

"Thank you," Aditya expressed his gratitude, his face lighting up as he examined the additional serving of grilled Emberburst Mushrooms on his plate. He was genuinely thrilled by the thoughtful gesture.

In the grand banquet hall, the nobles from the Southern, Eastern, and Western regions mingled, showcasing the rich cultural diversity that existed within the kingdom. As the night unfolded, it became evident that each region had its distinct culinary traditions and dietary preferences.

The nobles hailing from the Southern region were known for their vibrant and spicy cuisine. Their preferred dishes often featured a harmonious blend of flavors, with a strong emphasis on herbs and spices. In their region, it was common to find dishes infused with aromatic ingredients such as chili peppers, lemongrass, and coconut milk. The Southern nobles enjoyed delicacies like spicy curries, tangy sambals, and fragrant rice dishes. They relished the unique combination of spicy, sweet, and sour flavors that defined their culinary heritage.

On the other side of the banquet hall, the Eastern region nobles showcased their love for rice as a staple food. Rice, in various forms, dominated their culinary landscape. Their sophisticated techniques in cultivating and preparing rice led to an array of dishes that showcased its versatility. The nobles from the Eastern region preferred to eat rice with the help of delicate chopsticks, displaying their mastery of this artful dining practice. They indulged in flavorful stir-fried rice dishes, aromatic sushi rolls, and comforting rice porridge. The Eastern nobles celebrated the subtlety and harmony of flavors in their cuisine, valuing the art of balance and presentation.

In contrast, the Western region nobles had a more rustic and communal approach to dining. They embraced the concept of eating with their hands, believing it enhanced the connection between food and people. This region was known for its hearty, robust cuisine that focused on local produce and meats. The nobles of the Western region delighted in feasting on roasted meats, freshly baked bread, and savory pies. Their tables were adorned with platters of succulent grilled meats, accompanied by an assortment of seasonal vegetables and artisanal cheeses. The act of tearing bread and savoring the flavors directly with their hands symbolized a sense of togetherness and appreciation for the simple pleasures of life.

As the nobles engaged in conversation and shared their culinary experiences, it became evident that the diets of each region were distinct, reflecting their unique cultural backgrounds. The banquet hall transformed into a melting pot of flavors, as the Southern, Eastern, and Western region nobles savored the diverse gastronomic offerings. It was a celebration of the kingdom's cultural tapestry, reminding everyone present of the richness and beauty found in their shared diversity.

As the Royal Banquet stretched on for over an hour, the conversations and laughter filled the grand Banquet Hall. The air was alive with the exchange of ideas, pleasantries, and the clinking of glasses. The nobles from all corners of the kingdom reveled in the opportunity to connect with one another and foster new alliances.

As the night drew to a close, Aditya, accompanied by Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Lara, stood at the center of the hall. The murmurs gradually subsided, signaling the attention of the gathered nobles. Aditya's voice resonated through the room as he delivered a brief closing speech, expressing his gratitude for their presence and the joyous occasion they had shared.

With his fiances by his side, Aditya led the way towards the exit, their steps accompanied by the soft rustle of regal attire. However, the banquet hall remained abuzz with activity, as the nobles, their appetite for connection whetted, began approaching one another to engage in further conversations.

Viscount Aaron approached Viscountess Catherine with a warm smile. "Catherine, it's been too long since we last spoke. How has your family been faring?"

Catherine returned the smile, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "Aaron, it's a pleasure to see you again. My family has been well, thank you. We've recently expanded our vineyards and the grape harvest promises to be bountiful this year. And what about your estates? Any exciting developments?"

Aaron's face lit up as he shared his latest endeavors. "Ah, Catherine, you won't believe it! I've been investing in a new initiative to revitalize our region's silk production. The silkworm farms have been thriving, and we're expecting a remarkable silk harvest. Our artisans are already envisioning exquisite designs for the upcoming season."

Their conversation continued, both Viscounts exchanging tales of their respective regions and discussing potential collaborations. Nearby, Viscountess Amelia engaged in a lively discussion with Viscount Marcus about the advancement of agricultural practices in his lands.

Amelia leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Marcus, I've heard rumors of your innovative irrigation techniques. Tell me more about it. I believe it could greatly benefit my estates as well."

Marcus nodded, his face reflecting pride in his accomplishments. "Amelia, we've implemented a sophisticated network of canals and water distribution systems to maximize crop yield and minimize water wastage. It's been a transformative endeavor, and the harvests have been nothing short of remarkable. I'd be more than happy to share the details with you."

As the afternoon wore on, the noble circle became a symphony of conversations, ideas, and aspirations. The hall buzzed with the energy of connections being formed, friendships being forged, and alliances taking shape. It was a testament to the enduring spirit of camaraderie and collaboration that defined the noble society.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by most, Duke Marvin and Duke Zayne quietly slipped away, their departure swift and inconspicuous. Their reasons for leaving early remained unknown, leaving the rest of the nobles to continue their mingling and establish new bonds, united by the shared vision of a prosperous kingdom.

The grand Banquet Hall, once resounding with the melodies of celebration, now echoed with the fervor of new friendships and alliances being forged. The nobles relished this opportunity to transcend social boundaries and strengthen the fabric of their society, knowing that together they could shape a future as grand as the banquet they had just concluded.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Aditya found solace in the familiarity of his Dragon Palace after the grand banquet. Eager to shed the confines of his royal attire, he began unfastening the buttons, grateful to be free from the discomfort. Formal clothing had never been his preference, as he favored loose and lightweight garments that allowed for unrestricted movement.

Amidst the privacy of their sanctuary, the girls embraced their true selves, shedding the formalities they had maintained in the presence of the nobles. Alicia, in particular, appeared at ease, having honed her ability to navigate diverse social encounters as a seasoned businesswoman. Unlike Aditya, who felt mentally drained from the evening's affairs, Alicia seemed unaffected, her composure intact.

Peeling away the delicate veil that concealed her angelic countenance, the goddess cast her gaze upon Aditya's bare upper body, her eyes momentarily captivated by his form.

Turning to face her, Aditya responded with a playful smirk, reveling in the attention. "Feel free to admire this physique to your heart's content."

With a haughty snort, the goddess averted her gaze. "Who would want to gaze upon your unsightly figure?" Yet, her words belied her actions, for it was she who had been surreptitiously studying his physique, stealing glances that lingered longer than necessary.

The air between them crackled with a mixture of teasing banter and unspoken tension, a testament to the complex dynamics that existed within their group. They navigated the realm of playfulness and attraction with an unspoken understanding, each harboring feelings that danced beneath the surface.

In the Dragon Palace's intimate surroundings, the burden of formality dissolved, allowing for genuine interactions and unabashed moments of vulnerability. It was within these walls that their true selves were revealed, free from the constraints imposed by society's expectations.

With the royal banquet behind them, Aditya and his fiances could finally find respite in the comfort of their own skin, embracing their quirks, desires, and the unspoken connections that intertwined their destinies.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 409

In the evening,

Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, relished the freedom of shedding his formal attire and slipping into his preferred casual clothing. Unlike the stiff and elaborate regalia he wore during official functions, his casual ensemble exuded a sense of comfort and ease.

Dressed in loose-fitting garments that allowed for unrestricted movement, Aditya's choice of attire reflected his desire for both practicality and relaxation. He donned a pair of soft, flowing pants crafted from lightweight fabric, providing ample room for his legs to move freely. The pants, adorned with intricate patterns and vibrant hues, added a touch of personality to his ensemble.

On his upper body, Aditya favored loose, airy shirts made from breathable materials. These shirts, often adorned with subtle embroidery or decorative elements, were carefully selected to provide maximum comfort without compromising style. They draped effortlessly over his frame, allowing him to move with ease and grace.

To complete his casual look, Aditya preferred to wear a pair of comfortable sandals or slip-on shoes, ensuring his feet experienced the same freedom as the rest of his body. These footwear choices emphasized his desire for practicality while still maintaining a touch of elegance.

Aditya's casual attire exuded a sense of relaxed sophistication. His clothing allowed him to move effortlessly, unrestricted by the confines of formalism, while still reflecting his regal status. By embracing comfortable and loose-fitting garments, he found a balance between expressing his personal style and enjoying the comfort that such attire provided.

It was a rare and cherished occasion for Aditya, surrounded by his four beloved fiancées, to find solace and simply unwind, unburdened by the weight of their responsibilities and worries. In this precious moment, they relished the present without dwelling on the past or the future, allowing themselves to bask in the tranquil embrace of a peaceful evening. Clasping their warm cups of tea, they sipped slowly, savoring the soothing herbal flavors that Watson had thoughtfully prepared for them.

As Julia raised the cup to her lips and took a delicate sip, a sigh of relief escaped her. Lately, she had been consumed by concern, her thoughts consumed by the quest to find a cure for her ailing younger sister, Lara. The task at hand proved to be far more arduous than she had initially imagined, requiring relentless research whenever she managed to steal a moment of respite. Julia's heart ached with the fervent desire to grant Lara a chance to embrace a life free from suffering, and her determination knew no bounds.

Caught in a moment of contemplation, Aditya, leaning comfortably against the sturdy tree trunk, gently caressed Lara's head as she slumbered peacefully on his lap. Her illness demanded frequent rest, and after the grand banquet, exhaustion weighed heavily upon her, pulling her into the blissful embrace of sleep.

Curiosity flickered in Aditya's eyes as he directed his question to Julia, seeking a glimpse into the thoughts that swirled within her mind. "What occupies your thoughts, my love?" he inquired, his voice tender and filled with genuine concern.

Julia, her gaze fixed on Aditya, offered a soft smile, her mind momentarily untethered from the burdens of the world. "I am not entangled in any specific thoughts," she replied, her words laced with tranquility. "In this fleeting moment, I find solace in simply existing, embracing the serenity that surrounds us."

Seated in a gentle semicircle around Aditya, the three remaining fiancées formed a delicate tableau. Julia, positioned at the center, faced Aditya directly, while Riya and Alicia occupied their respective places on her right and left, completing the circle of affection and devotion.

Alicia's mind briefly wandered, silently acknowledging the capable individuals she had entrusted with her responsibilities during her absence. Yesterday, she had forsaken her duties to spend the entire day at Aditya's side, and today had been consumed by the preparations for the grand banquet since the early hours of the morning. Surprisingly, a rare sensation had stirred within her—the inclination to detach herself from her usual workaholic tendencies. The novelty of this newfound desire to simply revel in the company of her cherished sisters and the man they all loved washed over her. On this tranquil evening, Alicia yearned to immerse herself fully in the passing hours, embracing the bliss of togetherness.

In the gentle embrace of nature's grandeur, they remained a tableau of affection and peace, cherishing each other's presence as the sun began its slow descent, casting a golden glow upon their tranquil sanctuary.

With a gentle sigh, Riya nestled her head against Aditya's left shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed in tranquil surrender. The rhythmic cadence of his heartbeat, a comforting lullaby, washed over her, infusing her spirit with an undeniable sense of ease. As the embodiment of nature's divine grace, Riya found herself unburdened by the weight of worries, basking in the vast expanse of free time that unfolded before her like a serene meadow. It was a luxury she cherished, offering her the freedom to explore the boundless wonders of the world around her.

Yet, amidst the tranquil tapestry of her existence, there remained a sole concern that tugged at Riya's thoughts—an incessant source of annoyance that tempered her untroubled serenity. It was her mother, a persistent presence in her life, ceaselessly urging her return to the familial abode. Though Riya revered the maternal bond and held a deep love for her mother, the constant nagging proved to be a persistent thorn in her side, disrupting the harmony she sought in her tranquil sojourns.

But in this fleeting moment, as Riya allowed herself to be enveloped by Aditya's presence, all thoughts of her mother's persistent entreaties faded into the background. The gentle rhythm of his heartbeat formed a melodic backdrop, eclipsing the persistent demands that threatened to fray the edges of her peace. Here, in the sanctuary of their embrace, Riya found solace, savoring the respite from the incessant pull of familial obligations.

In the gentle reprieve of this evening, Riya surrendered herself fully to the tranquil symphony of nature, lulled by the harmonious melodies that intertwined with the whispered caresses of the breeze. As her body relaxed against Aditya's steady frame, a serene smile graced her lips, painting a portrait of contentment. In this ephemeral embrace, the weight of the world seemed to dissolve, leaving only the ethereal connection between two souls, entwined in a tapestry of love and peace.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow upon the tranquil garden where Aditya, Alicia, and Julia had gathered for a leisurely conversation. They found themselves seated under the grand oak tree, its sprawling branches providing a canopy of shade. With the strains of melodious birdsong in the background and the gentle rustling of leaves, the setting was perfect for a lighthearted exchange.

Aditya, ever the jovial soul, leaned back on the grass with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Alright, ladies, it's time for some serious discussions," he declared, earning a quizzical look from Alicia and an amused smile from Julia.

"Oh, and what topic shall we tackle today, Your Majesty?" Alicia teased, raising an eyebrow in playful anticipation.

Aditya stroked his chin dramatically, as if contemplating the gravest matter in the realm. "Today, my esteemed colleagues, we shall delve into the enigmatic world of...socks!" he announced with mock seriousness.

"Socks?" Julia burst into laughter, her melodious giggle echoing through the garden. "Aditya, are you seriously going to discuss socks?"

"Why not?" he chuckled. "Socks are the unsung heroes of our wardrobes! They keep our feet cozy and protected, tirelessly supporting us as we conquer the day."

Alicia couldn't help but join in the laughter. "I never thought I'd see the day when socks became a topic of royal discussion."

"Oh, but my dear Alicia," Aditya replied with a grin, "you underestimate the gravity of this matter. Socks have the power to make or break a day! Picture this: you're all dressed up, ready to seize the day's challenges, and then, horror strikes—you realize you're wearing mismatched socks!"

Julia playfully gasped, a hand covering her mouth in mock astonishment. "The horror indeed!"

Aditya nodded solemnly. "Indeed, a catastrophe of unparalleled proportions! But fear not, for I have devised a solution!"

Alicia leaned forward, intrigued. "Pray tell, Your Majesty, what is this ingenious solution?"

With a flourish, Aditya revealed a basket filled with an assortment of brightly colored socks. "The Royal Sock Library!" he proclaimed, unable to contain his laughter any longer.

Alicia and Julia erupted into peals of laughter, charmed by Aditya's infectious humor. They playfully reached into the basket, examining the socks as if they were the most precious treasures in the kingdom.

"And how does the Royal Sock Library work?" Alicia inquired, playing along with the jest.

"Why, whenever you find yourself with mismatched socks," Aditya explained with mock seriousness, "you simply visit the Royal Sock Library and find the perfect pair to restore harmony to your ensemble!"

The three of them dissolved into laughter, reveling in the simple joy of each other's company and the delightful banter that bound them together. In this enchanting moment, beneath the embracing branches of the oak tree, time seemed to stand still, and the world's worries melted away in the warmth of their laughter. For in the heart of friendship and laughter, life's burdens became lighter, and the soul found solace in the company of kindred spirits.

As the sun gradually dipped below the horizon, casting vibrant hues of orange and pink across the sky, Aditya, Alicia, Julia, and Riya found themselves engrossed in a lively conversation under the comforting shade of the grand oak tree. Their laughter filled the air, blending harmoniously with the rustling leaves and the distant chirping of birds.

Aditya, the charismatic center of their little gathering, effortlessly included Riya in their banter. With his magnetic personality and infectious sense of humor, he had a way of making everyone feel at ease and welcomed into the circle of mirth. The group shared funny anecdotes, exchanged jokes, and regaled one another with amusing stories that tickled their collective funny bones.

They laughed until their eyes crinkled and their stomachs ached, each joyful sound echoing through the tranquil garden. Aditya, in particular, took delight in weaving hilarious tales, his expressive gestures and animated expressions adding an extra layer of hilarity to his words. His fiances, Alicia, Julia, and Riya, hung onto his every word, their laughter intertwining in a symphony of joy.

As the sky transitioned from brilliant oranges to dusky purples, the fading light reluctantly signaled the end of their lighthearted gathering. Reluctantly, they rose from their comfortable spots beneath the oak tree, their spirits still soaring from the camaraderie they had shared. Everyone made their way back to their respective rooms, their hearts light and their souls nourished by the bonds they had forged.

However, the day was not yet over for Aditya. As he stepped into his private chambers, a glimmer of excitement sparkled in his eyes. It was during these precious moments of solitude that his creativity truly flourished. With a renewed vigor coursing through his veins, he approached his work desk, adorned with scrolls, quills, and fragments of unfinished artifacts.

Tonight, Aditya's attention was captivated by a new artifact-making project that had been brewing in his mind. His hands moved with purpose and precision as he meticulously sketched the design, allowing his imagination to guide the strokes of his quill.

Time seemed to lose its grip as Aditya delved deeper into his work. He carefully selected materials, blending vibrant gemstones with delicate metals. His focus was unwavering, his passion igniting with every stroke of his tools.

The soft glow of candlelight danced upon the contours of his face, casting intricate shadows that mirrored the intricate patterns he was etching into the artifact. The night embraced him, cocooning him in its velvety embrace, as he poured his heart and soul into the creation before him.

Chapter 410

Hours melded into moments, and Aditya found himself immersed in a realm where time ceased to exist. The walls of his chamber whispered stories of the devotion and dedication that he put into creating this artifact.

Aditya was working on making a Crescent-shaped pendant for himself. Aditya's mysterious crescent-shaped pendant, infused with ancient enchantments, radiated an aura of otherworldly power. The runic inscriptions embedded within the artifact bestowed it with four unique enchantments, each designed to aid Aditya without veering into the realm of overpowering abilities.

The pendant has been made from Draconium. Draconium was a metal forged from the scales or bones of dragons, known for its heat resistance and affinity for fire-based enchantments. Aditya found this metal when he destroyed the Dragon Slayer guild. This metal was perfect for the Twilight Embrace.

After hours of hard work, he was finally done. He held the Twilight Embrace in his hands and stared at its description.

?Name - Twilight Embrace?

?Rank Peak 4-star Pendant (????)?

?Description - The Twilight Embrace

History - In the Empire of Eldoria, there exists a legendary pendant known as the Twilight Embrace. This exquisite artifact was crafted centuries ago by the renowned elven artisan, Elysia Starweaver, who was renowned for her mastery of enchantments and intricate jewelry.

The pendant was originally created as a symbol of harmony and balance, representing the delicate equilibrium between light and darkness in the world. Elysia poured her heart and soul into the pendant, infusing it with the essence of twilight itself, a shimmering blend of dusk and dawn.

For many years, the Twilight Embrace remained a cherished heirloom, passed down through generations of the Starweaver family. It became a symbol of wisdom, protection, and unity among the elven people. Stories were told of its ability to enhance one's magical abilities and provide guidance in times of uncertainty.

However, as time wore on, a great conflict erupted in Eldoria, plunging the land into chaos. During the chaos, the Twilight Embrace was caught in the crossfire of a fierce battle between rival factions. The pendant suffered severe damage, its delicate enchantments shattered and its once-glowing gemstone cracked.

Though the exact age of the Twilight Embrace is uncertain, it is believed to be over a thousand years old, with the damage inflicted upon it occurring several centuries ago. The pendant now carries the scars of its past, a testament to the trials and tribulations faced by the elven people.

Despite its damaged state, the Twilight Embrace still retains a glimmer of its former power. Legends whisper that those who carry the pendant can still tap into its residual magic, though its abilities are diminished compared to its original form.

Today, the Twilight Embrace is a relic of history, a symbol of resilience and the enduring spirit of the elven lineage. It is carefully preserved within the Starweaver family vault, a reminder of the sacrifices made and the strength found in the face of adversity. The elven elders ensure that the pendant's story is passed down, keeping alive the memory of Elysia Starweaver and the legacy of the Twilight Embrace for generations to come.?

?Function 1 - «Emberstorm» - Emberstorm is an enchantment that harnesses the elemental power of fire to create a swirling vortex of fiery embers. When activated, the enchantment forms a visible aura of dancing flames around the wielder or the object it is imbued upon. Emberstorm is a captivating enchantment that combines both offensive and defensive aspects, harnessing the fierce power of fire to create a mesmerizing display of swirling embers. It grants the wielder a versatile tool for combat, as well as a deterrent against adversaries who would dare to approach the blazing inferno it creates.

- ?Offensive Capabilities?: Emberstorm provides potent offensive capabilities. The swirling embers can be launched as projectiles toward enemies, striking them with searing heat and causing burn damage upon impact. The intensity and velocity of the projectiles can be controlled by the wielder, allowing for precise and targeted attacks.

- ?Defensive Shield?: The swirling vortex of embers also functions as a defensive shield, providing protection against incoming attacks. The flames act as a barrier, deflecting or neutralizing projectiles, and absorbing the energy of magical spells or elemental attacks. It offers a temporary layer of defense, buying the wielder time to plan their next move.

- ?Area Denial?: The Emberstorm enchantment creates a danger zone around the wielder, making it difficult for enemies to approach. The intense heat emitted by the swirling embers acts as a deterrent, forcing foes to keep their distance. Stepping into the range of the Emberstorm can result in immediate burns or ignite flammable objects in the vicinity.

- ?Duration and Activation?: The Emberstorm enchantment typically has a limited duration, as it requires a significant amount of Mana to sustain the swirling vortex of embers. It can be activated by a command word, gesture, or a specific trigger.

- ?Enhanced Fire Manipulation?: Emberstorm grants the wielder increased control over fire-related abilities. It amplifies existing fire-based spells or allows the wielder to manipulate flames with greater precision and finesse. This additional fire manipulation can further enhance the offensive and defensive capabilities of the wielder.?

As Aditya perused the description of the artifact, he couldn't help but feel that it might not hold much utility for him personally. After all, he possessed the ability to achieve similar effects using his Crimson Flames. However, he pondered the potential advantages it could offer to a Mage with a strong affinity for fire on the battlefield.

The thought of a Mage with exceptional fire skills immediately brought Alicia to Aditya's mind. She was a Fire Mage through and through, specializing in unleashing devastating Fire-type attacks. It seemed fitting to bestow this artifact upon her, as it aligned perfectly with her talents. Aditya had crafted the artifact with the primary purpose of exploring the possibilities of the Draconium metal he had acquired from the Dragon Slayer guild.

Just as Aditya wrapped up his work, Julia, clad in her comfortable pajamas, approached him from behind. While he had been engrossed in his tasks, she had been pampering herself with a relaxing full-body massage courtesy of her personal maids.

With a gentle smile, Aditya replied, "Yes, I'm finished." He stood up, stretching his limbs and glanced appreciatively at Julia. She looked absolutely stunning in her delicate pajamas, the fabric softly draping over her alluring curves. His gaze lingered, igniting a subtle warmth within him.

Julia, being the caring and considerate wife that she was, suggested, "Before retiring for the night, you should take a quick shower." Her words conveyed her affectionate concern.

However, before Julia could fully register what was happening, Aditya had enveloped her in his arms. "No need to shower just yet," he murmured mischievously, "since we're going to do that anyway. We can enjoy a shower together afterward." His words caused a gentle blush to grace Julia's cheeks, a telltale sign of her delight.

"Pervert," Julia playfully admonished him in a hushed tone, relishing the subtle spark of excitement his words ignited within her. Deep down, she cherished those intimate moments they shared and eagerly looked forward to each and every one of them.

Guiding her back to the comfort of their bedroom, the Emperor playfully tossed Julia onto the plush bed. The night held the promise of endless possibilities for the young couple. With an insatiable appetite, they engaged in their passionate endeavors, their bodies intertwining for a remarkable three and a half hours without pausing. Aditya, being a Dragon, possessed a stamina seemingly boundless when it came to such activities. Once ignited, his desires burned fiercely, making it challenging for him to find contentment. Though he would never utter the words aloud, Julia alone couldn't fully satisfy his appetite. Often, after hours of intimacy, his beloved wife would grow weary, seeking solace in his comforting embrace as slumber claimed her. In those moments, Aditya would dutifully tend to their needs, cleansing their bodies and refreshing the bedsheets and pillows. The palace servants had grown accustomed to the routine of laundering the linens almost every single day, well aware of the fervent love shared between their Emperor and Empress.

Gazing at Julia's serene countenance, Aditya's lips curled into a wistful smile. Lately, this particular predicament had become increasingly vexing. Sleep eluded him unless he could find a way to alleviate his current state of arousal. "Even being a Dragon comes with its drawbacks," he mused, his thoughts filled with both amusement and frustration. Seeking solace in the cool night air, he made his way to the balcony, yearning to find respite and tranquility.

After approximately ten minutes had passed, a semblance of calm washed over him. Donning a freshly laundered set of comfortable pajamas, Aditya swiftly teleported to Alicia's bedroom. The Goddess of Fire slumbered peacefully, her features radiating serenity. Unable to resist the urge, Aditya leaned in and pressed a tender kiss upon her forehead, an affectionate gesture that spoke volumes of his fondness for her. Placing the Twilight Embrace delicately on the nearby tea table, he left a note beside it, bearing the words, "This is a gift. Keep it close always."

He omitted his name from the message, as it seemed unnecessary. Alicia, being the sharp and perceptive soul she was, would instantly recognize the source of this precious offering. Within the vast expanse of the Dragon Palace, there existed only one individual capable of traversing its corridors with seamless teleportation, and that person was none other than Aditya himself. Furthermore, he alone possessed the extraordinary skill of crafting such exquisite artifacts, rendering his identity unmistakable.

Chapter 411

As the night fell upon them, Captain Amber and her army, belonging to the 5th Division, halted their journey in a city called Serenesta. It had been two days since the Istarin Empire and its allies gathered to engage in a crucial meeting with the Oracle Alliance. The purpose of the meeting was to negotiate a peace treaty and discuss the compensations that the surrendering party would be required to provide to the Istarin Empire and its allies, now known as The Triumvirate Alliance.

The outcome of the meeting took an unexpected turn, leading to the demise of the Echo Nexus Emperor and several other emperors from The Oracle Alliance. Ultimately, a decision was reached to divide the territories of the Echo Nexus Empire, the Queenstown Empire, the Uzacan Empire, the Methia Empire, the Qeyesha Empire, and the Mystic Spring Empire among the three allied powers.

Within a span of two hours, aided by artists, cartographers, and the presence of the three allies, a new map of the Northwestern region was meticulously crafted. The Methia Empire and its territories were assigned to the Hephaestus Kingdom, while the Echo Dominion Empire claimed the Qeyesha Empire and the Mystic Spring Empire as its own. The Echo Nexus Empire was partitioned into three sections, with the Echo Dominion Empire taking control of two eastern parts. The Queenstown Empire, the Uzacan Empire, Obi Island, and the western coastal territories of the Echo Nexus Empire were rightfully handed over to the Istarin Empire, officially becoming part of their dominion.

Naturally, not everyone was content with this arrangement. After all, the members of the Oracle Alliance had already surrendered and attended the meeting in good faith to discuss a peace treaty. The news of their emperors' deaths during the gathering gave rise to suspicion among the people of the Echo Nexus Empire, the Queenstown Empire, the Uzacan Empire, the Methia Empire, the Qeyesha Empire, and the Mystic Spring Empire. They began to believe that The Triumvirate Alliance had orchestrated the demise of their rulers as a deliberate act, eliminating them under the guise of a peace treaty.

Of course, Lucas's account of transforming into a monstrous hybrid and single-handedly slaying all the emperors was met with disbelief. Consequently, the families, nobles, and military personnel of the aforementioned empires chose to rise against the Triumvirate Alliance, rebelling in defiance. The nobles joined the rebellion to safeguard their current political influence and territorial possessions, while the military fought to preserve its authority, recognizing that it would lose its power under the new empire's rule. As for the Royal Family, they were determined not to forfeit their esteemed status, wealth, authority, and the glory associated with their lineage. However, there were also those who comprehended the futility of opposing the Triumvirate Alliance and decided to seize whatever they could and escape from the Northwestern region, seeking refuge on another continent.

After the completion of the new map, multiple copies were disseminated to the general public and the military. At that time, the Istarin Empire boasted a considerable force of over 2,000,000 troops spread throughout the Northwestern region. The Emperor promptly dispatched the updated map to his generals and issued them a commanding order: proceed to their newly assigned territories and establish firm control. In the face of any resistance or rebellion encountered, Aditya, with an unwavering and chilling resolve, commanded his generals to eliminate anyone who dared oppose or challenge the might of the Istarin Empire.

In accordance with the Emperor's directives, General Amber led her troops towards the west. Their ultimate destination lay in the Western Coastal region, formerly part of the Echo Nexus Empire but now under the dominion of the Istarin Empire.

Of course, the journey was no small undertaking; it stretched across vast distances. Commencing their march from the Glouto Mountain Range, they had to traverse the eastern reaches of the Northwestern region to reach its westernmost edge. With a formidable force of 500,000 soldiers under her command, Amber pushed forward with relentless determination, striving to cover as much ground as possible.

After an arduous and uninterrupted 48-hour journey, Amber and her troops finally arrived at the border of the Istarin Empire, which now encompassed the Western Coastal Region previously belonging to the Echo Nexus Empire.

Serenesta, a modest city situated along the newly formed border of the Istarin Empire, lay in close proximity to the Echo Dominion Empire's boundaries. As Amber's troops entered the city, they were met not with a hospitable atmosphere, but rather with a mixture of fear and anger reflected in the eyes of its inhabitants. Amber even suspected that if their numbers were in the thousands instead of hundreds of thousands, the townsfolk may have launched an assault. Given the city's limited size, Amber's forces had no choice but to establish encampments outside its limits.

Moreover, Serenesta was a petite city with a population of less than 100,000, encompassing several farming villages. Its primary exports revolved around rice and wheat crops.

In the quaint streets of Serenesta City, a sense of unease hung thick in the air as the news of the Istarin Empire's takeover spread like wildfire among the citizens. The people huddled together in small groups, whispering anxious thoughts to each other, their faces etched with worry and uncertainty.

Among the crowd, there was: Emma, a young and curious villager; Thomas, an elderly farmer with a heart of gold, and Sarah, a skeptical and outspoken shopkeeper.

Emma, tugging nervously at her shawl, turned to Thomas and asked, "Do you think the Istarin troops will be cruel to us, Thomas? Our previous Emperor always made us believe they were kind and caring."

Thomas, with a gentle smile, patted Emma's shoulder reassuringly. "Now, now, young one. We can't be too quick to judge. Let's hope they prove to be benevolent rulers."

Sarah, who had overheard their conversation, couldn't contain her skepticism. "Benevolent rulers? Ha! I highly doubt that! They come barging in, taking over our city, and expect us to believe they mean no harm?"

"But what if they misunderstand us, just like we misunderstand them?" Emma suggested, trying to see the situation from both perspectives.

"It's hard to believe anything good about them after what we've heard," Sarah retorted, crossing her arms.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the fear of the unknown clung to the hearts of Serenesta's inhabitants. The distant marching of the Istarin troops approaching the city sent shivers down their spines.

Just then, Captain Amber, leading the Istarin troops, rode into the city on her majestic steed. The people couldn't help but feel a mix of fear and resentment as they gazed at the imposing figures.

Emma whispered to Thomas, "Look, it's the Istarin troops. They seem so stern and formidable."

Thomas replied, "Appearances can be deceiving, young one. Let us hope they are here to bring stability and peace, not tyranny."

Captain Amber noticed the wary looks from the townsfolk and understood their apprehension. She dismounted her horse and approached a group of villagers with a warm smile.

"Good people of Serenesta, fear not. We do not seek to harm you. Our goal is to ensure peace and order in these lands," she announced with a soothing voice.

Sarah couldn't help but voice her concerns, "But what about our previous Emperor? He always told us that the Istarin Empire was cruel."

Amber nodded empathetically, understanding the impact of the former Emperor's manipulation. "I can understand your doubts, but let us prove through our actions that we are not what you've been led to believe."

As the Istarin troops settled outside Serenesta, they made an effort to interact with the citizens, helping with tasks and offering assistance. Slowly, the misconceptions began to dissipate, replaced by cautious optimism.

In time, through dialogue and understanding, the people of Serenesta City came to realize that not all they believed about the Istarin Empire was true. The city transformed from a place of fear and resentment to one of hope and cooperation, bridging the divide between them and their new rulers.

In the heart of Serenesta City, a sense of unease filled the air as news spread about the Istarin Empire taking control. Captain Amber, a strong and determined leader, understood the challenge ahead. She had learned that the previous Emperor, Lucas, had filled the minds of his people with false tales of kindness and care. Now, as the Istarin Empire stepped in, the citizens were displeased and mistakenly believed them to be cruel and unyielding.

Amber knew it would take time to change their perception. It would require the Istarin Empire to prove itself through actions, not just words. The weight of this task rested on her shoulders, and she was determined to show the people of Serenesta City that they were not what they had been led to believe.

While her troops rested, Amber engaged in conversations with the people, listening to their concerns and addressing them with empathy. She spoke in a calm and gentle manner, assuring them that the Istarin Empire sought not to harm but to bring peace and stability to their lives.

The journey to change minds would not be easy. It would take months, perhaps even years, of consistent actions and genuine care for the well-being of the people. Amber knew that deeds would speak louder than any propaganda spread by Lucas.

After a few grueling hours of engaging with the townsfolk, Captain Amber wearily returned to her tent. She felt the weight of exhaustion pressing upon her. Physically, she remained resilient, but mentally, the toll of the day had taken its toll. The interactions with the people of Serenesta City had left her drained and fatigued.

Amidst her weariness, Amber discovered a disheartening truth. The City Lord, entrusted with the governance of this city, had fled, leaving behind a wake of chaos and despair. Greedily, he absconded with all the wealth he could carry, leaving behind an empty palace and a populace stricken with panic. To make matters worse, even the soldiers who were stationed to protect the city had abandoned their posts, leaving the once-thriving Serenesta City vulnerable and defenseless.

A heavy sigh escaped Amber's lips as she contemplated the gravity of the situation. It was far more chaotic and disordered than she had initially anticipated. If the same lamentable scenario were to unfold in every new city they encountered, it would undoubtedly become a colossal headache for the empire.

Determined to convey the severity of the matter to Emperor Aditya, Amber resolved to compose a detailed letter, laying out the dire circumstances that had befallen Serenesta City. She understood the importance of keeping the Emperor well-informed, particularly in light of the challenges that lay ahead. With a heavy heart, she recognized that the current force of 2,000,000 troops might prove insufficient in the face of such widespread disorder. The situation necessitated a reinforcement of their military presence.

Amber retrieved a pen and parchment, her mind focused on articulating the urgency of the matter. She meticulously described the events that had transpired, emphasizing the City Lord's treacherous abandonment and the subsequent disarray that had engulfed the city. She stressed the need for additional troops to restore order, protect the innocent, and reclaim the trust that had been shattered.

With each stroke of the pen, Amber poured her concerns onto the page, ensuring every detail was expressed with clarity and conviction. She knew the weight her words carried and their potential impact on the course of action that the empire would take.

As the ink dried on the paper, Amber sealed the letter, resolving to dispatch it with haste. She understood the urgency of the situation and the crucial role that Emperor Aditya would play in resolving the mounting crisis.

The challenges that lay ahead were daunting, but Amber's determination remained unyielding. She knew that the empire needed to act swiftly and decisively. The fate of not only Serenesta City but also the success of their entire mission rested on their ability to rally the necessary support and resources.

With a resolute mindset, Amber prepared to send her missive, hopeful that the gravity of the situation would be realized and that the empire would provide the reinforcements needed to restore order and stability to the beleaguered city and its inhabitants.

Chapter 412

Amidst the dimly lit interior of her tent, Captain Amber found herself immersed in the task of changing her clothes. The canvas walls offered a semblance of privacy, shielding her from prying eyes. Ella, her trusted vice-captain, entered the tent without hesitation, her presence greeted with ease and familiarity. Having shared countless battles and hardships together, their camaraderie transcended the need for formality.

"Milady, I have prepared your dinner," Ella announced, her voice gentle yet filled with unwavering loyalty. She observed Amber, who stood amidst a sea of belongings strewn across the tent's floor, engaged in the act of changing. There was no hint of unease or embarrassment between them, as their shared experiences had long dissolved any sense of self-consciousness.

Amber paused her task, turning her attention towards Ella. The weariness in her eyes was unmistakable, mirroring the fatigue that had settled within her. She sighed, her voice laced with a tinge of resignation. "Ella, I am not in the mood to have dinner. Do we have any wine in stock?"

Ella offered a small, apologetic smile, understanding the solace that a glass of wine could provide. "Unfortunately, milady, there isn't any wine remaining in our supplies. However, if you wish, I can send someone to the nearby city to procure a bottle for you."

Amber nodded appreciatively, grateful for Ella's willingness to accommodate her request. The weight of responsibility that rested on her shoulders seemed to demand a reprieve, a momentary escape from the relentless burden that accompanied her role as captain. "Please do," she replied, her voice tinged with a note of yearning. "I could use a glass of wine tonight. It might help me find some respite in slumber."

As Ella departed to make the necessary arrangements, Amber found herself left alone in the tent. Her gaze wandered across the interior, taking in the details of her temporary sanctuary. The tent, spacious enough to accommodate her needs, was furnished modestly yet efficiently. A small writing desk occupied one corner, adorned with parchment, ink, and a quill—a constant reminder of her duty to communicate with the empire's highest authority. An intricately woven carpet covered the floor, providing a touch of comfort amidst the ruggedness of their surroundings. The flickering light of a lantern cast dancing shadows against the fabric walls, creating an ambiance that was both intimate and mysterious.

With her clothing changed into a simple white loose T-shirt, Amber sank onto the camp bed, its sturdy frame offering solace after a long day's journey. Her thoughts were consumed by the weight of her responsibilities, the uncertainties that loomed on the horizon. She had anticipated finding respite upon their arrival at this city, but her interactions with the townsfolk had only deepened her worries. The weight of her duties and the gravity of the situation weighed heavily upon her weary shoulders.

Amber's hopes rested on the letter she had composed and dispatched to Emperor Aditya, seeking his understanding and aid. She yearned for the Emperor's response, praying that it would bring forth the reinforcements and resources needed to quell the growing unrest. The fate of the city and the success of their mission depended on his swift action and unwavering support.

As she waited for Ella's return with the wine, Amber couldn't help but wonder about the future that awaited them. The challenges ahead seemed insurmountable, yet her resolve remained unyielding. She knew that her duty lay in leading her troops, restoring order, and bringing stability to this city and the lands under their control.

In the midst of these thoughts, Amber's mind wandered, anticipating the comforting embrace of the wine and

the respite it might provide. She hoped that the soothing effects of the drink would grant her a temporary escape from the burdens that plagued her, if only for a fleeting moment.

Moments later, Ella returned to the tent, a bottle of wine cradled carefully in her hands. However, it was not just the wine that captured Amber's attention. Nestled in a delicate bowl beside the bottle were two peculiar-looking fruits, their appearance foreign and intriguing.

Amber's gaze fixated on the unusual fruits, curiosity etching lines upon her brow. She extended a finger, pointing towards the bowl, and inquired, "What is that?"

Ella's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as she revealed her secret endeavor. "I took the liberty of sending someone to the Pink Lake in the Qeyesha Empire [now Echo Dominion Empire] to procure these fruits, milady." The mention of the Pink Lake stirred a distant memory within Amber, prompting a recollection of Ella speaking about these enigmatic fruits. They were renowned as "Whispering Blossoms," the mystical fruits that thrived exclusively in the vicinity of Pink Lake. Such fruits were a rarity, scarcely known to the inhabitants of the entire continent.

Amber's interest was piqued as Ella's words resonated in her mind. The allure of these magical fruits lay in their ability to grant the consumer a glimpse into their future soulmate through vivid dreams. The notion of discovering her destined partner ignited a flicker of excitement within Amber's heart, prompting her to lean closer and examine the fruits with newfound intrigue.

The Whispering Blossoms bore an ethereal beauty, their outer appearance akin to a delicate dance between hues of pink and purple. Their smooth skin held a subtle luminescence, casting a soft glow upon the tent's interior. A floral aroma wafted from them, carrying a fragrance that was both intoxicating and inviting. Each fruit was petite, fitting snugly within the palm of one's hand, and adorned with intricate patterns resembling constellations, as if the secrets of the universe were etched upon their surface.

Amber's anticipation grew, her mind abuzz with wonder and anticipation. She couldn't resist the temptation to partake in the enchantment these fruits promised. With a nod of consent, she motioned for Ella to proceed, eager to experience the mysterious journey that awaited her within the realm of dreams.

Amber's astonishment at Ella's secret endeavor lingered in the air, mingling with a tinge of regret. She had anticipated a journey to the Pink Lake together, a plan that had been regrettably discarded due to their ceaseless commitments and responsibilities. Yet, a mischievous glimmer danced in Ella's eyes as she addressed Amber's inquiry, offering a playful smile.

"Milady, I yearned to surprise you," Ella confessed, her voice laced with a touch of mirth. "Without further delay, let us savor these fruits. I shall partake in one as well."

The weight of curiosity and anticipation hung in the air, their presence almost palpable. Amber's fingers delicately selected one of the magical fruits from the bowl, its mere presence whispering promises of destiny and revelation. However, a lingering trace of concern furrowed her brow, prompting her to voice her reservations.

"Are you absolutely certain that these Whispering Blossoms harbor no adverse effects?" Amber questioned, her voice carrying a note of cautious optimism.

Ella's response came swift and reassuring, her eyes radiating confidence. "Please rest assured, milady. These magical fruits are not only safe for consumption but intended for such purposes."

With Ella's affirmation echoing in her mind, Amber found solace and trust in her vice-captain's words. She placed her faith in the Whispering Blossom cradled within her palm, its alluring fragrance permeating the air around her. Taking a moment to appreciate its exquisite beauty, she observed the fruit's intricate patterns, reminiscent of celestial constellations conspiring to reveal the secrets of the universe.

Bringing the fruit closer to her lips, Amber hesitated for but a moment, her heart fluttering with a mix of anticipation and a tinge of apprehension. With a deep breath, she succumbed to the allure, allowing her teeth to sink gently into the tender flesh. An explosion of flavors erupted upon her tongue, a symphony of sweetness interlaced with delicate hints of citrus and floral notes. The taste danced upon her palate, a harmonious blend that evoked a sensation of joy and wonder.

Amber's eyes widened with awe as she savored the luscious fruit, her taste buds enthralled by the extraordinary experience unfolding within her mouth. The succulent juices cascaded, leaving a trail of tantalizing bliss in their wake. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, for in that single bite, she felt an undeniable connection to something greater—a tantalizing glimpse into the depths of her soul and the mysteries that awaited her in the realm of dreams.

As Amber savored the delectable Whispering Blossom, its taste enveloped her senses, rendering her momentarily speechless. The sheer perfection of its flavor was beyond words, surpassing any fruit she had ever tasted. A symphony of sweetness and tang danced upon her tongue, caressing her taste buds with each luscious bite. The fruit's essence seemed to awaken a dormant vitality within her, causing her foxtails to quiver with unbridled delight and her yellow Fox ear to twitch with anticipation.

Ella observed the transformative effect of the magical fruit on her lady's countenance, her own curiosity piqued. The sight of Amber's joyous expression, accompanied by the rhythmic movements of her foxtails, stirred a longing within Ella. She yearned to experience the enigmatic flavors that had brought such elation to Amber's senses.

Unable to resist any longer, Ella took her own bite, her teeth breaking through the delicate skin of the Whispering Blossom. As the juices flooded her mouth, a burst of celestial sweetness engulfed her senses. The taste was a revelation, a symphony of flavors that danced across her palate. Ella's eyes widened with astonishment and delight as the fruit revealed its intricate layers of flavor—a perfect balance of nectarous succulence and a hint of tangy brightness. It was a taste that transcended the boundaries of her previous culinary encounters, leaving an indelible impression upon her taste buds.

A sense of euphoria washed over Ella, mirroring the radiance that emanated from her lady. She marveled at the magical fruit's ability to evoke such sheer bliss with each mouthful. Ella's lips curled into a contented smile, her heart brimming with gratitude for the serendipitous discovery that had gifted them with this extraordinary experience.

Together, Amber and Ella relished the whispers of destiny and the enchantment of the Whispering Blossoms, their taste buds entwined in a shared journey of revelation and anticipation. The velvety sweetness lingered on their tongues, forging a bond between them, as they embraced the mysteries that awaited them, both in their waking hours and within the realm of dreams.

As the last morsels of the tantalizing Whispering Blossoms disappeared, a sense of longing filled the air, mingling with the remnants of their heavenly taste. Amber and Ella exchanged a wistful glance, their desire to indulge in more of the magical fruit left unfulfilled. A sigh escaped their lips, carrying with it a tinge of melancholy that mirrored their depleted supply.

A wave of drowsiness washed over them, their bodies surrendering to the gentle lull of weariness. A yawn escaped Ella's mouth, her hand instinctively rising to cover it. Amber, too, nodded in agreement, their bodies yearning for rest and rejuvenation after the day's tumultuous events.

With the allure of wine fading into insignificance, Amber's once-enticing plan dissolved into the realm of forgotten desires. Instead, she sought solace in the comforting embrace of her bed, its softness a welcome respite against the strains of her responsibilities. Drawing her favorite pink blanket close around her, Amber nestled herself within its gentle warmth, finding solace in its familiar embrace.

Ella, her eyelids heavy with the weight of exhaustion, bid her lady a hushed good night. The weariness in her voice was palpable as she succumbed to the pull of sleep, her footsteps carrying her back to the sanctuary of her own tent.

"Good night, Ella," Amber murmured softly, her voice carrying a sense of warmth and gratitude. The words lingered in the air, a whispered farewell between two souls intertwined in shared experiences and unwavering devotion.

In the tranquil silence that enveloped them, Amber and Ella surrendered to the embrace of slumber, their minds finally finding respite from the burdens that weighed upon them. Within minutes, their breathing deepened, their bodies relaxing into a profound and undisturbed sleep. Their dreams awaited them, adorned with the mysteries of the Whispering Blossoms and the ethereal promises of what the future may hold.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Bonus Chapter - 4

Chapter 413

Amber found herself submerged in the depths of a dream, a surreal world that defied the boundaries of logic. The ethereal surroundings enveloped her, as if she had stepped into a realm woven from pure fantasy. She stood amidst a breathtaking venue adorned with grandeur and opulence—a majestic cathedral, its high-vaulted ceilings adorned with cascading tapestries and intricate stained glass windows. Soft rays of sunlight filtered through the kaleidoscope of colors, casting a vibrant glow upon the scene.

The air was thick with anticipation, as Amber's gaze swept across the expanse of the grand hall. There, she stood among a gathering of women, each adorned in resplendent bride's dresses, their eyes filled with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. The atmosphere crackled with an inexplicable energy, hinting at the profound significance of this moment.

As Amber's eyes settled on the man who captivated the attention of all, her heart skipped a beat. He stood at the center of the aisle, his commanding presence emanating an air of charisma and authority. A regal aura surrounded him, accentuated by his immaculate attire. His features, chiseled and alluring, seemed almost too perfect to be real.

Step by step, the man approached Amber, the distance between them diminishing with each measured stride. His face, initially obscured by a veil of mystique, gradually emerged from the depths of her subconscious. Amber's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in profound shock as recognition coursed through her veins. For the man who stood before her, extending words of praise and admiration, was none other than Emperor Aditya himself.

A rush of emotions surged within Amber—bewilderment, fascination, and a sense of longing that defied explanation. Her mind grappled with the conflicting sensations that swirled within her, while her heart yearned for answers to the enigma that unfolded before her eyes.

The words that spilled from Aditya's lips resonated with both tenderness and familiarity, his voice a soothing melody that echoed through the cathedral. "You look so beautiful today," he uttered, his gaze filled with a depth of emotion that mirrored Amber's own turmoil. The other women surrounding them, though present, faded into insignificance as their connection forged a singular bond between them.

Amber's lips parted, but words eluded her. She remained in a state of awe and disbelief, her mind struggling to reconcile the dream-like scenario with the reality she knew. Her eyes, locked with Aditya's, sought answers, yet the secrets hidden within her subconscious remained shrouded in mystery.

In this surreal wedding tableau, Amber felt a cascade of conflicting emotions. Curiosity intertwined with uncertainty, as she yearned to unravel the threads that connected her to Aditya in this alternate reality. The sheer familiarity that emanated from their interaction was tantalizing yet perplexing, leaving her with more questions than answers.

As the dream wove its intricate tapestry, Amber's surroundings seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly luminescence. The cathedral's grandeur mirrored the grandeur of the empire itself, every detail meticulously crafted to evoke a sense of awe and reverence. Ornate pillars stretched towards the heavens, adorned with delicate carvings that depicted tales of love and devotion. The vast expanse of the hall, replete with blooming floral arrangements and cascading draperies, created an atmosphere that teetered between the boundaries of reality and fantasy.

Yet, amidst the splendor of the venue, Amber's focus remained firmly fixed upon Aditya—the enigmatic man who held her dreams captive and stirred her soul. In the midst of this surreal setting, their connection grew stronger, the allure of their shared destiny tugging at the border of Amber's waking consciousness, beckoning her to delve deeper into the mysteries that lay hidden within her own heart.

As the morning light spilled through the window, casting a soft glow upon the room, Amber's eyes fluttered open. The remnants of her dream clung to her consciousness, refusing to fade into the recesses of her mind. Sitting up with a jolt, she felt the remnants of Aditya's presence lingering in her thoughts, his handsome visage etched vividly in her memory.

Emperor Aditya—a man of extraordinary stature and power—had always been Amber's master, a figure she revered with unwavering loyalty. Yet, her relationship with him had always been one of utmost respect and duty, devoid of any romantic inclinations. Romance had never piqued her interest, not after the trials and torment she endured during her time as a slave before being taken under the protection of the Istarin Empire.

The scars of cruelty that marred her past ran deep, leaving her cautious and guarded around men in general. It was a defensive mechanism she had erected to shield her heart from further anguish. That very shield led her to appoint Ella as her vice-captain, a trusted confidante who understood the weight of Amber's history and the reasons behind her reservations.

However, Amber held no grudge against all men. She acknowledged that not every individual embodied the despicable behavior of those lowlife scums who leered at women with lustful intent. Her disdain was reserved for those who objectified and dehumanized others. It was a reflection of her own painful experiences and the unwavering determination to protect herself and those under her care.

Aditya, on the other hand, transcended the boundaries that confined ordinary men. He commanded her utmost respect, for he had been the catalyst that rescued her from the depths of despair. The mere thought of disobeying his orders was unfathomable. If he were to command her to lay down her life on the battlefield, she would willingly surrender it without hesitation. His intervention had marked the turning point in her existence, paving the way for her to rise above her circumstances and forge a new path.

Never had Amber entertained the notion of a romantic entanglement with Aditya. It had always been a realm foreign to her thoughts. Yet, after that strange dream, a subtle shift occurred within her. The boundaries that once kept her emotions at bay seemed to blur, allowing a sliver of something unfamiliar to seep into her consciousness.

Unbeknownst to Amber, the mere contemplation of Aditya's presence now ignited a warmth in her cheeks. The image of him, impossibly handsome in her mind's eye, stirred a fluttering in her heart. His smile, so radiant and captivating, quickened her pulse, betraying the calm facade she typically maintained.

As Amber grappled with these newfound sensations, a whirlwind of emotions swirled within her. She questioned the nature of her connection with Aditya, questioning the boundaries that separated duty and desire. The impact of her dream lingered, leaving her uncertain about the shifting dynamics between them, and the implications it held for her steadfast loyalty to the Emperor and the Empire he governed.

"This dream is nothing more than fanciful nonsense," Amber admonished herself, her voice laced with determination. She raised her hand and delivered a gentle but resolute slap to her cheeks, as if physically shaking off the remnants of her wayward thoughts. Aditya, after all, already had four beautiful women as his fiancées—why would he take an interest in someone like her?

Shaking off her lingering reverie, Amber rose from her bed and reached for a towel, intent on washing away the remnants of sleep from her face. Morning had arrived, signaling a flurry of activity as the troops prepared their meals and readied themselves for the day ahead.

Leaving her quarters, Amber strolled purposefully towards the water source, her footsteps marking the passage of a determined leader. As she neared her destination, a murmur of voices reached her ears, drawing her attention towards a gathering of soldiers and a group of villagers engaged in animated conversation.

Curiosity piqued, Amber approached the scene, her gaze scanning the exchange between the villagers and the soldiers. The earnest expressions etched on their faces hinted at the significance of their interaction. It was then that she noticed the farmers, their weathered hands and sun-kissed skin testament to a life of hard work.

Eager to lend her ear to their conversation, Amber quietly stood on the outskirts of the group, catching snippets of dialogue. The farmers spoke of their gratitude towards the soldiers, recounting tales of protection and security that the troops had brought to their otherwise humble villages. The soldiers, in turn, expressed their appreciation for the unwavering support and sustenance provided by the farmers.

As the conversation flowed, one of the farmers, a grizzled man with a straw hat, stepped forward, clutching a bundle of freshly harvested vegetables in his calloused hands. He approached a soldier, his voice laced with humility and gratitude. "Sir, we brought these vegetables from our humble fields as a token of our gratitude. Please accept them and share them with your comrades."

The soldier, a young man with a sturdy build and a kind smile, accepted the offering with a nod of gratitude. "Thank you, kind sir. Your generosity is truly heartwarming. We appreciate your gesture, and rest assured, these vegetables will nourish us as we continue to serve and protect your villages."

Amber's gaze shifted to another soldier, a woman with determination etched into her features, as she stepped forward to receive a basket overflowing with ripe fruits from a middle-aged farmer. "Ma'am, please accept these fruits as a token of our appreciation. Your presence here brings us hope and security, and we wish to express our gratitude."

The soldier's eyes sparkled with genuine appreciation as she cradled the basket in her arms. "Thank you, good sir. These fruits will provide much-needed nourishment to my comrades and me. Your support means the world to us, and we will continue to strive to protect and serve your villages with unwavering dedication."

A sense of camaraderie and mutual respect permeated the air as the soldiers and farmers exchanged heartfelt expressions of gratitude. It was a testament to the symbiotic relationship between the protectors and the protected, a delicate balance that fueled their shared endeavors.

Moved by the scene unfolding before her, Amber stepped forward, her presence commanding attention. "On behalf of all the soldiers gathered here, I extend our deepest appreciation to all of you."

An hour later, a formidable force consisting of approximately 50,000 troops and a hundred Dragonians, loyal warriors of the Istarin Empire, were assembled and prepared for their mission. Their departure was accompanied by a solemn decree from the Prime Minister, delivered in the form of a letter, bearing the weight of their purpose.

Spencer, the steadfast leader, entrusted Amber with a crucial task: to leave behind a contingent of several thousand soldiers and five Dragonians, dedicated to safeguarding the city of Serenesta. Their presence would ensure the protection of its inhabitants, as well as maintain stability during the upcoming transition. The letter revealed that, in the coming days, a new city lord would be appointed to govern Serenesta, further ensuring the continuity of governance and order.

Within the pages of the letter, inked with the Prime Minister's resolute words, lay a strategic directive for Amber herself. Spencer urged her to redirect her focus toward the Capital, the heart of all rebellion. It was in this city that the most significant pockets of resistance thrived, posing a threat to the Empire's harmony and peace. Spencer emphasized that, by dismantling these formidable rebellion groups, a semblance of tranquility would be restored, allowing the Empire to flourish once more.

In addition, the letter carried an intriguing mention of Aditya's involvement. Aditya, the Emperor whom Amber admired and respected deeply, had made a decisive move. The entirety of the revered Shadow Guardian Division had been deployed to the Northwestern region, entrusted with a pivotal task. Their mission entailed identifying the nobles and influential figures responsible for pilfering the Empire's wealth, and ensuring they faced justice in the Empire's courts. The Shadow Guardians, renowned for their stealth and skill, would relentlessly pursue these perpetrators, delivering them to the halls of justice where their deeds would be accounted for.

As Amber absorbed the contents of the letter, a sense of purpose coursed through her veins. The weight of responsibility settled upon her shoulders, but she embraced it with unwavering determination. The Empire needed her, and she would rise to the challenge. With Spencer's guidance and Aditya's unwavering support, Amber's resolve burned brighter than ever before.

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Bonus Chapter - 5

Chapter 414

The rebels huddled together, their apprehension palpable in the air as they anxiously awaited the arrival of Victoria Baxter, the legendary Dragonian known for her unmatched strength and ruthlessness. Among the nervous soldiers stood Commander Mick, his face etched with a mix of determination and concern. He had witnessed Victoria's devastating power firsthand, and the memory of her merciless onslaught haunted him.

As the soldiers whispered among themselves, their voices laced with trepidation, Mick decided to address their fears head-on. He gathered his troops, trying to exude an air of confidence despite the mounting tension.

"Listen up, everyone!" Mick's voice boomed, commanding their attention. "I won't sugarcoat it. Victoria Baxter is a force to be reckoned with. She's fierce, and relentless, and has left a trail of destruction in her wake. But we cannot let fear consume us. We have a cause to fight for, and it's our duty to stand against her."

The soldiers exchanged anxious glances, their hands trembling involuntarily. One young soldier, Sam, spoke up, his voice quivering. "Commander Mick, I've heard stories about her... How she tears through armies without mercy. What chance do we have against someone like her?"

Mick regarded Sam with a sympathetic gaze, understanding the weight of his concerns. He placed a reassuring hand on the young soldier's shoulder. "Sam, it's true that Victoria is a formidable opponent. But we have something on our side that she doesn't: unity. We fight for a cause, for our freedom. And together, we can overcome even the strongest adversaries."

As the conversation continued, the soldiers shared their own stories, their voices laced with fear and admiration for Victoria. Some recalled witnessing her in action, describing her lightning-fast strikes and the sheer power of her Dragonian abilities. Others spoke of the rumors that had spread like wildfire, exaggerating her feats into legends that bordered on the supernatural.

Private Rachel, her voice trembling, shared her encounter with Victoria during a skirmish a few days prior. "I saw her, charging through our lines, her eyes filled with a kind of intensity I've never witnessed before. She tore through our ranks like a whirlwind, leaving nothing but chaos and despair in her wake. I've never seen such brutality."

A seasoned soldier named Henry, his voice gruff with experience, interjected. "You think that's brutal? I saw her rip through an entire battalion, singlehandedly. The screams, the blood... It was a nightmare. We need to be prepared for the fight of our lives."

The soldiers nodded, their faces etched with a mix of determination and fear. They knew the odds were stacked against them, but the cause they fought for resonated deep within their hearts.

Amidst the conversations, a young recruit named Emma, her voice barely above a whisper, asked the question that lingered on everyone's minds. "Do you think we can win? Against someone as powerful as Victoria?"

Mick surveyed the soldiers, his gaze filled with conviction. "Emma, victory isn't guaranteed, but we fight not just for ourselves, but for our families, our homes, and a future free from tyranny. We fight with everything we have, and we fight for each other. That's what gives us a chance, no matter how slim it may seem."

As the soldiers took in Mick's words, a hush fell over the group. Their fears still lingered, but a flicker of determination sparked within each of them. They knew that facing Victoria Baxter would be a trial like no other, but their resolve remained unyielding.

In the distance, a rumble echoed through the air, growing louder with each passing moment. The ground shook beneath their feet, sending tremors of both fear and anticipation through the soldiers' bodies. Victoria was drawing near, her relentless pursuit inching closer to their ranks.

With their hearts pounding and their legs still trembling, the rebels braced themselves for the inevitable clash with the unstoppable force that was Victoria Baxter. It was a battle they couldn't afford to lose—a fight for their lives and for the freedom they desperately craved.

The rebel soldiers stood frozen in place as Victoria Baxter descended from the sky, a radiant golden light surrounding her. The sight of her filled the air with an eerie tension, causing their grip on their weapons to tighten involuntarily. Fear gripped their hearts, and their minds raced with thoughts of the impending doom that awaited them. The presence of a Peak 5th-order cultivator was enough to strike terror into even the bravest of souls.

With her feet hovering above the ground, Victoria surveyed the rebel soldiers and their commander with an air of superiority. Every eye was fixated on her, and the soldiers' breaths caught in their throats. Some mustered the courage to pray, seeking divine intervention, while others looked for any opportunity to escape, their cowardice revealing itself in their desperate gazes.

The Dragonian's voice pierced through the silence, commanding attention and sending shivers down the spines of those present. "I have come with a Message and an Order from My Lord," she declared, holding the flag of the Istarin Empire in her right hand.

As her cold gaze swept over the crowd, her words hung in the air like a dreadful omen. "Oh, People of the former Uzacan Empire, your Empire now belongs to the Istarin Empire. My master, the Istarin Emperor, wishes for you all to lay down your weapons and surrender yourselves to the Istarin Empire while you still have a chance for redemption."

Her voice turned icy, freezing the hearts of those who listened. "Or if you dare to stand in my master's way, then I will have to end your lives. The choice is yours."

The rebellion soldiers exchanged anxious glances, uncertainty etched on their faces. The weight of the decision bore down upon them heavily. Suddenly, one soldier dropped his sword and discarded his armor, falling to his knees in surrender. The sight of his capitulation acted as a catalyst, igniting a chain reaction among his comrades. One by one, they followed suit, relinquishing their weapons and submitting themselves to Victoria's authority.

Upon witnessing the surrender of his soldiers, the rebellion commander, Mick, turned pale with anger and disbelief. He spun around and shouted at his troops in a desperate attempt to rouse their spirits. "What are you doing, you fools? Why are you surrendering?"

One soldier, unable to contain his fear, found his voice and spoke up. "Why shouldn't we surrender? If I surrender now, I might have a chance to join the Istarin Empire's military in the future. There are rumors that they accept surrendered soldiers who prove their loyalty. If I follow you, all it will bring me is death, and I can't bear the thought of my family suffering because of it."

The soldier's words echoed through the hesitant crowd, sparking a glimmer of hope in the hearts of others. The realization that surrender might offer a way out fueled the growing number of soldiers opting to submit to the Istarin Empire. Observing the scene unfold, Victoria remained stoic, silently observing the crumbling resistance.

"Former General of the Uzacan Empire," she addressed Mick with an unwavering gaze, "you had the option to surrender, yet you chose to lead an army of 100,000 and incite rebellion. Your actions have caused chaos and shattered the order. As such, I am ending your life right now."

Mick's protests were cut short as Victoria flicked her hand, a slender, needle-like beam of light shooting forth with deadly accuracy. It pierced Mick's skull, leaving a gaping hole before he crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The brutal efficiency of Victoria's attack sent shockwaves through the remaining soldiers, their faces drained of color as the true extent of her ruthlessness became apparent.

As the last of the soldiers surrendered, a wave of relief washed over Victoria. She was silently grateful that she didn't have to resort to taking their lives, as she had been forced to do countless times before. These past two days had been a relentless pursuit, moving from one rebellion group to another, methodically dismantling their resistance. The weight of her actions had taken its toll, but she knew that her mission was necessary to restore order to the Uzacan Empire.

Victoria's presence alone had been enough to strike fear into the hearts of the rebels. She had single-handedly decimated nearly 60% of the rebellion within a span of just two days. Each city she had visited fell under her indomitable might, as she confronted the rebellion groups head-on. Unlike other Dragonians who relied on the support of armies, Victoria possessed an unmatched strength as a Peak 5th-order Dragonian. She stood as a formidable force, capable of facing any challenge alone.

With each city she subdued, her determination grew stronger. She understood the importance of her role in quelling the chaos that had gripped the Uzacan Empire. Once her work was done, she would signal the Istarin Empire, requesting the deployment of additional Dragonians to assume control of the cities and establish law and order.

As Victoria stood amidst the surrendered soldiers, the gravity of her actions weighed heavily upon her. She couldn't help but reflect on the lives she had extinguished and the families left shattered in her wake. Though her duty demanded it, the toll it exacted on her conscience was undeniable. However, she remained resolute, knowing that her actions were necessary for the greater good.

Her gaze swept over the defeated rebels, now stripped of their weapons and reduced to mere captives. The once-proud soldiers stood in defeat, their spirit broken. The scenes of devastation and destruction were etched into Victoria's memory, a constant reminder of the price that rebellion exacted.

With a sense of duty and determination, Victoria knew her mission was not yet complete. She would continue her relentless pursuit until every last trace of resistance was eradicated. She had become a force of reckoning, a harbinger of the Istarin Empire's authority, and a beacon of hope for those who craved stability.

The journey ahead was arduous, but Victoria would not waver. She would carry out her duty, no matter the personal toll it took. For she was the strongest Dragonian of the Istarin Empire, and her resolve burned like an unquenchable flame, ready to purge the rebellion and pave the way for a new era of peace.

Victoria let out a sigh, a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation, as she surveyed the subdued rebels before her. Her mind drifted momentarily from the task at hand, thoughts consumed by what lay beyond this relentless campaign. The culmination of her efforts would bring her closer to a long-awaited destination: the Dragon Palace.

As her thoughts turned to the Dragon Palace, a flicker of defiance ignited within Victoria. It was there, in the heart of the palace, where she hoped to receive the recognition she so fervently desired. The man who had stolen her heart, the one she had once considered her enemy, now held the key to her future.

Aditya, the Istarin Emperor, was the figure whom Victoria referred to as her master. Their complicated history had seen them on opposite sides of a conflict, their paths entwined in a dance of enmity and respect. Yet, despite their differences, Aditya had managed to captivate Victoria's heart, forging a connection that defied logic and reason.

With a mix of determination and a touch of playful stubbornness, Victoria pondered the rewards that awaited her in the Dragon Palace. She had dedicated herself tirelessly to her duties as the strongest Dragonian of the Istarin Empire, her unwavering loyalty driving her actions. She had waged war against the rebels, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake, all in service of her master's cause.

However, her thoughts turned defiant, as a hint of skepticism crept into her voice. Her master's acknowledgment of her efforts, and the rewards she longed for, became a source of uncertainty. Victoria's eyes narrowed a subtle challenge underlying her words. If her master failed to recognize her contributions, if he overlooked the sacrifices she had made, there would be consequences.

A silent determination settled over Victoria as she continued to address the rebels before her. The battle was not over, and she knew there was still much to be done. But deep within her heart, there was a flicker of anticipation, a flame fueled by the promise of returning to the Dragon Palace and the man who had stolen her heart.

With a resolute gaze, Victoria refocused her attention on the present, leaving behind her thoughts of rewards and recognition for the moment.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Bonus Chapter - 6 [This is the last of the Bonus Chapter. My apologies for not uploading yesterday. Don't worry, I will upload extra chapters today for that.]

Chapter 415

In the Southern region of the Dying Isle Continent, Kane, the former King of the Skyline Kingdom, strolled along the familiar streets, his daughter Jennifer cradled in his arms. The once-familiar sights and sounds that had once defined his realm were now altered beyond recognition. In the span of a few short months, the transformation had been profound, leaving him in awe of the changes that had befallen his once small kingdom.

As he walked amidst the bustling streets, Kane observed the vibrant display of multi-colored lights that illuminated the city. Joy and happiness radiated from the faces of the people, their contentment palpable. It was a sight he had failed to witness during his reign as king, a time marred by struggles and poverty.

The transformation of the Skyline Kingdom under the rule of the Istarin Empire, led by Emperor Aditya, had brought about a profound shift in the lives of its inhabitants. Kane couldn't help but marvel at the prosperous city that had taken its place. The living standards of all social classes had risen significantly, and an air of prosperity now filled the once impoverished streets.

Jennifer, a young girl with wide, curious eyes, looked around with wonder, taking in the bustling scene. Sensing her father's contemplative mood, she broke the silence with a curious question. "Father, why did we come back here? I thought we left the Skyline Kingdom for good."

Kane paused for a moment, his gaze shifting from the vibrant streets to his daughter's innocent face. "My dear Jennifer, I never imagined that we would return to this region so soon. Selling our kingdom to the Istarin Empire seemed like the end of an era, but little did I know the profound changes that would occur under Emperor Aditya's reign."

He continued, his voice tinged with a mix of nostalgia and amazement. "The Empire has brought progress and prosperity to this land. Our former subjects now enjoy a life of abundance and happiness. It is a sight that warms my heart and fills me with both joy and regret."

Jennifer furrowed her brows, a hint of confusion crossing her face. "Regret, Father? But why would you feel regret when the people are so happy?"

Kane's eyes softened as he gazed at his daughter, struggling to put his emotions into words. "My dear, I regret not being able to provide such prosperity and happiness during my time as king. I failed to see the potential of our kingdom, the potential that has now been realized under the guidance of Emperor Aditya and the Istarin Empire."

He took a deep breath, a mixture of gratitude and melancholy filling his voice. "But I am grateful, Jennifer. Grateful that through Emperor Aditya's intervention, I was able to seek the healing powers of the Goddess of Nature and extend my life. It allowed me to witness this transformation firsthand and to bring you back to the place that was once our home."

As they continued their walk through the bustling streets, Kane couldn't help but feel a bittersweet mixture of pride and longing. Pride for the progress his former kingdom had achieved and longing for the opportunity to have been a part of it. Yet, he knew that everything had unfolded as it should, and he was grateful for the chance to witness the happiness and prosperity that now graced the lives of the people he once ruled.

As they reached a prominent square, Kane gazed at the statue erected in honor of Emperor Aditya, a symbol of gratitude for the transformation he had brought about. He whispered a silent prayer of thanks, knowing that the decision to sell his kingdom had been the right one, and that the people were now thriving under the enlightened rule of the Istarin Empire.

Hand in hand, Kane and Jennifer walked on, embracing the city that was once their own, now transformed into a place of joy and fulfillment. They may no longer hold the reins of power, but their hearts swelled with pride as they watched their former kingdom flourish under new leadership.

Father, you were a remarkable king to your people. Despite the constant pressure from the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, you stood your ground and never wavered. Your strength and dedication to your people were evident in every decision you made. Please, Father, be proud of yourself," Jennifer's innocent words rang in Kane's ears, striking a chord deep within him. He felt a surge of emotions well up within his chest, a mixture of pride, gratitude, and perhaps a touch of longing. He nodded, masking his feelings, not wanting to reveal his vulnerable side to his daughter.

As they continued to explore and immerse themselves in the transformed kingdom, a Dragonian suddenly approached Kane, interrupting their joyful escapade. Towering at an imposing height of six feet, the Dragonian's presence commanded attention. The unexpected encounter piqued Kane's curiosity, and he exchanged a puzzled glance with Jennifer.

"Sir, His Majesty requests your presence," the Dragonian announced, handing Kane a sealed letter before vanishing as mysteriously as they had appeared. Kane's heart raced with anticipation as he carefully broke the seal and unfolded the parchment, revealing the words written by Emperor Aditya himself.

"Kane, I hope this letter finds you and Jennifer in good health and high spirits. I write to you today with an offer that may come as a surprise, but one I sincerely hope you will consider. Your presence and wisdom are deeply valued, and I believe that you have much to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the Istarin Empire.

I hereby extend an invitation to you, Kane, to become a noble of our empire. As a noble, you will be granted the recognition, privileges, and responsibilities commensurate with your experience and stature. Your presence in the capital would be greatly appreciated, as it would afford us the opportunity to discuss in person the details of your role and the contributions you can make to our society.

Your tenure as the King of the Skyline Kingdom has left an indelible mark on the hearts of your people and in the annals of history. I believe that together, we can forge a brighter future for not just the Istarin Empire, but for all those who call this land home. I eagerly await your response and hope that you will honor me with your presence.

May the winds of destiny guide you,

Emperor Aditya"

Kane read the words carefully, his eyes scanning each line as a mix of surprise and gratitude washed over him. The proposition extended by Emperor Aditya was unexpected, but it held a promise of new beginnings and a chance to continue making a positive impact on the lives of others. His thoughts turned to Jennifer, and he considered the potential opportunities and challenges they would face if he were to accept the offer.

Gently folding the letter and tucking it into his pocket, Kane turned to his daughter, a contemplative look on his face. "Jennifer, it seems that our journey has taken an unexpected turn. Emperor Aditya, the ruler of the Istarin Empire, has extended an offer for me to become a noble within his realm. It is an opportunity to continue serving others and contribute to the growth of a new land."

Jennifer's eyes widened with both excitement and uncertainty. "Father, what does that mean for us? Will we leave our home again?"

Kane crouched down to be at eye level with his daughter, offering her a reassuring smile. "It means that new adventures await us, my dear. If we accept this offer, we will be embarking on a new chapter in our lives. We may have to leave behind the familiarity of our current surroundings, but it also presents us with the chance to build new connections and be part of something greater."

Jennifer pondered her father's words for a moment, her young mind trying to grasp the magnitude of the decision at hand. "Father, if it means helping others and making a difference like you did before, then I am ready for this new adventure."

Kane's heart swelled with pride at his daughter's unwavering support. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Jennifer. Your strength and understanding mean the world to me. Let us consider this opportunity carefully and weigh the pros and cons together. Whatever path we choose, we will face it as a family."

With their minds set on the future, father and daughter resumed their leisurely stroll through the bustling streets, the letter from Emperor Aditya tucked safely away, its contents fueling their dreams of destiny yet to unfold.

Scene change to Westnia (The Ethereal Empire)_______

Knock! Knock!

"Your Highness, you have a visitor," announced the royal attendant, interrupting the busy atmosphere of the throne hall. Amidst the flurry of activity, Noah Osburn, the older brother of Alicia Osburn, was deeply engrossed in a new project that aimed to revolutionize the transportation network within the empire. Collaborating with other dedicated officials, Noah's vision was to rebuild and modernize the outdated system connecting various cities.

For nearly nine decades, the empire had relied on a transportation network that had long surpassed its prime. The rapid growth of the population, a staggering 21% increase over the years, had led to the formation of new villages, towns, and cities throughout the realm. Furthermore, the empire's economy had flourished, expanding threefold since the last infrastructure overhaul.

However, the current state of affairs had left small merchants grappling with limited options. The exorbitant costs associated with teleportation arrays rendered them accessible only to the rich and influential merchants, leaving smaller traders to rely on the outdated road network for the transportation of their goods. This imbalance created significant disadvantages for those who lacked the financial means to exploit faster means of travel.

Recognizing the urgent need for change, Noah and his team were driven by a grand purpose. The ambitious endeavor to rebuild the road network would not only benefit small-scale merchants but also enhance the lives of people from all walks of life, including those in different professions and avid travelers. By creating a new and comprehensive road network, the project aimed to bridge the gaps between every village and major city within the empire. The envisioned result was a significant reduction in travel times, fostering efficient connectivity throughout the realm.

As Noah's mind delved into the intricacies of the project, considering the various challenges and potential opportunities, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of excitement and responsibility. The potential impact of their efforts had the power to transform the lives of countless individuals, providing improved access to goods, services, and opportunities for progress.

Just as Noah was about to delve deeper into his thoughts, the arrival of the visitor drew his attention. He looked up to see a royal messenger standing before him, bearing news that demanded his immediate attention. Setting aside his work momentarily, Noah addressed the visitor with a polite yet inquisitive tone. "Greetings. Who is the visitor?"

"Your Royal Highness, Miss Sylvie is here to see you," the royal messenger announced, bowing respectfully in Noah's presence.

Noah, engrossed in his work, momentarily lifted his gaze and replied with a composed tone, "Let her in."

The door swung open, revealing Sylvie, Alicia's closest confidante, standing at the entrance. Her eyes met Noah's, a mixture of curiosity and anticipation sparkling within them. She approached him with a mixture of respect and familiarity, unsure of the appropriate way to address him in this evolving chapter of his life.

"How should I address you?" Sylvie inquired, her voice filled with a blend of wonder and reverence. "Your Royal Highness? Your Majesty?"

Noah's thoughts drifted to the weight of his impending responsibilities as he prepared to ascend the throne of the Ethereal Empire. His father, recognizing his potential, had been diligently grooming him for this momentous role, imparting wisdom and guidance to ensure a smooth transition of power.

A gentle smile tugged at the corners of Noah's lips as he considered Sylvie's query. He extended a comforting hand towards her, inviting her into a more personal conversation. "Please, Sylvie, you have been Alicia's dear friend for so long. There's no need for formalities between us. Address me as you always have, Noah. I value your friendship and trust."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 416

As Noah and Sylvie patiently awaited the arrival of Noah's father, their conversation took a lighthearted turn, with Sylvie playfully teasing Noah about his newlywed life.

"Noah, how is your married life going? I can only imagine the struggles you must be facing, especially when it comes to getting out of bed in the morning," Sylvie quipped, a mischievous smirk dancing upon her lips.

Noah's cheeks flushed with a tinge of embarrassment, his gaze momentarily shifting downward. There was truth in Sylvie's jest, as he and his fiancée had recently exchanged vows and embarked on their marital journey. The past few months had flown by in a whirlwind of joy and adjustment.

Slightly regaining his composure, Noah retorted with a playful tone, "Ah, Sylvie, unlike a certain someone, I believe in nurturing and investing time to strengthen the bond with my wife. It's not all about rolling out of bed effortlessly, you know." He couldn't help but tease Sylvie about her own romantic pursuits. Despite her timeless beauty, she remained single, a fact that often evoked playful banter between them. Her perpetual singlehood, despite her longevity, was a sensitive topic that Noah sometimes jested about, unaware of the emotional impact his words could carry.

Sylvie's expression wavered for a moment, the mischievous smirk fading from her face as Noah's words struck a nerve. Though she maintained her composed demeanor, inwardly, his words dealt a subtle blow. The centuries she had lived, yet the absence of a romantic partner, weighed heavily on her heart. She masked her vulnerability, suppressing the emotional turmoil that threatened to rise to the surface.

Sensing Sylvie's momentary shift, Noah quickly changed the subject, his intention to alleviate any unintentional distress he may have caused. He redirected their conversation, his curiosity piqued by Sylvie's unexpected visit.

"Anyway, what brings you here? It's quite rare for you to grace the Royal Castle with your presence without a significant reason," Noah inquired, his tone sincere.

A mischievous glint danced in Sylvie's eyes as she replied, her voice filled with a mix of excitement and intrigue, "Oh, I have some truly fascinating and juicy news for you, Noah."

Noah's demeanor turned serious, his interest piqued by Sylvie's cryptic statement. "Pray, enlighten me. What news do you bring?" he pressed, eager for the revelation.

Sylvie's tone took on a somber note as she disclosed the startling information, her words hanging in the air like a heavy shroud. "The Istarin Empire has emerged victorious against the Oracle Alliance. What was supposed to be a peace treaty transformed into a gruesome massacre. It seems the enemy Emperor had nefarious intentions, attempting to end Aditya's life. In the wake of their leader's demise, the Istarin Empire and its allies seized control of the Oracle Alliance's territories."

Noah's shock was palpable, his features contorted in disbelief. He was well aware of the Oracle Alliance's political prowess and formidable military might. While he had faith in his brother-in-law Aditya's capabilities, he hadn't anticipated such a swift and devastating outcome. The gravity of the news settled upon him, the implications for the region and the intricate balance of power sending ripples of unease through his mind.

The weight of responsibility pressed upon Noah's shoulders, his thoughts racing as he contemplated the potential consequences of this sudden turn of events. With a newfound seriousness etched upon his face, he looked towards Sylvie, his voice tinged with concern and determination.

"Sylvie, this news changes everything.

We must tread carefully and be prepared for the repercussions. The Istarin Empire's triumph will undoubtedly reshape the political landscape, and we must consider its impact on our own realm. Our actions moving forward will be crucial in navigating the shifting tides. We must rely on our wits and collective strength to ensure the stability and prosperity of the Ethereal Empire in these uncertain times."

Noah's initial shock subsided, allowing a smile to play upon his lips. "Indeed, life is full of surprises," he agreed, recognizing the unpredictable nature of the world they inhabited. Sylvie nodded in agreement, her expression holding a trace of amusement.

Curiosity filled Noah's eyes as he inquired, "So, what brings you here, Sylvie? Surely, there must be a more significant reason than merely delivering this news."

Sylvie blinked innocently, her gaze feigning innocence. "Oh, I just thought you should be the first to know," she replied, her voice laced with a hint of mischief.

Noah's smile widened, amusement glinting in his eyes. "Sylvie, let's not play games. I know you well enough to understand that you wouldn't visit the Royal Castle unless there was a matter of importance to discuss," he gently admonished.

A giggle escaped Sylvie's lips as she conceded, her demeanor shifting to a more serious tone. "You caught me," she confessed, her laughter fading. Her gaze locked with Noah's, conveying the gravity of her next words.

"In truth, I have made a decision. I am planning to travel to the Istarin Empire soon," Sylvie revealed, her words weighted with determination.

Noah's surprise was evident, his brows furrowing in disbelief. Sylvie's dedication as the guild leader of the White Lotus Guild was renowned throughout the Westnia Continent. The guild's influence extended far and wide, with branches in every city, town, and village. The weight of responsibility and the mountain of paperwork on Sylvie's shoulders seemed unrelenting. Noah recalled a childhood devoid of breaks or vacations for Sylvie, her commitment to her role unwavering.

"What?" Noah exclaimed, his astonishment evident. He knew the demands of Sylvie's position and couldn't fathom her decision to embark on such a journey.

Sylvie met Noah's surprise with a serious gaze, her commitment to her words unwavering. "Yes, Noah. It is time for me to step beyond the boundaries of our continent and explore new horizons. There are matters I must attend to, connections I must establish. The Istarin Empire presents an opportunity I cannot ignore," she explained, her voice filled with resolve.

Noah's astonishment slowly morphed into curiosity, tempered by a hint of concern. "Sylvie, I understand your desire for exploration and growth, but the White Lotus Guild relies on your leadership. Your absence will undoubtedly impact its operations," he pointed out, aware of the significance of Sylvie's role.

A faint smile graced Sylvie's lips, her eyes reflecting a mixture of determination and anticipation. "Noah, I have taken every precaution to ensure a smooth transition in my absence. My trusted advisors will step up in my place, and I have faith in their capabilities. It is time for me to venture beyond the confines of familiarity, to experience the world beyond the borders of our beloved continent," she expressed, her voice tinged with a sense of liberation.

Noah, recognizing Sylvie's unwavering determination, nodded in acceptance. Though reluctant to see her leave, he understood the importance of personal growth and exploration. His gaze met Sylvie's, his voice tinged with a mix of support and concern. "Sylvie, if this is truly your path, I wish you the best of luck. May your journey be filled with discovery, and may you find the fulfillment you seek. Just remember, you will always have a place here, and your guild will eagerly await your return."

Sylvie's eyes softened, gratitude shining within their depths. "Thank you, Noah. Your words mean more to me than

you know. I promise, the White Lotus Guild will remain in capable hands, and I will return when the time is right," she assured him, her tone resolute.

Noah offered a reassuring smile, understanding the fire that burned within Sylvie's spirit. As she stood before him, ready to embark on her next adventure, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of admiration and bittersweetness. The world was vast, and each individual had their own path to tread. And so, with a nod of understanding, Noah silently wished Sylvie well on her journey to the Istarin Empire and beyond.

Scene change__________

The moon hung high in the night sky as the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire, Spencer, found himself immersed in his duties. The late hour betrayed the exhaustion that clung to his weary frame, but the weight of his responsibilities kept him anchored to his desk. As the Empire expanded its territories, the burden upon his shoulders seemed to grow heavier with each passing day.

A mixture of admiration and concern swirled within Spencer's mind as he contemplated the recent achievements of Emperor Aditya. "His Majesty's relentless pursuit of conquest has propelled the Istarin Empire to unprecedented heights," he mused silently, his respect for Aditya's strategic prowess deepening. However, the rapid expansion had its toll, and Spencer felt the strain on his own well-being.

With a tired sigh, Spencer acknowledged the pressing need for rest. The workload had become overwhelming, and the constant demands of his position had left him with little time for personal respite. Sleep had become a fleeting luxury, as he traded restful nights for endless hours at his office.

"I fear I cannot keep up with the pace of expansion," Spencer admitted to himself, his weariness etched into every line on his face. The Istarin Empire now controlled a staggering amount of the continent's landmass, with nearly 50% of its territories falling under their dominion. The sheer magnitude of their conquests was a testament to the Empire's power, but it also meant an ever-increasing load of responsibilities for the Prime Minister.

As he sat amidst the quiet solitude of his office, Spencer's thoughts turned to the person he loved—a bright light amidst the darkness of his relentless work. Despite the profound connection they shared, his demanding schedule left little room for their relationship to flourish. Guilt gnawed at his heart, for he longed to give her the time and attention she deserved.

"I yearn for a moment's respite, to be able to steal away and savor the joys of life," Spencer whispered to himself, his voice laced with a mixture of longing and weariness. The weight of his responsibilities threatened to overshadow the happiness he so desperately sought.

Gazing out of the window, the city lights shimmering in the distance, Spencer knew that a change was necessary. He could no longer ignore the exhaustion that had taken hold of him, nor the toll it was exacting on his physical and mental well-being. A decision formed in his mind—a promise to himself and his loved ones. He would find a way to balance his duties and personal life, to create space for rest and rejuvenation.

With renewed determination, Spencer resolved to approach Emperor Aditya, to discuss the need for a temporary halt in expansion. The fate of the Empire relied not only on its conquests but also on the well-being of its leaders. It was time to seek a moment of respite, to replenish his spirit and ensure that he could continue to serve the Empire with unwavering dedication.

As the night wore on, Spencer set aside his work, allowing himself a few hours of much-needed rest. The path ahead may be arduous, he would navigate the challenges that lay before him. The Empire, his loved ones, and his own well-being depended on it.

Just as Spencer was about to drift into much-needed sleep, a gentle knock interrupted his tranquility. Weary but curious, he called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me," came the soft reply, a melodic voice that Spencer instantly recognized. Aria, his beloved, stood on the other side of the door.

"You can come in, Aria," Spencer welcomed her, a spark of warmth lighting up his tired eyes. Aria, dressed in comfortable pajamas, stepped into the room, a small candle casting a warm glow on her delicate features.

"Are you not sleeping?" Aria's concerned voice resonated through the room, her eyes scanning Spencer's fatigued form. She could see the toll his responsibilities had taken on him, both physically and mentally.

Spencer mustered a weary smile in response. "I could ask you the same question." His office, typically bustling with royal officials during the day, now lay quiet and serene, the couch beckoning for moments of respite. The night had brought solace to the room, with only the dim candlelight and the distant view of Azure City through the window to accompany them.

Gently settling beside Spencer on the couch, Aria's worry etched into her expression. "I couldn't sleep, knowing you were burdened by your work," she confessed, her concern for him unwavering.

Spencer sighed softly, appreciating her genuine care. "I suppose our concerns mirror each other," he admitted. The weight of his responsibilities had often kept him away from the comforts of restful sleep, as his days bled into nights within the confines of his office.

Their relationship, though still in its tender stages, faced a unique obstacle—Spencer's unyielding dedication to his work. The demands of his position as Prime Minister left little time for their relationship to flourish, hindering their progress toward deeper intimacy. Their love had bloomed amidst the bustling halls of the Dragon Palace, yet the ever-present pressures of duty continued to cast a shadow on their connection.

Aria's presence provided solace in the midst of his demanding existence. Her unwavering support and affection filled the room, casting a warm aura that battled against the fatigue that clung to Spencer's weary frame. She understood the sacrifices he made for the Empire, aware of the countless nights he spent within the walls of his office, his true sanctuary.

Gazing out the window, Spencer's tired eyes caught a glimpse of the distant Azure City, its vibrant lights twinkling like stars against the night sky. The view served as a poignant reminder of the world outside, where moments of respite awaited those brave enough to seize them.

"Perhaps it's time for a change," Spencer murmured, his voice tinged with a mixture of weariness and determination. His gaze shifted to meet Aria's, his expression filled with a renewed resolve. "I cannot continue at this relentless pace forever. We deserve a life beyond the confines of my office."

Aria's eyes widened with a glimmer of hope, her heart leaping at the prospect of a future where they could embrace their love fully. She understood the complexities of Spencer's role, but she longed for the time and intimacy that had eluded them thus far.

"We can find a way," Aria whispered, her voice filled with unwavering support. "Together, we can create a space for us—a realm where work and love intertwine harmoniously."

As they sat side by side on the couch, the flickering candlelight casting playful shadows across the room, Spencer felt a renewed sense of purpose. The world beyond his office walls beckoned, and with Aria by his side, he knew he could navigate the delicate balance between duty and personal happiness.

In

that quiet moment, the distant city lights mirrored the ember of hope that burned brightly within their hearts. A new chapter awaited, where love and rest would find their rightful place amidst the grand tapestry of the Istarin Empire.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is the end of Side stories! I hope you enjoyed them. This chapter is 2500+ words. I did not want this side story to take another chapter. The reason I showed Sylvie, Spencer, Aria, Victoria, and Amber in these side stories is because they are going to play important roles at the future events. There will be more side stories showing the lives of our Heroines. But that will happen later not now. Now I will progress the story forward. I am starting to feel that I am taking too much time with this Oracle Alliance War arc.

Chapter 417

On the fourth day following the decisive conclusion of the war between the Oracle Alliance and the Triumvirate Alliance, the ripples of this momentous event continued to reverberate throughout the entire continent. The news had traveled far and wide, capturing the attention of other powerful empires across distant lands.

Amidst the continent's collective discussion and speculation, the enigmatic figure at the center of it all, Aditya, found solace and tranquility within the grandeur of the Dragon Palace. After sharing a hearty breakfast with his family, he devoted a moment to nourishing Lara, his fourth fiancée, with his life-giving blood—a sacred ritual that strengthened their bond. With the morning rituals completed Aditya made his way to his office, where matters of the empire awaited his attention.

Meanwhile, Aria, accompanied by Riya, Lara, and Julia, ventured off to engage in lively conversations and activities. Ever since Aria had become a part of the Dragon Palace, Aditya's other fiancées had taken it upon themselves to embrace her, ensuring she felt welcomed and cherished within their close-knit family. Alicia, the goddess of wealth, was consumed by her myriad responsibilities and unable to join the gathering, leaving the girls to share their laughter and stories without her presence.

Within the Emperor's office, a chamber of power and authority, Aditya sat comfortably in a plush chair, his commanding presence emanating a sense of calm. Standing across from him was Spencer, his trusted Prime Minister, who presented him with a stack of documents requiring the Emperor's attention.

Aditya perused the papers carefully, absorbing their contents while listening intently to Spencer's report. The topic at hand revolved around the progress of Miss Victoria, an extraordinary individual whose swift actions had dealt significant blows to rebel factions within the Uzacan Empire. Spencer's estimate painted an optimistic picture: the complete eradication of rebels within the Uzacan Empire was only a matter of days away, thanks to Miss Victoria's remarkable efficiency.

Aditya acknowledged Spencer's observations with a nod, their shared understanding evident. It was clear that Miss Victoria's exceptional abilities and unwavering dedication were crucial to the rapid restoration of peace within the Uzacan Empire. Without her invaluable contributions, the process would have extended over several arduous weeks.

Curiosity brimming within him, Aditya inquired about the progress of other crucial matters, knowing that the security of the Istarin Empire relied on their successful resolution.

"And what of the others? How are they faring?" Aditya's voice carried a mix of intrigue and concern. Though he entrusted much of these affairs to Spencer's capable hands, he understood the gravity of the situation, making it essential for him to remain well-informed.

Spencer met Aditya's gaze, his expression firm and resolute. "General Amber, as per your orders, is leading her army toward the capital. General Nathan and the shadow guardians are diligently tracking down the nobles who fled with the empire's wealth, their pursuit yielding favorable results thus far. General Eleanor has assumed Nathan's previous role and is currently leading a force of 500,000 troops to the Obi Islands. According to her most recent correspondence, they have successfully reached the islands after a three-day journey by boat."

Aditya absorbed this information, his mind comprehending the intricate chessboard of their strategic maneuvers. He acknowledged the steady progress made by each of his trusted generals, understanding the magnitude of their tasks. If circumstances allowed, Aditya would have been personally involved, hastening the resolution of these critical matters. However, he had made a promise—an obligation that compelled him to journey to the Deep Sea Palace to aid Laura, an endeavor that demanded his immediate attention.

With a thoughtful nod, Aditya acknowledged Spencer's report, fully aware of the responsibilities that rested upon his shoulders. The weight of leadership, the burden of decision-making, and the ever-expanding scope of the Istarin Empire loomed over him.

After an hour filled with attentive listening, meticulous reading, and the signing of crucial documents, Aditya paused, his gaze shifting towards Spencer. A sense of determination tinged with compassion emanated from his eyes.

"Today, Spencer, you shall be granted three new capable assistants," Aditya announced, surprising his devoted Prime Minister. He recognized Spencer's unwavering dedication, understanding the toll it took on his personal life and the limited time he could spend with his girlfriend.

Spencer, taken aback by this unexpected announcement, expressed his gratitude. "Your Majesty, I am truly honored by your consideration. Thank you for recognizing my efforts."

Aditya's trust in his close ally extended beyond mere words. Alicia, the goddess of wealth and one of Aditya's fiancées, had handpicked these three new assistants, their capabilities and integrity vouched for by her discerning judgment. After ensuring they signed the soul contract, binding them to protect and uphold the Empire's secrets, Aditya granted Spencer the authority to incorporate them into his team. Should the workload prove overwhelming, Aditya was open to considering additional assistance.

Gratitude radiated from Spencer as he absorbed Aditya's words, a newfound sense of relief washing over him. The prospect of having competent aides by his side meant not only a lightened workload but also the opportunity to cherish moments with his beloved.

In the grand study of the Dragon Palace, adorned with intricate tapestries and shelves lined with ancient tomes, Aditya and Spencer sat opposite each other at a large oak table. Papers, scrolls, and maps covered the surface, each document representing a different matter that required the Emperor's attention.

Aditya's brow furrowed as he perused a report detailing a recent increase in smuggling activities along the Istarin Empire's southern border. "Spencer, it appears that our efforts to combat smuggling operations are falling short. The influx of contraband goods is not only impacting our economy but also undermining the stability of the region. We need a more effective strategy."

Spencer, always quick to analyze and propose solutions, leaned forward, studying the same report. "Indeed, Your Majesty. To tackle this issue, we could bolster our border patrol forces with additional personnel and implement stricter inspections and surveillance measures. Furthermore, I believe it would be prudent to collaborate with neighboring kingdoms and establish intelligence-sharing networks to better identify and apprehend the leaders of these smuggling rings."

Aditya nodded approvingly, acknowledging the comprehensive approach presented by his trusted advisor. "Excellent suggestions, Spencer. Initiate discussions with the neighboring kingdoms immediately, emphasizing the importance of unity in combatting smuggling. Simultaneously, assign a task force to investigate the root causes and identify key players involved. We cannot allow our borders to be compromised."

As they deliberated over various matters, another pressing issue came to the forefront—reports of a rebellion brewing within a remote province. Aditya's gaze darkened, his voice firm. "Spencer, we must quell this rebellion swiftly and decisively. Lives are at stake, and any disruption to our territories threatens the harmony we have worked so hard to achieve."

Spencer, his mind already working through the intricacies of the situation, interjected, "Your Majesty, I have dispatched a Peak 4th Dragonian along with 5000 troops to the province in question. They will neutralize the rebellion and restore order. However, we must also address the underlying discontentment. I propose allocating additional resources to the province for development and welfare programs, ensuring the grievances of the people are addressed."

Aditya nodded, appreciating Spencer's comprehensive approach to governance. "Indeed, Spencer. While we must maintain law and order, we should also strive to understand and address the root causes of unrest. Begin drafting a comprehensive plan that emphasizes economic development, education, and social welfare initiatives tailored to the specific needs of the province."

Hours turned into minutes as Aditya and Spencer meticulously tackled each issue, deliberating over matters of diplomacy, resource management, and internal security. Their discussions ranged from economic reforms and trade agreements to agricultural innovations and cultural preservation. Aditya valued Spencer's insights, relying on his Prime Minister's intellect and unwavering dedication to guide the empire toward prosperity.

In this dynamic partnership, Aditya's vision and leadership were complemented by Spencer's keen strategic mind and administrative expertise. Together, they navigated the intricate web of challenges that befell an empire, adapting their approaches to ensure the stability, growth, and welfare of their people.

Another two hours passed, and the once bustling atmosphere within Aditya's office gradually quieted as Spencer concluded his tasks. Thanks to Spencer's unwavering diligence and meticulous organization, the paperwork had been efficiently sorted and managed. Aditya, appreciating his Prime Minister's unwavering loyalty and commitment, had complete faith in Spencer. In the midst of chaos or even impending calamity, Spencer would remain steadfast, upholding the Empire and its ruler without hesitation.

With the completion of the day's administrative responsibilities, Aditya found himself momentarily freed from the demands of paperwork. The respite allowed him to focus on other pressing matters.

Scene change_____

As Aditya sat upon his majestic throne, adorned in the resplendent Crimson Regalia, the symbol of his authority as the Dragon Monarch, the chamber echoed with a sense of reverence and anticipation. The members of the Ice Lotus Dragon clan, clad in their traditional robes, knelt before him, their heads respectfully lowered in a display of utmost respect.

"Patriarch Stanley McDonald, I welcome you and the esteemed members of the Ice Lotus Dragon clan," Aditya addressed them with a voice that resonated with regal authority. "Your presence within the Dragon Palace honors me, and I am eager to hear your words."

Patriarch Stanley McDonald, a figure of wisdom and strength, rose from his kneeling position, his eyes filled with a mixture of pride and humility. He stood tall, representing the ancient lineage of the Ice Lotus Dragon clan.

"Dragon Monarch, we, the Ice Lotus Dragon clan, offer our utmost loyalty and allegiance to your noble reign," Patriarch Stanley spoke with a measured tone, his voice filled with respect. "Our small clan, consisting of only twenty-nine members, humbly stands before you today, recognizing your divine power and the justness of your rule."

Aditya's gaze shifted from Stanley to the members of the Ice Lotus Dragon clan, each face displaying a unique blend of determination and devotion. Among them, his eyes lingered upon Mila McDonald, the youngest member of the clan, whose courage and unwavering spirit had caught his attention during the war.

"Mila McDonald, your valiant actions during the recent conflict have not gone unnoticed," Aditya addressed her directly, his voice filled with admiration. "Your dedication to the ideals of honor and bravery has impressed me greatly. It is an honor to have you and your esteemed clan within the Dragon Palace."

Mila, her eyes filled with a mix of humility and gratitude, lowered her head further in acknowledgment of the Dragon Monarch's words. The other members of the clan exchanged proud glances, recognizing the significance of this moment.

"Dragon Monarch, we are but a humble clan, rooted in the ancient traditions passed down through generations," Stanley continued, his voice carrying the weight of his responsibility as patriarch. "Our loyalty and devotion to the Dragon Monarch and its people run deep within our veins. We pledge our unwavering support and protection to you, our esteemed ruler."

Aditya nodded, his expression reflecting the deep appreciation he held for their commitment. "I am honored to accept your allegiance, Ice Lotus Dragon clan."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

(The Battle of the Factions - from now on that's what this war is going to be called. I am kind of sick of mentioning the Oracle Alliance and the Triumvirate Alliance every time I have to mention this war.)

Chapter 418

"You can enjoy your stay at the Dragon Palace until your new home is arranged," Aditya graciously offered to Patriarch Stanley and the Ice Lotus clan. Recognizing the sacrifice they had made to come and serve the Dragon Monarch, he was determined to provide them with a suitable place to settle down and call their own.

Patriarch Stanley, his eyes filled with gratitude, pondered the question before responding with a humble request. "Your Majesty, if it pleases you, I would be grateful if my clan could settle in a location outside the bustling Capital. We are the Ice Lotus Dragon clan, and we have a deep affinity for water. Therefore, if it is possible, a home near a water source would be ideal for us."

Aditya nodded, his mind swiftly navigating through his vast knowledge of the empire's geography. He closed his eyes, visualizing the land and considering the various possibilities. After a moment of contemplation, he opened his eyes and spoke with a sense of certainty.

"Approximately 11 kilometers west of Azure City, there lies a magnificent lake, encompassed by a small yet majestic mountain chain," Aditya explained, his voice carrying a hint of nostalgia. "To the best of my recollection, that particular area remains untouched and uninhabited. Within a 10 kilometer radius, there are several small villages, fostering a sense of community and connection. Would such a location be amenable to your clan, Patriarch Stanley?"

Patriarch Stanley's eyes widened in astonishment. The prospect of a serene lake surrounded by lofty mountains resonated deeply with the spirit of the Ice Lotus Dragon clan. It was as if Aditya had intuitively understood their desires and presented them with a perfect option.

"Your Majesty, that sounds like an ideal place for our clan to settle," Patriarch Stanley replied, his voice filled with gratitude. "Being near the tranquil waters of the lake and surrounded by the protective embrace of the mountains would be a true blessing for us. We are immensely grateful for your consideration."

Aditya smiled, a genuine warmth radiating from him. "Consider it done, Patriarch Stanley. I will personally ensure that the necessary arrangements are made for your clan to settle in that location. It shall become your new home, where you can thrive and continue to honor the legacy of the Ice Lotus Dragon clan."

Patriarch Stanley and the members of the Ice Lotus clan bowed deeply, expressing their heartfelt appreciation for the Dragon Monarch's generosity. The sense of relief and anticipation filled the air as plans were set into motion to create a haven for the Ice Lotus Dragon clan, a place where they could forge new beginnings and carry their traditions forward.

As the meeting came to a close, Aditya reflected on the significance of this exchange. It was not merely about providing a new home, but about fostering a sense of belonging and unity within his empire. The Ice Lotus Dragon clan, now entrusted with a new chapter in their history, would forever be connected to the Istarin Empire and the Dragon Monarch himself.

Aditya sat solemnly upon his illustrious throne, the grandeur of the throne hall serving as a stark reminder of his weighty responsibilities. The hall, typically bustling with courtiers and officials, now stood empty, allowing him a moment of solitude to reflect upon an important matter that had eluded his attention during his earlier meeting with Spencer.

As he gazed into the distance, his eyes fixed on an ornate tapestry adorning the chamber wall, his mind delved deep into the quandary that lay before him. The expansion of the Istarin Empire had bestowed upon him vast new territories, fertile lands teeming with resources and ripe with potential. However, with this growth came the inevitable need for a stronger military force to maintain order and security throughout the empire.

"Now that our Empire's territories have expanded," Aditya contemplated, his fingers gently massaging his temples in a gesture of contemplation, "we find ourselves faced with the pressing concern of insufficient troops. Our current standing army of nearly 4,000,000 soldiers pales in comparison to the demands of our newfound domain. To ensure the stability and prosperity of every corner of the empire, we shall require a force of no less than 10,000,000 troops, if not more."

Aditya's furrowed brow betrayed the weight of his thoughts as he considered the gravity of the situation. The Empire's borders had stretched far and wide, encompassing vast swaths of land that demanded vigilant protection and steadfast control. His duty as the Dragon Monarch necessitated swift action to fortify the empire's defenses.

A resolve crystallized within Aditya's eyes as he reached a decision. It was imperative to relay this matter to Spencer and set in motion the necessary measures to recruit and bolster the ranks of the imperial army.

"Spencer," Aditya's voice reverberated through the empty hall, carrying with it a sense of authority and purpose, "I must convey an oversight from our earlier discussion. With the expansion of our territories, it is evident that our current military strength is inadequate to ensure the peace and security of our realm. I hereby instruct you to issue a royal decree, initiating a widespread recruitment effort to bolster our forces."

As the words resonated in the silent chamber, Aditya's gaze shifted to the far end of the throne hall, where a grand wooden door stood sentinel, ready to carry his message to the realm beyond. The responsibility of safeguarding the empire's prosperity and the welfare of its people weighed heavily upon his shoulders. It was a duty he would fulfill with unwavering determination, ensuring that the Istarin Empire stood resolute against any threat that dared to challenge its sovereignty.

Scene change_____

Aditya sat regally in his seat, his eyes sparkling with genuine warmth as he welcomed Kane and his daughter, Jennifer, to the meeting. The grand chamber was adorned with opulent decorations, befitting the significance of the occasion. Across from him, Kane exuded an air of wisdom and dignity, a testament to his years of ruling the now-incorporated Skyline Kingdom.

"Kane, my old friend, it brings me great joy to see you once again," Aditya greeted, his voice carrying a note of genuine affection. His attention momentarily shifted to the delightful sight of Jennifer, the young girl relishing the sweet treats offered by the palace maid. Her innocent and radiant smile tugged at Aditya's heart, kindling within him a longing for a child of his own. Though a mere 19 years old, Aditya possessed a maturity well beyond his years, his mind attuned to the weighty responsibilities that came with his role as Dragon Monarch.

As the conversation turned to more pressing matters, Aditya's gaze met Kane's steady and experienced eyes. It was time to extend an offer that could benefit both the Empire and the respected former ruler.

"And now, Kane, I extend to you a proposition," Aditya began, his tone measured and earnest. "I offer you a position within my Empire, bestowing upon you the noble title that befits your esteemed stature. With your wealth of experience as the previous and final ruler of the Skyline Kingdom, I believe you are more than deserving of a role in governance."

Aditya leaned forward slightly, his eyes conveying his sincerity. He recognized the value of entrusting the governance of a province to someone with the wisdom and understanding of the land's history.

"You shall have the opportunity to govern a province, Kane, within the embrace of the Istarin Empire. Your insight and expertise will prove invaluable as we continue to shape and strengthen our dominion."

As the proposal hung in the air, Jennifer's eyes sparkled with a mix of delight and curiosity. The sweets she held in her hands seemed to transform into a symbol of the possibilities that lay before her father and their future within the empire. Her infectious joy radiated, encapsulating the innocence and hope that filled the room.

Aditya observed Jennifer's radiant expression, a flicker of warmth crossing his own features. It was moments like these that reminded him of the profound impact his decisions could have on the lives of those around him. With each step he took to shape the empire, he aspired to create a realm where happiness and prosperity flourished, not just for himself, but for all its inhabitants.

"I accept with utmost gratitude, Your Majesty," Kane replied, his voice filled with genuine appreciation and excitement. The opportunity bestowed upon him was a chance to prove his loyalty and dedication to the empire.

Aditya's presence commanded the room as he stepped forward, his voice resonating with authority. "Kane Welsh, henceforth, you shall be appointed as the Governor of the esteemed Skyline Province. By my decree, I grant you the distinguished rank of marquess. Your duty shall be to serve the Istarin Empire faithfully, working tirelessly for its greater good. I entrust you with the responsibility of upholding the empire's interests and welfare."

Kane humbly dropped to one knee, bowing his head in a display of reverence and acceptance. Emotions surged within him, overwhelming him with a sense of fulfillment. The Skyline Province held immense sentimental value for Kane, for it was his former kingdom that he willingly relinquished to the Istarin Empire in the face of pressure from the Southern Fire Dragon Empire. Never did he anticipate reclaiming his birthplace and having the privilege to govern it, even if he no longer bore the title of king. It was a moment of profound gratitude and realization for Kane.

Aditya stood tall, his gaze fixed upon Kane, as he elaborated on the responsibilities that accompanied his newly appointed position. "As the Governor of the Skyline Province and a noble of the Istarin Empire, you shall hold significant responsibilities. Your primary duty is to ensure the welfare and prosperity of the province and its people. You must govern with fairness, justice, and efficiency, maintaining law and order within your jurisdiction. It is imperative that you foster harmonious relations with neighboring provinces, promoting unity and cooperation for the betterment of the entire empire."

Kane listened attentively, his eyes locked on Aditya. "Your Majesty, I understand the weight of the responsibilities entrusted to me. I will dedicate myself to the service of the Istarin Empire and its people. I shall strive to administer the province with integrity, addressing the needs and concerns of its inhabitants. The prosperity and progress of the Skyline Province shall be my utmost priority."

Aditya nodded, acknowledging Kane's determination. "I have faith in your abilities, Kane. Remember, you are a representative of the empire, and your actions should reflect the values and principles we hold dear. Ensure that the province's resources are effectively utilized, promoting economic growth and development. Uphold the empire's laws, and should any challenges or conflicts arise, handle them judiciously and with diplomacy."

Kane's eyes sparkled with resolve. "Your Majesty, I shall endeavor to fulfill these duties to the best of my abilities. With your guidance and the support of the empire, I shall strive to govern the Skyline Province with honor and dedication."

Aditya offered a reassuring smile. "I believe in your potential, Kane. May your tenure as the Governor of the Skyline Province be marked by progress and prosperity. The empire stands behind you, and I trust that you will lead with wisdom and compassion."

Kane bowed respectfully, his gratitude evident in his voice. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am truly honored and grateful for this opportunity to serve the Istarin Empire."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

While writing this chapter, I remembered about Kane from John Wick 4. What a cool character is he.

I apologize for not uploading yesterday. To make up for it, I will be uploading four chapters today. Normally, I aim to upload two chapters per day. If I miss a day, I will try to upload the missed two chapters the next day along with the regular two chapters for that day.

Chapter 419

In a distant continent beyond the shores of the Dying Isle, the remaining members of the Oracle Alliance convened for a crucial meeting. These empires, hailing from different lands, had no territories in the war-ravaged Dying Isle continent. During the Battle of the Factions, they were prohibited from directly assisting their allies. However, they were permitted to offer indirect support in the form of financial aid, equipment, magical artifacts, battle formations, strategic plans, and any other means that did not involve direct involvement in the conflict.

Initially, the majority of the nine members, apart from Reese Gilliam, the Emperor of the Mystic Spring Empire, had been reluctant to engage in what they perceived as an unnecessary war. They believed that their Leader was using their powers merely to satisfy his ego. However, the undeniable might of Lucas and his empire instilled a sense of fear and hesitation in everyone, preventing any objections from being raised.

Expecting a protracted conflict, no one anticipated that the war would conclude in such a swift manner. With the defeat of six Oracle Alliance members, including their Leader, the very existence of their alliance now hung in the balance. The purpose of today's meeting was to address this pressing question and determine the future course of action for the remaining members.

Upon a secluded island, the five remaining members of the Oracle Alliance gathered alongside their Prime Ministers and armed forces. Unlike their previous meeting, where troops and bodyguards were absent, this time each emperor arrived with a contingent of soldiers and loyal guards. The heightened security presence underscored the escalating tension among the remaining members, revealing a deep-rooted lack of trust. They had come prepared for the worst, fully aware that unity was wavering.

This shift in attitude highlighted the delicate equilibrium that had been maintained under the rule of Emperor Lucas. Each emperor possessed an immense ego, making cooperation between two such individuals exceedingly difficult. However, under Lucas, who wielded superior power, they were compelled to put aside their differences and work in unison. Lucas's presence had enforced a sense of order, and no member dared to challenge it.

But now, with Lucas's absence, the delicate balance had been shattered. The remaining five members found themselves in a state of suspicion and mistrust. The disappearance of their common ground left a void, exposing the true nature of their individual ambitions and desires. The absence of a central figure to unite them had dissolved the bonds that had been tenuously forged.

The meeting room exuded an air of gravity and anticipation, its atmosphere charged with the weight of the decisions to be made. At its center stood a round table, crafted from rich mahogany, its polished surface reflecting the dim light cast by flickering torches adorning the walls. Five chairs encircled the table, each one meticulously designed to accommodate an emperor of great stature.

The chairs, upholstered in sumptuous velvet and adorned with intricate carvings, awaited the arrival of their occupants. Positioned behind each chair, the Prime Ministers stood in staunch support, their expressions a reflection of the gravity of the situation. Dressed in formal attire, they projected an air of unwavering loyalty, ready to fulfill their duties at their respective leaders' behest.

The room itself exuded an aura of timeless elegance. Elaborate tapestries, depicting scenes of ancient battles and heroic triumphs, lined the walls. Gilded sconces bathed the space in a warm, golden glow, casting intricate patterns of light and shadow. The air carried a subtle scent of aged parchment and incense, lending an air of reverence to the chamber.

As the emperors entered the room, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone floor, they cast solemn glances toward the table. Each emperor approached their designated chair, its imposing presence serving as a visual reminder of their individual power and authority. With measured grace, they settled into their seats, their Prime Ministers standing steadfastly behind them, their unwavering support and counsel ready to be offered.

The round table, a symbol of equality and collaboration, provided a focal point for the forthcoming discussions. Its smooth surface, devoid of embellishments, emphasized the need for open dialogue and the search for common ground. Here, decisions of great consequence would be deliberated upon, alliances forged or broken, and the fate of the Oracle Alliance determined.

In this hallowed space, surrounded by opulence and encumbered by the weight of responsibility, the remaining members of the Oracle Alliance prepared to confront the challenges that lay ahead. The room stood as a testament to the past glories and the uncertain future that awaited them.

And thus the meeting started --

"It seems you have become quite skinny, Your Majesty Cassius," Emperor Layton Valentine of the Mountain Light Empire sneered, his gaze scrutinizing Cassius Ironwood of the Socotra Land Empire. Cassius, known for his laziness and corpulent figure, had left the majority of his responsibilities to his trusted subordinates, indulging in a life of uninterrupted sleep and lavish meals. Despite his indolence, Cassius had managed to attain a formidable cultivation level, reaching the peak of the 3rd order. His talent for cultivation was undeniable, but his apathetic approach hindered any further progress. After all, why exert effort when he commanded Peak 5th-order commanders?

"Haha! Instead of squandering ten million royal gold coins like a certain someone, I prefer to use my wealth to satisfy my insatiable appetite," Layton Valentine retorted, his right eye twitching at the mention of his past actions. Cassius's words struck a chord of truth, however. When the war had erupted, Layton had generously donated 10 million royal gold coins, a sum equivalent to 100 million gold coins, to the Queenstown and Uzacan Empires combined. This indirect support was intended to assist the alliance members, as per their agreement. Little did he anticipate that the war would abruptly end mere hours after his contribution. Consequently, the funds he had given were never returned, finding their way directly into the coffers of the Uzacan and Queenstown Emperors. When Layton attempted to retrieve his money, both emperors callously rejected his pleas. Frustrated and humiliated, Layton found himself in a predicament where his significant investment had seemingly vanished.

Had the sum been negligible, Layton might have shrugged it off, but this was a considerable amount. Moreover, with the Istarin Empire now in control of the Uzacan and Queenstown Empires, he dared not risk sending his troops or generals to retrieve the funds. Layton was no fool; he understood the overwhelming power wielded by the Dragon Monarch, and he had no desire to provoke the ire of the empire.

Cassius's mocking words elicited laughter from the others, exacerbating Layton's shame. As an emperor, it was unprecedented for anyone to laugh at him, let alone in his presence. Glaring at the raucous group, Layton's gaze carried a silent warning, yet the laughter persisted, unrelenting in its mockery. In that moment, Layton felt a pang of deep embarrassment, a stark reminder of the diminished respect he commanded within the alliance.

"Enough of this banter. Let us not waste any more time," declared Emperor Logan Hussain of the Vermillion Empire, seeking to redirect the focus of the meeting. His gaze shifted towards the other four emperors, his tone firm and serious. "Now, what plans do you all have moving forward? We receive numerous letters from the families and people of our fallen allies, pleading for our assistance and support. The Oracle Alliance stands on shaky ground, and it is uncertain if our alliance can survive. This may very well be our final meeting as members of the Oracle Alliance."

The weight of the situation settled upon the room, a somber atmosphere enveloping the gathered leaders. The existence of their alliance hung in the balance, and their responses would shape the destiny of the remaining members. The delay in convening this meeting had already demonstrated their lack of concern, further eroding the once unwavering unity among them.

"I have grown disillusioned with the affairs of the Dying Isle Continent. The fate of the Northwestern region holds no interest for me anymore. From the very beginning, I voiced my opposition to this war. Now that Lucas has fallen, it is clear that the Oracle Alliance has crumbled. I believe you understand my sentiments," declared Emperor Lucius Veridian of the Sunfire Empire, his voice tinged with resignation.

"I echo your sentiments, Lucius. I, too, am finished with the Oracle Alliance. I no longer wish to be entangled in its web. It is time for me to forge my own path," chimed in Cassius, the Lazy Emperor, his apathy replaced with a newfound determination.

Lucius Veridian turned his gaze to the other emperors, seeking their input. The weight of their decisions hung in the air, each member contemplating their role within the defunct alliance. Silence settled upon the room as their eyes met, each emperor grappling with their own thoughts and convictions. The disintegration of the Oracle Alliance had left them adrift, their future paths uncertain.

Emperor Layton Valentine of the Mountain Light Empire was the first to break the silence. "I, too, have grown weary of this alliance. The events that have unfolded have left me disillusioned. It is time for me to pursue my own goals and ambitions."

Logan Hussain of the Vermillion Empire nodded in agreement, his expression resolute. "The Oracle Alliance was meant to unite us, but its demise has only served to divide us further. I shall chart my own course and prioritize the well-being of my empire."

The room fell silent once again as the remaining emperors pondered their own choices. Each weighed the benefits and drawbacks of severing ties with the alliance, considering the impact on their respective empires. The bonds that had once held them together had frayed, and the path forward seemed clear.

"I, too, have reached a decision," declared Emperor Viktor Skyrunner of the Azure Kingdom. "The Oracle Alliance has served its purpose, but it no longer aligns with the aspirations of my empire. I shall pursue a future that is independent of its influence."

With unanimous agreement, the once-mighty Oracle Alliance dissolved before their eyes. The emperors, once united in purpose, now stood at a crossroads, their destinies veering onto separate paths. The grand meeting room bore witness to this pivotal moment, its walls echoing with the weight of their choices and the repercussions that would follow.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Due to having some important work I won't have time to write any other chapters for today. My apologies.

Chapter 420

Aditya found himself seated in a lavishly decorated chamber, facing the enigmatic Sylvie, Alicia's dear friend. Sylvie, known for her love of bread, her timeless existence as a 100-year-old virgin dark elf, and her formidable cultivation as a 5th-order practitioner, held the esteemed position of the leader of the White Lotus Guild, a renowned organization spanning the vast reaches of the Westnia Continent.

Amidst the unexpected nature of Sylvie's arrival, Aditya couldn't help but roll his eyes, his mind preoccupied with pressing matters at hand. However, Sylvie, ever playful, crossed her arms and playfully challenged him, a mischievous smile adorning her face.

"Hehe! Now what's with that expression? Didn't you miss me?" Sylvie quipped, her tone filled with teasing amusement.

Aditya, though appreciating her lively spirit, couldn't help but sigh. "Sylvie, your timing is impeccable as always. But did you inform Alicia before coming here? Surprises can be a bit overwhelming, you know."

Sylvie's smile widened, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Nope. I wanted to surprise her. It's been too long since we had some fun together."

Aditya nodded, understanding Sylvie's desire to bring joy to Alicia's life. However, a question lingered in his mind, one that spoke to the responsibilities they both held.

"What about your duties as the leader of the White Lotus Guild?" Aditya inquired, his curiosity evident. "With your presence here, who will manage the day-to-day affairs of the guild?"

Sylvie's expression turned proud as she explained her diligent preparations. "Ever since you and Alicia left, I have been working tirelessly to recruit capable individuals who can handle the guild's operations without relying on my personal presence. I have assembled a skilled team of employees who are fully capable of managing tasks unless there's a major decision to be made or an emergency situation that requires my direct involvement."

Aditya listened attentively, impressed by Sylvie's proactive approach. It was clear that she had taken great care to ensure the continuity and smooth functioning of the White Lotus Guild. Her commitment to finding capable individuals who could shoulder the responsibilities demonstrated her dedication to the guild's success.

Sylvie's proud smile reflected her satisfaction with her preparations, and Aditya couldn't help but appreciate her efforts.

Aditya couldn't resist the urge to inquire about Sylvie's well-being, considering how much time had passed since they last met. The memories of their harrowing encounter in the forest, surrounded by a swarm of mutant ants, lingered in his mind. So much had changed since then, and Aditya himself had undergone a remarkable transformation, emerging stronger than ever before.

Returning to his empire, Aditya and Sylvie had found themselves consumed by their respective duties, leaving little time for personal interactions. Aditya's limited moments of respite were dedicated to his future wives, nurturing their relationships and strengthening the bonds they shared. With a harem of four beautiful women, he understood the importance of spending quality time with each of them.

As for Sylvie, her newfound responsibilities and the demands of her role as the leader of the White Lotus Guild had left her with scarce moments of leisure. Whatever fleeting moments she managed to snatch were often spent indulging in her love for bread or savoring a drink. At some point, she had become so engrossed in her work that sleep had become a luxury she could rarely afford.

Aditya couldn't help but reflect on the past, particularly the time he had visited Westnia to meet Alicia's parents. His charade as her pretend boyfriend had blossomed into a genuine relationship, one that her perceptive parents had tacitly supported. Although the truth had been known, they had chosen not to reveal it, recognizing the budding connection between Aditya and Alicia.

Upon his return, Aditya's ambitions had taken flight, leading him to conquer half of the Southern region within a week. The Istarin Empire's expansion beyond the Eastern region had been nothing short of remarkable. Looking back on his accomplishments, Aditya felt a deep sense of pride in his role as both an emperor and a loving husband.

Despite the exhaustion that sometimes overwhelmed him, he had managed to strike a delicate balance between his personal relationships and the demands of his empire. Progressing in his relationships with his wives mirrored the growth of his empire, flourishing across the entire continent.

"Indeed, so much has changed in the last few months," Aditya remarked a note of wonder in his voice. The whirlwind of events had shaped him into the ruler he had become, and he marveled at the path he had forged, cherishing the successes he had achieved amidst the ever-evolving landscape of his life.

"Unfortunately, you came at the wrong time. The others are currently out. Julia and the rest went shopping, Alicia is occupied with her work, and Leo is immersed in cultivation. So, you're stuck with me," Aditya explained with a hint of amusement. With his own tasks completed for the day, he had no pressing matters to attend to.

"Hehe! Aren't you going to give me a tour of your Dragon Palace?" Sylvie asked playfully, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. She had heard countless intriguing stories and myths surrounding the Dragon Palace and was eager to experience it firsthand. Sitting before the man who had constructed this magnificent structure only heightened her curiosity.

"Sure," Aditya agreed, rising from his seat as if to lead the way. However, before he could take a step, a messenger approached him, bearing an important letter.

"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Thera Kingdom. It has been personally written by their King," the messenger informed him, emphasizing the significance of the correspondence. Knowing the longstanding alliance between the Thera Kingdom and the Istarin Empire, Aditya recognized the importance of this message. The Thera King wouldn't reach out without a serious and valid reason.

The Thera Kingdom, nestled within the territories of the Istarin Empire, had maintained a close alliance for years. Despite its small population, Aditya had chosen not to annex the Thera Kingdom's territories without a legitimate cause. The bond between their realms deepened after the Istarin Empire's victory over the Zulux Dynasty.

Through their alliance, the Istarin Empire had extended support to the Thera Kingdom's development in various ways. For instance, the empire provided Mana stones to the Thera Kingdom at a discounted price, enabling substantial savings for the kingdom. This economic cooperation had cemented their friendship and contributed to the Thera Kingdom's growth.

Politically, the Thera Kingdom found itself in a secure position, shielded by the might and influence of the Istarin Empire. This alliance acted as a deterrent to potential aggressors, deterring any external threats and ensuring the stability of the Thera Kingdom's governance.

Financially, the Thera Kingdom experienced significant advantages through its alliance with the Istarin Empire. As a close ally, the Thera Kingdom had access to lucrative trade routes facilitated by the Empire. This resulted in increased economic opportunities, bolstering the kingdom's financial well-being and fostering prosperity. Trade agreements between the Thera Kingdom and the Istarin Empire allowed for the exchange of goods, resources, and knowledge, further enhancing the economic growth of both parties.

Militarily, the Thera Kingdom benefited from the protection and support of the Istarin Empire. The close proximity of the Thera Kingdom to the empire's territories ensured a swift response in times of crisis or conflict. The Istarin Empire provided military assistance, sharing its expertise, resources, and strategic guidance to strengthen the Thera Kingdom's defense capabilities. This support helped maintain the security of the Thera Kingdom, safeguarding its borders and ensuring the safety of its people.

Furthermore, the alliance with the Istarin Empire granted the Thera Kingdom a voice in regional and international affairs. Through diplomatic channels, the Thera Kingdom had the opportunity to express its interests, concerns, and aspirations, allowing it to contribute to important decisions that shaped the region's politics and policies. The Istarin Empire's influence and reputation elevated the Thera Kingdom's status, providing it with greater visibility and recognition on the global stage.

Overall, the Thera Kingdom's alliance with the Istarin Empire proved mutually beneficial. The Istarin Empire's political, financial, and military support provided the Thera Kingdom with stability, prosperity, and security. This close alliance fortified the Thera Kingdom's position, allowing it to thrive and flourish within the shadow of its powerful ally.

Intrigued by the arrival of the letter, Aditya's attention turned back to Sylvie. "It seems our tour will have to wait for now. Let me see what Thera King has to say. It's unusual for him to correspond directly," Aditya remarked, the sense of duty evident in his voice. He handed the letter to an attendant and instructed them to bring it to his study for immediate review.

Sylvie nodded understandingly, her curiosity momentarily deferred. "Of course, attending to matters of state should take precedence. We can explore the Dragon Palace later."

Aditya offered her a reassuring smile before excusing himself to attend to the pressing message from the Thera Kingdom. As the doors closed behind him, the intrigue surrounding the letter piqued both his and Sylvie's curiosity, setting the stage for potential developments that could impact their alliance with the Thera Kingdom and the course of their future interactions.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 421

[Emperor Aditya],

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. It is with great joy and excitement that I write to you today to share a momentous occasion that is soon to take place within the Thera Kingdom.

My esteemed Supreme Commander, Ren, has found love and companionship in the form of my beloved daughter, Princess Isabella. Their bond has blossomed into a deep and profound connection, filled with mutual respect, admiration, and affection. It is with utmost pleasure that I announce their upcoming union in holy matrimony.

In light of this joyous event, I extend to you a heartfelt invitation to join us in celebrating their union. The wedding ceremony will be held tomorrow, in the grand halls of our kingdom, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of our island home. It would be an honor and privilege to have your esteemed presence grace this auspicious occasion.

We hold the alliance between the Thera Kingdom and the Istarin Empire in high regard, cherishing the bonds of friendship and mutual support that we have cultivated over the years. Your presence at this joyous celebration would further strengthen the ties between our realms and serve as a testament to the enduring alliance we share.

The festivities will commence in the morning, with a vibrant procession through the streets of our capital city, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and traditions of our people. The wedding ceremony itself will take place in the afternoon, within the resplendent walls of our grand palace, where family, friends, and esteemed guests will witness the sacred vows of love and commitment.

Following the ceremony, a grand banquet will be held, where the finest delicacies and delights of our kingdom will be presented for your enjoyment. We have spared no expense in preparing a feast fit for royalty, accompanied by music, dance, and merriment that will fill the air with joyous celebration.

I implore you, Emperor Aditya, to honor us with your esteemed presence at this momentous occasion. Your attendance would not only bring great honor to our family and kingdom but would also serve as a symbol of our enduring friendship and alliance.

Please inform us of your arrival and any specific arrangements you may require. We will ensure that every measure is taken to accommodate you and your entourage during your stay within our kingdom.

With warm regards and anticipation of your gracious presence, I remain,

[Charles]

King of the Thera Kingdom]

After meticulously reading the letter from King Charles, Aditya found himself contemplating whether attending the wedding was truly necessary. As the Emperor, he held the power to delegate such matters to his trusted advisor, Watson, who could gracefully decline the invitation on his behalf, citing personal or official obligations. Attending weddings had never been his cup of tea, and he often found himself disinterested in the pomp and formalities associated with such events.

However, a sense of curiosity and an underlying desire for a change of scenery began to tug at Aditya's thoughts. The monotony of his daily responsibilities as Emperor had left him yearning for a breath of fresh air and a break from the confines of his palace. The Thera Kingdom, though small, held its own charm and allure, nestled within the vast territories of the Istarin Empire. The prospect of witnessing a joyous celebration and being amidst the warmth of jubilant festivities started to entice him.

As Aditya pondered his decision, he realized that attending the wedding could offer him an opportunity to forge stronger connections with the Thera Kingdom and its people. It was a chance to demonstrate his commitment to the enduring alliance between their realms and solidify the bonds of friendship. Moreover, attending the wedding in person would convey a genuine sense of respect and appreciation for the Thera King's invitation.

Aditya's mind drifted to his companions and the potential company he could bring along. He contemplated the personalities and preferences of his four wives, considering who would most likely enjoy the wedding atmosphere and contribute to the joyous occasion. Deep in thought, he weighed the advantages and disadvantages of each choice, taking into account their individual desires and the potential impact their presence might have on the wedding festivities.

After careful consideration, Aditya made up his mind. He decided that it would be best to invite all four of his wives to accompany him. Not only would this offer each of them an opportunity to experience the grandeur of the Thera Kingdom's wedding, but it would also allow him to spend quality time with each of them and strengthen their bonds further. Additionally, their presence would add a touch of regality and splendor to the occasion, reflecting the magnificence of the Istarin Empire.

With his decision made, Aditya summoned his trusted messenger and dictated a response to King Charles. He expressed his gratitude for the invitation and enthusiastically confirmed his attendance at the forthcoming wedding. Aditya ensured that the letter conveyed his eagerness to partake in the joyous celebration and the honor he felt to witness the union of Princess Isabella and Supreme Commander Ren.

As the messenger departed to deliver the response, Aditya couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of anticipation. Despite his initial reservations, the prospect of attending the wedding had awakened a spark of excitement within him. He looked forward to embarking on this journey with his wives by his side, ready to embrace the festivities and immerse himself in the vibrant atmosphere of the Thera Kingdom.

Scene change____________

As the evening sun began to set, casting a warm golden glow over the Dragon Palace, Alicia finally returned from her long day of work. Exhaustion etched across her face, she wearily made her way towards the familiar presence of Sylvie. Spotting her best friend waiting patiently in the grand hall, a surge of joy ignited within Alicia, dispelling her weariness.

"Sylvie!" Alicia exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine delight. The distance between them seemed to evaporate in an instant as they rushed towards each other, their arms wrapping tightly around one another in a heartfelt embrace. It was a reunion long overdue, a moment of shared happiness that transcended the boundaries of time and distance.

"I missed you so much," Alicia whispered, her voice laced with a mixture of relief and affection.

Sylvie's eyes gleamed with warmth and a fondness that only true friendship could evoke. "I missed you too," she replied softly, her voice brimming with sincerity. The bond between these two friends was unbreakable, their connection forged through countless shared memories and unwavering support for each other.

As Aditya watched the heartfelt reunion unfold before him, a gentle smile graced his features. He understood the significance of this moment and recognized the need for Alicia and Sylvie to have some uninterrupted time together. With a subtle nod, he silently slipped away, leaving the two friends to revel in each other's company, reminisce, and create new memories.

In the serenity of the Dragon Palace, Alicia and Sylvie found solace in each other's presence. They shared stories, laughter, and the deep bond of friendship that had withstood the test of time. It was a rare and precious moment, a respite from the demands of their respective duties and responsibilities.

As the evening unfolded, enveloping them in a comforting embrace, Alicia and Sylvie savored their time together. They knew that these moments of shared joy and companionship were the fuel that replenished their spirits, reminding them of the unwavering support and love they held for each other.

After their heartfelt reunion, Alicia led Sylvie to her bedroom, a sanctuary of comfort and privacy where they could continue their conversation in a more intimate setting. As they settled into the cozy space, Alicia couldn't help but notice the mischievous smirk on Sylvie's face, an indication that her friend had something amusing in mind.

"So, how far have you progressed with Aditya?" Sylvie playfully quipped, her tone infused with a hint of teasing. Sylvie had always been candid and lighthearted, unafraid to broach topics that might make others blush. It was part of her charm, and Alicia couldn't help but smile at her friend's playful nature.

Blushing slightly, Alicia hesitated for a moment before responding. "Well, we haven't taken that step yet," she admitted, her voice carrying a mixture of shyness and anticipation. As a young woman still discovering her own desires and navigating the complexities of love and intimacy, Alicia felt a flutter of excitement mingled with a touch of apprehension.

Sylvie, aware of her friend's teasing weakness, couldn't resist a playful jab. "Oh, Alicia, my dear, even after a hundred years, I still haven't found a boyfriend for myself. I suppose I can't be too harsh on you," she chuckled, her eyes sparkling mischievously. Sylvie's self-deprecating humor and ability to find joy in the simplest of moments had always been a source of comfort and laughter for Alicia.

The room was filled with an air of warmth and camaraderie as Alicia and Sylvie continued their intimate conversation. Amidst the gentle banter and shared secrets, their friendship grew stronger, fortified by the bond that had withstood the test of time. It was in moments like these, in the sanctuary of Alicia's bedroom, that their friendship flourished, each drawing strength and solace from the other's presence.

As the night enveloped them in its comforting embrace, Alicia and Sylvie reveled in the intimacy of their conversation, cherishing the trust and vulnerability they shared. Their laughter echoed through the room, a testament to the enduring power of their friendship and the unbreakable bond they had nurtured over the years.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 422

At the grand dining table, the atmosphere was filled with warmth and anticipation as Aditya introduced Sylvie to the rest of the girls. Their curious eyes focused on Sylvie, intrigued by the presence of Alicia's childhood friend and the renowned leader of the White Lotus Guild.

Aditya's voice resonated through the hall as he presented Sylvie. "Everyone, please welcome Sylvie. She is Alicia's dear friend from childhood and the esteemed Guild leader of the White Lotus Guild, which holds influence across the vast Westnia Continent."

Sylvie smiled gracefully, acknowledging the group. "Hello, everyone. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Sylvie already knew Julia and Riya. She had met both of them before.

Aditya proceeded with the introductions, highlighting each person's name and their connection to him. "Sylvie, this is Watson, a trusted companion who has journeyed by my side. Next, we have Leo and Clara, the beloved siblings whom I have adopted into our family. And here is Spencer, our loyal Prime Minister, accompanied by Aria, who is soon to be his wife."

A blush adorned Aria's cheeks as the mention of their impending marriage brought a tinge of excitement to the air. Though the formal proposal had yet to take place, the affectionate regard between them was evident to all present.

"And lastly, allow me to introduce Lara," Aditya began, but Sylvie swiftly interjected, a knowing smile gracing her lips. "I know," she declared, her words conveying an understanding that Alicia had shared details about Lara.

Sylvie took a step closer to Lara, her demeanor welcoming and friendly. "So, you're the sleeping princess that Aditya brought back. You are truly radiant." Her words carried a genuine admiration for the young woman sitting beside her. Initially feeling a bit uneasy, Lara gradually grew more at ease, finding comfort in Sylvie's warm presence. Before long, she found her voice and engaged in lively conversation, basking in the company of someone who made her feel at ease.

As the night drew near and the pleasant evening came to a close, everyone basked in the joyous atmosphere created by Sylvie's captivating tales. Her stories of thrilling adventures before assuming the mantle of the White Lotus Guild leader enthralled the group, painting vivid pictures of distant lands and daring escapades. They listened intently, their imaginations ignited by her vivid descriptions.

Amidst the laughter and shared camaraderie, Sylvie also touched upon her early life in the Elven Forest, where she had once called home. The allure of the outside world had beckoned her, fueling her thirst for exploration and discovery. And it was during her wanderings across the vast expanse of the Westnia Continent that fate led her to cross paths with Alicia, forging a deep and enduring friendship.

As the delightful dinner came to an end, Alicia, ever the gracious host, invited Sylvie to her private quarters for a more intimate conversation. Eager to delve deeper into their shared memories and catch up on the events that had unfolded since they last met, the two friends retreated to the sanctuary of Alicia's bedroom.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group dispersed, making their way back to their own chambers. Spencer, relieved from his duties by the capable hands of his newly appointed assistants, embraced the rare opportunity to relax and recharge. The weight of responsibility momentarily lifted from his shoulders, and he retired for the night, indulging in well-deserved rest and respite.

Scene change_____

As the night grew darker, the Emperor's Chambers became a haven of intimate sounds, passion filling the air. The chamber's soundproofing ensured that the passionate moans and sighs of pleasure remained contained within the private sanctuary, shielded from the curious ears of those within the Dragon Palace.

Julia, her body intertwined with Aditya's, lay upon him, their naked forms entwined in the aftermath of their shared ecstasy. The satisfaction upon the Goddess of Alchemy's face was evident.

With their breathing slowly returning to normal, Julia couldn't help but sense the contemplative air surrounding Aditya. Her curiosity piqued, she gently inquired, "Is there something weighing on your mind, my love?"

Aditya's lips curled into a tender smile as he bestowed affectionate kisses upon Julia's cheeks and nose. "Ah, you know me too well, don't you?" he replied, his voice filled with fondness.

"Yes, there is indeed something occupying my thoughts," he admitted. "Tomorrow, after attending the marriage ceremony, I plan to embark on another journey. It is time for me to fulfill my promise to Laura." Aditya's absence during the previous month had caused a delay in Laura's competition by ten additional days, and now, with six days already having passed, he felt the need to hasten his return to support and encourage her.

"I need to depart a few days in advance to meet with Laura and ensure that everything is in order," he explained, his tone tinged with a mixture of anticipation and determination.

Julia's heart softened at Aditya's reassuring words, his embrace providing comfort and solace. While a part of her still wished he would stay at the Dragon Palace and take the time to rest and rejuvenate, she understood his sense of duty and his commitment to fulfilling his promises. She had come to accept that his dedication to his responsibilities was an inherent part of who he was.

With a loving smile, Julia replied, "I trust in your abilities and your determination, my Emperor. I will eagerly await your return, knowing that you will accomplish what needs to be done." Her words carried a mixture of pride, admiration, and affection, as she reaffirmed her unwavering support for him.

Aditya, sensing the concern lingering in Julia's thoughts, held her even tighter, wanting to alleviate any worries she may have. "I promise, my love, I will not be gone for too long. I will do my best to expedite matters and return to you within a week or two," he assured her. In truth, the duration of the competition remained uncertain, but he wished to provide her with a sense of reassurance.

As their conversation continued, the topic shifted to the challenges of teleportation. Aditya explained the inherent limitations of teleportation, particularly when it came to crossing between land and water. The distinct separation and animosity between the two realms hindered the seamless connection of teleportation arrays, leaving Aditya unable to teleport directly from the water to the Dragon Palace and vice versa. With his passive skill, he can teleport to the Dragon Palace and spend the night at the Palace but he can't teleport back to the same place in water.

Julia listened attentively, her curiosity piqued by the complexities of teleportation. She marveled at the intricacies of the magical transportation system and how it varied across different domains. While she couldn't fully grasp the technicalities.

With a mixture of curiosity and concern, she asked, "Is there any way to bridge the gap between the land and the water, to create a connection between teleportation arrays? It seems like such a missed opportunity for easier travel and communication."

Aditya nodded, understanding her line of thinking. "Indeed, it would be beneficial to establish such a connection, not just for convenience but also for fostering unity and cooperation between the land and the water realms. However, the longstanding division between the two domains runs deep, and it would require significant diplomatic efforts and negotiations to bridge that gap. It is a challenge that we will need to address in due time." Both worlds were very different from each other. The land and the water have never been in contact with each other.

With a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, Aditya responded playfully, "As you wish, my princess. Allow me to accompany you to the bath and ensure you are properly taken care of."

Julia giggled, her cheeks flushed with delight, as Aditya scooped her up gently in his arms. She felt a rush of anticipation, knowing that their time together in the bath would be filled with tenderness and intimacy. The closeness and vulnerability they shared in these moments only served to strengthen the bond between them.

Entering the bathroom, Aditya carefully set Julia down, his touch lingering on her waist before reluctantly releasing her. The room was adorned with soft candlelight, casting a warm, soothing glow across the space. The scent of fragrant oils filled the air, creating an atmosphere of tranquility.

"Shall I prepare the bath for you, my love?" Aditya asked, his voice soft and filled with genuine affection.

Julia nodded, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Yes, please. I would love a relaxing bath, especially in your company."

Aditya moved gracefully around the bathroom, his movements fluid and effortless as he prepared the bath. He carefully adjusted the temperature of the water, ensuring it was warm and comforting. The sound of water filling the tub echoed through the room, a serene symphony that added to the ambiance.

As Aditya turned to Julia, a soft towel draped over his arm, he extended his hand to her. "Shall we step into the bath together, my princess?"

Julia's smile grew, her heart fluttering with excitement. She reached out and placed her hand in his, feeling the warmth and strength of his touch. With gentle guidance, Aditya led her to the edge of the tub, ensuring she was steady before joining her.

They eased themselves into the water, its warmth enveloping their bodies, washing away the weariness of the day. Julia nestled against Aditya, her head resting on his shoulder, while he wrapped his arms around her, providing a sense of security and comfort.

As the water embraced them, they engaged in gentle conversation, their voices carrying a sense of intimacy amidst the tranquil surroundings. They spoke of their dreams and aspirations, of the moments they cherished together, and of the future they envisioned side by side.

Time seemed to stand still as they luxuriated in each other's presence, finding solace and serenity in their shared moments of vulnerability. Their connection deepened with every word spoken, every touch shared, as they basked in the profound love they held for one another.

The flickering candlelight danced upon their faces, casting a soft, ethereal glow that accentuated their features. The room filled with the harmonious symphony of their laughter, whispers, and the gentle lapping of water against the sides of the tub.

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Chapter 423

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Aditya inquired, his gaze shifting between Alicia and Sylvie. Standing before them, dressed in his ceremonial attire for the wedding, Aditya felt a pang of longing for their company. His wives, Riya, Julia, and Lara, stood beside him, equally eager to attend the joyous occasion.

Alicia smiled warmly, her eyes reflecting a sense of contentment. "No, I think I'll use this time to show Sylvie around Azure City," she replied, her voice filled with genuine enthusiasm. Alicia knew that Sylvie, being an adventurous soul, would appreciate exploring the wonders of their bustling capital city.

Aditya nodded, understanding Alicia's desire to spend quality time with her best friend. He placed a hand on her shoulder, conveying his trust and affection. "Take good care of yourself, my love. Don't lose yourself in your work," he reminded her gently, a hint of concern lacing his words. Aditya cherished Alicia and wanted to ensure that she prioritized her well-being in his absence.

Alicia's cheeks flushed at the public display of affection, but she reciprocated the embrace, wrapping her arms around Aditya's back. The warmth of their connection enveloped them, reminding them of their unwavering bond. It was a testament to their love and devotion, unmarred by the presence of others.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Alicia reassured him, her voice filled with love and determination. She cherished their moments together and understood the importance of self-care. With Aditya's departure, she would find solace in her work, balanced with moments of relaxation and exploration with Sylvie.

Aditya chuckled, his eyes sparkling with affection as he released Alicia from their embrace. "I'll hold you to your words," he playfully retorted. The memory of his previous absence, unintentionally prolonged, lingered in their minds. Both Aditya and Alicia were determined to cherish every moment they had together, not allowing any more unnecessary separations.

With a few tender kisses and encouraging words exchanged, Aditya bid farewell to Alicia and Sylvie, his heart at ease knowing they would keep each other company. He turned to his trusted advisor, Spencer, entrusting him with the smooth operation of the empire in his absence.

"Spencer, please take care of everything in my absence," Aditya instructed, his voice filled with confidence. "If anyone asks about me, inform them that I am immersed in cultivation and will not be available for the time being."

Spencer nodded, his loyalty unwavering as he replied, "Your Excellency, rest assured, I will handle everything diligently. Your return will be eagerly awaited."

Aditya's gaze then shifted to his younger brother, Leo, and his cheerful sister, Clara, who stood nearby. Leo nodded, understanding the responsibility that fell upon him during Aditya's absence. Clara beamed with excitement, waving at Aditya with an infectious smile.

"It's time to leave," Aditya declared, a note of anticipation in his voice. The teleportation array activated, enveloping Aditya, Julia, Riya, and Lara, whisking them away to the Thera Kingdom, where a celebration of love awaited them.

Alicia! Alicia!

Sylvie's words broke through Alicia's reverie, grounding her in the present moment. She blinked away the haze of longing that had clouded her thoughts, her gaze shifting from the empty teleportation Array circle to her friend's face.

"You're right, Sylvie," Alicia replied, her voice tinged with a mix of melancholy and anticipation. "I know it's silly to feel this way, but even a brief separation feels like an eternity when you're deeply connected to someone. It's just a testament to how much I cherish our time together."

Sylvie smiled knowingly, her eyes filled with understanding. "Love has a funny way of making time feel both swift and endless, doesn't it? But remember, absence can also strengthen the bond between two hearts. It allows you to appreciate and treasure each moment you spend together."

Alicia nodded, her expression softening with a newfound sense of reassurance. "You're right, as always, Sylvie. I will cherish the time we have apart, knowing that it will only make our reunion even sweeter. Besides, I have important tasks to attend to here, and Aditya has his own responsibilities to fulfill."

Sylvie placed a comforting hand on Alicia's shoulder, her voice filled with warmth. "Exactly, my friend. Focus on your duties, immerse yourself in your work, and time will pass more swiftly than you realize. Before you know it, Aditya will be back by your side, and you'll have countless moments to create beautiful memories together."

Alicia's lips curved into a small smile, gratitude shining in her eyes. "Thank you, Sylvie. Your words always bring me comfort and perspective. I am truly lucky to have you as my friend."

Sylvie chuckled, her voice laced with playfulness. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here to keep you grounded, isn't it? Now, let's focus on the tasks at hand and make the most of this time apart. And who knows, by the time Aditya returns, we may have some exciting news or surprises waiting for him."

Scene change_______

As Aditya and his three fiances arrived at the grand entrance of the Thera Kingdom, a vibrant display of colorful banners and fluttering flags adorned the castle walls. The air was filled with a sense of anticipation and celebration. King Charles, dressed in regal attire befitting the occasion, stood at the entrance, his royal guards flanking him on either side.

His majestic crimson robe, intricately embroidered with golden threads, cascaded down to his feet. Adorning his chest was a dazzling brooch in the shape of the Thera Kingdom's emblem, a radiant phoenix symbolizing rebirth and resilience. The king's crown, studded with precious gemstones, glistened under the sunlight, adding a touch of magnificence to his presence.

As Aditya and his fiances approached, King Charles beamed with joy, his eyes sparkling with warmth and appreciation. "Welcome, Emperor Aditya, and esteemed fiances. It is an honor to have you grace us with your presence on this joyous occasion."

Aditya bowed respectfully, his voice filled with gratitude. "Thank you, King Charles. We are honored to be here and share in the celebration of Princess Isabella's wedding. Your invitation means a great deal to us, and it is a testament to the strong bond between our kingdoms."

King Charles gestured towards the castle entrance, a wide smile illuminating his face. "Please, come inside. The festivities are about to commence, and our guests eagerly await your arrival. We have prepared a grand banquet to honor this union and to showcase the unity and friendship between our lands."

As they made their way into the castle, the sounds of music and laughter echoed through the grand hallways. The scent of delicate flowers and the tantalizing aroma of delectable cuisine filled the air. Aditya and his fiances were led to the royal dais, where they would be seated as honored guests throughout the celebration.

King Charles turned to Aditya, his voice resonating with warmth. "May this joyous occasion strengthen the bonds between our kingdoms, and may the love and happiness that radiate from this wedding be a symbol of enduring peace and prosperity for both our lands."

Aditya nodded, a sense of camaraderie and appreciation filling his heart. "Indeed, King Charles. Let this day mark the beginning of a new chapter in our alliance, one that brings prosperity and harmony to our people. We are grateful for your hospitality and look forward to witnessing the union of Princess Isabella and Commander Ren."

With that, the festivities commenced, and the Thera Kingdom came alive with merriment and revelry. Aditya and his fiances joined in the celebration, immersing themselves in the joyous atmosphere, and cherishing the bonds of friendship and unity that transcended kingdoms and cultures.

In the grand hall of the Thera Kingdom, Aditya engaged in conversations with King Charles, their words carrying the weight of diplomacy and camaraderie. As they exchanged pleasantries and discussed matters of state, Aditya's demeanor remained humble and respectful, his eyes attentive to the words of each noble he encountered.

Seated beside Aditya, King Charles's wife, the queen, conversed animatedly with Julia, Riya, and Lara. Her warm smile and gracious manner put the three fiances at ease, creating an atmosphere of friendship and kinship among them. The queen shared stories of the Thera Kingdom's rich history and traditions, while Julia, Riya, and Lara eagerly listened and reciprocated with tales from their own lands.

As the evening unfolded, King Charles took the opportunity to introduce Aditya to his trusted allies and foreign dignitaries, emphasizing the importance of their presence and the strengthening of alliances. Aditya, with his charismatic presence and genuine interest in each person he met, left a lasting impression on the nobles and foreign guests alike. His humility and approachability endeared him to those in attendance, fostering a sense of admiration and respect.

The Dukes, in particular, were thrilled to have the chance to converse with the legendary Dragon Monarch. Their gazes filled with awe and reverence, they eagerly engaged in discussions, seeking insights and wisdom from the man who had become a symbol of power and strength. Aditya, ever gracious and attentive, listened intently to their inquiries, offering thoughtful responses that showcased his depth of knowledge and understanding.

Throughout the evening, the nobles of the Thera Kingdom and their guests reveled in the grandeur of the occasion, immersed in a sense of unity and camaraderie. Aditya's presence brought an air of regality and inspiration, igniting conversations and forging new bonds among the noble houses and foreign dignitaries.

As the night wore on, laughter filled the hall, and the joyous melodies of musicians filled the air. Aditya and his fiances, though reserved, allowed themselves to enjoy the festivities, joining in the dances and mingling with guests. Their presence added a touch of magnificence to the celebration, leaving an indelible mark on the memories of those in attendance.

In the days to come, the nobles of the Thera Kingdom and beyond would recount their encounters with the Dragon Monarch, weaving tales of his charisma, wisdom, and benevolence. The legends surrounding Aditya would grow, passed down through generations, as his impact on the hearts and minds of those he encountered continued to reverberate long after the celebration had ended.

As the night grew late and the festivities began to wind down, Aditya could sense that it was time to bid farewell and return to the Dragon Palace. With a gentle smile, he turned to King Charles, expressing his gratitude for the warm hospitality extended to him and his fiances throughout their stay.

"I guess, it's time. Your Majesty, it has been an honor to be a part of this joyous occasion and to experience the graciousness of your kingdom. We are deeply grateful for your kind hospitality," Aditya remarked, his voice filled with sincerity.

King Charles, wearing a regal ensemble adorned with intricate gold embroidery, stood tall and proud, his eyes gleaming with appreciation for Aditya's presence at the event. He understood the significance of the Dragon Monarch's attendance and the value it held for their alliance.

"No...No. The honor has been mine," King Charles replied, his voice filled with genuine warmth. With a small and respectful bow, he conveyed his deep respect for Aditya and the bond they had forged through their alliance. "Your presence has brought great joy and honor to our kingdom. May our friendship and alliance continue to strengthen in the years to come."

Aditya nodded appreciatively, acknowledging King Charles's words with utmost respect. The bond between their realms had grown stronger, and the seeds of a lasting alliance had been sown. As he turned to leave, Aditya couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude and contentment for the connections he had made and the harmony that had been fostered during their visit to the Thera Kingdom.

With a final exchange of farewells and expressions of goodwill, Aditya and his fiances made their way towards the exit, accompanied by the reverent gazes of the Thera Kingdom's nobles and guests. The echoes of their departure lingered in the air, carrying with them the memories of a truly remarkable celebration.

As they departed, Aditya reflected on the bonds that had been strengthened and the friendships that had blossomed during their time in the Thera Kingdom. The memory of their visit would forever hold a special place in his heart, serving as a reminder of the enduring alliances forged through respect, mutual understanding, and the shared vision of a brighter future.

With their departure, the Dragon Monarch and his fiances left behind a legacy of unity and camaraderie, their presence leaving an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of those they encountered. The Thera Kingdom would forever cherish the memory of their visit, recounting tales of their encounter with the legendary Dragon Monarch.

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Chapter 424

"I won't be going back with you," Aditya declared, his voice filled with a mix of determination and affection. As he observed the sad expressions on the faces of his future wives, he took a step forward and embraced Julia, holding her close. Gently, he lifted her chin, meeting her gaze, and planted a tender kiss upon her lips.

"Take good care of yourself, my love," Aditya whispered softly, his voice filled with concern. "Don't burden yourself with excessive work. If you ever feel lonely in my absence, remember that you can always visit your parents for comfort and companionship."

Julia nodded, a small smile gracing her lips, her eyes reflecting her deep affection for him.

Aditya then shifted his attention to Riya, the Goddess of Nature. Embracing her in his arms, he whispered into her ear, his voice carrying a sense of trust and promise. "Be a good girl while I am away, my dear Riya. If you exhibit good behavior, I will reward you by fulfilling your deepest wish." Tenderly, he pressed his lips against hers, a gentle kiss filled with the love they shared.

Finally, he turned to Lara, his youngest fiancee. Looking into her eyes, he spoke with a mix of reassurance and affection. "Riya, I entrust you with taking care of Lara in my absence. Look after her and keep her safe." He then directed his attention back to Lara, embracing her in a warm hug.

"Lara, my dear," Aditya murmured softly, his voice laced with affection and concern. "I have prepared two weeks' worth of my blood for you to consume. It will sustain you during my absence. Remember, I will return soon, and we will be together again."

Lara nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of understanding and longing, as she silently expressed her trust in Aditya and her anticipation for his swift return.

With bittersweet farewells and promises of reunion, Aditya bid his beloved fiances goodbye, his heart heavy with the weight of separation, yet filled with the hope of a bright future together. As he departed for his journey, he carried with him their love, their desires, and the bond that connected them, knowing that their love would endure even in his temporary absence.

Scene change_____

Using the teleportation array from the Thera Kingdom, Emperor Aditya materialized within the vibrant confines of High Tide Harbor City. It had been a mere eight or nine months since the inception of the Istarin Empire, and during its nascent stages, Aditya had formulated an ambitious plan to establish this bustling metropolis.

In this short span of time, High Tide Harbor City had swiftly ascended to become the second-largest city within the Istarin Empire. Remarkably, it remained under the direct control of the Emperor himself. While other territories had been divided into provinces, each entrusted to nobles of varying ranks for governance and development, High Tide Harbor City was carefully retained under Aditya's watchful eye.

A staggering sum of 100 million gold coins had been invested in the city's development, aimed at enhancing its surroundings and bolstering the network of roads connecting it to other prominent cities across the vast expanse of the Istarin Empire.

High Tide Harbor City stood as an indispensable lifeline for the Empire, its strategic significance realized through the ceaseless influx of cargo ships and vessels that sought refuge within its bustling docks. Nestled at the crossroads of major maritime routes, the city thrived as ships from distant realms and far-off lands converged upon its deep natural harbor. Its sheltered anchorage offered a safe haven to vessels of all sizes, attracting traders and merchants eager to transport their valuable goods across the expansive seas.

The Empire's prosperity derived from a perfect amalgamation of factors that positioned the trading port city as a veritable center for lucrative trade and commerce. The city's markets boasted an extensive array of goods and commodities, luring merchants from every corner of the realm. Within its bustling bazaars, a rich tapestry of precious gemstones, exotic spices, rare artifacts, and fine textiles awaited eager patrons, beckoning both the affluent and the intrepid.

The Istarin Empire had painstakingly cultivated a reputation for fair and transparent trade practices, instilling a sense of trust and reliability within the business community. Merchants, emboldened by the knowledge that their goods would be valued and their transactions conducted with integrity, flocked to the trading port city with unwavering confidence. Such resolute trust ensured that High Tide Harbor City remained an alluring destination for traders seeking lucrative business opportunities.

Significant investments were made to develop world-class infrastructure within the city's confines. State-of-the-art docking facilities, expansive warehousing capabilities, and an intricate web of logistics networks ensured the swift and seamless handling of goods. Ships could expeditiously unload their valuable cargo, while merchants enjoyed easy access to the requisite facilities for storage, sorting, and efficient distribution of their wares.

To further spur trade, the Istarin Empire had implemented favorable taxation and customs policies. Duties and tariffs were meticulously calibrated to maintain reasonable levels, enticing merchants to choose High Tide Harbor City as their preferred trading destination. Furthermore, a robust system of incentives and benefits awaited traders, encompassing reduced fees, exclusive trading privileges, and access to comprehensive financial services that facilitated secure and efficient transactions.

The cityscape of High Tide Harbor City pulsated with the vibrant energy of thriving trade. Markets bustled with activity as merchants haggled, negotiated, and forged lucrative deals. The narrow streets overflowed with vibrant stalls, their wares a captivating kaleidoscope of goods sourced from every corner of the realm. Sprawling warehouses groaned under the weight of stockpiled merchandise, poised for shipment to far-flung destinations.

The Istarin Empire reaped staggering earnings from the bustling commerce that flowed ceaselessly through the trading port city. The sheer magnitude of the accumulated wealth amounted to millions of gold coins annually, fueling the Empire's unprecedented growth and prosperity. These substantial riches facilitated investments in vital infrastructure, comprehensive education programs, and formidable defense initiatives. As a result, the Istarin Empire solidified its position as a dominant force within the realm, poised to shape its destiny and command the respect of all who crossed its shores.

Under the shroud of night, Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, arrived at the bustling port city unnoticed. Keeping his presence a secret, he navigated the winding streets, using the cover of darkness to his advantage. His purposeful steps led him to the heart of the harbor, where the aroma of saltwater mingled with the sounds of ships and the distant cry of seagulls.

Recalling a previous encounter during his visit to Julia's family, Aditya's thoughts turned to the sea elves, a unique variant of the Elven race that possessed extraordinary adaptations for life both beneath the waves and on land. These sea elves, also known as Aquatic Elves or Merfolk, were a marvel of evolution, having developed gills, webbed fingers and toes, and a profound affinity for water magic. Their natural prowess as swimmers and navigators allowed them to thrive in underwater cities or coastal regions, forming deep connections with the marine world and communicating with sea creatures.

Reflecting upon the diverse nature of the Elven race, Aditya recognized the intricate tapestry of sub-races that had emerged over time. Each sub-race had adapted and evolved in response to specific environmental factors, food availability, and the complex interplay of the food chain. The Night Elves, Dark Elves, Moon Elves, Wood Elves, Desert Elves, and other variants within the Elven race stood as testaments to the extraordinary diversity and resilience of their kind.

As Aditya continued his clandestine journey through the port city, his mind brimmed with wonder and awe at the intricacies of Elven evolution. The subtle distinctions among the sub-races and their unique abilities only served to deepen his appreciation for the rich and intricate tapestry of Elven lore and existence.

Though Aditya's purpose in the port city remained unknown, his silent footsteps echoed with purpose and determination.

As Aditya stealthily made his way through the port, he unexpectedly encountered two Dragonians, members of the Istarin Empire's esteemed forces. Unbeknownst to them, the disguised Emperor stood before them, his true identity concealed. The area they guarded, situated on the eastern side of the city, was strictly off-limits to the public. Only the Emperor, the Prime Minister, or those granted special permission were permitted entry.

"Please halt, sir. Access beyond this point is restricted. Only His Majesty, the Prime Minister, or individuals with specific authorization may proceed," one of the Dragonians sternly informed Aditya, their duty to enforce the law evident in their firm stance.

Aditya, intentionally altering his voice to avoid recognition, commended their dedication. "Gentlemen, I can see that you both work diligently and deserve proper compensation for your efforts. How about I offer you each 1000 royal gold coins if you permit me passage?"

The Dragonians' countenances underwent a sudden transformation, their expressions turning serious as their aura shifted. They stood poised, ready to respond to any potential threat to the Empire's integrity.

"Sir, attempting to bribe an Istarin Empire's Dragonian is a violation of the law. This will be your final warning. Kindly depart from this area, or we will be compelled to employ force and hand you over to the guards for subsequent legal action," one of the Dragonians sternly rebuked, upholding the principles of their duty. Aditya couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Both Dragonians had passed his test, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to their responsibilities. Had they succumbed to the temptation of the bribe, Aditya would have been compelled to take severe measures.

The incident reaffirmed one of Aditya's guiding principles: to offer above-average salaries to his soldiers and royal officials. This practice served as a deterrent against corruption, ensuring that his loyal personnel remained steadfast in their duties and unwavering in their allegiance to the empire's principles.

With a newfound respect for the Dragonians, Aditya acknowledged the indomitable spirit that resided within the ranks of the Istarin Empire. Their unwavering dedication to upholding the law and preserving the empire's integrity showcased their unwavering loyalty and commitment to the empire's ideals.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 425

The man, standing at a towering height of 6 feet, exuded an air of confidence as he approached the shimmering sea. Adorned in an inconspicuous ensemble, his attire reflected a desire to blend seamlessly into the crowd. He wore a simple, yet well-fitted, azure tunic that accentuated his athletic physique. The fabric, crafted from fine linen, caressed his fair skin with utmost comfort. Complementing his attire, he sported a pair of charcoal trousers that elegantly tapered down to his ankles, lending a touch of sophistication to his overall appearance.

Upon closer inspection, one could not help but be captivated by his mesmerizing deep blue eyes, which sparkled with an enigmatic charm. His short, tousled blue hair framed his handsome face, enhancing his features and adding a touch of playfulness to his countenance. Despite his casual attire, his movements possessed a natural grace and refinement, hinting at a deeper aura of authority.

As he ventured closer to the sea, a gentle smile graced his lips, radiating warmth and approachability. The casual observer would be none the wiser, unaware that the unassuming man before them concealed the regal presence of none other than Aditya, the revered Emperor of the Istarin Empire.

As Aditya approached the glistening sea, he was intercepted by a group of sea elves emerging from the depths, their eyes filled with curiosity and caution. Armed with spears and tridents, they formed a defensive stance, their gaze fixated on the unfamiliar figure clothed in unassuming attire.

Sensing their uncertainty, Aditya swiftly raised a finger to his lips, silently urging them to maintain secrecy. Simultaneously, he activated his latent power, causing his once-deep blue eyes to transform into a mesmerizing shade of crimson. The vertical slits that appeared in his eyes served as a visual testament to his true identity—a dragon in human form.

In awe of their Emperor's concealed presence, the sea elves immediately relinquished their weapons, lowering their heads in deference. "Your Majesty, please accept our humble apologies for failing to recognize you," they murmured, their voices laced with reverence. Their assumption that the Emperor would be preoccupied with the recent conquest against the Oracle Alliance had clouded their judgment, never expecting his personal visit.

Aditya, maintaining an air of composure, responded with a gentle nod. "The purpose of this disguise was to avoid detection, my loyal subjects. Now, it is time," he declared, his voice carrying a hint of anticipation. Aditya had previously informed the sea elves of his future visit to the Deep Sea Palace and requested them to make preparations accordingly. That time had now arrived.

Guided by their unwavering devotion, the sea elves respectfully led the way, acknowledging their Emperor's request to be addressed as "William." Though an immense challenge lay before them—to treat their revered King as an ordinary man—they pledged to honor his wishes to the best of their abilities.

"Your Majesty... I mean William," Nerida Pearlheart corrected herself, her voice laced with deference and respect. Nerida carefully presented a glass bottle containing small bead-shaped pills to Aditya. The pills, each no larger than a pea, possessed a striking appearance that captured the essence of their magical nature. Their smooth surfaces shimmered with a gentle luminescence, casting a soft azure glow that seemed to emanate from within.

As Aditya observed the pills more closely, he noticed intricate patterns etched onto their surfaces, resembling delicate veins that traced an intricate web of blue throughout. These captivating patterns seemed to mimic the fluid currents of the sea, an artistic representation of the pill's affinity with the underwater realm.

The pills radiated a soothing aura, their vibrant hues reflecting the depths of the ocean. Shades of cerulean and sapphire danced within the translucent beads, hinting at the vastness and mystery that awaited beneath the waves.

Upon closer examination, Aditya marveled at the meticulous craftsmanship that had gone into their creation. The pills were expertly formed, their shapes uniform and symmetrical, a testament to the alchemist's skill. Their compact size belied their extraordinary capabilities, encapsulating the essence of the sea and granting those who consumed them the gift of underwater survival.

In a world where the realms of sea and land remained separate and distinct, few individuals maintained connections with both domains. These individuals, like the Sea Elves, possessed the ability to traverse the depths of the ocean and also dwell on land. They served as a vital link between the two worlds, facilitating communication and understanding.

Aditya recognized the significance of the pills in his hands. These unique concoctions were the brainchild of a brilliant alchemist from the past, devised as a means to enable breathing and survival underwater without the need for external artifacts. The pills held within the glass bottle were imbued with a magical essence that granted the ability to breathe underwater for a span of 12 hours.

As Aditya studied the pills, he contemplated the potential they held. Each pill could extend his time beneath the waves, allowing him to explore the depths and navigate the underwater realms for a period of 9 to 10 days, depending on the quantity contained within the bottle.

With a sense of gratitude, Aditya accepted the bottle from Nerida, his eyes meeting hers with a nod of appreciation. "Thank you. I shall make good use of them."

Nerida, her demeanor a blend of pride and humility, replied, "It is an honor to serve you, William. The sea holds many wonders, and we are privileged to offer you this aid in your exploration. Should you require anything else, do not hesitate to ask."

Aditya's gaze met Nerida's, and a genuine smile graced his lips. "Your dedication and support are deeply appreciated. I shall cherish this opportunity to delve into the mysteries of the underwater realm. Let us proceed, and may our journey be fruitful."

As Aditya descended further into the depths of the sea, he was greeted by a sight that surpassed all expectations. The vast expanse of the ocean unveiled a world of unparalleled beauty and splendor. The water, untouched by human pollution, shimmered with clarity, revealing its ethereal nature.

The vibrant hues of the underwater realm danced before Aditya's eyes, creating a kaleidoscope of colors that defied imagination. Rays of sunlight, filtered through the prism of the water's surface, bathed the surroundings in a gentle, iridescent glow. It was as if the ocean itself was a living canvas, painted with a breathtaking palette of blues, greens, and purples.

Strange and wondrous marine life greeted Aditya at every turn. Exotic coral reefs, adorned in a myriad of hues, stretched out like underwater gardens, teeming with vibrant fish that flitted about in a mesmerizing display of movement and color. The fish, with their scales shimmering like precious gemstones, showcased an array of patterns and shades, from fiery oranges to electric blues.

Glowing plants, reminiscent of underwater constellations, cast their soft luminescence, illuminating the ocean floor with an otherworldly radiance. The bioluminescent spectacle transformed the depths into a symphony of light, where vibrant blues and greens danced and swirled, creating an enchanting play of shadows and reflections.

As Aditya followed Nerida through this ethereal realm, he couldn't help but feel a profound sense of awe. He marveled at the diverse array of sea creatures, some of which he had never seen before. Delicate jellyfish drifted gracefully through the water, their translucent bodies pulsating with an otherworldly glow. Schools of iridescent fish, with their graceful movements, seemed to be conducting a mesmerizing aquatic ballet.

The underwater landscape was adorned with vibrant flora, resembling underwater meadows swaying gently with the current. Their petals and fronds boasted a remarkable spectrum of colors, ranging from the softest pastels to the most vivid hues. It was a testament to the sheer diversity and beauty that thrived in this aquatic realm.

Aditya's senses were overwhelmed by the symphony of colors, shapes, and movements that surrounded him. The underwater world was a harmonious tapestry of life, an ecosystem that flourished in perfect balance. It was a testament to the wonders and mysteries that lay beneath the surface, hidden from the eyes of land-dwellers.

In the midst of this breathtaking scenery, Aditya couldn't help but feel a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to witness the ocean's untamed beauty. He understood why the Sea Elves cherished their home, their connection to this ethereal realm. The underwater world, with its vibrant colors, shimmering light, and diverse marine life, captivated Aditya's heart, forever etching its beauty into his memories.

The journey continued for 5 hours. Nerida had to slow down so that Aditya could keep up. Aditya did not hurry. He could have boosted his agility and matched Nerida's speed. He wanted to observe more of this beauty in this journey.

5 hours later, from a far distance, Aditya saw what looked like a large city.

"This is the City of Atlantisia. This is one of the oldest cities of the Deep Sea Palace Empire. The city is even older than the Empire. Atlantisia is home to over 4.9 million sea folks. The majority of the population is merfolks (Mermen and Mermaids). There are also Sea elves, Selkies, Nereids (Sea nymph), and Krakens, who lives in this city. Merfolks are the ruling race. Merfolks are given more privileges, more opportunities, and better rights compared to other races. While the Sea elves are the most discriminated race here." Aditya listened listened to her words and remembered everything in his mind.

"Merfolk (Mermen and Mermaids) are Half-human, half-fish creatures, merfolk are renowned for their beauty and enchanting voices. They possess the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish, allowing them to navigate both land and sea. They are skilled swimmers and have a deep understanding of ocean currents and tides."

"Nereids are sea nymphs. They are known for their beauty, grace, and close connection to marine life. Nereids mostly inhabit caves and grottos along the coastline."

"Selkies are shape-shifting sea creatures and are often portrayed as seals in their natural form. However, they have the ability to shed their seal skins and transform into beautiful human-like beings."

"And there are Krakens. Krakens are a race that has half body of human and their lower half bodies are of octopus tentacles. Krakens can transform their bodies into a human as they wish. Some Krakens even secretly live in human society."

"How do you enter their city?" After all the explanation Aditya asked. After all, Aditya was someone who came from the land. Anyone would be able to tell that he came from the land.

"I will take you inside. Since I am a resident of this city. I have been living here for a while now." After the war with the Deep Sea Palace where Aditya ended up killing their Emperor King Lewis, he sent the Sea Elves to infiltrate the Deep Sea Palace and bring more information. Nerida is one of those Sea Elves who live in this city and has provided information for the Istarin Empire.

Since she and other sea elves did not have any collars around their necks, no one assumed them to be slaves. Aditya had created a contract, where the Sea Elves would work for him, in return, he would give them a safe and secure place to live and raise their families. The contract is a soul-binding contract.

"It is not uncommon for some human merchants to come to the Deep Sea Palace to trade goods." Aditya nodded his head. He came here as a merchant. Since the competition to decide the next ruler of the Deep Sea Palace was just around the corner, it was a time, when a lot of people even from land came here.

"Please come with me." The city of Atlantisia is surrounded by tall walls and the whole city was protected by a white transparent dome barrier. The city had four entrances. Each entrance was located facing each direction.

Nerida took him to the southern entrance. It was a huge door. Mermen were guarding the entrance. There were 100 mermen. Each merman was a powerful Peak 3rd-order cultivator. The races that wished to enter the city had to stand and wait in lines.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 426

As Aditya and Nerida stood in line, the bustling crowd around them drew curious glances towards the human amidst the sea creatures. The guards, the fellow queuing individuals, and even the VIPs passing by couldn't help but steal glimpses at the unique sight before them.

Amidst the diverse assembly of over a thousand beings, Aditya's human form easily stood out. His appearance, unlike the others, marked him as an outsider. Yet, he remained unperturbed by the attention, focusing on the task at hand. Patience was required as they waited their turn, observing the varied races that comprised the queue. Among them, Aditya noticed a handful of Sea Elves, their presence a testament to the rarity of their kind within the underwater realm.

The passage of time seemed almost sluggish as they patiently waited for nearly 40 minutes. Finally, their turn arrived, and they stepped forward to face the stern-eyed merman guards.

"State your name," the guards demanded in a firm tone.

"Nerida, a citizen of Atlantisia," she replied, presenting a small green bead secured around her wrist. These beads were worn by all the city's inhabitants, signifying their citizenship. Nerida, having obtained her rightful place among the city's residents, proudly displayed the token.

The guards nodded, acknowledging the significance of the green bead adorned with intricate runes. Though unassuming at first glance, the bead bore markings that only those familiar with their meaning could discern. Possession of these beads granted entry to the city without any fee.

"And is he with you?" one of the mermen guards inquired, his gaze shifting towards Aditya.

"Yes, his name is William. He is a merchant who has come to engage in trade," Nerida answered, emphasizing their acquaintance.

"Do you personally know him?" the guard pressed further, seeking assurance of their relationship.

"He is a friend who once aided me," Nerida affirmed, her words carrying a note of trust.

The guard nodded, satisfied with Nerida's response. However, he reminded her of the requirement to pay a fee of 100 gold coins to bring Aditya into the city. Underwater currencies differed from those on land, and the gold coin Nerida produced displayed distinct characteristics. Its edges were rough, lacking the smooth polish and shine associated with land-dwelling currency. This coin, instead, possessed a unique quality—its color, a delicate shade of white, further setting it apart.

The white gold coin glistened softly, its surface adorned with intricate patterns that seemed to shimmer beneath the ambient light. Its texture, while not as refined as its land-bound counterparts, exuded a certain raw beauty. A symbol of the underwater realm's economic system, this currency held value and represented the intricate networks of trade and commerce that thrived within the oceanic depths.

With the fee understood, Nerida handed over the white gold coin, completing the necessary transaction to bring Aditya into the city's embrace. As the exchange took place, Aditya marveled at the peculiar beauty of the currency, recognizing its significance in the underwater world's bustling economic ecosystem.

Beneath the glistening waves, the city of Atlantisia unfolded its mesmerizing beauty to all who ventured within its realm. Aditya, accompanied by Nerida, immersed himself in the splendor that surrounded them. The underwater metropolis stood as a testament to the architectural prowess and artistic ingenuity of the sea-dwelling races.

As they swam through the city's bustling streets, Aditya marveled at the harmonious coexistence of various aquatic beings. Merfolks gracefully glided through the water, their shimmering tails propelling them effortlessly. Sea Elves, with their ethereal presence, moved with elegance and grace, their intricate tattoos and vibrant attire adding a touch of enchantment to their appearance. Nereids, the beautiful water nymphs, danced beneath the gentle currents, their melodious voices carrying through the underwater expanse. Half-human Krakens, with their formidable presence, coexisted peacefully, their strength and wisdom valued by the community. And Selkies, the enchanting seal-human hybrids, frolicked playfully in their dual existence, embodying both the beauty of the sea and the land.

The city itself was a marvel of architectural wonder. Structures crafted from coral, translucent shells, and luminescent crystals adorned the underwater landscape. The buildings seemed to defy gravity, deftly shaped into stunning domes, spires, and arches. Coral gardens bloomed alongside the thoroughfares, their vibrant hues painting the cityscape with a kaleidoscope of colors. Intricate mosaics, crafted from crushed seashells and pearls, adorned the walls, depicting tales of mythical creatures and legends of the deep.

Light played an essential role in Atlantisia's aesthetics. Bioluminescent plants and creatures cast an otherworldly glow, illuminating the city's every corner. Soft, iridescent hues bathed the surroundings, shifting from blues to greens, purples to pinks, as if an ever-changing celestial dance unfolded before their eyes. The ethereal radiance highlighted the intricate details of the city's architecture and the delicate patterns etched into the surfaces, evoking a sense of wonder and awe.

Beneath the city, intricate networks of passageways and tunnels connected the diverse districts. These pathways, meticulously carved from living coral, formed a labyrinthine maze, leading to the residences, markets, and communal spaces that pulsated with vibrant activity. The harmony between nature and architecture was evident at every turn, as delicate sea ferns swayed with the currents, their gentle touch guiding residents and visitors alike.

The heart of Atlantisia was the Great Pearl Plaza, a central gathering space where citizens and visitors converged. Here, the grandeur of the city's beauty reached its zenith. Towering statues sculpted from seashells and adorned with pearls stood as symbols of unity and prosperity. The plaza was alive with music, laughter, and the vibrant exchange of goods from every corner of the underwater realm. The intoxicating scent of exotic sea flowers wafted through the air, enchanting all who entered.

As Aditya and Nerida swam through the ethereal streets of Atlantisia, the city's enchanting beauty seeped into their souls, leaving an indelible impression. It was a place where artistry, culture, and nature melded seamlessly, where the denizens of the deep thrived in harmony. Atlantisia stood as a testament to the boundless creativity and resilience of the underwater world, an underwater utopia where dreams and reality intertwined in a breathtaking tapestry of life beneath the waves.

As Aditya and Nerida swam through the bustling streets of Atlantisia, their conversation continued to flow effortlessly. The city teemed with life, each corner offering a new discovery for Aditya's curious eyes.

"The Competition will be held in the Capital of Deep Sea Palace Empire. You will have to use the teleportation array of this city to reach the Capital," Nerida explained, guiding Aditya through the winding paths. "Reaching the Capital by swimming alone would take too much time, and you might risk missing the entire competition."

Aditya nodded in understanding, realizing the practicality of utilizing the teleportation array to save time. "Since I have more than 48 hours before the tournament begins, I would like to explore this city," he expressed his desire, a sense of wonder gleaming in his eyes. He longed to immerse himself in the beauty and uniqueness of the underwater world.

Nerida's expression turned apologetic as she responded, "I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you. Here, I live as a low-class, poor Sea Elf, and if I am late for my job, I will be in trouble." She bowed her head, feeling a sense of guilt for leaving the King alone in an unfamiliar city.

Aditya, however, dismissed her apology with a gentle wave of his hand. "Raise your head, Nerida. There is no need to apologize," he reassured her. "Go to your work. For now, I will explore the city and enjoy its beauty."

Nerida's gratitude shone through her eyes as she thanked him. "Thank you," she said sincerely, appreciating his understanding and kindness.

Curiosity got the better of Aditya, and he couldn't resist asking about Nerida's profession. "By the way, what is your job?" he inquired, genuinely interested in learning more about her life in Atlantisia.

A warm smile graced Nerida's lips as she replied, "I work as a chef." She took a moment to explain the challenges of her profession, highlighting the meager wages and the expenses that often left her with little at the end of each month. Despite this, her passion for cooking and serving others remained unwavering.

Aditya understood the importance of work and the responsibilities it entailed. "Alright, I will see you near the northern entrance," he agreed, assuring Nerida that he would meet her there when he was ready to depart.

With a nod of farewell, Nerida bid Aditya good luck on his explorations and gracefully swam away to fulfill her duties as a chef. Aditya, now on his own, embraced the excitement that tingled in his veins as he embarked on a personal journey to uncover the secrets and wonders of the magnificent city of Atlantisia.

Scene change______

Immersed in the mesmerizing underwater realm of Atlantisia, Emperor Aditya found himself wandering towards the vibrant marketplace after several hours of exploration. The market, pulsating with life and activity, drew him in with its eclectic offerings and bustling energy.

"Let's discover what these bustling stalls have to offer," he mused, blending into the crowd. Being the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, he preferred to explore anonymously, but his human appearance drew many curious glances from the predominantly aquatic inhabitants.

Navigating through the ever-thickening throng, Aditya quickly realized the marketplace's popularity amongst the locals. The crowd density increased exponentially as he delved deeper, turning from a comfortable bustle into a crush of bodies. At some point, he found himself in a predicament. The crowd was pushing against him, and he started to regret his decision to explore this congested part of the city. Escape seemed impossible with the frenetic traffic of marine creatures zipping above him, their rapid movement barring any attempt to swim to the surface.

Maintaining his proximity to the marketplace's floor, he kept close to the vibrant shopfronts that stretched along the ground. Out of desperation, Aditya tried to gently nudge a burly merman to create an escape route, but his efforts were met with annoyance and a retaliatory shove that sent him spiraling backward into the crowd. Losing his balance, he collided with someone behind him, resulting in both of them toppling over onto the marketplace's ocean floor.

Feeling an unexpected softness cushion his fall, Aditya's curiosity piqued. Upon opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of a human-like girl beneath him, and the aura she exuded was strangely familiar. 'Why is she here?' he thought, his heartbeat quickening, as a wave of nervousness washed over him. He hastily distanced himself from her.

In contrast, the woman was frozen in place, her wide-eyed expression revealing her shock and disbelief. For the first time in her life, she was touched by a man, and yet, she experienced no adverse effects. Her life was dictated by a peculiar disease that caused her body to feel as though she was being burned from inside. This inexplicable condition made her existence a constant challenge, causing her to live in perpetual fear. But this human male, the one who just accidentally collided with her, seemed to be an exception to her curse.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 427

The serene tranquility of the Goddess of Lust's quarters was suddenly disrupted by an intrusive knock. The sound echoed through the luxurious and opulent room, hinting at a visitor's presence. The Goddess, in her splendor and allure, held numerous titles. As the Succubus Empress, she was the pinnacle of her race, unmatched in power and influence. She was renowned as the most lethal and cunning Assassin in the world, yet her primary identity remained as the Goddess of Lust.

"Who is it?" Her voice, as soft as velvet, cooed, radiating an intoxicating charm that was part of her essence.

"My lady, I regret to disturb your peace, but a visitor has arrived," came the hesitant reply. A strained silence hung in the air for a moment, followed by the calm and collected voice of the Goddess after a few seconds. "Let her enter."

With a soft click, the door to the chamber opened, giving way to an astonishingly beautiful Succubus. Her fiery short red hair was a striking contrast against her porcelain skin, and her sensuous figure was barely concealed in her scant attire. Her mere presence was a symbol of irresistible temptation, embodying the core of her existence.

The first action she took upon entering the chamber was to kneel in respect to the Empress. "Speak," came the command from the Goddess, her gaze fixated on the enigmatic beauty of the night sky visible from her window. It was common knowledge that she seldom left her chamber unless a mission demanded her lethal proficiency.

"My lady, we've been offered a contract amounting to nearly 500 million royal gold coins." The sheer scale of the sum, equivalent to 50 billion gold coins, indicated that their client was a figure of immense wealth and resources.

"Please do not tell me this mission involves another attempt on the Istarin Emperor's life," the Goddess responded, her tone icy, causing the Succubus to shudder. It was an unspoken policy of their Organization to reject any contracts aimed at Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, a rule that had been upheld as the Empire expanded under his reign. As his adversaries increased in number, so did the bids for his life.

In the past, the Echo Nexus Empire had set their sights on Aditya's life. Their Prime Minister personally approached their organization, offering a whopping 100 million royal gold coins for the Emperor's assassination. However, the contract was dismissed. This rejection led to a dissenting faction within their organization breaking away from their code, going rogue to attempt to fulfill the contract independently and claim the immense reward. Consequently, the Goddess found herself compelled to intervene. The memory of the incident was a reminder of the lengths some were willing to go for wealth and power, and the measures she had to take to maintain the balance.

"No...No...My Lady, the target this time is different," the succubus quickly responded, her voice quavering with fear and apprehension. Her whole body seemed to tremble, betraying her anxiety. Despite the Goddess's silence, the succubus knew she had her undivided attention. "Our mark this time is a woman named Laura."

"Laura...?" The Goddess echoed, her voice imbued with contemplation. She had a nagging feeling of familiarity with the name, as though it had grazed her consciousness before.

"Yes, Laura," the succubus affirmed. "She's a competitor in the forthcoming competition that will determine the successor of the Deep Sea Palace. She's among the strongest contenders, expected by many to clinch the victory." The Succubus's voice lilted as she relayed the tale. It had been a mere five months since the former ruler, Lewis, was slain by Aditya. When Lewis led his army of mermen to the surface, Aditya had not only killed him but obliterated his half-million-strong force with a single devastating attack. The tale was a popular one in the Dying Isle Continent, and they, as the world's leading assassination organization, had all such vital information at their fingertips.

"Proceed with the contract," the Goddess instructed, her tone calm and authoritative. She dismissed the succubus with a casual wave of her hand.

"But my lady, there is a condition," the succubus interjected, causing the Goddess to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Yes?"

"The client has expressly requested for you to handle this mission." At this revelation, the Goddess finally turned her gaze away from the night sky to meet the succubus's eyes. The cold, impassive stare sent chills down the succubus's spine.

"Then they should be well aware that my expertise comes at a premium." The Goddess replied, her lips curling into a frigid smile. Her reputation was unrivaled, with a flawless record and a 100% kill rate. She had never faltered or failed in her missions. As long as the client could afford the price on the target's head and her professional fee, she would personally ensure the mark's demise.

"Everything has a price," she murmured, a statement reflecting her firm belief. In this world, every desire, be it power, fame, glory, strength, or anything else, could be acquired with enough money. To her, everything had a quantifiable value. If a client couldn't offer an equal exchange, then the organization wouldn't accept the contract.

"My Lady, I've relayed the price to the client, and they have agreed to the terms." The succubus gulped, her eyes wide with anxiety. Hiring the Goddess was a luxury only the most affluent could afford. A staggering 100 million royal gold coins was the price for her services.

"The client wishes for Laura's demise to occur before the commencement of the tournament if feasible. However, if the assassination occurs during the competition, that would also be acceptable."

"Take 300 million royal gold coins upfront," the Goddess instructed, her voice adopting a menacing tone. "And convey to the client that the remaining sum must reach our organization within three days of the target's elimination. Failure to do so will result in the client becoming the next target."

"Yes, Ma'am." The succubus quickly took her leave, her heart pounding the entire time. The Goddess's mere presence was suffocating, and her penetrating gaze was a palpable pressure. It was a reminder of the might and prowess the Goddess of Lust held, and the merciless efficiency with which she carried out her tasks.

Scene change_______

"So this is Atlantisia," the Goddess mused as she surveyed the captivating underwater city before her. Sasha, as she was known in disguise, had utilized the city's teleportation array to journey to the capital of the Deep Sea Palace Empire. She had always found her missions on land, but now she found herself drawn to the underwater realm, visiting for the first time. She decided to spend some time meandering through the city's enchanting streets, absorbing the novelty of the underwater architecture and culture.

As Sasha navigated through the city, she expertly concealed her true cultivation level, suppressing her aura to that of a 5th-order cultivator. This ensured that unless she encountered a cultivator of 3rd-order or above in close proximity, her actual power would remain hidden. As an assassin, blending into the environment was paramount, and revealing her true cultivation level would cause unnecessary attention, potentially jeopardizing her access to the city.

But while immersing herself in the city's charm, she was cautious to avoid any physical contact with males. Ever since her birth, Sasha had been tormented by a baffling affliction. Any contact with males led to intense internal burning, making her cough up blood. Prolonged exposure would flood her body with toxins that could potentially cause her death. This forced her into a mostly solitary existence, her only solace being the world of literature she often immersed herself in.

The gravity of her situation was further compounded by her status as the Succubus Empress. As the apex of her race, her inability to have intimate relationships was a significant problem. Just as vampires thrived on blood, Succubi depended on sexual contact for survival. The deprivation was so severe that Sasha had resigned herself to a life of isolation, confining herself mostly to her room.

Unlike typical girls who dreamed of romantic proposals, weddings, family, and children, Sasha knew such dreams were far removed from her reality. Her destiny seemed to be a life of solitude. However, she took solace in the presence of her mother, her sole pillar of emotional support in this challenging world. This strong maternal bond gave her a glimmer of warmth and comfort amidst the cold solitude of her existence.

As Sasha meandered through the bustling marketplace of the city, a sudden force collided with her. By reflex, she instinctively tried to extricate herself from the man who had tumbled onto her. However, as their bodies came into contact, she found herself undisturbed, an anomaly given her unique affliction.

'Could it be...? Is he actually a woman?' She mused inwardly, scrutinizing the visage of the handsome young man with an unruly mop of short, blue hair that lay entangled with her. The idea seemed plausible at first, a theory that offered a plausible explanation for the lack of reaction in her body.

"I'm so sorry, miss," the man stammered, his eyes wide with a sort of nervous apprehension. He hastened to voice his apology before attempting to disappear into the throng of people.

In the midst of the crowd, a sudden realization dawned upon Sasha. 'He is indeed a man,' she confirmed internally. As a Succubus, she was blessed with an innate ability to discern the gender of an individual. And owing to her condition that had forced her into involuntary celibacy, her senses had become keener than ever. When the man had spoken, his voice had resonated deep within her, affirming his masculinity. It wasn't a mere presumption any longer - he was definitely a man.

The realization gripped Sasha fiercely. 'I simply cannot afford to let him slip away.' This man, inexplicably immune to her ailment, was no less than a cherished treasure to her. He was, in her eyes, a divine gift bestowed by the heavens. Despite her inability to comprehend why his touch didn't induce the expected malady, she was certain that she could not lose him.

"Wait a moment," she asserted, her fingers coiling tightly around the man's arm in a firm grip. As their skins melded once again, a wave of euphoria washed over her. There was no agony, no hacking up of blood, no internal combustion of her cells. Her body, to her sheer delight, remained unperturbed, perfectly harmonious.

In contrast, the man seized up, his body rigid and tense as he found his hand ensnared in her grasp. He cast an awkward, sidelong glance at her, attempting futilely to wrench his hand free. But Sasha was a formidable adversary - a potent peak 5th-order cultivator - while he was merely a peak 3rd-order one. The disparity in their strength was stark and unequivocal. Sasha held an indisputable advantage in terms of physical strength, one she was not about to relinquish.

"Excuse me, miss. Might I request you to release my hand?" The man's voice broke the silence. But Sasha, entranced, paid no heed to his words. Instead, she scrutinized his features meticulously. His countenance was undeniably attractive. He may not have been the epitome of male beauty she had encountered, yet there was an undeniable charm about him that Sasha found increasingly appealing with each passing moment.

Noticing that Sasha was making no move to relinquish her hold, the man, with a slight bow of his head, ventured to apologize again. "Miss, if I have in any way offended you by my previous actions, I sincerely apologize. I assure you, it was unintentional."

All the while, as the man spoke, Sasha's attention remained focused on his face, committing each detail to memory. A faint, almost unconscious, smile began to play on her lips as she watched him. 'I simply cannot let him go.' She resolved internally. The first sign of a solution to her lifelong problem had appeared, and she had no intention of letting it dissipate.

"Follow me," Sasha commanded, offering no room for discussion. Firmly gripping Aditya's hand, she maneuvered through the throngs of the marketplace, pulling him along with her. Like a force of nature, she guided him away from the hustle and bustle, away from the prying eyes and the nosy whispers. They traversed through a myriad of winding alleys and hidden pathways, leading them to a seemingly forsaken part of the city.

The place she had brought him was eerily silent, a stark contrast to the vibrant marketplace they had just left behind. It was a desolate part of the city, abandoned and seemingly untouched. No signs of life were evident, and the area was devoid of the usual city humdrum. A solitude permeated the place, giving it an uncanny feeling of stillness.

The disguised Aditya, slightly disoriented by the sudden turn of events, looked around before finally turning his gaze toward Sasha. "What is it that you desire?" He asked, a hint of curiosity seeping into his tone. The question hung in the air between them, waiting for Sasha to divulge her intentions.

Chapter 428

"What is it that you want, Ma'am?" Aditya wished for nothing more than to extract himself from the increasingly intricate web that was Sasha. His intent to remain as anonymous as possible was paramount, especially given his present incognito state. He was here under a cloak of deception, his real persona carefully tucked away beneath layers of fabricated stories and artificially constructed truths. He had no intentions of letting his real identity be unveiled, not to anyone.

However, his curiosity was sparked, almost unwillingly. This was Sasha, the world's most dangerous assassin. Her reputation for deadly precision and ruthless efficiency was legendary. What on earth could have possibly drawn her to this remote outpost, far away from the prying eyes of the world? Was she here on an assignment, poised to strike down another unsuspecting victim?

This question bounced back and forth in his mind as he watched her from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, her ethereal beauty radiating an intense aura that was hard to ignore, even for someone as guarded as Aditya.

"I want you," she spoke suddenly, her voice clear and precise. "Be mine."

Aditya felt a sharp jolt of surprise, like a sudden strike of lightning in a clear sky. His eyes widened, and he found himself momentarily speechless. He was thousands of meters below the ocean surface, and yet he felt the surge of the storm above. Sasha's statement resonated within him, stirring a whirlwind of emotions that he struggled to comprehend. 'What on earth is this woman suggesting?' he questioned himself, unsure of what he had just heard. He was thrown into a turmoil of confusion and disbelief.

"Sorry...What?" He managed to stutter out the words, clinging to the slender hope that he had perhaps misheard her. The sentence seemed too outlandish, too improbable to be real. He wanted to believe that he was mistaken, even though the gut feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach contradicted his vain attempts to dismiss Sasha's words as a figment of his imagination. Yet, the reality of what he had heard hung heavy in the air between them, a sharp reminder of the unexpected turn of events that had just unfolded.

"I want you, Aditya. I want you to be mine," Sasha reiterated, her tone unyielding and determined. The icy aloofness that usually inhabited her gaze seemed to dissolve, replaced with a warmth that caught Aditya off guard. Her eyes softened, casting an affectionate look in his direction. The intensity of her gaze was almost tangible, causing a sudden stirring in his heart that he swiftly tried to suppress.

A cacophony of disbelieving exclamations echoed in his mind. 'What? This can't be happening, can it?' Aditya was caught in a vortex of disbelief and shock. His thoughts raced, grappling with the surreal nature of the situation. His world tilted on its axis and for a moment, time seemed to freeze. He was paralyzed, anchored in a sea of surprise, unable to comprehend Sasha's unexpected confession.

The silence stretched between them, an elastic band of tension threatening to snap any moment. After what felt like an eternity, Aditya found his voice again. The word was just a whisper, a single syllable encapsulating the whirlwind of emotions churning within him. "Why?"

Sasha's stoic demeanor softened, giving way to an unexpected tenderness. For the first time since their paths had crossed, a small, sincere smile played at the corners of her lips. Her hand, which was clasped around his own, tightened slightly, as though she feared he would vanish the moment she let go.

"Because," she began, her voice dropping to a hushed whisper. Her smile widened, lighting up her face in a radiant display that held Aditya spellbound. The force of her admission momentarily arrested his heart. "You are the Fated One. My Fated One. You are a celestial gift, sent from the heavens, especially for me."

Her words hung in the air, a silent testament to the profound feelings that she had just revealed, shifting the very dynamics of their relationship in ways Aditya had never imagined possible.

'Huh...? What is she talking about? How can I be a celestial gift?' Aditya questioned himself, his thoughts swirling with confusion. His logical mind found it difficult to process Sasha's profound claim. It was as if she was speaking in riddles, weaving an enigmatic narrative that his rational mind struggled to make sense of.

Sasha seemed unperturbed by Aditya's evident confusion. Her eyes met his with an unflinching gaze, before she posed her next question. "What is your name?" Her voice was calm, laced with an unusual gentleness.

Although his mind was still entrenched in a maelly of doubt and disarray, he managed to respond. "It's William," he said, adopting the fabricated persona he had carefully constructed for this clandestine mission.

"William..." Sasha echoed his alias softly, closing her eyes as if trying to commit the sound to memory. She repeated the name in a hushed whisper, as though attempting to align the foreign name with the man standing in front of her. The aloof, icy Sasha that was infamous among the underworld had vanished, replaced by a warm and vulnerable woman who bore little resemblance to her notorious counterpart. It was a transformation so complete, it was as if she had shed an old skin to reveal a completely different persona.

Without warning, she dropped her next revelation. "William, I want you to marry me." Her words landed with the impact of an explosion, shattering the thin veneer of calm that Aditya had managed to maintain.

'Has she completely lost her mind?' Aditya questioned inwardly. His mind reeled with disbelief, trying to make sense of the surreal situation that was unfolding in front of him. The words Sasha had spoken were so unexpected, they pushed his threshold of incredulity to its breaking point.

"Enough," Aditya's voice was firm, brooking no room for further discussion. "Why would I marry you? I don't even know who you are. I've heard enough of this nonsense and I'm leaving." With a swift pivot, he attempted to extricate himself from her grip and from the surreal vortex of her revelations.

But her grasp on his arm hardened like a vice, her gaze turning icy and penetrating. A chill seemed to radiate from her, freezing him in place. Despite Aditya's best efforts to wrest himself free, she held on, her resolve as unyielding as steel.

"Why are you holding me?" Aditya demanded, his brows furrowing in irritation. He had grown weary of this farce. All he desired was to depart from this place and resume his intended path. He was currently operating at the strength level of a peak 3rd-order cultivator, well within his means to match her peak 5th-order strength. Yet, he refrained from doing so, acutely aware that any display of such power would raise suspicions about his true identity – a secret he was determined to protect.

Despite his discomfort, Aditya tempered his strength, suppressing his true capabilities. He did not want to risk exposure, not when he was so close to achieving his mission. However, the iron grip of the woman before him was quickly pushing him into a corner. How he'd navigate his way out of this tricky situation remained to be seen.

"I can't let you go. As I've already told you, you're the only one for me in this world. Regardless of the circumstances, I won't let you slip away." Sasha's voice rang out coldly, reverberating with an unwavering determination. Even though Aditya didn't fully comprehend her sentiments, he knew with absolute certainty that this obstinate woman wouldn't relinquish her hold until she received a response. And she was not the sort to easily accept a negative answer. However, this in no way implied that Aditya would capitulate and agree to marry her.

He was already engaged to four women, and he couldn't have been happier or more content with them. It was a jarring contradiction that merely a few days ago, Sasha had vehemently expressed her lack of interest in him, categorically stating that marriage was out of the question. She had even insisted that he stop seeking her out. Yet, here she was, seeking him out, albeit unknowingly. Her lack of recognition was due to his skillful disguise and the usage of an artifact to mask his Aura.

"Alright, then. What do you want from me?" Aditya asked, his frustration seeping into his words. He was caught in an impossible situation. He couldn't depart without resorting to force, but doing so would reveal his true strength. His options were dwindling, and the path ahead seemed increasingly complicated. How he would manage to extricate himself from this predicament without compromising his mission was a question that loomed ominously over his head.

"Marry me," Sasha proposed once again, her voice as cold and unyielding as the Arctic wind.

"No. I'm not interested," Aditya refused outright, his reply crisp and decisive.

"100 million royal gold coins," she persisted, her words echoing in the heavy silence that enveloped them.

"Pardon?" he questioned, taken aback by the unexpected offer.

"I'll give you 100 million royal gold coins if you agree to marry me," she clarified, her tone matter-of-fact. Despite her cold demeanor and dangerous reputation, Sasha was incredibly wealthy. Her covert operations as a global assassin had earned her billions, which were now stored securely in her possession.

"No, I'm not interested," he reiterated, refusing her generous offer without a moment's hesitation.

"200 million royal gold coi-," she tried to negotiate, only to be interrupted by Aditya's swift refusal.

"Nope," he cut her off before she could complete her proposition.

"300 million -," she started, but was promptly cut short.

"No," he dismissed her offer without a second thought.

"1 billion royal gold coins." Her offer escalated exponentially, an astronomical amount of wealth that would make even the most disciplined individual pause. The conversion of 1 billion royal gold coins to 100 billion standard gold coins was a staggering amount of wealth. The sheer magnitude of her offer hung heavily in the air, a testament to her desperation to secure his agreement.

"I've already told you, I'm not interested," Aditya repeated firmly, his patience wearing thin. Money held no sway over him, and he was growing increasingly annoyed with Sasha's misguided belief that everything could be obtained with wealth alone.

Sasha's voice, now tinged with frustration, cut through the tense air. "Then tell me, what do you want? How much money do you need?"

"It's not about money," Aditya responded, his voice laced with exasperation. He had no desire for wealth or the extravagant promises she was making.

"Then what is it that you desire?" Sasha pressed, her desperation becoming more apparent with each passing moment. The woman who believed she could acquire anything through monetary means was facing a perplexing challenge she couldn't easily overcome.

"I don't care about your money, your riches, or having a harem," Aditya declared firmly, his tone unwavering. He had no interest in succumbing to the allure of material possessions that Sasha was so fervently offering. His blunt rejection only fueled Sasha's growing frustration. Throughout her life, she had successfully obtained everything she desired using money. It had become ingrained in her belief system that wealth could procure anything she desired.

In her experience, husbands abandoned their families for a mere million royal gold coins, revealing the shocking realization that they valued their own kin at such a low price. Sons were willing to commit fratricide to inherit their father's wealth. Sasha had witnessed such betrayals firsthand, solidifying her conviction that money could indeed buy anything.

But Aditya was different. He remained steadfast in his refusal, unyielding in his rejection of her offers. His words struck at the core of her beliefs, challenging the foundation upon which she had built her life.

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Chapter 429

"I don't care about your money, your riches, or having a harem," Aditya declared firmly, his tone unwavering. He had no interest in succumbing to the allure of material possessions that Sasha was so fervently offering.

Sasha did not like the fact that she was rejected. As a result, the coldness in her eyes increased. She tightened her grip.

"I am not letting you leave. Whether you like it or not, I am not letting you leave." How can Sasha let go of this man? She had finally found a man who doesn't activate her disease on contact. Letting Aditya go was the worse mistake that she could make.

Hearing this Aditya frowned. But he remained silent.

Sasha's hand then moved with deliberate purpose to retrieve a pendant, it was wrought from obsidian black metal, an opaque jewel that seemed to suck in the light. With a sudden swift motion, she fastened it around Aditya's neck, a relentless grip in her fingers that brooked no argument. Aditya did not resist, rather he remained passive, his curiosity piqued as to what she intended to do.

"You will not leave this city without me," she intoned, her voice reverberating with a finality that left no room for debate. As the words left her lips, the pendant began to pulsate, its glow intensifying until it bathed Aditya's face in a sable luminescence. A sudden weight fell upon him, a metaphysical restraint that seized his movement, chaining him to Sasha's will.

Then, Sasha's gaze fell on him, her eyes as cold and remorseless as the deepest abyss of the ocean. "I am here to extinguish Laura's existence," she declared with an eeriness that sent a chill down Aditya's spine. "Once I have fulfilled my mission, we will abandon this place, heading back to the surface. And you are bound to me."

Aditya's heart pounded in his chest at her words. Laura's life was not a commodity that could be snuffed out at Sasha's whim. Laura was a valuable ally of his, an important piece in the complex web he had woven. He had invested a significant amount in Laura, and her ascension to the helm of the Deep Sea Palace would ensure a substantial return on his investment. Permitting her demise was a luxury he simply couldn't afford.

Sasha, however, did not pause for his response. In a swift movement, she vanished, her form dissolving into the ether as though it was never there. Her plans had changed. Originally, she intended to linger, to explore the expanse of this underwater kingdom. But now that she had located Aditya, expediency was her ally. She was determined to achieve her goal swiftly and return to the realm above the water's surface without delay.

This artifact is known as "The Obsidian Obedience Orb."

The Obsidian Obedience Orb is a captivating pendant known for its enchanting ability to bind the will of the wearer to the holder's commands. It is an ancient artifact steeped in mystery and lore, often a centerpiece in tales of control, authority, and power dynamics.

As for its appearance, the Obsidian Obedience Orb is as mesmerizing as it is powerful. The pendant is sculpted from a single, glossy piece of black obsidian, polished to a smooth, mirror-like finish. It is roughly the size of a robin's egg, and at its center is a lustrous sphere of onyx, capturing the tiniest flecks of light and reflecting them back in an eerie, ghostly glow.

The pendant is suspended from a chain of intertwining blackened silver links, giving it an air of dark elegance. Intricate, faintly luminescent glyphs and sigils are engraved on its surface, encircling the central onyx. They shimmer faintly when observed, a testament to the latent power the artifact holds.

This pendant, while visually appealing, has a foreboding aura, emphasizing the powerful enchantment it holds.

A calculated plan began to formulate in Aditya's mind. "Breaking this artifact won't be a problem. It will, however, alert Sasha to my resistance. I'll need to wait until she departs the city before I make my move. There's no way I can let Sasha eliminate Laura." Aditya's strategy, like shifting sands, changed with the evolving situation. Laura's safety was now his paramount concern. Sasha, known as the most lethal assassin in this realm, had her in her sights, placing Laura in a perilous predicament.

To trace Nerida, he keyed into the unique resonance of her aura, a spiritual fingerprint distinctive to her alone. After locating her, he requested an additional loan, justifying it with the exorbitant expense of using the teleportation array.

Minutes later, with a brusque show of his latent strength, Aditya shattered the pendant, the artifact that bound him. A weight lifted from his shoulders, he was now free to step into the intricate web of runes and symbols comprising the teleportation array and disappear into the ether.

Simultaneously, in the opulent heart of the capital city, Sasha was huddled over a plethora of maps and scrolls, meticulously strategizing her assassination plot against Laura. However, her planning was abruptly interrupted when she sensed a jarring disconnection. The pendant she had attached to Aditya had been shattered. Her tether to him severed, she was engulfed by a surge of anger.

Without a moment's delay, she stormed towards the teleportation array, her sole intention to return to Atlantisia post-haste. As Sasha's figure dissipated in the incandescent glow of the teleportation array, Aditya materialized in the Capital. Knowing that every second counted, he swiftly set off in search of Laura.

Laura's personal maid, Kate, was the one who addressed Aditya. She was a woman of 37 years, her light blue hair a stark contrast against the ethereal underwater environment. Kate belonged to the undersea populace who held a strong animosity towards surface dwellers, particularly humans. Her prejudice was palpable, though not entirely unjustified given the historical frictions between the two races.

Kate scrutinized Aditya, her gaze fixated on his transformed appearance. The last time they'd interacted, he hadn't altered his looks. It was a bit of a puzzle to her, Aditya being nearly unrecognizable. It was only when he revealed his true aura, a vibrant ripple of energy that surrounded him, that she could truly identify him.

"Where is she? Take me to her. I want to see her right now." Aditya's tone was urgent, and his words rushed. The jovial, laid-back demeanor he usually displayed was replaced with a grim intensity that had a disconcerting effect on Kate.

Taking note of his agitation, Kate couldn't help but feel a hint of worry tugging at the edges of her usually composed countenance. "Alright come with me." She acquiesced, her tone softened with concern. She then began to lead him, their bodies gracefully cutting through the water, navigating the labyrinth of expansive corridors, each leading toward Laura's private quarters.

A double knock echoed through the room, breaking the serene stillness that had enveloped it. "My Lady, you have a visitor." The words, though softly spoken by Kate, carried through the water, reaching Laura who was deeply engrossed in her cultivation practice.

Her eyes snapped open, her intense focus disrupted. With a flicker of her consciousness, her senses rapidly spread out, enveloping the surroundings, trying to identify the source of the unfamiliar aura. She didn't realize Aditya was shrouding his usual aura with an artifact, making it difficult for her to discern his identity.

"Who is it?" Laura asked, her voice laced with cautious curiosity. She didn't recognize the aura, hence she inquired as to who Kate had ushered into her palace.

"It's Aditya," Kate responded simply. At the mention of his name, a look of surprise flitted across Laura's features.

"I am coming," she stated after a moment of consideration. Despite her words, she didn't feel particularly at ease about inviting a man into her personal space. Aditya wasn't a close friend or a betrothed partner, he was essentially a business ally. Their partnership was founded on mutual benefits – with Laura's ascension to the throne, Aditya would gain a multitude of perks and, in turn, Laura would have a strong alliance, extending her sphere of influence even into the land above the sea.

They ventured into an area of Laura's underwater palace that had been designed to replicate the dry conditions found on land, complete with a full set of terrestrial furnishings. It was an unexpected, yet thoughtful accommodation, like an aquatic enclave mirroring the surface world.

"Please sit down," Laura cordially invited Aditya, indicating the plush couch settled in the center of the room. He nodded, taking a seat as Laura occupied the space directly opposite him, her trusted maid, Kate, hovering dutifully behind her.

Breaking the silence that had fallen between them, Laura smiled warmly at Aditya, her eyes twinkling with bemusement. "Should I start calling you the Grand Emperor now? Or perhaps the Dragon Monarch?" The news of Aditya's feats and his rapid ascension to power on land had not eluded her; she had her networks of informants spread across both domains.

Taken slightly aback by her awareness, Aditya returned her smile. "So, you've been keeping tabs on the happenings above the water?" He queried, mildly impressed.

"Kind of. I find it necessary to stay updated about the actions of my allies," Laura responded with an air of nonchalance. Her 'ally' in question was none other than Aditya and his swiftly expanding Istarin Empire.

Her gaze then settled on Aditya more seriously, curiosity seeping into her eyes. "What brings you here earlier than expected?" She prodded gently.

Aditya's face turned grave, his earlier smile replaced with a sterner expression. "I have some unfortunate news to share," he confessed.

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Chapter 430

Upon hearing that the notorious Goddess of Lust had been hired to extinguish her life, Laura's reaction was rather unexpected. Instead of exhibiting shock or fear, she seemed vaguely amused, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Observing her composure, Aditya felt a wave of incredulity wash over him. He found her nonchalance in the face of such peril perplexing. "Are you not surprised?" He finally voiced his bewilderment, studying her countenance for any signs of distress.

Laura's smile merely deepened as she shook her head. "No, I'm not surprised. It's inevitable, really. As a contender for the throne, I knew assassination attempts would be part of the equation. I have a multitude of enemies, after all," she explained with a hint of resignation in her voice.

Her clear, azure eyes met Aditya's gaze directly, unblinking. "Those who oppose me seek to install a puppet ruler on the throne—someone malleable, someone they can manipulate. My refusal to bend to their whims has earned me a spot on their hit list."

There was a pause, and then she added, a trace of curiosity lacing her voice, "What does astonish me, however, is the fact that they've commissioned the deadliest assassin in the world to carry out the deed. How did you come across this information, Aditya? It's not something that's easily accessible."

Aditya shifted uncomfortably, his cheeks warming slightly under her questioning gaze. "Well, let's just say that our paths crossed, and she took... a liking to me," he admitted awkwardly.

"Liking to you?" Both Laura and Kate exchanged a surprised glance, their eyes widening at Aditya's confession.

Clearing his throat, Aditya decided to elaborate. "What I mean to say is..." He launched into a condensed narrative, recounting his chance encounter with Sasha, who was also concealed beneath a disguise at the time.

He relayed to them the unexpected turn of events, of how their paths had intertwined and the subsequent developments. However, he deliberately omitted the finer details, choosing to skim over their recent rendezvous on the surface. He did not want to further complicate matters by disclosing the entirety of his interactions with Sasha. His primary aim was to warn Laura and prepare her for the impending danger, not delve into the intricacies of his complicated relationship with the deadly assassin.

"I firmly believe that Sasha will attempt to extinguish your life. I request your permission to stay here, to lend you my assistance if such an event should occur," Aditya stated resolutely. His power was already on par with a Peak 5th-order cultivator, and he was confident that he could face Sasha in combat if it came to it. As for Laura, he knew she was no pushover herself. Her cultivation had already reached Mid-5th-order, a level not easily dismissed.

Laura's eyes softened at his declaration. "I appreciate your help, Aditya," she said, her voice imbued with gratitude. "Once I ascend to the throne of the Deep Sea Palace, I will be sure to express my thanks for all you have done."

Aditya remained silent for a moment, not rejecting nor acknowledging her words. Instead, he decided to lay out his own terms. "What I seek is a strong alliance, a relationship characterized by mutual benefits."

Initially, Aditya had offered his assistance to Laura because he was responsible for the demise of the previous ruler. He was well aware that the moment a new leader was elected, the Deep Sea Palace would deploy its forces in a retaliatory strike against the Istarin Empire. However, Laura's promise to form an alliance with the Istarin Empire, should she assume the throne, was a reassurance.

Yet, the political landscape had shifted since then. His position in the grand scheme had changed. In his perspective, he and Laura were now standing on equal grounds. He was capable of handling the Deep Sea Palace's wrath, even if Laura were to fail in her bid for the throne. What he yearned for now was not a mere ally in the face of adversity, but a steadfast partner. An alliance that would yield substantial benefits to both their empires.

Moreover, Aditya held a deep appreciation for Laura's insightful nature. Unlike other aristocrats, she did not harbor narrow-minded views that discriminated against Aquatic Elves and other sea races, deeming Merfolk to be superior. Laura, in contrast, treated every being as equal. Her wisdom was evident, as was her understanding of what was in her Empire's best interest. Having such an enlightened and powerful ally would undoubtedly be an invaluable asset to the Istarin Empire.

"Certainly, Your Majesty," Laura responded with a nod. She had never intended to sever her alliance with Aditya. Doing so would have been an act of folly. This was another factor that set her apart from the old nobility, her vision was not confined to the usual prejudice and discrimination. Instead, she had the grand ambition of fostering cooperation between the terrestrial and maritime Empires.

She then turned towards her personal assistant, instructing, "Kate, kindly prepare suitable accommodations for His Majesty."

Subsequently, Laura faced Aditya, her expression mirroring her sincere apology. "I must ask for your forgiveness if our hospitality does not meet your usual standards. You must understand that currently, my circumstances are somewhat constrained."

Laura's home was far from ostentatious compared to the grandeur of the Dragon Palace. She was concerned that Aditya might find her modest dwelling unsatisfactory. In the eyes of common folk, however, her home was nothing short of luxurious.

Aditya responded with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I assure you, that's of no concern to me. I am capable of finding comfort in any accommodation." Aditya had never been one to prioritize comfort over necessity, and he was perfectly fine with staying in any available room.

Scene change_______

As time wore on, Aditya remained vigilant, anticipating an onslaught from Sasha at any moment. However, it was only after five long hours that Sasha finally emerged, escorted by a retinue of forty succubi disguised as humans, into the bustling heart of the Capital.

Their sudden appearance in the Capital, uncharacteristic for humans, drew the curious gaze of the residents. But Sasha was oblivious to the commotion around her. Her mind was clouded by a simmering rage that had seized her upon learning about William's departure, despite her explicit instruction to stay put. Sasha, in her fury, failed to comprehend that by strapping the pendant on William, she had essentially reduced him to a hostage, playing right into her hands.

"My lady, what's our next move?" queried one of the succubi, her gaze resting warily on Sasha.

The forty succubi trailing Sasha knew well enough that whoever or whatever had provoked their queen's wrath was bound to meet a nasty fate. They had never before witnessed Sasha in such a state of uncontrolled rage. Her usually controlled demeanor was replaced by an intense killing intent, so palpable that it was hard for her to suppress it. It filled the air around them, sending a chill down the spines of those who dared to approach.

'How could he?' Sasha raged inwardly. Sasha was a woman of possession, a woman used to getting what she wanted, whether by money or by force. She had always operated under the assumption that wealth was an effective leash, that any man could be made hers given enough of it. But William had effectively shattered her ingrained beliefs. Not only had he spurned her advances, but he had also made his escape the moment she left Atlantisia.

Lost and unaware of William's whereabouts, Sasha decided to vent her ire on Laura. Ordinarily, her formidable abilities were sufficient to dispatch anyone on this planet without any trouble. But this time, she had chosen to bring with her forty additional succubi from her race. Her plan was not just to eliminate Laura, but to obliterate anyone associated with her, tearing apart her world entirely.

"No plan. We march there, and we start the massacre," Sasha responded in an icy tone that chilled the air around her. It was a chilling response, a blend of her seething anger and cold resolve, encapsulating the impending doom that loomed over Laura and her associates.

Sasha, leading the group of forty succubi, directed them towards Laura's abode. Their large, formidable presence didn't go unnoticed, their ominous intent seeping into the surroundings and alerting their targets.

"My lady, there are forty-one human females marching towards us," Kate reported, her complexion ashen. The urgency in her voice echoed the dread that had taken root in her eyes, revealing a deep-seated fear for the impending danger.

In synchrony with Kate's alarming announcement, Aditya entered the living room. His keen senses had also registered the approaching danger. He exchanged a knowing glance with Laura, their eyes mirroring the understanding of the looming confrontation. The silence between them crackled with tension, each of them aware of the imminent storm about to hit.

"She is here," Aditya uttered, his voice steady despite the alarming situation. The calm determination in his eyes spoke volumes, revealing his readiness to face the threat head-on. The moment they had been preparing for had finally arrived.

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Chapter 431

More than forty formidable assassins had strategically encircled Laura's sprawling estate, positioning themselves with precision. Among them stood Sasha, the leader of this lethal assembly, her arms folded across her chest as she patiently awaited Laura's appearance. Tension hung heavy in the air, a palpable sense of impending conflict.

"Laura, if you wish to avoid needless bloodshed, I suggest you come out now," Sasha declared, her voice amplified by an arcane enchantment, carrying her words across a radius of a thousand meters. The force behind her words reverberated through the surrounding area, sending a chilling message to those within earshot.

A ripple of unease surged through the ranks of the guards stationed within Laura's mansion, their gazes flickering with a mix of determination and concern. They knew the gravity of the situation, and their loyalty to Lady Laura propelled them to defend her at any cost.

"You have some nerve demanding Lady Laura's presence," a commanding voice boomed from the mansion's entrance. Simultaneously, a formidable force of more than five hundred guards emerged, their ranks comprising both Merfolks and Aquatic Elves. In the face of the imminent threat posed by Sasha's assassination attempt, Laura had swiftly mobilized an impressive force to protect herself and her estate.

The atmosphere crackled with tension as the two factions faced off, an unspoken challenge hanging in the air. Sasha's piercing gaze swept over the amassed guards, her expression betraying a mix of calculated confidence and ruthless determination.

"Our intentions are clear, as are the consequences," Sasha retorted, her voice dripping with icy resolve. "Stand aside, and Lady Laura may yet spare unnecessary bloodshed."

The air grew thick with anticipation, the quietude punctuated only by the soft rustle of the wind through the trees. The outcome of this high-stakes confrontation remained uncertain, its resolution poised on the precipice of violence.

Despite the absence of a response from Laura, a cold smile curled upon Sasha's lips as she surveyed the five hundred guards standing defiantly before her. Without uttering another word, in a display of astonishing speed and precision, Sasha materialized before one of the guards. Gasps of astonishment echoed through the tense air as her curved dagger deftly sliced across the guard's throat, extinguishing his life in an instant. The sight of his lifeless form crumpling to the ground sent a shiver of fear and shock through the ranks of the guards.

A mixture of horror and rage coursed through Sasha's veins, fueling her actions. This was not her typical modus operandi; she preferred the subtlety and secrecy of shadowy assassinations. But the audacity of Laura's defiance had shattered that restraint, plunging Sasha into a tempest of fury that demanded a more overt display of her lethal skills.

"Who's next?" Sasha's voice dripped with a chilling mixture of amusement and malevolence, her taunting words hanging in the air like a sinister challenge. The guards hesitated, their faces etched with fear and uncertainty, momentarily paralyzed by the shocking display of violence before them.

In that momentary pause, the guards seized the opportunity to retaliate, their sense of duty overriding their fear. With a unified battle cry, they launched themselves at the forty Succubi Assassins who accompanied Sasha, their weapons raised and determination etched upon their faces. The clash of steel and the eruption of magical energy reverberated through the estate, drawing the attention of onlookers beyond its walls.

To the surprise of many, however, the city guards, who should have intervened to quell the escalating violence, remained conspicuously indifferent. They continued their duties as if oblivious to the unfolding chaos, leaving the battle to unfold unchecked. It was a perplexing sight, one that raised questions and suspicions among those who observed the scene from the periphery.

As the intense confrontation escalated, the clash of arms and the sounds of spells being cast reverberated through the air. The conflict had become a spectacle, capturing the attention of those nearby. Yet, the absence of interference from the city guards only served to deepen the mystery surrounding the unfolding chaos, leaving its resolution to the combatants embroiled in the violent struggle.

Despite being outnumbered by the guards five to one, the Succubi Assassins displayed a stunning level of skill and coordination that swiftly tilted the tide of the battle in their favor. Their agility and supernatural prowess allowed them to effortlessly engage multiple guards simultaneously, their lethal strikes finding their marks with alarming precision. The guards, caught off guard by the ferocity of their adversaries, found themselves outmatched and struggling to mount an effective defense.

Within moments of the clash commencing, the number of guards began to dwindle at an alarming rate, their ranks thinning as the Succubi Assassins moved with deadly grace through their ranks. Aditya, observing the unfolding spectacle from a nearby window, could scarcely believe his eyes. Sasha, in particular, exhibited an unprecedented level of speed and agility, her movements fluid and seemingly instantaneous. It was as if she possessed the ability to teleport effortlessly from one guard to the next, leaving in her wake a trail of lifeless bodies, their throats mercilessly slashed.

Simultaneously, the remaining Succubi Assassins engaged the guards with unwavering focus, skillfully evading their attacks while retaliating with lethal precision. Their coordination and unity were evident, their strategic maneuvers leaving the guards at a disadvantage, their numbers diminishing with each passing moment.

The scene was a harrowing tableau of chaos and violence. The once pristine waters surrounding the estate were now tinged with the crimson hue of spilled blood, the air heavy with the acrid scent of battle. The lifeless bodies of the guards littered the surroundings, a testament to the relentless efficiency of the Succubi Assassins. The gravity of the situation weighed heavily upon all present, as the outcome of this brutal conflict hung in the balance, each passing second bringing them closer to a potentially devastating conclusion.

"Laura, we need to go out," Aditya suggested, his eyes fixed on the chaotic scene unfolding outside.

The maid, filled with concern for Lady Laura's safety, immediately interjected, refusing Aditya's suggestion. "We can't. That woman will kill Lady Laura if we step into that battle."

Laura, however, found herself contemplating Aditya's proposal. His unwavering confidence and the urgency of the situation weighed heavily on her mind. She understood the risks involved, but the thought of losing her estate and her life at the hands of Sasha pushed her to consider this audacious plan.

"I can take on that woman," Aditya asserted, his voice brimming with determination. "I will keep her occupied while you focus on eliminating the remaining Succubi."

The weight of the decision hung in the air, each passing moment intensifying the urgency. Laura knew that the stakes were high, but she also recognized that Aditya's presence and skills could potentially turn the tide in their favor.

Taking a deep breath, Laura made her decision. "Alright. Let's do it."

Outside, the once formidable force of five hundred guards had been reduced to less than one hundred. The swift and deadly precision of the Succubi Assassins had exacted a heavy toll on their ranks, leaving chaos and carnage in their wake. With each passing second, the death toll among the guards rose exponentially, making it increasingly easier for the remaining Succubi to dispatch their adversaries.

Amidst the chaos, a resounding voice rang out, commanding the attention of all present. "Stop!" Laura's voice cut through the maelstrom of battle, carrying an undeniable authority that demanded obedience. Sasha and the other Succubi halted their relentless assault, their attention now fixed on the source of the commanding voice.

Sasha's cold smile transformed into a mask of violent shock as her gaze landed upon William standing beside Laura. Her eyes widened, pupils trembling at the sight before her. The unexpected presence of William, who had skillfully concealed his true identity, struck Sasha with a profound jolt, shaking the foundation of her convictions. The revelation of his alliance with Laura shattered the calculated assumptions that had guided her actions, leaving her momentarily vulnerable and unsure of her next move.

Sasha's anger burned within her, a fire fueled by feelings of betrayal and confusion. The sight of William standing beside Laura only intensified these emotions, leaving her seething with a mix of resentment and a desperate need for answers.

"What are you doing here, William?" Sasha demanded, her voice laden with frustration and hurt. She longed to understand the motives behind his unexpected presence, hoping against hope that there was a valid explanation for his apparent betrayal.

A small, enigmatic smile played at the corners of William's lips as he met Sasha's furious gaze. "I am here because fate has brought me to this point," he replied cryptically. His words offered little clarity, leaving Sasha even more bewildered by his response.

Her anger boiled over, and she gritted her teeth, unable to contain her frustration any longer. "Why are you standing next to that woman?" Sasha's voice crackled with an intensity that matched the fire burning within her.

William's gaze held a mixture of sadness and determination as he regarded Sasha. "I stand beside her because it is where I must be," he replied, his voice carrying a weight that resonated with unspoken truths.

Sasha's fury intensified as her barrage of questions continued, her words overlapping in a rush of emotion. "Are you working for this woman? Tell me!"

The air crackled with tension as the questions hung unanswered, each word carrying the weight of their strained connection. Sasha awaited his response, her eyes locked onto his, desperate for an explanation that could unravel the web of confusion and betrayal that had entangled their fates.

William's smile remained unwavering in the face of Sasha's anger, though his eyes held a touch of sadness. He understood the depth of her fury and the gravity of her threat, yet he refused to yield.

Sasha's dagger trembled in her hand as she aimed it directly at William, her voice laced with venomous determination. "Stand down, or I will kill you," she warned, her resolve unwavering. The weight of her past successes as an assassin fueled her determination, pushing her to take whatever measures necessary to fulfill her mission, even if it meant sacrificing William.

William's expression hardened, his own resolve matching Sasha's. "I cannot stand down. Laura is my friend, and she is a valuable ally," he declared, his voice steady and resolute. The bond between him and Laura ran deep, forged through shared experiences and unwavering loyalty. He would not allow Sasha to harm someone he held dear.

The other Succubi Assassins watched the tense exchange with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, uncertain of the dynamics at play between their lady and this enigmatic man named William. It was clear that Laura held a connection to him, but the true nature of their relationship remained a mystery. Yet, their loyalty to their lady superseded their curiosity, and they stood poised to protect her, ready to act at a moment's notice.

Sasha's grip on her dagger tightened, her gaze locked with William's. The air crackled with tension, the clash of their wills poised to ignite a new wave of conflict. The battle of loyalties and personal stakes hung in the balance, each side unwilling to back down. The stakes were high, and the outcome of this confrontation would shape the fate of all involved.

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Chapter 432

As Sasha lunged forward, her dagger aimed at William's chest with deadly precision, she expected her strike to land true. Yet, in a display of unparalleled agility and grace, William effortlessly evaded her attack. His movements were fluid, as if he were dancing with the shadows, leaving Sasha stunned and bewildered.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as her blade sliced through nothing but air. The reality of the situation crashed upon her, shattering her expectations. How could this seemingly ordinary man, a mere Peak 3rd-order cultivator, evade her strikes with such ease?

Confusion gnawed at Sasha's mind, her thoughts racing to comprehend the impossible. She had faced countless opponents in battle, but none had ever eluded her with such finesse. The revelation shook the very foundation of her beliefs, leaving her vulnerable and exposed.

Unable to contain her growing anger, Sasha's determination solidified into a burning resolve. "I am going to kill you!" she declared, her voice laced with a mixture of fury and frustration. She launched herself at William once more, attacking with a renewed ferocity.

But William continued to effortlessly evade her onslaught, each of Sasha's strikes finding only empty space. His movements remained casual, his hands still comfortably nestled in his pockets, as if the battle held no true threat to him.

His taunting words further fueled Sasha's rage, stoking the flames of her determination. No one had ever dared to challenge her like this, and she refused to be bested by a mere mortal. The goddess within her burned with the desire to claim victory, to prove her superiority.

Their dance of combat continued, Sasha's attacks growing more furious and desperate with each passing moment, while William effortlessly deflected and dodged her strikes. The clash of their skills and wills echoed through the air, a symphony of aggression and determination.

As the battle raged on, Sasha's frustration mounted, yet a newfound sense of curiosity began to intertwine with her anger. Who was this man, and how was he able to match her speed and precision? The answers to these questions eluded her, driving her to fight even harder, to uncover the truth behind William's inexplicable abilities.

Sasha's frustration grew with each passing moment, her mind clouded with a whirlwind of emotions. The sight of William effortlessly evading her attacks shattered her preconceptions, leaving her grasping for answers. Doubt crept into her mind, questioning his true capabilities and the authenticity of his cultivation level.

"This can't be real," Sasha muttered to herself, her voice tinged with a mixture of disbelief and irritation. "Is he pretending to be weaker than he truly is? Or is there something else at play here?" Her mind raced, searching for an explanation that would reconcile the incongruity between his seemingly lower cultivation and his unmatched agility.

Despite her mounting frustration, Laura refused to remain idle. She seized the opportunity presented by Sasha's distraction and unleashed her own skills upon the Succubi. As a Mid-5th-order cultivator, the Succubi stood no chance against her formidable powers. Laura's attacks were swift and precise, swiftly bringing an end to the lives of the demonic assassins who had invaded her estate.

Sasha, realizing the gravity of the situation, decided to cast aside her reservations. She unleashed her full power, tapping into her skills and abilities to enhance her own prowess. As her powers surged, a faint aura of crimson lightning crackled around William's body, catching Sasha's attention.

As the crimson lightning bolts danced around William's body, Sasha's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and realization. The pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place, revealing the truth that had eluded her until now.

Her mind raced, retracing their encounters, their battles, and the uncanny evasion of her attacks. How could she have failed to see it? How could she have missed the signs that pointed to Aditya's true identity?

The weight of her realization bore down upon her, an overwhelming realization that she had been pitted against the Dragon Monarch himself all along. Aditya, the legendary figure who could single-handedly defeat Peak 5th-order cultivators despite his own cultivation level of Peak 3rd-order.

Sasha's gaze locked onto Aditya, her eyes filled with a mix of astonishment, disbelief, and perhaps even a hint of admiration. The magnitude of their encounter became crystal clear, as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"You... Aditya," she whispered, her voice laced with a combination of awe and respect. The truth hung heavy in the air, shifting the dynamics of their battle.

Aditya's revelation hung heavy in the air, the truth unraveling the intricacies of their complex relationship. Sasha's shock gave way to a myriad of conflicting emotions as she grappled with the reality before her.

"Why... you?" Sasha's voice trembled with a mixture of confusion, anger, and perhaps even a hint of betrayal. The ground beneath her seemed to shift, the certainty she once held crumbling like sand between her fingers.

Aditya met her gaze, his expression tinged with a mix of sympathy and determination. "If you kill me, Sasha, you will seal your own fate," he explained calmly. The words echoed through the tense silence, carrying the weight of their shared destiny. As Aditya's wife through the binding contract, the consequences of his demise would extend to all of his wives, including Sasha.

The realization struck Sasha like a thunderbolt, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily upon her. She had saved Aditya's life not long ago, warning him to stay away from her, insisting that she held no interest in him and desired no connection between them. Yet, fate had intervened, intertwining their lives in ways neither of them could have foreseen.

Caught between the conflicting forces of duty and emotion, Sasha found herself at a crossroads. Aditya possessed the strength to protect Laura, and killing him would mean sacrificing herself in the process. However, abandoning her mission was not an option either, as she prided herself on her flawless success rate.

The silence stretched between them, each grappling with their own choices and the weight of the circumstances that had brought them to this precipice. The echoes of their past encounters reverberated in their minds, the tangled threads of their intertwined lives slowly unraveling before them.

In that fragile moment, they stood on the precipice of a decision that would shape their futures. The path ahead remained uncertain, fraught with challenges and sacrifices. Sasha's gaze locked with Aditya's, her eyes reflecting a mixture of resolve, conflict, and a glimmer of acceptance.

The stage was set, and the players assembled. The dance of fate continued, and only time would reveal the steps they would take in this intricate waltz of intertwined destinies.

After a long and arduous internal struggle, Sasha's voice boomed through the chaotic battlefield. "Everyone, retreat!" Her command pierced through the clash of weapons and cries of pain, echoing with an authority that demanded obedience. The Succubi, injured and weary from their confrontation with Laura, immediately ceased their assault and fell back, their gazes filled with a mix of frustration and resignation.

As Sasha sheathed her dagger back into her storage ring, a profound sense of determination etched on her face, Laura approached Aditya, standing by his side. The weight of their shared ordeal hung heavily in the air, their bond forged through adversity and the complex tapestry of their intertwined fates.

Meeting Laura's gaze, Sasha's voice carried a firm resolve. "I have never failed to fulfill my mission, and I will not fail this time." Her words held an unwavering determination, an unspoken promise to see her task through to the end. Then, her eyes shifted to Aditya, her voice now tinged with a touch of defiance. "And you cannot stop me."

With those resolute words, Sasha and the remaining Succubi vanished, their forms fading into the depths of darkness. The echoes of their departure lingered, a reminder of the choices made and the challenges that lay ahead. The battlefield now stood empty, strewn with the aftermath of their fierce clash.

Aditya and Laura exchanged a glance, a mix of relief and trepidation crossing their features. The storm had passed, but the consequences of their encounter with Sasha and the Succubi were yet to unfold. The uncertainties of the future loomed before them, as they stood united against the trials that awaited.

Aditya observed the surroundings with a mix of concern and curiosity. The absence of any intervention from the guards or soldiers of the Empire perplexed him. It was highly unusual for a high-stakes conflict involving a contender for the Throne like Laura to go unnoticed. However, he knew that now was not the time for such inquiries. Their immediate priority was the safety of Laura and the impending threat of Sasha's indirect assassination attempts.

"She won't stop, Laura. We have to remain vigilant," Aditya warned, his gaze scanning their surroundings. He understood the relentless nature of assassins like Sasha, who would stop at nothing to accomplish their mission. The shadows would serve as their battleground, and they had to be prepared.

Laura's voice resonated with conviction as she replied, "I am not afraid." Her gratitude towards Aditya was palpable. She recognized that his intervention had averted a potentially dire outcome. The bond between them had deepened through their shared ordeal, and Laura felt a sense of indebtedness to Aditya for his unwavering support.

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Chapter 433

Aditya's keen senses alerted him to the growing number of onlookers, their curious gazes fixed upon him and Laura. The situation felt increasingly precarious, urging Aditya to seek refuge within the safety of the mansion's walls.

"Laura, there's something important I need to discuss with you," Aditya spoke, his eyes scanning their surroundings, searching for any signs of Sasha's presence. Yet, her aura seemed to have mysteriously vanished, leaving him on edge. He knew they had to retreat before the crowd grew larger and their vulnerability increased. Sasha's warning about her intent to pursue indirect methods of assassination lingered in his mind.

"Of course, let's go inside," Laura replied, understanding the urgency of their conversation. Together, they made their way toward the mansion, seeking solace and privacy within its familiar embrace.

Kate, Laura's loyal maid, swiftly took charge of the situation, barking orders to the remaining guards. "Clean up the area and repair the damages," she commanded with authority. The guards followed her instructions, removing the lifeless bodies and setting about the task of restoring order. Kate hastened to join Aditya and Laura, ensuring their safety within the sanctuary of the mansion's walls.

As they retreated indoors, the frantic tumult of the outside world seemed to momentarily cease, the tranquility of their surroundings providing a welcome contrast. In the serenity of the living room, Aditya took a seat, a furrow of concern etched deeply into his brow. There was a question that had been gnawing at him, an enigma he could no longer ignore, ever since the initial clash had commenced.

"Laura," Aditya began, each word carefully measured, his tone betraying the gravity of his query, "ordinarily, were someone of your stature to come under attack within the city, or if there were an outbreak of violence, an attempt on someone's life right in public view, there would be immediate intervention."

His gaze bore into Laura's, seeking answers. "The guards entrusted with the safety of the city and its citizens would swiftly step in to halt the conflict, and apprehend the perpetrators. Yet, today was different. You were brazenly assailed by Sasha and her minions. This was not some remote outpost, but the Capital. It's supposed to be the epitome of security and safety within the entire expanse of the Deep Sea Palace Empire."

Aditya's frown deepened as he continued, "What I find peculiar and unsettling is the lack of any intervention. There was no attempt to stop the altercation, no cavalry charging in to rescue you. The guards seemed to be mere spectators, casually disinterested observers, who left when the spectacle was over."

What puzzled him the most was the blatant disregard for a potential future ruler's safety. "It's disconcerting that a key contender for the upcoming tournament, a potential ruler of the Deep Sea Palace in a mere week, should she prove victorious, was afforded no protection from the very soldiers of the Deep Sea Palace Empire," he concluded, his voice thick with concern.

A sigh echoed through the room, drawn from the depths of Laura's weary spirit. Aditya's questions were far from unexpected. She knew his astute mind would eventually stumble upon this stark anomaly. With the onslaught orchestrated by Sasha, this inconvenient fact had slipped through the cracks of her conversation with William. In the midst of enhancing security measures and bracing for Sasha's imminent arrival, Laura had found herself preoccupied and had neglected to mention this particularly troubling piece of the puzzle.

Aditya could feel the heavy, pensive silence hanging in the air as Laura stopped talking. Her voice, though calm and measured, was tinged with a certain kind of exhaustion. A faint, wistful smile played on her lips, a stark contrast to the gravity of the words she was about to say. Laura turned towards Aditya, a determined glint in her eyes. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before she began to speak.

"Aditya," she began, her voice filled with a mix of resignation and defiance, "As I've painstakingly tried to make clear before, my opinions and beliefs are, well, not particularly favored among the circles of nobility, particularly the elder members."

Aditya nodded slowly, understanding the importance of her confession. He had thrown his lot in with Laura, not despite her unique ideals, but because of them. In the Deep Sea Palace Empire, and indeed, in the surrounding oceanic Empires, discrimination and racism were deep-seated and far too common. The majority of the populace had their thoughts mired in prejudice against other races, viewing their own as superior.

Laura, however, was a breath of fresh air in this sea of stagnancy. She didn't resist the established norms just for the sake of rebellion, but because she truly saw all races as equals. She had dreams of bridging the gaping chasm between the land Empires and their oceanic counterparts. Laura's clarity of thought, vision, and her staunch refusal to bow to bigotry were what had drawn Aditya to her cause.

Looking out into the distance, she began to elaborate. "The nobility in our Deep Sea Palace Empire is essentially split into two distinct groups. The new generation of nobles, like myself, and the old, venerable nobility that hails from ancient and influential families."

Laura paused, a grimace of distaste marring her features as she continued. "These elder nobles are essentially phantoms, haunting our empire with their presence. Each one of them is over five centuries old, brimming with ambition, cunning, and a keen mind. They saw their rise to power during the era predating King Lewis's reign, during the ascension of the previous Emperor."

She sighed, her words painting a vivid picture of an era gone by. "At that critical juncture, they pledged their allegiance to the new Emperor. They poured in their vast resources, bolstering the emperor's position and ultimately securing his victory in the brutal struggle for the throne."

Laura's eyes held a spark of anger as she continued. "In return for their support, these ancient, crafty nobles were allowed to prosper unchecked. Their already substantial influence was allowed to grow exponentially. Now, they've solidified their positions as the figurative pillars of our Empire, their power unquestioned and pervasive."

"The old nobility is set in their ways," Laura stated, her voice hardened with determination. "They are looking for someone they can control, a ruler who will not resist their influence, much like the last two Emperors of the Deep Sea Palace. But I aim to shift that balance of power."

Her gaze became distant, her mind occupied with her vision for the future. "Once I claim the throne, my first order of business will be to dismantle the ironclad grip these old nobles have on our Empire. When the tournament was announced, I knew it was inevitable that they would try to remove me from the equation. But even I couldn't anticipate they would stoop so low as to bring the deadliest assassin in all the lands into play."

Laura then turned her attention back to Aditya, her eyes shimmering with gratitude. She graced him with a soft, appreciative smile. "If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be here to tell the tale."

Aditya returned her smile with one of his own, a warmth spread across his face. "Well, we are allies, after all. Today, it was my turn to lend a hand; tomorrow, you might be the one coming to my aid. That's how alliances work."

However, his affable demeanor soon gave way to a more serious one, the gravity of the situation asserting itself once more. "Do you have any leads on who might have hired Sasha?" He asked, his brow furrowing in concern. Laura could only shake her head in response.

"Unfortunately, I cannot pinpoint anyone specific," she admitted, a hint of frustration edging into her voice. "As I've mentioned before, the old nobles are uniformly against me. Each of them is supporting different contenders in this tournament, supplying them with resources, weapons, armor, precious pills, and even skill books. Anything to bolster their chances and ensure the ascension of a ruler they can control."

All of a sudden, Aditya's keen eyes picked up a disturbance. A shadow was darting toward Laura at a breakneck speed, almost imperceptible. Having crossed swords with Dark Element users in the past, Aditya was familiar with their ability to blend with shadows, effectively erasing their presence. The Emperor of Echo Nexus Empire, Lucas, possessed a similar ability when he metamorphosed into his Hybrid Hell demon form.

Sensing the imminent danger, Aditya's instincts kicked in with the speed of a thunderbolt. Within a fraction of a heartbeat, he called upon all of his passive abilities. He knew he needed every edge he could summon to match her astounding speed.

"[Storm Flight!]" he intoned, feeling the burst of speed the skill conferred.

"[Lightning Armor!]" he added, his body enveloped in a protective sheath of crackling energy.

Finally, "[Crimson Lightning Dash!]" he exclaimed, moving with the swiftness and deadly intent of a lightning strike.

Like a dark specter emerging from the abyss, Sasha sprang from the shadow, dagger raised menacingly. The blade was aimed with deadly precision at Laura's unsuspecting neck. Just as the sharp point of the weapon was about to make contact with her flesh, a hand intercepted its deadly trajectory. The dagger's tip buried itself into Aditya's palm, the sudden jolt of pain a mere distraction in the unfolding chaos. Sasha, recognizing the intervention, halted abruptly.

A solitary drop of blood fell from Aditya's wound, tracing a crimson path down his hand, his life essence seeping out onto the floor below. Sasha quickly withdrew her dagger, her shock written plainly across her face as she processed the unexpected turn of events.

"Sasha...." Aditya managed to breathe out, his eyes locked onto hers, conveying a mix of disappointment and resolve.

The assassin's voice faltered as she regarded Aditya, an unsettling tremor weaving its way through her words. "Why...? Are you truly ready to inflict harm upon yourself just to safeguard this woman?" Sasha directed her question towards Aditya, her surprise at his actions evident in her tone. She never intended him any harm.

Aditya turned the question back onto her, his gaze steady and unflinching. "I could throw that question right back at you, Sasha. Can't you lay aside your pride and just let this go?"

However, his plea fell on deaf ears. Sasha's response was resolute, a single word hanging in the chilling silence between them: "Impossible."

With that, she vanished into her shadow, retreating into the darkness from whence she emerged. But before her disappearance, her gaze was fixed on Laura, her eyes burning with a venomous hatred that promised this encounter would not be their last.

The entirety of the tense interaction barely registered as a surprise to Laura. Maintaining her composed demeanor, she wore an unruffled smile as she rose to her feet. With a playful glint in her eyes, she turned to Aditya, her voice teasing, "Are you certain you don't harbor any affection for her?"

Aditya was taken aback by the question, his brows furrowing in confusion. "What are you implying?" He queried. He had no romantic feelings for Sasha. Yet, he couldn't help but question whether she reciprocated his indifference. When he had masqueraded as William, Sasha's behavior had suggested more than mere friendship. Her interactions with him bore signs of romantic interest.

But his response was filled with melancholy rather than passion. "If anything, I feel a sense of sorrow for her," he confessed. Sasha was, after all, one of the potential wives listed in his contract. Although he had never intended to fulfill that part of the agreement, primarily because Sasha herself had claimed she had no interest in him. As soon as he possessed sufficient power, he planned on severing the contract.

Yet, even though their future did not entail matrimony, Aditya couldn't help but feel an undercurrent of regret and sympathy for Sasha. He couldn't shake the impression that she was adrift, aimlessly navigating through life. It was as though she was trapped in a relentless cycle of assassination and bloodshed, and had forgotten there were other paths to tread. It was a bleak reality, a life utterly devoid of a sense of purpose beyond killing, and it filled Aditya with sorrow he couldn't fully express.

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Chapter 434

Several hours had passed since Sasha, the relentless Succubus, had attempted to take Laura's life. This determined being showed no signs of backing down, a predicament that left Aditya with an increasingly painful headache. He'd made countless attempts to reason with Sasha, pleading with her to abandon her intent to harm Laura.

However, ending Sasha's existence or even causing her serious harm were not options for him. Despite her previous rejections and cold orders for him to stay away from her, a bond existed between them. An unfulfilled marriage contract, albeit one neither of them had any desire to follow through on, still tied them together.

Aditya sighed heavily. 'I've definitely mellowed,' he thought to himself. The Aditya of old would not have thought twice about terminating Sasha if it served his interests. But he wasn't that ruthless character anymore. Strangely, he found himself admiring Sasha. She'd had plenty of opportunities to take contracts on his life, but had always refused. She'd even saved him once, even though her own survival depended on his continued existence. It was irrefutable: he was in her debt.

As he rubbed his aching head, Aditya couldn't help but reflect on the unexpected turn of events. 'Who would have thought my trip to the Deep Sea Palace would descend into such bedlam?' he pondered. He found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he had Laura, a trusted ally, whose death would be a monumental blow to him and his Istarin Empire. On the other hand, Sasha was someone who had saved his life, to whom he was undeniably indebted. The current situation was such that he couldn't favor one over the other.

Hours rolled by and the cloak of nighttime gradually descended upon the underwater city, blanketing its vibrant hustle and bustle in a layer of darkness. The city's inhabitants, however, found no hindrance in the dimming lights, navigating their familiar surroundings with an innate, effortless ease. Aditya did not depart from Laura's side, his loyalty unwavering. He devoted his full attention to her safety, especially keeping a wary eye on her shadow. He was anxious that Sasha might seize an opportune moment of distraction to leap out from the shadows, launching a deadly strike on Laura before he could intervene.

With a drawn-out sigh, Aditya found himself pondering his unexpected role. 'When did I sign up to play the part of a bodyguard?' His current predicament was one of stifling boredom, a stark contrast to Laura's focused calm. Laura, undeterred by the threat of the world's most lethal assassin gunning for her, was immersed in deep cultivation. Her unbothered demeanor left Aditya impressed, yet he struggled to shake off the tedium of his watchful vigilance.

'How does she manage to cultivate such tranquility in a situation fraught with danger?' he mused, glancing at Laura's serene, closed eyes. He couldn't help but acknowledge her beauty, radiant as it was. She possessed a charm comparable to that of seven goddesses, her grace and allure striking even amidst such trying circumstances.

Laura carried on with her focused cultivation for a few more hours, her tranquil demeanor undisturbed. A gentle knock echoed in the room, rousing Laura from her deep meditative state. She slowly opened her eyes, breaking her connection with her inner realm as the real world called her back.

"My lady, might you consider taking a pause? Perhaps you'd enjoy having a little something to eat with His Majesty?" inquired Kate. As Laura's dedicated personal attendant, it was only natural for Kate to be considerate of Laura's well-being, ensuring her needs were met.

Laura responded in a soft voice, "You may bring the refreshments here," before closing her eyes again, ready to resume her cultivation.

With a soft click, the door swung open, allowing Kate entry into the living room. She balanced a tray in her hands, laden with an array of delectable desserts and fresh fruits. Kate extended a unique fruit towards them, resembling a mango but with a bluish hue.

"This is a special fruit that thrives in the depths of the sea bed. Give it a try. Its flavor is exquisite, bursting with sweetness," Kate offered, a warm smile gracing her face.

"All right," Aditya conceded, accepting the fruit from her. He lifted it to his mouth, prepared to savor its promised sweetness, when he suddenly paused. The fruit was but inches away from his lips when he stilled, turning his gaze towards Kate. She was watching him, a cheerful smile still adorning her features.

Suddenly, a shiver of realization ran down Aditya's spine. 'This isn't Kate.' His past interactions with Laura's devoted maid immediately sprang to mind, helping him piece together this shocking realization. Kate was never the one to break her poker face with a smile, especially not towards him. Aditya had never seen even a trace of a grin grace her features in his presence.

With a swift, almost reflexive, action, he discarded the fruit, his hand reaching out for 'Kate', seizing her around the waist and yanking her towards him.

A surprised gasp escaped 'Kate', causing Laura to abruptly snap open her eyes. The sight that greeted her left her in stunned disbelief. There was her personal maid, being firmly held by Aditya, awkwardly situated on his lap.

"What is going on?" Laura's voice wavered as she attempted to grasp the situation, but before she could complete her question, 'Kate' spoke. But the voice was not her usual tone. It was a voice that had threatened her life just hours before.

"Release me." The voice belonged to none other than the goddess of assassination, Sasha. She had artfully disguised herself as a maid to infiltrate their midst. However, Aditya was not about to release Sasha just yet.

Aditya responded to Sasha's demand with a resolute, "No..." His grip around her slender waist tightened. He couldn't deny the pleasant sensation coursing through him as her soft figure was pressed against his. Her body's warmth seeped into him, the closeness sparking a sense of enjoyment he didn't expect to feel under such circumstances.

Sasha, on the other hand, was caught off guard. Owing to her peculiar disease, physical contact with men was something she had consciously avoided, which left her unused to their touch. Consequently, her body had grown incredibly sensitive to male contact. As Aditya held her close, she felt a strange heat flooding through her, causing her skin to break out in goosebumps.

Simultaneously, Sasha, revered as the goddess of assassination, found herself grappling with a wave of humiliation. Time and again, she had failed in her mission to eliminate her target, and now she was effectively caught, held in Aditya's strong grip. Feelings of embarrassment welled up within her as she was forced into a rather intimate position with Aditya, completely against her will. This was a scenario she'd never anticipated finding herself in.

With a slight smirk playing on his lips, Aditya leaned his face into the curve of her right shoulder, gently breathing his words into her ear. "I'm eager to see your true face, Sasha. All this while, you've hidden behind a disguise."

The unexpected proximity and the firm pressure of her backside against his lower body made her acutely aware of his physicality, causing her embarrassment to flare even hotter. A blush steadily crept over her cheeks, the pink tinge of embarrassment spreading across her features.

Sasha's reply came as a growl, her tone seething with frustration, "Let me go, right now!" She attempted to wriggle free from his ironclad grip but found herself surprisingly weakened. The steady warmth radiating from him made her feel odd and strangely soft, her strength seeming to ebb away. Her heart pounded a chaotic rhythm against her ribcage, a strange sensation originating from her lower belly, making her further uncomfortable.

'What in the world is happening to me?' Sasha questioned herself internally, her mind a whirlwind of confusion.

Showing no signs of loosening his hold, Aditya's playful voice resonated against her skin as he leaned closer, "I don't plan on letting you go, little kitty." His lips traced a path along her neck, sending shivers down her spine. His words carried a note of amusement, "I do have a thing for wild cats, you see. The more they resist, the more exciting it gets to tame them."

Sasha's face was now burning like a furnace. The intimacy and Aditya's words were causing her to blush like she never had before.

Aditya's lips found the tender skin of her right trapezius, planting a delicate kiss that set her senses ablaze. It was as though he'd ignited a spark within her, one that was quickly growing into a wildfire. Her body reacted in ways she hadn't anticipated, her breath hitching and her heart pounding against her chest like a wild drum. She could do little but bite down on her lower lip, in a vain attempt to keep her reactions under control. Heat coursed through her veins, the goosebumps that spread across her skin a testament to her rising temperature.

His voice caressed her senses like a tantalizing whisper, words as soft as the summer breeze brushing her ear. "Why not surrender, my little kitty, like a good, obedient pet? You'll find I can be quite generous with my rewards," the enticing promise ended right by her earlobe, setting off another wave of shivers down her spine.

His persistent coaxing slowly gnawed at her resistance, wearing it down bit by bit. It was as though a formidable fortress was gradually crumbling under the relentless assault of his words and actions.

"Do you feel it, Sasha?" Aditya's voice, laced with a teasing note, echoed in her ears as his lips resumed their gentle assault on her trapezius.

Each touch felt like a bolt of electricity coursing through her, her body responding in a way that left her gasping for breath. Her lips clamped tightly to stifle any sound that threatened to escape. Sasha never envisaged that she'd be ensnared in such a situation, her mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Aditya's words seemed to resonate in her ears like a devil's promise, a potent temptation that dared her to take the forbidden step. "I have what you need to quench this flame. I possess the miracle elixir. You just have to voice your desire for it," he coaxed.

With a sudden burst of willpower, Sasha found the strength to wrench herself free from Aditya's hold. The blush that painted her cheeks was a stark contrast to her usual cool demeanor. She managed to extricate herself, not because she had overpowered him, but because he had willingly slackened his grip.

She stood at a distance, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Her face was still flushed, the evidence of her embarrassment and anger. Her teeth were gritted together, a manifestation of the frustration simmering within her. With a huff of indignation, she melted into the shadows, vanishing from the room without a trace.

Aditya watched her leave, a devilish grin playing on his lips. "Farewell for now, my elusive kitty," he called out to the empty room. "Our game of cat and mouse continues, though in our case, it's more like a dragon pursuing a tantalizing succubus." A chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned back, utterly entertained by the unexpected turn of events. Who would have thought that the stern and aloof Sasha would present such an amusing and exciting side? He was certainly looking forward to the continuation of their playful chase.

With Sasha's hasty retreat, the room fell into a comfortable silence, which was soon broken by Laura's teasing words. "I was under the impression you had no interest in her," she said, a playful smirk playing on her lips.

Aditya chuckled at Laura's observation. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. "Well, one's perspectives can evolve, you know. I find myself intrigued by our little wildcat. She seems like the kind of creature that kicks up a fuss to draw attention. Sure, she's a bit of a handful, a spoiled brat, if you will, but I find that... captivating," he admitted with a grin.

As he spoke, Aditya's mind wandered back to his first encounter with Sasha, when he was disguised as William. She'd said something about him being a gift from the heavens like she was the only one who deserved him or could appreciate him. Her tone, and her words, hinted at a problem she was wrestling with, one that couldn't be resolved with wealth or power.

He mulled over why Sasha was so hostile towards Laura, and it struck him - perhaps she harbored feelings of jealousy. Could it be that she felt threatened by Laura, who believed her to be a rival for Aditya's affection? Or maybe he was reading too much into the situation. But one thing was certain, his perception of Sasha had changed drastically. This fierce, fiery, woman had caught his interest, and he found himself eagerly awaiting their next encounter. He was looking forward to taming this wild kitty, or at the very least, trying to.

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Chapter 435

There was a sudden knock on the door, pulling them out of their lighthearted chatter. "My lady, is everything alright?" The voice belonged to the actual Kate. She had detected an unfamiliar presence in the room momentarily before it vanished, and in her concern for Laura's safety, had hurried over.

Both Laura and Aditya turned their heads in the direction of the voice, their lips curling into amused smiles. Laura, holding back a chuckle, addressed her concerned maid, "Rest assured, Kate, nothing out of the ordinary happened. You can return to your duties." She had decided there was no need to burden Kate with the knowledge of the brief encounter. The maid was already overly concerned about Laura's safety. She even went so far as to hire an additional army of 10,000 mermen for her protection, despite Laura's protests that it was unnecessary.

Kate's voice came again from behind the door, a note of reluctant acceptance in her tone. "Alright. But please, do let me know if anything occurs." With that, she withdrew, leaving Aditya and Laura once more in the comfortable solitude of their room. The silence seemed to deepen around them, wrapping them in an intimate hush as they returned to their previous conversation.

Hours turned into a full day as Aditya whiled away the time, his boredom eventually propelling him to draw a book from his storage ring. It was a captivating volume that delved deep into diverse cultivation theories and posed intriguing questions about the nature of their world and its history. The pages held his attention, offering a brief respite from the monotony. However, he never allowed himself to fully lose focus. A part of his mind was constantly alert, ever vigilant to any potential threat Sasha could pose to Laura.

Before they knew it, another day had rolled by. The long-awaited tournament was drawing nearer with every tick of the clock. Tomorrow was the day when the competition would unfurl, beckoning them into a whirlwind of battles and strategies.

Meanwhile, news of a recent audacious assault was making the rounds, igniting a flurry of whispers throughout the Capital. The information that one of the top contenders for the Throne Succession tournament had been openly attacked by forty humans had spread like wildfire. Everyone was abuzz with this sensational news, gossiping and speculating about the unfolding drama.

Throughout all this, Laura remained steadfast in her cultivation, letting the world outside dissolve into an inconsequential buzz. She carefully plotted out her strategies for the formidable opponents she would face in the tournament that was slated to last for seven grueling days. The thought of Sasha finding a way to assassinate her during the tournament was a lingering concern. Without Aditya by her side, she would have to rely entirely on her own abilities. And truth be told, she knew deep down that she was no match for Sasha. Despite the gap between their strengths being just one minor realm, Laura felt as vulnerable as an ordinary human in front of the deadly assassin. She clung to the hope that Sasha would abandon her lethal pursuit, providing her the chance to participate in the tournament unimpeded.

Laura found herself cornered, stuck in a dilemma with no clear path to resolution. She knew, given Aditya's past encounters and convoluted history with Sasha, that he would never resort to ending her life, even to protect Laura. The possibility of negotiation crossed Laura's mind. She was ready to offer Sasha an extravagant sum, millions, in fact, if she would just walk away from her mission. But even this seemed improbable. Sasha prided herself on maintaining a perfect elimination rate as an assassin. There was also the organization's stringent rule, dictating that once a mission was accepted, it couldn't be abandoned or discarded.

Lost in her troubling thoughts, Laura suddenly snapped open her eyes, her gaze meeting Aditya's. "I need to step out," she said, her voice firm. "I have some errands to attend to."

With a nod, Aditya replied, "Alright. I'll accompany you."

Laura took note of his response, of the seriousness in his tone, the unwavering determination to ensure her safety. It stirred a warm feeling in her heart. He had come to her aid multiple times, becoming an unwavering pillar of support. Even though their alliance could have permitted him to step back, he didn't. Instead, he went above and beyond, donning the role of a bodyguard, steadfastly protecting her day and night. The realization of the debt she owed him was not lost on Laura. She knew she had much to repay him for his unyielding dedication.

The moment Laura and Aditya stepped out of the mansion's protective threshold, the townspeople recognized Laura almost instantly. Their curious eyes followed the duo, dissecting their every move. The townsfolk hadn't seen Laura since the ominous incident, so her reappearance in public was certainly worth their attention.

Aditya, meanwhile, was not indulging in the local curiosity. His eyes were busy scanning their surroundings, staying vigilant to any potential danger lurking around. "So, where are we headed?" he inquired, his eyes never ceasing their thorough surveillance.

"We're going to visit my adoptive grandfather," Laura answered, her voice carrying a note of anticipation. She wanted to seek his blessings before the onset of the looming tournament, especially since he would not be attending the event himself. In the wake of her grandmother's death, her grandfather had become quite the homebody, seldom leaving the confines of his house.

Aditya, upon hearing this, expressed his surprise, "You're adopted?"

"Yes," Laura nodded, continuing to stroll without missing a beat. "My grandfather told me they found me unconscious and severely injured. I was on the verge of becoming a mega shark's meal when they rescued me and took me home."

Aditya softened his voice, "Your past must have been quite challenging."

Laura shrugged, "Truth be told, I don't remember anything about my past. I don't recall who my real parents are or where I was born. I'm pretty much in the dark about my origin." Her tone remained neutral, devoid of any discernible emotion as she shared this information.

"But don't you ever wonder about your roots?" Aditya couldn't help but ask.

Laura was quick to respond, her tone hardened with determination, "Not really. It's not something that particularly interests me. Right now, my primary focus is to ascend to the throne of Empress and rectify the discriminatory practices rampant in the Empire. My past can wait. It's not going anywhere. I'll deal with it when I can afford to divert my focus."

An abrupt, loud crash echoed through the streets, causing both Laura and Aditya to halt their steps instantly. A neighboring house beside Laura's mansion seemed to be spontaneously crumbling to the ground. Wide, splintering cracks were making their way through the solid stone walls, causing fragments to break off and litter the ground. The sight was peculiar and alarming, forcing both of them to pay attention.

Without any warning, a shadow detached itself from the chaos, hurtling toward Laura at a blinding speed. Aditya's eyes tracked the movement, his body instinctively responding. Just as the razor-sharp tip of a concealed dagger was inches away from piercing Laura's skin, Aditya's hand shot out, his fingers closing around a slender wrist, halting the attack in its tracks.

"I knew it," he growled, a note of triumph in his voice. This time, he did not let Sasha wriggle out of his grasp. His grip around her wrist tightened, ensuring she couldn't escape this time.

Turning to Laura, he instructed, "Laura, you should continue to your grandfather's place. I need to have a word with our friend here." With a firm grip on Sasha, he led her away from Laura, disappearing down a side street before she could protest. In the blink of an eye, both Aditya and Sasha were out of sight, leaving a stunned Laura behind.

In a desolate part of the city, far from the bustling center, Aditya and Sasha found themselves in the echoey vastness of a long-abandoned structure. The dilapidated building, stripped of its former grandeur, now served as their temporary meeting spot. Releasing Sasha's wrist, Aditya took a step back, his gaze steady upon her.

"When will you cease this incessant pursuit, Sasha?" He asked, his voice laced with a clear fatigue.

Her eyes glinted defiantly, and her lips curled into a determined scowl. "Until I've managed to finish what I set out to do: ending that woman's life."

Aditya sighed, his eyes softening slightly. "Your intentions have been painfully obvious, Sasha. Even today's attack was foreseeable the moment that family's house began to crumble. Your strategies have become predictable, where's the creativity? You can do better."

Her cheeks burned at his critique, her pride smarting from his words. And the worst part was that he was right. She'd been acting recklessly, her usual precision and finesse replaced by desperation and frustration.

"Quiet..." She muttered, her eyes cast downward, a rare show of embarrassment on her face. She bit her lip, her mind in turmoil.

'All of this is his fault. He's the reason why I'm behaving like this,' she thought, blaming Aditya for the change in her. Ever since she'd crossed paths with him, he'd stirred up a whirlwind of emotions within her, disrupting her focus and control. Her heart was thrown into disarray, leaving her to grapple with feelings she'd never had before.

"Perhaps I should rephrase my question," Aditya said, watching her with a thoughtful expression. "What could possibly convince you to spare Laura's life?"

Sasha's arms instinctively crossed under her chest as she turned her gaze back to him. A spark of curiosity - or was it jealousy - glinted in her eyes as she asked, "You seem to be particularly invested in this woman's safety. Have you fallen for her?"

Aditya immediately picked up on the jealous undertone of her question. His suspicions were confirmed - Sasha was indeed envious. A small smile played at the corners of his lips at this realization.

He stepped closer to Sasha, closing the distance between them. Reaching out, he gently tipped her chin upward with his fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze. His eyes twinkled with mischief as he asked, "Are you feeling jealous, Sasha?"

Her immediate denial came as no surprise. "I'm not jealous," she snapped, quickly averting her gaze from his. His intense stare was too overwhelming, too intrusive. "Whether you're in love with that woman or not doesn't concern me." Her voice wavered slightly, a subtle hint of her inner turmoil.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 436

Aditya spoke with a gravity in his tone, his eyes boring into Sasha's. "I need you to stop, Sasha," he pleaded.

Her response was firm and resolute. "No." Aditya had learned enough about Sasha by now to understand that beneath her chilly exterior lay an unyielding stubbornness. Once she set her mind on something, she would not be swayed. In this case, she was determined to eliminate Laura, and she wouldn't stop until she had achieved her goal.

"Why?" Aditya probed, trying to understand her motives.

"Because I don't want to." She replied nonchalantly, the hint of a playful smile tugging at her lips.

He asked again, an attempt to discern her desires. "What is it that you want, Sasha?"

Her answer was swift and unanticipated. "I want you," she confessed, her gaze unflinchingly holding his.

Caught off guard, he managed to stammer a response. "That's... impossible. I can't be yours."

A frown creased her forehead at his statement. "Why not?" she inquired, her voice a touch softer.

"Because," Aditya paused, choosing his words carefully, "I have four fiancées already. And I am fully committed to them." His lips curled into a teasing grin as he continued, "Besides, didn't a certain stubborn woman tell me just last week that she had no interest in marriage or in me, for that matter?"

As the weight of his words sunk in, Sasha's face flushed a bright shade of embarrassment. Feelings of frustration swelled within her, threatening to bubble over. This man, Aditya, he had a way of stirring up emotions within her, unearthing parts of her that she hadn't been aware of until now. Each encounter with him left her heart in a tumultuous state.

Pushing down the surge of emotion, Sasha clenched her teeth, her gaze fiery. "Fine. Have it your way, Aditya. But from this point forward, don't ever seek me out again," she fumed, her voice trembling slightly from the intensity of her anger.

Her eyes took on a steely glint as she continued, "Our organization has a rule. If the contractor dies, we have to cancel the contract. The contractor of this bounty is the four powerful Dukes of the Deep Sea Palace Empire."

Her icy gaze locked onto his, and the frigid words left her lips, "You have seven days. If you fail to eliminate all four of them within that time, I will kill Laura. This is goodbye, Aditya."

Aditya reached out to halt her, "Wai...Wait!" But it was too late, Sasha had already dissolved into the shadows and vanished from his sight.

Exhaling a deep sigh, Aditya collected his thoughts. 'I'll find her after all of this,' he resolved. But for now, it was time for him to unleash a wave of chaos within the Deep Sea Palace Empire.

Scene change______

Today was a day unlike any other in the capital of the Deep Sea Palace. The city was teeming with a rich tapestry of different races, its usually quiet avenues and public spaces now vibrant and full of life. Among the millions that flocked to the city were humans, myriad mermen, aquatic elves, and countless other races of oceanic beings. The atmosphere was electric, the city, known as Seastar City, was buzzing with activity.

Every corner of Seastar City was adorned with a dazzling display of colorful vine plants. These plants, known for their ability to emit a soft, radiant glow, illuminated the city under the sea's depths, creating an almost ethereal feel. Today, the city had a heightened sense of alertness. Security was ramped up five-fold, an unusual occurrence that underscored the importance of the day's events. Dignitaries, including the heads of noble houses, knights, and generals, made their presence felt. The whole Deep Sea Palace had their eyes trained on the capital.

Why was this day so significant, you ask? Today was the commencement of a much-anticipated tournament, a grand spectacle that would span seven whole days. The reward at stake was monumental - the winner of this rigorous competition would claim the title of Ruler of the Deep Sea Palace, a coveted position of immense power and respect.

In the city's bustling center, a colossal crowd of over a million people had congregated. The venue for this grand tournament was an awe-inspiring stadium capable of accommodating half a million spectators. The sheer magnitude of the structure could rival that of an average-sized city on land. The colossal stadium stood as a testament to the importance of the event it was about to host, a symbol of the anticipation that had swept across the whole Deep Sea Palace.

In a bustling corner of the Seastar City, a diverse group of sea races had gathered. They were sharing tales, laughter, and above all, the palpable excitement for the upcoming tournament.

"Can't believe it's finally here!" gushed Nala, a vibrant Sea Elf with shimmering emerald hair, her sea-green eyes twinkling with excitement. She fluttered around her companions, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

"I've been counting the days, Nala," replied Finn, a tall and sturdy Selkie, his seal-like skin shining under the sea's light. He beamed at Nala, sharing her joy.

A little away from them, a group of Nereids was engaged in a lively discussion. Their laughter echoed through the water as they playfully nudged each other. The leader of the group, a radiant Nereid named Thalassa, twirled in the water, her silvery scales glinting. "I'm placing my bets on the Mermen this year," she said, grinning at her friends, her voice bubbling with anticipation.

"Don't be so sure, Thalassa!" a voice rang out. All heads turned towards Krako, a towering figure with a human torso and lower body of an octopus. As a Kraken, he always commanded attention, and he wore a smug smile on his face. "I've heard the Krakens have been training like never before. We might just surprise you."

At a different corner of the vast city, a group of diverse sea creatures had congregated around a glowing blue coral formation. There, they were engaged in an enthusiastic debate over the upcoming tournament.

"We Sea Elves have been training tirelessly!" exclaimed Illyria, her usually calm blue eyes flashing with excitement. Her luminescent hair flowed around her in the water, reflecting her vibrant energy.

Beside her, a Selkie named Moray was nodding, his sleek seal-like skin glistening in the underwater glow. "Illyria, I've seen your warriors' dedication! I wouldn't be surprised if the winner's from your race this year," he said, his voice filled with admiration and anticipation.

A peal of melodious laughter came from a group of Nereids huddled together. Their sea nymph leader, Marina, flipped her shimmering tail with amusement. "Oh Moray, you've always had a soft spot for the Sea Elves," she teased, causing a ripple of giggles among her companions.

"Soft spot or not, the Selkies are no pushovers, Marina," Moray retorted with a playful wink.

The laughter was interrupted by a deep, resonating voice. All eyes turned to see the speaker - an imposing figure named Octavious, one of the Krakens. His upper body was humanoid, while his lower half consisted of writhing octopus tentacles. He wore a confident grin as he said, "We Krakens have a few tricks up our... well, tentacles. Don't count us out just yet!"

The casual banter, the hearty laughter, the shared excitement, all contributed to the festive air that enveloped Seastar City. The city was a riot of color, cheer, and anticipation, an atmosphere that would linger until the conclusion of the grand tournament.

In another vibrant part of Seastar City, clusters of diverse sea creatures added to the colorful medley of excitement and anticipation.

"Eh, look at all this hullabaloo," remarked Barnaby, a grizzled, old Sea Elf, his voice raspy yet filled with excitement. He was leaning against a coral outcropping, the fluorescent vine plants reflecting off his azure skin and the sea-pearls adorning his long white beard.

His friend, a Selkie named Sula with a glossy pelt, chuckled in agreement. "I haven't seen the city this excited since the last Great Coral Bloom," she said, her dark eyes sparkling with joy.

Nearby, a group of young Nereids was giggling and twirling in the water. "I've been practicing my cheering chants," said Eudora, the youngest among them, her sea-blue hair floating around her like a cloud. "The tournament will be so much fun!"

Just then, a ripple went through the crowd as Ichtaca, a muscular Kraken with a charismatic aura, swam through. His powerful tentacles propelled him forward, and his laughter boomed through the water. "Place your bets, friends," he called out jovially. "This year, the Krakens will steal the show!"

The city was abuzz with a spectrum of lively conversations, full of shared hopes and expectations for the impending tournament. Each individual, irrespective of their race, contributed to the lively atmosphere, bringing their unique energy to the grand event. It was a celebration of their unity in diversity, a unifying spirit that the tournament always kindled.

The city was alive with chatter and laughter, with the distinct personalities of the different sea races shining through. The conversations, casual and full of hope and excitement, perfectly encapsulated the festive atmosphere. The anticipation for the tournament was not just an event, but a celebration of their diverse community. It was the Deep Sea Palace at its liveliest, a spectacle to behold.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 437

"Ladies and Gentlemen, today heralds the onset of a monumental occasion in the annals of the Deep Sea Palace - the Oceanic Crown Tournament. This grand tournament seeks to identify the mightiest among us, and the victor will ascend to the exalted position of the New Ruler of our Deep Sea Palace Empire. Before we set this historic event in motion, it is essential to acquaint everyone with the rules and regulations that will govern the proceedings of this tournament." The crowd hushed into a keen anticipation, hanging on to every word of the announcement.

[The Oceanic Crown Tournament operates under the following guidelines and stipulations:

1. The act of causing fatal harm to another competitor is strictly prohibited. Any violator of this rule will be subject to a century-long term of imprisonment. Depending on the severity of the violation, the period of confinement may be extended.

2. The participants of The Oceanic Crown Tournament are precluded from employing any artifacts, armors, pets, or mounts. The tournament permits the use of weapons up to the classification of 3-star-grade. In the event a participant is detected employing a weapon of 4-star grade or beyond, immediate disqualification will ensue, and further punitive measures will be implemented.

3. The ingestion of any variety of pill or potion whilst engaged in combat is disallowed. Post-victory, participants may avail themselves of healing pills or other comparable remedies. However, any pills or potions that temporarily augment the participant's physical attributes or magical prowess, such as strength, agility, stamina, or Mana, are expressly banned. Only healing potions and pills are sanctioned for use.

All participants are urged to bear these rules in mind when stepping onto the battlefield. A dedicated team of a thousand overseers will monitor the proceedings vigilantly, ensuring no transgressions or deceitful practices occur.]

"A powerful and invisible forcefield has been erected around the combat arena, designed to shield our esteemed spectators from any potential harm arising from the intense clashes within the battlefield. Your safety is our primary concern," the mermaid announcer, an enchanting vision of beauty with cascading waves of blue hair, continued to address the eagerly awaiting crowd.

"As many of you are already aware, this tournament is set to span seven full days. Now, let's shed some light on the specific structure of the tournament. Rest assured that each contender has earned their position in this competition through a rigorous demonstration of their impressive capabilities."

"We have divided the 48 brave participants of The Oceanic Crown Tournament into two primary groups, namely Group A and Group B. Each of these groups houses 24 skilled competitors. Further refining this arrangement, each primary group has been subdivided into six smaller clusters, each consisting of four participants. From both Group A and B, only a total of 32 participants can progress into the nerve-wracking elimination round. To put it simply, only 16 contenders from each group can advance to this stage."

"Moving on to the crucial aspect of qualification - it will be based on a point system. Each sub-group consisting of four participants will compete against each other. Victory will earn the successful participant 3 points, while a loss will, unfortunately, result in no points being awarded. In the rare event of a draw, both contenders will earn a point. Eventually, the top two scorers from each sub-group will secure their places in the elimination round. The remaining four spots will be fiercely contested by the third-placed contenders from each sub-group."

"Upon the selection of the 32 participants for the elimination round, the point system will cease to exist. In each following round, a participant from Group A will challenge one from Group B, whittling the numbers down until only a single participant remains in each group. The climax of the tournament will see the last standing participant of Group A square off against the final warrior of Group B in an electrifying final battle."

Incognito amongst the throng of excited spectators, the enigmatic goddess of lust, Sasha, stood vigil. She didn't hastily ascend back to the surface after her heated encounter with Aditya. Instead, she chose to remain concealed within the shadows, her eyes sharply scanning the unfolding events. Deep down, she knew that Aditya would likely fulfill the daunting task of eliminating the contractor within the stipulated seven days. However, should he falter, she was ready to swoop in, carry out her original mission, and promptly make her exit.

The announcer's voice echoed once more through the vast arena, "Without any further delay, let the games commence!" Almost instantaneously, the massive entrance gate creaked open, revealing the first cluster of competitors from Group A, each brimming with anticipation and determination.

And so, The Oceanic Crown Tournament was officially underway. The initial phase of the tournament, however, did little to capture Aditya's interest. Blending into the animated crowd, he couldn't help but notice the fervent atmosphere surrounding him. The air was ripe with excitement and suspense, the onlookers enthusiastically placing their wagers and cheering for their preferred contenders. He found this spectacle rather mundane and monotonous compared to the thrilling chaos he was accustomed to. As the competition heated up, he continued his vigil, keenly observing each match unfold, the cheers and excitement of the crowd providing a stirring backdrop to the duels in the arena.

A curious mix of participants were part of this grand tournament. There were beginner 4th-order cultivators, mid 4th-order cultivators, and even peak 4th-order cultivators who had boldly chosen to compete. Aditya found himself somewhat bemused at this spectacle. Why would these 4th-order cultivators dare to compete when they were likely to be outclassed by the mid-5th-order cultivators? It seemed like a futile endeavor in his eyes.

Yet, upon further contemplation, he began to see a glimmer of understanding. Some participants were possibly not enticed by the prospect of victory alone, but rather by the invaluable experience such a prestigious competition could offer. After all, this tournament was a rare gathering of the Deep Sea Palace's most accomplished and talented cultivators. For the youthful and ambitious, the opportunity to cross swords with these prodigies, to learn from their techniques and strategies, was a rich experience in itself.

As expected, the sub-groups boasting 5th-order cultivators were utterly dominant. These powerhouses dispatched their 4th-order rivals with an ease that was almost disheartening to watch. The gulf in their cultivation levels was evident, and the 4th-order competitors stood little chance against these formidable opponents.

However, the tournament wasn't without its share of surprises and thrilling upsets. In a few notable instances, mid-4th order cultivators triumphed over their peak 4th-order counterparts, to the shock and delight of the crowd. These unexpected victories added a dash of unpredictability and excitement to the proceedings, keeping the spectators, and Aditya, thoroughly engaged.

In the expansive underwater arena, a palpable sense of tension brewed between different sea races. The air was thick with more than just anticipation for the next fight—it was laden with underlying racial prejudice and discrimination that only intensified as the tournament progressed.

Among the participants was a Sea Elf, with ethereal beauty and graceful agility that was characteristic of his kind. Despite his charm, his performance in the tournament had been less than stellar. He had just lost his third consecutive match, earning him the jeers and mocking laughter from a group of boisterous Merfolk in the crowd.

"Oh, look at that! Three losses in a row!" A stocky merman with a malicious grin yelled out, his voice carrying clear across the underwater stadium. His scales shimmered in an array of blues as he laughed boisterously, slapping his tail on the ground.

"And they call themselves the noble ones! More like 'no-battle' ones!" another mermaid chimed in, her eyes gleaming with ill-disguised schadenfreude. The rest of the Merfolk guffawed, causing a ripple of turbulence in the water.

Nearby, a group of Selkies, their sleek and shimmering fur catching the light, looked on with evident distaste. They were clearly not impressed by the Merfolk's conduct, but their gaze hardened when they saw a group of Nereids openly sneering at them.

"They may laugh now, but the Selkies will have their moment soon," a young Nereid with flowing green hair taunted. "Can't even swim as fast as a simple fish."

In another corner, a formidable Kraken participant, his tentacle-like limbs coiling and uncoiling with an air of restless power, faced open discrimination from a group of Nereids. "Look at him, more octopus than man. Can't trust a creature that straddles two worlds," one of them commented snidely, triggering a wave of laughter from her companions.

This scene was a microcosm of the deep-seated racial bias that was rife among the different sea races. Even in an event that was supposed to bring them together, old resentments and prejudices were hard to overcome. This was the darker side of the Deep Sea Palace Empire.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 438

The Deep Sea Palace, while a marvel of nature and a hub of aquatic diversity, was plagued by a dark undercurrent of prejudice and bigotry. The inhabitants of this underwater world—Merfolks, Sea Elves, Selkies, Nereids (Sea nymphs), and Krakens—shared the same vast ocean, yet their society was starkly divided along the lines of race and species. The merfolks, with their shimmering scales and powerful tails, held a hegemonic power in the palace, relegating the other races to lower rungs in the societal hierarchy.

The merfolks, sitting comfortably on their high seats, reveled in their superior status. They had paid merely 5 white gold coins for their entry and seating into the tournament stadium, a privilege not extended to the other races. Sea Elves, Selkies, Nereids, and Krakens were forced to stand and watch, their pockets lighter by far more than 5 coins. The disparity was stark, a glaring symbol of the systemic discrimination that pervaded the aquatic society.

The injustice was deeply rooted, reaching far beyond the tournament. Day in, day out, the residents of the Deep Sea Palace were subjected to varying degrees of racism, discrimination, and unfair treatment. The Sea Elves bore the brunt of this bias, treated as little more than slaves and denied even the most basic rights. Their plight was a sobering reminder of the societal imbalance.

The Selkies, Nereids, and Krakens fared a tad better but were far from equal citizens. Their lives were a struggle against systemic prejudice and constant derision. The social structure was built on layers of racial superiority and inferiority, and this disparity was not lost on Laura.

Laura, a beacon of hope amidst the sea of bigotry, yearned for a sea change. She was tired of the prejudice, discrimination, and exploitation that were as ubiquitous as the oceanic flora and fauna. She believed in the inherent goodness of individuals, regardless of their race or species. It wasn't unheard of - there was a small group of inhabitants who never allowed their race or power to mar their dealings with others. They stood out, like colorful corals in a sea of monotony. It was such an inclusive, harmonious society that Laura aimed to create—a society where everyone was viewed and treated as equals. The journey was long and arduous, but Laura was determined to challenge the status quo.

On the surface world, racial boundaries had been blurred to the point of non-existence. A myriad of diverse races coexisted, intermingled, and even tied the knot without a second thought. Inter-racial marriages were commonplace, and they were celebrated, not scorned. A human male could fall in love with and marry a cat-woman, or a powerful dragon could take a succubus as his bride. There were no boundaries or barriers to love; it transcended all racial lines. The surface world was a melting pot of cultures and races, where everyone enjoyed the same rights and freedoms.

Contrastingly, the Deep Sea Palace stood as a stark symbol of racial segregation and discrimination. The difference between the two worlds was like night and day. In the underwater realm, one's race determined their status, their opportunities, their treatment, and even their worth. The concept of inter-racial relationships was frowned upon, if not outrightly forbidden.

Aditya, standing amidst the sea creatures and soaking in the differences between the land and the sea, felt a pang of sadness. He looked on at the bustling arena, his gaze lingering on the segregated spectators. A sense of unease seeped into him, as he came to grips with the glaring racial divide in this part of the world.

His mind buzzed with thoughts, as he silently observed the scene unfolding in front of him. "So, this is how things operate here..." He mused to himself, a tinge of melancholy coloring his thoughts. His eyes moved back to the arena, a silent observer amidst the roaring crowd, pondering the complex tapestry of society and its disparities.

"I guess it's about time for me to take my leave," Aditya finally decided, shaking off the thoughts that had been consuming his mind. He wasn't too concerned about Laura's performance in the tournament. He had witnessed her combat prowess firsthand and had no doubt that she could sail smoothly into the elimination rounds. The raw power and skill she demonstrated in battle were unmatched by most, and it was unlikely that anyone could pose a significant challenge to her at this stage of the competition.

But he had responsibilities and obligations of his own, work that needed his immediate attention. Lingering around to watch more of the tournament was a luxury he could ill afford at this juncture. As interesting as it was to observe the competition and the deep-seated racial dynamics that ran rampant in the Deep Sea Palace, Aditya knew he had tasks that were far more pressing.

With a deep sigh, he pulled himself out of his contemplative state. His eyes took one last sweeping glance at the ongoing spectacle in the arena, and then he subtly began to weave his way out of the crowd. He moved with ease, barely causing a ripple in the sea of spectators that had gathered to watch the event. The sea creatures were too engrossed in the unfolding battles to notice one man leaving the spectacle before the climax.

And so, with a final look at the bustling arena that was quickly fading into the background, Aditya quietly exited, leaving the noise, the excitement, and the racial prejudices behind him as he moved on to his next assignment. The tournament, for now, had served its purpose for him. He'd gained an invaluable glimpse into the societal structures of the Deep Sea Palace. Now, it was time to turn his attention elsewhere.

Scene change_____

The venerable old Dukes didn't make an appearance at the tournament venue. Instead, they opted to watch the spectacle unfold from the comfort of their own opulent mansions in the capital. Each noble within the Empire was gifted with a mansion situated within the bustling heart of the city. The size and grandeur of these homes corresponded directly with their standing and rank in the social hierarchy.

The Dukes, as the loftiest nobles with the longest lineage in the Empire, were afforded the most extravagant residences. Their estates were sprawling, resplendent in their architecture, rivaling even the grandeur of the palace itself. These lavish homes were the envy of all, complete with their own courtyards, lavish gardens teeming with exotic sea flora, and interiors furnished with priceless artifacts and ornate decorations.

The magic artifacts that they were using to watch the tournament were nothing short of magnificent. Crafted by skilled artisans and enchanted by master sorcerers, these artifacts could project the ongoing battles in the tournament arena, giving them a real-time, comprehensive view. It was as if they were physically present at the venue itself.

They would recline leisurely in their plush thrones, sipping on exotic beverages while watching the tournament. The large, magic screens would flicker and glow, casting shimmering lights throughout their grand reception halls, illuminating the intricate wall carvings and lavish tapestries.

Despite not being at the arena themselves, they had the best seats in the house, enjoying the thrill and excitement of the tournament without the inconvenience of the bustling crowd and the discomfort of the open arena. This was the privilege they enjoyed, a testament to their elevated status and the respect they commanded within the Empire.

"Your grace, you would like to have anything?" Duke Avaron, who is one of the old dukes was sitting on the couch and was focused on watching the tournament.

The one who spoke now was his butler.

Duke Avaron, the embodiment of greed, is a sight to behold. Like all mermen, his body is split between human and fish, but he is far from ordinary.

At first glance, Avaron carries an air of opulence and extravagance that's hard to miss. Standing tall at over seven feet, his upper body resembles that of a well-built man, complete with a strong, broad-shouldered physique. His skin is an unusual shade of gold, shimmering under the sea's lights, as if to signify the wealth he has amassed over centuries. His face is chiseled, with sharp, aristocratic features, high cheekbones, and a strong jawline, which are usually hidden behind a well-groomed golden beard.

His eyes, as blue as the deepest part of the ocean, are striking and hold a constant gleam of desire for more. His golden hair cut short and slicked back, adds to his overall majestic appearance. He is usually adorned in the finest sea-silk robes, threaded with golden lines that match his skin, showcasing his high status.

The lower part of his body, the fish half, is where the spectacle truly begins. His tail is enormous, easily twice his body's length, and covered in glittering golden scales that seem to be lit from within. The tail fins are wide and elegant, their golden glow casting a warm hue around him.

Duke Avaron's appearance alone speaks volumes about his immense wealth and the lengths he is willing to go to keep it.

In the realm of the Deep Sea Palace, no man was more ensnared by the clutches of greed than Duke Avaron. His insatiable desire for wealth and affluence was a legend in itself, far surpassing his fellow dukes and any other inhabitant of the undersea realm. The whispers of his opulence trickled down every corner of the Empire, stirring a mixture of awe and resentment amongst the populace.

His riches were so vast, so immeasurable, that murmurs began to circulate, suggesting that his wealth might even surpass that of the Palace's Ruler himself. These tales grew taller with each retelling, further cementing Avaron's image as a paragon of wealth.

The location of his immense treasure, however, was a mystery that even the most cunning and crafty could not unravel. Some gossiped that his wealth was hidden somewhere on the dry lands above, securely stashed away from prying eyes. Others claimed that he had cleverly hidden it in a different Empire altogether, a secret only he was privy to.

But as the saying goes, every coin has two sides. Despite being the wealthiest noble under the sea, Duke Avaron was notoriously tightfisted. He was known to be extremely frugal, hoarding his wealth rather than spending it, making his golden reserves grow even larger. He was a miser in every sense of the word, holding onto every piece of his fortune with a tight grip, further fueling the tales of his unquenchable greed.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 439

"I've no appetite for food at this moment. I'd much rather savor the spectacle of this tournament. Please, do not interrupt my viewing pleasure," Duke Avaron said, waving his hand dismissively at his diligent butler. His tone was brusque, reflecting his annoyance at being disturbed from his engrossment in the unfolding events of the tournament.

"My sincerest apologies, Your Grace," the butler replied, bowing his head in deference. "I meant no disrespect. If there's nothing further you require at present, I shall excuse myself. Do not hesitate to summon me should you need anything else." He retreated from the room, leaving the duke to his solitude.

Once the butler had departed, Duke Avaron could no longer conceal the fury that had been simmering within him. His gaze was firmly riveted on the screen that displayed the ongoing tournament. The object of his ire was none other than Laura, who was fearlessly taking on her opponents in the arena. His teeth ground together in suppressed anger.

"I shelled out a bloody fortune to have that woman removed from the equation. Why is she still breathing?" Duke Avaron fumed, his voice seething with venom. Despite his enormous wealth, he had a notorious aversion to spending his gold. The money he had unwillingly parted with to hire the Goddess of Lust - the most feared and skilled assassin in their world - seemed to have been wasted.

Laura's very existence was a potent threat to his position, and to the standing of his fellow dukes. This was why the four of them had banded together to commission the assassination of Laura, aiming to preserve their power and positions within the Empire. But so far, their expensive plan seemed to have hit a frustrating snag.

Engaging the services of the Goddess of Lust had not been an easy task. An exorbitant sum of gold had been demanded, and being the richest of the nobles, Duke Avaron was expected to shoulder the heaviest burden of the cost. Although his fellow dukes had contributed, their combined amount paled in comparison to the fortune that Duke Avaron had begrudgingly doled out. The sensation was akin to tearing his own flesh and feeding it to someone else, a grimace-inducing act that only the threat of Laura made him endure.

He saw the prospective demise of Laura as an investment, a long-term strategy that was supposed to be guaranteed. He considered Laura a parasitic presence, one that required a larger, more dangerous parasite to eradicate. The huge chunk of his wealth that he had parted with was a painful sacrifice he was willing to make, believing it to be a long-term strategy that would secure his power and position in the empire.

But now, Laura was very much alive and thriving, which infuriated him. He had handed over a king's ransom to Sasha, the Goddess of Lust, and her single task remained unaccomplished.

"I'm in dire need of a drink," Duke Avaron muttered, feeling the dryness in his throat amplify his irritation. He was about to call his butler to bring him some chilled wine or sake when an uninvited guest brazenly strolled into his living room. His immediate reaction was anger. His private space was sacrosanct - even his children and wives knew better than to intrude without first knocking. It was a rule that was respected, a norm that defined the reverence he demanded as the Duke.

"What on earth...who are you?" Duke Avaron blurted out in utter shock. He had not expected to see a stranger in his living room. But as his eyes caught sight of the intruder, his voice faltered. The robustness in his tone was replaced by a tremble of apprehension. His skin turned pale and a cold shiver ran down his spine, as if he was standing in the middle of a freezing blizzard. His eyes narrowed to the size of a pin's head, a reflection of his stunned surprise. The duke looked like a man who had just seen the devil himself, his entire body quaking, his soul trembling with raw terror.

"Who...who are you?" he stammered, struggling to maintain his composure.

The mysterious man who stood before him seemed to be the embodiment of a dreadful nightmare. His whole body was drenched in blood. But it was not his own blood, rather it was a chilling testament to the brutal path he had carved to reach the duke. The man held something in his right hand, an object that sent waves of terror coursing through Avaron.

"Who am I?" The man retorted coldly, his gaze piercing through Duke Avaron like an icy dagger. "I think you should be more concerned about this," he added casually, tossing something towards the duke. It was only when the object landed at his feet that Duke Avaron realized what it was. It was the severed head of his butler. The sight was so horrifying, so unexpected, that he almost lost consciousness. His body reeled backward, his mind grappling with the horror of the moment. The sheer brutality of it was more than enough to make the duke's blood run cold.

"You inquired about my identity? I am the one who is linked by marriage to the woman you so brazenly insulted," Aditya declared, his voice brimming with cold anger. He didn't take kindly to the way this man had hurled curses at Sasha.

That revelation caused Duke Avaron's already blood-drained face to go a few shades paler. His lips quivered as he tried to form a coherent sentence. "You mean... you're..."

A chilling grin crept onto Aditya's face, an expression of unadulterated menace, as he moved closer to the duke. "Indeed," he confirmed, his voice cold as ice. "I am Aditya. Now, your time is up."

There was a sudden, deafening bang, and then silence. Duke Avaron's body collapsed onto the rich carpet of the living room, lifeless. His head was nowhere to be seen. This wasn't just Duke Avaron's fate. Each guard that had dared to confront Aditya had been ruthlessly cut down. Any who dared to obstruct his path were met with nothing less than total destruction.

Aditya looked around at the carnage he had wrought. "That's one down," he said to himself. "Three more to go." But before he departed, Aditya made sure to take something from the duke. It wasn't for himself, as he had no need for wealth. Instead, he pocketed Duke Avaron's storage ring, filled with the duke's treasured possessions. He planned to give all of this to Laura. She could use it better than he ever could. With that, Aditya left the scene, leaving behind nothing but destruction and a grim reminder of his wrath.

The ongoing Oceanic Crown Tournament provided the perfect distraction for Aditya's deadly mission. While the Deep Sea Palace Empire's attention was riveted on the heated competition, he moved with lethal precision and speed. His mission? The elimination of the four most powerful figures in the empire: the old dukes.

Once done with Duke Avaron, Aditya shifted his attention to the next on his list, Duchess Envielle. Envielle was the living embodiment of the sin of envy. Her greed knew no bounds, her avarice outstretching beyond the materialistic confines of wealth and status. She was notorious for her incessant desire to possess everything that wasn't hers, a trait so profound that it was reflected in her eclectic mansion. The mansion was a bizarre amalgamation of styles and artifacts, lacking any trace of originality, mirroring Envielle's envious nature. 'Mirrored Desire', her unique power, amplified her greed, allowing her to replicate any ability she witnessed. However, her impulsive, rash nature, often the consequence of her insatiable envy, also made her vulnerable.

Next on Aditya's list was Duke Wrathschild, the living manifestation of wrath. Known for his volatile temper and intolerance, he was a figure who provoked fear among his subjects. His mansion was as grim and intimidating as his persona, littered with statues of his conquered foes serving as a dreadful testament to his wrath. His power, 'Rage Inferno,' was fueled by his anger, converting his rage into destructive energy blasts. However, his wrath often clouded his judgment, making him susceptible to cunning strategies. Yet, even his formidable power fell short in front of Aditya, the Dragon Monarch.

The final name on Aditya's list was Duke Glutonus, the personification of gluttony. His hunger was boundless, extending from food to power, and his mansion was famous for its decadent feasts and lavish gatherings. His power, 'Endless Maw,' permitted him to consume anything and assimilate the energy or power it held. But his insatiable desire often caused him to overstep his boundaries and overestimate his capabilities, setting him up for failure.

And so, one by one, each duke and duchess fell under Aditya's relentless pursuit, their mansions falling silent as their reigns of sin came to a sudden and brutal end.

Scene change____

The whole day passed peacefully. The whole city had gone to watch the tournament. The streets were empty. The shops were closed. The restaurants, inns, pubs, tarverns, the guild, and other stores in the city were closed. People from the nearby cities and all around and even from outside of the empire has had come. Even all the guards who were responsible for keeping an watch were busy watching the tournament instead of focusing on their own work. There wasn't any sign of a soul except for the stadium where millions of had gone to watch the tournament.

By the end of the day, the group stages of the tournament were over. 32 participants has reached the elimination round. Laura was someone among them. But as everyone was about to head back, the announcer who was a beautiful mermaid anxiously came to the stage to make an emergency announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a solemn voice echoed around the arena. The mermaid announcer held a grim expression, her voice tinged with a sorrow she rarely displayed. "I come bearing news that is as shocking as it is disheartening."

A sudden hush fell over the spectators, the previous hubbub replaced by an eerie silence. There was a palpable sense of trepidation in the air. Something was amiss, the normal frivolity of the tournament overshadowed by a grave announcement.

"Duke Avaron, Duchess Envielle, Duke Wrathchild, and Duke Glutonus... " her voice trailed off, a lump forming in her throat. She swallowed hard, gathering herself to deliver the devastating news. "They have all been found dead in their mansions."

Gasps echoed throughout the stadium. The shock that rippled through the crowd was as palpable as a physical blow. The words hung heavy in the air, disbelief painted across the faces of everyone present. Those four figures were pillars of their society, their abrupt end was inconceivable.

"Their lives were taken in their very homes," she continued, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Every last guard, servant, and eyewitness has been wiped out. They were all brutally murdered."

A scream broke the tense silence, its shrill tone echoing the fear that gripped the crowd. Panic was seeping in, replacing the shock as the full realization of what had happened started to sink in.

"Further..." the announcer's voice cracked, "their severed heads have been discovered near the stadium."

The reaction was immediate. Wails of grief, exclamations of terror, and cries of disbelief filled the stadium. Everyone was reeling from the news. Mermen were clutching each other in fear, their faces pale. Aquatic elves, known for their calm demeanor, were wide-eyed and speechless. Other races attending the tournament were equally shaken.

"Who could do this?" whispered one terrified merman to his neighbor.

"Are we safe?" an aquatic elf questioned, her voice trembling with worry.

The specter of fear had descended upon the crowd, a chilling reminder of their vulnerability despite their perceived safety. The tournament, once a source of excitement and celebration, had been plunged into a dreadful nightmare. The news of the old dukes' gruesome demise would leave an indelible mark on the empire, and the shockwaves of fear and confusion would reverberate long after the tournament ended.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 440

The once-vibrant stadium descended into an unsettling quietness. It was as if someone had drained the very life from it. The faces of thousands of spectators wore looks of disbelief, struggling to accept the horrifying news that was just delivered. These were not just ordinary people, they were the cornerstone of the empire, second in command only to the Emperor himself. Their sudden death in their own bastions of power was a gut punch no one saw coming, a blow that sent the entire stadium spiraling into a shock-induced silence.

In the hushed crowd, the merfolk were easily the most affected. Their expressions ranged from disbelief to fear to outright horror. After all, the fallen were part of their race, the most influential among them. This was not just an attack on those individuals but a strike at the heart of the merfolk's power and prestige. Their eyes darted around anxiously, whispers spreading among them like wildfire.

"Did... did she just say they're all dead?" one young mermaid asked, her voice a timid whisper barely audible in the quiet stadium.

Her elder companion merely nodded, his face ashen and eyes wide with shock. "Murdered in their own homes... how did this happen?"

Among the aquatic elves, there was an eerie calm. They quietly absorbed the news, their usually serene faces revealing a hint of alarm. They were silent, but their eyes - wide and alert - told a different story. A mixture of shock, apprehension, and a glimmer of something else. Satisfaction? Relief?

"I never thought I'd see the day when merfolk nobility would fall like this," an older elf murmured, a complex emotion playing in his eyes. The others merely nodded in agreement, their silence speaking volumes about the deep-seated tension between the races.

For the Selkies and Nereids, the news was met with a different reaction. Hidden beneath their initial shock was an undeniable hint of grim satisfaction. The Dukes and the Duchess, despite their power, were not popular among these races due to the merfolks' historically high-handed behavior towards them.

"Did you hear that?" a Nereid, the beauty of her sea nymph form not enough to mask her glee, turned to her Selkie companion. "The arrogant merfolk leaders have been slain."

The Selkie, an enchanting figure with a seal-like grace, smirked. "Aye, the seas are surely churning tonight."

Meanwhile, the Krakens, beings of immense power and enigmatic nature, simply observed. A hint of a smirk played on their tentacle-covered faces. This was a disruption in the power dynamics, and for them, it was an opportunity. An opportunity they were more than willing to seize.

Amid the racial tensions and fear, an air of anticipation hung heavy. The undercurrents of racism, long suppressed, were surfacing. The fall of the merfolk nobility might have struck fear, but it had also rekindled the fires of hope for the races who'd long been marginalized.

Scene Change____

As the day finally came to its end, the tumult of shock and surprise began to simmer down. Everyone retreated to the security of their homes, seeking solace in familiar surroundings. Laura was no exception. After returning to her sprawling mansion, her mind was brimming with thoughts. She needed answers and she knew exactly who could provide them - Aditya.

With a sense of urgency driving her, she navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the mansion until she arrived at Aditya's bedroom. Her hand reached for the doorknob instinctively, and before she realized, she had pushed the door open and stepped in. The surprising news of the day had clearly affected her usual manners.

A soft click echoed in the room as she stepped inside. Lying on the expansive bed, Aditya was resting, his eyes shut and his face a picture of tranquillity. Despite his eyes being closed, he sensed her presence and spoke, his voice as calm as ever. "It's not polite to enter someone's room without knocking first." His light reprimand made Laura realize her unusual behavior and a faint blush colored her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, taken aback by her own abruptness. "Can we talk, please?" Her voice was tinged with anxiety, a stark contrast to her usual composure. Aditya, it seemed, had shaken her more than she had anticipated.

Without opening his eyes, he responded, his voice steady, "If you're worried about Sasha and her threat to your life, then you should put those worries aside. The four who contracted her are no more. If the contractor is dead, then the mission is automatically terminated. Even if she were to eliminate you now, she wouldn't receive the remaining payment from the clients. You can rest easy and concentrate on winning the tournament."

Aditya's explanation came out easily, but the real story was far from easy. He had exhausted every bit of his energy to eliminate the four old nobles. Each one of them was guarded by peak 5th-order bodyguards. To reach the nobles, he had to fight through these bodyguards, and then through a horde of peak 4th-order cultivators and beginner 5th-order cultivators. The whole ordeal was mentally and physically draining. It was no wonder he was seeking solace in rest.

Finding her feet drawn towards the plush couch positioned at the far end of the room, opposite Aditya's bed, Laura gently sank into its inviting comfort. Her mind was still whirling from the day's revelations. As she settled down, she took a moment to take in her surroundings, her gaze lingering on Aditya's serene figure across the room.

"Aditya," she began, her voice slightly shaky from the enormity of the situation, "I never thought you'd deal with them in just one day." A sigh of relief slipped from her lips as she continued, "The entire Empire and even the neighboring lands are in shock. You've literally sent tremors through the political landscapes with your actions."

Her voice carried a hint of awe and disbelief, but beneath it all, there was a tangible sense of relief, even joy. The four nobles had been a constant thorn in her side, an obstacle she couldn't surmount nor ignore. Now, with their abrupt departure from the scene, it was as though a choking fishbone had finally been removed from her throat. She could finally breathe freely and spread her wings without any constraints.

Hearing her words, Aditya slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself up into a sitting position. His gaze met Laura's as he asked, "Does this mean the tournament will be suspended?"

"No," Laura responded, shaking her head. "No matter what happens within the Empire, the tournament won't stop. It's a royal law that cannot be broken." She paused, choosing her words carefully, "Besides, we have already been without a ruler for five months. An empire cannot function properly for so long without leadership. If there are any more delays, the whole system could crumble, leading to widespread chaos." Her words echoed the harsh reality of the political situation in the Empire.

Scene change____

Somewhere else in the sprawling capital city, a lone figure navigated the busy streets with determined strides. This was Sasha, a human girl, making her way towards the city's primary teleportation array.

"He dealt with them faster than I expected," she muttered to herself, a hint of surprise coloring her tone. "I was anticipating a few days, at least." A small, mirthless smile played on her lips as she added, "But then again, that's who he is. The Dragon Monarch doesn't do things by halves." As far as Sasha was concerned, the Deep Sea Palace had no idea about the storm they'd just witnessed, and they were ill-prepared to handle the aftermath.

Having no further reasons to stay in the city, Sasha was preparing to leave. The fact that she hadn't managed to eliminate her target had left a sour taste in her mouth, but she knew the circumstances were unique. She hadn't failed or broken any rules of the organization - the client had simply passed away unexpectedly before the contract could be fulfilled.

As she neared the teleportation array, Sasha took a moment to reflect on her experiences in the city. "I hope this is the last time I set foot here," she thought, a note of finality in her voice.

As she stepped into the glowing magic circle of the teleportation array, Sasha cast one last glance towards the direction of Laura's mansion. "Farewell, Aditya," she whispered softly into the wind. Then, as the teleportation array hummed to life, emitting a blinding light, Sasha disappeared from the city, leaving behind a turbulent capital in the wake of her presence.

Meanwhile, in Laura's Mansion, Aditya was wrestling with exhaustion. He was stretched out on his bed, his body protesting from the accumulated fatigue. With the colossal task of annihilating the old nobles behind him, his energy reserves had been almost entirely depleted.

Suddenly, his eyes blinked open, the normally vibrant orbs appearing slightly dull due to his tiredness. He stretched out on the bed, trying to push the lingering fatigue from his body. A certain girl's image came to his mind as he lay there, the stillness of the room allowing his thoughts to drift.

"I wonder what that silly girl, Sasha, is up to now," he mused aloud, his voice barely above a whisper in the quiet room. His gaze drifted towards the ceiling, lost in thought. His mind started to paint a picture of Sasha, possibly wandering the streets of the city or maybe she had already left.

"I bet she's already packed up and left the city by now," he continued, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he imagined the always-tenacious Sasha taking her leave, her job here done. His mind then started to slowly drift back into the realms of sleep, even as he continued to contemplate the whereabouts of the audacious Succubus.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 441

With the break of a new day, the city-sized stadium once again hummed with life. Swarms of spectators flooded in, the undercurrent of their anticipation and excitement almost palpable. Even though the news of the sudden demise of the four old nobles had cast a shadow over the tournament, the event was not put on hold. The three dukes and the duchess already had successors lined up, but according to Deep Sea Palace's rules, they couldn't assume their roles until the tournament concluded. This left the seats of power empty for the next six days, adding to the suspenseful atmosphere.

Aditya found himself at the tournament once again. However, today was different. Today, he was in the company of Laura's personal maid, Kate. Kate was well-connected, and thanks to her, Aditya had managed to secure VIP seats. He was now comfortably nestled in plush seating, with an unobstructed view of the entire arena.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," a sonorous voice rang out, drowning out the excited chatter of the crowd. "It's time for the fifth match of the Elimination Round." The crowd fell silent, eagerly hanging onto each word. "From Group A, we present to you, Laura." A cheer rose from the crowd as Laura, a vision of grace and strength, swam into the arena. "And from Group B, we have Triton." Triton, a formidable looking Selkie, also emerged into the spotlight, greeted with a mixture of cheers and whistles.

"Let's give them a warm welcome!" The announcer's voice echoed, resulting in an uproar of applause and cheers. The crowd was hyped, and the anticipation for the match was at an all-time high. Today is promised to be an unforgettable day.

Laura, her every movement as fluid as a water dance, made her way into the heart of the arena. Following her was Triton, his muscular form and the sinewy strength that every Selkie was known for, evident even from a distance. The energy in the arena was electric as the two contenders entered, ready to lock horns.

"Now, folks, it's time to put your money where your mouth is," boomed the announcer's voice once again, breaking through the fevered discussions and the anticipatory murmurs. "Place your bets! Remember, we won't accept anything below ten white gold coins!"

Like a tidal wave, the crowd erupted into a frenzy, rushing to stake their bets. Money changed hands at dizzying speed, an atmosphere of reckless, fevered anticipation filling the air. Such betting sprees were common throughout the stadium, each corner alive with its own microcosm of excitement and uncertainty.

As all this unfolded, Aditya and Kate merely glanced at the frantic, gambling crowd, a detached amusement in their eyes. Neither of them seemed particularly interested in joining the betting pandemonium.

"Who do you think will win?" A bystander couldn't contain his curiosity, addressing the seemingly nonchalant duo.

Kate's answer was immediate. "Obviously, Laura."

The spectator nodded, his eyes reflecting understanding. "Betting on Triton would be like throwing away money. The guy's a Peak 4th-order cultivator, who barely scraped through the group stage. But this is the elimination round. It's a whole different game. It's a battlefield for the most potent and ambitious competitors. Laura's might is undisputed, one of the tournament's absolute powerhouses. Triton's chances of winning against her are less than 0.1%."

A different voice chimed in, adding, "And let's not forget Triton's defeat in his third group stage match just yesterday. I'd be a fool to bet against Laura." The surrounding crowd murmured their agreement, their faith unwavering in Laura's prowess.

"Begin the match!" The authoritative voice rang through the arena, resonating with anticipation and high spirits.

The moment the announcement ended, Triton, Laura's opponent, mustered all his strength. His focus, determination etched across his features, he began to charge a concentrated beam of energy, aimed at Laura. His every muscle strained, his entire being concentrated on his offensive move. The crowd held its breath, the air alive with anticipation.

But Laura, serene as a still sea yet swift as a striking shark, closed the distance between them before Triton's attack could fully form. Before Triton could even blink, she was already before him. There was no time for him to react, to defend or to attack, and her punch, swift and powerful, landed squarely on him.

He slumped, crumpled like a felled tree, unconscious before he even hit the ground. The impact echoed across the silent arena. Triton was out cold, his planned attack dissipating into nothingness.

"The match concludes as quickly as it started. Laura only needed a handful of seconds to establish her victory. What a tremendous display of power!" The announcer's voice rang out, clear and sharp, throughout the stunned arena.

The audience, however, was visibly disappointed. They had anticipated a struggle, a clash of powers, but the fight ended even before they could fully immerse themselves in it. Not even a full ten seconds had passed since the match started.

Two burly guards swiftly made their way to the fallen Triton, lifting his unconscious body with practiced ease and retreating off the stage. Meanwhile, Laura, with her usual grace and poise, walked back, leaving behind an arena stunned by her overwhelming strength.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Aditya remarked, his voice revealing his boredom. For him, the match ended far too quickly, almost abruptly, leaving a lingering feeling of disappointment. He had expected more.

Minutes turned into hours and the day continued to pass as the rigorous elimination round of the tournament continued. Like a harsh tide sweeping away everything in its path, the number of competitors dwindled steadily, gradually eroding from a robust thirty-two to a lean twenty-eight, then to a slim twenty-four and kept on dropping.

Eventually, the bustling crowd of contestants diminished until only sixteen valiant fighters remained, eight from Group A and eight from Group B. The arena bristled with tension as the second round of the cutthroat elimination stage was about to commence.

During the fierce and unyielding battles, one particular fighter had piqued Aditya's interest. A merman, named Zephyr, who bore an imposing frame, carved with muscles that told tales of countless battles and relentless training. His power level was on par with Laura, making him a formidable opponent to any who dared to cross him in the ring.

His matches, just like Laura's, ended in mere seconds, leaving a lot of his capabilities shrouded in mystery. The fights ended before anyone could gauge his true strength, before anyone could figure out the tricks under his sleeve.

'Zephyr could become a thorn in Laura's path,' Aditya pondered, his gaze never leaving the merman. The way Zephyr fought was a harsh contrast to Laura's graceful but quick tactics. His style was ruthless, baring his fangs of merciless aggression in the ring. He seemed to derive a cruel pleasure from tormenting his adversaries, stringing them along before dealing the decisive blow.

On top of all this, Zephyr was an arrogant fighter, his pride as clear as daylight. He wore it like a badge, his every move screaming confidence and self-assured dominance. He was indeed an opponent not to be taken lightly, a potential stumbling block in Laura's path to victory.

As dusk cast a veil over the city, Aditya and Kate gradually blended into the dispersing crowd, leaving the eventful day behind them. However, unbeknownst to Aditya, a pair of sharp eyes were trained on him, a mischievous glint twinkling in them. A woman, a human woman to be precise, stood unnoticed in the crowd, her wild grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as she stared at Aditya's retreating figure.

Days sped by like the fleeting shadows of fish under the sunlit water. The roaring waves of the tournament continued to surge, their momentum unyielding. The second, third, and fourth days of the rigorous elimination round had the stadium brimming with relentless action and hair-raising suspense.

As the battles waged and the crowd cheered, only two warriors managed to stand their ground, cutting through the ranks and emerging as the mightiest. Laura, the enchanting mermaid princess from Group A and Zephyr, the ruthless merman from Group B.

[Ladies and Gentlemen, here we stand on the 6th day of our grand tournament. Today, we will witness the grand culmination of this unforgettable saga. Today, our champion will rise. From the fiery trials of Group A, we bring forth Laura, and from the turbulent battles of Group B, emerges Zephyr. Let us extend our heartiest welcome to the two valiant finalists.]

At this announcement, an electrifying wave of applause and cheers swept across the spectators, the roaring crowd mirroring the surging excitement in the grand arena. The decibels soared as the spectators, each favoring their preferred champion, vociferously voiced their support, the final clash was about to begin.

From their vantage point amidst the sea of spectators, Aditya and Kate listened to the announcer's rallying voice with nonchalant expressions. Aditya shook his head slightly, a ripple of disapproval reflecting in his eyes. "No offense intended, Kate," he began, his tone hinting at the seriousness of his words, "but this whole method of determining the next ruler, it's just... absurd, don't you think?"

Kate looked at Aditya, her eyes revealing a silent curiosity as she chose to listen rather than to challenge his perspective. She knew well that such words, if uttered by any other citizen of the empire, would have triggered a violent backlash.

"The monarchy should work on a system of hierarchy," Aditya continued, his voice steady as he outlined his thoughts, "It should be a power passed down from parent to child, not something gambled on in a tournament."

He paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "Strength, while important, should not be the primary qualification for a ruler. A ruler needs vision, intelligence, wisdom, and calmness in the face of adversity. They should have the ability to unite their people, to inspire loyalty and instill a sense of belonging in each citizen. They should be capable of making hard decisions, acting with justice and fairness, and leading with wisdom, not with brute force.

"This tournament," Aditya gestured broadly towards the arena, "is nothing more than a colossal waste of time. Not everyone who steps into this arena possesses the necessary attributes to rule, not everyone is as balanced in their intelligence, wisdom, calmness, and strength as Laura. The demise of your previous ruler can be directly attributed to his arrogance and lack of wisdom."

His final words lingered in the air between them, casting a new light on the ongoing spectacle. Kate remained silent, digesting his perspective while around them the crowd continued to cheer, oblivious to their solemn conversation.

Aditya rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes still focused on the thrilling spectacle happening within the arena, but his mind clearly elsewhere. "I get it, you know," he began, turning his gaze towards Kate, "Tradition plays a massive role in the identity of your Empire. But I must tell you, not every tradition is beneficial, and some can even be harmful. This tournament, for example, seems to be one such tradition."

Kate was quiet, her eyes locked onto Aditya's, captivated by his unconventional viewpoint. She knew it was her duty to defend the traditions of her land, but the sincerity in Aditya's voice made her question. Instead of arguing, she chose to listen.

Aditya continued, leaning back in his chair, the casual manner not quite hiding the seriousness of his words. "You see, I've noticed that this tournament has a divisive effect on the different races that inhabit your world. It's like an unseen wall that splits the unity of your Empire. Let's think about it for a second. How many previous Rulers of this Empire were Aquatic Elves? Almost none, right? The throne has been primarily occupied by mermen and mermaids."

His words were punctuated by the sounds of the crowd, their cheers and boos providing a fitting background to their somber conversation. Aditya sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Honestly, I'm astounded that the Deep Sea Palace is still standing, despite such flawed practices. If similar events were occurring in the land above, your Palace would've been invaded and captured multiple times over by now."

Kate remained silent, swallowing hard. His words stung because they were true. The unfairness and imbalance were too real and staring right at their faces, and it seemed that she, like many others, had been choosing to ignore it. The echo of Aditya's words left a bitter aftertaste, a hard pill that the maid found herself reluctantly swallowing.

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Chapter 442

From the grand balcony overlooking the underwater city, the view was breathtakingly beautiful, illuminating the unique architecture in the dim aquatic lights. It was here Zephyr found himself on the eve of his impending battle, the finale of the grand tournament, surrounded by his closest confidants.

His butler, Joseph, a humble man of mature age with a sincere concern etched on his face, began, "Zephyr, your final opponent is no ordinary adversary. It's Laura we are talking about. I'm sure your strength matches hers, but still, it'd be unwise to take the matter lightly. She is full of unexpected tricks, you see. It's crucial that you make the necessary preparations for tomorrow's showdown. Any slight edge can tip the scales in your favor."

Zephyr, the strong, muscular merman, flashed a cold, dismissive smile. "Joseph," he replied with an air of arrogance, "If you utter another word out of turn, I'll make sure you never get the chance to again." The threatening promise dripped with danger, causing Joseph to tremble in fear.

"My sincerest apologies, Zephyr. I didn't mean to overstep my bounds," Joseph stuttered out, bowing deeply in repentance.

But before the silent tension could spread any further, a new voice chimed in from the lavish couch beside Zephyr, "But he isn't wrong, you know. Laura is a formidable contender. If you're serious about ruling the Deep Sea Palace, you must prepare for the challenge she presents."

Zephyr's eyes momentarily flicked to the source of this unsolicited advice – it was the son of Duke Avaron, a man who was more than just an ally. He was the successor to the powerful House Avaron, a house that had generously supported Zephyr in his journey to this pivotal point in the tournament. They were close allies, almost like friends. Zephyr gave a nod of acknowledgement before shifting his gaze back to the glimmering cityscape below.

A moment of heavy silence followed before Zephyr decided to break it, his voice dripping with subtle sarcasm. "Matthew, shouldn't you be in mourning right now? Your father just passed away a few days ago, didn't he?"

Matthew, the son of Duke Avaron and the newly appointed head of the Avaron household, smirked in response to Zephyr's question. He shifted his gaze upward, staring at the intricate mosaic patterns adorning the high ceiling as he gathered his thoughts. "Why would I mourn the loss of an obstacle?" Matthew started, an oddly carefree smile spread across his face, contrasting starkly with the gravity of his words. "My father was nothing more than a stone in my path to ascendancy. He clung to his seat of power with such stubbornness despite his advanced age, refusing to step aside. His demise has freed my path to take what rightfully belongs to me – the power, the wealth, the prestige... everything I ever craved is now within my grasp."

As Matthew continued to revel in his newfound authority, Zephyr turned his attention to a parchment lying on the nearby table. It was a detailed analysis of Laura's fighting techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. Picking it up, he glanced over the contents quickly before dismissing it with a scoff. "I don't need this to triumph over Laura. My faith lies in my fists," he declared with a confident grin, holding up his clenched hands, symbols of his might. "These fists will guide me to victory in the finals, and I will become the new ruler of the Deep Sea Palace."

Matthew was taken aback by Zephyr's arrogance. A word of caution lingered at the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back, fearing the wrath of his friend. He understood that Zephyr would not take kindly to being lectured. He was a merman driven by his pride and confidence, and any questioning of his abilities could result in a fury Matthew preferred not to deal with.

Scene change______

In the echoing silence of the packed stadium, Zephyr's voice rang out with arrogant bravado. "Laura, do you genuinely believe you stand a chance against me?" He erupted into a hearty laughter, the sound echoing through the arena. "Why don't you just surrender? If you admit defeat now, I can assure these fists of mine won't mar your beautiful face."

Laura didn't bother to dignify Zephyr's words with a response. Instead, she lunged towards him, her eyes steely with determination. Zephyr might have been an insufferably prideful man, but he had the power to back up his grandiose claims. Laura was no pushover either. Her strength was equally formidable.

The enormous, city-sized stadium was almost evenly split in terms of support. Half the crowd, the common folks and those who valued strength of character and grit, rallied behind Laura, cheering her on fervently. The other half, largely composed of the upper-class nobility, threw their weight behind Zephyr, their voices creating a formidable chorus of support.

As the fight commenced, Laura and Zephyr seemed evenly matched. Each took turns in escalating their strength, pushing each other to their limits. It was a battle unlike any that the Deep Sea Palace had witnessed in a long time. The tension, the palpable excitement, the thrilling back-and-forth – it was the kind of spectacle that etches itself into the hearts of the spectators, a memory that would endure for generations.

In the midst of their clash, Laura and Zephyr traded moves, their bodies fluid in motion, their attacks sharp and fast. To an onlooker, it would appear that they were fighting on an equal footing, but inside Zephyr's mind, a different story was unfolding. He was thinking and calculating, plotting the course of the fight and his strategies in the throes of their intense battle.

The battle had been raging on for almost two hours now. In that time, Zephyr had unleashed his most potent abilities and even his secret trump cards against Laura. He was prepared to throw everything at her to secure his victory. However, each of his attempts was met with a skilled counter from Laura. His most potent attacks, the ones that could shake the very foundations of the ocean, were effortlessly blocked by her. Laura was unscathed, not a single drop of blood had been drawn from her. In contrast, Zephyr's right arm bore the evidence of the clash, the skin was torn, and blood was seeping out.

Perplexed and frustrated, Zephyr's mind raced, 'How is she so adept at blocking and countering my attacks?' Laura was the epitome of tranquility in the face of a storm, her face rarely betrayed any emotion. But Zephyr was different. He had always been overconfident and carried an air of arrogance. He had believed, in the beginning, that he would finish this fight within the span of ten minutes. However, Laura's unyielding persistence, her knack for countering his attacks and injuring him without taking any damage herself, it stung his pride and chafed at his inflated ego. He could feel the rage simmering within him, on the verge of boiling over.

'I will not lose to Laura. No one can stand in my way of becoming the Emperor of the Deep Sea Palace,' Zephyr mentally vowed. Bellowing out a loud roar, he launched himself at Laura with renewed ferocity. But his anger and frustration had already started clouding his judgment. It was the beginning of his downfall.

Laura continued to handle his attacks with a composed demeanor, unfazed by his show of fury. This only fueled Zephyr's rage further. His mind buzzed with a single question, 'Why can't I beat her?' The unanswered question twisted in his mind, driving him to the brink of madness. In the following minutes, the spectators watched in awe and disbelief as Zephyr, who had started the fight as a calm and collected warrior, slowly descended into an abyss of frustration and madness.

For the first time since the commencement of the grueling battle, a smile touched Laura's lips. It was a smile of victory, a satisfied glint lighting up her eyes. As Zephyr, succumbing to his rage, charged at Laura, he unwittingly strode right into the trap she had laid out for him. One significant vulnerability of the merman, along with many other oceanic creatures, was their susceptibility to certain forms of poison.

Laura had meticulously planned her strategy. The poison she had used was neither lethal nor severely harmful. However, it possessed a unique property, it induced a deep slumber in those affected by it. And just as she had expected, Zephyr was ensnared in her trap.

Zephyr's frenzied charge abruptly halted. His raging eyes showed a hint of confusion and disbelief. His body swayed and he slurred, "How...how could I lose to you?" With those incredulous words leaving his lips, his eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground, succumbing to the effects of the poison.

The stadium went silent for a moment, and then erupted into a frenzy. "We have a winner! We have a ruler! Our new Empress of the Deep Sea Palace... Her Majesty, Laura!" The announcer's voice echoed throughout the venue, stirring the crowd into a thunderous applause.

The very next moment, every individual present in the stadium, regardless of their race or status, stood up in acknowledgment of their new ruler. They bowed their heads, showing respect to Laura. The nobles, who had until a moment ago supported Zephyr, had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept this outcome. A woman, Laura, was now their Empress, the ruler of the Deep Sea Palace.

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Chapter 443

"Presenting to all, our new ruler, Her Majesty!" The sonorous voice of the announcer echoed through the vast throne hall, which was bathed in an anticipatory silence. Lining up on both sides of the grand hall, the nobles of the Deep Sea Palace stood, their faces a mixture of intrigue, curiosity, and apprehension.

As the grand golden doors at the end of the hall slowly swung open, all eyes were drawn to the figure making her entrance. There she was, Laura, resplendent in her royal attire. A golden crown, a symbol of her new status, sat atop her head, catching the light and gleaming brightly. She held a golden staff, a symbol of her authority, standing tall and proud as the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace.

Walking through the parted crowd, she held herself with an air of grace, confidence, and serenity, her gaze never waning. Each step she took towards the throne was met with an increasing silence, the room filled with a sense of awe. As she ascended the steps to the throne, she turned, sitting majestically, and cast a look over everyone present in the hall.

Standing to her right were Aditya and Kate. Aditya was looking at Laura with pride twinkling in his eyes and a warm, content smile gracing his lips. In the span of their journey together, he had come to see Laura not just as an ally, but as a dear friend. His heart swelled with genuine happiness witnessing her ascend the throne. Beside him, Kate, usually maintaining a stoic demeanor, had a rare, small smile dancing on her lips.

Only six months ago, the idea of Laura becoming the next ruler of the Deep Sea Palace would have been met with disbelief and skepticism. Her ideals and progressive views were far from what the nobles cherished. Her strength at the time seemed insufficient to win such a grueling tournament. But within the span of six months, so much had changed.

Laura had managed to enhance her strength, now standing at the mid 5th-order rank. She became the first person who had survived an encounter with the goddess of Lust. Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against her, she had persevered, competing with the very best and emerging victorious. She had truly earned her place on the throne and was now the reigning Empress of the Deep Sea Palace.

'Now comes the real test,' Laura mused to herself as she absorbed the weight of her new position. Sitting on the throne, she understood that her responsibilities were far from over. On the contrary, they were just beginning. The empire was riddled with corruption that she had to root out. The deeply ingrained issues of racism and discrimination that plagued her subjects had to be eradicated. The overbearing nobles, flaunting their power and authority without restriction, had to be reined in. There were numerous issues, big and small, spread across the empire, all of which required her attention and needed rectification.

Her gaze gently drifted towards Aditya, her eyes softening. They were filled with warmth and gratitude as she thought, 'None of this would have been possible without your help. How can I ever express my gratitude for everything you have done for me?'

A few observant nobles noticed the way the Empress looked at Aditya. Intriguing thoughts and bold hypotheses began to form in their minds, only to be quickly dismissed as they shook their heads, convincing themselves that such scenarios were highly unlikely.

Aditya felt her gaze on him and, with a genuinely joyful smile, he acknowledged her with a nod. He was truly delighted to see everything working out for her. As he watched her taking her place on the throne, a sense of accomplishment filled his heart. 'With this, my mission in the empire is fulfilled. It's time to make my way back,' he contemplated quietly.

Scene change_____

"Why don't you stick around a bit longer?" Laura couldn't hide the reluctance in her voice. She had grown accustomed to Aditya's reassuring presence. He had been her pillar of support in these turbulent times and she was hesitant to let him go. If it wasn't for his commitment as the Emperor of the Iatarin Empire, she would have loved to appoint him as the new Prime Minister of the Deep Sea Palace.

"I truly wish I could," Aditya responded, a tinge of regret in his voice. "I've enjoyed my time here immensely. However, there are pressing matters back home that need my attention." The Istarin Empire had only recently emerged victorious from a war. He had left his troops and his generals back home to subdue any remaining rebels in the newly conquered territories. Besides, there were countless other administrative and governance matters to attend to. His dependable Prime Minister Spencer, despite his competence, couldn't possibly handle all the issues on his own. Certain decisions required his personal approval, and any delay in these matters could hamper the development and growth of his empire.

"I'm going to miss you," Laura admitted, her voice barely a whisper.

Kate, standing quietly behind Laura, looked surprised to hear such candid sentiment from her lady.

"I'll miss you too, Laura. Until our next meeting," Aditya responded, extending his hand towards Laura.

With a soft smile, Laura accepted his hand. Their hands met in a firm, friendly handshake, marking their parting. Aditya was escorted by two aquatic elves towards the surface. Laura stood at the entrance of the capital, watching his retreating figure. A sense of loneliness washed over her as she saw him leave. Her radiant smile slowly faded, replaced by a look of melancholy.

"My lady, are you in love with him?" Kate, her loyal maid, couldn't resist asking.

Laura's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink. She remained silent, her gaze still fixed on the spot where Aditya had disappeared. Finally, she turned around to head back to the city. The Empress herself had accompanied him to the city entrance, a show of her deep respect and affection.

Kate trailed behind Laura, her question left unanswered. Yet, in her heart, she felt she already knew what her lady's response would have been.

After Laura and Kate left, a human figure wearing black cloak also walked out of the citya and went in Aditya's direction.

"Hehe!"

Scene change_____

Utilising the magic of the teleportation array, Aditya found himself in Atlantisia, the gateway city to the Deep Sea Palace. Once there, he sought out Nerida. Nerida was one of the select few that he had planted as spies within the Deep Sea Palace.

"Nerida, I cannot express enough gratitude for the service you've rendered," Aditya said earnestly. "You've lived the dangerous and often lonely life of a spy, but that time is now over. You're free to choose where you wish to go from here. You can continue your life here in Atlantisia, or you could return to High Harbor City and join the others. It's completely up to you."

Nerida looked taken aback by the sudden turn of events but her surprise quickly melted into joy. "Thank you, your Majesty," she replied, her voice choked with emotion.

Aditya shook his head gently, rejecting the gratitude. "No, Nerida, it is I who should be thanking you. I'm well aware that integrating into this deeply prejudiced society wasn't an easy task. You've faced numerous challenges and overcome various obstacles. Your strength and resilience have been invaluable. If you wish, you could leave this place and return to the surface with me." His offer hung in the air, a beacon of hope for a new chapter in Nerida's life.

Nerida, however, gently shook her head, her face lighting up with a warm smile. "Your Majesty, during my time here, I've found someone special," she confessed, her cheeks flushing slightly. "We're planning our future together. I hope you won't mind if we decide to reside in the Empire?"

Aditya's response was immediate and reassuring. "Of course not, Nerida. You're a citizen of the Istarin Empire, and so it will be for your future husband and your family. Your lives, your choices."

Before taking his leave, Aditya handed her a bag containing a hefty sum of 10,000 gold coins. It was a significant amount, enough to ensure a comfortable, prosperous life in the High Harbor City for many years to come. It was not just a reward, but a measure of his gratitude for her dedication. If she were wise and used this money to venture into business, she could soon become a woman of considerable wealth.

After exchanging heartfelt farewells with Nerida, Aditya set his course away from the Deep Sea Palace. However, he didn't return directly to Azure City in the Istarin Empire. Instead, he steered his direction towards another location, a place he had been contemplating visiting for quite some time.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

So this arc is over, almost kid of over. I hoped you guys enjoyed this arc. This volume will end with some very exciting chapters. We will see the Goddess of Lust in action.

Chapter 444

Nearly seven months prior, a formidable alliance had taken form. The fourteen small kingdoms banded together with Lewis, the former King of the Deep Sea Palace, and two other powerful 3rd-tier kingdoms. A formidable force was forged with one unified goal: to take down the Istarin Empire. An intimidating army of a million strong marched towards the Empire, their determination etched on their faces.

Yet, it was during this pivotal moment in history that Aditya, the lynchpin of the Empire, made his move. He single-handedly thwarted the million-strong army, demonstrating a level of prowess that left many astounded. More than that, he executed Lewis, the previous King of the Deep Sea Palace, sending shockwaves through the ranks of the attacking army.

Defeated and outmatched, the fourteen small kingdoms, along with the two 3rd-tier kingdoms, were subjugated and their lands annexed into the Istarin Empire. This integration resulted in a vast expansion of the Empire's territory, sprawling across nearly the entire eastern region of the continent.

However, the newly acquired territories of the fourteen kingdoms were far from a gem. They were the least developed parts of the region, plagued by constant strife and violence. Poverty was rampant among the populace, with food prices skyrocketing to unaffordable levels. Basic commodities became luxuries, creating a living nightmare for the common people. Security was a luxury they couldn't afford.

But, after the Istarin Empire's takeover, things started to change. Aditya, with his vision for a better future, invested heavily in the development of these territories. He practically drained the Empire's treasury to uplift the lives of the people, turning their nightmare into a dream of prosperity.

Seven months had swept past, and with them came an astounding transformation. The living conditions of the people in the newly integrated territories had seen a monumental improvement. Additionally, the rate of crime, once an ever-present concern, had dropped significantly. It was as if a dark cloud had been lifted, revealing a new dawn of prosperity and peace.

Aditya was eager to visit this part of his territories to witness firsthand the fruits of his efforts. He yearned for a bit of solitude, a chance to think and reflect away from the usual clamor of the court. There were other minor reasons for his visit, each contributing to his decision to embark on this journey.

Aditya chose not to return to High Harbor City immediately. Instead, he chose to make a stop at a quaint little town nestled along the eastern coastline of the Istarin Empire. From this picturesque location, Aditya planned to travel by air to Mistwood City. This city, one of the largest in the Empire, sat right in the heart of the eastern region.

Mistwood City was intriguing in its layout. Unlike other parts of the Empire that were abundantly dotted with forests and mountains, this region was predominantly filled with expansive farmlands. There was only a small fragment of it covered by forests, which made it safer for the inhabitants. The threat of being attacked by magical beasts, a common fear in other areas, was nearly non-existent here. The people lived their lives in relative peace, their worries significantly reduced by the reassuring protection of the Empire.

Aditya, under the guise of William, finally reached the bustling city after a journey that seemed to stretch out for ten minutes. He had last visited this city around six months ago, back when it was a poor, underdeveloped shell of its current self. The transformation it had undergone since then was staggering - it now bore the semblance of a prosperous, bustling paradise.

He ventured deeper into the city, taking in the sight of the transformed surroundings. As he was soaking in the ambiance, a sudden disturbance shattered the tranquility. Out of nowhere, a colossal fist made of raw, pulsating energy materialized in front of him. He barely had time to react before the energy fist slammed into his chest with alarming force, sending him hurtling backward. His body crashed into the side of a nearby building, the impact causing the wall to crack and splinter like a spider's web. Groans of pain escaped his lips as he fought to steady himself.

Shaking off the daze, Aditya opened his eyes and caught sight of a woman sauntering towards him with an ominous gleam in her eyes. She spoke, her voice chilling and sinister, "Your Majesty, I've heard tales of the Divine Dragon Blood's immense power. You wouldn't mind me draining every last drop of your blood to enhance my strength, would you?"

Taken aback, Aditya responded, his voice icy and severe, "Who are you?"

"Well, perhaps introductions should come first," she said with an air of superiority. "I'm known as Vespera, but I wouldn't expect someone as high-and-mighty as you to know about someone of my humble origins." Aditya's senses were tingling. He recognized that Vespera was a cultivator at the Peak of the 5th order.

In response to her introduction, Aditya quickly composed himself and got up. He locked his gaze on her and queried, "Who sent you here?" His question hung in the air, dense with implications.

Vespera let out a soft chuckle, replying, "Your Majesty, too many questions can distract from a good fight." As she finished her sentence, she swiftly waved her right hand. Almost instantaneously, the ground in front of Aditya split open. Emerging from this makeshift chasm were hundreds of shadowy tentacles, all lunging straight towards Aditya.

Quick on his feet, Aditya concentrated his strength in his legs and leapt out of the way, landing on the roof of a nearby five-story house. The shadowy tentacles missed their intended target, instead devastating the entire house upon impact.

Vespera's voice then echoed once again, "No one sent me here. I am what they call a Rogue Cultivator - I don't belong to any particular faction or empire."

Aditya stood tall, looking out across the city filled with his people, a sense of responsibility flooded his heart. "What do you want, Vespera? Why bring this fight to the heart of the city?" he questioned, concern lacing his words. He feared the potential destruction of the city, the potential loss of innocent lives. He couldn't allow that to happen. He was their King, their guardian, and it was his duty to ensure their safety. He hoped to resolve the situation peacefully through dialogue, to find out her motivations and negotiate an agreement.

Vespera paused for a moment, looking back at him. "Your Majesty, my name is Vespera, and I've been a rogue cultivator for what feels like an eternity, living a thousand years," she explained, an eerie calmness to her voice. "The select few who have come to know me, refer to me as the Enigmatic Sorceress. Ever since I was young, I've been in search of two things: omnipotent power and immortality. I have wandered through an endless number of cultures, kingdoms, empires, cities, and across all seven continents. But to my disappointment, I have yet to find what could grant me the immortality I seek."

"But aren't you already near-immortal?" Aditya interjected, "Being a Peak 5th-order cultivator, you could live for millions of years. You're powerful enough to defeat almost anyone, aren't you?" His words were firm, but the subtle flickering of crimson lightning around his body hinted at an underlying readiness for battle. His eyes transformed, turning red, the pupils narrowing into vertical slits, resembling those of a dragon. Red dragon scales began to materialize on his skin, covering him like a protective armor. The transformation signaled his preparedness for a battle he hoped he wouldn't have to fight.

"No, that's not the type of immortality I'm after," Vespera countered, a manic glint lighting up her eyes. "I don't just want to live a long life, I want to transcend the very concept of death. Yes, as cultivators, we might have extended lifespans, but almost all of us, 99.9% as you said, never live out our full life potential. I want to be an immortal that cannot be killed, not just one who lives a long time."

Her gaze turned fierce, locking onto Aditya with a fervor that took him aback. "For that, I need your blood. The blood of the legendary Divine Dragon. You cannot imagine how fortunate I feel to have crossed paths with you in my lifetime. It's as if the heavens themselves have given me a second chance," she continued, her smile broadening into a feral grin. "Your Majesty, your blood is the key to fulfilling my dreams."

Aditya's eyebrows knitted together, her desperate excitement sending a chill down his spine. "I'm not just going to hand my blood over to you," he replied evenly, "but if it's death you're so eager to escape from, I can give you that instead."

Without wasting a moment, he vanished from Vespera's line of sight. In the blink of an eye, he was behind her, whispering a cold "goodbye". From his outstretched palm, he unleashed a wave of crimson flame, the brilliant fire illuminating the impending clash in its ominous glow.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 445

In a fraction of a second, before the fiery wave could make contact with Vespera, her physical form seemed to dissolve into nothingness. Aditya's eyes widened in astonishment as the brilliant crimson flames swept through the space she had occupied just moments before.

In the next heartbeat, she materialized seemingly out of nowhere, a good 300 meters away from Aditya. She had positioned herself atop the roof of a humble two-story house, looking down at him with a triumphant grin. "Your Majesty, you're simply not quick enough," she taunted, her voice carrying across the distance between them.

Aditya was struck by a surge of disbelief. 'How did she manage that?' he thought, his mind racing. His own speed was something he took pride in, and the thought that this woman could surpass it sent a shiver of apprehension down his spine. 'If she truly is faster than me, then I'm in deep trouble,' he mused, his mind already calculating possible strategies.

With a determined glint in his eyes, Aditya decided to switch tactics. 'I need something she can't outrun or dodge,' he thought, his gaze fixating on Vespera.

A loud, menacing rumble tore through the silence, followed by a swift, dazzling bolt of crimson lightning that plummeted down from the heavens directly towards Vespera. Yet, just as the electrifying attack was about to sear her, she vanished, her grin lingering in the air where she had stood. The crimson bolt hit the target point, instantly reducing the entire house beneath it to rubble and leaving a gaping crater behind.

'She dodged it,' Aditya thought, surprise flickering across his face. 'How?'

"Quite a show," Vespera's voice echoed from a distance. Now, she was perched atop another house, another 300 meters from her previous spot. "Go on, entertain me some more," she dared, her voice dripping with arrogance.

Taking her challenge, Aditya decided to unleash a barrage of lightning bolts from the sky, each aiming for Vespera. But each time, just as a bolt was about to make contact, Vespera vanished, evading the attack effortlessly. Witnessing this spectacle, Aditya came to a conclusion.

'She's not just fast. She's teleporting. But there must be limitations to this power.' Aditya was a firm believer that every skill had a weakness. No skill in this world was flawless. Perhaps her teleportation had a limited range, or maybe she needed a cooling period between each teleportation. There was also the possibility that she was using a magical artifact to aid her in teleporting. The potential limitations were endless, and understanding them would be crucial to countering her power.

Resolving to uncover the secret behind Vespera's mysterious teleportation ability, Aditya decided to keep her engaged in a relentless battle. He reached into his storage ring and retrieved his treasured Adamantite Doomblade, the familiar cool touch of the weapon's hilt grounding him. As he grasped the sword, his entire being was cloaked in a vibrant aura of crimson lightning that crackled menacingly around him, amplifying his formidable presence.

With a swift, fluid motion, he transformed into a bolt of lightning, closing the distance between him and Vespera in the blink of an eye. He executed a swift, powerful slash with his black blade, aimed diagonally at Vespera, his attack swift and relentless.

A resonating clang rang through the air as metal met metal, a shockwave of energy rippling outward. Vespera had managed to counter Aditya's assault, pulling a katana from her own storage ring to block his formidable swing. The sight of their blades clashing, sparks flying in every direction.

Aditya continued his offensive, lashing out at Vespera with a flurry of sword strikes. But each time, she managed to either skillfully deflect his sword or nimbly evade his attack. As he swung his sword downwards in a powerful vertical slash, she fluidly sidestepped to the right, avoiding the blow. Undeterred, Aditya swiftly changed his tactic mid-strike.

A surge of crimson flame began to spiral around his black sword, as if drawn to it, creating an impressive spectacle. Red lightning flickered along the length of the blade, further enhancing its lethal threat. As Vespera was recovering from her dodge, Aditya abruptly redirected his sword in a diagonal slash aimed directly at her chest.

Caught off guard by the sudden change in attack direction, Vespera barely had enough time to react. Aditya's sword sliced through the air, headed straight for her chest. For a moment, shock registered in her eyes. But then, she broke into a triumphant grin. Aditya watched in astonishment as his blade passed cleanly through Vespera's chest, as if she was an illusion.

Before he could fully comprehend the situation, Vespera surged forward and delivered a powerful kick to his chest. The force of the blow sent him hurtling backwards like a cannonball. He crashed into the stone wall of the public bath with enough force to cause it to crack like a spider web, the lines radiating outward from the point of impact. Moments later, the building couldn't withstand the impact and collapsed on top of Aditya, a cloud of dust and debris erupting into the air.

Bang!

With a loud bang, a wave of crimson flame suddenly erupted from the pile of rubble. The intense heat melted the concrete, creating a pathway for Aditya to rise into the air. Dust particles glimmered in the glow of the flame, while he floated above the demolished building.

'Is her power the ability to become intangible, to phase through solid objects and even living beings?' Aditya pondered, trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed. It was a power he had never come across in his years of training and battling, a skill that was both absurdly rare and incredibly challenging to counter. If his suspicions were correct, then landing even a single blow on her would prove to be an enormously difficult task.

'I'll have to time my attacks perfectly, strike her in the moments when she becomes solid,' he thought to himself. In circumstances like this, he found himself wishing he had abilities that could target the soul directly, like some sort of ethereal, psychic attack. Then he wouldn't have to fret about his opponent possessing the capability to phase through physical attacks. But wishes were merely that, and right now, he had to work with the abilities he did possess.

Aditya persistently launched one attack after another, with bolts of crimson lightning crackling from his palms. He tried to get in close, attempting to land a hit through direct combat, but each try ended in failure. He even attempted a distraction strategy, keeping her occupied with his physical attacks while summoning a barrage of lightning from the sky. But none of his attempts seemed to affect her. Vespera's unusual blend of teleportation and phasing abilities was causing him substantial difficulties in the fight.

What frustrated Aditya further was Vespera's lack of active engagement. She mostly defended herself, dodging his attacks, phasing through them, or simply teleporting to a new location when he managed to corner her. Her actions were forcing him to continually adapt his attack strategy, pushing him to his limits.

'Looks like I might have no choice but to use the 'Dragon Monarch's Domain'.' Aditya thought to himself, the realization slowly sinking in. He was hesitant to use the skill, primarily because of its extreme side-effects. Utilizing 'Dragon Monarch's Domain' would render him unconscious for several days, leave his body in a weakened state, and require a substantial recovery period. The last time he had used the skill, he had fallen into a deep sleep that lasted for a few days. Now, he found himself with his back against the wall, seeing no other viable strategy to overcome Vespera's unique powers.

Suddenly, Aditya's body froze as if someone had pressed a pause button. His muscles refused to obey his commands, and he stood there helplessly, completely immobile. He attempted to fight the paralysis, but it was as if his body was entwined in invisible chains.

'What on earth is happening?' Aditya questioned himself internally, his mind racing to find an explanation for his sudden immobility.

Vespera's figure materialized before him, her face a mask of grim seriousness. "The time for fun and games is over. It's time to conclude this," she announced, her voice echoing ominously through the still air.

In vain, Aditya attempted to respond, but his voice was trapped in his throat, his words as paralyzed as his body. Fear began to creep into his heart, as panic started to bubble up, clouding his thoughts. He was stuck, completely at the mercy of this enigmatic woman, and the vulnerability was terrifying.

As Vespera began to close the distance between them, Aditya's eyes sparked with an intense glow. His mind began to replay the events that had occurred so far, desperately seeking any kind of clue or loophole that he could use. His gaze swept over the surrounding area and a realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. Despite their fight taking place in the heart of the city, there were no citizens present. The city felt deserted, utterly devoid of life. His devastating attacks had razed numerous houses to the ground, and yet, the expected uproar of the crowd was eerily absent. It was as if the entire city had been mysteriously emptied.

When he extended his senses, trying to feel for any signs of life, he was met with an unsettling void. There were no people, no animals, no insects - nothing. His senses, usually so reliable, were now reaching out into nothingness. The city was devoid of life, a ghost town in the truest sense. Aditya finally realized what her true ability was.

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Chapter 446

Aditya's body started to shake as if he was standing in the midst of an earthquake. This sudden change seemed to catch Vespera by surprise, her eyes widening as she looked at him. His movements were jerky, rough, like an old piece of machinery trying to operate after years of rust and neglect.

With every ounce of his remaining strength, he grappled with the Adamantite Doomblade, his fingers curling around the familiar hilt. His arms moved in a stiff, robotic manner, as if they were fighting against invisible restraints.

Then, with a resounding 'Bang!', Aditya plunged the blade into his own right thigh. A searing pain ripped through his body as if he'd been hit by a bolt of lightning. But with that wave of pain came a welcome relief: he could move again. The paralyzing force that had imprisoned him was now gone. The sensation of control returning to his body was like tasting fresh air after being trapped underwater.

At the same moment, the world around Aditya started to warp and distort. Cracks tore through the air like veins, a sight that was both terrifying and surreal. The world was fragmenting, breaking apart under an unseen force.

His blood dripped onto the ground, the red droplets stark against the pavement. His eyes locked with Vespera's, his gaze as cold and unforgiving as a winter storm.

Then, as if a giant mirror had been shattered, everything around them broke apart. The world splintered and fractured like glass, the shards reflecting the uncertainty and turmoil of the moment.

As Aditya reopened his eyes, he found himself back in the familiarity of Mistwood city. This time, however, it was pulsating with life. The absence of the inhabitants had been nothing but a facet of the illusion.

"I must admit, I didn't think you would manage to shatter my illusion," Vespera remarked, a faint smile playing on her lips. Her words echoed in the still air, revealing the truth behind her abilities. The teleportation, the phasing through matter; all of it had been nothing but illusions woven intricately by her.

Being trapped within her web of illusions, Aditya's every attempt at attacking had been deflected with ease. It was as though inside her illusions, Vespera wielded the power of a god, omnipotent and invincible. No harm could come to her unless the illusion was shattered, revealing the reality beneath the illusion.

The strength of a Peak 5th-order illusion cultivator was indeed formidable. It was a chilling reminder that even the slightest delay in shattering the illusion could have spelled his demise within the fabricated world. The experience served as a stark revelation of the destructive potential lurking within the world of illusions.

"But do take a moment to glance around yourself," Vespera suggested, her smile curling with a sense of hidden satisfaction.

Aditya felt a chill crawling up his spine, and he felt a pressing unease at her words. But when he turned to observe his surroundings, a cold shock hit him. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, his entire body started shaking uncontrollably, and he could feel his breaths becoming quick and shallow.

What greeted his eyes was a nightmarish panorama. The vibrant Mistwood city he knew and loved was now nothing but a pile of rubble and debris. Buildings that once touched the sky were now crumbled, reduced to ruins, scattered haphazardly. The city was a ghost of its former self, a devastating spectacle of destruction.

But it was not just the city. The lifeless bodies of his own people were strewn around the wreckage, casualties of the catastrophic destruction. There were a handful of survivors who were frantically trying to escape from the doomed city, their terror palpable even from where he stood.

"Please note, this was not my doing. Nor is it another illusion," Vespera's voice echoed from behind, adding to the horror of the situation.

"You wrecked this havoc with your own hands, blinded by my illusion. While you thought you were attacking me, you were actually launching your powers on your own city, your own people. Isn't it ironic? So, what's your next move, Dragon Monarch?" Vespera continued, her laughter resonating with wicked delight. Her illusion had turned him into a puppet, causing him to unknowingly use his powers, destroying his own city and harming his own people.

'What monstrous act have I committed?' Aditya questioned himself, his heart heavy with remorse. These were his people, citizens of his kingdom. He was their ruler, their protector, the person they placed their trust in. And yet, in a grim twist of fate, he was the one who had reduced their homes to rubble and taken their lives. A profound sense of guilt gnawed at him, making his chest tighten with regret.

Suddenly, Vespera's laughter sliced through his introspection. "Oh, you think this is the worst part? Let me make this nightmare even more terrifying for you." Her voice dripped with malevolence as she clapped her hands together in delight.

As if on cue, the remaining city dwellers, those who had miraculously survived the initial catastrophe, abruptly stopped in their tracks. Their frantic movements stilled and their eyes glazed over, losing their spark of life. It was as if time had frozen them in place.

"Vespera, what have you done to them?" Aditya roared at her, his voice a mixture of fear and fury. His rage was a raging inferno, so powerful it felt like his chest was aflame from within. The intensity of his anger caused wisps of crimson fire to escape from his body, dancing around him like fiery serpents. His normally blue hair began to shift hues, alternating between blue and an angry red. His anger was so intense, he could feel his blood bubbling and boiling within his veins.

Vespera's malicious laughter continued to echo in Aditya's ears, each word she spoke further stoking his rising fury. "What do you think, Aditya?" she teased, her voice gleaming with satisfaction. "I've trapped them all in my illusion. Your people are now nothing more than my puppets. Puppets devoid of any feelings or emotions, ready to obey my every command. They're ready to willingly sacrifice their lives at my behest. Would you like a demonstration?"

Each chilling sentence Vespera uttered acted like fuel to the raging fire of Aditya's anger. He had never experienced such a profound rage in his life. His body reacted to this torrent of fury, discharging violent crimson lightning bolts that crackled menacingly in the air around him.

Aditya gritted his teeth, his eyes flaring with a promise of retaliation. "If you dare to lay even a finger on them, Vespera, I swear on my Divine Blood, there will be no escape for you," he growled, his voice thunderous with the force of his oath. "Even if you manage to die, I will chase your soul to the farthest corners of existence. I'll make sure you experience eternal torment."

As he spoke these powerful words, Aditya's body began to transform rapidly. There was a blinding flash of light, and when it faded, his human form had been replaced by the majestic and fearsome form of a dragon. The air around him crackled with a new intensity, the tension was palpable, and it was clear that the battle was far from over.

"So, this is your majestic dragon form? Impressive," Vespera observed with a cruel smile, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Regrettably, I came today with a singular purpose—to slay the dragon. Listen carefully, Aditya. Make even the slightest move, the smallest aggressive gesture, and your people perish here and now. And I assure you, I'm not joking. Observe..."

As she finished speaking, she snapped her fingers with a cold, callous grace. Almost instantly, ten lifeless bodies crumbled to the ground. Each one a chilling reminder of the power she wielded. The sight of this cold-hearted massacre only served to fuel Aditya's fury.

Gritting his teeth in both pain and anger, Aditya conceded to her demand, "Alright. But you must let them go." He found himself cornered, stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he were to try and escape, these innocent lives would be lost. This was an impossible situation: should he save himself and sacrifice his people, or sacrifice himself to save his people?

The next few minutes felt like an endless nightmare for Aditya. Vespera's sharp katana cut into his body repeatedly, each slash reaching his bones and leaving a deep, bleeding wound. Blood spurted from his wounds with each of her brutal attacks. But Aditya, despite the excruciating pain, didn't let out a single scream. He understood that his pain would only serve to amuse her.

As the minutes rolled on, his strength waned. He was on the brink of losing consciousness. All routes seemed to have been cut off. His situation seemed hopeless, and despair began to consume him. But just when the darkness was about to swallow him, a miraculous twist occurred.

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Chapter 447

Aditya was lying in a small lake of his own blood, a grim testament to the ruthlessness of Vespera's relentless assault. His body was a battlefield, riddled with deep gashes and puncture wounds, each a source of the scarlet river that was slowly leaving his body. The strength was seeping out of him at a terrifying rate and the edges of his vision were starting to blur. He felt the cold, unforgiving hand of unconsciousness slowly descending upon him.

Just when the situation was turning unbearably grim and all hope seemed to have evaporated, an unexpected event occurred that momentarily froze the on-going onslaught.

Crack!

A deafening sound of splitting echoed throughout the desolate landscape. Aditya, who was on the brink of losing consciousness, managed to muster enough strength to lift his eyelids and glance towards the source of the noise. His tired eyes widened in surprise upon witnessing the enormous fissure opening up in the sky above them. Simultaneously, Vespera's gaze was also riveted to the inexplicable phenomenon in the sky, her face draining of color as shock and disbelief painted her features.

"No...this...this is impossible!" Her voice echoed in the eerily silent surroundings. At that moment, comprehension dawned upon Aditya as he finally grasped the significance of what was transpiring. However, his body was drained, devoid of any energy to even twitch. Blood loss had left him weak and immobile. Yet the surge of anger that pulsed through his veins was as potent as ever, his hatred for the evil woman before him unabated. He harbored a deep desire to tear her limb from limb, slice her into pieces and let the hungry stray dogs feast on her remains.

Crack!

The fissures in the world around him grew larger, branching out like a spiderweb spun from fractures. The world as he knew it was cracking, coming apart at the seams.

Shatter!

Then, with the abruptness of a shattered mirror, the world around him burst apart. The harsh, discordant sound of glass breaking filled his ears, the noise echoing ominously in the quiet. In the next moment, everything around him began to morph and shift, dissolving and disappearing right before his eyes. His city, the people who lived in it, all the familiar surroundings - everything vanished like mirages fading in the desert heat.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice suddenly broke through the silence, gentle yet filled with worry. Tender hands reached out to him, carefully moving the blood-soaked strands of hair away from his right eye and wiping away the sticky blood that coated his face. As his vision cleared, he looked into the face of his unexpected savior. The sight of her brought a wave of surprised recognition.

"You... Sasha," he whispered, a mix of disbelief and relief in his tone. Of all people, Sasha was the last person he had expected to come to his rescue.

"Don't talk. Let me help you," she urged, her voice steady and soothing. Without further explanation, she slipped a pill, green and veined, into his mouth. As the pill dissolved, an immediate sensation of healing washed over him, his wounds starting to knit together with a speed that was almost miraculous.

"Vespera, I'm surprised to stumble upon you here," spoke a second woman who had arrived alongside Sasha. Her tone was cold, her gaze fixed on Vespera with an intensity that made the air around them chill.

Vespera, in response, seemed to shrink under the woman's stare. Her body shivered uncontrollably, her complexion turning ashen. "Why...why are you here?" She stammered out, her voice shaking with fear.

The woman responded with a chilling smile, "Why am I here? Isn't it obvious? I can't just stand by and let you kill my future son-in-law, can I?" At her words, shock rippled through both Aditya and Vespera. The resemblance between Sasha and this woman too much. Her mother looked slightly mature than Sasha but both were equally beautiful. Aditya at first even thought the old woman to be Sasha's big sister.

Shaking her head, Sasha's mother turned away from the flabbergasted Vespera and focused her attention on Aditya instead. Gently, she reached out, her fingers trembling as they made contact with his wounded skin. Noticing that her dreaded disease remained dormant, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'Just as Sasha said, the disease doesn't react to Aditya. It only triggers when we come into contact with other males, tormenting us with an unbearable pain.' she thought to herself. This discovery brought a wave of relief and joy. Initially, she had been skeptical of her daughter's words and decided to verify them personally. However, they arrived to find Aditya teetering on the edge of death at the hands of Vespera - someone she had let go in the past. It was a startling realization.

"Vespera, you've crossed a line this time. You almost took the life of my future son-in-law," The woman's voice, that was as frigid as a winter breeze, sent chills down everyone's spine. "I don't care for your reasons, but rest assured, you will pay the price."

Vespera could only stand and tremble, her legs shaking like autumn leaves in the wind.

There was a history between these two women, dating back a decade or so. Lilith, Sasha's mother, had crossed paths with Vespera before. Vespera, desperate and fearful, had pleaded for her life, and Lilith had relented, sparing her with a stern warning. It was a decision she did not expect to revisit so grimly today.

With a dismissive flick of her hand, Lilith said, "You may die now." Vespera frantically tried to envelop Lilith in one of her illusions, but to no avail. In a blink of an eye, Lilith was right before Vespera. Before Vespera could beg, plead, or utter a single word, a dagger found its way into her heart.

Vespera let out a painful cough, a rush of crimson spilling from her mouth as she collapsed to her knees. She looked up at Lilith, who was glaring back at her coldly. "I told you before, if you dared to threaten me or my family, there would be no second chances," Lilith's voice was like the chilling arctic wind, void of any warmth. Then, without a hint of mercy or hesitation, she severed Vespera's head from her body in one swift motion, then nonchalantly kicked her lifeless body aside.

Lilith then shifted her focus to Aditya, gently stepping towards him. Thanks to the potent five-star healing pill Sasha had given him, Aditya's wounds were visibly healing at an accelerated pace. The blood that had once poured out freely was now merely a trickle. The ghastly wounds that Vespera had inflicted were closing up, stitch by invisible stitch. Yet, despite the miraculous recovery, Aditya was fatigued, his body drained from the substantial loss of blood.

As Lilith knelt down before Aditya, she was enveloped in a motherly aura, "Are you alright, dear?" She asked tenderly. Before Aditya could muster the energy to respond, he was pulled into a warm, comforting embrace. He found his face buried in Lilith's ample bosom, almost smothering him. The soft pressure was strangely comforting, and he couldn't help but relax slightly in her embrace.

"Oh, my dear boy, had we been just a minute later, I shudder to think what might have happened to you," Lilith said, her voice slightly trembling as she gently stroked Aditya's hair. This interaction was as much a solace for her as it was for him.

Just like her daughter Sasha, Lilith had been burdened with a mysterious illness that made contact with males a torment. Now, the fact that she could touch a man without activating her disease was a novel and joyful experience. She was so overwhelmed that she couldn't help but throw her arms around Aditya, holding him in a tight, affectionate hug.

"Mother, enough with the antics," Sasha exclaimed, unable to bear the sight unfolding in front of her. She had never even dreamt of being so bold with Aditya herself. Sasha's voice held a hint of jealousy.

Lilith responded to Sasha's words with a playful, mischievous grin, clearly enjoying the situation. "Oh, why should I stop, dear?" she replied, her voice a teasing lilt.

Turning her attention back to Aditya, she leaned in close, her lips just a breath away from his ear. In a voice dripping with sultriness, she whispered, "My dear boy, I'm feeling quite... hot. Could you lend me a helping hand.....please?"

Aditya's body tensed up as he heard Lilith's words. Her allure was powerful and irresistible. It wasn't some learned trait but an inherent aspect of her being. Every move she made, every word she spoke seemed imbued with a seductive charm. Her whisper sent a jolt through him, making him react like an inexperienced young man, despite his stature as a monarch.

Chapter 448

"Sweetie, I seem to be experiencing a touch of... fever. Might you assist me?" Lilith murmured in Aditya's ear. The suggestive lilt in her voice was sinfully compelling, almost as if she was the siren's song calling him into temptation. Her whispered words were like tinder to his pent-up desires, sparking a dangerous flame within him. It was well known in this world that Dragons, much like the incubi, possessed potent desires of their own.

However, Sasha found herself unable to bear the sight. She was consumed by frustration. Jerking Lilith away from Aditya, she shot her an icy glare.

"Mother, our original purpose has been served. You've ascertained that I wasn't spinning tales. Let's get out of here. This place... it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth." Sasha's voice was frosty as she turned her back on Aditya, her slender shoulders rigid. It was evident to Aditya from her frosty tone and rigid stance that she was still upset with him about his decision to save Laura.

'She's still seething over that,' Aditya realized, a pang of guilt coursing through him. He understood Sasha's anger, but he knew he couldn't have acted otherwise. Now, he needed to find a way to mend the rift between them. But how, he wasn't entirely sure.

Meanwhile, Lilith, unfazed by Sasha's icy demeanor, turned her playful gaze back to Aditya. "My dear, have you considered tying the knot with my darling daughter?" Aditya was left momentarily speechless, taken aback by the directness of Lilith's proposal.

"Mother..." Sasha attempted to cut in, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment, but Lilith seemed hell-bent on saying her piece.

Aditya felt a flutter of hesitation in his chest. He was trying to brainstorm ways to mend the rift with Sasha and was deeply grateful to both mother and daughter for coming to his rescue.

"You see, Sasha and I, we've been inflicted with a peculiar ailment," Lilith revealed, catching Aditya off guard.

'Hold on. Sasha had mentioned something about me being her "chosen one", a gift from the heavens meant for her. Could it be related to this strange disease they are grappling with?' Aditya found himself ruminating, his gaze instinctively shifting to Sasha. Sasha, sensing his gaze, averted her eyes with a small huff.

'Hmph!' She snorted indignantly, revealing her still simmering annoyance.

"What ailment are you speaking of?" Aditya found himself intrigued, wanting to understand more.

"Mother, don't spill it!" Sasha interjected anxiously, yet Lilith waved her off dismissively.

"Well, here's the gist of it. Ever since Sasha came into this world, she and I have been plagued with this enigmatic condition, for lack of a better word. We're not entirely certain whether to categorize it as an illness or a disease, but for the sake of this conversation, let's just label it as a disease."

Lilith took a deep breath before continuing. "Essentially, this disease triggers an adverse reaction in our bodies when we come into physical contact with males. Whenever Sasha or I touch a man, our bodies start revolting, as if on fire from the inside. We cough up blood, and the more prolonged the contact with a male, the more toxic the internal reactions become. This onslaught of toxins weakens us significantly, and if the contact continues for too long, it could potentially be lethal." Lilith's words echoed in the air, heavy with foreboding.

Aditya's eyes widened in shock as he absorbed the information. He glanced at Sasha, who responded with a nonchalant snort, refusing to meet his gaze.

'So that's why she seemed so desperate back then,' Aditya thought to himself, pieces of the puzzle slowly beginning to align in his mind. He felt a newfound sense of empathy for the challenges Sasha and her mother must have faced due to this mysterious and potentially fatal condition.

Lilith began to walk towards Aditya as she spoke, her eyes reflecting a mix of sorrow and hope. "Succubus and Incubus are essentially creatures made for sensual gratification and intimate pleasure. Much like a vampire has an innate, unquenchable thirst for blood, our kind cannot endure without indulging in sexual intimacy. You can perhaps comprehend the profound distress and torment that Sasha and I have undergone being unable to so much as touch a man."

"But the ordeal doesn't end there," she continued, her voice shrouded in melancholy. "You see, Sasha and I are not mere Succubus. We are what you'd call Succubus Empresses. This title signifies the pinnacle of what a Succubus can ascend to, which means our desires and urges are exponentially more potent than those of an ordinary Succubus."

As Lilith disclosed these truths, she gently placed her hands on Aditya's shoulders, locking eyes with him. "The most horrifying part of all this," she went on, her voice trembling, "is that Sasha is destined to perish once she reaches the age of fifty, a premature death sentence imposed by this cursed condition. And following closely on her heels, I will meet the same fate." At this point, Lilith leaned into Aditya, resting her head on his shoulder and embracing his waist. Aditya turned his gaze towards Sasha, aware of Lilith's intimate proximity yet too stunned by her revelations to react.

"Though I've had my fair share of life's experiences, I've made my peace with the prospect of dying," Lilith murmured into his shoulder, her voice barely a whisper. "But Sasha, my little girl... she still has her whole life ahead of her. My only wish is for her to be free of this curse, to live a life full of joy and happiness. Please, Aditya, would you consider marrying my daughter? Grant her the chance at the normal life she deserves." Her plea hung in the air, laden with despair and hope.

"Seems like I've just found another reason to take you as my wife," Aditya declared, turning his gaze toward Sasha with a warm, affectionate smile. He had already found himself helplessly drawn to this enigmatic woman, feeling the stirrings of deep romantic interest.

However, Sasha promptly retorted, "I have no intention of becoming your wife!" She snorted dismissively, her cheeks flushed with annoyance as she deliberately averted her eyes from Aditya's intense gaze.

Aditya caught sight of Lilith's sympathetic smile. It was clear to him that she too understood her daughter's headstrong nature and acknowledged how challenging it could be to shift Sasha's determined mindset once she had made up her mind.

Yet, undeterred, Aditya chuckled and playfully quipped, "Well, I have a thing for fiery spirits." His voice was filled with warmth and a hint of mischief. His words were simple, but they held an underlying promise that he wasn't going to give up on Sasha, not now, not ever.

"Could we perhaps have a moment alone?" Aditya gently proposed to Lilith, his gaze locked onto Sasha's. His intent was clear - he wanted an opportunity to connect with the headstrong Sasha, hoping to somehow ease the tension between them.

However, Lilith immediately retorted, "Please, don't call me 'aunty'." She lightly pressed her index finger onto his lips, effectively silencing him.

She then leaned in, her ample chest pressed provocatively against his, her lips hovering just inches from his ear. In a soft whisper, she suggested, "You can call me 'Mother-in-law', or even Lilith if you're more comfortable with that." Aditya couldn't help but realize her deliberate efforts to heighten the physical closeness between them.

As he grappled with her seductive charm, Aditya couldn't help but internally acknowledge the unique allure of a Succubus Empress. Her allure was subtle but powerful, tempting him into forbidden territory. He found himself struggling to maintain control over his thoughts and emotions, caught in her intoxicating web of attraction. Any other man in his place would have been undoubtedly spellbound by her allure. But the most alarming realization was that Lilith wasn't even actively trying to charm him - this was simply her natural aura. Aditya couldn't begin to imagine how irresistible she could be if she were to consciously use her seduction skills.

Upon Aditya's request, Lilith, with a knowing smile, faded into the shadows of the surrounding forest, leaving the pair alone. Sasha could feel her heart thudding against her chest as Aditya began to move towards her. A mix of fear, anticipation, and uncertainty fluttered in her stomach. "Wh....What do you want?" she asked, attempting to keep her voice steady and cold.

However, before she could fully react, Aditya swiftly pushed Sasha down onto the soft grassy ground beneath them. Caught completely off guard, Sasha gasped as she landed on her back with a soft thud, the cool earth below contrasting the heat radiating from her body. Aditya then gently positioned himself on top of her, his strong arms framing her head and keeping her in place.

The close proximity to Aditya made Sasha's heart beat even faster. Nervousness and a spark of excitement gripped her. Subconsciously, her thighs rubbed together, a telltale sign of her agitation. Sasha could feel her cheeks flushing as Aditya's face hovered a few inches above hers.

The world around them seemed to come to a standstill as Aditya paused, their faces just inches apart. His piercing blue eyes met her deep black ones, holding her gaze. There was a level of intensity in his eyes that she had never seen before. It was as if he was trying to communicate his intentions without uttering a word. Sasha found herself lost in his eyes, her breath hitching in her throat.

Breaking the silence, Aditya declared in a seductive whisper, "From this moment forward, you are mine, Sasha. You are my wife." His warm breath brushed against her sensitive ear, sending a shiver down her spine. The soft rustle of leaves and the distant chirping of crickets were the only sounds in the otherwise silent night. The glow from the moon above cast a romantic hue over them, adding to the enchantment of the moment. The universe seemed to have conspired to make this moment unforgettable. The intensity of the situation and the passionate declaration left Sasha speechless, her eyes widening in surprise, and maybe, just maybe, a hint of delight.

The silence that followed his passionate declaration seemed to stretch out into eternity. Sasha, after regaining some of her composure, averted her eyes and mustered up enough courage to reply, "I refuse. Now, let me go." Her voice was barely a whisper, a soft defiance, but she didn't make an attempt to physically escape his hold. It was as though she was caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, too overwhelmed to act.

Aditya, undeterred, gently placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face to look back at him. "This week, you've been quite the handful, Sasha. You've filled my days with endless worries and sleepless nights. It's high time you were held accountable for all the trouble you've caused," he said, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. As he finished his words, he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers.

In that moment, it felt as if the world came to a standstill. The forest around them fell into an even deeper silence. Sasha's eyes widened in surprise as the sudden touch sent a jolt through her system. His lips were warm and soft, contrasting with the cool night air. Her body involuntarily trembled, a shiver of excitement passing through her.

Overwhelmed by a mixture of shock, surprise, and an unfamiliar but pleasant warmth spreading through her, Sasha opened her eyes to look at Aditya. It took a moment for her to process what was happening. Seeing his eyes closed, fully immersed in the kiss, the last remnants of her resistance seemed to melt away.

A sensation she had never experienced before blossomed within her, causing her heart to pound in her chest like a wild drum. She slowly closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss. The taste of him, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, everything was new, exciting, and breathtaking. This was her first kiss, a special milestone, and in that moment, she couldn't help but feel a sense of deep connection with Aditya. It was a kiss that Sasha would remember for the rest of her life - her first taste of romantic love.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 449

In the hush of the night, time seemed to move at a snail's pace. Each second stretched out luxuriously, and Sasha savored each one. This moment - the intimacy, the warmth, the quiet thrill - it was something she would carry with her forever, etched into the deepest recesses of her heart.

Following Aditya's lead, their gentle kiss gradually morphed into something more intense, a passionate French kiss. Aditya's tongue found its way into her mouth, sparking a playful dance with hers. The sensation stoked the fire within her, making her body feel like a furnace.

In the past, this feeling of heat was synonymous with pain, a reminder of the peculiar condition she and her mother suffered from. But this time, it was different. The heat was not a torment but a reflection of her yearning to share this closeness with Aditya. It was a warmth that radiated from within her, a flame kindled by her burgeoning feelings for him.

They remained locked in their passionate exchange, oblivious to the passage of time. It felt as if they were the only two beings in the world, existing in their bubble of intimacy. When they finally broke apart after what felt like an eternity, Aditya's gaze met Sasha's.

His eyes, a captivating shade of blue, were brimming with warmth and affection, a visual testament to his feelings for her. His gaze was so intense, so full of love, that it made her heart flutter in her chest. It was as if he was baring his soul to her, and in that moment, Sasha felt a wave of emotion wash over her, leaving her breathless. The love in his eyes was a balm to her heart, melting any remaining barriers she had erected around it. It was an unforgettable, incredibly romantic moment - one that would remain imprinted on her heart forever.

"Yo...you...you're such a...a pervert," Sasha managed to stutter out, her cheeks ablaze with a mix of embarrassment and sheer elation. Her heart was performing somersaults in her chest, pumping a joyous rhythm that matched the thrill coursing through her veins.

A small, amused smile tugged at the corners of Aditya's lips upon hearing her comment. He gently teased her, saying, "And here I thought I was dealing with the Succubus Empress herself." With that, he leaned in again, planting another soft kiss on her lips, effectively silencing any retort she might have had.

Sasha's initial surprise faded away as the warmth of his lips once again enveloped hers. Her body responded naturally, instinctively welcoming him. The rhythm of their shared kiss was a symphony of longing and affection. As she relaxed into his arms, Sasha pulled him even closer, wanting to feel every contour of his body pressed against hers, seeking to absorb his warmth.

Their passionate kiss felt like an intense dance, one that could have lasted forever. When Aditya eventually shifted his focus from her lips, he trailed a path of kisses along her jawline, eventually landing on her sensitive neck. Each kiss felt like a spark, setting her body aflame, making her gasp and squirm in delight.

Ah....!

As his lips navigated her collarbones, leaving a trail of love bites, each one acted as a declaration of his feelings for her. Sasha let out seductive, almost musical moans, the sound echoing in the quiet night. His touch, his kiss, was like a potent drug, intoxicating her, making her yearn for more. This symphony of love, desire, and pleasure was a testament to the bond that was burgeoning between them, and it was an undeniably romantic moment, one that Sasha would cherish in the depths of her heart.

However, before they could fully immerse themselves in this realm of passion and desire, a coughing sound abruptly interrupted them.

Cough! Cough!

Aditya stopped in his tracks, his gaze swiveling to find Lilith, the source of the interruption. A fleeting look of annoyance crossed his face. This was, after all, a moment of intimacy shared between him and Sasha. But her interruption was like a sudden splash of cold water, causing the warmth of the moment to recede.

Sasha, too, was feeling the sting of interruption. A frown momentarily creased her beautiful face, a clear sign of her displeasure. However, she quickly smoothed out her expression, trying to mask her disappointment. But the sharp-eyed Lilith didn't miss the brief flicker of displeasure that had crossed her daughter's face.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for the interruption," Lilith said, though her tone was light and teasing. "However, I thought I should remind you that this might not be the most suitable spot for such intimate activities. If, of course, you both enjoy the idea of an open-air rendezvous, then by all means, carry on."

Aditya's eyes widened a bit, realization dawned on him. They were indeed out in the open, in a field just a few kilometers away from the bustling Mistwood city. Their current location didn't exactly scream privacy, and there was a very real chance that an unsuspecting passerby might stumble upon them. It seemed that in the heat of the moment, they had completely overlooked such considerations. The romantic bubble they were in was abruptly popped by reality. Nonetheless, the interruption had only postponed their shared desires, not extinguished them.

"Little Kitty, I'll have to take my leave now," Aditya spoke, his voice laced with playful mischief. "But don't worry, we'll continue this... conversation later." His words ended in a knowing smirk.

"Hmph! As if I'm waiting," Sasha responded in a defiant tone, hiding the anticipation bubbling inside her. With that, she spun on her heels and began to walk away.

Undeterred by her dismissive retort, Aditya called out after her. "Little Kitty, I'll come to visit you whenever I have a chance." She didn't respond or turn around, but the corners of her lips curled upward into an almost imperceptible smile.

As she departed, Aditya's attention turned back to Lilith, and he quickly noted that her gaze was not on his face. Rather, her eyes were glued to a rather more... intimate part of his anatomy. A delicate flush graced her cheeks, and her thighs were rubbing together subtly. It appeared that the scene she had witnessed between him and Sasha had stirred something within her. Unbeknownst to him and Sasha, she had been secretly observing their heated exchange, and it had evoked a passionate response in her.

Aditya's eyes met Lilith's again, and he noticed the expectant look in them, a look that seemed to silently ask for something more. He could guess what it was she wanted, but he felt a moment's hesitation. After all, she was Sasha's mother. The line between familial and romantic relationships could be a delicate one to navigate, and he found himself unsure about how to proceed.

With measured steps, Lilith closed the gap between herself and Aditya. Her eyes glinted with an unknown emotion as she came to a stop just a few inches away from him. His presence filled her senses, causing her heart to flutter in her chest. "Take good care of yourself," she gently advised, her words floating in the stillness of the moment. "I have a feeling you'll have your hands full in the coming months." Aditya simply nodded, acknowledging the truth in her words. There would indeed be countless tasks demanding his attention as he worked on expanding his new territories.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Lilith produced a small card from her pocket. It was a simple gesture, yet the way she carried it out made his heart pound a little harder in his chest. Teasingly, she slipped the card into his pocket, her fingers lingering just a bit longer than necessary. She traced a line from his pocket up towards his waistband, her touch light as a feather, but it was enough to send a jolt of electric tension through him. Her finger's trail ended perilously close to his groin, causing him to suck in a sharp breath. "This is our address," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, "You can drop by any time. We'll be waiting." The promise in her words sent a shiver down his spine, and he could feel the heat rising within him. His self-restraint was pushed to the edge.

Bidding him farewell, Lilith tiptoed, her lips curving into a seductive smile. Before Aditya had a chance to react, she leaned in, brushing her lips against his in a fleeting kiss that ignited a spark of anticipation within him. And then, she was gone, disappearing into the surroundings, leaving Aditya standing alone with the memory of her lingering touch and the taste of her sweet kiss on his lips. As for Vespera's dead body, Lilith had destroyed her body so that no one would know what happened here.

For a moment, Aditya remained frozen in the spot where Lilith had left him, her words echoing in his mind, stirring a swirl of emotions within him. It was a complex mix of desire, anticipation, and a hint of apprehension that tugged at the edges of his thoughts. He, however, decided to table those thoughts for later, pushing them to the back of his mind. His gaze drifted toward the distant silhouette of Mistwood City, its outline faintly visible from a few kilometers away. Lilith and Sasha would be using the teleportation array to journey back home, leaving behind the open field that had been the stage for their intimate moments.

Aditya let out a soft sigh, the sound lost in the breeze that rustled the nearby leaves. The stillness of the moment seemed to stretch on, allowing him time to gather his thoughts. His fingers traced the pocket where Lilith had slipped the card, a physical reminder of the connection that was gradually forming between them.

"Time to head home," Aditya murmured to himself. With a blink of an eye, his figure blurred, and in the next second, he was no longer present in the serene field. Like an illusion, Aditya had teleported thousands of kilometers away, back to the grandeur and comfort of his Dragon Palace.

Upon the moment of Aditya's sudden appearance in the living room, an air of surprise swept through the space.

"Aditya...!" The names of Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Lara echoed through the room as the quartet rushed towards him, their faces glowing with uncontained joy. Without a moment's hesitation, they launched themselves into Aditya's arms, their bodies tangling together in an affectionate hug.

"Welcome home," they chimed in unison, their voices reverberating in the room.

"I'm back," Aditya responded, a warmth spreading through his chest as he returned their embrace. His eyes slid shut, taking in the familiar and comforting scent of his beloved fiances.

But the moment was shattered when a suspicious question filled the air, "Wait a minute, why do you have the smell of another girl on your clothes?" The words hung in the air, a tangible tension spreading through the room.

Aditya froze. His heart pounded in his chest and his palms began to sweat as he felt the atmosphere drastically change.

Gone were the joyful smiles on Julia, Riya, Alicia, and Lara's faces, replaced by cold, eerie smiles that sent shivers down Aditya's spine.

"I...I can explain," Aditya stammered, taking a cautious step back, trying to create a safe distance between them.

But before he could continue, his body was ensnared by green tendrils of energy. He swallowed hard, his eyes wide with fear as he watched Riya's body glow with an intimidating green aura. Julia, on the other hand, was gazing at Aditya with a smile that was terrifyingly gentle.

"You better start explaining now," she cooed. Aditya could feel the beads of perspiration trickling down his forehead. His face had paled, a stark contrast to his usually calm demeanor. A forced chuckle escaped his lips, a clear sign of his nervousness. The corner of his eye twitched, a comedic indication of his sudden descent into danger.

Dear valued readers, we've reached another significant milestone. The curtain falls on this volume, but it's not the final act of our narrative. I have a plethora of thrilling ideas and plot twists in store for this novel.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude towards each one of you, the pillars of this literary journey. Your support has been the lifeline of this venture. Be it through the generous gifts, power stones, golden tickets, or your precious words etched in the comments section, your contribution has been monumental. Each interaction, however small, has acted as fuel, igniting my motivation and pushing me to write more, to write better.

This volume was a roller coaster of emotions and events, marked with peaks of excitement and valleys of calm. I am aware that certain story arcs may have seemed stagnant or unexciting to some, and for this, I apologize. I have been taking note of your feedback and promise to strive harder in the subsequent volume. My aim is to weave a tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat - a narrative more thrilling, more captivating, brimming with romance and, above all, a joy to read.

So, once again, a colossal thank you to you all. Your support means the world to me, and it's the beacon guiding this story's ship through the tumultuous seas of creation. Stay tuned, folks, for the adventure is far from over!

Also, if you're curious to know the appearance of Sasha and Lilith, then I will post their images in this chapter comment section.

Chapter 450

Upon Aditya's return from the Deep Sea Palace, a whirlwind of activities ensued. Everyone became immersed in their respective tasks, especially Aditya, whose plate was more than full. Just a week prior, he had seized control over three Western Empires and added a substantial tract of land from the Northwestern region to his domain. Claiming these new territories was not as simple as merely dispatching troops. Numerous rebel factions had arisen, their defiant cries echoing across the newly acquired lands. Silencing these revolts and reinstating peace was Aditya's foremost priority.

After an arduous struggle spanning over twenty-five days, every major and minor insurgent group was finally suppressed. With the extinguishing of the rebellion flames, the next phase of the mission was initiated: assimilating the freshly won territories into the established fabric of the Istarin Empire.

A multitude of tasks, ranging from construction of infrastructure to the establishment of administrative bodies, awaited attention. Over the course of a month, Aditya's treasury saw a hefty expenditure, with more than one billion gold coins being funneled into the development of these new lands. The investments were crucial, aimed at elevating the living standards of the citizens and setting up functional governance systems.

The formidable expanse of Aditya's empire required an equally robust military force. Recruitment drives for fresh troops commenced just a few days after the Istarin Empire declared victory in the war and claimed the new territories. The underlying aim was to assemble a formidable army, capable of defending the vast stretch of the empire from potential threats.

Once the sparks of rebellion were thoroughly doused, the territories were further divided into smaller provinces. This process was carried out meticulously, with viscount-ranked nobles being appointed to preside over each of these sections. These nobles were entrusted with the responsibility of governing their designated territories and raising their respective armies. This structure was put into place to ensure effective and efficient control over the sprawling empire.

Meanwhile, the economy of the empire underwent significant changes. The influx of new territories and their resources led to a diversification of the empire's economic activities. Agriculture, mining, and trade boomed as newly acquired fertile lands, rich mineral deposits, and bustling marketplaces were incorporated into the empire's economy. This unprecedented expansion spurred economic growth, adding to the empire's wealth and prosperity.

Aditya's reign was characterized by strategic planning and efficient execution, aiming to shape the empire into a political and economic powerhouse. The development and prosperity of his lands and people remained his primary focus, steering the Istarin Empire on the path to greatness.

Aditya held the reins for most of the colossal development schemes, those involving a hefty expenditure of over a million gold coins. It wasn't a question of trust when it came to his recently appointed nobles. Rather, it was a matter of expertise. Many of these nobles, fresh from the military ranks, were not steeped in the arts of governance. Their skills lay in strategies of war, not the nuanced navigation of large-scale developmental initiatives. Entrusting them with the mammoth task of judiciously utilizing millions on expansive projects could lead to less than optimal results.

During this period, the Istarin Empire was riding the wave of a significant economic surge. The empire's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) skyrocketed, reflecting the health of its burgeoning economy. The recent war had effectively underscored the strength and invincibility of the Istarin Empire. No rival dared to ruffle feathers or foment unrest within the empire's new territories. The intimidating might of the Istarin Empire kept potential troublemakers at bay, ensuring a climate of peace and stability.

In line with the rapid advancements, all major and minor cities within the empire were equipped with teleportation arrays. These intricate setups transformed the way people traveled, substantially reducing the time required to traverse vast distances. However, this luxury came at a significant price, rendering it unaffordable for the middle and lower classes.

Despite this, the empire's connectivity remained unparalleled. A vast network of roads laced through every nook and cranny of the empire, interconnecting villages, towns, and smaller cities with the empire's bustling metropolises. The lion's share of the one billion gold coins earmarked for development was funneled into this intricate web of communication, ensuring that no corner of the empire remained isolated.

A substantial portion of the funds was also allocated towards fortifying the empire's security. In an era of rapid expansion and transformation, maintaining the peace and safeguarding the empire's citizens was of paramount importance. An increased focus on defense and law enforcement was vital to the empire's continued growth and prosperity.

Thus, under Aditya's strategic guidance, the empire was not only expanding territorially but also flourishing economically and infrastructurally. The people's standard of living was rising, trade was thriving, and the Istarin Empire was steadily charting its course towards an era of unmatched prosperity.

State-of-the-art Solar Cannons were rolled out on an industrial scale. Each city, large or small, became the proud possessor of at least one of these formidable artillery pieces. The Solar Cannon, with its immense power capable of wounding even a 5th-order cultivator, stood as a symbol of the Empire's unwavering commitment to the defense of its people.

Not stopping there, Aditya also commissioned an upgrade of the defensive dome barriers that shielded the cities from potential onslaughts. The 3-star barriers were fortified into 4-star barriers, a massive enhancement that further strengthened the empire's defenses. This substantial upgrade was implemented across the board, in every single city of the empire. Despite the hefty expenditure of more than 100 million gold coins, the peace of mind it brought was considered well worth the investment.

A full tenth of the empire's budget, a substantial sum of 100 million gold coins, was earmarked for public welfare. A robust network of schools sprang up in every city, both big and small. Basic education for all children became compulsory, underpinning the importance the Empire placed on literacy and numeracy. Children were schooled in reading, writing, elementary mathematics, and a selection of other fundamental subjects. For those desiring to delve deeper into specialized fields, universities were established in every region, creating avenues for higher learning and specialization.

A significant slice of the budget was dedicated to social initiatives, such as orphanages. In the unforgiving world they lived in, nearly half a million children were orphaned each year. The Empire stepped in to provide a safety net for these vulnerable youngsters, establishing orphanages where they could be cared for until they reached the age of sixteen.

The Empire was also heavily invested in healthcare and housing programs, primarily targeting those at the lowest rung of society. Slums were demolished and replaced with affordable housing, uplifting living conditions for the less privileged. Healthcare facilities were upgraded and expanded, ensuring that every citizen, irrespective of their social or economic status, had access to basic medical services.

In essence, the Empire, under Aditya's wise leadership, was not only expanding its territorial expanse but was also focusing on the holistic development of its citizenry. It was a time of growth, both in terms of the Empire's physical boundaries and the quality of life of its people. An era where the Empire's prosperity was reflected not just in its economic indicators, but also in the faces of its contented citizens.

Before they knew it, two and a half months had flown by, each day filled with relentless effort and dedication to the betterment of the Istarin Empire. The year was drawing to a close, with the countdown to the New Year now measured in days. Across the vast expanse of the empire, from the northernmost corners to the southernmost tips and from the far reaches of the east to the west, a palpable sense of anticipation hung in the air.

Just a fortnight ago, Aditya, the leader of the Empire, had made a public announcement that was still ringing in the ears of his citizens. He had proclaimed the reinstatement of the 'Festival of Eternia', a celebration with roots that stretched back to the early days of the empire.

The Festival of Eternia was once a modest celebration, a small spark of joy that brightened the lives of the Istarin Empire's citizens when the empire was but a fledgling presence tucked away in a corner of the eastern region of the Dying Isle Continent. However, within the span of just one year, the empire had exploded in size, spreading its influence across the four regions of the continent, and planting its flag in every corner.

Aditya, in an effort to keep tradition alive amidst this rapid expansion, decided to rekindle the flame of the Festival of Eternia. This festival was a cherished legacy left by the founder of the Istarin Empire, a piece of the empire's history that Aditya believed should be celebrated even as they built their future. He wanted this festival to remind his citizens of their humble beginnings and to give them a moment of unity and joy in their busy lives. The announcement was met with a ripple of excitement that spread through the empire, as every citizen eagerly prepared for the grand celebration of the Festival of Eternia.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

One chapter for today. I wasn't feeling good today so I didn't had the strength to write another one.

Chapter 451

Stretching languidly, Aditya was roused from a deep, peaceful slumber. The first rays of morning light filtered through the room, caressing his skin with warmth. Waking up at dawn had become an engrained part of his routine, but every day it felt like a blessing rather than an obligation.

His eyes fell upon the figure beside him, Julia. His fiancee. His future wife. Her serene, sleeping face was the first sight he cherished each day. As he watched her sleep, a tender smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Their bodies were entwined, their naked skin touching, intimately familiar with each other. His arm was draped around her slender waist, pulling her closer, so that she was flush against his chest, enveloped in the warmth of his body.

Their activities of the night before had been passionate and prolonged, stretching into the wee hours of the night until exhaustion claimed Julia. After they had cleaned up, they had slipped under the covers, bodies pressed close, hearts beating in sync.

An all-consuming desire welled up within him to stay just like this, in this cocoon of warmth and love, indefinitely. He yearned to keep his responsibilities at bay, if only for a little while longer. To dwell in this moment of tranquility, free from the burdens of ruling the vast Istarin Empire. The mental fatigue that had accumulated over the past few months made this simple moment of serenity seem even more precious.

Aditya, the Emperor, the ruler of the vast Istarin Empire, yearned to lose himself in the quiet, everyday moments of domestic bliss. As he held Julia close, basking in the comfort of their shared warmth, he made a silent wish. A wish to linger in this moment, and for many more such moments in the future, unburdened and undisturbed.

A sigh of regret escaped Aditya's lips, a wistful acknowledgement of the reality that he couldn't delay his responsibilities any further. Leaning in, he placed a gentle kiss on Julia's rosy cheek before he gently extricated himself from their comfortable entwining.

His bare feet padded softly across the room, towards the en-suite bathroom. The sound of running water filled the space as he freshened up, his reflections and aspirations for the day mingling with the tranquil morning atmosphere.

When he emerged, dressed in a simple, loose outfit better suited for a commoner rather than an Emperor, he found Julia awake, her eyes sparkling with the freshness of the new day. The clothes he chose were a stark contrast to his usual regal attire, offering him a sense of ease and mobility, a small relief from the constant weight of his imperial identity.

"Good morning," she greeted, her voice as sweet as the melodious chirping of birds outside their window.

"Good morning, Julia," he responded, his voice soft yet firm, resonating with the warmth of their shared intimacy. He leaned in to capture her lips in a gentle kiss, a sweet promise to carry him through the day.

"I'm heading to the training ground for a bit of exercise. I'll meet you at the dining table," he declared, a hint of reluctant detachment in his voice. His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer before he took his leave, the echoes of their shared warmth accompanying him as he stepped out of the chamber, preparing to face the day ahead.

Scene change____

Aditya, with a flicker of space magic, teleported himself to the exclusive training ground nestled behind the grandeur of the Dragon Palace. This extensive training zone, spreading across a sprawling 1000-meter radius, was as large as the palace itself, providing ample space for all the members of the Royal Family to hone their skills and maintain their combat readiness. Members such as Aditya, Julia, Riya, Alicia, Leo, Spencer, Clara, and everyone else who was the part of the royal blood had unrestricted access to this private haven.

The training ground wasn't just vast; it was also fortified to an extent that rivaled the palace's defenses. Aditya, in his foresight and protective instinct, had encircled the ground with a multitude of 4-star barriers that offered different lines of defense, preventing any unauthorized intrusion.

A 4-star Rune dome, a solid wall of magical power, towered around the training field, the first line of defense against any trespasser. Beyond this, lay the 4-star Rune Traps, an invisible network of explosive and poisonous traps, lurking beneath the surface, ready to catch any unwelcome visitor off guard.

Further in, the 4-star Rune Maze unfurled, a daunting labyrinth of illusions capable of trapping an intruder in a mind-bending maze with no visible exit. Lastly, guarding the inner sanctum of the training field was a 4-star Displacement Barrier, designed to counteract any space magic, stopping any potential invader from teleporting directly into the training ground.

It was a well-thought-out defensive system that demonstrated Aditya's meticulous nature. These powerful Rune barriers were not only deployed here, but also fortified the Capital of the Istarin Empire, Azure City.

Runes, in essence, were the key to manipulating magic. Each Rune held a specific magical property, and by arranging these Runes in particular patterns and sequences, one could create different kinds of magical effects. This art was an intricate part of the magical world and mastering it required a deep understanding of magic and its underlying principles.

As Aditya stepped into the expansive expanse of the training ground, his gaze instantly fell upon Alicia, his second betrothed, who was already absorbed in her morning meditation. Nestled amid the tranquility of the verdant surroundings, she was a vision of ethereal beauty and serene calm.

At his approach, Alicia's eyes fluttered open, breaking her tranquil communion with the energy of the universe. She looked up at Aditya, her lips curling into a tender smile that radiated the warmth of the morning sun. "Good morning," she greeted him in her melodious voice that set his heart aflutter.

"Good morning," Aditya returned the greeting, his eyes reflecting the affectionate spark lighting up his face.

Their morning encounters had become a cherished routine over the past month, ever since Alicia had expressed her desire to spar with him. With each passing day, their morning sparring sessions had only deepened their bond. They shared not just words and laughter, but also their passion for martial arts and mutual respect for each other.

As a Princess of the prestigious Ethereal Empire, it was a given that Alicia should have been well-versed in the art of combat. However, she had always been more inclined towards her personal hobbies and pursuits, leaving her cultivation journey largely unexplored. But recently, she seemed to have sparked a newfound interest in it, much to Aditya's delight.

Aditya cherished these training sessions with Alicia, not just for the chance to impart his martial knowledge to her, but also for the moments of intimacy they shared. Every time their eyes met across the sparring mat, every time their hands brushed against each other during a training drill, they shared a subtle, unspoken bond, a connection that went far beyond their impending nuptial ties. The training ground had become their own little world, a sanctuary where they could explore their relationship away from the public eye, strengthening their bond one spar at a time.

"Ready to spar?" Aditya suggested, his eyes gleaming with a playful glint. "Remember, we're sticking to our usual rules. You can use your passive skills for a temporary boost in stats, but no spells. As for me, I'll be fighting you in my base form, with no use of skills."

Having dedicated herself to intense cultivation over the past couple of months, Alicia had made significant strides in her power. Her relentless pursuit and commitment had borne fruit just two days ago when she achieved the beginner 4th-order. Now she was honing her abilities, getting a feel for her newfound power under Aditya's keen and experienced guidance.

"Let's do this," Alicia affirmed, a determined glint in her eyes. She was dressed in a tight black training outfit that clung to her body like a second skin, defining her curves and accentuating her allure. Her well-endowed figure, particularly her ample bosom, was even more pronounced in the snug outfit. But it was not just her physical attributes that made her attractive. The strength in her eyes, the firm set of her jaw, and the determination emanating from her stance – they all combined to paint a picture of a woman of substance.

With a swift motion, they both vanished from their spots, only to reappear in the center of the training ground. The initial clash of their fists sent out a shockwave that rippled through the air around them. As they landed back on the ground, Alicia fluidly transitioned into a roundhouse kick, her body spinning with a grace that was both beautiful and deadly.

Her long, strong legs whipped through the air, aimed squarely at Aditya. The sight was both daunting and captivating - her flowing black hair trailing behind her, her body arched in a perfect curve, and her fierce eyes focused unwaveringly on him. Aditya found himself momentarily entranced, the image of Alicia - strong, confident, and utterly gorgeous - forever imprinted in his mind.

With a composed demeanor, Aditya easily deflected Alicia's powerful kick with his arm, sending out another miniature shockwave upon contact. Alicia, however, didn't pause for a moment, swiftly shifting gears to launch a punch at Aditya's abdomen.

Instead of blocking her strike, Aditya deftly sidestepped to her right, evading her attack and swiftly maneuvering behind her. Before she could react, she felt his solid, muscular arms enveloping her slender waist in a firm yet gentle grip. He gently rested his face on her left shoulder, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine as he whispered in her ear, "You've got more in you."

A delicate blush rose to Alicia's cheeks as his words and proximity momentarily flustered her. Regaining her composure, she attempted to kick him with her right foot, trying to shake off his hold. However, Aditya merely chuckled, smoothly evading her retaliation with an ease that spoke volumes about his combat proficiency.

Aditya was a seasoned warrior, a seasoned killer. His journey had seen him engaging in countless battles, taking down tens of millions of enemies. His martial prowess was formidable, honed through extensive experience. Add to that his 'Instant Learning and Adaptation' Innate skill, which allowed him to learn and assimilate his opponents' martial arts techniques, and his skillset became terrifying. Each battle, each opponent only served to refine his martial arts and swordsmanship further. This disparity in skill and experience between them was evident in their sparring. Yet, despite the difference, the moments they spent together on the training ground were never about competition but connection, about learning and growing together.

Alicia continued her energetic attempts to land a blow on Aditya, her every movement causing the prominent curves of her body to dance along with her. Aditya, enjoying the playful skirmish, kept effortlessly sidestepping her attacks, all the while appreciating the sight of her vitality.

After a while, he decided to shift the rhythm of their match. With agile footwork, he managed to close the distance between them while simultaneously deflecting her assaults. As Alicia tried to land another punch, Aditya swiftly grasped her wrist, pulling her close to him. Caught off guard, Alicia barely had time to react before Aditya's lips met hers in a quick, passionate kiss.

When they broke apart, Alicia was visibly blushing, her cheeks a delicate hue of pink. She gently pushed him away, stepping back to create a distance between them. "You cheeky rogue, quit teasing me," she chided, though the twinkle in her eyes belied her mild annoyance.

Aditya merely laughed at her flustered reaction, his eyes sparkling with mirth. Their playful spar continued, occasionally punctuated with more surprise embraces or tender kisses from Aditya. But this didn't mean that their sparring session lacked any educational value. On the contrary, Aditya meticulously observed Alicia's moves, noting down her mistakes and areas of improvement. Once the sparring was over, he would patiently guide her, explaining her faults and demonstrating the correct techniques. Despite the lighthearted mood, every session was a step forward in Alicia's growth as a martial artist, under the tutelage of an affectionate and capable teacher.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

One chapter for today. I don't have enough time to write another one.

Chapter 452

After concluding his fun-filled sparring session with Alicia and partaking in some good-natured teasing, Aditya decided it was time to freshen up. He returned to the comfort of his room and indulged in a refreshing bath, letting the cool water cleanse his body and rejuvenate his spirit.

Once he was done, he made his way to the dining area of the palace, the delightful aroma of a hearty breakfast guiding him. As he stepped in, his eyes fell upon two familiar faces seated at the dining table - Leo and Clara, his adopted younger siblings.

"Good morning, you two," Aditya greeted with a warm smile, feeling a surge of affection for the two youngsters.

"Good morning, Big Brother," the siblings chorused, their youthful faces lighting up upon seeing him.

Aditya then turned his attention to Leo, his gaze thoughtful as he studied the young lad. He could sense the remarkable changes in Leo's aura, a clear sign of his cultivation progress. "Leo, you've grown stronger again, haven't you?" Aditya noted, his voice tinged with admiration.

Leo was a diligent and committed cultivator, astonishing everyone with his rapid growth despite his tender age. Already standing at the beginner 4th-order level, he also demonstrated an admirable dedication to honing his martial arts skills under the guidance of General Henry. Aditya couldn't help but feel proud of Leo's unwavering determination to grow stronger.

"Big Brother, I appreciate your compliment. But without the incredible resources you have generously provided, my cultivation progress wouldn't have been this swift," Leo replied earnestly, showing a level of humility that was truly impressive for his age. His gratitude was heartfelt, his humility unwavering even in the face of growing power.

Leo was undeniably a prodigy in the realm of cultivation, but he fully recognized that his accelerated advancement to the Beginner 4th-order was largely due to the extraordinarily supportive environment he was fortunate to be in. Being the adopted younger brother of the Emperor came with many benefits, and one of those was the unfettered access to the Empire's vast resources. Aditya spared no expense in providing Leo with everything that could aid his cultivation journey, never holding back any potential advantage.

One such advantage was the special 4-star cultivation pills gifted by Julia, Aditya's first fiancee. These pills worked wonders in enhancing Leo's cultivation speed. Moreover, being of Dragonian lineage naturally endowed Leo with a higher cultivation speed compared to others.

Yet another major factor that significantly contributed to Leo's swift cultivation progress was the unique atmosphere of the Dragon Palace itself. The palace was permeated with an exceptionally dense concentration of Mana, far more abundant than that found in the outside world. The act of cultivating within the Mana-rich environment of the Dragon Palace had the effect of propelling Leo's cultivation speed to unprecedented levels.

"Leo, it's truly astounding to see the transformation you've undergone. Only around nine months ago, you were a frail and delicate boy. But now, looking at you, I can't help but be filled with pride for the strong, young man you've blossomed into," Aditya praised warmly, his eyes reflecting his genuine admiration. "You've achieved something that none of your peers have been able to do. I don't think there's ever been a case of someone your age reaching the beginner 4th-order. Even those widely acclaimed as geniuses haven't been able to replicate your feat. In fact, your cultivation surpasses even mine."

Hearing Aditya's words, a radiant smile spread across Leo's face. Ever since being adopted by Aditya, he had made it his personal mission to live up to his big brother's name, to avoid any potential embarrassment. But Aditya, in his wisdom and kindness, had never imposed any pressure on him or Clara. He granted them complete freedom to pursue their own paths, to live their lives as they wished.

As they sat there, Aditya seemed to ponder for a moment before turning to Leo with a sincere look in his eyes. "Leo, I hope you won't find this question too sudden, but I've been wanting to ask you something," he began, his tone indicating the seriousness of his question. "I know you're young and there's still plenty of time for you to figure things out. However, I am curious to know if you have any future aspirations. Is there something specific you're aiming for, a path you wish to follow?"

Caught slightly off guard by Aditya's question, Leo was momentarily taken aback before quickly regaining his composure. "Big brother," he began, his voice steady and filled with determination, "I do have a certain ambition I wish to fulfill."

Intrigued, Aditya urged him on with an encouraging smile. "Please, feel free to share, Leo," he said, genuinely interested in his little brother's aspirations.

Gathering his courage, Leo spoke, "I wish to become a General. My goal is to lead the Dragonians into the battlefield." He finished with a sense of trepidation, apprehensive about whether he'd crossed a line. The Dragonians were elite soldiers, the pinnacle of military strength in the Istarin Empire. Even though their numbers only totaled around 25,000, their collective might was far beyond the millions of other regular and elite troops the Empire boasted.

However, instead of meeting a frown or reprimand, Leo found Aditya looking at him, not in disappointment or disbelief, but in surprise. His big brother finally spoke, carefully weighing his words. "Are you certain, Leo? It's not that I question your ability to lead the Dragonians into battle. Rather, the role you desire is fraught with perils and unpredictability."

Aditya's smile broadened as he addressed his little brother, his voice filled with warmth and affection. "You see, Leo, I had originally envisioned you taking control of our territories in the Southern region, governing as you see fit. I imagined you becoming a Duke of this great Empire. However, it seems that such a life doesn't appeal to you, does it?" Leo responded with an emphatic nod, his resolve unshaken.

"I aspire to become a General, big brother," he confessed, his voice ringing with determination. "I want to hold the title of the 8th General of the Empire." At these words, Aditya's eyes widened slightly, taken aback by the unwavering conviction and sheer grit reflected in Leo's bright blue gaze.

A ripple of surprise swept across Aditya's face as he commended his young brother, "Leo, your ambition has genuinely taken me by surprise. I have no qualms about your becoming the 8th General of this Empire. However, there's a condition you must meet before you can assume this role. You must reach the age of 18." As Leo opened his mouth to protest, Aditya raised his hand, cutting him off.

"Leo, you're still so young," he began, his voice a gentle reminder of the impetuousness of youth. "Use this time until you reach 18 to delve into the art of war. Aspiring to become a General requires more than just martial prowess. It demands a keen understanding of war tactics, politics, diplomacy, and much more. I can see you have a lot of learning and growing to do."

Leo's expression remained determined as he nodded his head. "Alright, big brother," he agreed, his voice filled with resolution. He was wholly committed to becoming the best general the Istarin Empire had ever seen.

Switching gears, Aditya's expression softened into a teasing grin. "So, how are things going with your sweetheart?" he asked, the glint in his eyes hinting at his mischief. Leo's cheeks reddened at the mention of his romantic life, a clear indication of his embarrassment. He had tried his best to keep this under wraps, but it appeared that his big brother's intuition had managed to uncover his secret.

"Things are...progressing well," Leo responded, his voice barely audible. He dropped his gaze, unable to hide his shyness at the topic of his girlfriend. It was quite the juxtaposition to see this future General of the Empire blush like a schoolboy.

Aditya chuckled heartily, ruffling Leo's hair with affection. "My little brother, aiming for the stars as always!" he exclaimed. "Winning over the heart of Duke Marvin Sarlus' daughter...impressive indeed! Hahaha!" Aditya's laughter echoed through the room. Duke Marvin belonged to one of the oldest noble houses in the Istarin Empire, wielding enormous political influence. The Duke's daughter, who attended the same school as Leo, was quite the catch.

"So, today's your last day of school before the new year break starts, correct?" Aditya inquired, turning his attention between Clara and Leo. The two of them nodded in unison, affirming his question.

"Have you considered asking her out on a date during the holidays, Leo?" Aditya's words hung in the air, his suggestion eliciting no response from Leo, who had chosen to stare at the floor instead, obviously mortified at this continued discussion about his love life.

Unperturbed by his brother's reaction, Aditya turned his gaze towards Clara, the mischievous glint returning to his eyes. "So, little one, has our dear brother Leo made any moves on the young lady yet?" he asked.

Clara rolled her eyes playfully. "Big brother, Leo's still lingering in the first phase," she revealed, her tone borderline sympathetic. "He hasn't even summoned the courage to hold her hand yet." Leo shot her an indignant look, somehow feeling as though his younger sister was condescending him, and disappointment echoed in her voice.

Aditya let out a soft sigh, shaking his head lightly. "Come now, Leo," he said, injecting his voice with brotherly encouragement. "You can't let yourself be intimidated by a girl. How can our future esteemed General of the Istarin Empire shy away in front of a lady? Show some courage, little brother. Reach out, hold her hand, ask her out on a date." His words were filled with a lighthearted yet earnest sincerity.

"You better be careful, Leo," Aditya chimed in with a playful tone, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. "If you delay any longer, you might find that someone else has swooped in and captured her heart."

Clara, seizing the opportunity to further tease her brother, added, "Indeed, just the other day, I noticed her engaging in a rather friendly conversation with another boy around your age, and I must say, he was quite handsome." She punctuated her statement with a playful wink directed at Aditya, who responded with an amused smile.

Fortunately for Leo, the relentless teasing was interrupted as the dining room door opened, and in walked Spencer and Aria, providing a timely diversion. They seated themselves next to Leo, their curious gazes sweeping across the faces at the table.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Spencer greeted, his voice laced with curiosity as he tried to gauge the topic of their discussion. As the Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire, and a significant part of the royal family, he held an influential role in the empire's affairs. "What was the topic of your lively conversation?"

Aditya couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Spencer's curiosity. "Oh, nothing much, Spencer," he responded with a casual wave of his hand and a warm smile dancing on his lips. "We were merely discussing the budding romantic life of our dear Leo."

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Chapter 453

Once everyone had their fill of the sumptuous breakfast, it was time for them to start their respective days. Aditya, with a light pat on Leo and Clara's heads, signaled his departure. Spencer too rose from his chair, smoothing his clothes as he prepared to leave. Both of them had responsibilities waiting for them. Governing an empire was a job that demanded their utmost attention and time.

Meanwhile, Leo and Clara, with the innocence of youth still twinkling in their eyes, packed up their school bags. Despite their royal status, they attended school like any other children of their age, keen to learn and explore the world around them. They said their farewells and set off for school, a day of learning and adventures waiting for them.

Suddenly, Julia's voice echoed through the dining hall, grabbing everyone's attention. Julia, who was known for her extraordinary expertise in the alchemy and her position as Aditya's first fiancee, had called for everyone's attention. "Everyone, gather in the lab," she announced in a voice that carried an intriguing mix of seriousness and excitement, "We are going to have a meeting." The atmosphere was charged with anticipation, and those who were left in the dining room, promptly made their way towards the lab, eager to find out what the upcoming meeting held in store for them.

Scene change_____

Amber, the formidable 5th General and Captain of the 5th Division, was among those called to the meeting. A slight frown creased her forehead as she looked around the room, her sharp eyes meeting those of her fellow attendees. "Why have I been summoned here?" she asked, the question hanging in the air, her normally unflappable demeanor slightly disturbed by the unusual summons.

The women in the room shared puzzled glances, a ripple of confusion passing among them. Julia, who seemed to have taken the reins of the meeting, finally broke the silence. "Well, Amber, it's because you are not just a fellow general and Captain, but also one of my closest friends," she explained gently, her voice firm yet soothing. "As women, we believe your perspective would be invaluable in our planning."

This, however, only prompted a further question from another attendee. Riya, the third fiancee of Aditya, looked at Julia with curiosity glinting in her eyes. "What exactly are we planning here?" she queried, her fingers idly playing with a strand of her hair, her attention fully focused on the matter at hand.

The room fell silent for a moment before Watson, Aditya's dependable butler, cleared his throat and decided to provide the answer. "Actually, ladies, we are here to discuss His Majesty's birthday," he stated, his voice carrying an air of formal authority. The revelation was met with wide-eyed surprise from the women, their expressions reflecting a mix of shock and intrigue.

Riya, along with the others, suddenly realized they were treading uncharted territory. 'Now that I think about it, I don't know when Aditya's birthday is...' she mused internally, her brows furrowing in thought. The rest of the women in the room also looked rather intrigued, their curious gazes shifting between each other as they pondered over the unknown details of their beloved's special day.

The revelation of Aditya's birthday coming from Julia brought about a wave of surprise amongst the gathered ladies. She stated matter-of-factly, "Aditya's birthday is on the first day of the new year." The announcement hung in the air like a tantalizing secret just revealed, causing a moment of startled silence as they digested the information.

Shortly after this revelation, Watson, ever the professional, took his cue to depart. He offered a respectful bow to the assembly, saying, "If you ladies will excuse me, I shall take my leave." His tone was measured, courteous and carried a note of finality. He knew that these were waters best navigated by those who intimately knew Aditya on a personal level, and thus he retreated, leaving the ladies to their discussion.

Once the butler had exited, leaving the women alone in the room, Alicia, Aditya's second fiancee, turned her gaze towards the group. There was a certain determination in her eyes as she addressed them, her voice carrying an underlying current of urgency. "We now have a deadline to work with. Roughly eight days. That's the time we have to plan something truly special for Aditya," she proclaimed. Her words brought into sharp focus the task that lay before them – creating a memorable birthday celebration for the man they all held dear.

Over the past couple of months, a significant shift had occurred in the ranks of Aditya's fiancees, particularly in terms of their cultivation progression. Julia, the alchemy genius, stood out in particular. In a short span of two months, she had managed to climb the steep and rigorous path of cultivation, finally settling at the peak of the 3rd-order. Her accomplishment was indeed remarkable.

However, it should be noted that Julia could have ascended even further if she had dedicated more time solely to her cultivation practice. Being the Goddess of Alchemy that she was, her heart and soul were deeply embedded in her research. Her lab, filled with test tubes and brewing concoctions, was her sanctuary, the place where she spent the majority of her time. Her primary focus these days was to uncover a cure for her sister Lara, who was Aditya's fourth fiancee. This noble endeavor consumed much of her energy and time.

On the other hand, there was Riya, Aditya's third fiancee. Her progress was no less impressive. Over the same period, she had ascended to the Mid 5th-order, a testament to her relentless dedication and determination. Both Julia and Alicia, along with Riya, had made astounding leaps in their cultivation journeys over the past two months.

"Alright, ladies," Alicia began, her voice brimming with playful mischief as she surveyed the women seated around her. A twinkle of amusement lit her eyes as she turned her attention towards Riya, who was perched across from her, looking every bit the picture of poise. "Given how much Aditya loves simplicity, I'm certain he'd appreciate a small, intimate celebration, don't you think? However, since our dear Riya here is part of the planning committee, I do hope it doesn't end up as a grand spectacle that could rival the coronation of an emperor, knowing her propensity for all things ostentatious."

Riya's eyebrow arched slightly at Alicia's subtly loaded words. Her right eye twitched ever so slightly, a telltale sign of her barely concealed annoyance. But before she could formulate a fitting retort to Alicia's barb, Julia smoothly intercepted the brewing altercation.

"This isn't the right time or place for both of you to ignite another one of your infamous cat-fights. Can we, for once, focus on the matter at hand? We are here to discuss Aditya's birthday, not engage in a verbal sparring match." Julia's voice was firm, her gaze steely as she admonished the two women.

Alicia, meanwhile, simply responded with a victorious smirk, visibly relishing the moment. Seeing that smug expression on Alicia's face was like a dash of salt on Riya's wounded ego, causing her eye to twitch once more. The dynamic of their relationship was quite evident - a mix of playful rivalry and mutual respect, making their interactions all the more entertaining.

Watching the interaction between Aditya's fiances unfold, the other girls in the room processed the scene with varying thoughts swirling in their minds. Aria, in particular, was left somewhat dumbstruck by the unique dynamic among the women. There wasn't a trace of animosity or resentment that one might expect in such a complex relationship; quite the contrary, in fact. If anything, Aditya's four fiances displayed an exceptional level of kindness and mutual respect towards one another. They cared for each other and treated one another as if they were real sisters, bound by ties of love and friendship.

However, there were times when the harmony gave way to a more playful banter. On such occasions, Alicia would tease Riya, provocatively throwing out subtle jibes. At times, Riya would return the favor, but more often than not, she found herself on the losing end of their verbal jousts.

Each of Aditya's fiances was truly one of a kind, with a distinct personality that added to the dynamic of the group. Julia was the epitome of the nurturing big sister and was, for all intents and purposes, the leader of the group. Everyone respected and admired her. Lara, on the other hand, was the quiet one. She was undeniably the shyest among them, but her honesty and transparent expression of feelings added an innocent charm to her persona.

Then there was Alicia, undoubtedly the most astute one in the group. She was always at the ready to taunt Riya, seemingly always winning their playful exchanges. And finally, there was Riya. Always calm, kind, and caring, yet Alicia somehow had a knack for provoking her. She would seize any opportunity to retaliate, but her attempts to taunt Alicia back often fell short. This unique dynamic among them brought a colorful and lively atmosphere to their interactions.

Sylvie was Alicia's best friend. But in spite of that close relationship, she never seemed to take sides whenever Alicia and Riya locked horns. Instead, she seemed to derive a certain level of amusement from these friendly tussles.

Crack!

Aria turned to look at Sylvie, and her eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sylvie sat there munching on popcorn, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she watched Alicia and Riya's exchange with unabashed delight. Aria couldn't help but wonder, 'When on earth did she manage to bring popcorn into this meeting?'

Amidst all the drama, there was Amber. She stood there, equally taken aback by the unfolding spectacle. Normally she had a stern, serious demeanor, but her best friend, Julia, had once encouraged her to let loose a bit more. Observing the light-hearted banter, she could see what Julia meant. It was intriguing how everyone seemed to derive joy from the playful interactions. Perhaps, she mused, there was something to be learned from this unique dynamic after all.

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Chapter 454

Exhaling deeply, Spencer scanned the expansive room that served as his office. This space, which once bustled with activity, now sat eerily empty and silent. Initially, Spencer was assigned three assistants to help lighten his workload. Their help ensured that he had ample time for his beloved Aria, his future wife.

However, ever since Aditya, the ruler of the Istarin Empire, returned from his brief visit to the Deep Sea Palace, Spencer's workload had drastically increased. The work was so relentless that during the first week, he didn't sleep for a full seven days. As a cultivator, he didn't struggle with staying awake; it was the taxing mental effort the work required that was challenging.

What irked him more was how the overflow of work was starting to impinge on his personal life. He barely saw Aria during that week. Their only interactions were brief and business-like, occurring when she visited his office to serve him a quick snack or a warm cup of tea, or during meal times at the dining table. But those were becoming few and far between as well, as he often skipped meals to meet pressing deadlines.

Even as his assistants packed up and headed home for the day, Spencer would remain behind, working late into the night under the dim glow of his office lamp.

As if a blessing in disguise, within a week, the number of Spencer's assistants jumped from 3 to 30. The credit for this immense increase went to Alicia, Aditya's second fiancée, who had put in considerable effort to find 27 additional competent individuals to support Spencer and relieve him from his crippling workload. With this bolstered workforce, Spencer finally found himself with enough breathing space to enjoy a good night's sleep and carve out time for Aria.

However, a new challenge lay on the horizon. Starting today, a 10-day public holiday commenced across the Empire. As a result, half of Spencer's assistants had already packed up for a well-deserved break. This translated into a pile of pending tasks for Spencer as they needed to finish their work meant for the upcoming 10 days in advance. Spencer was well aware that once the holidays ended, an avalanche of work would come crashing down. But in his eyes, it was a price worth paying for the precious time he could spend with Aria.

Driven by this desire, he doubled down on his efforts to clear his table as swiftly as possible. As the Prime Minister, Spencer bore the responsibility of supervising various facets of the Empire's operations. He had to thoroughly review reports from a myriad of government departments such as finance, defense, agriculture, trade, and infrastructure to stay abreast of the Empire's state of affairs.

Apart from this, he was involved in the process of evaluating and considering proposals for new policies, laws, and regulations that could impact the Empire and its denizens. Additionally, he had to respond to an endless stream of letters, messages, and requests pouring in from citizens, nobles, and foreign dignitaries. The breadth of his responsibilities was staggering, but he navigated through them with steadfast determination, driven by the prospect of an upcoming breather and some cherished time with his beloved Aria.

Once Spencer had attended to his own looming pile of responsibilities, he found his path leading to Aditya's office, nestled conveniently in the adjacent room. Aditya was an Emperor who cherished his solitude, preferring to work in an isolated space away from the bustle of others. Over the past couple of months and an additional 15 days, the Emperor was a paragon of diligence, toiling from the crack of dawn till the cloak of night wrapped the world in its embrace.

Knock! Knock!

"Your Majesty, may I enter?" Spencer's respectful voice echoed through the heavy wooden door.

"Come in, Spencer." The invitation was immediate, echoing softly from the room within. Pushing open the imposing door, Spencer was greeted by the sight of Aditya, seated with an air of regal ease on a plush chair before a large rectangular table.

The table was a landscape of diverse documents and an assortment of books, a testament to the Emperor's wide range of responsibilities and interests. Tucked away in a cozy corner of the room, next to a window that offered a calming view of the world outside, lay an artist's haven - pots of ink, an assortment of brushes, and a pile of large, pristine white papers. Aditya often took advantage of his fleeting moments of leisure, attempting to craft new rune spells, nurturing his artistic side alongside his administrative duties.

Aditya, with his vibrant blue hair cascading to his shoulders and piercing blue eyes, was absorbed in scrutinizing a document. The dim light from the overhead chandelier danced in his hair, casting an ethereal glow around him. Aditya's attire was a reflection of his need for comfort during his long hours of work. He wore a simple, loose-fitting white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the toned forearms of a ruler who was no stranger to physical exertion. His dark trousers were casual, yet well-tailored, completing his relaxed yet dignified look. The simplicity of his ensemble was a far cry from the extravagant robes often associated with royalty, but it suited Aditya, a monarch who embraced practicality over ostentation.

"Sit down, Spencer," Aditya encouraged, indicating a comfortable chair opposite him. Although they were now in an official setting, there was no need for the stiffness of formalities. Outside their professional roles, Aditya and Spencer enjoyed a warm friendship. They often engaged in deep conversations about their lives, their philosophies, their sources of inspiration, and the things and people they cherished and wished to protect.

Spencer acknowledged the invitation with a nod, lowering himself into the plush seat across from Aditya. He carefully placed the stack of parchment he carried onto the table, taking the top document and sliding it across the polished surface towards the Emperor.

"The expansion project for Azure City is nearing its completion," he began, pointing out details in the document. "The newly erected walls have surpassed the old ones in terms of strength and durability."

"That's encouraging news," Aditya's smile conveyed his satisfaction as he read through Spencer's succinct report. Around six weeks ago, it was resolved that the boundaries of Azure City, the capital of the Istarin Empire, needed to be stretched outwards. The Istarin Empire boasted the title of being the largest on the planet, an accolade earned not just due to its vast territory, but also its ability to attract a diverse population from across the continent.

The Azure City, being the Empire's heart, was a magnet for settlers seeking a safe and prosperous life. The Empire offered a refuge to individuals and families looking for stability and growth, providing an unparalleled environment for entrepreneurship. This was largely due to the favorable and inclusive policies laid out by the Empire's governance, which encouraged innovation and hard work.

Living in Azure City came with myriad benefits. The city's excellent transportation network facilitated easy movement around its expansive territory, a testament to the Empire's remarkable infrastructure. Moreover, the city prided itself on maintaining a zero-crime rate, an achievement that spoke volumes about the effective law enforcement and the harmonious cohabitation of its residents.

The safety and security promised by the city were complemented by the transparency and integrity of its governance, which ensured a corruption-free environment. Moreover, the legal framework was robust yet flexible, striking the perfect balance between law and liberty. This appealing amalgamation of safety, prosperity, and freedom was what made Azure City the desired destination for people far and wide.

"Your Majesty, with the population surge, we need to think about expanding our educational infrastructure," Spencer broached the topic, his brow furrowing slightly with the weight of the matter. "The Royal School you initiated in Azure City is receiving an influx of students from not just within our empire, but from the surrounding ones as well. Every noble family is eager to enroll their children in our esteemed institution."

It was a testament to the high standard of education the Istarin Empire provided. The academic quality of the Empire's schools, especially the Royal School, far exceeded those in other territories. It was more than just education, though; sending their children to study in Azure City had its own strategic advantages for the noble families.

Nobility from far and wide saw this as an opportunity to foster connections with other influential families, in a way sowing the seeds of alliances and mutually beneficial relations for the future. After all, these young students of today would become the decision-makers and leaders of tomorrow. By sending their children to the same school, they could weave a network of connections that could potentially extend their family's influence and opportunities.

Moreover, the allure of having their children befriend the Emperor's adopted siblings, who were also students at the Royal School, was a significant draw. These bonds formed in the early years could lead to substantial political and social advantages in the future. Being in the Emperor's good graces, or even being within his circle, was an opportunity no noble family wanted to miss.

"Indeed, the growth and reputation of our Royal School is something to be proud of," Spencer continued, a smile pulling at his lips, "but it also brings with it the responsibility to accommodate this increasing demand. We need to think about establishing more such institutions, providing equal opportunities for all."

Aditya leaned back in his chair, loosening his hold on the document. "We can revisit the expansion of educational facilities after the New Year. There's plenty of time to deliberate and plan," he agreed with Spencer, who gave a nod of assent. A rush to decision-making, especially in matters as substantial as this, could lead to missteps, and they had sufficient time to iron out a well-thought-out strategy.

Spencer, appreciating the Emperor's considered approach, moved on to the next matter of concern. He handed over another document, this one noticeably thinner yet carrying a graver tone. "This involves a smuggling incident, Your Majesty. A group has been apprehended for smuggling mana stones into our Southern territories. Their origins trace back to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire."

Aditya sighed audibly as he skimmed through the document. His hand moved up to massage his temples, the stress of the issue evident in his expression. The political instability and ongoing civil war in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, their neighbors to the South, had started to seep into the tranquility of the Istarin Empire. It was an intricate matter that he had been trying to manage amidst his many responsibilities, and it had been giving him constant headaches.

The conflict and power struggles in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire were causing ripple effects that were beginning to disturb their Southern territories. Smuggling, illegal trade, and refuge crises were becoming increasingly common. Additionally, the uncertainty and tension were discouraging for trade relations and commerce, which were essential for the prosperity and development of the territories.

Aditya had already expressed his silent support for the 7th prince in the neighboring Empire, providing him with his own men and resources to quell the unrest. But progress was slow, and the 7th prince was taking longer than Aditya had anticipated to regain control and restore peace. The turmoil in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire needed to be addressed soon, or it threatened to escalate into a larger regional issue.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 455

"I've decided, once the New Year holidays are over, I'll personally handle this issue. We need to put an end to this civil war once and for all." Aditya's tone was resolute, his fingers kneading his forehead as he weighed the implications of the persistent conflict.

He lifted his gaze to meet Spencer's, "What's next on the agenda?" The strain in his eyes betrayed his mental fatigue. His physical strength, bolstered by his cultivation, might withstand the demands of his role, but his mind was yearning for a reprieve.

His thoughts trailed away from the bureaucratic concerns momentarily, finding solace in the memory of Sasha. 'It's been more than two and a half months since I've seen her,' Aditya inwardly sighed. She was set to be his fifth fiance, a woman whose company he truly enjoyed. Yet, the pressing duties of his office had held him back, keeping him away from her for an extended period.

He couldn't help but wonder if she held any resentment towards him for not keeping his promise. After all, he had assured her of his frequent visits, but his actions had fallen far short of his words. His heart clenched slightly at the thought, a wave of regret washing over him. Yet, he knew his responsibilities to his Empire couldn't be shirked. It was a delicate balance he constantly found himself trying to maintain.

"The construction of the new ports in our Northwestern territory is progressing smoothly," Spencer reported, scanning through the document in his hand. "Ever since your swift handling of the rebellion in that region, there have been no hurdles in the construction process. If things continue at this pace, all five ports should be up and running in another two weeks or so."

"Good to hear," Aditya responded, his gaze lingering on the sprawling view outside the window. His mind seemed to drift away for a moment, lost in thought. "What about the recruitment of new troops? How's that coming along?" His voice was low, hinting at the gravity of the subject.

Spencer straightened in his chair before replying, "We've set up soldier recruitment centers in all the major cities. Local lords have been really supportive, speeding up the whole process. If things continue this way, the military strength of the Istarin Empire could potentially double in a few months' time."

The news seemed to relieve Aditya as he gave a satisfied nod. He was acutely aware that the current number of soldiers under his command was inadequate to effectively maintain control over the vast territories of his Empire. There were regions within his domain that were significantly lacking in military presence. In the absence of soldiers to uphold law and order, the crime rates could potentially surge, making the lives of the common people increasingly difficult. This pressing issue weighed heavily on Aditya's mind, making the expansion of his military forces a matter of utmost priority.

Aditya's inquiry then shifted to a close ally of the Empire. "What's the current status in the Hephaestus Kingdom?" The kingdom's plight had been on Aditya's mind for a while, as he had pledged support to the Hephaestus King to assist in rebuilding his troubled kingdom.

Spencer paused, scanning through his files before pulling out a document. "As per your directive, Victoria has already headed there with a half-million-strong force led by generals Scott and Josh. Our soldiers are collaborating closely with the troops from the Echo Dominion Empire to root out local gangs, eradicate criminal activity, and reinstate law and order," he reported.

The Echo Dominion Empire, a third significant ally of the Istarin Empire, had also thrown their support behind the troubled Hephaestus Kingdom. This collective effort was slowly but surely helping to restore stability in the kingdom.

Spencer continued, "The King of Hephaestus had been struggling to wield power effectively, and his kingdom had become a hotbed for corruption and illegal activities of all sorts. But now, under the cooperative endeavors of both our Empires, we are gradually restoring law and order."

He paused to take a breath before adding, "Besides this, we have also extended financial aid amounting to millions of gold coins to assist with the economic rebuilding of the Hephaestus Kingdom."

The aid had become a beacon of hope for the beleaguered kingdom. As the reports of progress continued to pour in, both Aditya and Spencer felt a sense of satisfaction. The promise they had made to their ally was being fulfilled, paving the way for a more prosperous future for the Hephaestus Kingdom.

"Another matter on the table," Spencer said, flipping to a new page in his dossier, "is related to our agricultural development. The recent insect infestation in the Northern Wheatfields has caused significant crop damage. We're going to have a short fall in grain supplies this year."

Aditya nodded thoughtfully. The northern agricultural regions were vital for the Empire's food security. "We need to investigate the source of this infestation and see how we can prevent this in the future. Meanwhile, do we have enough reserve to offset the deficit?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we have sufficient reserves for this year, but it's the next year we should worry about if the problem persists," Spencer replied, "There are also calls for improving irrigation and implementing more sustainable farming practices to increase yields."

Moving to another topic, Spencer continued, "In terms of infrastructure, our rapid urbanization is causing growing pains in some cities. Traffic congestion, housing shortages, and inadequate public services have become prominent issues. Azure City, despite its attractions, is seeing increasing social tension due to the influx of people and the pressure on resources."

Aditya sighed, rubbing his forehead again. "It seems we have our work cut out for us. We need to balance our rapid growth with sustainable planning. Perhaps we can invite experts in urban planning and development to help us strategize."

"The progress of the military base construction in the Southern territories of our Empire, how is it faring?" Aditya asked, the hint of a frown knitting his brows together. The building of these military bases was a strategic move on his part. Their purpose was twofold: to enhance the Empire's security, safeguarding against potential foreign invasions, and to provide a readiness to retaliate swiftly should any foreign entity have the audacity to violate their territories.

Spencer, reading the seriousness in Aditya's tone, promptly responded, "Your Majesty, the construction projects are advancing as planned, without any significant hitches." He paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing, "In terms of our interactions with local residents, we have taken extensive measures to ensure their welfare. We relocated them, providing them with new lands in areas unaffected by construction, along with compensation to help them establish their lives anew. This approach has ensured a minimum of disruption for our own citizens."

He took a moment before adding, "However, it appears our activity has not been well received by everyone. There have been grumblings from the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. It seems they are displeased by the idea of our military bases sprouting along their borders."

Aditya listened attentively, the frown deepening on his face. Finally, he let out a weary sigh, "I suppose their displeasure was inevitable. However, this is a necessary measure. It's not meant to provoke but to protect our Empire and its citizens. It's all about ensuring our security." His voice was firm, his decision unshakeable. The safety of his Empire and its people was his primary concern, and he wouldn't compromise on it. The construction of the bases was critical to bolstering their defense and readiness, even if it displeased their neighbors.

After navigating through a maze of complex issues, the meeting finally came to an end. Aditya leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples, then looked up at Spencer with a soft smile. "That's all for today, Spencer," he said, his voice carrying a genuine note of gratitude. "You've done an exceptional job, as always. I truly appreciate your tireless dedication and support."

Spencer responded in his customary formal tone, bowing his head slightly in respect, "Thank you, Your Majesty. It's an honor to serve the Empire." His own fatigue was evident, but a spark of satisfaction flickered in his eyes.

As he left Aditya's office, Spencer felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He walked back to his office, a hint of spring in his steps. As he entered, the room was filled with the palpable tension of his assistants, still immersed in their tasks, not knowing that the day's work had finally come to an end.

With a broad grin adorning his face, Spencer announced, "Everyone, we're done for the day!" A moment of stunned silence followed his proclamation before the room erupted into cheers of relief and happiness. Assistants exchanged wide-eyed looks of disbelief before laughter and conversation filled the room, replacing the earlier silence.

One could see the relief wash over the faces of the assistants as they realized they were finally free to enjoy their holidays. The room was soon buzzing with excited chatter about vacation plans and shared laughter over shared hardships.

As for Spencer, his mind was already elsewhere, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he thought of Aria. Finally, he would be able to spend time with her without any interruptions or distractions. It was the simple thought of being with her, enjoying their shared moments, that made all the hard work worthwhile. The holiday mood was contagious, the office filled with an atmosphere of jubilant relief and shared happiness, marking the end of a hard day's work and the start of a much-needed break.

Chapter 456

As the crimson hues of the setting sun painted the evening sky, Aditya found solace in the lush garden of the palace with his beloved fourth fiancee, Lara. Nestled comfortably in the serene ambiance, he surrendered to the calming rhythm of nature. He reclined his head gently onto Lara's lap, allowing his weary eyes to close, seeking refuge from the bustling world.

Lara was poised elegantly under a grand, age-old tree, its leaves whispering tales of the centuries in the gentle breeze. The rough bark of the tree trunk served as a solid support to her back. Her hands delicately traced through Aditya's hair, her fingers subtly massaging his scalp. The tranquility of their surroundings, the serene ambiance punctuated only by the melodious twittering of distant birds and the rhythmic rustling of the leaves, was a heavenly respite.

This peace, this calm, was a rare and cherished gift in their lives filled with responsibility, warfare, and political strife. Lara treasured these fleeting moments of intimacy, these precious snippets of shared silence that allowed them to simply exist, far from the demands of their roles. The loving warmth that seeped from Aditya's form, the silent reassurance of his presence, was a testament to the bond they shared.

Meanwhile, the palace seemed unusually quiet, the usual flurry of activity significantly lessened. Julia, Alicia, Riya, Sylvie, Amber, and Aria had all ventured into the city for a shopping spree. The festive spirit of the Festival of Eternia was slowly seeping into the hearts of the people, the tradition of gift-giving adding an extra layer of excitement. It was Aria who had first suggested the idea of this excursion, her heart set on finding the perfect gift for her beloved Spencer. The proposal was readily accepted by the others, who also sought to find tokens of their affection for Aditya or their loved ones.

As the peace of the garden enveloped Aditya and Lara, they reveled in their shared solitude, their hearts echoing with silent confessions of love. Every breath, every beat of their hearts, was a testament to their shared bond, a song of their unspoken love. They existed in a world of their own, a realm where they were not Emperor and Empress but simply Aditya and Lara, two souls intertwined in love.

An hour earlier____

The call of the bustling city markets and the allure of finding the perfect gift had beckoned the girls out on a little adventure earlier in the day. Julia and Alicia, their faces lit with excitement, had extended the invitation to Lara as well.

"Come on, Lara," Julia had implored, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, "The markets will be bursting with artisans showcasing their craft, and it's such a wonderful opportunity to find something truly unique as a gift."

Alicia had chimed in enthusiastically, "Yes, Lara, it'll be a fun day out. The whole city comes alive during the Festival of Eternia, it's something you wouldn't want to miss."

Lara, however, had a different plan in mind. A gentle smile curved her lips as she shook her head, her gaze fixed fondly on Aditya, who was engrossed in a document at the time.

"Thank you, Sisters, but I think I'll pass today," she had replied softly, her voice laced with a tender warmth that made it clear where her heart truly wished to be.

"But... Lara," Alicia had begun to protest, but a knowing smile from Julia stopped her mid-sentence.

Seeing Lara's longing gaze fixed on Aditya, Julia gently squeezed Alicia's hand and gave her a small nod. They understood. Today, Lara desired not the vibrant hustle of the market or the joy of finding the perfect gift. She yearned for a peaceful day, spending quiet moments in the comforting presence of Aditya. The world outside could wait. For today, her world was here, with Aditya.

End of Flashback!!

As the sky turned a deeper shade of indigo, a soft sigh slipped through Lara's lips, breaking the soothing silence of the moment. She gently shifted her position, her fingers never ceasing their rhythmic dance through Aditya's hair, reaching for an old, leather-bound book lying beside her. The book, a cherished heirloom passed down from her mother, the Royal Empress, carried tales of kings and queens, heroes and heroines, and was a testament to the rich history of their world.

With a reverent touch, Lara opened the book, the pages crinkling under her fingers, whispering ancient secrets. Her eyes quickly scanned the text before landing on a particular tale, one she remembered her mother fondly narrating during the twilight hours of her childhood – the tale of King Solomon.

"King Solomon," Lara began, her voice a soothing melody in the quiet garden, "was a man of many fascinations, his wisdom and might renowned far and wide. Yet, perhaps the most astonishing aspect of his life was his multitude of wives. You see, my love," she continued, her gaze locked onto Aditya's, "King Solomon had a thousand wives."

The phrase 'a thousand wives' hung in the air between them, punctuated by a moment of silence. Lara had deliberately spoken the words slowly, letting the enormity of the number sink in, a playful glint in her eyes.

Aditya, the image of King Solomon and his thousand wives painting an amusing picture in his mind, broke into a soft, warm smile. He looked up at Lara, his eyes reflecting deep fondness and a hint of mirth.

"I don't need a thousand wives, Lara," he said gently, his voice enveloped in affectionate warmth. His hand reached up to gently caress her cheek, "You, and the others, are more than enough. Each one of you holds a unique place in my heart that can't be replaced."

His words hung in the soft glow of the evening, his sincere confession amplifying the romantic atmosphere. Lara's heart fluttered at his words, the genuine affection in his voice assuring her of his deep love for her. They smiled at each other, their shared moment adding another layer of intimacy to their relationship.

As the final words of Aditya's heartfelt confession echoed softly in the tranquil garden, a sweet silence blanketed the space between them. This silence wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, rather, it was a testament to the deep connection they shared, a space where words were not always needed to communicate their feelings.

Lara, moved by Aditya's words, gently ran her fingers through his hair. She bent over, her face hovering just above his. Her eyes, brimming with love, locked onto Aditya's as she leaned in, planting a tender kiss on his forehead. "You're right, Aditya," she whispered, her voice barely more than a soft sigh, "Every one of us has a unique place in your heart. And you hold an irreplaceable space in ours."

Aditya's heart swelled at her words. Lifting his head slightly, he captured Lara's lips in a gentle kiss. This was not a passionate, desperate kiss, but a slow and tender one that spoke volumes about their love for each other. As they pulled apart, both their faces held a soft glow, mirroring the warmth that was blooming in their hearts.

In the quiet aftermath of their shared moment, they lay there under the sprawling sky, intertwined in each other's arms. Aditya's head still lay on Lara's lap, and he found a strange sense of peace listening to the rhythmic pattern of her breathing. In response, Lara stroked Aditya's hair, their comfortable silence a witness to their love.

With time, their bond only grew deeper. These quiet moments they shared in the garden, the heartfelt confessions, the stories, and the laughter - they all wove into a tapestry of their shared journey, each thread strengthening their relationship.

Aditya's voice broke the peaceful silence of the evening, yet it melded seamlessly with the tranquil ambiance, enhancing the comfort shared between the pair. As he looked up into Lara's radiant eyes, a spark of adventurous excitement flickered in his own. His words, spoken gently, reflected a shared dream of theirs, a plan that had been awaiting fruition for a while.

"Once you're fully recovered, let's set our sights on a new adventure," Aditya suggested, his voice a comforting hum against the cool evening air. "The Beast Continent, with its intriguing customs, beautiful landscapes, and enigmatic atmosphere, has been whispering its secrets to us for a long time. It's time we listened."

His words stirred the spirit of exploration within Lara. A fond smile crept onto her face as she envisioned the day they would step foot onto the mysterious continent. Her eyes lit up with anticipation, reflecting her agreement and excitement about their forthcoming journey.

"That sounds wonderful, Aditya," she responded warmly, her heart fluttering with joy. "Exploring new places with you is always an adventure of its own. I can't wait to witness the unique beauty of the Beast Continent and learn about its fascinating culture." Her enthusiastic response brought a contented smile on Aditya's face. He gently squeezed her hand, a silent promise that their shared adventure was a future to look forward to.

The sun had long set, the veil of twilight giving way to the encompassing darkness of the night. The hushed whisperings of the nocturnal creatures from nearby flora provided a serene symphony to the night, creating an intimate ambiance around the couple.

Aditya took a deep breath, a tranquil calmness radiating from his posture as he gazed into Lara's captivating eyes. He knew the strength of the bond they shared, a unique connection that transcended the boundaries of conventional relationships. She was his beloved, and he was her cherished life partner. And yet, there was an aspect of their bond that remained as integral as it was peculiar. Lara was a vampire, and the life force she needed, was the blood flowing through his veins.

With a gentle smile, Aditya presented his wrist to Lara. It wasn't an act of surrender, but rather a symbol of trust and deep affection. "Lara" he said softly, his words filled with warmth and care, "Want to drink my blood?"

Lara looked into Aditya's eyes, seeing nothing but love and understanding. Her heart filled with a profound gratitude, she delicately took his wrist. "Thank you, Aditya," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. There was a silent understanding between them, a bond beyond words that transcended the physical realm.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I hope I didn't made this chapter too cringe......!!!!

Chapter 457

"Almost there, just a bit further," Sylvie encouraged Aditya with a note of anticipation coloring her voice. The veil of night had fallen thick and heavy around them, cloaking their surroundings in an enchanting tranquility. An endless carpet of stars stretched out above them, their cool, twinkling light illuminating the clear night sky.

On this particular evening, Aditya, Julia, Alicia, Riya, Lara, Sylvie, and Amber found themselves venturing far from the familiar confines of the Istarin Empire's capital. They had ventured out into the wild beauty of the Silver Meadow Grove, a forested expanse teeming with powerful magic beasts and known for its enchanting landscapes.

Spanning a considerable swath of land, the Silver Meadow Grove was tucked away to the southwest of Azure City. This forest, shrouded in untamed wilderness and brimming with powerful magical beasts, held a certain mystique that made it an object of fascination and a symbol of untamed nature.

Ordinarily, the dangers lurking within the depths of the grove deterred most from venturing too far into its domain. The place was practically untouched, a sprawling expanse of wild nature that remained largely unexplored due to the formidable magical beasts that resided within. The last time Aditya had set foot in this enchanting forest was roughly seven or eight months ago. That was when he employed the awe-inspiring Dragon Roar to summon all of the dragons and magic beasts harboring dragon blood.

This extraordinary menagerie of creatures was subsequently transported back to the Istarin Empire. In a powerful act of transformation, Aditya gifted each beast a drop of his divine blood, evolving them into fearsome Dragon Warriors. These formidable beings were dispatched to the major cities throughout the Istarin Empire, becoming guardians and symbols of protection.

Furthermore, a unique system was put in place where every three months, a select group of Dragon Warriors was chosen for intensive cultivation within the Dragon Palace. This period of dedicated training lasted fifteen days and was an integral part of their continual growth and development.

The usually tranquil wildlife of the forest scattered in an orchestrated symphony of chaos as the formidable figure of a dragon soared above. His colossal form blotted out the starry canopy as he hovered a few hundred meters above the ground, his wings rhythmically beating the air in a display of raw power.

Perched on the back of this majestic beast, Julia, Alicia, Riya, Lara, Sylvie, and Amber rode, each wearing a broad grin of delight. The sight was indeed peculiar, the Dragon Monarch, the regal and fearsome ruler of beasts, had been relegated to the role of a magical mount.

"Why are all of you freeloading on my back?" Aditya grumbled, the rumbling sound of his complaint resonating through his dragon form and into the air around them.

"Now, now, don't be such a grouch," Sylvie retorted playfully, her hand running over the smooth surface of Aditya's vibrant red scales. "Remember, not all of us were blessed with wings or the ability to morph into a dragon. You, on the other hand, have both, which makes you our preferred mode of transport."

She paused, a contented sigh escaping her lips, "Plus, it's quite comfortable up here, you know. The soft caress of the wind, the mesmerizing view of the starry sky above... It's quite an experience."

As they continued their conversation, Aditya couldn't help but reply in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, I see, I should have guessed. You all are just using me for the great view and comfort. Maybe I should start charging tickets for these scenic dragon rides!" A collective burst of laughter echoed through the night, lightening the mood, and adding a humorous touch to their nocturnal adventure.

Aditya guided his majestic dragon form in a slow glide through the night sky, making a descent towards an enchanting location. A sight that swept them all into a state of awe emerged before their eyes - the Ethereal Meadows.

Tucked away amidst the grandeur of two towering mountains, the Ethereal Meadows was a secret treasure in their fantastical world, its allure unmatched and unparalleled. It was famed for a spectacle that often graced its skies at night, an awe-inspiring dance of shooting stars that painted the dark canvas with hues of dazzling colors. This heavenly performance unfolded according to a mystical cycle of celestial activities, which seemed like a gift bestowed by the realm's unseen, magical entities.

The expansive landscape of the meadows was clothed in a vibrant green carpet of grass, which swayed rhythmically as if playing to the tune of an unseen maestro. An array of wildflowers, each boasting a unique color and a beauty of their own, was strewn across this greenery, contributing to the surreal environment. Some shone with a glow similar to precious gems, while others exuded a magical luminescence, further elevating the ethereal ambiance. The atmosphere was heavy with a mixture of floral fragrances, creating an intoxicating cocktail of scents that seemed to cleanse the soul.

In the center of the Ethereal Meadows, there stood a circle made of ancient, cryptic stones. Tales passed down through generations narrated that this circle was a nexus for the magical energies suffusing the land. They claimed that during the peak of celestial events, the stones pulsated with a soft glow, seemingly in synchrony with the stellar dance in the skies.

As daylight surrendered to the advancing darkness, the sky began its metamorphosis. The initial appearance of stars were mere tiny spots of radiance, which exponentially multiplied and magnified as the night matured, turning the entire meadow into a stage set for an astronomical ballet.

The shooting stars, far more numerous here than anywhere else, blazed trails across the sky, leaving behind strokes of colors, akin to an artist's brush swishing across a canvas. Each streak created a hypnotic masterpiece on the celestial dome, with colors that varied from soft pastels to vibrant neons, the stars performing an entrancing dance in their sky-bound theater.

Accompanying this light spectacle was a calming, otherworldly melody that seemed to originate from the heavens themselves. It was as though the stars were serenading the Earth, and the resonance of their cosmic tune echoed deep within the hearts of those privileged to witness this grand spectacle.

Time seemed to halt its relentless march during these celestial performances in the Ethereal Meadows. Visitors often found themselves lost in the enchantment of the night sky, absorbed in the cosmic magic. It was a locale where the divide between the mortal and celestial realms blurred, the enigma of the cosmos seeping into every molecule of the place.

Under the mesmerizing celestial canopy, Alicia turned to Sylvie, her eyes wide with amazement. "This place is utterly breathtaking," she admitted, unable to keep the wonder from her voice. "I can't even fathom how you stumbled upon it." She glanced around, her gaze keen as she noted the unusual absence of the usually rampant magical wildlife.

Sylvie's eyes sparkled with mischief and pleasure at Alicia's stunned reaction. "Well, it's an interesting tale," she began, her voice adopting a conspiratorial whisper that seemed to blend harmoniously with the serene surroundings. "You know, I chanced upon this place in a book I borrowed from the library."

Her eyes took on a nostalgic glow as she continued, "Apparently, one of the Kings from the Istarin lineage had the good fortune to discover this place and chose to document it in his journal. That's how I came to learn about it."

Sylvie paused and sighed, her gaze drifting towards the ancient library that housed countless scrolls and books. "The library is quite an extraordinary place, you know. It's engraved with magical runes that ward off dust and decay, ensuring even texts thousands of years old remain in pristine condition. Without that enchantment, I'm afraid this piece of paradise might have remained a secret."

With a wistful smile, Sylvie shifted her gaze to Riya. As the Goddess of Nature, Riya held a revered position, especially among the elves who held her in the highest regard. When Sylvie first unearthed the information about this enchanting spot, she immediately approached Riya with the exciting discovery. Given Riya's affinity for nature and all things beautiful, Sylvie knew she would be just as eager to explore the Silver Meadow Grove.

And she was right. Around half a month ago, both Sylvie and Riya had ventured into the wilderness of the grove, their combined curiosity leading them to the Ethereal Meadows. Overwhelmed by the profound beauty of the place, they had made a silent promise to one another to share this magical spot with their loved ones. And now, seeing the awe on their friends' faces, Sylvie felt a wave of contentment wash over her. They had indeed made the right decision.

Sylvie, her eyes shimmering in the starlight, turned to Aditya, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them. "Aditya," she began, her voice carrying the weight of an unspoken suggestion, "Did you know that all the Istarin Kings from previous generations had their own personal journals? They recorded all the significant events, the triumphs, the defeats, the discoveries made during their reigns. It's a fascinating treasure trove of your history."

She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in before she continued, "Perhaps, you should consider doing something similar, for the sake of future generations. A testament to your reign, your experiences."

Aditya looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "To be honest," he confessed after a thoughtful pause, "I was unaware of this tradition of keeping personal journals among the previous Kings. It does sound intriguing though." A spark of interest ignited in his eyes. "I think I will make some time to visit the library. There's much to be learned from my predecessors."

The Dragon Monarch, mindful of the delicate beauty of the meadows, gingerly lowered himself closer to the ground. With his colossal form casting an impressive shadow over the landscape, he was careful not to land, wary of damaging the tranquility of this enchanting place. The girls, taking the cue, agilely hopped down from his sturdy back, their feet lightly touching the soft grass of the meadow.

Riya, her arms gently enveloping Lara, descended gracefully to the ground. Lara, weaker in comparison to the rest, appreciated the support. Riya's actions spoke of an unspoken bond, a testament to the unity and care they all shared for each other in this journey of life.

Scene change_____

In a swift, efficient movement, Aditya unfurled a luxuriously large mat upon the soft grass of the meadows. The mat was spacious enough to accommodate all of them comfortably, providing each of them a personal space to recline and immerse in the tranquility of the star-lit night without any physical interference.

Meanwhile, Sylvie, the ever-organized planner, began retrieving various items from her magical storage bag. Her first retrieval was an assortment of expertly grilled meat, its tantalizing aroma filling the air and inducing collective stomach rumbles. Next came freshly baked bread, its crust a perfect golden-brown and a soft, warm center that would melt in your mouth.

Seeing the bread, a knowing smile tugged at the corners of Aditya's mouth. Sylvie and her undying love for bread was legendary among them. He often teased her, saying she would choose bread over Alicia if she had to. "Sylvie, you and your inseparable bond with bread," he chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised if you someday declared bread as your true love."

Sylvie responded with a playful glare, but her grin revealed her amusement at his jest. Ignoring his comments, she then unveiled a large wooden barrel, the rich scent of alcohol wafting from it. At this, Aditya's jovial expression faded into a frown.

Ever since his hard-earned victory over his alcohol addiction, he had deliberately distanced himself from such indulgences. He had even instilled a policy in his Palace discouraging excessive consumption of alcohol. He only permitted himself a small serving of wine during grand social events, weddings, or official gatherings, limiting it strictly to one glass.

Aditya, with a hint of sarcasm, quipped, "Sylvie, first bread, now this? Are you trying to tempt me back into my old ways or just preparing to open a tavern?" His words were light, but they carried an underlying seriousness, reminding them all of his unwavering determination to maintain his sobriety.

Sylvie grinned and responded. "This isn't some ordinary Alcohol. It's an special alcohol that was produced in my home village......"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 458

Wearing a devilish grin, Sylvie shot back, "Oh, this isn't just any ordinary booze, Aditya. This is 'Elven Elixir', a special brew from my home village. It's a product of years of dark elven wisdom and craft."

Intrigued by the sound of it, Alicia leaned in closer, eager to learn more about this mysterious drink. "Elven Elixir? That sounds quite interesting. What's so special about it?"

Sylvie picked up the cue, her eyes sparkling with an endearing mix of pride and nostalgia. "Well, Elven Elixir is not your everyday alcohol. It's an intricate blend of rare, potent herbs, magical fruits, and crystal-clear water from the sacred springs in our village. It takes months to brew and mature into its final glorious form. It smells slightly of herbs, not too overpowering but just enough to tease your senses."

"And the taste?" Amber interjected, her curiosity piqued.

Sylvie's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Ah, the taste! It's unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's smooth, and it warms your insides as it slides down. It's sweet, but not cloyingly so, with just a hint of bitterness that gives it an intriguing edge. The aftertaste leaves a lingering sweetness in your mouth, making you crave for more."

"That sounds delightful," Julia murmured, mesmerized by Sylvie's vivid description. "But, is it just a treat for the taste buds?"

Sylvie shook her head, her grin widening. "Oh, it's much more than that. Elven Elixir has powerful medicinal properties. It's known to purify the veins that channel mana through your body, thus increasing your cultivation speed temporarily. It also has the magical ability to get even the most powerful cultivators drunk, yet it never leaves you with a nasty hangover. It's like a mystical potion that grants you pleasure without any of the usual repercussions."

As she concluded her explanation, there was an appreciative silence. Even Aditya had to admit that the 'Elven Elixir' sounded fascinating, a marvelous concoction of taste, intoxication, and cultivation benefits all wrapped in one.

"Can you believe just one barrel of this Elven Elixir costs a million royal gold coins?" Sylvie winked, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "So basically, when you're sipping this, you're literally drinking gold coins. But I assure you, the taste is a thousand times better than gold. Pure liquid luxury!" She added with a wide, cheeky grin.

Aditya, still had a shadow of uncertainty crossing his face. Spotting this, Sylvie nudged him playfully. "Oh, come on Aditya. Let your hair down just for tonight. The sky's clear, the stars are bright, and we have the finest drink in all of creation. It's the perfect time to loosen up and have some fun!"

His hesitation waned under the infectious enthusiasm of his companions. With a sigh of surrender and a hint of a smile, he nodded. "Alright, just for tonight."

Sylvie responded with a victory cheer, and reached into her bag. She pulled out several carved wooden mugs, their designs ornate and intricate, another testament to the craftsmanship of her people. Filling each one to the brim with the prized Elven Elixir, she distributed the mugs among her friends. The golden liquid swirled around in the mugs, casting a warm, inviting glow under the moonlight.

"Remember, guys," she chimed, lifting her own mug in a toast. "This isn't just for us grown-ups. Even our young Lara here can have a taste. There are no age restrictions when it comes to enjoying the finest things in life in our world. Though, children usually refrain from consuming alcohol until they're 16, tonight's a special occasion. So, here's to a memorable night under the stars!"

Their laughter echoed through the meadow as they clinked their mugs together, the anticipation of the upcoming taste of luxury heightening the festive mood.

With an exclamation of pure delight, Riya tilted her mug back, draining the majority of her drink in a single gulp. "This is... amazing! Probably one of the finest things I've ever tasted," she exclaimed, holding out her mug for more. Sylvie just chuckled at her friend's reaction, pouring her another serving of the golden liquid.

On the other side, Amber reached for a skewer of grilled chicken, the savory aroma making her mouth water. The first bite sent her taste buds into a frenzy, the meat succulent and full of flavor. Meanwhile, Sylvie had found her own unique way of enjoying the meal. She dunked pieces of her beloved bread into her drink, savoring each bite with an expression of sheer bliss plastered across her face.

Witnessing this, Alicia couldn't hold back her laughter. "Really, Sylvie? Dipping bread in the Elven Elixir? That's a new level of bread obsession!" she teased, earning herself a good-natured glare from her best friend.

Wanting to ensure their safety and privacy, Aditya took out a golden paper talisman, covered with complex magical runes. "I'll set up a 4th-order invisible barrier around us," he announced. "No one from outside will be able to see us. And no wild creatures below the 5th order will even be able to sense us."

As he laid the talisman on the ground and channeled a bit of his mana into it, a cubic-shaped barrier materialized around their little party. The barrier, although invisible, created a safe and private space for them. It didn't block the wind or the surrounding nature, leaving the ambiance untouched. It was as if nothing had happened, but they all knew they were now inside a protective shield, secure and secluded under the starlit sky.

In the warm and inviting atmosphere, Julia played the role of a caring elder sister. With a gentle smile, she handed a juicy, grilled chicken leg to Lara. "Here, try this, Lara. It's absolutely delicious," she suggested, her voice warm and friendly. In their merry group, everyone had a soft spot for Lara. She was the youngest, the most reserved, and often preferred to listen rather than speak.

Accepting the food with a shy "Thank you, big sister...", Lara took a tentative bite. The flavor of the perfectly grilled chicken, complemented by the delicate taste of the Elven Elixir, was an absolute delight. A twinkle of excitement lit up in her eyes as she relished the scrumptious combination.

Aditya, seated beside Julia on the edge of the large mat, was taking his time, savoring the Elven Elixir at his own leisurely pace. His eyes drifted over his friends, a smile gracing his face as he took in their animated expressions, their laughter, and their joy. This, to him, was the epitome of happiness and peace. The sight of their merry faces, their unguarded smiles and their shared laughter filled his heart with a profound sense of contentment and joy.

"Aditya, why so slow? You're drinking like a snail!" Sylvie teased, reaching for his mug with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Here, let me pour you another one." With that, she cheerfully topped up his mug, raising the level of the golden liquid almost to the brim.

Bursting into giggles, Riya challenged Alicia in a teasing tone, "How about we have a little friendly competition, eh, Golden Glutton?" The playful nickname that Riya had given Alicia was a playful jab at her notorious love for gold and wealth. Alicia, though slightly miffed at being called Golden Glutton, responded without missing a beat, her eye twitching in mock annoyance.

"What's your game, Leafy Highness?" Alicia retorted, her tone laced with mischief. Sylvie, their constant audience, found the scene highly amusing. Her eyes sparkled with glee, and she drank another gulp of her wine, clearly entertained by the playful banter.

"Well," Riya continued, her eyes twinkling with a competitive spirit, "We'll have a drinking contest. The one who can outdrink the other gets to give Aditya a French kiss!" This declaration seemed to set Alicia ablaze, the fire of competition ignited in her eyes.

Aditya, on the other hand, was taken aback. He could feel a cold sweat trickling down his forehead as he wondered how the peaceful night had spiraled into a competition. He cast a helpless glance towards Sylvie, hoping she might intervene.

But Sylvie seemed to be thriving on the playful chaos. "Ladies, place your bets now! I, for one, am backing my bestie, Alicia!" Sylvie declared, her eyes shining with anticipation. Alicia flashed a triumphant grin at Riya, confident in her victory.

The girls, each picking sides, were engrossed in this impromptu game. Aditya, feeling slightly out of place amidst the excitement, decided to join in on the fun. "Well, it's a wonder you aren't betting on who can eat more bread, Sylvie!" he remarked, shooting a teasing glance at Sylvie's half-eaten piece of bread soaked in wine.

This unexpected comment from Aditya triggered a round of giggles among the girls, lightening the competitive atmosphere. Though the contest was still on, the mood was kept friendly and jovial, everyone's hearts filled with laughter and joy.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 459

"Come on, Alicia, don't let Leafy Highness get the best of you!" Sylvie cheerfully encouraged Alicia, swiftly refilling both hers and Riya's mugs each time they emptied them. The competition was in full swing, their raucous laughter and cheers filling the air. Meanwhile, the other girls found entertainment in the spectacle, savoring their own mugs of the intoxicating Elven Elixir paired with the deliciously grilled meat.

Aditya watched on with a bemused expression, his gaze oscillating between the dueling princesses. They were already three mugs down each and showed no signs of slowing. Riya, with her natural demeanor, seemed to be fairing well, nonchalantly sipping her fourth mug as if it was nothing more than water. Alicia, on the other hand, seemed to be facing a tough battle with her fourth mug, her face flushed a rosy red, and her breath slightly uneven.

Observing the situation, Julia couldn't help but add her own sarcastic remark. "At this rate, I'd say our precious Golden Glutton is more of a Lightweight Lass!" she quipped, causing the group to burst into laughter. Even Alicia, despite her struggle, managed to smirk, her eyes glittering with determination, refusing to back down. The night was filled with laughter and friendly rivalry, the joy of their gathering enhancing the beauty of the Silver Meadow Grove.

Somehow, Alicia mustered the strength to finish her fourth mug, but that seemed to be her limit. With a sigh of resignation, she declared, "I can't continue anymore. I give up." She collapsed onto Sylvie's lap, closing her eyes as if she was ready to drift off into a sweet, alcohol-induced slumber.

Riya, on the other hand, was just finishing her sixth mug, looking almost as fresh as she did at the beginning of their friendly competition. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, giving her an air of charm and delight. "Well, Golden Glutton," she announced triumphantly, "it seems this is my win." The other girls stared at her in awe, wondering how she had managed to consume so much wine yet remain so energetic.

Having claimed her victory, Riya's attention now shifted to her promised reward. She locked eyes with Aditya, and in a gesture that oozed seduction, she licked her lips. The girls, slightly intoxicated, let out a few giggles at this spectacle.

But as Riya started sauntering toward Aditya, she was stopped in her tracks. Looking back, she found a very determined Alicia holding onto her leg. "Golden Glutton, let go of my leg," Riya demanded, slightly confused by Alicia's actions. Her flushed cheeks and slightly off-balance demeanor suggested that the wine was starting to take its toll.

With a playful smile dancing on her lips, Alicia responded in a defiant and merry voice, "Hehe! I don't want to." Her action incited another round of laughter among the girls. The night was turning out to be one of the most memorable ones they'd had, filled with laughter, merriment, and a sense of camaraderie that ran deep.

In the flickering firelight, Alicia and Riya's playful spat continued unabated. The drunken, high-spirited banter escalated as Alicia obstinately refused to release Riya's leg, her taunts becoming increasingly mischievous. Far from being put off, Riya seemed to revel in the friendly rivalry. The promised reward of a kiss from Aditya for the victor was momentarily forgotten, replaced by a shared, albeit competitive, camaraderie.

In the midst of this high-spirited chaos, Julia appeared to be lost in thought. She stopped reaching for her drink and her gaze turned towards Aditya. An unexpected question tumbled from her lips, "Aditya, why don't you ever invite Sasha to join us? I don't think any of us have ever met her."

Sasha, the goddess of Lust, was an enigma for many of them. Despite being the goddess of Alchemy, Julia hadn't had the opportunity to meet Sasha in person. In fact, not even Riya, the goddess of Nature, or Alicia, the goddess of Wealth, had seen her face-to-face. Sasha was someone who, despite her title and significance, remained elusive to them.

Aditya was momentarily taken aback by the question. He took a moment to compose himself, his eyes glancing around at the curious faces of the group. The playful banter ceased for a moment as they awaited his response, the atmosphere turning subtly serious and expectant.

"Sasha, well...," Aditya began, rubbing the back of his neck with a slightly awkward grin etched on his face. "To be honest, it's a bit complicated. We did agree that I would go see her next time, but I never managed to follow through. Life got in the way, you know?"

It wasn't that Aditya intentionally avoided her, far from it. The simple fact was that his time was spread incredibly thin. Between his responsibilities and spending time with Julia and the others, he never quite managed to carve out a slot for a visit to Sasha.

However, the mere mention of another woman's name from Aditya's lips was enough to bring Riya's playful fight with Alicia to an abrupt halt. The change in Riya's aura was palpable, and Alicia, quickly picking up on it, wisely chose not to push her luck by continuing the taunting.

Julia, ever the peacekeeper, gently encouraged Aditya, "You should try and make time to visit her, Aditya."

"I suppose you're right, maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, I could try to..." Aditya's words trailed off as Riya, seemingly out of nowhere, pushed him onto the grassy floor, effectively interrupting him. The sudden change of events elicited surprised gasps from the group, as they watched the situation unfold before them.

"Ri... Riya..." Aditya's voice emerged as a soft, surprised gasp. Riya had positioned herself on his lap, her aura radiating an unexpected, fiery intensity. It didn't take him long to realize that she was acting out of jealousy. Riya was rather possessive about him, her love dipping into the depths of obsessive ardor. Usually, she kept her feelings well under control, but the alcohol seemed to have lowered her inhibitions, revealing her raw emotions.

"Aditya... hush..." Her voice was barely a whisper, loaded with an array of emotions. Without giving him a chance to respond, she leaned forward, her body pressing against his. The feel of her soft bosom against his chest sent a jolt of electricity through him. Slowly, deliberately, she moved closer still, her lips seeking his. As they made contact, a shudder rippled through her body, her inexperience evident in her somewhat clumsy efforts.

However, Aditya chose to take over, embracing the electrifying moment with open arms. Literally. His arms wound around her slender waist, holding her close. The unexpected bite on her lips caught Riya by surprise, causing her to open her mouth slightly. He took this chance to slip his tongue inside, intertwining with hers in an intimate dance.

Meanwhile, their companions had varied reactions to the sudden turn of events. Julia maintained her calm facade, a faint smile playing on her lips. Lara, the innocent one, blushed furiously, her eyes wide with fascination and embarrassment. Amber, on the other hand, was showing signs of jealousy, her lips pouting in silent protest. But all these reactions were largely unnoticed, as everyone's attention was captured by the passionate display between Aditya and Riya, their connection tangible in the soft moonlight.

Aditya was a master of the art of kissing, his expertise shone through his controlled movements and understanding of pace. With every passing moment, Riya could feel the warmth spreading through her body, a strange, delightful heat that ignited an unfamiliar fire within her.

Then she felt it - an insistent hardness pressing against her. She didn't need any further explanation to understand what it was, and the awareness sent a thrill of anticipation coursing through her veins. Even the barrier of their clothes couldn't diminish the heated sensation emanating from him.

Mmm....!

Unable to suppress her reactions, Riya let out a throaty moan, a clear testament to the pleasure coursing through her. Her hand, seemingly of its own accord, slipped under his shirt, exploring the landscape of his body. Her fingers traced the well-defined contours of his abs and muscles, each touch sending a shiver of anticipation coursing through her veins.

Their breaths hitched, the air between them heavy with shared passion and burgeoning desires. The world outside their bubble ceased to exist as they lost themselves in the intoxicating dance of love. Their hearts pounded in a synchronous rhythm, underscoring the symphony of their shared desire, their bodies moving in a dance as old as time yet as fresh as the dawn of each new day.

Witnessing the passionate scene unfolding before her, Alicia could feel a surge of envy sweeping over her. "Hey, that's not fair," she protested, a playful lilt in her voice as she gently pushed Riya away, claiming her spot on Aditya's lap.

As she took her seat, Alicia could feel Aditya's evident arousal pressing against her, a solid reminder of his masculinity that reached up to the pit of her lower belly. A knowing smirk pulled at the corners of her lips as she locked eyes with him.

"Alicia...." Aditya's voice was laced with a mix of surprise and desire. His usually calm demeanor seemed to falter a bit under her captivating gaze. He was battling his instincts, trying to keep his thoughts in check. But before he could utter another word, Alicia leaned in and decisively claimed his lips.

Their lips collided in a smoldering kiss, the heat between them rising exponentially with each passing moment. She tasted of sweet wine and something uniquely Alicia, an addictive flavor that had him yearning for more. Their tongues danced in a heated battle, each trying to dominate the other. The air around them buzzed with raw sensuality and pent-up desire, their bodies fitting together like two perfectly crafted puzzle pieces.

Aditya's hand, seemingly of its own accord, found its way to the small of her back, pulling her closer. The thin fabric of her dress did little to disguise the curves of her body, each one fitting perfectly against him, heightening the sensation of their intimate contact.

Their kiss was an intricate ballet of shared desires, of burning passion that threatened to consume them, making the air around them sizzle with an intense erotic charge. Each soft sound escaping from her throat, each gasp for air, was like sweet music to his ears, urging him to deepen their connection. Each heated glance shared, every caress exchanged, was a testament to their unspoken desires, making their encounter all the more exhilarating and tantalizingly erotic.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 460

Caught up in the rousing game of passion, Aditya's wandering right hand found its way to Alicia's ample bosom. The swell of her breasts was so generous, he couldn't encompass the entirety of her left mound within his palm. Her voluptuous curves felt so soft, like two clouds of pure pleasure beneath his fingers. The urge to explore them was irresistible, and he couldn't help but squeeze gently, yielding to the temptation.

The resulting sound that escaped Alicia's lips was nothing short of intoxicating. "Mmm...!!" A throaty moan, a seductive symphony that resounded in the silent night, intermingling with the soft rustling of leaves and the rhythmic humming of the night creatures. It was a captivating soundtrack that fueled his desires even further.

Alicia was far from passive in their intimate exchange. Every little action from Aditya, every gentle squeeze, was fanning the flames of desire within her, making her body react in the most primal ways. Her heartbeat seemed to match the rhythm of their entwined bodies, her breath hitching every time his fingers explored her sensitive skin. The taste of him, the feel of his firm body beneath her, the intoxicating aroma of his masculine scent, all these sensations were overwhelming, yet she found herself craving more.

"Mm...!" Another moan escaped her lips, this one softer, more delicate, as if whispering a secret to the cool night breeze. Each whimper, each gasp, each soft sound was a testament to the intense pleasure coursing through her veins. It was a dance of desire, a sultry song of shared intimacy that added a layer of raw sensuality to the already charged atmosphere, making their encounter even more intoxicating and passionately erotic.

Meanwhile, Riya, who was watching the spectacle, was flushed with jealousy and the effect of the elven liquor. Her emerald green eyes flickered with resentment as she watched Alicia occupy the place that should have been hers. After all, she was the rightful winner of the boisterous drinking competition they had engaged in earlier.

Alicia, lost in the moment, was completely taken by surprise when she felt a sudden push against her face. Blinking open her eyes, she saw a sight that made her blood boil. There was Riya, in all her fiery glory, stealing away Aditya's lips that were just recently intertwined with hers. While kissing Aditya, Riya didn't miss the chance to give Alicia a defiant, challenging glare.

Alicia, however, was no pushover. While still maintaining her position straddling Aditya's waist, she refused to retreat. Feeling the hot gazes of her competition, she pressed her bountiful chest more firmly against Aditya's hard torso, feeling a wave of satisfaction as he involuntarily gasped.

Tilting her head slightly, she moved her attention to Aditya's neck, tracing a path of sweet torment with her lips down to his collarbone. The place was filled with the sound of soft kisses and muffled moans as she started to nip at his skin, leaving a trail of love bites. Each mark was a clear statement to everyone present - he belonged to her. This was her territory, and she wasn't backing down.

The entire scene was filled with an intoxicating eroticism, an invisible aura of sensuality that made the entire place feel heavy and charged. The symphony of passionate moans, the whisper of skin against skin, and the soft gasps filled the room, making it a hotbed of pure, unadulterated desire.

The once merry and relaxed ambiance of camping had taken an unexpectedly heated turn. The central focus of everyone's attention was the sensuous spectacle unfolding in the heart of their circle. Four pairs of eyes -- Julia, Lara, Sylvie, and Amber -- were all fixated on the carnal dance between Alicia and Riya, their gazes unwavering as they watched the passionate interplay with Aditya. Their faces bore expressions of surprised astonishment, tinged with a hint of titillation, making them look like innocent onlookers who had unintentionally stumbled upon an erotic display.

If Aditya had diverted his attention from the seductive goddesses currently vying for his affections, he would have noticed the subtle changes in his other companions. Their cheeks were dusted with a faint rosy hue, a clear indication of the elven wine's effect. While not as deeply intoxicated as Riya and Alicia, the subtle flush was a clear giveaway that the alcohol was gently nudging them towards a more uninhibited state. After all, Sylvie had brought this particular batch of elven wine precisely for its potent intoxicating properties.

Julia, the composed Goddess of Alchemy, was battling a war within herself. Her fingers were nervously fidgeting with the hem of her dress, her eyes glued to the passionate tableau in front of her. She was unable to suppress the warmth radiating from her core, resulting in a restless movement of her thighs. As each second ticked by, her self-restraint was slowly being chipped away, unveiling a side of her that she rarely let show.

Lara, on the other hand, was a study in contrasts. The usually reserved Vampire Princess was shifting uncomfortably, her eyes darting away every now and then only to be irresistibly drawn back to the steamy scene. But underneath her embarrassment and shyness, if one were to look carefully, they could see a glint of longing in her amethyst eyes. The sight before her was stirring up hidden desires, making her yearn for a taste of Aditya's passionate kisses. The air was thick with unspoken tension and mounting anticipation as each girl grappled with her own growing arousal.

Amber, one of the onlookers of the explicit scene, sat quietly in a corner, her feelings tangled in a whirlwind of confusion. Her heart ached with a desire to be part of the amorous ensemble, to taste Aditya's lips and feel the heat of his body against hers. However, a part of her recoiled, held back by her entrenched modesty and her perceived notion of their relationship. In her mind, she was just the general of Aditya's army, and their relationship was defined by their official roles. It didn't help that she had only ended up in this intimate circle because of her close friendship with Julia.

Lost in her internal dilemma, Amber's hand absentmindedly moved towards her lips, slipping a finger in her mouth and sucking it absentmindedly. Her eyes were fixated on Aditya, glistening with unspoken desire. A part of her was waking up to an unfamiliar sensation, a warmth that had begun to spread from the pit of her stomach.

Sylvie, the elf maiden with a mischievous glint in her eyes, watched the whole scene unfold with unabashed delight. A satisfied grin curled on her lips as she observed the effects of the potent elven wine she had willingly supplied. 'So, the aphrodisiac properties are finally kicking in,' she mused, her eyes flickering with amusement. Her intention was to add a bit of spice to the evening, but the events unfolding before her exceeded her wildest expectations.

But even as she reveled in her successful plot, Sylvie found herself reevaluating the intensity of the reactions. Yes, the wine had been strong, and its effects on the drinker's libido were widely known. However, the overtly erotic behaviors of Riya and Alicia, and Aditya's acceptance of their advances, suggested a deeper bond at play. It seemed that the flames of their unabashed desire were fanned not just by the alcohol but also by the genuine affection they had for each other. It was a realization that made Sylvie's smile deepen, the twinkle in her eyes taking on a more teasing light. It was a rare sight, seeing their ordinarily restrained love burst into such a wild display of passion, and she was going to savor every moment of it.

While absorbed in her mirthful amusement, Sylvie had been pouring herself more of the intoxicating elven wine, unknowingly escalating her own consumption. The steady influx of alcohol made her lose track of the amount she was drinking, all the while she nibbled on her preferred companion to the wine - bread. However, the once delectable combination of wine and bread soon began to taste insipid. 'Why does everything taste so bitter all of a sudden?' she pondered, her mood shifting from delight to despondency. It dawned upon her that the passionate spectacle before her was a reminder of her personal frustrations - a century-old dark elf still retaining her virginity, a woman yet to experience the heady intoxication of a man's touch.

Meanwhile, Julia was embroiled in her own internal conflict, struggling to contain the burgeoning desire within her. 'Enough of this,' she finally conceded, her patience wearing thin. The intense longing she felt for Aditya was becoming too hard to ignore. 'I am not crossing any lines here. Aditya is destined to be my future husband, and I have just as much right as Riya and Alicia to experience the intimacy that they are so openly sharing with him.' This self-assurance acted as her push, propelling her to slowly crawl towards Aditya.

Throughout this unfolding drama, Aditya had remained blissfully unaware. Entranced by the enthralling engagement with Riya and Alicia, he had completely lost awareness of his surrounding audience. Sylvie and Amber, who had been silently spectating their heated interaction, faded into the background of his consciousness. Lost in the throes of passion, Aditya, Riya, and Alicia continued their playful dalliance, oblivious to the stir they were causing among their companions.

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Chapter 461

A sudden, unexpected sensation startled Aditya, prompting him to break away from his fervent lip-lock with Riya. He glanced down to find Julia, now part of their intimate ensemble, adding her touch to the mix. His eyes widened at the sight of Julia, delicately nibbling at his chest, lavishing attention on the unclaimed side of his collarbone - a counterpoint to Alicia who had taken up residence on his right side.

A sharp, electric shock coursed down Aditya's spine as he registered the gentle yet deliberate touch of Julia's hand wandering down to his arousal. The intense make-out session had stoked his desire, and it was clear his lower body was not immune to these reactions. His manhood, already stiff from the escalating passion, throbbed in anticipation of what was to come.

Julia's soft, skilled fingers began a slow, teasing journey over his length. The velvet-like touch was feather-light, but it set his senses ablaze. His hardened length twitched in response to her provocative touches. The sensation of her delicate fingers gliding over his member was tantalizing, to say the least, inflaming his lust even further and making the scene even more intoxicating.

Aditya, ever the considerate man, had a moment of clarity amidst the heady passion that swept him up. With a jolt, he realized the presence of Amber and Sylvie, still on the fringes of their lascivious tableau. Despite his heightened state of arousal, he knew he had to press pause.

Summoning all the strength left in his heat-addled mind, he gently, yet firmly, detached himself from the entangled trio of Riya, Alicia, and Julia. Sitting up, he ran his fingers across his lips, erasing traces of their shared passion.

"Alright, that's enough," he declared, his voice a rich baritone. His words sharply contrasted with the physical evidence of his arousal. His hardened length still twitched in response to Julia's lingering touch, even as he called for a halt.

As his gaze roamed over the rest of his female companions, it finally settled on Lara. He felt a twinge of guilt for overlooking her. "Lara, come here," he beckoned. His voice was gentle yet firm, inclusive yet commanding. Lara felt her heart thud loudly in her chest, her cheeks burning hotter with each passing second.

With a brave surge of determination, she heeded his call. Crawling forward until she was within his reach, she looked up to find Aditya's gaze, full of fiery passion yet sprinkled with tenderness. His finger gently tilted her chin upward, guiding her to meet his gaze.

The moment their eyes locked, he leaned down to capture her lips with his own. The intensity of his kiss left her gasping for breath, but also yearning for more. Unable to contain the sudden wave of desire coursing through her, Lara's arms instinctively wound around his neck and into his hair, pulling him closer, deepening their kiss. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she surrendered herself to the whirlpool of passion that Aditya stirred within her.

Aditya and Lara remained locked in their passionate exchange, their world reduced to the taste of each other's lips. The rest of the women could only watch as Aditya devoted his attention to Lara, who usually kept herself on the sidelines, a shy and silent presence.

Riya and Alicia, now relegated to the sidelines, found themselves experiencing a twinge of jealousy. They watched Aditya and Lara with slightly furrowed brows and adorably pouting lips. Julia, however, observed them with a small, understanding smile tugging at her lips. She knew that Lara, with her naturally shy disposition, would not have approached Aditya as brazenly as they had. Aditya calling Lara forward and focusing on her so attentively was a testament to his thoughtful nature, proof that he was a man who would never forget or sideline any of his women.

As Lara and Aditya continued to share their heated kiss, Aditya's hands, as if possessing a will of their own, began to explore Lara's body. His hands slipped down her torso, finally resting on the generous swell of her breasts. With a light touch, he began to knead them, eliciting a soft, involuntary moan from Lara.

"Ahhh...!" Lara's voice, usually soft and demure, now echoed in the quiet surroundings, filled with passion and desire. The sweet, intimate sound drove Aditya's senses further into overdrive, stoking the fires of passion burning within him. Their shared heat spread across their entwined bodies, weaving an intoxicating tapestry of desire that held everyone present spellbound.

Amid the intimate spectacle unfolding before their eyes, a different kind of show was taking place slightly off center. Sylvie's ears perked up at the sound of a mug being set down rather forcefully. The noise was accompanied by the unmistakable gurgle of liquid pouring down a throat in rapid succession. Turning her attention away from Aditya and Lara for a moment, Sylvie glanced in the direction of the noise and her eyes widened in surprise.

There, in the periphery, sat Amber, her cheeks flushed a rosy hue as she downed yet another mug of the potent wine. Surrounding her was a mini battlefield of empty mugs, an unspoken testament to her unexpected drinking prowess. There were at least half a dozen of them, all drained of their contents. 'Unbelievable...' Sylvie thought, 'She's completely hammered...'. Amber had managed to out-drink both Riya and Alicia, who had earlier made a spirited attempt to see who could consume the most.

Sylvie could feel a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. 'This is turning out to be more entertaining than I'd anticipated...,' she mused, unknowingly reaching for her own mug to take a sip of the wine. Without even realizing it, she too was imbibing more than her usual share, her inhibitions lowering with each gulp, as the atmosphere around them continued to throb with an infectious sense of tantalizing desire.

Just as Aditya was caught up in the soft, inviting allure of Lara's lips, he felt an unfamiliar proximity drawing close to him. Parting from Lara, he opened his eyes and nearly gasped at the sight that greeted him. Amber, her face flushed a vibrant shade of rose, stood awkwardly near him. Her eyes, usually sharp and focused, were now glazed over, their pupils dilated into amorous heart-shaped pools. The telltale signs of deep arousal were painted vividly across her features, leaving Aditya flabbergasted.

'What on earth...?' His thoughts trailed off as his eyes inadvertently wandered over to where Amber had been previously sitting. There, littered amidst a small sea of empty mugs, the evidence of her heavy drinking was starkly apparent.

Before he could piece together the situation, the quiet, demure Amber unexpectedly sprang into action. With surprising strength, she nudged him backwards, causing him to lose his balance and tumble onto the ground. Before he could voice out a single word of protest, she had straddled his waist and sealed his lips with a fiery kiss. The suddenness of her actions not only took Aditya by surprise but also left the other women in a state of utter shock. Riya, Alicia, Lara, Julia, and Sylvie were all left wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open as they processed the unexpected sight of their normally composed and dignified General, Amber, launching herself at Aditya with such unrestrained passion.

With an audacity that was utterly unlike her usual reserved self, Amber took full control of the situation. Her lips, fervently meshed with Aditya's, drank deeply from the intoxicating taste of him. She teased and coaxed his tongue, making him a willing participant in their passionate dance. Aditya, still reeling from the abruptness of Amber's actions, found himself unable to resist her fervent advances.

While the unexpected spectacle played out, Sylvie found herself smirking from the sidelines, her eyes sparkling with the light of understanding. 'Indeed, the Elven Wine has the power to ignite one's innermost desires, to heighten the state of arousal,' she thought, recalling the unique properties of the intoxicating beverage she had intentionally brought for this gathering. 'Yet, its potency shouldn't be so overwhelming to the point of reducing one's self-restraint to the degree where they become insatiable.'

'After consuming five or six mugs of the wine, a person would become a bit more uninhibited, yet they would still retain enough control over their actions. But Alicia and Riya, whose affections for Aditya are undeniable, couldn't keep their longing hidden. Through their provocative actions and the spirit of competition, they stoked the flames of their desires without any regard for their surroundings.'

Sylvie's eyes then darted to Amber, who was still passionately kissing Aditya. 'However, Amber consumed a lot more than either Alicia or Riya... and yet she too succumbed to the allure of her desires. This could only mean...' A sly smile formed on Sylvie's lips as the realization dawned on her. 'Amber, our dignified General, must harbor feelings for Aditya... only that could justify her bold action of staking her claim on him in front of everyone else.' Her thoughts were illuminated by this newfound insight, adding an additional layer of complexity to the unfolding scenario.

As Amber declared with a startling determination, "I don't want to be left behind," Aditya found himself utterly captivated. Even though her words were slurred from the influence of the wine, their conviction was hard to ignore. A pang of surprise shot through him, as he realized that her actions were not just the product of wine-induced arousal, but also a testament to the feelings she harbored for him.

Aditya could see it now, crystal clear - Amber had been simmering with hidden desire and unexpressed jealousy, as she silently observed him showering his affections on Julia, Alicia, Riya, and Lara. This revelation sent a bolt of astonishment through him, making him look at Amber in a new light.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Amber swooped in for another intoxicating kiss, her fluffy fox tails dancing and swaying behind her in an exhibition of exhilaration. Her fox ears, usually so serene, were giving away her anticipation as they twitched in response to her heightened emotions. Her fervor mirrored in the passionate way she sucked his tongue, as though trying to claim every bit of him for herself.

After a few more heart-thumping moments, she broke off the kiss, panting lightly, her eyes hazy yet filled with an insatiable longing as they bored into his. "I also..." she started, her voice strained with emotion, every word heavy with promise. There was a momentary pause as if she was mustering all her courage, before she concluded with a heart-stopping confession, "I want cute fox babies..."

Her unexpected yet sincere proclamation hung in the air, weaving a story of love, desire, and longing. This seemingly innocent declaration carried with it a wave of carnal desire, enough to send a shockwave of raw, primal heat through the already charged atmosphere around them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 462

"I want cute fox babies..." As the words left Amber's lips, the silence that followed was deafening. Aditya felt a jolt of surprise, his mind left reeling by her startling confession. Julia, Riya, Alicia, Sylvie, and Lara, all were equally shell-shocked, their eyes wide and mouths agape as they tried to process the revelation. Their perception of Amber had been irrevocably changed in that one fleeting moment.

Aditya was walking on a tightrope, teetering on the edge of losing control. It was a challenge of colossal proportions to maintain restraint when five bewitching women were beckoning him with their seductive advances. His breathing was ragged and uneven, his chest heaving as he fought the rising tide of desire within him.

The throbbing ache in his manhood was becoming impossible to ignore. It was begging for release, the intense yearning turning into a torturous ordeal. He was standing at the precipice of surrender, one nudge away from succumbing to his primal instincts.

In his helpless state, Aditya scanned the faces of the women surrounding him, noticing the flush of arousal coloring their cheeks. The wine had taken its toll on them as well, making them tipsy and considerably more daring than usual. His gaze finally landed on Sylvie, whose face was adorned with a mischievous grin, adding another layer of complexity to the heated atmosphere.

Just as Amber's soft lips met his once again, something within Aditya snapped. An unforeseen clarity washed over him, making him more conscious of the situation at hand. Gently, yet firmly, he extricated himself from Amber's hold and sat upright, his dark eyes trained intently on Sylvie.

His typically warm gaze was replaced with a frigid coldness that sent a shiver down Sylvie's spine. Even under the intoxicating influence of the wine, she could not ignore the piercing chill of his stare. It made her nervous, made her sweat. His gaze was akin to that of a hawk, ruthlessly scrutinizing its prey.

Sylvie looked like a criminal caught red-handed, her eyes darting nervously under Aditya's relentless scrutiny. His gaze was unyielding, the cold smile on his face intensifying her discomfort. He was certain now that she was withholding something.

Aditya's voice was icy as he addressed Sylvie, "What are you hiding, Sylvie?" The question seemed to hang heavily in the air, charging the atmosphere with tension. Sylvie attempted to muster the courage to deflect his question, to weave a believable lie. But under his intense gaze, she found herself losing the strength to deceive him. The previously erotic atmosphere had turned into a tense standoff between Aditya and Sylvie.

Despite the tense atmosphere, the blush on Sylvie's face was apparent, mirroring the flush on everyone else's faces, including Aditya's. Aditya himself was admittedly slightly intoxicated and incredibly aroused, his body tingling with the heat of desire. Seemingly trying to gather her nerves, Sylvie gulped down the remnants of the elven wine in her mug. The mug clinked against the mat as she set it down, a slight tremor in her hand betraying her apprehension.

Fixing her gaze on Aditya, she answered, "The Elven Elixir... it holds another secret." Her voice was soft yet clear, cutting through the sexually charged silence.

"And what would that be?" Aditya responded, his voice slightly hoarse with desire. As he spoke, he felt the gentle bites on his right ear, courtesy of Amber. Her fingers were dancing playfully across his chiseled chest and down his back, feeling the outline of his powerful muscles beneath her soft fingertips. She was unabashed in her exploration, her actions stirring the beast within Aditya.

Riya was off to the side, her adorable pout emphasized by her drunken state. Her gaze was fixated on Aditya and Amber, a dreamy look of yearning in her eyes. The flush on her cheeks indicated her intoxication as she slowly crawled towards Aditya, her movements languid and sensuous.

Julia and Lara, although just as aroused, were not as inebriated as the others. Their self-control was admirable, allowing them to rein in their desire and focus on the intriguing conversation between Aditya and Sylvie. The air was thick with unspoken promises of pleasure, but the secret Sylvie was about to reveal had everyone's rapt attention.

"The Elven Elixir... it's not just an ordinary wine. It has the power to enhance one's desires, to fuel the flames of lust in a person," Sylvie admitted in a husky, slightly inebriated tone. Her eyes were half-lidded, her pupils slightly unfocused from the alcohol.

"The feelings of arousal... they become amplified, especially for those who harbor deep romantic feelings for another." Her gaze drifted towards Aditya, a silent acknowledgement of the fervent affection that Julia, Riya, Alicia, and Lara held for him.

A slow realization dawned upon Aditya. His gaze flickered over to Amber, who was now looking at him with a newfound intensity in her eyes. His incomplete sentence hung in the air, his voice trailing off as the truth unveiled itself. Amber's behavior, her sudden boldness, all made sense now. Just like the others, she too held feelings for him.

Watching his fiances openly expressing their affection had sparked her own latent feelings, leading her to drown herself in the intoxicating wine. Unable to suppress her bubbling jealousy or conceal her feelings for Aditya any longer, she too succumbed to the allure of her emotions.

Sylvie, with her half-closed eyes and a teasing grin playing on her lips, chimed in, "You've got it all figured out now, haven't you? Are you... happy about it?" Her question, though framed playfully, held a deeper meaning, her curiosity barely veiled by the haze of alcohol. The sensual atmosphere was back, wrapping everyone within its inviting embrace, as they waited for Aditya's response.

"You...!" Aditya's voice rang out, anger coating his tone. Before Sylvie could react, she was suddenly lifted from her seat. A gasp left her lips as Aditya maneuvered her across his lap, her back and shapely derriere presented to him. The fact that she, the esteemed Guild Master of the White Lotus Guild, a formidable organization that spanned the entire Westnia Continent, was placed in such a compromising position, was more than she could comprehend. A hot blush spread across her cheeks, a vivid testament of her intense embarrassment.

"Unhand me, Aditya...!" Her demand, a confusing blend of indignation and mortification, filled the air.

Yet, before she could further protest, a resounding 'Slap!' echoed in the whole place.

Ah.......!

A gasp of shock escaped her, morphing into a drawn-out moan, sweet and rich. Her unexpected vocal response sent ripples of pleasure coursing through Aditya, causing an unmistakable throbbing in his lower regions. His entire being quivered in response, unable to deny the eroticism of the situation.

Sylvie's eyes widened, shock overriding embarrassment. The cheeky, poised guild master was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a blushing woman whose face was the color of ripe cherries. "How...dare...you!" She stammered, her voice hoarse with incredulity. She couldn't believe that Aditya had dared to spank her, like a mischievous child receiving a punishment. The memory of the stinging sensation on her behind was enough to reignite her blush, the warmth spreading through her entire being.

Aditya's words resonated with a sense of conviction, "Your actions call for some disciplinary measures." Without any delay, his hand descended onto Sylvie's left cheek in another firm slap.

A sudden gasp ripped from Sylvie's throat, swiftly transforming into a rich, melodious moan. 'Ah...!' The dulcet sound seemed to hang in the air, punctuating the room's already thickened atmosphere with an even more intoxicating allure.

A feeling of surprise registered in Aditya's mind as he realized how incredibly soft and plush Sylvie's posterior was. His palm tingled with the aftereffect of the contact, sending delicious shivers up his arm. The sensation stoked the fires of his arousal even further, unleashing a flurry of risqué thoughts within his already heated mind.

Unbeknownst to him, Sylvie was also battling her own rapidly increasing arousal. Just two swift spanks were enough to send her senses spiraling into overdrive, the ensuing pleasure causing a distinct wetness to seep into her delicate white underwear. Her breaths grew more and more ragged, her chest heaving heavily with every intake of air. But still, she held his gaze, her eyes glinting with defiance and a hint of excitement despite the embarrassing situation she found herself in.

Slap!

Her melodious moan reverberated in the room, the sound was like an erotic symphony to Aditya's ears. 'Ah....!' Following another swift slap, he asked, "Have you learned your lesson, Sylvie?"

In response, Sylvie's voice came out in a soft, almost inaudible murmur. "I beg your pardon, master. I beseech your forgiveness." Her tone was surprisingly submissive and compliant. It was then that Aditya realized Sylvie had unconsciously shifted into a more submissive position. She was kneeling now, her shapely derrière raised invitingly in the air. Her face was pressed against the plush mat, her ample bosom flattened against it, creating an enchanting sight.

Sylvie then surprised him with her next words, "Master, please continue with my punishment..." A mischievous glint sparked in her eyes, a hint of something Aditya hadn't expected. He had never anticipated that Sylvie would find pleasure in such a situation.

In that moment, realization dawned upon him. 'She's a masochist,' he understood. His brows raised slightly in surprise, a new understanding of Sylvie's desires sinking into his mind.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 463

"Are you remorseful now?" Aditya echoed his query once more as he brought his hand down on Sylvie's rear with an assertive thwack.

'Ah...!' Sylvie's moan echoed through the place once more, the erotic harmony making his heart beat faster.

"I am... truly contrite... master..." she stuttered between soft, almost melodious moans. The so-called punishment continued for a while longer, the sound of Aditya's hand meeting Sylvie's soft skin and her sensuous moans filling the room, creating an intoxicating atmosphere.

After a few minutes, Aditya noticed a thin trail of liquid trickling down Sylvie's shapely thighs. The sight made his heart thump even harder. 'She's actually turned on by this... I need to put a stop to this...' Aditya came to a swift realization. Based on how the situation was unfolding, it had the potential to spin out of control. He decided to cease the activity, feeling like he was flirting dangerously with a flame that was ready to burst into a raging fire. This game was getting way too heated.

"Why are you forgetting about me, Aditya, my darling?" A spoiled, petulant voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing his attention back to the scene around him. Alicia, who had somehow slithered her way up to him, stared at him with dewy eyes full of longing.

"Why won't you kiss me, Aditya?" she demanded, her voice carrying a childlike entitlement. As she nestled into his lap, her soft body pressing against his throbbing arousal, she leaned her face in, her lips pursed in anticipation of a heated kiss.

"I wouldn't mind some adorable dragon babies either..." chimed in Julia, approaching Aditya from the side. Her coy smile and teasing tone added another layer to the intoxicating atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Riya, filled with a bold determination fueled by lust, rid herself of her restrictive dress. Placing Aditya's hand on her bare breast, her eyes glistened with carnal desire, pleading for his touch.

Feeling ignored, Sylvie raised her rear a little higher, presenting herself to Aditya once more. "Your Majesty," she pleaded with a gasp, "please do not cease your punishment on this humble servant."

And as if this weren't enough to send Aditya spiraling, Amber found her way to his back, her soft tongue tracing the contours of his neck. Her hands explored his firm chest and muscled back, appreciating each detail. She pressed her bosom against his back, further fueling his desire. The place was filled with a heavy scent of lust and an intense need for release.

'This is spiraling out of control,' Aditya thought to himself. His gaze inadvertently landed on Lara, who was subtly rubbing her thighs together, her eyes locked on him with a sense of yearning he couldn't ignore.

Suddenly, a sensation of gentle touch against his arousal made him shudder, snapping his thoughts back to the present. He looked down, gasping in shock. Julia, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, had managed to free his throbbing member from the confines of his clothing. The moment it came into view, all eyes were magnetically drawn to it - Alicia, Riya, Amber, Julia, and Lara were all seemingly hypnotized by the sight.

"Wait...." Aditya's voice wavered, a hint of desperation creeping in. He knew he needed to put a halt to this escalating situation. But the sight of these women, all drunk and aroused, was making it increasingly difficult for him to maintain control over the situation. The air was thick with sensuality, making it harder to think clearly.

Aditya was caught in a whirlwind of emotions. He wanted to give in to his desires, his mind whispering promises of an unforgettable night that would be etched into his memory, where pleasure would rule over reason. However, he knew that such reckless abandon could be potentially detrimental. He could end up causing irreversible damage to the beautiful relationships he shared with these girls.

Indeed, he had become aware of Amber's feelings for him, something that was still a newfound revelation for him. He was uncertain how to process this, let alone decide the next step. His other fiancées - Alicia, Riya, and Lara, were still pure, their maidenhood a cherished treasure he vowed to respect. He knew how meaningful a girl's first night was, and he desired their experiences to be enveloped in love and consideration, not merely a drunken tryst.

His dynamic with Sylvie was entirely different; she was a friend, a confidante, and also Alicia's best friend. He confessed that in the heat of the moment, spurred by a dash of anger and the intoxicating influence of alcohol, he crossed a line. The spanking was intended as punishment, an act he assumed she would detest, reacting with fiery anger. To his shock, she not only accepted it but also found pleasure in it.

The path this evening was taking had to be rerouted. Aditya felt a sense of responsibility weigh heavily on him. Even amidst the intoxicating desire, the sultry looks, and the seductive touching, he knew he had to draw the line before it was too late.

"Alright, ladies, it's high time you all hit the hay," Aditya declared, swooping up the girls in his sturdy arms. The remaining barrel of the Elven Elixir, the magical potion that had escalated this evening's events, was carefully stored away in his mystical storage ring, its intoxicating powers kept at bay for the time being.

Without wasting another moment, Aditya executed a spell, their bodies instantly disappearing from the Silver Meadow Grove. In the blink of an eye, they were transported back to the comfort of the Dragon Palace. He chose Alicia's room first, materializing in the middle of her well-appointed chamber, the soft glow of the moon filtering through the silken drapes. He gently placed Alicia on her plush bed, tucking her in with care, ensuring her slumber would be undisturbed.

In quick succession, he teleported to each girl's room. He laid them down on their respective beds, pulling the covers over their intoxicated forms. His magic allowed him to move with utmost efficiency, ensuring each girl was returned to the safety of her own bedroom within the sprawling Dragon Palace.

His task completed, he finally returned to his own private sanctuary, his bedroom. There, he found Julia already deep in the clutches of sleep. She was lying on the bed, her breathing even and peaceful. Seeing her relaxed countenance, a sigh of relief escaped Aditya's lips. The intoxicating, arousing, and somewhat chaotic night had finally come to an end, and Aditya was left alone with his thoughts in the quiet, serene solitude of his room.

Exhaling deeply, Aditya scanned the room, his eyes settling on the tranquil form of Julia sleeping soundly. Though his body yearned for her touch, he wasn't the type to impose himself on someone who was unconscious, even if they were engaged. His ethics were stronger than his carnal desires.

'Looks like sleep won't be my companion tonight,' Aditya thought, the heat of his arousal still pulsating intensely within him. He knew that lying next to Julia, feeling the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin, would only exacerbate his already heightened state. In these conditions, peaceful slumber was but a far-fetched dream.

Making up his mind, he decided to channel his energy into something productive. Rune magic, one of his passions, was an effective distraction. The intricate designs and the deep concentration it required would help him shift his focus away from his physical desires. With a new goal in mind, he rummaged through his drawers, pulling out an assortment of objects for his experimentations.

The rest of the night was spent in the silence of his room, with nothing but the soft glow of his magical energies illuminating the surroundings. He immersed himself into his work, methodically etching runes onto various objects. As the night wore on, his focus shifted from his aching desire to the complex art of rune creation. The once chaotic atmosphere filled with heated kisses and erotic whispers was replaced by a serene tranquility, disturbed only by the rhythmic scratching of his etching tool against the surface of his chosen materials. Despite the occasional echo of Sylvie's sultry moans reverberating in his mind, he managed to retain his composure, devoting his attention to creating a new spell. This was how he spent the remainder of the intoxicating and unforgettable night.

Scene change_____

The real turmoil unfurled with the breaking of the new day. As the soft glow of morning seeped into the bedrooms of Julia, Riya, Alicia, Lara, Amber, and Sylvie, it brought with it the return of consciousness and the startling realization of the previous night's antics. As fragmented memories began to piece together, painting a vivid picture of their uninhibited behavior, a wave of mortification swept over them.

The recollection of the heated moments that they had shared with Aditya, from passionate kisses to intimate touches, made their cheeks blush a deep crimson. The boundaries that they had crossed, the new desires that had surfaced, all of it played back in their minds like an erotic movie. Every intimate touch, every erotic whisper, every sensual moan - particularly Sylvie's sultry responses to Aditya's spanking - all of it came flooding back, painting a vivid image of their wild escapades.

The embarrassment hit Sylvie and Amber the hardest. Their interaction with Aditya had transcended the boundaries of their usual relationships, venturing into uncharted territories. Sylvie, in particular, found herself haunted by the echoes of her own moans, the sensation of Aditya's hand striking her rear, and the strange pleasure it had brought her. Amber, too, was besieged by the memories of her bold actions, her confession of love, her unrestrained display of affection.

Overwhelmed by a sense of shame, they found themselves seeking refuge under the safety of their blankets, away from the prying eyes of the world. They were akin to ostriches, hoping to evade the reality by burying their heads under the metaphorical sand. The thought of facing Aditya was too mortifying, so much so, that they decided to retreat from their daily routine. The bustling dining hall, filled with the morning chatter, seemed like an intimidating battlefield. Hence, they chose to remain ensconced within their rooms, preferring solitude over the awkward confrontation. All they wanted was to avoid Aditya, to escape the embarrassment that threatened to color their cheeks at the mere mention of his name. It was a morning filled with regret, embarrassment, and hidden desires - the aftermath of an unforgettable night.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 464

"Brother, is it just me or does something seem really off around the dining table?" Little Clara whispered to her big brother Leo, casting suspicious glances at the assembled faces around the table. Unaware that the enhanced senses of the others allowed them to eavesdrop on her quiet inquiry, Clara's curiosity was piqued by the strange, awkward atmosphere that seemed to permeate the room.

The very moment her words escaped her lips, a palpable shift occurred at the table. The six individuals most implicated in the previous night's escapade lowered their heads further, hiding the flush on their cheeks. There were no words spoken in response, only the shuffling of feet and the anxious clinking of utensils. Everyone pretended not to hear, a collective silence that screamed louder than words. Clara's innocent question had inadvertently poked at a sore spot, causing embarrassment to simmer even more fervently.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked, genuinely perplexed. To his unobservant eyes, everything appeared perfectly normal. There was breakfast on the table, familiar faces seated around, the same old routine. Nothing seemed out of place.

"Nothing. Go back to eating, you idiot." Clara felt a pang of frustration as she berated herself internally for expecting any insight from her big brother. Leo's oblivious nature was legendary, and she knew better than to rely on him for understanding the subtleties of the situation. She couldn't shake the feeling that something significant had transpired, something that had changed the dynamics around the table, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Meanwhile, the man at the center of the morning's unspoken tension was conspicuously absent. Everyone's eyes darted occasionally to the empty seat at the head of the table, where Aditya, the head of the house, would customarily sit. Breakfast couldn't officially commence until he arrived and began eating, a tradition that underscored his status and must be dutifully followed.

His absence only added to the awkwardness, with memories of last night's erotic escapades still fresh in the minds of those involved. Every sensuous touch, every passionate kiss, and the sound of Sylvie's moans were still echoing in their minds, making them squirm in their seats, both from embarrassment and a lingering sense of desire.

As they waited for Aditya, the room was filled with an unspoken understanding, a shared secret that hung heavily in the air, flavoring the morning with a mix of anticipation and apprehension. It was a breakfast unlike any other, charged with a sexual energy that refused to dissipate, reminding them of a night they would never forget.

Aria and Spencer, seated beside each other at the dining table, exchanged confused glances. The unusual tension in the room was palpable even to them, despite having been away the previous night. While Spencer's perplexity was genuine, Aria, being more attuned to the subtleties of human interaction, had an inkling that something intimate had transpired between the six girls and Aditya.

"The question is, what could have happened?" Aria's mind whirred with possibilities, her eyes darting between the flushed faces and downcast eyes of the girls at the table. The scene was ripe with hints of something more than just a simple gathering.

Only the day before, Aria and Spencer had set off on a romantic date, leaving behind the Dragon Palace to enjoy some quality time together. This year's holiday offered them a rare opportunity to deepen their relationship, a chance they seized with both hands.

Spencer, as the Prime Minister of the largest Empire on the continent and possibly the entire world, was perpetually swamped with responsibilities. The weight of his duties rarely afforded him time for personal pursuits, especially for the woman he loved and intended to make his future wife. So, he was savoring every precious moment of this holiday, dedicating it entirely to Aria.

The contrast between their sweet, blossoming romance and the mysterious, charged atmosphere at the breakfast table was striking. Spencer's brow furrowed as he attempted to decipher the situation, but his political acumen seemed of little use here.

"Aria," he whispered, leaning closer to her ear, his voice tinged with confusion, "Do you have any idea what's going on? Everyone seems so... awkward."

Aria's lips curved into a knowing smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Oh, my dear Spencer, I think something rather delicious happened last night. Can't you see the way they're avoiding each other's eyes? The blush on their cheeks? I bet they're remembering something quite... erotic."

Spencer's eyes widened, and he looked again at the girls, this time through the lens of Aria's observation. Indeed, there was a sensual undercurrent, a lingering heat in their glances that told a story far more intimate than mere friendship.

"You think so?" he asked, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

Aria nodded, her smile widening. "Oh, yes. I wish we had been here to witness it. I bet it was a night filled with passion and desire. Look at Sylvie; she can barely contain her embarrassment. And the others, they're practically glowing with the aftermath of pleasure."

A chuckle escaped Spencer's lips as he began to appreciate the complexity of the scene before him. He wrapped his arm around Aria, pulling her close. "Well, at least we had our own unforgettable night, didn't we?"

Aria's face turned a shade redder as she recalled their private moments, filled with love and passion. She leaned into Spencer, whispering in his ear, "Yes, we certainly did. And I can't wait for more."

As they continued to observe the unusual breakfast scene, their shared secret added a layer of intimacy to their relationship. The room, filled with unspoken confessions and hidden desires, became a backdrop to their own growing connection, a reminder of the power of love and lust to both unite and divide.

Amber, the General of the Istarin Empire, sat at the dining table, a pit of regret and embarrassment churning in her stomach. 'Ah... I really shouldn't have come to the dining table. Why did I come?' she lamented in her thoughts, her cheeks aflame with mortification. The events of the previous night played like a neverending reel in her mind, a vivid reminder of a side of herself she hadn't known existed.

Last night's escapades were wild and unexpected. Teleported back to the Dragon Palace, Amber found herself tucked into one of the guest bedrooms by Aditya, her mind still reeling from the sensation, the words, the longing that had overtaken her. The morning had done little to ease her discomfort, and her memories were as sharp and tantalizing as ever.

Her whole face flushed red from embarrassment, Amber replayed the moments, the touches, the whispered promises that had felt so right in the heat of passion but now weighed heavily on her conscience. She had wanted to avoid the dining table, to slip away unnoticed and flee to the comfort of her home. But she wasn't given that choice; she and the others had to come here, had to face the lingering glances, the knowing smiles, the undercurrent of desire that still sparked in the air.

'Dammit, I should dig a hole and bury my face inside forever. What have I done!' Amber screamed at herself inwardly, berating her reckless abandon, her surrender to temptation.

Across the table, Sylvie was equally perturbed, her eyes downcast, her movements hesitant. She too had experienced something profound and unsettling last night, something that had stirred her in ways she had never anticipated. The slap, the moan, the mingling of pain and pleasure had awakened a longing she couldn't quite comprehend.

Aria's eyes met Amber's, and a knowing smile danced on her lips. "You look quite distracted this morning, Amber. Something on your mind?" she teased, her voice dripping with insinuation.

Amber's face turned an even deeper shade of red, and she stammered, "N-No, nothing. Just tired, I guess."

Aria's smile widened, and she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "Oh, I bet you're tired. But I also bet it was worth it. Care to share?"

Amber's heart pounded in her chest, her body tingling at the memory of Aditya's touch, his breath on her skin, the way he had made her feel. She looked down, unable to meet Aria's knowing gaze. "I... ," she managed to say just one, her voice barely above a whisper.

Aria's laughter filled the room, light and teasing. "Oh, Amber, you don't have to be shy. We're all friends here. But I understand. Some things are better left unsaid."

Amber's mind was a whirlpool of conflicting emotions, a tangle of desire, shame, longing, and confusion. Ever since she had discovered that Aditya was destined to be her future mate, her future husband, her future life partner, she had been at war with herself, struggling to reconcile her feelings with her sense of duty and propriety.

Months had been spent trying to keep her composure, to suppress the flush of attraction that threatened to overwhelm her every time she was in His Majesty's presence. She knew, deep in her heart, that it was impossible for her to marry him. There were too many obstacles, too many reasons why it couldn't work, not least of which was her own unworthiness. She was a General, strong and proud, but she didn't feel like she had the right to become Aditya's wife.

And Aditya didn't have feelings for her. That truth had been a knife in her heart, a wound she had tried to heal by locking away her emotions, by returning to the familiar dynamic of King and General. She had succeeded, or so she had thought.

But last night had changed everything.

The events of the evening, the wild abandon, the unbridled passion, the intimate connection they had shared, had torn open the carefully constructed walls she had built around her heart. Asking him for cute fox babies, kissing him, licking his neck, touching him in ways she had only fantasized about, seeing parts of him that were meant to be hidden - all of these actions had exposed her true feelings, had laid bare her soul.

She felt naked, vulnerable, as if the whole world could see her deepest, most secret desires. Her face burned with embarrassment, her body trembled with a mix of shame and arousal, and she wanted nothing more than to hide from Aditya forever.

'Someone please save me from this embarrassing and shameful situation,' she pleaded inwardly, her eyes downcast, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't even have the courage to lift her head and look at the other girls who had been there last night, who had seen the wild, untamed side of her that she had never thought she would reveal.

"S-so, Amber," Aria's voice cut through her turmoil, a teasing lilt in her tone. "How did you sleep last night? You look rather... flushed."

Amber's breath caught in her throat, and she stammered, "I-I slept fine. Just... just a little warm in my room, I guess."

Aria's laughter was light and knowing, and Amber's body responded to it, a thrill of excitement and dread mingling in her veins. "A little warm, you say? Perhaps you need something to cool you down."

Amber shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. "No, I'm fine. Really."

But she wasn't fine. She couldn't be fine, not after last night, not after what she had done, what she had felt. Her body ached with a longing that was both terrifying and exhilarating, a longing that whispered of pleasure and surrender, of a love that was both forbidden and inevitable.

The breakfast continued, the conversation light and casual, but Amber's mind was elsewhere, lost in the memories of a night that had awakened something within her, something that refused to be denied. She knew, with a clarity that both thrilled and terrified her, that her relationship with Aditya would never be the same again.

And despite the shame, despite the fear, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to give in to her desires, to let go of her inhibitions, to explore the passion that had been ignited between them. It was a temptation that was both tantalizing and terrifying, a path she knew she shouldn't take but couldn't help but be drawn to.

Her body tingled with anticipation, her soul cried out for connection, and in her heart, she knew that her battle with herself was far from over. The desire, the longing, the need - they were all still there, burning bright and hot, a fire that could either consume her or set her free.

The choice, she realized with a start, was hers to make. And she knew, deep in her soul, that it was a choice she couldn't ignore, no matter how much she wanted to. The longing was too strong, the desire too potent, the connection too real.

And as she sat at the dining table, surrounded by friends and loved ones, her mind lost in a haze of passion and confusion, she knew that she was standing at a crossroads, a moment of decision that would shape her future and define who she was.

She knew what she should do, what was right and proper and expected of her. But she also knew what she wanted, what her body craved, what her soul yearned for.

The question was, which path would she choose?

Sylvie, the dark elf, and best friend of Alicia, was in a state of turmoil that mirrored Amber's. Sitting opposite Amber at the breakfast table, her face flushed a deep shade of crimson, she found herself caught in the grip of memories she wished she could escape.

Last night had started off so innocently, a night of fun and laughter, friends enjoying each other's company. But then, the discovery of the Elven Elixir Wine's arousal effect had turned everything upside down, plunging them into a whirlpool of passion and desire that had left Sylvie reeling.

The slaps that Aditya had given her on her bare ass cheeks resonated in her mind, the sharp sting of pleasure and pain mingling together in a way that both excited and embarrassed her. She could still feel the heat of his hand, the firm pressure of his fingers, the way her body had responded, arching and writhing, surrendering to the sensations.

Her moans, loud and uninhibited, filled her ears, a siren song of pleasure that she couldn't ignore. She had moaned in front of everyone, her face twisted with pleasure, her body on display for all to see. It was a moment of wild abandon, a moment when she had cast aside all pretense and control, a moment when she had given in to her deepest, most primal desires.

And now, the morning after, she was left to grapple with the consequences.

"Why did I get naked in front of everyone?" she wondered, her mind aching with shame and confusion. Like Amber and Sylvie, Riya was also filled with embarrassment. The same could be said for Alicia, Julia, and Lara, who was already a shy girl. Remembering the wild things that had transpired, they all felt a mixture of excitement and humiliation.

"S-so, Sylvie," Aria's voice broke through her reverie, her tone teasing and provocative. "You seem awfully quiet this morning. Something on your mind?"

Sylvie's heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, "N-no, just... just tired, I guess."

Aria's eyes twinkled with mischief, and she leaned closer, her voice a sultry whisper. "Tired, you say? Perhaps you need some rest. Or perhaps..." she trailed off, her voice dripping with innuendo, her eyes locked on Sylvie's.

Sylvie's breath caught in her throat, and she looked away, her face burning. She knew that Aria was toying with her, playing with her emotions, but she couldn't help but respond, her body tingling with a mix of fear and excitement.

The breakfast continued, the conversation light and carefree, but Sylvie's mind was elsewhere, lost in the memories of a night that had awakened something within her, something wild and untamed, something that refused to be ignored.

The slaps, the moans, the pleasure, the shame - they were all still there, a symphony of sensations that played in her mind, a dance of desire that she couldn't escape.

And as she sat at the dining table, surrounded by friends and loved ones, her body still aching with the lingering echoes of pleasure, she knew that her relationship with Aditya, with herself, with her desires, had changed forever.

She was a dark elf, proud and strong, but she was also a woman, with needs and desires, with passions and fears. And last night, she had tasted something that she had never known before, something that was both thrilling and terrifying, something that had touched her soul and awakened her body.

And now, she was left to face the reality of what she had done, what she had felt, what she had become.

The longing was still there, the desire still strong, the connection still real. But there was also shame, confusion, uncertainty. She didn't know how to reconcile the woman she had been with the woman she had become, how to bridge the gap between her public persona and her private passions.

But she knew, with a certainty that both excited and scared her, that she couldn't go back to the way things were. The fire that had been ignited within her was too strong, too potent, too real.

And as she sat at the dining table, her body still humming with pleasure, her soul still crying out for connection, she knew that she was standing on the edge of a precipice, a moment of decision that would shape her future and define who she was.

The choice was hers to make. The path was hers to choose.

And she knew, deep in her soul, that she couldn't ignore it, no matter how much she wanted to. The desire was too strong, the connection too real, the pleasure too intoxicating.

The question was, what would she do? How would she reconcile the woman she was with the woman she had become? How would she face Aditya, face herself, face her desires?

She didn't know the answers, but she knew that she had to find them, that she had to face the truth, that she had to embrace the

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is a long chapter of 3,000 words. 1000 words are part of Bonus chapter. I decided to make it into a big chapter

Chapter 465

"Good morning, everyone," Aditya's deep, resonant voice rang out, cutting through the silence as he finally entered the dining room. As the Emperor, the head of the house, and the man at the center of last night's wild escapades, his presence sent a shockwave through the room.

He took his seat with a warm smile, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief, his face betraying no sign of what had transpired the night before. There was no shame, no guilt, just a sense of ease and confidence that was both reassuring and unsettling.

Seeing Aditya, Aria's teasing grin faltered, and she quickly stopped her playful banter with Riya, Sylvie, and Amber. Meanwhile, Sylvie and Amber's embarrassment reached new heights, and they further lowered their heads, their hair falling like a curtain to hide their flushed faces.

"Sorry for making you all wait," Aditya continued, his voice smooth and controlled, his manner relaxed. "Last night..." At the mention of those two words, Julia, Lara, Riya, Sylvie, Alicia, and Amber's hearts skipped a beat, their breath catching in their throats as they braced themselves for what might come next.

Their minds raced with thoughts of what had happened, of the wild and erotic things they had done, of the passion and desire that had consumed them, of the shame and excitement that now mingled together in a heady cocktail of emotion.

What would he say? Would he reveal what had transpired? Would he expose their deepest secrets, their most intimate desires, their most primal needs?

"Last night, I did not sleep," Aditya continued, his voice casual, his words carefully chosen. "I was working on runes. I was trying to make a new spell. I was so absorbed in work, that I did not notice when time passed, and I ended up being late."

A collective sigh of relief swept through the room, the tension easing as Aditya's words sank in. He was not going to reveal what had happened. He was not going to expose them. He was not going to shame them.

But the memories were still there, still fresh, still real. The slapping, the moaning, the pleasure, the passion - they were all still etched in their minds, a vivid reminder of what had been, of what could be.

Sylvie's mind drifted back to the feel of Aditya's hands on her body, the heat of his touch, the way he had made her feel. She could still hear the slap of his palm against her skin, still feel the sting of pleasure and pain, still hear her own moans of ecstasy.

Amber's thoughts were no less tormented, her body still aching with longing, her soul still yearning for connection. She had tasted something forbidden, something intoxicating, something that had awakened a hunger within her that she could not ignore.

And as they all sat there, gathered around the breakfast table, the air heavy with unspoken words and unfulfilled desires, they knew that something had changed. They knew that they could not go back to the way things were, that they could not ignore what had happened, what they had felt, what they had done.

They were bound together now, not just by friendship and loyalty, but by desire and passion, by secrets and shame, by pleasure and pain.

The question was, what would they do with it? How would they handle it? How would they navigate the fine line between what was acceptable and what was not, between what was right and what was wrong, between what was public and what was private?

They were in uncharted territory, a place where the rules were unclear, where the boundaries were blurred, where the stakes were high.

With Aditya's casual dismissal of last night's events, Julia, Lara, Riya, Sylvie, Alicia, and Amber all secretly sighed in relief, grateful that he had chosen not to mention the intimate and wild escapades that had unfolded. The tension in the room eased slightly, but the underlying current of desire and embarrassment still lingered, a subtle yet powerful reminder of the connection they had all shared.

"Let's dig in," Aditya announced, his voice warm and inviting, his eyes sparkling with a knowing glint. He picked up his utensils and began to eat, setting the stage for everyone else to join him.

The meal commenced, the clinking of silverware and the murmur of conversation filling the room, but the underlying tension remained, a palpable force that hung in the air, charged with potential, fraught with possibility.

"Spencer, are you going anywhere today?" Aditya inquired, turning his attention to the Prime Minister, his tone casual, his eyes still holding a hint of mischief.

Spencer looked up, his mind briefly torn away from the plans he had been making for his upcoming vacation with Aria.

"Yes, your Majesty," Spencer replied, a hint of excitement in his voice. "In fact, we're planning on going on a 4 days long vacation to one of the tourist islands in the Westnia Continent."

The words were simple, the sentiment straightforward, but the subtext was there, lurking just beneath the surface. Spencer was going to take his relationship with Aria to the next level during this vacation, going to explore new depths of intimacy, new heights of pleasure. The anticipation was almost palpable, the desire almost tangible.

"That's nice," Aditya responded, his voice filled with genuine warmth, his smile genuine. "Enjoy your holidays."

Aditya was happy to see the development between Aria and Spencer, happy to see them embracing their desires, happy to see them taking a step forward in their relationship.

"What are you going to do Leo?" Aditya's voice was teasing, filled with brotherly affection as he turned to his younger brother, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Have you confirmed your date with your girlfriend?"

At the mention of the word "girlfriend," Leo's face turned a shade of pink, and he quickly looked down at his plate, a sheepish grin playing at the corners of his mouth. The reaction didn't go unnoticed, and a ripple of gentle laughter passed around the table.

"I told you that she isn't my girlfriend yet." Leo's voice was defensive, but there was a spark in his eye, a hint of excitement in his tone. "And yes, I have managed to ask her out on a date." The pride in his voice was unmistakable, and he looked up, his eyes meeting Aditya's, a challenge in his gaze.

"Hmph! You only succeeded because I secretly helped you. There is no need to become proud about this." Clara, Aditya's and Leo's little sister, chimed in, her tone teasing, her eyes dancing with amusement. Her words were met with more laughter, and Leo's blush deepened, his embarrassment mingled with delight.

Aditya couldn't help but laugh out loud at his siblings' antics, his heart swelling with affection for them both. He saw the way Leo's eyes sparkled when he talked about the girl, the way his face lit up at the mere mention of her name, the way his whole demeanor changed when he thought of her. It was love, pure and simple, and it was beautiful to see.

"Alright, enjoy your date," Aditya said finally, his voice filled with warmth, his smile genuine. "And remember, Leo, true love is a precious thing, a gift to be cherished and nurtured. Treat her with kindness, with respect, with tenderness. Show her your true self, and don't be afraid to open your heart to her." The words were simple, but they were filled with wisdom, with insight, with understanding. They were the words of a brother who cared, who understood, who wished only the best for his sibling.

"Sylvie, what happened?" Aditya's voice was light, teasing, but there was an undercurrent of something else, something more. "You have been awfully quiet today." He looked at her with eyes filled with mischief, his lips curled into a playful smile.

Sylvie's heart skipped a beat, and she could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. His words, his tone, his gaze—they all brought back memories of the previous night, memories she would rather forget, memories that were both embarrassing and thrilling.

"I remember last night..." Aditya's voice dropped to a sultry whisper, and Sylvie's heart raced in her chest. His eyes locked onto hers, filled with a knowing gleam. "You were really loud." The words were filled with innuendo, with hidden meaning, with a promise of something more.

A collective gasp went around the table, and Sylvie could feel the eyes of the others on her, their expressions a mix of shock and intrigue. Aria's cheeks flushed, and she looked at Sylvie with wide eyes, her imagination running wild. From Aditya's misleading words, she was picturing something very wild and erotic, something that made her own heart beat faster.

"You mean loudly singing and dancing..." Sylvie's voice was a shaky whisper, but she managed to gather her courage and clear the misunderstanding, her eyes flashing with anger and embarrassment. Her cheeks were burning, and she couldn't help but feel exposed, vulnerable, laid bare for all to see.

"Haha! That's exactly what I mean." Aditya's laugh was rich and deep, filled with genuine amusement. He looked at Sylvie, his eyes dancing with delight, enjoying her reaction, reveling in her discomfort.

Sylvie glared at him, her eyes filled with fire, but her cheeks were still slightly red, and her heart was still pounding in her chest. She knew that he was teasing her, that he was playing a game, but she couldn't help but be affected by him, by his words, by his presence.

Facing his playful eyes, facing his knowing smile, facing his confident demeanor, she couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion, a mix of anger, embarrassment, excitement, and desire.

She knew that he was toying with her, that he was enjoying her reaction, that he was deliberately trying to make her feel this way. But she also knew that there was something real there, something genuine, something that went beyond mere teasing, beyond mere playfulness.

Aditya's gaze shifted, landing on Amber, his eyes softening as he took in her flushed face, her downcast eyes, her tense shoulders. He could sense her discomfort, her anxiety, her fear. She looked vulnerable, delicate, fragile, and he felt a strange urge to protect her, to comfort her, to soothe her.

"Amber, did you sleep well?" His voice was gentle, caressing, a tender touch that sent a shiver down her spine. She lowered her head further, her cheeks burning, her heart pounding. She could feel his eyes on her, probing, searching, seeing through her, and she felt exposed, naked, laid bare.

She was nervous, more nervous than she had ever been, more nervous than when she was leading an army, more nervous than when she was facing death. She felt like a young girl again, inexperienced, uncertain, unsure. She prayed silently, hoping that he wouldn't tease her, that he wouldn't play with her, that he wouldn't torment her.

"I certainly wasn't expecting you to be a heavy drinker." His words were unexpected, a simple observation, a harmless comment, but they were filled with hidden meaning, with unspoken promises, with a hint of something more.

Amber's breath caught in her throat, and she could feel a tingle in her stomach, a flutter in her chest, a warmth in her core. His words were like a touch, a caress, a kiss, igniting a fire within her, awakening a desire she didn't know she had.

"If you're not feeling well, take the day off. And rest." His voice was soothing, reassuring, comforting, and she raised her head, meeting his gaze, losing herself in his eyes. He smiled at her, a warm, genuine smile that reached his eyes, a smile that made her heart skip a beat, a smile that made her feel safe, loved, cherished.

She simply nodded, unable to speak, unable to think, unable to breathe. She was overwhelmed by him, by his presence, by his aura, by his essence. She was drawn to him, captivated by him, entranced by him.

He didn't tease her, didn't torment her, didn't toy with her. He simply looked at her, simply spoke to her, simply smiled at her. And in that simple act, he touched her, reached her, moved her.

She felt relaxed, at ease, at peace. Her shoulders weren't stiff anymore, her body wasn't tense anymore, her mind wasn't racing anymore. She felt calm, serene, content.

She knew that he could see her, see through her, see the real her. She knew that he could understand her, understand her fears, understand her desires. She knew that he could touch her, touch her soul, touch her heart.

The tension in the room was palpable, a thick, heavy fog that hung in the air, suffocating, stifling, smothering. The girls were uncomfortable, anxious, uneasy, their faces flushed, their eyes downcast, their shoulders hunched.

But Aditya, the ever-observant Emperor, sensed their discomfort, felt their anxiety, understood their unease. He knew what had transpired last night, knew what had been said and done, knew what had been revealed and exposed.

With a gentle smile, a knowing look, and a confident air, he changed the topic, deftly steering the conversation away from the events of the previous night, skillfully avoiding the awkwardness, the embarrassment, the shame.

He began to discuss matters of state, matters of importance, matters of interest, involving everyone in the discussion, asking for their views, their opinions, their thoughts. His voice was calm, steady, reassuring, his words were measured, thoughtful, considerate, his demeanor was relaxed, composed, controlled.

The atmosphere in the room gradually lightened, the tension slowly lifted, the discomfort gradually eased. The girls began to relax, to breathe, to enjoy, their faces brightening, their eyes sparkling, their bodies loosening.

They no longer kept their heads down, no longer hid their faces, no longer shied away from him. They began to engage, to participate, to contribute, their voices becoming more animated, their expressions becoming more lively, their laughter becoming more genuine.

Aditya's presence was commanding, magnetic, captivating, his aura was warm, inviting, enticing, his energy was vibrant, dynamic, electric. He drew them in, pulled them close, held them tight.

The conversation flowed, the words danced, the thoughts soared. The room was filled with laughter, with joy, with excitement, with passion.

After finishing breakfast, Amber's heart was a tumultuous sea of emotions. She needed time to think, to reflect, to understand. Aditya's behavior had been both comforting and confusing. He had not responded to her feelings, but neither had he rejected them. With a polite excuse and a hasty goodbye, she left the Dragon Palace, retreating to the sanctuary of her home for the rest of the day.

Sylvie also felt the urge to escape, to run away from the intensity of the morning. But Aditya, ever the wise and discerning Emperor, sensed her need for companionship, for connection, for closure. He kept her at the Dragon Palace, drawing her into the warmth of the living room, where Alicia, Julia, Riya, and Lara were also gathered.

They settled into the plush couches, the soft chairs, the cozy nooks of the room, the sunlight streaming through the large windows, casting a golden glow on their faces, their hair, their clothes.

Aditya leaned back, a thoughtful look in his eyes, a nostalgic smile on his lips. "It has been only a day since Watson went back home to see his twin brother, and I already miss him," he mused, his voice tinged with a touch of longing, a hint of sadness. Watson was Aditya's personal butler, his right-hand man, his trusted confidante. He had been by Aditya's side for as long as anyone could remember, serving him with a grace, a precision, a perfection that was unparalleled.

Alicia looked at Aditya, a soft smile playing on her lips. She knew how much Watson meant to Aditya, knew the bond they shared, the trust they had, the understanding they enjoyed. "Watson is indeed special. His ability to know exactly what you want to drink without you even telling him is almost magical. It's as if he reads your mind, sees your soul, feels your heart."

Sitting opposite Aditya, on the other couch, Julia's eyes danced with an understanding, a wisdom, a maturity that transcended her years. "Grandpa Watson should return home in a few days. It has been a long time since he last went home," she said, her voice soft, her tone gentle. There was no trace of embarrassment in her face, no hint of shyness in her eyes.

In fact, the events of last night had done more than just shock or surprise her; they had opened her eyes, awakened her senses, ignited her passions. She realized that in a harem, in a relationship as complex and as intricate as theirs, this kind of wild, intense, sensual connection was not only inevitable but also necessary. It was a part of their love, a part of their life, a part of their being.

Her best friend Amber's love for Aditya had caught her off guard, but it was a pleasant surprise. She could see the longing in Amber's eyes, feel the yearning in her heart, sense the tenderness in her soul. It was a love that was genuine, a love that was pure, a love that was real.

And yet, Julia knew that she couldn't rush things, couldn't force things, couldn't control things. Love was a delicate flower, a fragile blossom, a gentle bud. It needed time to grow, space to bloom, air to breathe. She would stand back, watch, wait, and let Amber and Aditya find their way to each other, find their path to love.

Sylvie's situation was different, more complex, more intricate, more nuanced. Her feelings for Aditya were not as clear, not as defined, not as certain. It was a connection that was sensual, a connection that was intense, a connection that was erotic. But was it love? Was it lust? Was it something else altogether?

Julia didn't know, couldn't know, wouldn't know. Only time would tell, only fate would decide, only destiny would reveal. She would let the future unfold, let the story write itself, let the dance choreograph itself.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

3000+ long chapter. 1000+ Bonus words.

[1000+1000 words = one Bonus chapter. and more is coming.]

Chapter 466

"Today, Aditya," Alicia began, her tone laced with an undercurrent of playful determination, "your time is ours." Her lips curled into a teasing smile, reflecting the glint in her eyes. "You won't be allowed to wander off, nor bury yourself in your emperor duties or anything else. Today, it's all about us." She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in, and then continued, "We, as your fiances, are entitled to share your time equally. And considering the holidays ahead, you should be spending most of your free time with us."

There was a gentle assertiveness to Alicia's tone, a lovely charm in her demand that Aditya found endearing. Her words, her expectation, warmed his heart, for it was a testament to their bond, a proof of their affection, a declaration of their commitment.

He grinned, his eyes twinkling with indulgence and amusement. "Alright, Alicia. I am all yours today," he conceded, spreading his arms in a grand gesture of surrender. He loved their little negotiations, the playful banter, the subtle exchanges of feelings, the profound moments of understanding that fortified their bonds. "Carry on, my love."

As the Emperor of the vast Istarin Empire, Aditya was perpetually caught in the vortex of endless responsibilities and commitments. His free time was a scarce treasure, a precious commodity, a fleeting miracle. And yet, he had always strived to give as much of this time as he could to his beloved fiances. Every moment he spent with them was a moment of love, a moment of joy, a moment of pure bliss.

In his heart, he carried a hint of guilt, a touch of remorse for not being able to devote more of his time to them. Each of his fiances was a gem, a unique and exquisite gem of immeasurable value. Their love, their devotion, their unwavering faith in him were the most beautiful gifts he had ever received. They were the most precious beings in his world, their worth incomparable to anything else.

Just the sight of a single goddess was a dream for countless men. They were divine, ethereal beings, their sublime beauty enchanting, a surreal fusion of human and celestial allure. Yet, Aditya found himself betrothed not to one, but three of these divine goddesses. To add to that, he was engaged to a Princess too, a being so delicately precious and pure, she had the power to make the most formidable weapon of the world yield to her gentle nature.

The goddesses could have opted for someone else, someone who would devote his entire self to one woman, not share his heart among multiple wives and concubines. They had the choice to choose a partner who would be theirs and theirs alone. Yet, they had chosen him, Aditya, a man who was torn between his love for four women.

Regardless of this unconventional arrangement, Aditya always felt that no amount of appreciation or praise could ever be enough for Julia, Riya, Alicia, and Lara. They were his guiding stars, his constant companions, the radiant sunbeams that illuminated his life with warmth and joy. Their mere presence was like a melody that played in the symphony of his life, a rhythm that echoed in his heart, painting his world in vibrant colors.

Aditya knew he was selfish. He had four official fiances and was fully aware that this number might well increase in the future, considering how things were evolving. Despite this, his priority had always been, and would always be, his fiances. He wanted to offer them the best of himself, every moment of his time, every beat of his heart, every fragment of his soul.

"It's almost nine now," Alicia began, shifting a little in her seat, her voice commanding their attention. "My proposal is that each of us gets three hours of Aditya's time today. In these three hours, we can do whatever we like, go wherever we want. And Aditya, darling, you simply have to come along, no arguments." Her voice was playful, her eyes sparkling with mischief. The idea of a mini-date was enticing, and she relished the prospect of it.

Her suggestion met with an echo of approval from the other women. "That's not a bad idea at all," Julia chimed in, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She shared a glance with Riya and Lara, who both gave her nods of agreement, their faces also lighting up at the thought.

Aditya, caught in their shared excitement, couldn't help but grin. "So, who gets to claim the first slot?" He leaned back, his eyes scanning the group of women before him.

Alicia crossed one leg over the other, settling back into the plush sofa. She lifted a delicate china cup to her lips, the steam from the herbal tea fogging her glasses momentarily. She took a small sip, her eyes fluttering shut as the warm liquid trickled down her throat, refreshing her, grounding her in the moment.

A small smile played on her lips as she slowly opened her eyes, meeting Aditya's inquiring gaze. "Before anyone else speaks up, I'm putting my foot down. Since this was my idea, I'm claiming the last slot. I want to keep Aditya all to myself during the twilight hours." As the words left her mouth, a soft blush tinged her cheeks, betraying her calm facade. She tried to maintain a confident front, but the very thought of a romantic evening alone with Aditya sent a thrill through her, making her heart flutter with anticipation.

At Alicia's words, Julia couldn't help but smirk, a twinkle lighting up her eyes. She had a fair idea of what Alicia was intending, yet she made no attempt to call her out. In fact, inwardly, she was cheering her on, applauding her bold move. Lara too seemed to accept the situation with good grace, her expression revealing no hint of discontent.

However, Riya was another story altogether. A hint of a frown appeared on her face, a clear sign of her dissatisfaction. "I disagree. I was planning on taking the last spot," she announced, her words clipped. She fixed Alicia with a glare, a spark of defiance in her eyes.

Unruffled by Riya's protest, Alicia simply opened her captivating emerald eyes and shot a calm look in Riya's direction. "Considering I was the one to come up with this plan, having the last spot is a privilege I think I deserve," she replied. Then, with a nonchalant shrug, she added, "However, if you're really insistent about it, I could consider giving up my slot... But only if you're willing to part with two hours from your own time with Aditya."

Riya was quick to react to that. "Why would I do that?" she questioned, a hint of exasperation coloring her voice. She could clearly see through Alicia's maneuver. If Alicia managed to keep the last slot, she would undoubtedly have more than three hours alone with Aditya, courtesy of the romantic evening setting.

Sylvie, who had been quietly observing the unfolding drama, chose that moment to intervene. Positioned next to Alicia, she quickly stepped into the role of the peacemaker. "Now, now, ladies...let's keep things civil, shall we?" Her words were designed to diffuse the tension, even though secretly, she found herself relishing the tinge of excitement a cat-fight between Alicia and Riya would bring. Yet, as if by some unspoken agreement, Riya decided not to fuel the situation further, reluctantly conceding defeat.

Amidst the quiet that followed, Julia suddenly chimed in. "Well then, I suppose I should go first."

A small pause followed her declaration, Aditya breaking the silence with a simple question. "Sounds good. Where would you like to go?" His words were met with apparent disinterest, the other women seeming to pay no attention. However, behind their casual demeanor, they were all ears, ready to make adjustments to their own plans based on Julia's response.

Julia didn't keep them waiting for long. "Today, there's a unique auction scheduled to take place on the continent of Westnia. Known as the 'Mystical Treasures Auction', it's an exclusive event held only once every year. It's something of a magnet for the elite, attracting the wealthy and influential from across all six continents."

Intrigued by the auction's distinctive title and the allure of its exclusive clientele, Aditya found himself questioning the specifics. "What's so extraordinary about this Mystical Treasures Auction that it's able to command the attention of influential figures from all six continents?" He was no stranger to the concept of auctions, having presided over several in his empire. Yet, those auctions never managed to pique his interest, with items on offer often feeling lackluster or uninspiring.

In response, Sylvie took up the reins of the conversation, her knowledge about the event quite extensive due to her role as the leader of the White Lotus guild, a guild that was dispersed across the continent of Westnia. "The Mystical Treasures Auction isn't just an auction," she began, "It's an extravaganza, a celebration of rarity and opulence. They deal in 4-star and 5-star items, each an epitome of exceptional value and rarity."

Her hands danced in the air as she continued, her eyes reflecting the grandeur she was trying to convey. "One doesn't just stroll into the auction; it requires an admission ticket, each pegged at a staggering 100,000 gold coins. The price is a testament to the exclusivity of the event and the extraordinary items on offer. You see, they curate the most unique, the most elusive treasures from around the globe."

"The auction also prides itself on providing a secure and safe environment for its patrons, a place where they can bid without worries, indulge without apprehension. It's this steadfast commitment to customer loyalty that has built the reputation of the auction."

Alicia, despite her silence, was no stranger to this grand event either. Having attended the auction several times in the past, she was familiar with its elaborate proceedings and exclusive nature, silently nodding along as Sylvie painted the grand picture of the Mystical Treasures Auction.

A crease formed between Julia's brows, signaling a hitch in her plan. Aditya, always attuned to his fiances' emotions, instantly recognized the shift in her demeanor. "What seems to be the problem, Julia?" he inquired, concern seeping into his voice.

"The auction... it's not a short event," Julia admitted, her tone a mix of disappointment and worry. "It runs for approximately five hours. The item I'm interested in might be presented at any time during that period."

Her words hung in the air like a gloomy cloud, casting a shadow over the otherwise happy occasion. The shared time slots allocated for each fiance were three hours each. Venturing to the auction would mean encroaching on someone else's precious time with Aditya, a thought that made Julia uncomfortable.

As the uneasy silence continued to creep through the room, Lara, the youngest of the group, broke it. "Big sister Julia," she started, her words cutting through the tension like a knife. All eyes turned towards her, the surprise evident on each face.

"Lara...?" Aditya began, but she held her hand up, silencing him before he could question her further.

Wearing a warm smile, she looked straight into Julia's worried eyes. "How about I join you for the auction?" The room went silent again, this time out of shock. "If I accompany you, our combined time will account for six hours, enough to cover the entire duration of the auction."

"But that would mean sacrificing your time with Aditya," Riya interjected, her tone reflecting a mix of shock and disbelief.

Lara nodded, her smile unwavering. "Yes, I understand. But we're all sisters here, married to the same man. I want to support Julia in her endeavor. Of course, if you're uncomfortable with this arrangement, Julia, I would understand."

Julia was at a loss for words. Lara's selfless offer had touched her, showcasing the deep bond they shared as future wives of the same man. It was a moment that spoke volumes of their mutual understanding and sisterly affection.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 467

The Celestial Haven Island, one of the many gems of Westnia, was abuzz with an unprecedented amount of activity. This year, the island was chosen as the venue for the widely renowned Mystical Treasures Auction, attracting more than 100,000 individuals from every corner of the six continents. People of all races and ranks had gathered to participate in this grand event.

The island itself, fashioned in a unique pentagonal shape, was naturally fortified. However, given the caliber of the auction and the high-profile attendees it attracted, the security measures implemented were nothing short of exceptional. The Mystical Treasures Auction house, responsible for the event, had installed multiple layers of defensive rune barriers and enlisted top-notch security personnel. Every possible precaution was taken to ensure the safety of their esteemed guests.

The participants weren't ordinary citizens. The guest list comprised of powerful rulers and influential nobles from around the world. Many Emperors had graced the event with their presence, while others had delegated this task to their trusted aides. Prime Ministers, right-hand men, and other influential figures filled the auction hall, ready to bid for the rare and precious items up for auction. The air was charged with anticipation, making it an event one would remember for a long time.

As they stepped off the teleportation array, Aditya, Julia, and Lara found themselves amidst the hustle and bustle of the Celestial Haven Island. The grand event had transformed the island into a spectacular spectacle of wealth and power, with its breathtaking setting providing a perfect backdrop.

Grumbling under his breath, Aditya expressed his displeasure at having to adhere to the strict dress code. He had been all set to appear in his regular clothes, comfortable and non-restrictive. However, Julia and Lara had intervened, insisting that the occasion called for formal attire. As much as Aditya was averse to the idea, he found himself in a classic black suit, custom-fitted for his sturdy build.

Aditya's signature long, blue hair was meticulously arranged into a neat tieback that fell gracefully down his back. This hairstyle accentuated his sharp, aquiline features and added an air of sophistication to his overall demeanor. His intense, azure eyes sparkled with life, reflecting his unending charm and charisma.

His tailored black suit was the epitome of elegance and masculinity. It hugged his strong, broad shoulders and tapered down to his lean waist, highlighting his lean and muscular physique. The crisp white shirt underneath was perfectly ironed, contrasting sharply with his suit. A thin black tie added the finishing touch to his look, subtly enhancing his princely charm.

All of this combined to make Aditya look not just handsome, but extraordinarily dashing. His mere presence seemed to emanate an aura of confidence and authority, causing people around him to stop and take notice. Indeed, in his formal attire, Aditya was the epitome of regal elegance.

Julia and Lara had chosen to wear matching kimonos, a decision that highlighted their close bond and mutual respect. The chosen color was a striking, cerulean blue. The deep, oceanic shade lent a beautiful contrast to their fair skin and accentuated their respective hair colors.

The kimono's intricate design depicted scenes of serene cherry blossom trees, their petals caught in a gentle spring breeze. The scenes seemed to come to life on the silk fabric, lending an almost ethereal quality to the kimonos. The wide obi sash that cinched their waists was of a slightly deeper blue shade, complementing the overall design.

Julia, with her long, purple hair, had opted for an elegant bun. It sat atop her head, neatly secured with ornamental pins that glinted in the sunlight. Her violet eyes were striking, her eyelashes delicately brushed with a hint of mascara. The bun's neat and sophisticated appearance highlighted Julia's noble features, her high cheekbones and slightly uptilted eyes. Her choice of minimal, tasteful jewelry added a sense of understated elegance to her attire.

Lara, on the other hand, had let her black hair fall loosely over her shoulders, the dark strands contrasting starkly with the blue of her kimono. Her long, soft curls flowed down to her waist, enhancing her youthful beauty. The simplicity of her hairstyle added to her natural charm, and her enchanting smile gave her an aura of joy and tranquility.

Both Julia and Lara looked breathtakingly beautiful in their matching kimonos, their distinct personalities and features only serving to enhance their elegance and allure. The vibrant color, the exquisite design, and their coordinated hairstyles made them the center of attention, radiating a captivating aura that was hard to ignore.

As the trio made their way through the crowd, Julia and Lara held onto Aditya, guiding him swiftly towards the entrance of the auction house. The three of them created quite a spectacle; the harmonious blend of Aditya's striking appearance with the ethereal beauty of Julia and Lara was a sight to behold. As they weaved their way through, their entrance became the main event before the actual auction even started.

Whispers raced through the crowd like wildfire, admiration evident in their words. Especially the ladies present, dressed in their finest, couldn't help but shoot envious glances towards Julia and Lara. While they had come flaunting their beauty and elegance, the unexpected presence of Julia and Lara made them feel overshadowed.

The men, be they influential figures or royalty from the six continents, were utterly captivated. Their eyes widened, mouths agape, as they tried to process the presence of such unparalleled beauties walking alongside a man with captivating long blue hair. Comparisons were inevitably drawn between Julia and Lara and the ladies accompanying these men, much to the dismay of the latter. These dignitaries found themselves engulfed in a rare feeling of envy, wishing they had the same fortune as Aditya.

"Who is that guy?"

"They're with him? He must have done something amazing in his past life."

"I've never seen anyone quite like those two."

A symphony of murmurs and gasps filled the air as many men, both young and old, stared at Aditya with a mix of deep envy and awe. The chatter revolved around how Aditya, in the company of two such enchanting beauties, must be someone truly special, or perhaps just incredibly lucky. Regardless of the reasons, one sentiment echoed above all: admiration.

The trio, looking like they had stepped right out of a fairy tale, caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Aditya, with his blue hair flowing down, was a contrast to the picturesque beauty of Julia and Lara.

Two young nobles, perhaps in their late twenties, leaned towards each other, their conversation barely audible amid the hubbub.

"Who on earth is that guy?" one whispered, his eyes fixated on Aditya.

"No idea, but those ladies... Have you ever seen anyone that stunning?" The other replied, his voice tinged with envy.

A prince from a neighboring kingdom, his arm draped around a lady who was deemed one of the most beautiful in his land, couldn't help but voice his astonishment. "Look at him, walking in like he owns the place, with not one but two such dazzling beauties by his side. What kind of charm does he have?"

His companion, a crown prince, replied with a smirk, "Well, you think maybe he found some hidden potion or a secret spell? He's hogging all the beauty."

A group of noble ladies, draped in silk and diamonds, huddled together and whispered. "I heard he's a mysterious merchant from a faraway land," one of them speculated.

"No, no," another corrected. "He's definitely a hidden prince from some secret kingdom, look at his aura."

A third chimed in, her voice dripping with jealousy, "I wish I could snag such an arm candy."

From another corner, a young nobleman muttered to his friend, "Life really isn't fair, huh? Look at us, struggling to find one decent date, and he walks in with two."

His friend sighed dramatically, "Tell me about it. You think he's giving lessons later?"

Amidst the hushed conversations and awed glances, the trio moved gracefully, blissfully unaware or perhaps just indifferent to the stir they were causing. The mingled sentiments of admiration, jealousy, and curiosity were evident. The mysterious allure of Aditya, Julia, and Lara was the most captivating prelude to the Mystical Treasures Auction.

Aditya's senses branched out, weaving through every nook and cranny of the island. What he discovered left him in mild astonishment. The sheer density of high-caliber cultivators in one location was staggering. He counted nearly 100 5th-order cultivators. Out of those, an impressive 15 were at the pinnacle of their cultivation, the peak 5th-order.

He realized that the esteemed guests weren't taking any chances. While the event itself was heralded as peaceful, the old adage 'better safe than sorry' seemed to be the mantra for these nobles and emperors. They'd brought along these cultivators, essentially their bodyguards, as insurance against any unexpected incidents.

The casual chatter among nobles, Kings, and Emperors from different Kingdoms and Empires, though lighthearted, highlighted an essential aspect of the event. The Mystical Treasures Auction wasn't just about material acquisitions; it was also a hotbed for diplomatic exchanges and political maneuverings.

Stepping inside the auction house, Aditya, Julia, and Lara halted momentarily, taking in the grandeur of the place. The space, while only spanning three floors, was vast, with an expansive ambiance that made it seem even larger than one could initially fathom. The magnitude was such that it could accommodate a throng of over 20,000 attendees simultaneously.

"Wow, I knew it would be big, but this is something else," Lara murmured, her eyes sweeping over the buzzing crowd.

Julia nodded in agreement. "It's incredibly organized too. Look, the third floor's reserved for the elite VIPs, the ground floor seems to be bustling with individual cultivators, and the second is swarming with distinguished nobles from different realms."

As they meandered through the crowd, Aditya's gaze lingered on the walls. To a casual observer, they might appear unremarkable, but Aditya's sharp eyes caught tiny intricate patterns. The walls were intricately lined with a myriad of runes. A closer inspection revealed 4-star and some incredibly complex 5-star runes.

"Those runes," Aditya whispered, leaning towards Julia and Lara, "they're not just decorative. They're functional, serving as protective barriers and possibly other spells. Some are so advanced that even I'm having a hard time deciphering them."

Lara squinted, trying to see what Aditya was pointing out. "I can't see anything, but then again, I'm no runemaster."

Julia chuckled, "Neither can I. But it's comforting to know we're in such a secure place, especially given the value of the items being auctioned."

Aditya simply nodded, impressed not only by the opulence of the venue but also by the meticulous detail that went into its design. It was clear that the organizers left nothing to chance.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 468

As Aditya, Julia, and Lara ambled further into the auction house, their entrance hadn't gone unnoticed. Whispered conversations sparked up among various corners, with many eyes turning towards the trio, drawn especially to the striking beauty of the two women accompanying Aditya.

Amidst the murmurs, a youthful Crown Prince from the Terra Regency Empire was also in attendance. He was engrossed in a discussion with his advisors when his gaze chanced upon Julia and Lara. The world around him seemed to blur as he fixated on their grace and allure. An uncontainable smile danced on his lips, his usual composure momentarily forgotten.

"Your Royal Highness," one of his 5th-order guards cautiously ventured, leaning in discreetly. "It might be best to remain a bit more... reserved."

But the prince, still entranced, barely registered the words of caution. The allure of the two women had ensnared his thoughts completely.

Finally, snapping out of his daze but still not tearing his gaze away, he said, dreamily, "I want them..."

Upon hearing the prince's wishful declaration, the first guard exchanged a glance full of exasperation with his fellow protector. They had grown accustomed to their royal charge's impulsive whims, but the setting and the situation made it a tricky task this time.

"Your Royal Highness," the first guard began, choosing his words carefully, "this isn't some stroll in the royal gardens. We need to tread lightly here. The auction house has its rules, and we can't just approach anyone as we please."

The second guard chimed in, trying to appease the young prince, "Besides, making a scene here would not only embarrass us but the entire Terra Regency Empire. Let's be patient and see what unfolds after the auction. If you're truly interested, we can find a more... discreet approach then."

The two guards genuinely did not bear any ill will towards Aditya. Indeed, they, too, couldn't help but admire the beauty of the women beside him, and while a touch of envy tinged their thoughts, they harbored no malicious intent. However, the prince's commands bound them, and they braced themselves for the possibility of having to intervene against their better judgment.

Pouting like a child denied a toy, the prince responded with a huff, "Fine. But keep an eye on them. I won't let them slip away that easily." And even as he voiced his displeasure, his eyes never strayed from Julia and Lara.

Around the room, other guests were equally entranced, their whispers and sideways glances unmistakably directed at the captivating duo of Julia and Lara.

The vast hall was bustling with activity, every corner alive with chatter and movement. Guards, with their vigilant eyes and firm stances, were stationed at strategic points, ensuring that the atmosphere remained peaceful and any potential disagreements between guests were swiftly dealt with.

Beautiful receptionists, each belonging to various races like the entrancing Succubus, the mystical Fox-race, elegant Elves, and classic Humans, moved gracefully around the hall. They greeted the more prestigious guests with welcoming smiles and gestures, directing them to the luxurious VIP rooms. These rooms, situated on the upper floors, offered a bird's-eye view of the auction and all its excitement.

Everywhere Aditya looked, clusters of people engaged in animated conversation. While some nobles, surrounded by their entourage of guards, preferred the company of their own elite circles, others eagerly ventured to their private rooms, not wanting to miss out on any bit of the auction.

Yet, Aditya couldn't help but notice the stark divide. The nobles and the high-ranking guests seemed to stick to their own, barely even glancing at the lesser-known attendees, let alone mingling with them. The first floor's entrance, in particular, seemed to cater only to the general attendees or rogue cultivators. Despite each one of them forking over a hefty 100,000 gold coins for their spot, they were crammed into a vast arena-like space, sans the luxuries the floors above offered.

"The clear lines drawn between classes even in a setting like this," Lara whispered to Aditya, following his gaze.

Julia nodded in agreement, adding, "It's a reflection of the world outside. But it's a bit sad, this is the harsh reality of life The world is unfair."

Aditya sighed, "Well, as they say, some things never change."

The majority of the guests, about 95% of them, had settled on the first floor. Neatly arranged chairs formed a semi-circle around the grand stage, where soon enough, the coveted auction items would be showcased. Each row of seats was designed slightly elevated than the one in front of it, allowing everyone a clear view. It was an architectural marvel, ensuring everyone, regardless of where they sat, had a good view.

Aditya, glancing down at the sea of people, remarked, "It's already packed! And the show hasn't even started."

Just as he was taking in the vibrant atmosphere, a polite voice interrupted his thoughts. "Um, excuse me, miss?" A young woman with a pleasant demeanor stood before them, addressing Julia.

Julia, looking a bit surprised, responded, "Yes, can I help you?"

The lady hesitated for a moment before asking, "Could you please show me the jade slips you're holding?" The jade slips in Julia's grip were essentially their golden tickets – the VIP passes that Aditya had secured for them. They came at a steep price of 250,000 gold coins. For Aditya, that seemed like an extravagant amount, but then again, the lavishness of this place was becoming evident with each passing moment.

He couldn't help but think, "This feels more like an exclusive club for the rich than an actual auction." It was clear that the organizers were more inclined to pamper the elite, the ones occupying the second and third floors, rather than the general attendees.

Julia gently handed over the jade slip to the receptionist, whose striking appearance was hard to ignore. The lady had a youthful glow, seemingly in her mid-20s, with short purple hair that playfully framed her face. Delicate bangs swept across her forehead, revealing captivating purple-tinted eyes.

However, what truly stood out were her elongated, light purple bunny ears that added an exotic touch to her charm. Given the rarity of bunny-eared beings, it was an immediate giveaway that she wasn't entirely human.

Now, while her appearance suggested she was young, Aditya could sense her cultivation level. She was a Peak 4th-order cultivator, hinting that she might be much older than she appeared. In a world of cultivators, it wasn't unusual to come across individuals who aged gracefully, looking decades younger than their actual age.

Her figure was slender and athletic, a balance of grace and strength. Her physique boasted well-defined curves that were in perfect harmony with her petite frame. By the world's standards, she was undeniably a beauty. However, Aditya wasn't swayed by her looks. After a brief acknowledgment, his curious eyes wandered elsewhere, leaving Julia to handle their interaction with the lady.

The bunny-eared receptionist delicately held the jade slip, inspecting it briefly. Almost immediately, she could discern its authenticity. She mused, 'Considering their elegant attire, I doubt they'd resort to using a fake jade slip.' As her gaze lingered a moment longer on Julia and Lara, she couldn't help but be captivated by the radiant glow of their skin. Julia, in particular, had an almost ethereal sheen to her complexion, making it seem flawlessly smooth and free from any blemishes.

'What skincare magic does she use?' The bunny receptionist found herself wondering, slightly envious of Julia's luminous skin. However, she didn't voice her thoughts. She had a role to uphold in this grand auction house, and maintaining a professional demeanor was paramount.

With a warm and courteous voice, she said, "Esteemed guests, if you'd kindly follow me, I'll show you to your VIP room." She then began guiding Aditya, Julia, and Lara, leading them gracefully towards the third floor.

As they strolled toward the third floor, the bunny-eared receptionist couldn't help but sneak glances at Aditya from the corner of her eyes. She was used to men fawning over her, showering her with compliments, extravagant gifts, or attempting to charm her into a date. However, Aditya seemed different. The elegant man with long blue hair and a sharp black suit seemed disinterested, almost aloof. He hadn't given her more than a fleeting glance. This uncharacteristic behavior made her question her allure momentarily, a feeling she wasn't accustomed to.

"Aditya," Julia's voice broke into the receptionist's thoughts, "You seem so engrossed. What's caught your attention?" She noticed his continuous scanning of their surroundings, a quizzical look in his eyes.

Julia's query made the receptionist prick up her ears, though she didn't turn to show her interest.

"Just soaking it all in," Aditya replied candidly, his gaze still wandering. "It's not every day you find so many powerful 5th-order cultivators in one place, you know."

Julia, with a touch of playful possessiveness, hooked her arm snugly into Aditya's right arm, giving him a mock scolding look. "Come on now, there's no need for all this vigilance," she chided gently, her lips forming a playful pout. "Inside this place, rules are strict. No fights, no troubles. Just relax and enjoy the atmosphere."

Lara, eager to chime in and to not feel left out, mustered the bravery to reach out and hold onto his left hand. Her voice, soft yet earnest, added, "Big sis Julia is totally right. Let loose a bit, husband. Take in the sights and sounds."

Aditya chuckled lightly at their antics, nodding in acquiescence. "Alright, alright, I'll be at ease," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

The receptionist, who had been leading the way, felt an odd sensation in her chest, her right eye twitching slightly. The puzzle pieces clicked into place in her mind, and she couldn't help but cast a discreet glance over her shoulder. Realization dawned on her as she took in the two gorgeous ladies flanking Aditya. It made sense now - he was already accompanied by two incredibly captivating women, making her feel a tad ordinary in comparison. She let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh.

As they ascended to the third floor, an unexpected yet familiar aura wafted into Aditya's senses. Almost simultaneously, Julia felt it too. A spark of recognition lit up their eyes. "Could it be Aditya?" The voice, tinged with surprise, rang out in the silent hallway. It was then that they all paused, their steps halting abruptly.

Turning their gazes to the right, the source of the voice came into view. Lo and behold, it was Alicia's older brother standing there, his face reflecting an array of emotions. The surprise visit of Aditya seemed to have startled him, the echoes of Aditya's name still hanging in the air.

Aditya, Julia, and Lara exchanged quick glances, their faces revealing surprise. This was an unexpected encounter indeed, one they hadn't anticipated. The man standing before them had a significant role in their lives - he was the sibling of Aditya's second fiancée, Alicia. Meeting him here, in this place, was nothing short of a plot twist. The grandeur of the auction house, the flickering lights, the gathering of powerful figures - it all seemed to fade into the background as they focused on the figure that had unexpectedly entered their line of sight.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 469

"Noah!" Aditya exclaimed with genuine warmth, taking strides toward his unexpected acquaintance. But Noah wasn't there by himself. Right beside him stood a woman exuding grace and beauty, casting an ethereal aura around her. She was Lily Osburn, the first princess from the famed Edrinia Dynasty, nestled at the southern fringes of Westnia's central region.

A cascade of deep crimson hair flowed down to Lily's waist, swaying gently with each step she took. Though she stood at a modest height of 5 feet 4 inches, her presence was regal. Her red pupils, a perfect match for her hair, held depth and secrets within. But what truly captivated most was her attire. Dressed in a traditional Kimono, an Osburn family trademark, she had a veil concealing her face. This mysterious tradition was a hallmark of the Osburn women, sparking curiosity among many about the beauty they hid behind the fabric.

Their marriage was fresh, just a tender six months old. And within that short period, they had become the talk of many territories. Their love story was something out of a fairy tale.

Aditya, noticing the way Noah looked at Lily with soft, adoring eyes, couldn't help but feel the romance in the air. "It seems married life suits you both." he said, his tone light and friendly.

As they moved forward, Aditya gently nudged Lara to come closer, presenting her to Noah with a beaming smile. "Noah, I'd like to introduce someone special," he began, his tone warm and filled with pride. "This is Lara Murphy, my fourth fiancée." The soft glint in Aditya's eyes as he mentioned Lara showed his deep affection for her. Noah and most of the others had only known of her existence through Alicia.

Noah's eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "Sister Lara! Alicia has told us so much about you in her letters." It was evident from his tone how closely knit their families were, bridged by Alicia's affectionate letters and regular visits. Alicia, despite her new life, always found time to maintain the bonds with her family, ensuring they were always a part of her journey. Similarly, Julia too had woven a tapestry of relationships, bridging her old and new worlds.

Lily, draped in her delicate Kimono, stepped forward with a warm smile, revealing just a hint of her crimson lips. "Sister Lara," she began, her voice gentle, "it's truly wonderful to meet you."

Lara, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the welcoming vibe and perhaps a tad shy amidst all the royalty and grandeur, replied softly, "Hello... It's an honor."

Aditya, observing the exchange, leaned closer to Lara, whispering in her ear, "You light up the room, you know?" Lara blushed, feeling her heart flutter at Aditya's romantic gesture amidst the formalities. The subtle yet profound romantic moments amidst the introductions made the entire scene heartwarming.

The bunny receptionist, with her tall, light purple ears slightly drooping in shock, stared wide-eyed at Aditya. A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind. How had she missed it? The very man standing before her was none other than the legendary Dragon Monarch, Aditya, the mighty Emperor of the Great Istarin Empire. The tales of his prowess and charm had traveled across continents, and here he was, right in front of her.

"Could it really be him? The Emperor?" she whispered to herself. She had heard about the auction house extending an invitation to the Istarin Empire, but there hadn't been any response. Most had assumed the Emperor wouldn't grace the event with his presence, and yet here he was, standing just a few feet away from her.

Her gaze shifted to the lovely purple-haired woman beside Aditya, and her heart skipped a beat. 'Could she be...?' The realization sent a chill down her spine. That ethereal beauty beside Aditya was likely the famed Goddess of Alchemy. Their presence filled the room with a tangible aura of power and grace.

Around 3 months back, during the war with the Oracle Alliance, it was revealed to the whole world that Daughter of Duke Adam was secretly engaged to the Emperor of the Istarin Empire. Around 10 months back, When the news of Julia's engagement reached everyone's ears who has been especially wanting to marry the Goddess of Alchemy was furious. Many tried to know the mysterious person named Aditya who suddenly appeared with the Goddess; before appearing, the goddess had disappeared for about 2 and half years. At that time, no one would have assumed even in their wildest dreams that Aditya is none-other than the King of the Istarin Kingdom which now had grown into a 5-tier Empire and is called the Istarin Emperor. - rewrite this scene with more words. Keep the conversation. Keep the conversations informal tone and use simpler vocabulary.

Gulp!

'He is the man who defeated the strongest Peak 5th-order cultivator of the Dying Isle continent. Meaning, now he is the strongest cultivator of the Istarin Empire. And the Emperor still hasn't reached anywhere close to 5th-order. He defeated someone who is two orders higher than his own order in battle.' The more the bunny receptionist tried to think, more nervous she became. Sweat started rolling down her neck due to nervousness and in fear.

Aditya was considered a myth and a living legend among many people. Just after the war with the Oracle Alliance, Aditya revealed that he was engaged to not just one, not just two, but three of the seven Goddesses in this world. This itself was a huge shocking thing for everyone around the world.

He is the type of person who almost never appears out in the public. Whenever he does appears in the public, he causes chaos. Whenever he does appears in the public, Someone is always destined to die. Whenever he does appears in the public, Someone is always destined to lose power. The Istarin Empire is called 'The Graveyard of Empires' for a reason. And that sole reason is Aditya.

'This matter is too much of a big news. I have to let the manager know about this.' The Bunny receptionist thought in the back of her mind.

In this auction it is very common for Emperors and Kings of various Kingdoms and Empires from all over the world to come here. But the arrival of Aditya is really special mainly because the man himself is a walking Calamity. 'I don't even 100 5th-order cultivators in this island could stop this man.'

"Aditya, what are you doing here?" Noah asked.

"I am on date with Julia and Lara." Aditya responded with a smile. "What about you?"

"Actually, we are currently enjoying our honeymoon." Noah replied with a small blush. He was little bit embarrassed talking about it. He has been enjoying his honeymoon for over a week now. He planned to continue till the end of this week. Before new year started, he planned on heading back home with his wife and spent the new year with his family.

Hearing this Aditya gave him a knowing smile. "No wonder why you're look so fulfilled and happy." Aditya jokingly said.

"What can I do? Back home, my grandmother and the rest of my family has been asking me for a child. Especially my Grandmother. She says she wants to play with her great grandchild."

Meanwhile, the ladies, Julia, Lara, and Lily were also having a separate conversation among themselves.

"Sister Julia, it seems you have become even more beautiful now than before." Lily said. Lily wasn't just being polite. She has met Julia back when she just got married. After 6 months later, it appears as if Julia has become even more beautiful.

"No at all. Sister Lily, you have become even more beautiful." Julia gave her knowing wink. This made Lily blush

"Sister Lara, I have heard so much about you from Sister Alicia." Lily held Lara's hands. "Sister, please come to the Ethereal Empire for a visit. I would definitely like to have a cup of tea with you." Lily has heard about Lara's tragic backstory from Alicia.

"Since we were enjoying our honeymoon in one of the islands nearby, we decided to come here to see if there is anything special in this auction." Noah replied. Noah came here with the intention of buying something memorial of their first honeymoon and also to buy something that he can gift his wife.

"In that case, We won't hold you two any longer. Enjoy your honeymoon."

"Goodbye, Sister Lara, Sister Julia. Please come to the Ethereal Empire if you have time."

"Of course. When you have time, come to the Istarin Empire for a few days. We will have fun together."

Noah and Lily then parted ways with Aditya, Lara, and Julia. The trio went to their VIP room. And just then the auction started. Meanwhile, the bunny receptionist respectfully excused herself and then went to the manager to tell him that the Dragon Monarch along with two of his fiances has come to this auciton.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 470

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Sakura began, her voice dripping with a sultry allure, "We are both delighted and honored that you have chosen to spend your precious time with us today at the Mystical Treasure Auction. Every face I see here adds to the splendor of our event, and it's truly our privilege to host such esteemed guests."

Allowing a pause for effect, she then gracefully continued, "For those unfamiliar with me, my name is Sakura." With a subtle, yet tantalizing flip of her long hair, she gave the audience a wink that made hearts race. As she smiled, her lips glimmered under the lights, and her eyes seemed to hold a secret promise. There was an unmistakable energy around her, one that had men at the edge of their seats. Her charm was undeniable, and as a Succubus, she wielded it effortlessly. The very essence of her was an intoxicating blend of elegance and seduction.

"Today, I will be your guide through a world of treasures and temptations. And I must say, the pleasure is all mine," she teased, her voice low and inviting. The temperature in the room seemed to rise a few degrees as she held the audience captive with her tantalizing presence.

As the auction began, the stage was illuminated, revealing Sakura, an embodiment of allure and desire. Her long, raven-black hair cascaded down her back, shimmering under the spotlight, framing a face that could tempt even the most stoic of souls. A Succubus by nature, her tail playfully danced behind her, matching the rhythm of her swaying hips.

With every step she took, her voluptuous chest, unrestrained by fabric, moved in tandem, drawing eyes and leaving the audience mesmerized. The curve of her hips contrasted beautifully with her slender waist, accentuating the seductive swing of her round and inviting derrière. Every movement she made was poetry in motion, each more tantalizing than the last.

Draping her figure was a white Chinese dress, tailored to perfection. It hugged her like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination, showcasing her perfectly sculpted silhouette. The high slit of the dress flaunted her long, toned legs and hinted at the smoothness of her thighs, promising secrets untold. The absence of undergarments made the dress even more tantalizing, as it adhered to her body in all the right places.

Her beauty was not just skin deep. Beyond her seductive physique was a face that radiated charm and mischief. Standing at a height of around 5 feet 5 inches, her deep blue eyes sparkled with mischief and allure, drawing in anyone who dared to meet her gaze. The room's temperature seemed to rise with each step she took, her presence igniting a fire of anticipation and desire in everyone present.

Sakura elegantly swayed onto the stage, every step echoing grace and allure. The lighting of the room seemed to shimmer in her presence, casting a soft glow that highlighted her bewitching curves. Her long, raven hair cascaded down her back like a midnight waterfall, while her deep blue eyes glinted mischievously.

"Esteemed guests," she began, her voice sultry and dripping with honeyed charm, "I hope you're ready for an evening that promises treasures beyond your wildest imaginations." She tilted her head slightly, locking eyes with a few of the attendees. Several men shifted uncomfortably in their seats, ensnared by her captivating gaze.

"Let's not delay the excitement any further." With a teasing smirk, Sakura delicately slid her slender fingers into her storage ring. The room's energy grew palpable, anticipation thick in the air. She retrieved an item and placed it on the table, its presence encased within a pristine glass box.

"Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on our opening marvel— the Sunfire Talisman." Sakura leaned forward, allowing her figure to be more pronounced, and her dress clung to her in all the right places. She rested a hand on the glass box, fingers tracing its edges provocatively.

Aditya squinted slightly, trying to focus on the talisman amidst the distracting display. With a cursory glance, he could tell that the runes on the talisman were not ordinary— they were the handiwork of a master.

"This isn't just any trinket," Sakura purred, capturing the room's attention once again. "Engraved by a 5-star runemaster, this talisman has been infused with the very essence of the sun. It's not just a pretty ornament; it's a weapon and a protector." She winked, "It can turn your enemies to ashes and shield you from the iciest of perils. If rumors are to be believed, the Sunfire Talisman can even bring down a novice rank 5th-order cultivator and gravely harm those at mid 5th-order."

The room erupted in whispers and gasps. Many attendees shifted in their seats, both from the allure of the talisman and the spell Sakura seemed to weave.

Aditya reclined in his seat, deep in thought. 'This auction isn't just a mere spectacle of extravagance,' he pondered. 'I anticipated some pretty rare treasures, but this? The first item already surpassing expectations? Remarkable.'

The Sunfire Talisman shimmered on the table, an emblem of power and prestige. Aditya's mind raced, weighing the value of the item. 'It's undeniably a gem,' he mused. 'It'd be a perfect gift for Leo and the rest. But given that I'm a 4-star runemaster, splurging on it might be a bit... unnecessary. With my Crimson flames, I'm sure I can craft something even mightier in time.'

As Aditya concluded his internal debate, deciding to pass on the bidding, the atmosphere in the room grew thick with anticipation. The other emperors and high-ranking nobles perched on the edge of their seats on the second and third floors. They weren't about to let such a prize slip through their fingers. For them, the allure wasn't just its rarity; it was the promise of protection. A 5-star talisman like this was a beacon of hope in perilous times, potentially the difference between life and death. The room buzzed with their collective realization: this wasn't just an item; it was an insurance policy of the highest caliber. They eyed it hungrily, each calculating how much they'd be willing to part with for such invaluable security.

Sakura's sultry voice filled the room, laced with an alluring charm that only she could muster. "The coveted Sunfire Talisman shall open at a bid of 100,000 royal gold coins. My esteemed guests, your increments must be no less than 10,000 royal gold coins." Drawing her voice to a teasing whisper, she added, "Let's see who's willing to play for such a treasure." Finishing her sentence, she cast a slow, seductive wink across the room, her eyes promising a world of enchantment.

But the aristocrats on the second and third floors were too engrossed in the escalating stakes to be distracted. Their eyes were glued to the Sunfire Talisman, captivated by its promise of power.

"500,000 royal gold coins," declared a voice, ringing clear and assertive.

Before the echo could die down, another chimed in, "800,000!"

A pause, then, "1,000,000 royal gold coins."

The room was charged with tension, with every new bid, the heat, and excitement amplified. "2,000,000 royal gold coins!" The fervor in the room was palpable.

Sakura's lips curled in a sly smile, her form accentuated by the tight dress she wore, revealing just enough to inflame the imagination. Her voice dripped with honey as she egged them on, "Higher, my brave hearts. Who can resist such temptation?"

And then it came, a voice booming from the third floor, dripping in authority, "5,000,000 royal gold coins." The statement caused a hush to descend. Many nobles, feeling the weight of such an exorbitant sum, resignedly withdrew from the contest.

Yet, in the secluded alcoves of the third floor, where the most powerful Emperors reclined in luxury, the game was far from over. One of them, clearly undeterred, confidently declared, "5,500,000 royal gold coins." The night was still young, and the bidding war raged on.

"7,100,000 royal gold coins..." A voice, rich and dripping in authority, resonated from the room adjacent to Aditya's. The vast sum, once converted, meant the bid now stood at a staggering 70 million gold coins. To Aditya, the price seemed exorbitant, bordering on the ridiculous. But perhaps to others, the talisman held an immeasurable allure. After all, value is often in the eye of the beholder, fluctuating based on individual needs and desires.

As the figure touched the monumental 7 million mark, a hush descended upon the room. The price had risen to dizzying heights, and one by one, potential buyers began to back down, realizing that they were out of their league.

Sakura's voice, thick with seduction, cut through the murmurs, "It appears we have our victor. Congratulations to the illustrious His Royal Highness of the Terra Regency Empire." Her words were accompanied by a deliberate, lingering glance, one that swept across the audience, leaving a trail of heated faces in its wake. The contours of her dress hugged her frame, leaving little to the imagination, and every movement was a tantalizing dance of allure.

Whispers spread like wildfire among the spectators. Many looked awestruck, others filled with envy. "Truly fitting of His Royal Highness," murmured one guest, clearly impressed.

"With wealth and charm like that," sighed another, "it's no wonder he remains undefeated in these bidding wars." The atmosphere in the room was electric, charged with admiration, envy, and raw desire.

Aditya and the surrounding emperors exchanged knowing glances, a shared sentiment evident in their eyes. To them, the exorbitant price paid by the young Crown Prince seemed more like a display of his opulence rather than a wise investment.

Aditya couldn't help but chuckle under his breath, thinking, 'Such wasteful extravagance.' It was evident to him that the prince had splurged on the talisman more for the prestige it would bring him than its intrinsic value.

As the murmurs of the past auction died down, Sakura sashayed to the center of the stage, the fabric of her gown accentuating every curve. With a sultry smirk, she teased the audience, "And now, dear guests, for our next divine treasure..." With deliberate slowness, she unveiled a shimmering silver grass, ensconced in a glass box that seemed to magnify its ethereal glow. "Behold, the Moonshade Herb."

She leaned forward, her voice dripping with allure, "A rare gem that flourishes under the caress of the moon's silvery light. Not only does it cleanse one's mind and amplify mental prowess, but those on the cusp of breaking through from the Peak 4th-order to the Beginner 5th-order will find its properties especially beneficial." She paused, letting her words sink in, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "For those blessed with moon-related affinities, its magic is unparalleled."

A chorus of awed whispers erupted across the hall. Though the emperors on the 3rd floor seemed nonchalant, a handful of nobles on the 2nd floor appeared keenly interested, likely seeing it as a potential boon for their trusted aides. Down on the 1st floor, the fervor was palpable. Eyes gleamed with barely concealed greed, and whispers of bids and alliances filled the air.

Sakura gracefully swept her gaze across the crowd, the light reflecting off her eyes making them seem as though they were bathed in moonlight. Her voice, smooth as silk, purred out, "Ladies and gentlemen, the bidding for this exquisite Moonshade Herb will commence at 100,000 royal gold coins. To cherish this herb's grace, I request that each esteemed bid not fall short of 10,000 royal gold coins." Her tone had an alluring invitation, her words tempting the guests to dive into the bidding war.

As the bids rolled in, it was evident that the excitement was concentrated mainly among the audience on the 1st floor. The esteemed guests and emperors on the 3rd floor, usually so fervent in their bids, were conspicuously silent.

Aditya, observing the frenzied reactions, leaned towards Julia, a quizzical look in his eyes. "Julia," he began, his voice soft and inquiring, "is this herb truly as rare as they're making it out to be?"

Julia, with her vast knowledge on alchemy and herbs, thoughtfully replied, "The Moonshade Herb is indeed unique and has its own merit. However, its effects aren't unparalleled. A skilled alchemist, given the right blend of ingredients, can reproduce a concoction with similar benefits." Her words held a hint of amusement as she continued, "Its rarity might appeal to many, but its true worth is recognized by those with deeper insight."

Aditya chuckled lightly, shaking his head. 'So, all this hullabaloo for something that's essentially replaceable. No wonder the emperors aren't keen on it,' he mused. The dynamics of the auction, the desires of the many against the wisdom of the few, amused him greatly.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 471

The bidding reached a crescendo with an assertive voice calling out, "1 million and 4 hundred thousand royal gold coins..." The room fell into a stunned silence, the bid echoing through the chambers. Many of the guests exchanged astonished glances, for such a sum was beyond their reach. It was a considerable fortune, especially for those on the first floor, who lacked the support of powerful factions.

Sakura, sensing the hesitation in the room, let her eyes wander languidly over the crowd, her lips curving into a tantalizing smile. Her voice, dripping with honeyed temptation, called out, "Is there anyone else, my dear guests, brave enough to challenge this magnificent bid?" She paused, allowing her words to linger in the air, her eyes gleaming with a seductive spark. "This Moonshade Herb, a rarity that dances under the moon's caress, awaits its worthy master. Who will claim it?"

The silence held, the audience entranced by her allure yet unable to meet the towering bid.

Seeing no response, Sakura's smile widened, and her voice took on a congratulatory tone mixed with a hint of playfulness. "Ah, it appears we have found our winner. Congratulations, dear sir, for winning the Moonshade Herb. Your discernment is truly commendable." She gave a gentle, graceful bow, her form a picture of elegance.

Then, her eyes twinkling with anticipation, she continued, "Now, dear guests, allow me to entice you with our next offering, a treasure that will surely stir your hearts and awaken your deepest desires." Her words, teasing and provocative, promised more than just material treasures, and the crowd found themselves leaning forward, ensnared by her charm, ready for the next item on display.

Sakura's performance was a masterful blend of elegance and sensuality, keeping the guests engaged and the atmosphere charged with a mix of excitement and temptation. Her presence on the stage was not just about the items being auctioned but a mesmerizing experience in itself, leaving the audience both satisfied and craving more.

The Nine-Tailed Fox's Core rested within a luxuriously crafted display case, cushioned by a bed of dark velvet. It was a sight that seemed to beckon the very soul, an artifact imbued with ancient magic and ethereal beauty.

The core itself was a captivating orb, about the size of a human fist, with a mesmerizing iridescent glow. Swirling hues of emerald, sapphire, and fiery orange danced within its depths, creating an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors. The surface was smooth and cool to the touch, yet it seemed to pulse with an internal heat, as if the life essence of the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox still resided within.

Contained within the core were delicate strands of crystalline energy, winding and intertwining like the nine tails of its original bearer. These luminescent tendrils seemed to move of their own accord, casting intricate shadows and reflections that played tricks on the eye. When looked at closely, faint images and illusions could be seen fleeting within its depths, tantalizing glimpses of otherworldly landscapes and mystical realms.

Surrounding the core were inscriptions, ancient runes etched with precision, detailing spells and enchantments. They spoke of wisdom, cunning, and seduction - the very attributes that the Nine-Tailed Fox was renowned for. These inscriptions seemed to hum with an unseen power, resonating with the pulsing energy of the core.

The Nine-Tailed Fox's Core was not just an object; it was a living piece of legend, a fragment of myth come to life. Its presence in the room was almost otherworldly, as if a door to an ancient, mystical world had been opened, allowing the guests to peer into the unknown.

The aura it emitted was both enchanting and intoxicating, filled with a sense of allure that went beyond mere physical attraction. It was said to enhance one's charm techniques and illusion mastery, but to merely describe its function would be an injustice. The core was art, magic, and mystery combined, a treasure that promised power and whispered of untold secrets.

With an allure that seemed to captivate the entire room, Sakura gracefully approached the display case containing the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core. Her eyes sparkled with an inviting glint as she looked out at the entranced audience. With a seductive smile playing on her lips, she began to describe the item, her voice like a soothing melody that washed over the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is an artifact of legend and desire. Behold, the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core, a treasure that promises power, beauty, and allure." Her fingers delicately caressed the glass, teasingly close to the glowing orb. "You see how it dances and shimmers, don't you? Much like the enchanting dance of a fox beneath the moonlit sky."

She continued, her voice dripping with charm, "This core belongs to a Peak 5th-order magic animal. But its value is not merely in its rarity or power. Oh no, dear guests, it's what this core can do for you." Her gaze seemed to lock onto each person individually, promising secret pleasures and hidden potentials.

"Imagine, if you will, a Kitsune - a member of the Fox-folk - consuming this core. The very essence of the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox merging with their being, awakening the Royal Fox Bloodline. An evolution, a transformation, a seduction of power and grace." She let the words hang in the air, allowing the crowd to savor the tantalizing image.

"And for those skilled in charm techniques and illusion mastery, this core is like a lover's whisper in the dark, enhancing, teasing, promising more." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Who wouldn't want to wield such beguiling power? To control, to captivate, to command attention and desire?"

The room was silent, hanging on her every word, lost in the allure of the core and the woman presenting it. Even Aditya, normally so composed, found himself drawn into her spell.

She leaned closer to the item, her voice dropping to an intimate murmur, "And let's not forget the cultivation benefits. A guaranteed increase in one's abilities, a leap forward on the path to greatness." She looked up, her deep blue eyes promising mystery and allure. "Who among you will take this treasure into your hands, embrace its power, and become one with the legend?"

With those words, the auction house erupted into frenzied bidding, each person driven by desire, greed, and the intoxicating promise of the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core. Sakura's presentation had been a masterful dance of seduction and temptation, and the guests were more than willing to follow her lead.

Aditya's eyes were fixed on the shimmering Nine-Tailed Fox's Core, his mind racing with possibilities and dreams of the future. The core was a glowing spectacle, an elegant fusion of colors and mystical aura that seemed to call to him, promising power, allure, and enhancement.

Sitting comfortably in the plush VIP room on the 3rd floor, Aditya was lost in thought. The person he had in mind for this core was Amber, his 5th general, and Captain of the 5th division of the Istarin Empire's military. A Kitsune of high standing, she had already awakened her Royal Fox Bloodline. This core would be a perfect match for her.

Aditya's mind danced with images of Amber, her powers magnified, her illusions more compelling, her very essence evolved. 'With this core, she would become an even more formidable force. Her abilities would soar, and her bloodline could take another leap forward.' The thought was exciting, tantalizing even.

He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice Julia's gentle voice breaking through his reverie. "Aditya, are you going to bid for this item?" she asked softly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Aditya turned his gaze to Julia, his thoughts still lingering on the core's potential. He simply nodded, a determined look in his eyes. The words were unnecessary. His intention was clear.

Lara, seated on his other side, picked up on his intense focus. "It must be really special for you to be so interested," she commented, her voice filled with intrigue.

Aditya's eyes softened as he turned to her. "It's perfect for Amber. She's strong, talented, and this core could make her even more powerful. It could even help her evolve her bloodline further." His voice was filled with conviction, his belief in Amber's potential unwavering.

The anticipation was palpable in the room, a frenzied energy that tingled in the air. Guests were leaning forward, their faces flushed with excitement, eyes glued to the glimmering Nine-Tailed Fox's Core that Sakura so elegantly held.

With a captivating grace, Sakura stepped forward, her figure highlighted by the soft glow of the magical chandeliers above. Her dress, a seductive shade of white, clung to her curves, accentuating her beauty. Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous light as she looked out at her esteemed guests, knowing well the desire that this item had ignited within them.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she purred, her voice dripping with allure. "The time has come for you to indulge in your deepest desires. This Nine-Tailed Fox's Core is not merely a treasure. It is a dream, a key to unlock the power within, a seduction that calls to the very soul." Her words were a caress, a whisper in the ears of those who listened.

Her hands danced delicately around the core, fingers tracing its outline as if teasing, promising more. "We shall begin the bidding at 1,000,000 royal gold coins, and I must insist that the increments be no less than 100,000 gold coins. Shall we begin, my darlings?" she cooed, snapping her fingers and igniting the bidding war.

The room erupted into a frenzy.

"One million and one hundred thousand," came a voice, firm and eager.

"1.5 million royal gold coins," another chimed in, the tension rising.

The bids escalated quickly, voices overlapping, each one more desperate than the last. The numbers soared, reaching heights that had never been seen before in previous auctions.

"3 Million royal gold coins."

"3.2 million...."

"3.9 million royal gold coins..."

"5 million...."

"6 million..."

"7..."

"8 million..."

Sakura's eyes danced with delight, her lips parting in a satisfied smile. She swayed with the rhythm of the bids, her body moving like a melody, encouraging, enticing. The guests were spellbound, not just by the core but by her very presence.

"This is magnificent, isn't it?" she murmured, her voice soft and intimate, as if sharing a secret. "The passion, the desire, the sheer hunger for power and beauty. It's intoxicating."

Her words were more than an invitation; they were a temptation, a challenge. The room was ablaze with energy, and Sakura was the flame that fueled it, her very essence a dance of seduction and power.

As the bids continued to rise, Sakura's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with success. The Nine-Tailed Fox's Core was more than a treasure; it was a sensation, and she was its mistress, guiding the guests through a game of desire and ambition, where the stakes were high, and the rewards were even higher.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 472

The intensity of the auction continued to build as the price of the core soared to 15 million royal gold coins. The rapid escalation of bids created a fervent atmosphere, making the heart race and the blood boil with anticipation. Once the price hit that staggering mark, equivalent to 150 million gold coins, the fervor from the first floor died down, and the room fell into a more hushed state of excitement.

The hopes of the rogue cultivators, the business owners, and individuals without royal backing were dashed. They could only watch, their dreams slipping through their fingers as the price moved out of their reach.

The battle was now between the more affluent nobles of the second floor and the exalted VIP guests of the third floor, who remained resolute in their determination.

A nobleman from the second floor, his heart pounding with excitement and fear, bravely raised his bid. "20 Million royal gold coins," he called out, his voice trembling slightly. The sum represented his entire year's earnings, but he could see the potential, the opportunity that the core could bring to his strongest Kitsune subordinate.

His mind was filled with visions of triumph and success, imagining his subordinate's rise to power and mastery. He pictured the awe and respect that would come with such a transformation, the prestige it would bring to him and his household. The gamble was enormous, but the rewards were tantalizing.

But the dream was short-lived.

"25 million royal gold coins," a calm voice declared from the 3rd floor, shattering the nobleman's hope like fragile glass.

The nobleman's face turned ashen, his hands clenched into tight fists, his nails digging into his palms. He could feel the weight of despair settling over him, a feeling of helplessness that twisted his stomach into knots. His eyes, once filled with determination, now held a forlorn look, the realization that he could never compete with the Emperors of the third floor.

Around him, the room had fallen into a hushed silence, the tension palpable as everyone waited to see what would happen next. The other nobles looked on, sympathy and understanding in their eyes. They, too, knew the bitter taste of defeat, the cruel reality of dreams left unfulfilled.

The auction was more than just a competition; it was a dance, a delicate balance between ambition and reality, where hopes soared high and dreams were crushed. And in this dance, not everyone could be a winner.

Sakura, sensing the mood shift, looked down at the nobleman, her eyes soft but unyielding. She knew the game well, understood the risks and rewards, the passions and disappointments. She waited, her expression a blend of sympathy and challenge, knowing that the auction was not over, that the dance must continue. But for some, the music had already stopped, leaving only the echo of what might have been.

The drama of the auction reached a new crescendo as the Emperor of the Mupia Empire, a well-known figure among the elites, declared his bid and intention. "30 million royal gold coins. Dear fellow Emperors, I am the Emperor of the Mupia Empire. I hope you all will show me some face and would allow me to get this item. I really need this treasure."

The room went still for a moment, the weight of his identity and his request for deference hanging heavy in the air. Aditya, watching the scene unfold, raised an eyebrow. The Mupia Emperor's play was an interesting one, but he couldn't help but think it was naive. After all, the 3rd floor was filled with Emperors and Crown Princes, each with their own pride and ambitions. His name and title may carry weight elsewhere, but in this auction house, they were all equals.

The silence was broken by a scornful snort from another Emperor, his voice dripping with disdain. "In this auction house, there is no such thing as showing face. If you don't have enough money to place your bid then back off. Don't use your name to pressure others. 40 Million royal gold coins."

The room seemed to collectively hold its breath as all eyes turned to the Mupia Emperor, waiting for his response. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation and tension, each person keenly aware of the battle of wills taking place.

The Mupia Emperor's face turned red, and he looked like he had been slapped. His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, it seemed as if he might lash out in anger. But he held himself in check, the understanding that he was in a room full of equals settling over him like a cold, hard truth. Screaming or lashing out would only make him look like a fool, and he knew it.

Aditya could see the struggle in the Mupia Emperor's eyes, the clash of pride and pragmatism. The auction was a game of sorts, but it was also a test of character, a measure of one's mettle. In that room, surrounded by the most powerful figures of the land, one's reputation and honor were on the line. One wrong move, one ill-considered outburst, and you could lose more than just a bidding war; you could lose face, respect, dignity.

Sakura, sensing the intensity of the moment, kept her expression neutral, though her eyes gleamed with an unspoken understanding of the dynamics at play. She knew how to navigate these treacherous waters, how to maintain the delicate balance of power and desire.

Julia, who had been observing Aditya closely, was keenly aware that he hadn't made a single move in the bidding war. Anxious curiosity took hold of her, and she leaned in closer, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Aditya, are you not going to bid for this item? I thought you wanted this for Amber."

Aditya turned to her, a calm smile playing on his lips. He looked back at the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core, his eyes thoughtful, his mind clearly working through the situation. "I waited till now because I kind of knew that this bidding war would become a race among the VIP guests of the 3rd floor. So there was no need to get involved in this bidding war from the beginning. Now I am going to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he raised his voice, the words firm and clear, resounding through the auction house. "50 Million Royal Gold coins."

A ripple of surprise swept through the room. The Emperors on the 3rd floor exchanged shocked glances, their faces reflecting a mixture of awe and disbelief. Last year, even the most precious and grandest item of the auction had sold for something around 49 million, and here was Aditya, casually outbidding them all for 50 million.

Sakura's eyes widened for just a moment before her professional composure returned. "50 million it is," she announced, her voice steady but with an undercurrent of excitement. "Do we have any other bids?"

The room went silent, the magnitude of Aditya's bid settling over the guests like a heavy blanket. It was a bold move, a statement of intent, and it had achieved its desired effect. The other bidders were momentarily stunned, their own calculations and strategies thrown into disarray.

Aditya leaned back, his face impassive, his eyes on the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core. But Julia could see the satisfaction in his eyes, the quiet confidence that comes from playing a game well. He had made his move, and now it was up to the others to respond.

The tension in the room was palpable, a taut wire of anticipation and uncertainty. The bid had been made, the challenge issued. The question now was, who would dare to meet it? Who would have the courage and the resources to go toe-to-toe with Aditya, a man who had just demonstrated his willingness to play the game at a level few could match?

The silence stretched, each second a testament to Aditya's mastery of the moment, each tick of the clock a reminder of the stakes and the risks, the rewards and the losses. And as the seconds turned into minutes, it became clear that Aditya's gamble had paid off. His bid, bold and decisive, had won the day.

The buzz in the auction house grew louder as everyone's eyes turned to Aditya, curiosity and wonder evident in their faces. Here was a man who had not only spent a staggering 50 million royal gold coins on the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core but had done so with an air of nonchalance that was both intriguing and mystifying. And all without revealing a hint of who he might be.

Surrounded by the two breathtaking beauties, Julia and Lara, Aditya was an enigma, a puzzle that begged to be solved. Everyone could see that he was sitting in a VIP suite, indicating his status as a person of considerable importance. Yet no one could place him, no one could identify him, and this only added to the allure.

In the VIP room next to Aditya's, the Crown Prince of the Terra Regency Empire, Thomas, was consumed by his own thoughts, his eyes fixed on Julia and Lara. Ever since he had first laid eyes on them, he had been obsessed, ensnared by their beauty and grace.

Thomas leaned back in his chair, his mind racing with possibilities and plans. He knew that Aditya must be someone of significant standing to command such a sum and to be accompanied by such exquisite women. But Thomas was a Crown Prince, and he was not easily deterred.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing with determination. "Even if he is the Emperor of an Empire, I will take these two Great Beauties away from him once this auction ends."

His bodyguard, leaned in, his voice low and cautious. "Your Highness, are you sure about this? We know nothing about this man. He could be more powerful than we realize."

Thomas waved his concerns away, his mind made up. "Powerful or not, he is just a man. And I am a Crown Prince. I always get what I want." Hearing this his two bodyguards once again felt helpless. Both of them exchanged a helpless look. Their Highness was really naive. Since childhood, he has been pampered almost by everyone, he grew up to be naive and very arrogant.

In another VIP room, Noah's eyes were fixed on Aditya through the transparent glass that separated them. A proud smile spread across his face as he whispered to himself, "That's my brother-in-law for you." His words were filled with admiration and respect, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at being connected to such an impressive figure.

Meanwhile, on the auction stage, Sakura had received the information about the identities of Aditya, Julia, and Lara. She was momentarily taken aback, her eyes widening in shock. The Dragon Monarch himself was here, and he had just made an extraordinary bid.

Sakura's heart raced, and a surge of excitement washed over her. This was a moment she would never forget. She knew that she had to handle this with grace and flair, and she allowed a sultry smile to play on her lips as she turned to address the crowd.

"Dear esteemed guests," she purred, her voice dripping with seduction, "it is my absolute pleasure to announce that the Nine-Tailed Fox Core has been won by none other than the illustrious Dragon Monarch." She paused for effect, letting her eyes linger on Aditya's VIP suite, her smile deepening. "Congratulations to the Emperor of the Istarin Empire."

The room erupted into chaos, a cacophony of gasps, whispers, and exclamations. The people on the first floor turned their heads so fast it was as if they were trying to catch a glimpse of a legend come to life. Through the transparent glass, they could see Aditya, and they were awestruck.

'I had no idea that this young man is the Dragon Monarch.' The thought echoed in the minds of everyone on the first floor. The nobles on the second floor were no less shocked, their faces pale with disbelief.

In the third-floor suites, the Emperors and Crown Princes of various Empires were staring at Aditya, their eyes wide with surprise. Some were envious, some were admiring, but all were captivated.

Sakura's voice, soft and sensual, cut through the noise. "I must say, your Highness, your presence here has added an extra touch of excitement to our humble auction. I hope this exquisite treasure serves you well, and that it brings you all the pleasure and power you desire."

Her words were charged with a tantalizing promise, her eyes locked on Aditya's, a look of invitation in her gaze. She was playing a dangerous game, flirting with the Dragon Monarch himself, but she was in her element, and she was enjoying every moment of it. Aditya just responded with a small nod.

In that moment, the auction was more than just a place to buy and sell treasures; it was a theater of dreams and fantasies, And at the center of it all was Aditya, the Dragon Monarch, a man who had captured the attention of everyone in the room.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 473

The realization hit the crowd like a thunderbolt. A murmur swept through the room, growing louder and louder as the truth sank in. The purple-haired woman sitting next to the Dragon Monarch was none other than the famous Goddess of Alchemy. People's faces turned pale, their eyes wide with shock, as they connected the dots.

'How could we not see it before?' They thought, feeling a mix of awe and embarrassment. 'The famous Goddess of Alchemy herself is here, right before our eyes.'

The room was abuzz with whispers, everyone's attention now fixed on Julia, the Goddess of Alchemy, and the equally beautiful woman sitting on Aditya's other side. The air was electric, filled with a mix of excitement and reverence.

Sakura herself was not immune to the enchantment of the moment. She looked at Julia with admiration in her eyes, knowing that she was in the presence of greatness. Her voice, when she spoke, was filled with genuine respect.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said, her voice filled with a touch of wonder, "we are truly blessed tonight to have in our midst not only the Dragon Monarch but also the Goddess of Alchemy herself. This is a night to remember."

Meanwhile, in the next room, Thomas was coming to a terrifying realization. His face was ashen, his hands trembling, as the full weight of his foolishness crashed down on him. He had been harboring thoughts of taking the Dragon Monarch's women, and now he knew that he had been playing with fire.

Drip!

Drops of cold sweat rolled down his face, each one a testament to his fear. He knew that he had almost made a fatal mistake. If he had dared to act on his desires, he would have not only lost his life but also ignited a war with the Istarin Empire. A war that his Empire had no chance of winning.

His mind was filled with visions of destruction, his family slaughtered, his Empire in ruins, all because of his reckless desire. He looked at Aditya again, his eyes filled with a new understanding of the man's power and the danger he represented.

'I was a fool,' he thought, his heart pounding in his chest. 'I almost messed with the wrong person. The Dragon Monarch... the Graveyard of Empires... How could I have been so blind?'

He slumped back in his chair, feeling weak and defeated. His dreams of glory and conquest had turned to ashes, and he knew that he had narrowly escaped a disaster. The room seemed to close in on him, the voices of the other guests fading into the background as he was consumed by his fear and shame.

He knew that he would never forget this night, a night when he had come face to face with his own folly and had been given a stark reminder of the true power of the Dragon Monarch. A night when he had learned a lesson that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. A night when he had seen the Goddess of Alchemy herself and had been humbled by her beauty and grace. A night when he had realized how small and insignificant he truly was in the grand scheme of things.

The sudden closing of the curtains caught everyone's attention, a silent but firm statement from Aditya that he wished for privacy. A murmur of understanding went through the room, accompanied by a few knowing smiles. Aditya had proven not only his power and wealth but also his possessiveness over the beautiful women by his side.

Inside the VIP room, Aditya glanced at Julia and Lara, his eyes softening. The women smiled back at him, their eyes sparkling with trust and warmth. They appreciated his protectiveness, feeling safe and cherished by his actions.

On the stage, Sakura sensed the shift in the atmosphere. Her professional instincts kicked in, and she knew that she had to redirect the attention of the guests. Her eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint as she decided to use her charm and allure to her advantage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," she purred, her voice dripping with seduction. Her body swayed gracefully as she turned to present the next item, her curves accentuated by her tight-fitting dress. "I know that you are all intrigued by our previous item and the presence of such distinguished guests, but I assure you, the excitement is far from over."

She paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping over the audience, her smile promising pleasure and delight. "The next treasure I have for you is something extraordinary, something that can bring you closer to the very essence of power and pleasure."

Her hand reached into a glass box, her fingers lingering on the pillow as she caressed it, teasing the audience with her deliberate movements. "Behold the Spiritual Essence Pool." She took out the vial, her eyes fixed on it, her voice filled with longing. "A source of condensed spiritual energy, a nectar that can enhance your cultivation base, and elevate your pleasure to new heights."

She looked up, her eyes locking with the guests, her smile wicked and inviting. "Who among you dares to embrace this power? Who is brave enough to taste this forbidden pleasure? Who will claim this treasure and unlock the secrets of the universe?"

Her words hung in the air, heavy with promise and desire. The room was silent, the guests caught in her spell, their minds filled with images of power and ecstasy.

The auction continued, but the mood had changed. The excitement was now tinged with a hint of danger and sensuality, the boundaries between power and pleasure blurred. Sakura had succeeded in her mission, captivating the guests with her charm and skill, proving once again why she was considered one of the best hosts in the business.

Inside the VIP room, Aditya, Julia, and Lara watched the proceedings with interest, aware of the change in the atmosphere but unaffected by it.

With a glint in her eye and a mischievous smile, Sakura leaned forward, her voice dripping with allure as she spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, what we have next is not just a treasure but a tantalizing delight. The bidding for this seductive Spiritual Essence Pool shall begin at half a million royal gold coins." Her voice lowered, almost to a whisper, "But don't hold back; your bid must be nothing less than 50,000 royal gold coins. Who among you is brave enough to take this pleasure home?"

Her words were like a caress, touching the ears of the audience and leaving a trail of longing. A wave of excitement swept the room, and the bids began.

"1 million," came a voice, almost trembling with anticipation.

"2 million," another chimed in, the tension building.

"2.5 million," a bolder voice joined the fray.

The VIP guests on the third floor, too, were drawn into the allure of the item. Their voices mingled with the rest, each bid an unspoken promise of pleasure.

Noah and Aditya, however, remained silent, content to watch the drama unfold. The scene was electrifying, and they were captivated by the dance of desire playing out before them.

Thomas, the crown prince, could no longer contain himself, his voice filled with a heady mix of excitement and need, "10 million..."

Sakura's eyes met his, and her voice was like silk as she acknowledged his bid. "Oh, Your Highness, such a generous offer for such an exquisite pleasure. Does anyone dare to go higher?"

The room was alive with tension, the bids climbing, each one a sweet torture, a dance of longing and fulfillment.

Finally, the bidding reached its peak at 19.9 million royal gold coins. The item was won by a noble from the second floor. Sakura's eyes locked with his, her words a promise, "Congratulations, Your Grace, on winning the Spiritual Essence Pool."

Aditya lounged comfortably in his seat, casting an indifferent eye at the Spiritual Essence Pool that had just been auctioned off. Julia, his fiancée and future wife, sat elegantly beside him. The goddess of alchemy herself, she carried a knowing smile, well aware of the reason behind Aditya's lack of interest in the item. She could easily replicate the effects of this treasure, and her cultivation pills were far more valuable and potent. Why would he bother with something so trivial?

Lara, seated on Aditya's other side, also seemed unimpressed. She shared a knowing glance with Julia, her eyes reflecting the same understanding. They were all well beyond the need for such items.

The auction continued, and Sakura, the host, brought out more and more exciting treasures and rare items, each one accompanied by her seductive descriptions and alluring voice. Yet, Aditya remained unmoved.

He leaned over to Julia, his voice low and casual, "What do you think of that 3-star blood earring artifact?"

Julia's eyes sparkled with amusement as she replied, "Darling, you can make a 4-star artifact in your sleep. Why would you even glance at something like that?"

Aditya chuckled, "Exactly, my love. I just wanted to hear you say it."

Lara joined in the laughter, her eyes dancing with delight. "And what about that golden scale of a Dragon? I thought you might roll your eyes right out of your head at that one!"

Aditya's face broke into a broad grin, and he pretended to examine his own arm, "Well, you know, my own Crimson red scales are about 100,000 times better and rarer. A mere dragon scale is like a pebble on the road to me."

They all laughed together, their shared understanding creating a bond that made them feel like the only people in the room. Around them, the auction continued, bids were placed, treasures were won, but for Aditya and his companions, it was all just background noise.

The items paraded before them were indeed rare and valuable to most people present. But for Aditya, they were insignificant.

I did not expect this auction arc to be this long. Originally it was going to end with just 2 or three chapters but it ended up becoming almost 10 chapters long arc. Sorry if this arc is making you lose interest or boring you. This arc should end with one or two more chapters or maybe three chapters depending on the number of words that I write per chapter. This is a 1800+ words chapter. I will try to make them 2000+ words long chapter.

Bonus chpater!

The plan was to release 5 chapters today but my internet went on a vacation. I was busy fixing the cables. Tomorrow, let's see if I can release 5 chapters. Hopefully I can. [Fingers crossed]

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 474

The auction was a lively event, stretching on for hours, filled with tension and excitement. Treasures and rare items were paraded before the audience, sparking fervent bidding wars among the guests. Throughout the event, Aditya's interest was piqued by a few select items, treasures that caught his eye and would prove useful for his future artifact crafting endeavors.

He ended up spending nearly 189 million royal gold coins, a sum that equated to over 1 billion regular gold coins. A gasp-worthy amount, one that even the other Emperors present wouldn't have easily parted with without proper preparation. But Aditya had come to this auction unprepared, on a whim, prompted by Julia's request earlier in the morning.

Lara, watching the numbers climb, turned to Aditya with wide eyes, "You really know how to spend money, don't you? Over a billion gold coins!"

Aditya chuckled, leaning back comfortably in his chair, "Well, it's all for a good cause. These treasures will come in handy."

Julia interjected playfully, her eyes twinkling, "And besides, what's a billion gold coins to the Emperor of the Istarin Empire?"

Aditya winked at her, "Exactly. We have more than enough to spare."

The casual conversation belied the true wealth of the Istarin Empire, richer than any other Empire in attendance. But it wasn't just the size or the vast resources of the Empire that made Aditya so wealthy. It was his intelligence, his strategic planning, his smart investment choices, and development projects spread across his territories.

He had a business acumen that few knew about and even fewer understood. Even without relying on the billions of taxes generated by the Empire each year, Aditya's personal wealth was immense, stored away safely in his storage ring.

They continued to chat and laugh, sharing insights about the auction, the items, and even some of the other guests. The time flew by, and soon, the auction was winding down.

As they prepared to leave, Aditya looked at Julia and Lara, his voice filled with genuine affection, "This was quite the day. I hope you two enjoyed yourselves as much as I did."

They both smiled, their faces glowing with happiness, and Julia reached over to squeeze his hand, "We always enjoy our time with you. And it's not every day we get to see you spend a billion gold coins."

They all laughed, the shared experience drawing them even closer together. The auction may have been filled with treasures and rarities, but for Aditya, the true treasures were the two incredible women beside him.

Aditya was not just an Emperor but an innovator, a visionary who utilized his unique knowledge from Earth to create something new and astounding in this world: transparent glass. It was an invention that transformed the way people lived, adding a touch of modernity and elegance to their daily lives. Unlike the costly crystals that were once the only option for transparency, Aditya's glass was affordable, making it accessible to both the rich and the middle class.

This new marvel of engineering was not merely a luxury item; it became a symbol of sophistication and status. People from every corner of the continent sought after Aditya's glass, eager to adorn their homes, businesses, and palaces with this clear and shining material.

In towns and cities across the land, windows glittered with this new transparent wonder. Shopkeepers showcased their wares behind sparkling glass cases. Aristocrats sipped wine from delicate glass goblets. Even ordinary families found joy in simple glass ornaments and decorations.

The demand for Aditya's glass was insatiable, and it wasn't long before the money began pouring in. Tens of billions of gold coins filled his coffers, a fortune earned not just from his innovation but also from his victories on the battlefield. From looting the Dragon Slayer guild to defeating Emperor Lucas of the Echo Nexus Empire, and even the spoils from other fallen Empires during the last war, Aditya's wealth knew no bounds.

He had amassed so much that he didn't even need to touch the vast reserves of his royal treasury. The money in his storage ring alone was more than enough to sustain his lavish lifestyle and ambitious projects.

Yet, despite his enormous wealth, Aditya remained grounded. He continued to invest in his people, in development, and in the future of his Empire. The glass was just one example of his ingenuity and forward-thinking. With every passing day, he worked to build a world where everyone, rich or poor, could enjoy the fruits of progress and innovation.

As the auction progressed, Sakura, the beguiling hostess, continued to present rare treasures that captivated the audience's attention. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as she unveiled each new item. However, a special segment of the auction was dedicated to something truly extraordinary that drew gasps of astonishment from the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we now enter a realm of true rarity and mystical wonder. The item I am about to present are not just valuable; they are the epitome of rarity, sought after by the greatest alchemists, healers, and mages across the land," Sakura purred, her voice dripping with allure. "Allow me to introduce the rarest herbs known to mankind."

Sakura's eyes sparkled with excitement as she delicately lifted the glass case containing the Azure Moonflower. The room went silent as everyone's attention was drawn to the ethereal beauty of the herb. She began to speak, her voice soft and mesmerizing, as if telling a tale from ancient times.

"Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the exquisite Azure Moonflower. A marvel of nature, this herb is unlike anything you have ever seen. Its petals are as soft as silk and as blue as the clearest night sky, shimmering with an inner light that seems to dance and play. The stem is a delicate silver, twisting gracefully, and the leaves are kissed with a hint of frost. It's as if the very essence of the moon has been captured and cradled within this extraordinary flower."

The audience was entranced as Sakura continued, "But the Azure Moonflower is not just a thing of beauty; it is a treasure trove of mystical power. Blooming only once every century under the full moon's light, it holds within its petals the healing energies of the moon itself. It is said that a single drop of its nectar can cure the gravest of illnesses, mend broken bones, and even revive the very brink of death."

Her voice lowered, adding an air of mystery, "The history of the Azure Moonflower is steeped in legend and folklore. Ancient texts speak of emperors and sorceresses who sought this herb to prolong life and enhance their magical abilities. Wars have been waged, and kingdoms have fallen in the quest to possess this rare gem of the botanical world."

The room was filled with a sense of awe as Sakura concluded, "Today, you have the opportunity to own this celestial wonder, this miracle of nature. The Azure Moonflower is not just a herb; it is a symbol of hope, healing, and the endless possibilities of the universe."

Aditya's eyes flicked to Julia, a questioning glance in his eyes, asking silently if this was the item she needed. Julia's response was a solemn nod, her eyes filled with determination and seriousness.

"For months I have been trying to develop a cure for Lara," she explained to Aditya, her voice tinged with resolve. "With this, I will be one step closer to making a permanent cure for her mysterious disease."

Aditya was taken aback, surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected that Julia had come here for Lara's sake. His heart swelled with pride for her selfless act.

Meanwhile, Lara, sitting next to Aditya, felt a lump in her throat as she realized what Julia was doing for her. Tears welled in her eyes, touched beyond words by her big sister's love and devotion. This was supposed to be a rare three-hour long date that Julia got to spend alone with Aditya, yet rather than enjoying her precious time with him, she was here at this auction, focusing all her energy on securing an herb that could cure her.

Before Lara could find the words to express her gratitude, Julia gave her a knowing smile, full of warmth and understanding. It was a smile that said, 'You don't need to thank me; you are my sister, and I love you.' Lara's heart ached with emotion, overwhelmed by the depth of their bond.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Sakura's voice broke through the moment, bringing them back to the auction. "The bidding for this rare herb will start at 50,000,000 million royal gold coins. Each time a bid is placed, it must not be anything lower than 10,000,000 million royal gold coins."

A new determination filled Julia's eyes as she focused on the bidding war ahead. "Let the bidding war begin," Sakura announced with a flourish.

The room was abuzz with excitement as Sakura revealed the Azure Moonflower herb to the gathered crowd. A collective gasp filled the air as every eye in the room was drawn to the delicate and mesmerizing herb, displayed elegantly on a silken cushion.

It was a thing of ethereal beauty, its blue petals glowing with an otherworldly light, and its leaves shimmering like the soft glow of the moon. Its scent was faint but enchanting, filling the room with a fragrance that was both soothing and invigorating. The Azure Moonflower was beyond precious; it was a treasure coveted by all, a symbol of wealth, power, and rarity.

Everyone wanted the herb for themselves. Their eyes sparkled with greed and passion, and their hands twitched with the urge to place a bid. But deep in their hearts, they all knew that only the wealthiest among them would have a chance to win this extraordinary herb at the end.

The bidding began, and the numbers started to climb.

"60 million," came the first bid, a confident voice ringing out.

"70 million," another voice responded, a hint of excitement in the tone.

"80," someone else chimed in, the word barely out before the next bid was placed.

"90 million," a voice called, the anticipation growing.

"100 million," came another bid, the room now a frenzy of voices, each trying to outdo the other.

The price for the Azure Moonflower was soaring like a rocket, rising higher and higher with each passing second. The tension in the room was palpable, the excitement almost tangible as the bids continued to escalate.

"110 million," a new voice joined the fray.

"130 million," came a swift response.

"150 million," someone shouted, the voice tinged with both eagerness and desperation.

The price kept climbing, showing no signs of stopping. The room was a whirlwind of activity, filled with the sounds of eager bidders, the rustle of garments, and the clinking of coins. And at the heart of it all was the Azure Moonflower, serene and beautiful, untouched by the chaos around it, waiting to find its new home.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 475

Aditya remained silent and watchful as the bidding war for the Azure Moonflower Herb raged on around him. He did not want to participate in the early stages of the bidding, avoiding any appearance of desperation. Aditya was keenly aware that if he showed too much eagerness, someone might take advantage of his desperation to drive up the price of the herb. He was confident and patient, knowing full well that the price was likely to surpass 200 million or even reach the 400 million mark. The price was no concern to him; it was the strategy that mattered.

The room continued to buzz with excitement:

"190 million," called out a voice from the second floor, a note of determination in the tone.

"200," another voice chimed in, the number round and significant.

As the price reached the 200 million mark, something noticeable happened. The number of bidders started to decline sharply. The auction house had a specific rule in place for all of the guests. Those seated on the first floor could only bid up to 100 million, and not a coin more. The guests on the second floor were limited to 200 million. Only those privileged enough to be on the third floor, the VIP guests, had no limit to their bids.

This rule had been implemented to prevent guests from artificially increasing the price of a treasure, even if they had no real intention of purchasing it. Such acts had become all too common, and the auction house needed to take measures to prevent them. It was a matter of fairness and order. If someone had enough money and wanted the freedom to bid higher, they had to purchase a VIP seat and become a guest of the third floor.

The room seemed to hold its breath as the price reached its plateau for most of the bidders. A few voices still rang out from the third floor, but the frantic pace had slowed, and a new phase of the bidding was about to begin.

Aditya's eyes were fixed on the delicate Azure Moonflower Herb, his mind sharp and his strategy clear. He knew his moment to bid was coming, and he was ready. The real battle for the herb was about to commence, and he was prepared to win it, no matter the cost. The room waited in eager anticipation, sensing that something extraordinary was about to happen.

The room was filled with anticipation and tension as the bidding for the Azure Moonflower Herb continued to rise. Finally, after waiting patiently, Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, made his move.

"250 million royal gold coins," he declared, his voice calm and confident.

The guests of the third floor turned their eyes towards him. They had been wondering why Aditya wasn't taking part in the bid. Now it became clear that he was simply biding his time, waiting for the competition to be narrowed down to the VIP guests of the third floor.

"270 million royal gold coins," came the response from Thomas, the arrogant and envious crown prince of the Terra Regency. His voice carried a challenge, and his eyes were fixed on Aditya, brimming with a mixture of jealousy and defiance.

"290 million royal gold coins," another Emperor chimed in, pushing the price even higher.

"310 million," Aditya calmly placed his bid, unperturbed by the rising numbers. His confidence seemed to shake the room, and as the number crossed the 300 million mark, most of the guests on the third floor gave up, realizing they were outmatched.

The room fell into a heavy silence, filled with a sense of finality. It seemed that the bidding war was coming to an end, and Aditya thought that he had won. But then, breaking the silence, a voice rang out, filled with determination and a touch of malice.

"350 million royal gold coins," Thomas called, his voice echoing through the room. He gave a provocative glance in Aditya's direction, his eyes gleaming with a desire to humiliate the Emperor.

Everyone in the room could feel the tension between the two men. Thomas knew that he couldn't take Aditya's women or challenge him openly, but he saw an opportunity here to make Aditya lose face. He wanted to drive up the price of a treasure he had no real interest in buying, just to make Aditya pay more. It was a petty move, but one that revealed Thomas's jealousy and arrogance.

The room waited, holding its collective breath, wondering how Aditya would respond. Would he rise to the challenge? Would he let Thomas's provocation go unanswered? The bidding had become more than just a matter of money; it was now a battle of pride and ego, played out in front of an audience of Emperors and nobles.

Aditya's eyes met Thomas's, and in that moment, a silent understanding passed between them. Aditya knew what Thomas was trying to do, and he was not about to be outmaneuvered.

The entire auction house had been holding its breath, waiting for Aditya to make his next move. The expectation was palpable; everyone knew that the Emperor of the Istarin Empire was immensely wealthy. They assumed he would place a higher bid, easily surpassing Thomas's attempt to provoke him.

But as the seconds ticked by, a strange silence settled over the room. People began to exchange puzzled glances, wondering why Aditya was hesitating. One second passed, and then two, and the confusion grew. Even the VIP guests like Noah, who were usually so composed, found themselves staring in Aditya's direction, trying to discern his thoughts behind the curtained windows.

Thomas, the crown prince of Terra Regency, was becoming more and more nervous as the seconds dragged on. The arrogant smile that had been on his face when he made his bid was slowly replaced by a look of uncertainty and then outright fear.

He had been so sure of himself, so convinced that he could use this opportunity to humiliate Aditya. He thought he could force the Emperor to pay more, to dance to his tune. But now, with each passing second of silence from Aditya, Thomas's confidence was crumbling.

Cold sweat began to trickle down his forehead as the realization hit him: he had made a grave mistake. Aditya had seen through his ploy, and instead of playing along, the Emperor had chosen to remain silent. Thomas's heart began to pound in his chest as the implications of this decision sank in.

He didn't have 350 million royal gold coins. He never intended to actually buy the Azure Moonflower Herb. His whole plan had been to artificially drive up the price, to force Aditya to pay more. But now, with Aditya refusing to bid further, Thomas was trapped.

The room seemed to close in around him, the eyes of the other guests feeling like they were boring into him, seeing through his facade. His breath came in short gasps, and he could feel panic rising within him. What had he done? How had he been so foolish as to think he could outsmart Aditya?

The silence stretched on, becoming a heavy weight that pressed down on Thomas, making him feel as if he were about to be crushed. He had wanted to make a grand gesture, to show everyone that he was not to be underestimated. But now, all he had done was expose his own arrogance and folly.

He glanced around the room, looking for some sign of support or understanding, but all he saw were the faces of people who were slowly coming to realize what had happened. He had played a dangerous game, and he had lost.

The silence was no longer just an absence of sound; it was a judgment, a condemnation. It was the unspoken acknowledgment that Thomas had overreached, that he had let his jealousy and pride lead him into a trap of his own making. And now, there was no way out.

He had tried to humiliate Aditya, but in the end, he had only humiliated himself. The bitter taste of defeat was in his mouth, and he knew that he would never live this down. The auction house, once filled with the excitement of bidding and the promise of rare treasures, had become a prison, and he was the one who had locked himself in.

Sakura, the elegant succubus host, maintained a poised and professional demeanor, even though she was expecting Aditya to continue the bid. When Aditya's bid didn't come, she was puzzled for a moment. A quick glance at Thomas's increasingly nervous face gave her the insight she needed into the situation, but she knew her place as the host. She had to keep things moving and remain impartial.

With a gracious smile, she announced, "Congratulations to His Royal Highness, Thomas, for winning the bid. Since this item is the most expensive treasure that was sold in this auction today, I hope His Royal Highness won't mind providing the 350 million Royal gold coins right now. This concludes our last item of this auction. And so, with this year's Mystical Treasures Auction, we come to a close. Thank you to all of our esteemed guests for attending this year's event. I hope to see you all at next year's Mystical Treasures Auction as well."

Her words echoed through the hall, but all eyes were on Thomas. His face, once filled with arrogance and smug satisfaction, now looked as if it had been twisted in anguish. The realization that he had just committed himself to paying a vast sum of money that he couldn't possibly afford was sinking in.

He felt everyone's stares, like sharp needles pricking at him, their curiosity and judgment weighing him down. He wanted to cry, but no tears came. His face contorted into an ugly grimace when Sakura asked for the money. He knew she was aware that he didn't have the means to pay such an amount. Even if his father, the ruler of Terra Regency, were to come, they still wouldn't be able to pay the staggering sum. 350 million royal gold coins were equivalent to 3 billion and 500 million gold coins. It was an amount that far exceeded even their royal treasury.

The room seemed to spin around Thomas as he struggled to find words to respond. How had he been so foolish? What had possessed him to act in such a rash manner? His desire to humiliate Aditya had led him to this terrible predicament.

The silence in the room grew heavy, filled with tension and unspoken questions. What would Thomas do now? How would he handle this disaster of his own making? The eyes of the guests bored into him, waiting for his response, their gazes a mixture of curiosity, sympathy, and disdain.

Thomas's mind raced, his thoughts jumbled and panicked. The enormity of the situation was overwhelming, and he felt as if he were drowning in his own folly. The room, once filled with the excitement and allure of rare treasures, now felt like a trap, a cage that had closed around him, leaving him nowhere to turn.

He had sought to prove himself, to demonstrate his power and influence. But now, he was exposed, his arrogance and jealousy laid bare for all to see. The weight of his mistake pressed down on him, a heavy burden that he knew he would carry for the rest of his life.

The moment stretched on, each second feeling like an eternity as Thomas grappled with the reality of what he had done. The auction house, once a place of dreams and desires, had become a nightmare, and he was the author of his own downfall.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 476

Thomas felt the walls closing in around him, the pressure becoming unbearable. He knew that he still had time to admit his mistake, to let go of his useless pride and ego and confess that he didn't have the money. If he persisted in his folly, the humiliation would extend to his entire family, tarnishing the name of the Terra Regency Empire, and destroying his own reputation. And paying the money was not an option, as neither he nor the empire possessed such vast wealth.

With a bitter and defeated expression, his face contorted in shame, Thomas spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, but in the pin-drop silence of the auction house, everyone heard his words, "I don't have that much money with me."

A collective gasp filled the room, followed by hushed whispers and shocked expressions. Many guests couldn't believe what they were hearing. However, Sakura wasn't the least bit surprised. She had already guessed the truth, as had Aditya, which was why he had given up on the bid in the first place.

Sakura's eyes, usually filled with flirtatious allure, now took on a steely glint as she addressed Thomas. Her voice, though still seductively melodic, carried a firm and authoritative tone, "Your Royal Highness, you have broken the rules of the Mystical Treasures Auction. Such actions carry consequences. And the punishment, I regret to inform you, is that from now on, neither you nor your Royal Family, nor any representatives of the Terra Regency Empire, will be allowed to enter any of our Mystical Treasures Auctions."

The words hung heavy in the air, their gravity understood by all present. The Mystical Treasures Auction was not just an event but an institution, holding various auctions throughout Westnia and other continents during the entire year. The Mystical Treasures Auction itself was the grand event, held once a year, but aside from that, the auction house also hosted numerous smaller auctions. Being banned from one of the most popular and famous auction houses in the whole world was no small matter, especially when Thomas and his father had a habit of regularly attending auctions to seek treasures and rare items.

Though her words were firm and her demeanor serious, there was an undeniable undercurrent of sensuality in Sakura's presence. The way she moved, the way she spoke, even in this formal setting, had an innate allure. Her voice, though stern, still had that soft, seductive quality that could draw anyone in. The room was charged not only with the tension of the moment but with the captivating magnetism that Sakura exuded.

Thomas's humiliation was complete. His face, pale and twisted, reflected the enormity of his mistake. The room seemed to grow hotter, the intensity of the situation palpable. The whispers grew louder, the guests unable to contain their shock and curiosity.

The moment was over, but its impact would be felt for a long time. The auction had come to a close not with the triumphant acquisition of a rare treasure, but with a lesson in humility and the consequences of arrogance.

Under the intense and watchful eyes of everyone present, Thomas, his face a mask of defeat and humiliation, made his way toward the exit, flanked by his two bodyguards. He was the first guest to leave, a reminder to all of the heavy price of arrogance and folly.

Sakura's eyes followed him for a moment, a trace of pity in her gaze. The most valuable and significant treasure of this year's auction remained unsold, a twist of fate that left a bittersweet taste. She then looked in Aditya's direction, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, almost as if she were willing him to express his interest in purchasing the precious herb.

The room was buzzing with quiet conversations as the other guests began to stand, preparing to leave. But just as they were about to disperse, Aditya's voice rang out, stopping them in their tracks.

"I would like to purchase this Treasure at 350 Million royal gold coins." The words echoed through the hall, causing everyone to widen their eyes in shock.

Sakura herself looked at Aditya, her beautiful face registering complete surprise. But then, slowly, her lips curled into a radiant smile, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Con... Congratulations to Your Majesty for winning 'The Azure Moonflower Herb'," she stammered, her voice faltering with shock at the beginning of her sentence, yet still laced with that enchanting sensuality that was her hallmark.

The room seemed to hold its breath as the reality of what had just occurred settled in. This year's Mystical Treasures Auction had come to an end, and what an end it was! Filled with surprises, twists, and shocks, it might have been one of the craziest auctions the guests had ever witnessed.

What a twist indeed! In the end, the Istarin Emperor bought the Treasure for 350 million royal gold coins, the exact bidding price given by Crown Prince Thomas. Aditya had stopped at 310 million, leading everyone to believe that he was either out of money or unwilling to spend more than 350 million for the item. But it turned out that Aditya had stopped bidding because he had already guessed that Thomas was artificially inflating the price.

As the guests left, reflecting on the incredible turn of events, the atmosphere in the auction house remained charged with a blend of excitement, sensuality, and intrigue. They would talk about this night for a long time, the story of Thomas's hubris and Aditya's clever triumph, all woven together with the irresistible charm of the beautiful host, Sakura.

The night was over, but the memory lingered, a tantalizing mix of desire, ambition, and the eternal dance between seduction and power.

Thomas's footsteps echoed hollowly in the corridor as he walked out of the auction house, his two bodyguards trailing behind him. The humiliation of the night weighed heavily on him, his face hot with shame, his mind in turmoil.

The haunting words of Sakura's announcement, declaring Aditya the winner of 'The Azure Moonflower Herb' at 350 Million royal gold coins - the very price he had bid in his foolish attempt to humiliate Aditya - rang in his ears. Far from triumphing, he felt as if he'd been publicly slapped. Aditya had bought the treasure at his artificially inflated price, after he had been exposed and banned from the auction house. The irony was as bitter as gall.

"Your Royal Highness, what should we tell His Majesty?" one of the bodyguards asked, his voice tinged with genuine concern. They both knew that once Thomas's father, the Emperor of Terra Regency, learned of this debacle, there would be hell to pay. Thomas's punishment could be severe. Even worse, he might lose his position as Crown Prince, passed over in favor of one of his brothers.

The question was like a bucket of cold water, shocking Thomas into full awareness of the consequences of his actions. He stopped walking abruptly, his face turning deathly pale, his eyes wide with fear. It was as if the full weight of what he had done was suddenly crashing down on him.

"I... I don't know," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "What can I say? How can I explain this?"

The two bodyguards exchanged worried glances, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Maybe we can find a way to... to spin the story," one of them suggested hesitantly. "Make it seem like... like you were doing it for a good reason. Or maybe we can keep it quiet until we figure out what to do?"

Thomas shook his head, his face contorted with despair. "No, it's no use. The news will get out. People will talk. My father will hear of it, and then..." He trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

They stood there in the empty corridor, the silence heavy with the realization that Thomas's arrogance had cost him dearly. The humiliation at the auction house was just the beginning. Now, he faced the wrath of his father, the potential loss of his status as the Crown prince, now the title and position will be given to his other brother, and the scorn of his peers. He had played a dangerous game and lost, and now he was trapped, with no way out.

He had been so sure of himself, so convinced that he could best Aditya. But in the end, he had been the fool, outsmarted and outplayed. His bodyguards looked on, helpless, as their master's face crumpled, the mask of arrogance replaced with one of abject defeat.

"I'm fucked," he whispered, the words escaping like a plea for mercy. "I'm truly, completely, utterly fucked."

And in that moment, they all knew it to be true. Thomas's gamble had failed, and the price was more than he could bear. The night's events would haunt him for the rest of his life, a stark reminder of the dangers of pride and the folly of trying to humiliate those who are wiser and more cunning.

The auction house began to empty as the final gavel fell, signaling the end of an eventful evening. The guests who hadn't made any purchases filed out, chatting and laughing, their faces animated by the excitement of the night. Those who had acquired treasures were approached by the alluring Succubus receptionists, their captivating smiles promising a smooth and pleasurable transaction process.

Among the high-tier guests on the 1st floor, the atmosphere was more relaxed, and the service even more attentive. It was clear that the auction house knew how to treat those who had deep pockets.

Aditya was preparing to leave when Noah and his wife approached him. Noah's face was flushed with excitement, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of the night's drama. He hadn't bought anything, but the sheer spectacle of the event had been entertainment enough.

"Aditya, I shall take my leave. We have an appointment with one of my childhood friends. I will see you later. Please say Hello to my sister Alicia for me," Noah said, his voice warm and friendly.

"Alright. Take care of yourself. When you have time, please come to the Istarin Empire," Aditya replied, his smile matching Noah's enthusiasm.

"Of course, I will come with my wife. But unfortunately now it's not a good time. And after the new year, I will be busy. So maybe sometime later."

They clasped hands, a genuine bond of friendship and respect evident in the simple gesture. Meanwhile, Julia, Lara and Lily were engaged in their own farewells, exchanging hugs and promises to catch up soon.

Noah's wife, graceful and elegant, added her own goodbye to Aditya. "It's been a pleasure, Your Majesty. We must visit you sometime."

"Please just call me Aditya. And I would be honored," Aditya responded, his eyes twinkling with sincerity. To which Lily nodded her head.

With a final wave and a cheerful call of "See you soon," Noah and his wife left the auction house, their laughter echoing down the corridor.

Aditya stood for a moment, reflecting on the night's events. It had been a night full of surprises, tensions, and unexpected twists. He had secured a valuable treasure, witnessed a rival's downfall, and spent time with his family.

Right after Noah left, a soft and rhythmic knock echoed through the room, pausing the conversation between Aditya, Julia, and Lara.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in," Aditya called, a note of curiosity in his voice.

The door creaked open, revealing the breathtakingly beautiful host, Sakura. Her eyes sparkled with a mysterious allure, and her lips were curved into a knowing, seductive smile. Behind her, two attractive receptionists carefully carried the treasures that Aditya had won in the auction.

"Good evening, Your Majesty," Sakura purred, her voice dripping with honeyed charm. She gracefully stepped into the room, her movements a dance of elegance and sensuality. "I hope this auction has been as pleasurable for you as it has been for us."

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 477

"What a wild afternoon we've had," Aditya mused, his voice filled with a mixture of exhaustion and contentment. "The auction took longer than we expected. It lasted a whole six hours!" He couldn't help but reflect on the massive sum he'd spent, a total of 539 million Royal gold coins, equivalent to 5 billion and 390 million standard gold coins. It was the most he'd ever spent in a single day, and although he knew he could earn it back within a few months with his various revenue streams and side businesses, the amount was still staggering.

As the three of them strolled down the grand halls of the Dragon Palace, the echoing footsteps and the soft rustle of their garments the only sounds breaking the silence, Aditya reached out and took Julia's hand in his, then Lara's. The warm connection brought smiles to their faces, a physical affirmation of the bond they shared.

"Indeed, it was quite the experience," Julia agreed, her voice tinged with satisfaction. She turned her gaze toward Lara, her eyes softening with affection. "What about you, Lara? Did you enjoy yourself?"

Lara's eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed with excitement as she nodded. "I also had a lot of fun, Big Sister," she replied in a gentle, almost shy tone. "I learned so many new things from this auction."

The simplicity of Lara's words belied the depth of what she was feeling. For most of her life, she had been confined to her room, a prisoner to a mysterious illness that had kept her bedridden and isolated from the world. She had never been to an auction, never attended a wedding, never partaken in the social events that many took for granted.

But all of that had changed when Aditya came into her life. He had opened doors for her, literally and figuratively, taking her to places she never thought she'd see and introducing her to experiences she never dreamed she'd have. The auction was just one of many new adventures, but it was a symbol of so much more.

As they continued to walk down the grand hallway, Aditya couldn't help but tease Julia about her earlier reaction to the beautiful auction host, Sakura. He looked at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and said, "By the way, you didn't really need to be so fierce towards Sakura, you know?"

Hmph!

Julia, at the memory of the encounter, let out an exaggerated snort of indignation, her nose wrinkling up in a way that made Aditya want to laugh. "That woman was just trying to seduce you," she shot back, her voice dripping with disdain. She'd seen the way Sakura had looked at Aditya, the way she'd tried to use her charms to win him over. Julia wasn't about to let some hostess make eyes at her man.

Aditya's response was to burst into hearty laughter, the sound echoing through the hallway. He reached out and playfully pinched Julia's left cheek, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Haha! So you were jealous!"

Julia's face turned a shade redder, and she pouted cutely, her lips forming a perfect little bow of mock annoyance. "Of course not! I just don't like people trying to take what's mine," she retorted, but the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

Aditya grinned and pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Don't worry, my Princess. There's no way I'd fall for her seduction. After all, I have the most beautiful woman in the world right here with me." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, his lips lingering just a moment longer than necessary.

Julia's pout transformed into a radiant smile, and she snuggled into Aditya's embrace, contentment washing over her. "You always know just what to say, don't you?" she murmured, looking up at him with eyes full of affection.

He winked at her and squeezed her hand, a warmth spreading through him that had nothing to do with the treasures they'd acquired that day. "Only when it comes to you," he replied, his voice soft and full of sincerity.

Aditya, seeing Lara's twinkling eyes and feeling her happiness, couldn't leave her out of this tender moment. With a mischievous grin, he reached out and pulled her into the embrace, his arms now encircling both of the women he loved most. He leaned down and gently kissed Lara's forehead, a gesture of affection that had her cheeks flushing a delightful shade of pink.

Her heart pounding with joy, Lara looked up at Aditya, her eyes wide and full of emotion. Speaking in her cute and endearing way, she said, "Husband, Lara loves being kissed by husband. So please kiss Lara more."

Aditya's heart melted at her request. There was a sweetness and innocence in Lara's love for him that he couldn't resist. Leaning forward, he captured her lips in a deep and passionate kiss, their connection growing with every heartbeat. Lara's slender arms wrapped around his neck as she eagerly responded, her shyness replaced by a longing for closeness.

Unlike Julia, who is embarrassed to ask for more intimacy, Lara was always open and honest with Aditya. Her timidity never held her back from asking for what she wanted, and right now, what she wanted was him.

As their kiss ended, Aditya glanced to his right to find Julia pouting, her arms crossed, and a look of jealousy in her eyes. The sight was both amusing and touching, and he couldn't help but tease her.

"There's no need to be jealous, Princess," he said in a playful tone, leaning forward to capture her lips in a lingering kiss that had her melting into his arms.

For the next ten minutes, the grand and silent Hall of the Dragon Palace became the backdrop for a scene filled with love, laughter, and endless kisses. Aditya moved back and forth between Julia and Lara, showering them with affection and enjoying the warmth of their connection.

Julia's tsundere personality and Lara's sweet innocence created a balance that made his heart sing. They were his future wives, and every moment spent with them was a treasure.

Finally, breathless and with smiles on their faces, the trio continued on their way, leaving behind a hall filled with the echoes of their joy.

Upon reaching the living hall, Aditya's eyes were immediately drawn to the figure waiting for him. Riya, one of his beloved fiancées, stood with an air of anticipation, and Aditya couldn't help but be struck by her breathtaking appearance. Today was Riya's special day, and she had taken extra care to dress for the occasion.

"You're finally here," she exclaimed, her light purple eyes shining with excitement. Her gaze, filled with warmth and affection, met Aditya's, and a sweet smile danced on her lips.

"You look really pretty," Aditya responded, his voice filled with genuine admiration. And indeed, she was more than pretty; she was a vision of grace and beauty.

Riya's dress was a work of art, inspired by elven elegance. It was a flowing gown with intricate leaf patterns, delicate embroidery, and graceful flares that only added to her natural charm. The gown was cinched at her slender waist, and the skirt flowed effortlessly to the floor in hues of deep forest green. The long, slightly flared sleeves added to the mystical appeal, reminiscent of elven grace.

Her silver hair was tied into a ponytail, adding a touch of playfulness to her refined look. The golden accents in her dress highlighted her flawless skin and complemented her lavender eyes perfectly. The dress seemed to enhance her natural lavender fragrance, a scent that was uniquely hers, adding an ethereal quality to her presence.

Riya was truly one of the most beautiful women on the planet, and today, she looked even more stunning. Her beauty was not just in her appearance but in her soul, her kindness, her grace. Aditya felt a pang of love as he looked at her, knowing how lucky he was to have her in his life.

The elegance of her gown, combined with her radiant smile, made Riya look like a fairy tale princess. She was Aditya's princess, and he couldn't wait to spend the next three hours lost in her enchanting company.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm, which she accepted with a gleeful giggle.

After Aditya left with Riya, Julia and Lara found themselves alone in the spacious living room. They settled down on the plush couches, reflecting on the exciting day they had just had. Lara, however, looked particularly worn out. Her eyes were drooping, and her body seemed to sag with exhaustion. It was clear that the day's events had taken a toll on her, and she looked like she was about to nod off right then and there.

Julia, noticing her younger sister's fatigue, leaned over with a concerned look. "Are you alright, Lara?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine care.

Lara managed a weak smile and replied in a sleepy voice, "Big sister, I'm fine. Just a little bit sleepy." Her words were slow, and she seemed to be fighting to keep her eyes open.

Julia couldn't help but feel a pang of affection for her younger sister. Even in her tired state, Lara was trying to be strong. "Come on, sweetie," Julia said, her voice soft and gentle. "I'll take you to your room. You can sleep there. I'll wake you up for dinner."

Lara's eyes brightened at the mention of sleep, and she nodded her head in agreement. "Thank you, Big sister," she murmured, leaning into Julia for support.

With a loving arm around Lara's shoulder, Julia helped her sister up from the couch. They made their way slowly through the hallway, Lara leaning on Julia for support, her steps unsteady with fatigue.

Julia always felt a sense of responsibility for Lara. As the big sister, she had always looked out for Lara, always been there for her.

Lara's trust in her was evident in the way she allowed herself to be guided, her body relaxed, knowing that her big sister would take care of her. Once they reached Lara's room, Julia tucked her in, making sure she was comfortable. Lara's eyes were already closing, but she managed to murmur a soft "Goodnight, Big sister," before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 478

"So, your Majesty, can you guess where we are right now?" Riya asked Aditya, her eyes sparkling with playful mischief.

Their date had taken an adventurous turn as Riya whisked Aditya away to one of the cities within the vast Istarin Empire. But she had kept their exact location a secret, turning it into a playful guessing game. The Empire was so massive, boasting nearly a thousand big and major cities across the four regions of the Dying Isle Continent. It would be quite a feat for Aditya to figure out exactly where they were.

Aditya looked around, taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. They were walking on a lively street in what appeared to be a medium-sized city. It wasn't particularly large, but it was brimming with activity.

Fishermen were strolling along, carrying nets filled with the day's catch. Street vendors were set up along the sidewalks, the aroma of fried fish and other seafood delicacies wafting through the air. Laughter and chatter filled the air as people milled about, going about their daily lives. And if Aditya strained his ears, he could just make out the distant sound of waves crashing. The ocean was nearby, its salty scent mixing with the other smells of the city.

He thought for a moment before responding, his face showing a mix of concentration and amusement. "Well, judging from everything around me, I'd say we're probably in the Western region of the continent. The ocean smell, the fishermen, the seafood—it all points to a coastal area." He paused, then added with a grin, "But I might be wrong, you might have brought me to an island which is located not in the Western region but rather somewhere else where this city is located. The Istarin Empire has so many islands in other regions, after all."

Riya's eyes twinkled as she held Aditya's hand, her grin widening at his guess. "You're right! We are indeed in the Western region. This charming place is Windsway City. Now, since you're the big Emperor of the Istarin Empire, can you figure out on which island this city is tucked away?" she asked, her tone dripping with playful teasing.

Aditya's face lit up as he answered without missing a beat, "Ah, Windsway City! That's on The Enchanted Holm, isn't it? That island is governed by Viscount Thomas Evans, a loyal vampire to our Empire. This island used to be part of the Shadow Islands Empire, but now it's ours since I took it over." He paused for a moment to recall the history. "Those were dark times, literally. The Shadow Islands were always covered with dark clouds, and sunlight only graces them for a few months a year. But right now, it's one of those sunny times."

He looked at Riya to see her reaction, only to find her pouting cutely. "No fun..." she mumbled, her eyes narrowed in mock frustration. "I was hoping to stump you with that one, but you remember everything."

Aditya laughed heartily, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Well, what can I say? I've got a good memory, especially when it comes to my Empire. I know all the nobles, their families, their lands, and every little detail about the geography. Comes with the territory of being Emperor, I guess."

Riya's pout transformed into a smile, and she playfully nudged him with her elbow. "Alright, Mr. Know-It-All, since you seem to know everything about this place, why don't you show me around?"

"I'd be delighted to show your around unfortunately I am not that familiar with the geography of this city to show someone around here,"

Aditya looked around at the bustling streets and curious faces of Windsway City, a hint of curiosity in his own eyes. "You know, I've got to ask, what made you choose this place for our date? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or anything. But the 9 shadow islands are not exactly hotspots for tourists. People rarely come here, and if they do, it's not for sightseeing or vacations." He glanced at some of the local islanders, most of whom were vampires, leading simple lives and relying on fishing.

Riya's eyes were wide, sparkling with the thrill of adventure. Her smile was infectious, lighting up her entire face. She looked like an excited kid in a candy store, bouncing on her toes. "That's exactly why I picked this place!" she exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement. "I wanted us to go somewhere completely out of the ordinary, somewhere random where we could just be ourselves and enjoy our time together. And this city, with its hidden charms, seemed like the perfect spot."

Aditya couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm. He was swept up in her excitement, feeling a rush of anticipation. "How about we take a carriage ride around the city? We can hit some popular spots, and the carriage driver can guide us. Along the way, we can munch on some tasty local fish snacks. What do you say?" he proposed, his eyes twinkling.

Riya's face lit up even more, if that was possible. "That sounds like the most perfect plan ever! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" And with that, she grabbed Aditya's hand and started running, her laughter ringing in the air. She pulled him along, her energy contagious.

Aditya's heart swelled with happiness as he ran beside her, her hand warm in his. He was struck by just how much she valued their time together, and it made him realize that he hadn't spent nearly enough time alone with her. Her joy and excitement were so genuine, so pure, that he felt a renewed determination to make this date truly special.

As Aditya settled into the carriage, a sudden thought popped into his head, causing a pang of worry. 'Oh no, what if I bump into Sasha on this date? If she sees me with Riya, she'll probably kill me!' The realization hit him that the city Riya had randomly chosen for their date was the very same place where Sasha and her mother Lilith lived.

A mental image of Sasha's fiery eyes and stubborn personality flashed before him, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. About two and a half months ago, he'd met Sasha and promised her that he'd visit. He'd said it with all sincerity at the time, but life had gotten so hectic that he hadn't found a chance to make good on his promise. Not even once.

Aditya's mind raced, imagining Sasha's jealousy and anger if she spotted him enjoying a date with another woman. 'Tomorrow, I'll make it right. I'll come to see her,' he vowed to himself, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

He glanced over at Riya, who was blissfully unaware of his inner turmoil. Her face was glowing with happiness, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation. The last thing he wanted to do was dampen her spirits by mentioning his concerns.

For now, he decided, it was best to focus on enjoying the date. He turned his attention to the sights and sounds of the city, determined to make the most of their time together.

But even as he laughed and talked with Riya, sharing in her excitement, a nagging voice in the back of his mind kept whispering about Sasha. He knew he needed to make things right with her, but that was a problem for another day.

Their date turned out to be a smashing success. Aditya and Riya laughed and chatted as they explored different parts of the city, each place offering its own charm and uniqueness. The joy in their faces was obvious to anyone who saw them, and they couldn't help but feel like a pair of carefree youngsters, out and about without a worry in the world.

They indulged in a bit of shopping, which was more fun than either of them had anticipated. Aditya found himself drawn to some beautiful dresses, thinking they would look fantastic on Riya. She, in turn, picked out a few stylish outfits for him, teasingly insisting that he would look dashing in them. There was laughter and playful banter as they tried on clothes, and each purchase felt like a little shared memory between them.

But the real highlight of their date was the food. Oh, the food! The streets were filled with vendors selling all sorts of delicious seafood. They tried fried fish that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, grilled fish with a smoky flavor, and many other local delicacies. Each bite was a taste of the sea, fresh and bursting with flavor. It was the kind of food that made you close your eyes and savor each morsel.

As the three-hour mark approached, they found themselves near the sea just as the sun began to dip towards the horizon. They discovered a quiet spot with a public bench that seemed like it was just waiting for them. Only a few meters away, a stone cliff jutted out into the water, framed by wooden fences. It was the perfect vantage point to watch the sunset.

Sitting side by side, they stared out at the sea, the sky ablaze with shades of orange and pink. The water reflected the colors, turning the whole scene into a breathtaking painting. They sat in comfortable silence, each lost in thought and appreciating the simple beauty of nature.

Riya snuggled a little closer to Aditya, her hand finding his. They looked at each other and smiled, a silent acknowledgment of the wonderful time they'd had together.

They sat there, hand in hand, lost in the serene view of the fading sunset, neither of them speaking. The sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore filled the silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. They were simply enjoying each other's presence, feeling content and connected without the need for words.

After about 15 minutes, it was Riya who finally broke the silence. Her voice was soft, almost hesitant, as if she were afraid to disturb the peaceful moment. "What do you think of this date?" she asked, squeezing his hand a little tighter.

Aditya continued to gaze out at the sea, his face relaxed and thoughtful. "You know, I think I should be the one asking you that question," he said, his voice warm and gentle. "But honestly, I've had a blast. Every time you smiled, I couldn't help but smile too. When you laughed, I laughed right along with you. Your happiness has a way of spreading to me, and these three hours just flew by. It's been perfect." Hearing these sweet words, the goddess of nature, Riya lowered her head. Her cheeks slightly flushed red. There was a smile on her face.

"Let's go out on a many other dates in the future." Aditya said while staring ahead. Riya nodded her head. Her heart was filled with honey.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 479

They fell into a comfortable silence once again, but after a few minutes, Aditya's face became clouded with a thoughtful expression. He let out a sigh and gently squeezed Riya's hand, a look of guilt in his eyes. "Riya, I need to say sorry to you," he said, his voice tinged with sadness.

Riya looked up at him, concern in her eyes. "Why sorry?" she asked, her voice gentle and comforting, trying to understand what was bothering him.

Aditya's eyes were filled with conflict as he began to explain. "I feel bad because I can't give enough time to you, Julia, Lara, Alicia, and the others. Being the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, my responsibilities keep growing. My work is expanding, and it's taking more and more of my time. I feel guilty because I can't be with you all as much as I want to be." He paused, thinking about how he hadn't even visited Sasha once, even though he had promised her he would.

Riya's face softened, and she placed her hand on top of his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Oh, Aditya, you don't need to be sorry for that. We all understand, and we accept it. We know you're a responsible man, and we're proud of you for that." She smiled warmly, her eyes full of love and understanding. "You're doing an incredible job. You're not just ruling an Empire; you're changing lives. So many families have a better life now, all thanks to your hard work and planning. You've turned the majority of the Istarin Empire's families into middle-class ones. That's no small feat."

Aditya looked at her, feeling a rush of gratitude and love. He was truly lucky to have Riya and the others by his side. They weren't just his partners; they were his support system, his strength, and his understanding companions.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said, his voice filled with emotion. "Thank you for being so understanding, for being there for me, for believing in me."

Riya's eyes sparkled, and she leaned in to give him a tender hug. "That's what we're here for, Aditya. We believe in you, and we love you. Don't ever forget that. We'll always be here for you, no matter what."

They sat there for a while, lost in each other's embrace, knowing that their love and support for each other would see them through anything. The weight on Aditya's shoulders felt a little lighter, knowing he had these incredible women in his life, willing to stand by him and support him in everything he did.

Once again, both of them fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. But after a few minutes, Riya's voice broke the stillness. "You know, Aditya, in the letters I've been getting from my mom, she's been asking me to come home with you. She's actually been threatening to find someone from the Celestial Terrain to engage me to if I don't!" Riya's voice was tinged with worry. She had been trying to avoid this issue and not bother Aditya with it, but it had become serious, and she knew she had to talk to him about it.

Aditya's face instantly hardened into a frown. The thought of Riya with someone else was unthinkable. He had always seen her as his third wife, and he couldn't bear the idea of letting someone else have her. "What if we visit your mother during this new year holiday?" he suggested, already starting to plan in his head. "That way, we can put her mind at ease."

Riya's eyes widened in surprise. "Actually, in the Celestial Terrain, the new year is celebrated at the end of January. Whereas in Westnia, the Dying Isle, and other continents, they celebrate the New Year at the end of December."

Aditya's mind was racing, but he quickly came up with a solution. "Then we'll visit her after January. I'll make sure to clear my schedule."

"But what about your work?" Riya asked, her eyes filled with concern. "You're so busy with ruling the Empire, can you really take that time off?"

Aditya looked at her, his eyes filled with determination. "I'll leave that to Spencer, the Prime Minister of the Empire. For the last couple of months, I've been working on a system that can function without me. Spencer can handle things while I'm gone, and I'll still be available for anything very important. In short, I'll make sure I'm free after January." He paused, looking at her with a warm smile. "Once we return from the Celestial Terrain, we'll take Julia, Lara, Alicia, and a few others and go to the Beast Continent. We'll travel around the whole continent, just enjoying ourselves." He didn't mention the geopolitical reasons behind the trip, not wanting to burden her with that.

Riya's eyes sparkled with excitement, but also with deep appreciation. "Aditya, that sounds wonderful. Thank you for doing this for me and for us." She reached out and took his hand, squeezing it lovingly.

Scene change_____

Aditya and Riya made their way back to the Dragon Palace, their hands intertwined, still buzzing from their date. As they entered the dining area, they found the rest of the family gathered around the table, ready for dinner.

"You two finally decided to come back, huh?" Julia's voice rang out, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she looked at Aditya and Riya.

Aditya's face broke into a grin as he saw everyone seated around the table. "Were you guys waiting for us?" he asked, taking off his coat and heading over to join them.

Julia shook her head, her smile widening. "Nope, we just sat down. But you two sure took your sweet time. Have fun on your date?" She winked at Riya, who blushed slightly but smiled back.

"We sure did," Riya replied, taking her seat beside Aditya. "The Western region is so different, and we explored a lot of great places."

Lara and Alicia joined in the conversation, eagerly asking them about their day and the places they had visited. Aditya and Riya shared the details of their date, from the delicious seafood they had tried to the stunning sunset they had watched together.

Scene change_______

Spencer and Aria were away, enjoying some time together, so they missed the lively dinner with the rest of the family. After the meal, everyone gathered in the living room, chatting and playing games, enjoying each other's company for an hour or so. Slowly, the night wore on, and one by one, everyone began to drift off to their bedrooms, ready for bed.

Aditya had some work he wanted to finish up, so he headed to his office. There, he spent around 30 minutes jotting down his plans for the future, deep in thought. Once he was satisfied with what he'd written, he began to feel the weight of the long, exciting day.

His body was tense with desire, lust building up over the past couple of days. The recent events, including the sensual energy from their picnic, had left him craving more. He knew exactly what he needed: a night of passionate intimacy with Julia.

With a determined look in his eye, Aditya headed to his bedroom, his mind filled with all the ways he planned to pleasure Julia. The anticipation was thrilling, and he could already feel the heat building within him.

Click!

As he opened the door to his room, expecting to find Julia alone and waiting for him, he was met with a surprising sight. Lara and Riya were there too, lounging on the bed, looking relaxed and alluring. Alicia, however, was nowhere to be found.

Aditya's eyes widened, his heart pounding as he took in the scene. All three women were dressed in sensuous nightwear, their bodies displayed to perfection. The room was filled with a soft, warm glow, and the air was heavy with the intoxicating scent of desire.

"Welcome back," Lara purred, her eyes smoldering as she looked at Aditya. Her voice was like velvet, and her words sent a shiver down his spine.

Aditya was just about to step forward, ready to join the tantalizing scene on the bed, when Julia's voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "Stop...!!!!" Her eyes were wide, her lips curved into a mysterious smile.

Aditya froze, a look of confusion spreading across his face. The heat in the room was palpable, and the promise of what lay ahead had him on edge. What could have possibly caused Julia to halt him at such a moment?

"Tonight," Julia said slowly, her voice dripping with intrigue, "we three are going to sleep together." She gestured to herself, Lara, and Riya, all lounging on the bed, their bodies tangled in a way that left little to the imagination.

Aditya's heart skipped a beat, his mind reeling from the unexpected twist. He couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment, mixed with a thrill of curiosity. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

Julia's eyes sparkled with mischief, and her smile widened as she looked at Aditya. Her finger traced a slow, sensuous path along Lara's arm as she replied, "Tonight, you will be sleeping in Alicia's room. Alicia still has 3 hours allotted time with you." Her playful wink sent a shockwave of desire through Aditya's body.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 480

Alicia, the ethereal goddess of wealth, the radiant Princess of the Ethereal Empire, and the second fiancée of the Istarin Emperor, Aditya, found herself reclining on her bed, filled with a tumultuous blend of emotions. Clad in delicate silks that clung to her shapely form, her heart pounded in anticipation. Her skin tingled, her breath came in short, rapid gasps, and her mind raced. This was going to be her first time, and the knowledge was both thrilling and terrifying.

Three months ago, she had been on the verge of losing herself to Aditya, the intoxicating heat of their shared desire nearly consuming them both. They had been entwined, exploring one another with an urgency that had left them both breathless, when the sudden intrusion of a maid had brought their passion to an abrupt halt. The knock at the door had jolted them back to reality, and since that moment, they had never ventured beyond the sweet caress of kisses and the comforting warmth of hugs.

Aditya had been nothing but gentle and patient, treating her with the utmost respect and kindness. He had given her space, allowing her to find her own way, and never once pushing her beyond her comfort zone. She had felt cherished and valued, and it was that tender care that had finally emboldened her to take this step.

Yet as she lay there, the minutes ticking by, Alicia couldn't help but feel a mixture of nervousness, excitement, and an ever-growing arousal. Her body ached for Aditya's touch, her mind filled with fantasies of what awaited them. She could almost feel the warmth of his lips, the strength of his arms, and the skillful dance of his fingers.

She shifted on the bed, the silken sheets caressing her skin in a way that only heightened her sensitivity. Her lips were parted, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkled with an eager longing. The room was filled with the soft glow of candlelight, casting flickering shadows that danced and played upon the walls, adding to the sense of enchantment.

Her hand found its way to the curve of her waist, then slowly, almost unconsciously, wandered higher. Her fingers traced the swell of her breasts, the sensation sending a jolt of pleasure through her body.

Ah.....! A soft moan escaped her lips, and her thoughts spiraled back to Aditya, to the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, the way he made her feel.

Knock! Knock!

The sound of a soft knock at the door sent her heart into a frenzy, and she sat up, her body trembling with anticipation. It was time. Aditya was here, and everything they had been waiting for, everything they had been building towards, was about to become reality.

With one last deep breath to steady herself, she called out, inviting him in, her voice filled with a promise of love, desire, and the shared exploration of the unknown. The door slowly opened, and there he stood, his eyes filled with a warmth and passion that sent her heart soaring.

"Aditya....." Alicia's voice was soft, filled with passion and longing, a whisper that reached out and caressed him, drawing him into the room, into her world. Her emerald eyes locked onto his, pools of desire that seemed to shimmer and dance in the candlelight, beckoning him closer.

Aditya's throat went dry, his heart pounding in his chest as he took her in. Tonight, she was a vision of pure temptation, dressed in a white babydoll that seemed to float around her, caressing her curves in a way that left little to the imagination. The fabric was almost transparent, clinging to her body in a way that both concealed and revealed, a tantalizing hint of what lay beneath.

Her breasts, larger and more voluptuous than any of Aditya's other fiancées, were on full display, the babydoll hugging them tightly and accentuating their firmness and shape. He could see the tantalizing outline of her body, the way the fabric draped over her, but as his gaze traveled down, the dress transformed, becoming less transparent, hiding the twin peaks that he knew were waiting for his touch. It was a tease, a promise, a seduction that left him breathless.

Her cleavage was a valley of temptation, drawing his eyes and making it nearly impossible to look away. Her skin glowed, soft and smooth, inviting his touch, his kiss, his exploration. Her eyes, those deep green gems, seemed to see right into his soul, pulling him in and wrapping him in a spell that left him utterly captivated.

The rest of her body was hidden beneath a white blanket, a mystery that added to her allure. Her legs were concealed, but he could imagine them, long and graceful, waiting to wrap around him, to pull him close.

He took a step towards her, the room fading away until there was only Alicia, only the two of them and the connection that crackled between them. He could feel the heat of her desire, the anticipation that seemed to fill the room, making the air thick and heavy.

"Alicia," he whispered, his voice rough with need. "You look incredible."

Her cheeks flushed, a delicate pink that only added to her beauty. She smiled, a slow, sensual smile that sent a thrill through him. "Do you like it?" she asked, her voice a sultry murmur that sent shivers down his spine.

"Like it?" he breathed, moving closer, his eyes never leaving hers. "I love it. I love you."

He reached out, his fingers brushing the fabric of her dress, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath. She shivered, her eyes closing for a moment, her lips parting in a soft sigh.

"Aditya," she whispered again, her voice filled with a yearning that mirrored his own. "Make me yours."

Aditya pulled Alicia into his arms with a hungry look in his eyes. He cupped her face gently, his thumbs caressing her cheeks, making her skin tingle with anticipation. As he leaned closer, she could feel the heat of his breath on her lips, and her heart raced. He looked deeply into her eyes, their faces so close that she could see the flecks of color in his irises. And then their lips touched, a soft, lingering kiss that was full of promise and desire.

They both closed their eyes as the kiss deepened, their lips moving together in a dance of passion. Aditya climbed onto the bed, positioning himself on top of Alicia, his body pressing down on hers, his lips never leaving hers. The sensation of his weight, his warmth, was intoxicating, and she let out a soft moan.

Her hands reached up, slipping under his T-shirt, and she could feel the firm muscles of his stomach, the warmth of his skin. Her fingers traced along his back, feeling every curve and ridge, and she could hear his breath catching in his throat as she touched him.

Aditya's hand moved downward, caressing the side of her right thigh, his touch light and teasing. As his fingers glided upward, tracing the curve of her hip, Alicia's body shivered, a jolt of pleasure running through her. She felt as if she were being electrified by his touch, every nerve ending alive and tingling.

They kissed for what felt like forever, their mouths moving together, tongues tangling, breaths mingling. It was a kiss like no other, full of need and longing, and neither of them wanted it to end.

Finally, reluctantly, Aditya pulled away, his eyes dark with desire. Alicia looked up at him, her chest heaving, her lips swollen from his kisses. He smiled at her, a playful, wicked grin, and in a flash, he moved, his hands pinning her wrists to the bed above her head.

She gasped, her eyes wide, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, his voice low and husky. "You're mine tonight, Alicia," he said, his words sending a thrill through her. "I'm going to take my time with you. I'm going to explore every inch of you, and I'm going to make you feel things you've never felt before."

She shivered at his words, her body aching with need. "Aditya," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Please. Don't tease me."

He chuckled, his breath warm against her ear. "Oh, I'm not teasing you," he said, his voice full of promise. "I'm just getting started."

With that, he began to kiss her again, his mouth moving down to her neck, and her collarbone.

Aditya was intoxicated by the taste of Alicia's skin, kissing her neck and collarbone with slow, deliberate attention. Each kiss sent a shockwave through her body, making her jolt and tremble beneath him. Her soft, sweet moans filled the room, a symphony of pleasure that drove him wild. With each sound she made, his desire for her grew, and he could feel the heat building within him.

"Ahhh... Aditya..." she moaned, her voice a whisper of longing as his lips trailed down her body.

He took his time, savoring the taste of her, the feel of her under his hands. He could feel her anticipation growing, her body aching for his touch. And he knew that he had her right where he wanted her, on the edge of something incredible, waiting for him to take her there.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached her breasts, and Alicia's breath caught in her throat. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, her body trembling with excitement. She looked down at him, her eyes wide and filled with desire, waiting for him to touch her, to kiss her.

But Aditya had other plans. He looked up at her, a playful smile on his lips, and instead of kissing her, he began to tease her, his right index finger circling around her mounds, just barely touching her sensitive skin.

"Mmm... Aditya... please..." she begged, her voice a throaty whisper.

His touch was driving her crazy, a tantalizing promise of what was to come. She could feel herself getting closer and closer to climax, the anticipation building to an unbearable fever pitch. And then he stopped, his finger still, his eyes locked on hers.

"Ahhh... what are you doing?" she groaned in frustration, her body aching for release. "Don't tease me like this."

Aditya chuckled, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "I told you, I'm going to take my time with you," he said, his voice soft and full of promise. "I'm going to make you beg for it."

Alicia's eyes widened, and she let out a soft moan of longing. "Ohhh... Aditya... please..."

He leaned down, his lips just inches from her ear, and whispered, "Tell me what you want, Alicia. Tell me what you need."

She shivered at his words, her body on fire with desire. "I need you," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I need you to touch me, to kiss me. I need you inside me."

He kissed her then, a slow, deep, possessive kiss that left her breathless and wanting more. "You'll have me," he promised, his voice a low growl. "But first, you're going to have to earn it."

With that, he began to kiss her again, his mouth moving lower, his tongue tracing the outline of her breasts, his hands caressing her body. And all the while, her moans filled the room, a desperate plea for more, a promise of the pleasure that was to come.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 481

The tension in the room was palpable, a heady mix of desire, anticipation, and playful frustration. Alicia's body was a live wire, every nerve ending tingling, every touch from Aditya sending sparks through her veins. The way he was teasing her was almost too much to bear, and yet, she didn't want him to stop.

Aditya's eyes sparkled with mischief as he continued his slow, tantalizing exploration of her body. His fingers danced over her skin, tracing the curve of her hips, the softness of her thighs, always stopping just short of where she wanted him most.

"Ahhh... Aditya..." Alicia moaned, her voice breaking with need. "Please, don't tease me like this."

Her plea only seemed to spur him on, and he leaned down to kiss her, his lips capturing hers in a kiss that was slow and sensual, yet filled with unspoken promise.

"What's the magic word?" he whispered against her lips, his voice low and husky.

She knew what he wanted, but the word caught in her throat. Calling him "husband" felt so intimate, so personal. She had never called anyone that before, and it made her feel vulnerable.

"Aditya..." she whimpered, her voice trembling with desire. "Please... I need you."

He pulled back slightly, his eyes locked on hers, searching for something. She knew what he was looking for, and she knew that she had to give it to him.

The intensity of the moment was overwhelming, the room charged with an electric energy that seemed to pulse in time with Alicia's heartbeat. Aditya's teasing had driven her to the brink of madness, and the anticipation within her had grown to an almost unbearable level.

He continued to trace his finger around her inner thighs and over her panties, deliberately avoiding the place she wanted him to touch most. The sensation of his fingers, so close yet so far from where she needed him, was torture, and she couldn't help but cry out in frustration.

"Aditya... please...!" she begged, her voice filled with desperate need.

He leaned closer, his warm breath caressing her ear as he whispered, "Call me... Husband..."

The word was like a key, unlocking something deep within her. She knew that she had to say it, even though it made her blush with embarrassment. She needed him, needed him more than she had ever needed anything before.

"Husband, please touch me...!" she gasped, her voice breaking with desire.

A triumphant smile spread across Aditya's face, and he whispered, "Very well..."

His fingers found her at last, pinching her clitoris with just the right amount of pressure. The sensation was like a lightning bolt, and Alicia let out a loud and sweet moan as pleasure exploded within her.

"Ah... Ahhhhh...!" she cried out, her body arching up to meet his touch.

Her response was more than Aditya had even hoped for, and he reveled in the taste of her, licking his lips as he savored her juices.

"Ah... Husband...!" she moaned, her voice filled with a mixture of pleasure and relief.

He didn't stop, his fingers moving with practiced ease, driving her higher and higher until she was on the brink of ecstasy.

"Mmmm... Husband... more...!" she begged, her voice a throaty whisper.

He complied, his touch becoming more insistent, more demanding. Her body responded in kind, moving in rhythm with his, each touch sending her spiraling closer and closer to the edge.

"Ah... Ahhh... Husband...!" she cried out, her voice filled with passion.

He could feel her getting close, her body tensing, her breathing becoming more ragged. He knew exactly what she needed, and he was determined to give it to her.

"Ahhh... Husband... I'm... I'm..." she stammered, her voice filled with desperation.

"I know, my love," he whispered, his voice filled with tenderness. "I know."

And then, with a final, masterful touch, he sent her over the edge. The pleasure was like a tidal wave, crashing over her, leaving her breathless and spent.

"Ah... Ahhhh...!" she cried out, her voice filled with pure joy.

He held her close, his body warm and solid against hers, his lips soft and gentle as they kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Alicia," he whispered, his voice full of emotion.

"I love you too, Husband," she whispered back, feeling a sense of peace and contentment settle over her.

Aditya's gaze was fixed on Alicia, his eyes filled with an intense desire that mirrored her own. The way she looked at him, filled with trust and longing, made him feel powerful and protective all at once. He knew that what they were about to do was a big step, but he also knew that they were both ready for it.

With a gentle but firm touch, he removed her panties, revealing her most intimate place. Alicia's body shivered with anticipation, and more juices started to flow from her, a clear sign of her readiness.

He didn't rush things, though. Instead, he took his time, using his manhood to tease her, rubbing it against her lips, building the anticipation and her lust to an almost unbearable level. He wanted her first time to be perfect, something she would remember for the rest of her life.

A few minutes later, he knew it was time. He could feel it in the way her body responded to his touch, in the way her breathing quickened, in the way her eyes looked at him, filled with a combination of excitement and nervousness.

"I'm putting it inside," he said softly, his voice filled with tenderness.

Alicia's eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked almost scared. But then she nodded, her face filled with determination. She had made up her mind, and she was ready.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Aditya began to enter her. He could feel her body tense, and he knew that he had to be gentle. This was her first time, and he wanted it to be special.

As he broke her hymen, he felt her body jolt, and he heard her sharp intake of breath. A few drops of blood marked the moment, a sign of her innocence given only to him.

He stopped immediately, his concern for her outweighing his own desire. He looked into her eyes, filled with tears but also with trust.

"It's okay," he whispered, lifting her face to kiss her lips. "It's okay. I've got you."

She responded, kissing him back despite the pain, her body clinging to him as if she needed his strength. He could feel her large breasts pressing against him, and he reached down to caress them, his fingers finding her nipples and pinching them gently.

"Ah... Aditya..." she moaned, her voice filled with a mixture of pleasure and pain.

They broke their kiss, and Alicia looked at him, her eyes filled with love. "Husband, you can move faster."

He nodded, understanding what she needed. The inside of her was incredibly tight, but he knew that she was ready for more.

With slow, deliberate movements, he began to move inside her, each thrust bringing them closer to the ecstasy they both craved.

"Ah... Ahhhh... Husband...!" she cried out, her voice filled with passion.

He found her G-spot, and her body responded with a jolt of pleasure that made her cry out again.

"Ah... Aditya...!" she moaned, her body writhing beneath him.

He increased his pace, moving faster and harder, driving them both to the brink of madness.

"Ah... Ahhhh... Husband... more...!" she begged, her voice filled with desperate need.

He complied, his body moving in perfect rhythm with hers, each thrust sending them spiraling higher and higher.

"Ah... Ahhhh... Husband... I'm... I'm..." she stammered, her voice filled with ecstasy.

"I know, my love," he whispered, his voice filled with tenderness. "I know."

And then, with a final thrust, he sent her to the edge.

"Ah... Ahhhh...!" she cried out, her voice filled with pure joy.

Aditya's passion was far from quenched, and he knew that Alicia's pleasure was only just beginning. The intense connection between them, the raw desire that flowed so freely, demanded more. So much more.

He continued to move his waist, each thrust designed to bring her pleasure, each movement calculated to hit that special spot inside her that made her body sing. The rhythm of their lovemaking was like a dance, a sensual dance that was as intimate as it was erotic.

As he looked down at her, he saw her breasts moving in time with his thrusts. They were so full, so perfect, and the sight of them encased in her delicate white babydoll was more than he could bear.

With a growl of desire, he tore the fabric, revealing her breasts in all their glory. They were big, yes, but they were also firm and round, not saggy at all. The pink nipples that crowned them were just begging to be touched, to be tasted.

He didn't hesitate. Leaning down, he took one in his mouth, his tongue flicking against it, his teeth gently biting. The sensation was electric, and Alicia's moan was loud and filled with pleasure.

"Ahhh…!!!"

He sucked and nibbled, his mouth worshipping her breast while his body continued to move, continued to thrust.

"Ah… husband, I am coming… Ah…!!!" Alicia's body tightened around him, her inner walls contracting as she reached her climax. Her entire body shook with the force of it, and Aditya felt a surge of pride and satisfaction. He had brought her to this, had given her this pleasure.

But he knew that they weren't done. Not yet.

After coming, Alicia was breathing heavily, her body slick with sweat, her eyes glazed with pleasure. But then, as Aditya started moving again, her moans started anew, fresh and filled with a renewed desire.

"Ah… husband… please let me rest…!" Alicia pleaded, her voice soft and filled with exhaustion.

"What are you saying? We have just gotten started." Aditya's voice was teasing, but there was a hardness to it, a determination. He wasn't ready to stop, not when there was still so much pleasure to be had.

He increased his speed, his body moving with a renewed vigor. Alicia's moans became louder, more intense, filled with a mixture of pleasure and desperation.

"Ah… Ahhh… husband… more… more…!!" she begged, her body moving in time with his, her hands reaching up to grasp his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh.

He complied, giving her everything she wanted, everything she needed. They moved together, their bodies in perfect sync, each thrust, each moan, each touch building to something greater, something more profound.

"Ahhh… Ahhh… husband…!" Alicia's voice was filled with ecstasy, her body writhing beneath him, her pleasure reaching new heights.

He could feel her getting closer, could feel the tension building inside her, and he knew that she was on the brink of another climax.

"Ah… Ahhh… husband… I'm… I'm…" she stammered, her voice breaking, her body trembling.

And then, with a final, masterful thrust, he sent her over the edge again. Her body convulsed, her scream of pleasure filling the room, her juices flowing freely. At the same time, Aditya also poured his sperm inside her womb.

"Ah… Ahhh…!" she cried, her voice filled with pure, unadulterated joy.

For the next ten hours, Alicia's room became a sanctum of passion and pleasure. The Dragon Palace's sound barrier talisman worked diligently to contain the myriad of intoxicating moans and lewd slapping sounds, ensuring that their intimacy remained theirs alone.

Aditya, with his years of experience, guided Alicia with patience and care. They explored each other's bodies in ways neither had ever imagined. The positions they tried were daring, provocative, and even gymnastic at times, each one carefully chosen to heighten their pleasure and deepen their connection.

Alicia's regular sword training with Aditya had given her a flexibility and strength that allowed them to try positions that would have been impossible for most. One of these saw her balanced on one leg, the other raised high and grasped by her hands, allowing Aditya unparalleled access. The sensation was electric, and Alicia's moans of pleasure filled the room, echoing off the walls in a symphony of ecstasy.

The room itself became a proof to their passion, marked by their scents, their fluids, and the evidence of their insatiable desire. They moved from the bed to the table, from the couch to the wall, from the floor to the bathroom, each new location adding a unique flavor to their lovemaking.

Aditya's Divine Dragon nature gave him an almost limitless stamina, and he used it to bring Alicia to heights of pleasure she never thought possible. Time and time again, he made her reach climax, her body convulsing in pleasure as he filled her over and over.

Alicia, even with her 4th-order cultivator's stamina, was no match for Aditya's relentless passion. By the time they finished, she was utterly spent, collapsing into sleep with Aditya still inside her.

The final tally of their night was staggering: Alicia had squirted at least 41 times, Aditya had come inside her around 30 times, and the number of orgasms that Alicia had was beyond count.

In any other circumstance, such a torrent of sperm would have all but guaranteed pregnancy. But Aditya's Divine Dragon nature meant that conception was highly unlikely. This was both a blessing and a curse. It allowed him to enjoy his future wives without concern for immediate parenthood, but it also meant that if he ever did become a father, it would be a rare and precious gift.

As the first glimmers of dawn began to pierce the darkness, Aditya and Alicia found themselves in the aftermath of their night of passion. The room bore witness to their desire, their pleasure, their unbridled intimacy. The bed was soaked in their love-making juices, the aftermath of Alicia's staggering number of climaxes and the evidence of their connection.

Aditya, still filled with energy despite the marathon session, set to work changing the bed. His movements were tender and thoughtful, a testament to his care for Alicia and his consideration for her comfort. As he stripped the sheets, his mind replayed the night's events, and a contented smile played on his lips.

The sheets were soaked, but they were also imbued with the memories of their love. He could still see Alicia's body writhing in pleasure, hear her moans echoing in his ears, feel the warmth of her skin against his.

But now was the time for rest. He replaced the sheets with fresh ones, the smooth fabric cool and inviting. Then he turned to Alicia, still asleep, her face flushed with the glow of satisfaction, her body a beautiful testament to their connection.

He couldn't resist leaning down to kiss her gently on the lips, a soft and tender expression of his love. Her lips were swollen from their kisses, her skin marked by his touch, her body a landscape that he had explored with reverence and desire.

Lifting her gently, he laid her down on the fresh sheets, tucking the blanket around her. Then he slid in beside her, his body molding to hers, his arms wrapping around her in a protective embrace.

As he lay there, feeling her warmth, her gentle breath against his skin, he knew that this was just the beginning. There was so much more to explore, so much more to learn about each other, so many more nights of passion to share.

But for now, they would rest. They would bask in the afterglow of their love, secure in each other's arms, content in the knowledge that they had found something rare and beautiful. And finally he also feel asleep while hugging her.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

2600+ words chapter.

Chapter 482

Next morning,

"Big sister Julia, where is big brother and big sister Alicia?" Innocent Clara asked Julia this question at the dining table. Hearing this question, Julia for a moment felt awkward. She didn't know what to answer to little Clara. She can't just say that her big brother Aditya had naughty exercise with her big sister Alicia for who knows how long last night and has ended up missing breakfast as a result.

As Julia was still at a loss and did not knew what to answer Clara, Sylvie, Alicia's best friend, decided to answer that question for her with a grin on her face. "Your big brother and Alicia stayed up last night playing games. And this is why they are still sleeping right now." Meanwhile, Leo was eating calmly. He wasn't that concerned by Aditya and Alicia's absence.

"What kind of games Big brother Aditya and big sister Alicia were playing last night? Why I wasn't invited? I also want to play games." Playing games was one of her favorite hobbies.

Cough...! Cough.....!!

Julia who was drinking water felt choked hearing Clara's response. Riya, who was calmly eating while sitting next to Sylvie and did not got herself involved in the conversation almost dropped her chopsticks hearing Clara's innocent words. Riya's lips twitched hearing Clara's words.

At the same time, Lara who was quietly eating slightly blushed. She said nothing. She just lowered her head further and continued eating. Lara herself has recently learned about this night life. Though in the past, her Royal Mother has given her basic knowledge about baby-making, she never received any in-depth explanation on the topic. All she told was by her mother was that, babies are made when Husband puts his thing inside a women.

She only ended up learning about more on this matter slowly over past few months from their meetings that Julia, Alicia, Riya, and other girls has in her lab secretly without Aditya knowing about them. And the night when she and others had the picnic out in the wild was the first time that she had seen a glimpse of what it looks like.

Lara comes from a conversation family just like Alicia. And Lara is a shy and timid girl. And since due to her mysterious illness, she very rarely left her room, she never had any friends, or any relationship with another male. From a young age she has been taught to be very honest with her feelings with her husband. She has been taught that her husband is the closest person to her. She has been taught to never lie to her husband. Lara has been read any pronograhic novel or has read has ever masturbated. She wasn't even aware about masturbation up until recently though she has never tried it herself.

As a result of all of these factors, she is very shy when it comes to openly talking about sex or when it comes to becoming a part of the conversation relating to such matter.

With a playful smile, Sylvie began to explain to innocent Clara. "This is the game that you can only play when you have become an adult. This game requires you to be strong. It requires you to have very high stamina, and skills. This isn't just your regular table games or like chess or Shogi, this game is makes you sweat. At the end of this game, you're left so tired that you don't want to get up from the bed. And you........" Sylvie stopped seeing Riya and Julia glaring at her with sharp eyes. Both of them silently told her through their glare that if she continued speaking, then there will be trouble.

"A inexperienced person who has never participated or has played this game shouldn't talk like she knows about this game in great details." Julia calmly said while continuing to eat. Julia's words made Sylvie's lips twitched. It was a indirect attack on Sylvie. She felt emotionally damaged. Everyone knew that Sylvie's weakness was her 100 years old virginity.

However, Sylvie's words had excited Clara. The little girl's eyes were shining with stars upon hearing Sylvie's words. "Big sister Sylvie, can you tell me more about this game. I also want to play it with my friends." Hearing her words, everyone's mouth twitched. Julia and Riya shot Sylvie another cold and threatening glares as if telling her to not open her mouth.

"Lady Clara, shouldn't you take your food a little bit faster? If you're late, then you will make your friends wait which isn't a good thing." Watson who has been remaining silent all this time finally decided to take part in the conversation feeling that Sylvie was on the path to taint innocent Clara.

Although ever since Lady Sylvie came to the Dragon Palace and begun living with them, things has become very lively around the whole Palace, Watson can't deny that Lady Sylvie is too playful. And sometimes she even oversteps her playfulness and takes things too far

Watson distracted Clara by remembering her about her friends with whom she is going out today to play around the Azure city.

"Oh, yes.....Thank you reminding me about this Watson." Clara quickly began to eat her breakfast. As she focused on eating breakfast, everyone secretly sighed in relief. But Julia and Riya still felt angry on Sylvie. From time to time, Julia and Riya sent her glares as if warning her to keep her mouth shut and not taint this innocent girl.

Seeing this, Sylvie knew that she was screwed. Both Riya and Julia were going to take her class once their breakfast ends. 'I shouldn't have said those words.' Sylvie thought in regret.

"I haven't seen Amber since yesterday. Where is she?" Sylvie remembered about Amber. From last picnic, the wild things that this fox general had done to her Emperor was still very fresh in Sylvie's mind. And everytime she remembered what Amber did that night, made her giggle. And these days it had gotten somewhat common for Amber to hang out with the girls but she hasn't' seen Amber since yesterday morning.

"Yesterday I checked on her. She said that she is busy with cultivating." Julia said. After they returned from the auction, Julia put Lara to bed and then went to check on Amber. Although Amber was fine, she was still very embarrassed about what she did that night. She was very embarrassed to face Aditya and others. And this is why she isn't coming to hang out with Julia and others at the Dragon Palace. She is rather staying in her home at the Azure city. As Amber's best friend, Julia defended Amber with a small lie.

"I kinda miss her." Sylvie said. Spencer and Aria were still away. The couple were having the times of their lives in a resort and enjoying their lives. Most probably, both of them would even get married after returning from their trip. Aria was a great companion. With Aria being around makes things even more fun.

Scene change____

Around 10 in the morning, the first rays of sunlight began to pierce through the curtains of the bedroom, and Aditya finally stirred from his slumber. His body felt invigorated and refreshed, but as he turned to look at Alicia, who lay beside him, it was clear that she was still deep in sleep. Her chest rose and fell gently, a peaceful expression on her face. Aditya couldn't help but smile, knowing that he had drained all of her stamina in their passionate encounter that lasted the entire night.

As he lay there, reflecting on the events of the past hours, he realized that even for him, this had been an unusually long and intense session. Usually, when he was with Julia, they would engage in their passionate activities for around 4 to 6 hours, depending on their mood and energy. Of course, there were stamina recovery pills available in this world that could have prolonged their time together, but Aditya had never wanted to use them. He believed in a more natural and genuine connection.

He could proudly say that even after a whole 10 hours, his stamina remained high. As the Dragon Monarch, how could he ever run out of energy? Male Dragons were known to have one of the highest sex drives, second only to Incubus, and most found it challenging to control their lustful desires. Many male Dragons would frequently visit red-light districts or have multiple partners to satisfy their needs.

But Aditya was different. The very thought of heading to a red-light district or engaging with a prostitute had never crossed his mind. He knew that doing so would hurt his fiancées, and he could never bear to see them in pain. Aditya's respect and love for his future wives were paramount, and he was committed to honoring their feelings and wishes.

He let his mind wander further, considering the fascinating dynamics of this world. Communities that were home to Succubus, Dragons, Incubus, and other races with high sex drives tended to be very open and accepting of their inherent natures. But most other communities and settlements were steeped in tradition. It wasn't about dress codes, as everyone was free to wear whatever they liked, but certain aspects of relationships and sexuality were heavily scrutinized and judged.

Living relationships, red-light districts, and prostitute centers were frowned upon in general society. However, paradoxically, the existence of sex slaves and engaging in sexual activities with them was considered normal. There were even auctions for beautiful virgin female slaves and handsome males with big Manhood. Aditya remembered visiting an auction house just the previous day, where a beautiful blond-haired Elf had been auctioned off for a staggering 50,000,000 royal gold coins.

With a soft sigh, he gently brushed a stray strand of hair from Alicia's face, watching her as she continued to sleep. The connection they had forged last night was something profound and beautiful, a bond that went beyond mere physical pleasure. It was a communion of souls, a joining of hearts, and he knew that he was exactly where he was meant to be.

A sudden realization hit Aditya as he glanced at the ornate clock on the wall. "It's already 10 in the morning. I should get up," he murmured to himself, a sense of urgency creeping into his thoughts. There was a particular Goddess he had planned to meet that day, and he couldn't afford to be late.

Carefully pushing the blanket aside so as not to disturb Alicia, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose to his feet. He couldn't help but look around the room, surveying the chaos they had left in their wake. The entire space was a delightful mess, evidence of their unbridled passion and desire. The furniture was askew, clothes were strewn about, and the heady scent of their lovemaking still lingered in the air.

Aditya smiled warily at the sight, admitting to himself that he and Alicia had indeed gone a little too wild last night. He had wanted to stay by her side until she woke up, but judging by her deep and peaceful slumber, it seemed that she wouldn't be waking anytime soon.

Feeling a pang of regret at having to leave her like this, Aditya decided to leave a note for her. He found a small table on the side of her bed, cluttered with various items, including a few books. Among them, he spotted some erotic novels that she often read at night.

A knowing smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he recalled how Alicia used to read these novels, losing herself in fantasies and pleasuring herself as she imagined being with him. But now, things had changed. They had crossed a threshold, and those fantasies had become a reality. There would be no more need for her to turn to those books to satisfy her desires; he would be there to fulfill them for her.

Taking a piece of paper and a pen, he began to write a heartfelt note, expressing his love and promising to return to her soon. He placed it prominently on the table, making sure she would see it when she awoke.

He then took a moment to tenderly gaze at her sleeping form, committing her serene and contented face to memory. With a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead and a gentle caress of her cheek.

Finally, with a lingering glance at the room that had become a sanctuary for their love, Aditya dressed and left, closing the door softly behind him.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 483

Windsway City_____

As the large gates of the Starlight Mansion creaked open, Aditya found himself stepping into a world that was an oasis of beauty and tranquility on the edge of Windsway City. The Mansion was built on the edge of the sea. Though it was referred to as a "small" mansion, the place held an undeniable grandeur that drew his eyes in admiration.

The road that led from the main gate to the front door was a long, winding path made from cream-colored marble. It shimmered under the sun, bordered by lush grasses that seemed to dance with the breeze. To the left of the road, surrounded by this verdant greenery, lay a small pond filled with crystal clear water. Aditya could even see small beautiful fishes swimming happily in the pond, their scales glinting like precious gems.

The mansion itself was a majestic structure, standing tall with at least two floors. Its architectural design was both classic and timeless, with arched windows and intricate carvings that adorned the stone walls. The name "Starlight Mansion" seemed apt, as the entire building had a luminescent quality, reflecting the soft light of the sky and the ocean's sparkle.

Around the mansion, Aditya noted a well-manicured garden that seemed to stretch endlessly. It was filled with a myriad of colorful flowers, ornamental trees, and artistic sculptures that added to the charm of the place. A large swimming pool was situated to one side, its azure waters inviting and serene. Adjacent to it, he spotted a training ground, fully equipped and designed with what appeared to be the needs of warriors and martial artists in mind.

Surrounding the whole property, three-meter-tall wooden walls acted as a protective barrier. Aditya could sense the powerful defensive rune formation woven into the walls, a clear message to any would-be intruders that this was a sanctuary not to be violated.

As he made his way to the front door, he could imagine the interior of the mansion, housing several rooms, bathrooms, and basements, each designed with care and elegance.

Taking a deep breathe, Aditya gathered his courage and knocked on the door of the large Mansion. The guards easily let Aditya pass. Now he was standing in front of the front door and waiting for the people inside to open the door for him. While waiting around, he looked around the Mansion. Who would have thought that Sasha's home was just 5 minutes walking distance away from the place that Aditya and Riya yesterday evening during the sunset. Aditya was half sure that either Sasha or her mother Lilith has sensed his presence near their house. As for whether it's true or not, he will get his answer once he meets Sasha or her mother.

Aditya noticed a few things since he entered the Mansion. He noticed that the whole Starlight Mansion was protected with a 5-star rune barrier. The invisible dome like barrier covered the whole Mansion. The walls of the Mansion were reinforced with many kinds of runes formations to make sure that these walls cannot be easily broken. At the same time, he found that his senses within the Mansion was being restricted. As a Sensory Cultivator, Aditya is able to sense the Auras of other cultivators and magic animals around him. And each time his powers increased so did this senses. But as soon as he stepped into the Mansion, he found his senses to be restricted. He can still sense what is going on outside the Mansion but he can sense any Auras within the Mansion. For a moment he even thought that there were no people in the Mansion. But this isn't true. As the guards wouldn't have let him go inside if there weren't anyone home. This meant that Sasha or her mother used some sort of trick to limit the senses of cultivators.

They might have done this for privacy reasons and other unknown reasons. The Dragon palace also had similar functions. Not even a 5th-order cultivator would be able to tell who is inside this Mansion and who isn't.

Click!

Finally, after waiting for about an entire minute, the door was opened by a beautiful woman. The woman who opened the door was an ethereal beauty. Aditya couldn't stop staring at her even though he already has seen her before. Seeing her, he felt as if he was meeting her all over again. Aditya looked dazed while staring at her face.

With a mischievous glint in her eye and an alluring smile on her lips, the former Succubus Empress stood at the door, her appearance uncannily identical to her daughter's. Her attire was bold and provocative, and her gaze met Aditya's with a spark of undisguised interest.

"Fu! Fu!" she began, her voice dripping with playful seduction. "I'm afraid my dear daughter isn't home right now, handsome. But why waste a perfectly good opportunity? Would you like to come in and keep her lonely mother company instead?"

Hearing her bold teasing words, Aditya rolled his eyes. He secretly gritted his teeth to not fall into her temptation. Right now, the devil on his left shoulder was telling him to show this woman her place. The devil was whispering in his ears and was telling him to push her down right now and ravage her body. But he had a feeling that doing this would mean that he will lose something very important.

At the same time, he was trying his best to not stare at Lilith's body and keep his thoughts straight. She was wearing so bold dress that even Erectile dysfunction men would have a boner staring at her dress. Aditya knew that staring at her would only weakened his resolve.

"Oh.....Since Sasha isn't home, then I will come back later." Aditya was about to leave. He already had turned around and was about to walk away when Lilith grabbed his right arm.

"Fu! Fu! Little Emperor, why don't you come inside?" Aditya did not turn around. He was still hesitating, unsure whether to come inside and wait for Sasha to return or to come back later. Then, he felt a soft touch as Lilith's arms wrapped around his waist, her body pressing subtly against his back. Her soft peaches were pressing against his back. Her warm breath caressed his ear as she seductively whispered,

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry to leave, Little Emperor. I can assure you that Sasha would want you to stay. Besides, it's been so long since I've had such delightful company. Won't you indulge me with your presence? I promise, the time will fly by." Her voice was honeyed and sultry, and Aditya could feel the gentle pressure of her chest against his back, making it even more challenging for him to resist her persuasive charm.

Aditya gritted his teeth to resist. He could feel the whispering voice of the devil in his left ear has gotten even stronger now. He tried his best to not imagine himself doing wild things with Lilith.

'In the end, I couldn't resist and ended up coming inside anyway.' Aditya thought while sitting on the couch in the living room. Lilith was currently making tea for both of them. She had gone to the kitchen. Meanwhile, he looked around the Mansion. The whole place was kind of dark. With almost no sunlight coming inside the Mansion. Even the living room was slightly dark. But not too dark.

Aditya couldn't control his curiosity. He also wanted to know where Lilith and Sasha lived and and wait for Sasha while chatting with Lilith or maybe this is the excuse that he gave himself to come inside the Mansion.

"Tea is ready," Lilith announced, gracefully returning to the living room with a tray bearing two intricately designed cups filled with fragrant tea. As she handed one to Aditya, her delicate fingers brushed against his, sending a small yet unmistakable thrill down his spine. She then settled herself next to him on the plush sofa, crossing her legs with an air of casual elegance.

Aditya tried his best to focus on the tea, but his attention was inevitably drawn to Lilith's attire. She was clad in an exquisitely designed, naughty kimono that seemed more suited for private entertainment than casual hosting. The black kimono, embroidered with delicate silver threads that matched her luminous silver hair, clung to her curves in a way that was both artful and provocative. Its length was scandalously short, barely covering her round and firm derrière, allowing glimpses of her white stockings that hugged her smooth, milky thighs.

The front of the kimono was strategically draped, leaving her ample cleavage exposed, teasing the eyes with the promise of more. The fabric was sheer enough to hint at the outlines of her body beneath, tantalizing the imagination. Her silver hair, tied into a playful ponytail, gave her a youthful and mischievous vibe, enhancing her seductive aura.

Her appearance was so strikingly similar to her daughter, Sasha, that anyone would be forgiven for thinking they were twins rather than mother and daughter. Yet, where Sasha's beauty was often accompanied by a sense of innocence, Lilith's carried a weight of experience and allure that was nearly overwhelming.

Aditya felt his throat go dry as he took in her appearance, struggling to keep his composure under her knowing, almost predatory gaze. It was clear that Lilith was well aware of the effect she was having on him, and she seemed to revel in it, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous light as she sipped her tea, waiting for him to respond.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 484

The heavy silence in the living room was like a palpable weight on Aditya's shoulders, pressing down on him, suffocating him. The only sound that pierced the silence was the genteel sipping of tea, a noise that seemed to reverberate through the room with each delicate slurp. Lilith's proximity was doing little to ease his tension. She was sitting so close to him that he could feel the heat of her body, and her piercing gaze was locked onto him, never wavering. Her eyes seemed to bore into his soul.

Trying to distract himself from her unsettlingly intense stare, Aditya focused on the teacup in his hands, finding strange comfort in its mundane design. He needed to break the silence, to divert his mind from the path it was wandering down.

"So where is Sasha?" he asked, his voice slightly more strained than he would have liked. He continued to study the teacup, as though hoping it could shield him from Lilith's intoxicating presence.

Sip!

Lilith's sensual red lips touched the rim of her tea cup, lingering there for a moment longer than necessary. After taking a slow, deliberate sip, she answered, her voice as rich and smooth as silk. "Sasha went to assassinate a target. The client specifically requested her to get the job done. As you know, my daughter has a 100% success rate. She has never failed to take a target's life." Her eyes gleamed with maternal pride as she spoke of Sasha's accomplishments, but the expression quickly disappeared.

"Who is the target?" Aditya inquired, his curiosity piqued. He took a leisurely sip of his tea, his eyes never leaving Lilith.

Lilith's eyes widened, her surprise evident. She leaned in closer, her body almost touching Aditya's, the teasing sparkle in her eyes replaced by genuine astonishment. "You don't hate her?" she asked, her voice laced with disbelief. The question seemed almost loaded, as though she was testing him, probing for his true feelings. "You know what Sasha does, what we do, and yet you show no sign of disapproval or disdain."

Aditya looked at Lilith, his eyes narrowing slightly, a curious expression on his face. He set his tea cup down and turned to face her, his eyes searching hers. "Why would I hate Sasha? She is my future wife." The conviction in his voice was clear, unshakable. He reached out and gently brushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, his touch lingering just a moment too long. Aditya realized what he was doing. He had no idea why he did that.

Lilith's breath caught in her throat at his touch, her body reacting despite herself. She was still looking at him with that same incredulous expression. "You know we kill people for money, and we..." Her voice trailed off, the unspoken words hanging in the air like a heavy fog. The room seemed to grow more charged, the erotic tension mingling with a sense of gravity as they delved into more serious territory.

Aditya sighed, the sound heavy with understanding and resignation. He picked up his tea cup again and took another deliberate sip, his eyes never leaving Lilith's. "I don't hate you and Sasha. I don't harbor any dislike towards you two. I won't sit here and pretend to be shocked or appalled by what you two are doing. As the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, I've done many things that I'm not proud to admit." His voice was firm, his words carefully chosen. He was laying himself bare before her, trusting her with his honesty.

Lilith's eyes widened slightly, her lips parting as though she wanted to say something, but no words came out. She simply stared at him, her eyes filled with a mix of surprise, curiosity, and something else, something deeper and more primal.

"In short, what I'm saying is, the world is not just divided into white and black, evil and innocent, devils and angels. The world doesn't work that way. The world itself is grey. Even the most seemingly innocent man has committed at least one sin in his life. But that doesn't make him evil. I don't judge you two because of your profession."

His words seemed to hang in the air, the room filled with a heavy silence as they both contemplated what he had just said.

Aditya's thoughts briefly drifted to his other fiancées, and he found himself wondering how Sasha and Riya would get along. After all, Riya was someone with a gentle heart, kind and caring. Among Aditya's fiancées, she was the most compassionate one. But pondering that was a subject for another day, and he shook himself from those thoughts.

"So who is the target?" Aditya asked again, his voice steady, though he couldn't quite shake the sensation of Lilith's lingering touch from earlier.

Lilith's eyes sparkled with intrigue as she leaned in closer to him, her lips almost grazing his ear as she whispered, "The target is the Merchant Head of the Percival Gildedgate. The rival Merchant group, Lavinia Pearlbrook, is the client." Though Lilith had mostly distanced herself from the affairs of the organization since Sasha took over as leader, she still had her ways of keeping tabs on the missions her daughter personally undertook.

Aditya could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin, her body still close enough that he could sense the seductive fragrance she wore. Her words, though filled with information, were spoken in a tone that made them sound like a sultry secret shared only between them.

Lilith finished her tea with a graceful gulp, her eyes never leaving Aditya's. She placed the teacup on the table, her movements deliberate and teasing. "Enough about that," she purred, her voice dripping with suggestion. "Let's talk about you. It seems yesterday we were having a lot of fun." Her smile was playful, yet her eyes held a promise of something more, something that made Aditya's heart race in his chest.

Aditya's breath caught in his throat at her words, a bead of sweat forming at his brow. The way she said it, the look in her eyes, the way her body seemed to move towards him—it all combined to create a picture of pure, unabashed temptation.

He tried to maintain his composure, tried to focus on the conversation, but Lilith seemed intent on making that as difficult as possible. She shifted closer to him, her leg brushing against his, her hand reaching out to toy with a strand of his hair. Her actions were subtle, her movements fluid and graceful, but they were deliberate, calculated to provoke and arouse him.

Aditya swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. He could feel her eyes on him, studying him, assessing him, challenging him. It was a game to her, a dance of seduction, and she was leading it with a masterful hand.

He cleared his throat, attempting to regain control of the situation. "Lilith, I think we should focus on more pressing matters," he said, his voice slightly unsteady.

Lilith's laugh was soft, a melodious sound that sent shivers down Aditya's spine. "Oh, but Aditya, this is a pressing matter," she whispered, leaning in even closer, her lips just a breath away from his. "Don't you think so? You have a lot of things to explain."

Aditya's mind was spinning, the room suddenly feeling too warm, too charged with a desire he was struggling to keep in check. Lilith's presence was overwhelming, her allure impossible to resist.

He looked into her eyes, he could see the unspoken invitation. And he knew that he was playing with fire, dancing on the edge of a precipice, teetering between control and surrender. If he acted now, then he was going to regret it for the rest of his life.

And he also knew that Lilith was enjoying every moment of it. Her smile widened, her eyes twinkled, and she continued to draw him in, her body and words weaving a web of temptation that was becoming increasingly difficult to escape. It seemed she enjoyed seeing him struggle.

Cough!

With a small, purposeful cough, Aditya forcibly pulled himself back from the edge of the seductive abyss Lilith had almost drawn him into. He turned his head sharply, avoiding her gaze, his eyes fixating on a spot on the wall as he tried to steer the conversation back to safer territory.

"Just yesterday my break started. I got to enjoy some time as holidays. I was finally done with my work. Finally, I no longer needed to sit in front of a desk and work day and night." As Aditya spoke, Lilith could detect a hint of bitterness in his voice, a resentment towards his work that made her chuckle. Her laughter was soft and teasing, a sound that sent another shiver down Aditya's spine.

Lilith leaned in closer, her body almost pressing against his, her breath warm against his neck. "Poor Aditya, always working so hard," she purred, her voice dripping with feigned sympathy. "You deserve a break, a chance to relax and enjoy yourself."

"Anyway, I spend the whole day with Lara, Julia, Alicia, and Riya," Aditya continued, determined to ignore the way Lilith's presence was affecting him. "Each of them was allotted three hours of private time with me. They were free to do whatever they wanted in that time."

His words were matter-of-fact, an attempt to distance himself from the situation, but Lilith was having none of it. She reached out, her fingers graceful and delicate as she placed her index finger under his chin. Her touch was gentle, yet insistent, forcing him to look at her.

Her eyes met his, and Aditya could see the desire there, the playful spark that told him she was enjoying this game of cat and mouse. Her smile was knowing, confident, as if she were certain that she could have him if she wanted.

"What about me?" she asked, her voice a soft, sultry whisper. "Don't I get some private time with you too?"

Her words were a challenge, a dare, and Aditya could feel himself responding despite his best efforts to resist. His heart was pounding, his palms sweating, his body reacting to her proximity, her touch, her scent.

Lilith's smile widened as she saw the effect she was having on him. She leaned in closer, her lips almost touching his ear as she whispered, "I can make it worth your while, Aditya. I can make you forget all about your work, all about your stress. Just give in to me, and I promise you won't regret it."

Her words were a promise, a temptation, an invitation to something forbidden and exhilarating. Aditya could feel himself teetering on the brink, caught between desire and reason, lust and loyalty.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, trying to regain control. But Lilith's presence was intoxicating, her allure impossible to ignore.

At this moment she was like the devil who was trying to tempt him to commit the sin. The devil was trying to seduce him in every way possible but he knew in his heart that if he crossed that invisible line, he was going to regret it.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Bonus Chapter [II]

Chapter 485

Right now, Aditya found himself ensnared in a most difficult and alluring predicament. On one hand, there was Lilith, the mother of his future wife, Sasha. But she was no ordinary mother; she was a former Succubus Empress, a creature of pure temptation and seduction. Her presence was a whirlpool of desire, pulling him inexorably closer to the edge of the forbidden.

Lilith was the very definition of seduction, an embodiment of everything sexy, hot, tempting, and divinely provocative. Her body was a masterful work of art, sculpted to perfection, every curve and angle designed to ensnare a man's mind and ignite his deepest desires. Her Aura, rich with maturity and sensual knowledge, radiated around her, wrapping him in a cocoon of wanton longing that was nearly impossible to resist.

On the other hand, there was Sasha, his future wife, the woman he had promised to cherish and love. Sasha was his anchor, his moral compass, the voice of reason that whispered in his ear, urging him to resist, to stay true to his vows, to not succumb to the temptations that Lilith was so skillfully weaving around him.

But oh, how he wanted to give in! The devil on his left shoulder, fueled by his most primal instincts, was urging him to push Lilith down and ravage her, to claim her in a way that would make her surrender completely to him.

His mind was a battlefield, torn between lust and love, desire and duty. His body was betraying him, reacting to Lilith's proximity with a fervor that was becoming increasingly difficult to control.

He could feel her eyes on him, those piercing, knowing eyes that seemed to see straight into his soul, unmasking his deepest desires. Her smile was playful, confident, a smirk that told him she knew exactly what he was thinking, exactly what he wanted to do.

Her voice was like honey, dripping with promise and suggestion as she leaned closer, her breath warm against his ear, her words a caress that sent shivers down his spine.

"What's the matter, Aditya?" she purred, her tone teasing. "Don't you want to have a little fun with me? Don't you want to know what it's like to be with a woman who knows exactly how to please a man?"

Her hand reached out, brushing against his thigh, her touch a spark that ignited a fire within him. Her fingers danced upward, coming dangerously close to the part of him that was betraying his inner turmoil.

He could see her lips, red and full, parting slightly as she continued to taunt him, her tongue darting out to moisten them, a gesture that was both innocent and incredibly provocative.

He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists, trying desperately to ignore her, to shut out the sound of her voice, the scent of her skin, the heat of her body. But it was an impossible task, a battle he was losing with every passing second.

He could feel himself slipping, his resolve crumbling, the line between right and wrong, love and lust, blurring into a haze of need and desire.

And all the while, Lilith watched him, her eyes sparkling with mischief and triumph, knowing that she had him exactly where she wanted him, on the precipice of surrender, teetering between restraint and release.

She was playing a dangerous game, a game that could have serious consequences. But she didn't care. She was a Succubus Empress, a master of temptation and seduction, and she was enjoying every moment of this delicious dance with Aditya, knowing that she held all the cards, all the power.

And Aditya, caught in her web, trapped by her allure, knew that he was playing with fire, dancing on the edge of a cliff, teetering between control and chaos.

And he knew that one false step, one moment of weakness, could send him tumbling into the abyss, a fall that could cost him everything he held dear.

But oh, how sweet that fall would be! How intoxicating, how exhilarating! The temptation was becoming too much to bear, the desire too strong to resist.

And he knew, with a growing sense of dread and anticipation, that he was losing the battle, that Lilith was winning the war, and that he was on the verge of surrendering to the delicious, dangerous temptation that she represented.

The room was thick with tension, charged with a palpable energy that crackled and sparked between them. The air was heavy with lust and longing, desire and danger.

And all the while, Lilith's smile widened, her eyes twinkled, and she continued to draw him in, her body and words weaving a web of temptation that was becoming increasingly difficult to escape.

Click!

"I am back, Mom."

Aditya's heart leaped at the sound of Sasha's voice, relief flooding through him like a torrent. It was as if he had been ensnared in a dark, alluring cave with a succubus lurking in the shadows, her enchanting eyes and beguiling body poised to devour him. Just when he thought he was lost, a beam of light in the form of Sasha's presence appeared, providing a path to salvation.

Aditya attempted to extricate himself from Lilith's intoxicating embrace. But Lilith was far from ready to release her prey. Her smile turned even more mischievous, her eyes glinting with devilish delight as she tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, pressing her body against his with a boldness that left him breathless.

The scent of her perfume enveloped him, the warmth of her skin seared through his clothes, and her soft, full lips were tantalizingly close to his ear. Her breath tickled his skin, and her whisper was a silken caress that sent shivers down his spine.

"Where are you going, Aditya?" she purred, her voice dripping with playful seduction. "Don't you want to stay and play with me a little longer?"

Her words were like a siren's song, tempting him, teasing him, and he found himself entrapped once again by her allure. The more he struggled, the tighter she held him, her body molding to his, every curve and angle fitting perfectly, leaving no room for escape.

Her laughter was like tinkling bells, light and melodic, yet filled with a knowing mischief that sent a jolt of desire through him. Her fingers danced along his collarbone, her touch a gentle fire that ignited his senses, leaving him aching for more.

He could feel her smile against his neck, her lips brushing his skin with a feather-light touch that was both promise and torment. Her tongue darted out, tasting him, a fleeting connection that left him gasping, his body betraying him once again.

Meanwhile, Sasha's footsteps grew closer, her presence a reminder of reality, of duty and responsibility. And yet, Lilith seemed unfazed, her actions growing bolder, more provocative, as if she relished the danger, the thrill of being caught.

When Sasha finally entered the living room, her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her. Her mother, Lilith, wrapped around Aditya, her body pressed against his, her lips dangerously close to his skin, her eyes filled with a daring challenge.

"Welcome back, Sasha," Lilith giggled, her voice laced with amusement. "Look, Aditya is here. Isn't he just delightful?"

Her words were a blatant taunt, her actions a clear provocation. And yet, Sasha's reaction was deadpan, her face a mask of neutrality that betrayed nothing of what she might be thinking or feeling.

Sasha did not even glance at Aditya. She approached them from the back of the couch. She then chopped her mother on the head with her palm.

Lilith instantly let go of Aditya. "Ouch!! My cute daughter, why did you do that to your mommy? That hurts, you know." Lilith pretended to cry. She even had fake crocodile tears on her eyes.

Meanwhile, seeing Sasha not even looking at him, he knew that his little kitten was angry for not coming to see her in two and half months time. Her angry towards him must have been further increased when she found out that he was on a date with Riya yesterday. 'It looks like I have to calm down the angry kitten.' Aditya thought in his mind with a helpless smile.

"I am going to my room to change."Sasha's voice was flat and emotionless as she announced her departure, her body stiff and her movements precise. She wore an all-black outfit, her lower face concealed with a dark cloth, a uniform that screamed danger and purpose. Her very presence was a contradiction, a blend of grace and power, femininity and strength.

Lilith already knew that Sasha was little bit mad at Aditya. She did not even look at him ever since she returned home. Seeing Sasha heading to the second floor, Lilith gave Aditya a nodding look and signalled him to follow her.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Bonus Chapter [III]

Chapter 486

With a look of annoyance, Sasha opened the door to her bedroom, her movements revealing her displeasure. She stepped into the room, her eyes briefly scanning the surroundings as if seeking comfort in the familiar space. But before she could close the door, Aditya followed her inside, his presence uninvited but determined.

Seeing Aditya, Sasha's frown deepened, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice edged with irritation.

"Little Kitten, I came here to talk," Aditya replied, his voice gentle but firm. He took a moment to look around Sasha's room, finding himself unexpectedly captivated by its design.

Contrary to what he had anticipated, Sasha's room was far from the chaotic, weapon-filled den of an assassin. Instead, it was designed like a traditional Japanese room, exuding an air of tranquility and simplicity. The floors were covered with tatami mats, their texture inviting and warm. The walls were adorned with delicate paper screens, their design intricate and beautiful. Sliding doors separated the spaces, their lines clean and uncluttered.

Furniture was sparse, with only the essentials present. A low wooden table stood in the center of the room, surrounded by cushions for seating. A futon was neatly folded in one corner, waiting to be used. Everything was arranged with careful precision, each item placed with thought and purpose.

On the other side of the room, there was a small window that offered a stunning view of the sea. The sound of the waves could be faintly heard, a soothing backdrop to the room's quiet elegance. Next to the window, a small pile of books lay on the floor, their covers worn and pages well-thumbed. They were a surprising addition to the room's decor, hinting at a hidden depth to Sasha's character, a love for literature that contradicted her deadly profession.

"You can wait outside then......." Sasha's voice interrupted Aditya's observations, her tone impatient. But before she could say anything more, she felt a hand pulling her, a sudden force that sent her tumbling to the floor.

The world spun for a moment, and then she found herself on the floor, Aditya beneath her, his eyes wide with surprise. The impact jarred her, but the shock of the fall was quickly replaced by a different kind of awareness, a realization of their positions, and of their closeness.

Sasha's eyes narrowed as she took in their current position, her body atop Aditya's, their faces mere inches apart. Her voice was cold, her expression steely as she demanded, "What are you doing?" The stern tone of her question was a clear signal of her displeasure.

"Little Kitty, I am sorry," Aditya replied, his voice tinged with genuine regret. His eyes met hers, filled with sincerity and a touch of longing. The surprise in his apology caught Sasha off guard, causing her rigid expression to soften slightly. But she was not so easily swayed.

"Hmph! Apologies won't get you anywhere," she retorted, turning her face away, her eyes glistening with a mix of anger and hurt.

Aditya's gaze lingered on her profile, taking in the delicate curve of her cheek, the proud set of her jaw, the vulnerability hidden behind her defiance. "I know," he admitted, his voice soft but firm. "To be honest, these two and a half months I have been so busy that I couldn't find time to come here and visit you. Just yesterday, I had a holiday and I went out with Julia, Lara, Riya, and Alicia; each of them getting 3 hours allotted private time with me."

"Hmph! Then why are you here? Stay with them," she snapped, her voice filled with bitterness. She began to struggle, attempting to free herself from his grasp, her movements desperate but futile.

Aditya's hands were firm but gentle as they held her waist, refusing to let her go. "Because you're also very important. So that's why I am going to spend the whole day with you," he declared, his voice filled with determination and warmth.

With those words, he raised his head and captured her lips in a kiss. It was a brief connection, a mere brush of their mouths, but it was enough to send a jolt of electricity through Sasha's body. She blinked, her eyes wide with shock, her mind reeling from the intensity of the sensation.

The world seemed to stop for a moment, the room fading away as they lost themselves in each other. The soft rustle of the paper screens, the distant murmur of the sea, the whisper of the wind - all were forgotten in the background.

Sasha's body had relaxed, her tension dissipating as Aditya's sincerity penetrated her walls. The softness in her eyes was a clear indication that she was willing to let him in again. The room, adorned with traditional Japanese simplicity, felt warmer now, filled with a sense of intimacy and understanding.

"I wrote you letters very often. Did you receive those letters?" Aditya asked, his voice gentle, filled with the concern and love that had been conveyed in those handwritten words. Despite the overwhelming duties that consumed him as the Emperor of the Vast Istarin Empire, he had found time to pour his thoughts and feelings onto paper, sending them to her like a series of delicate bridges connecting their hearts.

"I got them," Sasha replied, her voice soft but tinged with lingering resentment. She had treasured those letters, reading and rereading them, feeling the touch of his hand in every stroke of the pen. Of course, she wasn't going to say these to him. For her that would be very embarrassing. But she had not written back, her anger and hurt preventing her from responding. It was a silent protest, a way to make him feel the distance that had grown between them.

Aditya's eyes searched her face, seeking understanding, probing the depths of her emotions. "You know this problem can be easily solved if you and your mother come with me to the Dragon Palace," he suggested, the hope in his voice unmistakable. The idea of having Sasha, Julia, Riya, Lara, and Alicia together, living with him even though they were not his official wives yet, was tantalizing. He wanted to bridge the physical distance that separated them, to have them close, where he could protect and cherish them.

The question seemed to catch Sasha off guard. She looked away, her eyes focusing on the window where the sea was visible, its waves reflecting her uncertainty. The pile of books lying on the floor by the window seemed to mirror her thoughts, a collection of unspoken words and emotions. Her voice was hesitant as she answered, her lack of confidence evident in every word. "I don't think others will accept me."

Aditya's arms wrapped around Sasha's slender frame, holding her as if he could shield her from the world's judgments and fears. Her body fit perfectly against his, and he could feel the tension in her, the worry that gnawed at her very core. He knew why she was feeling this way, the underlying reason for her insecurity.

"Sasha, no one in the Dragon Palace is going to judge you," he whispered, his voice soft yet firm, resonating with the conviction he felt. Her current profession, being the number one Assassin in the entire world, weighed heavily on her. The burden of her occupation, the label of a killer, was like a shadow that followed her, darkening her thoughts and shaping her fears. Sasha was worried that her unique skills and the life she had chosen would alienate her from others, create a barrier that would make acceptance impossible.

But Aditya knew better. He knew the hearts and minds of those who dwelled in the Dragon Palace. He knew their capacity for understanding, compassion, and acceptance. He knew that they would see beyond her profession, beyond the killer's facade, and recognize the incredible woman beneath.

"Others will be more than happy to accept you in the family. Everyone will accept you and your mother as a part of the family," he reassured her, his words gentle yet unwavering, like a soothing balm for her troubled soul.

He could feel her relax slightly, her body yielding to his embrace as she laid her head on his chest, seeking comfort and security in the steady beat of his heart.

"I will think about it," Sasha finally murmured, her voice low and filled with uncertainty. But Aditya heard something else in her words, a glimmer of hope, a crack in the wall she had built around herself. He knew that she was avoiding the topic for now, but he also knew that she was willing to consider his words, to ponder the possibility of a life where she could be accepted and loved without judgment.

A gentle silence had enveloped the room as Aditya and Sasha simply enjoyed each other's presence, the sound of the waves adding a soothing melody to their shared moment.

However, the tranquility was broken when Sasha raised her head, her eyes locking with Aditya's as she voiced a concern that had been troubling her. "Recently I have heard that a few Elders, including Riya's own Aunt in the Celestial Terrain, are mad at you for officially declaring Riya to be your 3rd fiance." Her words were laced with concern, her eyes reflecting a hint of worry.

Aditya's heart skipped a beat as he processed her words. Around three months back, he had held a Grand Gathering of all the nobles of his Empire, proudly introducing Riya as his 3rd fiance. In his heart, he had felt nothing wrong with his declaration; he loved Riya, and she loved him. But the ripple effects of his decision had reached the ears of the Elders of the Celestial Terrain.

He could see the gravity of the situation in Sasha's eyes. The Elders were not just displeased; they were furious. And their anger wasn't just a distant threat; it was a looming storm that could escalate into something much more serious. "You're going to face another troubling issue once you head to the Celestial Terrain. I heard if not for Riya's mother holding back the Elders, the Elders would have sent the Celestial Terrain's army to take Riya back even if it meant by force," Sasha continued, her voice heavy with the weight of her words. If the Celestial Terrain's army were to come to take Riya by force, then it would surely mean that a war between both sides are going to be waged. He felt grateful towards Riya's mother for suppressing the elders. But her actions also showed that she was somewhat alright with the engagement otherwise why she would stop the elders. Or Maybe Aditya was just thinking too much into it and Riya's mother could have other motivation behind this.

Aditya's mind raced as he realized how serious the situation had become. He understood that his well-intentioned declaration had unwittingly created a complex political quandary. At that time, he should have taught more about this actions. But at that time, Aditya's mind was filled with so many other matters.

He sighed heavily, feeling the burden of his mistake. "At that time, I introduced Riya to be my 3rd fiance because in my heart, I already saw her as my 3rd fiance, and Riya also loved me. Neither of us had any problem with it. But now it seems doing that was a mistake from my part. I should have visited Riya's mother at least once." His voice was filled with regret, the realization that he had inadvertently stepped into a hornet's nest weighing heavily on him.

Aditya could feel a headache building, a gnawing sense of concern that he had to deal with this delicate situation with the utmost care. Sasha's revelation made it clear that this was not a matter he could ignore or take lightly. He had to address it, to find a way to appease the Elders and honor Riya's family without compromising his and Riya's love.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 487

The rest of the day unfolded in a whirlwind of laughter, games, storytelling, and shared meals. Aditya, Sasha, and Lilith formed a trio of delight, each one contributing to the festive atmosphere. Yet, amidst the fun and camaraderie, there lingered an undercurrent of sensuality, a subtle tension that was both provocative and titillating.

Lilith was the instigator, her every glance and gesture designed to tease and provoke Aditya. Whether it was the way she leaned a little too close when explaining the rules of a game or the lingering touch of her fingers as she passed him a dish during lunch, Lilith's actions were calculated and deliberate. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, her lips curled in a knowing smile as she engaged in her playful seduction.

Lilith's advances were both thrilling and unsettling, leaving him feeling both aroused and anxious. He managed to keep himself in control, responding to her teasing with a mixture of humor and gentle rebuke, but he could feel the heat of her presence, the subtle allure of her provocations.

Sasha, though enjoying the day, was not oblivious to her mother's antics. Her eyes narrowed slightly whenever Lilith's teasing went too far, and she would intervene, redirecting the conversation or physically placing herself between her mother and Aditya. She acted as a subtle but effective barrier, keeping Lilith's teasing from escalating into something more overtly erotic.

As the sun began to dip toward the horizon, painting the sky with hues of gold and crimson, Aditya reluctantly had to leave. He had enjoyed the day immensely, treasuring both the time with Sasha and the playful interactions with Lilith.

The departure of Aditya from the Starlight Mansion left a void that was immediately tangible. The whole house seemed to sag in his absence, its walls echoing with a silence that was profound and heavy. Both Lilith and Sasha felt the loneliness keenly, a pang in their hearts that resonated with the emptiness around them.

For Sasha, the feeling was both familiar and poignant. She had grown up in this environment, just her and her mother, in a home devoid of any male presence. The question of her father was a shadow, an unspoken topic that loomed in the background but never came to the fore. Lilith never spoke about him, and Sasha never expressed any curiosity. It was a mutual understanding, an unspoken pact that they both honored.

But today, Aditya's presence had brought a warmth and vitality to their lives that they hadn't experienced in a long time. The laughter, the games, the shared meals had filled the house with a joyous energy that lingered even after he had left. Sasha could still hear his voice, see his smile, feel the touch of his hand.

Scene change_______

Late into the night at the Dragon Palace, the air was filled with the echoes of laughter and jovial conversation. Everyone played games, teased one another, and shared stories, and shared enjoyment. In short, everyone had fun time. As the clock inched towards 11, one by one everyone began returning to their rooms for the night.

Having changed out of his formal attire, he was clad only in a loose-fitting robe, a towel casually slung over his shoulder as he moved towards his private washroom. His mind was still replaying the pleasant memories of the evening, a smile playing on his lips.

That's when he heard it - a soft click that was out of place in the nightly routine.

He turned, and the sight that met his eyes made him drop the towel in surprise and shock.

Julia and Alicia stood at the entrance of his room, their faces flushed with a mix of embarrassment and determination. They were dressed in babydolls that were tantalizingly revealing, the sheer fabric clinging to their bodies, leaving little to the imagination. The gentle curves of their figures were accentuated by the garments, drawing the eye and sending a jolt of desire through Aditya's body.

His throat went dry, his mind reeling from the sudden shift from the familial warmth of the evening to the charged eroticism of the present moment. Their eyes met, a wordless communication passing between them. They had come with a purpose, an unspoken request that was as clear as it was daring.

The room seemed to shrink, the air thickening with tension and anticipation. Time seemed to stand still as the three of them stood frozen, each lost in thought, each grappling with the emotions that were swirling within them.

Finally, it was Julia who broke the silence, her voice soft and tremulous, yet determined. "Aditya," she began, her eyes not leaving his, "there's something we need to talk about."

Till now, Julia had slept with Aditya every single night as his other fiances did not gave up their virginity to Aditya other than Julia herself. She had Aditya all to herself. But now that Alicia has given her virginity to Aditya as well, she can't keep Aditya all to herself.

So After Aditya left this morning, Julia went to have a conversation with Alicia. At first she and Alicia agreed to keep Aditya to themselves; Alicia would get him for one night and Julia would get him for one night. But both of them realized that once the number increases (as in the future Riya, Lara, and others, once they lose their virginity), in the future, they would get very less nights with Aditya.

In the both of them agreed to share Aditya together. Meaning from now on they were going to sleep together with him.

"Wait a minute, shouldn't I also get something to add in this?" Aditya's playful question hung in the air as Julia and Alicia turned to face him, their eyes narrowing in a mock glare. Their faces were flushed, not just from their embarrassment but also from the desire that his presence always seemed to ignite within them.

"No, you don't. You are benefiting from this the most," Julia responded, her voice tinged with feigned irritation. But her eyes betrayed her true feelings, dancing with mischief and anticipation.

Aditya couldn't help but laugh at her reply. He looked at them both, their beauty accentuated by the soft glow of the candles that adorned the room, their figures clad in the delicate fabric of the babydolls that left little to the imagination.

"Alright. Then what are we waiting for?" Aditya's voice was filled with a confident eagerness as he swiftly removed all of his clothes, baring himself completely to their hungry gazes.

The room seemed to heat up as he stood there, the lines and curves of his body on full display. The power and grace of his form were accentuated by the shadows and the soft light, creating a vision that drew both women's eyes and sent a shiver of longing through them.

"Pervert," they both called out almost in unison, their voices filled with mock indignation. But their eyes told a different story. They did not hate this so-called pervert. Rather, they loved him with their hearts and body.

They moved towards him, their bodies a symphony of curves and softness, their eyes locked on his. The air was thick with desire, a tangible force that pulled them together. Aditya reached out, his hands finding their waists, pulling them close.

They stood there for a moment, a trio of lovers on the brink of surrendering to the night's pleasures. Words were no longer needed; their bodies spoke a language that only they understood.

Slowly, almost reverently, they began to explore each other, hands tracing the familiar yet always thrilling contours, lips seeking and finding their targets. The sensation of skin on skin, the taste and scent of each other, became their entire world.

The next four days were a whirlwind of activity for Aditya, filled with excitement, laughter, and the joy of shared experiences. Each day was a new adventure, each night a sweet surrender to pleasure and intimacy. His life had never felt so full, so vibrant, so complete.

Aditya's days were marked by a series of unforgettable dates with Julia, Lara, Alicia, Riya, and Sasha. They explored the hidden corners of the Istarin Empire, enjoying each other's company amidst breathtaking landscapes, enchanting gardens, bustling markets, and secluded spots known only to them.

They dined in luxurious restaurants, tasting exotic delicacies and savoring the flavors of love and companionship. They wandered through art galleries and museums, admiring beauty in all its forms. They danced to the rhythm of the night, losing themselves in each other's arms and in the beat of the music that seemed to resonate with their very souls.

During the nights, Aditya's had slept with Alicia and Julia.

Aditya also received updates from Spencer, who was enjoying his time with his girlfriend, Aria, at a luxurious resort. Their relationship was blossoming beautifully, and the air was thick with the promise of something more profound, perhaps even the lifelong commitment of marriage. Aditya could feel the happiness just reading his letters.

But amidst all the joy and contentment, a shadow lingered at the edges of Aditya's mind. Amber, his general and best friend of Julia, who had impulsively kissed him that night, had been conspicuously absent from the Dragon Palace for the past five days. Her absence gnawed at him, a nagging worry that something might be wrong.

And just like that the last day of the year approached, the entire Istarin Empire, and indeed the whole of the Dying Isle continent, was abuzz with preparations for the New Year's celebrations. Streets were adorned with vibrant decorations, music filled the air, and people bustled about with excitement and anticipation.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 488

At the Azure city

Nestled within the bustling capital of the Istarin Empire lay a hidden jewel of a property, a mysterious Mansion veiled from prying eyes by towering walls. These barriers guarded the privacy of what lay within, preserving the secrets that the Mansion might hold. A lush, sprawling garden filled with exotic flowers and plants stretched across the grounds, offering a tranquil escape from the outside world. Alongside it, a modest training ground was available, its very presence hinting at the Mansion's martial connection.

The owner of this secluded haven was none other than the 5th General of the Istarin Empire, Amber. Renowned for her prowess in battle, she was a figure both respected and feared. Yet, despite the Mansion's grandeur, Amber rarely spent time there. Busy with her duties and the affairs of the Empire, she would only return to the Mansion once or twice a week to rest and rejuvenate.

Known to the general public as the residence of the General, the Mansion stood as a symbol of her status and power. Yet, despite its fame, access was strictly controlled. The Mansion was further secured by an invisible and transparent defensive dome that enveloped the entire property. This sophisticated protection ensured that no unauthorized individual could breach the Mansion's walls.

A dedicated force of 100 elite soldiers kept watch over the Mansion 24/7, their stern faces and sharp eyes a clear warning to any who dared approach without proper clearance. These guards were handpicked by Amber herself, each one trained to perfection and sworn to protect the Mansion with their lives. Normal public were not even allowed to come anywhere near the entrance, let alone within the secretive walls of the Mansion.

Within the Mansion's confines, life continued at a peaceful pace. Servants went about their daily duties, tending to the lush gardens, preparing meals for the occasional visits of their esteemed master, and maintaining the pristine condition of the Mansion. Despite the absence of its owner, the Mansion was always kept ready for her arrival, every detail polished to perfection.

As one of the generals of the Istarin Empire, Amber has very rarely visited her own Mansion. The Mansion was given to her by her King, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire. Each 7 generals of the Empire received a Mansion from the Emperor within the Azure city. This was just one of the benefits of being the General of the Empire.

Yet despite having her own Mansion, Amber mostly never lived here. Although most of her belongings were in this Mansion, majority of her time was spent either at the Dragon Palace or at the training ground; training with the troops under her command.

Yet, the last 5 days, all the servants of the Mansion were surprised that Lady Amber has stayed in the Mansion for this long. It was a week of holiday; new year break granted to her by the Emperor. Even the Emperor himself took 7 days off to relax and spent time with his family. And Amber maybe the only general who is very close to Aditya's family. Being the best friend of Julia who is going to be become Aditya's first wife in the future meant that Amber was very close to the Royal family.

Scene change______

In the hidden sanctuary of her mansion's garden, Amber found peace among the green leaves and blooming flowers. Her garden was a carefully guarded secret, a part of her that she had kept hidden from the world. Here, away from the battlefield, the stern gaze of her soldiers, and the formalities of court life, Amber was simply a woman who found joy and peace in the soil and the sprouts.

Among her favorite plants were the cacti, those prickly, resilient beings that seemed so at odds with her hardened image as a general. There was something fascinating about them, something that resonated with her. Perhaps it was their ability to thrive in the harshest of environments or their unexpected beauty when they bloomed.

Amber spent hours tending to her cacti, pruning them, watering them, and even talking to them. She had named each one, bestowing them with identities that only she knew. And for her favorite cactus, a particularly robust and magnificent specimen, she had crafted a tiny armor set, a whimsical touch that made her smile every time she looked at it.

This garden was her secret, it was a place where she could be vulnerable and true to herself. Here, the general's armor was shed, and Amber was free to indulge in her secret love for gardening.

As the first rays of the sun cast a glow over the garden, Amber crouched down, carefully watering the plants that she had lovingly nurtured. Her mind, however, was elsewhere, tangled in thoughts and memories of that night, the night that had changed everything.

Her face flushed with embarrassment as she recalled her actions, her impulsiveness, her unguarded moment with Aditya. It was a memory that was mixed with embarrassment and a trace of longing.

"This whole mess is your fault," she murmured, her eyes fixed on a certain red-painted cactus. Her voice was soft, filled with a mix of frustration and affection. The cactus, of course, offered no reply, its spines glistening in the fading light, a silent witness to her turmoil.

In the past five days, Julia had visited her, concern and confusion in her eyes, urging Amber to return to the Dragon Palace. But how could she? How could she face Aditya, face herself, after what had happened?

The garden was her refuge, her place to ponder and heal. The cacti, with their thorns and beauty, were her companions, understanding her in a way that no one else could.

As the new year approached, Amber knew that she would have to make a decision, to confront her feelings and her fears. But for now, she allowed herself this respite, this moment of peace in her secret garden, where she could be herself, where she could embrace the contradictions and complexities that made her who she was.

Amber was kneeling in her garden, glaring at a particular cactus she had painted red. This cactus, named after Aditya in her mind, was the one she usually complained to when she was frustrated or annoyed. Today was no exception.

"You're such a pervert, you know that?" she grumbled at the cactus. "Always surrounded by women, acting like a womanizer. I can't believe the way you behave sometimes. Why you have to be my future mate?" She shook her head, a scowl on her face.

She continued to vent, unaware that her private garden was no longer quite so private. "And that night, that kiss! What were I was even thinking? Now thanks to my actions, my feelings that I locked away has been revealed to everyone. I am such an idiot." Amber scolded herself to acting like that night.

"Kyaa!!! I even asked you for fox babies. What was I even thinking?" Amber covered her whole face with her palms. She felt her whole face burning in embarrassment.

The real Aditya, who had come to visit her, stood at the entrance of the garden, hidden behind some bushes. He had wanted to surprise her, but now he was the one surprised. A smile played on his lips as he listened to her complaints and her self scoldings, finding her rant both amusing and endearing.

"And those women, your fiances, you just can't seem to have enough, can you?" Amber was now almost talking to the cactus as if it were the real Aditya. "Sometimes, I wonder what's going on in that head of yours."

Aditya decided it was time to make his presence known. He stepped out from behind the bushes and cleared his throat. "Talking to cacti now, General Amber? I must say, that's a new hobby I never expected from you."

Amber's eyes widened, and her face turned a shade redder than the cactus itself. She stood up quickly, trying to find the right words but failing.

"I, uh, I was just... It's not what it looks like," she stammered, embarrassment written all over her face. In her mind she cursed herself for letting her guard down. If she had been alert, then she would have sensed his presence when he stepped inside her Mansion. She was so lost while talking to her cacti that she did not even know when he came in.

'As if the wild events from that night weren't enough, now his Majesty even knows about my secret hobby. What will he even think?' Aditya thought in her mind.

'Why did no one inform about His Majesty arrival?' Amber thought in anger but that anger quickly turned into realization that she has given all of her servants a week break and right now she was completely alone in her Mansion.

Amber's mind was racing, embarrassment mixed with frustration at her own carelessness. Aditya was watching her closely, a playful smile on his face, clearly enjoying her discomposure.

"So, General Amber, tending to cacti, huh?" Aditya began, his voice dripping with amusement as he took a step closer. "I must say, it's a rather prickly hobby for someone like you."

Amber tried to maintain her composure, but she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "It's none of your business, Your Majesty," she replied, trying to sound stern but failing.

Aditya's smile widened as he took another step closer, his eyes locked on hers. "Oh, but it is my business. Especially when you're talking to them about me."

Amber's heart was pounding now, and she tried to step back, but Aditya was quicker. He reached out, pinning her against the wall, his face just inches from hers. The teasing smile was still there, but his eyes were more intense now.

"You know, I've always wondered what secrets the great General Amber might be hiding," he whispered, his breath warm against her cheek. "And now I find out it's a secret love for cacti, even going so far as to name one after me. It's quite flattering, really."

Amber's breath caught in her throat, trapped between the wall and Aditya's presence. She could feel the heat of his body, the strength in his arms, and it sent a shiver down her spine. She was both terrified and exhilarated, unable to look away from his eyes.

"I... I didn't name it after you," she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. "I just... painted it red."

Aditya's smile turned into a knowing smirk. "Oh, just a coincidence, then? The color of passion, desire, and love?" Crimson was the color that was associated with Aditya.

Amber's face turned even redder, if that was possible. She had never felt so exposed, so vulnerable, and yet she couldn't deny the thrill that Aditya's words and closeness were giving her.

"Your Majesty, please," she finally managed to say, her voice quivering. "This is unbecoming of us both."

Aditya's expression softened, and he released her, taking a step back. But the intensity in his eyes remained. "Perhaps, but it's also honest. And real. And I value that, Amber."

He turned to leave but paused, glancing back at her over his shoulder. "By the way, the red cactus suits you. It's as fiery and unique as you are."

"Also, the reason I came here is to tell you that, come to the Palace. Everyone is waiting for you."

With that, he left the garden, leaving Amber leaning against the wall, her heart still racing, her mind still reeling.

As the realization of what had just happened sank in, Amber couldn't help but touch her lips, remembering the heat of Aditya's body, the spark in his eyes. She was confused, flustered, and more than a little excited.

And as she looked at the red-painted cactus, the symbol of her secret conversations and now a symbol of something more, she couldn't help but smile, knowing that her relationship with Aditya had just taken a turn she had never expected, a turn that was as thrilling and unpredictable as the cactus itself.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 489

The entire Istarin Empire was alive with a vibrant spirit of joy and anticipation. From the humblest village to the grand streets of the Azure city, a festive mood had taken hold. Banners with the Empire's crest were proudly displayed, fluttering in the wind, and colorful lights adorned every street corner, turning the entire kingdom into a fairy tale landscape. People from all walks of life were preparing to celebrate the new year, a time of renewal, hope, and unity.

In the heart of it all, the Dragon Palace was a hive of activity, a microcosm of the Empire's festive fervor. The grand halls were decked with luxurious decorations, while in the expansive gardens, preparations were underway for a breathtaking fireworks display.

The kitchen, usually a place of quiet efficiency, had transformed into a bustling hub of joyous cooperation. The air was filled with the aroma of a multitude of dishes, ranging from traditional Istarin delicacies to exotic cuisines from distant lands.

Julia, with an apron tied around her waist and a sense of urgency in her stride, approached Watson, the head butler, who was coordinating the symphony of flavors. He was carefully directing the 5-star chefs, each an artist in their own right, working alongside members of the Royal Family.

Alicia was delicately shaping pastries, her face flushed with concentration. Riya and Lara were laughing as they chopped vegetables, their knives moving in harmony. Sylvie, the ever-graceful diplomat, was stirring a pot of fragrant soup, while Amber, showing a softer side that few had seen, was arranging an intricate platter of fresh fruits.

Aria and little Clara were working together on a towering cake, their faces smudged with flour and icing. Clara's giggles filled the air as she playfully added a cherry on top.

Everywhere you looked, there was a scene of camaraderie and joy. The barriers of rank and status had been lowered, and in their place was a sense of shared purpose and excitement.

Outside the kitchen, the rest of the Palace was equally alive. Servants were rushing to and fro, carrying trays laden with appetizing food. Musicians were tuning their instruments for the night's entertainment, while dancers were practicing their steps.

Even the usually stoic guards had a spring in their step, their stern faces softened by smiles. Everywhere, the anticipation of the upcoming celebration was palpable.

And at the center of it all was Aditya, the young ruler who had brought a sense of unity and vitality to the Empire. His presence was like a guiding star, inspiring those around him to embrace the joy of the moment.

As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the Dragon Palace, the excitement continued to build.

Amidst the bustling joy and harmonious laughter of the Dragon Palace kitchen, Aditya found himself rather unexpectedly adrift, a ship without a harbor in the sea of activity. Everyone was engaged in the creation of culinary delights, everyone except him. The young ruler, who had brought so much unity and vitality to the Empire, strangely found himself without a role in this joyous occasion.

"I can help. I know how to cook," he insisted, his voice tinged with a genuine desire to participate. Aditya wasn't merely making an idle claim; his past life had taught him the art of cooking. He might not have been a culinary maestro, but his skills were certainly respectable.

His future wife, Julia, looked at him with an incredulous arch of her eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Living with him as a maid in disguise for over two years had given her ample opportunity to observe his habits, and the kitchen had never been his domain.

Her response was quick and firm, "There aren't any space or any work that you could do at the kitchen. We already have enough hands here."

As she spoke, Aditya couldn't help but be mesmerized by her appearance. Julia's fair skin was glowing under the soft kitchen lighting, highlighting the gentle curves of her face. Her purple hair, tied back in a neat ponytail, revealed her graceful neck, while her expressive eyes danced with intelligence and humor. She wore a simple white apron, but to Aditya's eyes, it was as if she were adorned in the most exquisite gown. Her beauty was radiant, a natural elegance that no fine garments could enhance. She was stunning, captivating his heart all over again.

"But I also want to help?" Aditya's voice wavered, a touch of disappointment coloring his words. He felt a little left out, a child peering through the window of a candy store.

Julia's expression softened, her eyes warming with understanding. She reached out, her hand gently resting on his arm.

"Aditya, I need you to go somewhere for me," she said, her voice imbued with trust and affection.

Julia's return to the kitchen after talking with Aditya. Her eyes, sparkling with joy, found the wise and weathered face of Grandpa Watson. Watson is a loyal figure from her past, he had seamlessly transitioned from her family's butler to the dedicated servant of her future husband, the Istarin Emperor.

"Grandpa Watson, is everything ready?" she asked, her voice filled with trust and affection. The bond between them went beyond mere duty; he had been a guiding presence throughout her life. He was a figure whom Julia respected and loved like a real Grandfather.

"Milady, please rest assured. Everything is going according to the plan," Watson replied, his voice steady and reassuring. The tasks Julia had assigned him were already completed, his experienced hands guiding the other master chefs with a deft and assured touch. He moved with the grace of a man who had spent his life in service, yet his eyes twinkled with the vigor of youth.

Julia's smile broadened at his words, her confidence in him absolute. "Once you're done here, Grandpa, can you please help me with..." Her voice trailed off, the words lost as her attention was caught by the arrival of three familiar and beloved figures.

The kitchen doors swung open to reveal her parents, Adam and Sophie, and her energetic little brother, Zak.

Her heart swelled with happiness as she made her way towards them, her steps graceful and filled with anticipation. "Mother, Father, Zak!" Julia exclaimed, her voice filled with delight.

"Mom, Dad! You guys are finally here," Julia's voice rang out, filled with genuine happiness. The Onard family was an intimate one, consisting only of four members, including Julia. The absence of extended relatives often made gatherings feel smaller, but Aditya's thoughtful suggestion to invite her parents had breathed life into the celebration. The idea that more people would make the night merrier resonated with Julia's heart.

A sudden, energetic embrace caught Julia's waist as her little brother Zak ran over. "Big sister!" he squealed with delight, his young face looking up at Julia with pure joy. Though his height reached only her waist, his love for his big sister seemed to fill the room.

Julia bent down to scoop him up, laughing at his exuberance. She could feel his heartbeat, the warmth of his hug a reminder of the innocence and simplicity of childhood. His bright eyes reflected his excitement for the new year, and she kissed his forehead.

"Julia, I hope we are not late," Adam's voice came, calm and reassuring. His smile, warm and filled with fatherly love, reached his eyes.

"Of course not. You guys came at the perfect time," Julia assured him, her smile mirroring his. Her eyes then shifted to her mother, Sophie, who stood gracefully by Adam's side. Her elegance and wisdom were traits Julia admired deeply.

The bustling kitchen paused momentarily as Alicia, Lara, and Riya stopped working, drawn by the arrival of Julia's family. They made their way over, smiles on their faces and hands extended in warm greeting.

Since her parents has never met Sylvie, Amber, and Aria, Julia took time to introduce each other.

The introductions and greetings flowed seamlessly, laughter mingling with the clatter of pots and pans, the sizzling of food, and the rich aromas that filled the air.

After the introduction, all returned to the preparations. Sophie, Julia's mother also put a simple apron and decided to lend a helping hand. But Adam and Zak was mercilessly pushed out of the kitchen.

Scene change_____

Meanwhile, in Windsway city_____

Contrary to the excited atmosphere in the Dragon Palace, the Star Light Mansion looked bleak and dead. While the whole Windsway city was filled with excitement, the atmosphere in the Starlight Mansion was very silent and quiet.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Sasha, the goddess of Lust, has slept for the whole day. She just woke up now and came to the living room.

"Nothing, I was just reading a book." Lilith said. Without saying any words, Sasha sat on the couch next to her. After sitting down, both of them remained silent. Mother was reading a book while daughter looked lost in their thoughts. And that's how most of the times, they spent their new year.

For today I am only uploading one chapter. Recently I have been having problems with my eyes. And today I went to eye Doctor. I didn't had time to write a second chapter. Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 490

Lilith's eyes lingered on her daughter, Sasha, who sat quietly next to her, lost in a distant world of her own thoughts. The warm glow of the lamp cast a soft light on the room, illuminating Sasha's downcast expression and making her look even more distant. The book Lilith had been engrossed in no longer held her attention; her maternal instincts sensed something amiss.

"Why don't we go to the Dragon Palace to join Aditya today?" Lilith suggested gently, her voice imbued with a warmth meant to coax Sasha from her reverie. For Lilith, the new year had never been a significant occasion. Her memories were void of any grand celebrations; at most, she would grill some 5th-order monster meat or prepare some comfort food for a quiet evening at home.

"Not interested," Sasha responded, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. She didn't even glance at her mother, her gaze fixed on some invisible point in the distance.

With a heavy sigh, Lilith reached out and placed her hand on Sasha's arm, her touch gentle yet firm. "Are you sure?" she asked again, her voice softer this time, filled with a mother's understanding and concern.

"Yeah. I am sure," Sasha replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes and reclined against the couch. As Sasha closed her eyes, her breathing slowing into the rhythmic pattern of peaceful slumber,

The quiet ambiance of the room was suddenly broken by a series of knocks at the door. It was a familiar sound, one that Lilith instantly recognized, and it brought a knowing smile to her face.

Knock! Knock!

Sasha's eyes snapped open, her attempt at sleep thwarted by the unexpected interruption. She frowned, her face reflecting her annoyance at being disturbed. "Sasha, please go and open the door for me," Lilith requested, her tone gentle but firm, eyes still on her book but her attention now divided.

"Fine," Sasha muttered, her voice tinged with reluctance. She pushed herself off the couch, her movements slow and weighed down by a mixture of fatigue and curiosity.

The floor creaked softly under her feet as she made her way to the door, the sound seeming to echo in the stillness of the house. She reached for the handle, her hand hovering for just a moment as she wondered who could be visiting at this hour.

Click!

The door swung open, and Sasha's eyes widened in surprise as she found herself face-to-face with Aditya. His presence was both unexpected and yet somehow not entirely surprising. He stood there in the doorway, his eyes sparkling with warmth and his face wearing a friendly smile that seemed to radiate energy.

"Hey!" Aditya greeted her enthusiastically, his voice filled with genuine happiness to see her.

Sasha's surprise quickly gave way to a mixture of emotions. There was a flutter of excitement, a hint of annoyance, and a touch of embarrassment all mingled together. She stood there for a moment, taking in Aditya's appearance, noticing how he looked both regal and down-to-earth at the same time.

Behind her, Lilith looked up from her book, her eyes meeting Aditya's. She knew why he was here, and she couldn't help but feel a swell of gratitude towards him. While she could offer her daughter love and understanding, Aditya had a way of reaching Sasha that was uniquely his own.

Sasha finally found her voice, her initial shock fading as she stepped aside to let Aditya in. "What brings you here?" she asked, her tone more curious than accusing.

Aditya's expression softened as he regarded Sasha's defiant stance, her arms crossed and her gaze turned away. He knew her well enough to understand that her resistance was a shield, a way to protect herself from the emotions that were surely roiling beneath the surface.

"Come with me. We're going to the Dragon Palace," he said gently, his voice filled with an invitation, not a command. It was a simple request, yet one that carried a weight of significance. He was asking her to join him, to be part of the joyous occasion, to allow herself to be enveloped by the warmth of family and friendship.

"Hmph! I am not going," Sasha retorted, her voice carrying a hint of petulance. She snorted derisively, keeping her eyes averted, as if refusing to meet Aditya's gaze would strengthen her resolve.

Aditya's eyes twinkled with amusement, but he didn't press further. He turned to look at Lilith, who was observing the exchange with an indulgent smile. Their eyes met, and they shared a knowing grin. Both understood Sasha's nature, her inclination to resist before eventually relenting. They knew that her stubbornness.

Scene change________

As the fiery orb of the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow across the Azure city, an enchanting transformation swept through the streets. The city seemed to come alive, its streets awash with a gentle radiance as a thousand twinkling lights danced to life. It was a night of celebration, and the heart of the Empire pulsed with an electric energy.

Within the charming capital, a symphony of laughter, clinking glasses, and animated conversations echoed through the air. The city's finest restaurants had thrown open their doors, welcoming couples sharing stolen glances, families relishing in the joy of togetherness, and friends sharing tales of old at cozy bars, taverns, and pubs.

At the Living room.

Adam, the Onard House's head and the Duke of Echo Dominion Empire, engaged in an earnest conversation with the Prime Minister, Spencer. Their topic of discussion were about politics and the current ongoing conflict at the Northern Frost Dragon Empire in the southern region.

Meanwhile, the younger generation were lost in their own delights. Amber's mischievous little brother, Zak, and the endearing Clara, were engrossed in playful exchanges, their laughter echoing like sweet music.

Leo, Aditya's younger sibling, was listening to stories of General Henry. As he dreams of becoming the best General of the Istarin Empire, he is learning from General Henry. Henry was telling about his experiences of being a General. He was telling the young leo what things he did within this year.

A spirited debate unfolded between the lively trio of Generals—Josh, Tyler, and Scott. Tyler, an amused observer, savored his drink while Josh and Scott argued, their topic revolving around alcohol.

A gentler competition took place between Nathan and Eleanor, as they engaged in a game of chess.

Watson was still working at the kitchen. He was doing a few small chores.

On the other side of the living room, a circle of captivating women gathered. The formidable General Amber, radiant Julia, Sophia, Aria, and the trio of Alicia, Lara, Riya, and Sylvie, Alicia's trusted friend. Their conversations spanned life experiences, beauty products, and the tantalizing intrigues of noble circles.

"Where is Aditya?" Sophia, Julia's mother asked.

"I sent him to get two more persons." Julia said with a mysterious smile.

"Two more person?" Alicia realized who were the two persons that Julia was being so mysterious about.

"Who are they?" Seeing the knowing smiles on Julia and Alicia's faces, Sophia asked. Sophie also noticed that the bond between Alicia and her daughter has deepened. Both of them looked a lot closer than they were in the past. Both of them sometimes would look at each other giggle.

As an experience woman, Sophie also noticed that the Aura around Alicia has changed. From this change, she guessed that Alicia had a major breakthrough in her relationship with Aditya. She suspected that Alicia has given herself to Aditya. This also explains why both Julia and Alicia has gotten so closer to each other.

"The two women joining us are the Goddess of Lust herself, the Succubus Empress, and her mother, the former Succubus Empress," Julia revealed their identities, stunning Sophie, Sylvie, Amber, Aria, and even surprising Riya, who was not aware of this development.

Julia's revelation triggered a range of reactions and thoughts among those present.

Sophie found herself simultaneously shocked and surprised. Her mind raced, considering the implications. "Another Goddess... At this rate, I'm beginning to wonder if Aditya is collecting all seven Goddesses. With Julia, Alicia, Riya, and now the Goddess of Lust, it's quite a handful," she thought with a touch of concern for her daughter. She couldn't help but envision the constant chaos that might reign within the Dragon Palace.

Sylvie's lips curled into a mischievous smirk as she realized that the already dynamic situation at the Dragon Palace was about to escalate. She mused to herself, "I came here to be with my best friend Alicia, but three months later, and I've been swimming in a sea of entertainment and amusement. Adding the Goddess of Lust and her mother into this mix... Well, that's bound to take things up a notch, hehe!" If Aditya were privy to Sylvie's inner thoughts, he might have second thoughts about having her around. He might even consider shipping her back to the Westnia Continent to avoid further drama.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 491

Among the group of girls, Aria stood out as perhaps the most grounded and ordinary. Upon learning about the impending arrival of another goddess and her mother, she certainly experienced a shock, but her reaction wasn't as intense as some of the others.

However, it was Amber's response that was the most striking. As the news of Sasha and her mother Lilith's impending arrival reached her ears, a peculiar sensation twinged in Amber's chest, causing her right eye to twitch involuntarily. A mix of emotions washed over her, but most prominently, annoyance bubbled to the surface.

"I knew it," she thought, an internal frustration simmering within her. "That bastard claims not to be a womanizer, yet he's surrounded himself with beautiful goddesses." Amber couldn't quite explain the turmoil she felt. It wasn't directed at Sasha or Lilith; rather, it was aimed at Aditya himself.

The truth was that Amber harbored a secret crush on Aditya. Her feelings for him went beyond respect for her King and loyalty to her General. She yearned for him to see her as more than just a capable soldier—a longing that danced within her heart yet remained unspoken. Amber hesitated to make any moves towards him, fearing that her status as a general might not be enough to warrant his attention. As a result, the prospect of Sasha and Lilith's arrival, despite her best efforts to suppress it, stirred a hint of jealousy and annoyance within her.

As the evening progressed, the atmosphere in the hall buzzed with lively conversations and various activities. Time seemed to melt away as an hour slipped by, marked by laughter, camaraderie, and the thrill of shared moments.

As the night unfolded, a natural division emerged between the genders, leading to distinct yet equally enjoyable interactions. The girls began having deep conversation about beauty. Eleanor was a little bit awkward around the girls and she had stayed with Nathan and was paying chess , also joined the girl group after Amber and others forced her to join. The men, their competitive spirits aflame, found themselves drawn to an impromptu arm-wrestling showdown. The air was thick with friendly rivalry as muscles strained and grins flashed.

Amid the clinking of glasses and cheers, Josh's robust voice rose above the rest. "You can't defeat me, Tyler!" he declared with a hearty laugh, his determination etched across his face. In response, Tyler, the embodiment of human strength, met the challenge head-on, a fierce grin matching the glint in his eyes.

The clash of their efforts sent tremors through the table, a testament to their evenly matched power. Tyler, though human, possessed a brute strength that few could rival. Josh, the Lion-folk, combined the raw might of a lion's physique with the prowess of a seasoned warrior. Muscles flexed and tendons strained as the duel of strength played out, the room echoing with their exertions.

Surrounding the contest, a gallery of onlookers held mugs of wine, their cheers punctuating the struggle. Among them, the ever-mischievous Scott couldn't resist a jab at the intense showdown. "Ah, my friends," he drawled with a sly grin, "is this what our mighty Lion resorts to? Arm wrestling to prove his mettle?" The teasing remark elicited chuckles from those around him. Josh rolled his eyes. Surprisingly, this time he did not lose his calm and started arguing with Scott. He instead focused on the game more.

Scene change______

Standing in front of the Dragon Palace, Sasha and Lilith were looking at it. Both of them were beyond astonished. They have heard nice things about the Dragon palace but words alone cannot describe how beautiful and magnificent the Dragon palace really is. "Welcome to the Dragon Palace. This is going to be your home from now on as well."

Aditya and Lilith has managed to convince Sasha to come to the Dragon Palace. Although Sasha is very stubborn and once she makes her mind about something it's extremely difficult to change her mind, but Aditya and Lilith was able to bring her after more than an hour of convincing.

Sasha looked at the Dragon Palace before her eyes. When he said that this Palace was going to become her home, her heartbeat increased for a second but knowing that she was going to face others, she immediately changed her mind.

"I think I should better go back...." She turned around and was about to leave when Aditya grabbed her hand and stopped.

"It's fine. How many times do I have to tell you that no one is going to judge. Don't have you have trust in me?" Aditya asked with a small smile. His smile seems to have melted her hesitation and his touch seems to have given her that final courage needed to take that step.

Holding his hand, she walked inside the Dragon palace. As soon as Sasha step her foot inside the Dragon Palace, she widened her eyes as she felt the huge density of Mana in the atmosphere.

"Little Emperor, I think you forgot about me." Outside of the entrance, Lilith looked at Aditya.

"Oh.....sorry I forgot about you....." If one wanted to enter, that person would need Aditya's permission to enter otherwise forcefully trying to enter would get that person killed by the barrier's defense system. Thought with Lilith's power, she should have no problem passing through the barrier forcefully.

"Is that so....." Lilith did not believe in his words. But that soon was out of her mind as the thing that caught her attention was the density of Mana inside the Dragon palace. The whole Palace was full of mana. The air inside the Palace was many times purer and cleaner. Both mother and daughter had shocked faces.

'I had to search the heaven and earth under the six continents to find a suitable place where the mana was rich enough to increase Sasha's cultivation speed. But if she had cultivated here, then she would have reached Peak 5th-order within a few years.' Now Lilith can understand why Dragons almost sees the Dragon Palace like a holy ground. Even though she and Sasha are Succubus, even for them this place is sacred. Even for them, this place was extremely valuable. As the name suggests, the Dragon Palace increases the cultivation speed of all Dragons, including all lesser dragons. So it makes sense to why the Istarin empire is the only Empire that has the most dragons.

Aditya did not release Sasha's hand. Holding her hand firmly, yet gently, he led both her and Lilith into the living room where everyone was gathered. The lively chatter and clinking of glasses ceased as soon as they made their entrance. All eyes turned to Lilith and Sasha, and the room was filled with an awed silence.

Both mother and daughter were wearing matching outfits, captivating everyone's attention. The dresses were called Midnight Glamour, and they lived up to their name. The black garments were form-fitting, hugging their bodies and emphasizing their graceful curves. High necklines adorned with ornate black beadwork sparkled in the soft light, resembling constellations and creating a mesmerizing effect.

The dresses were backless, the fabric draping sensuously along Lilith's and Sasha's bodies, revealing the elegant lines of their shoulders and the smooth expanse of their backs. As they moved, the thigh-high slits in the skirts allowed glimpses of their legs, tantalizing and mysterious. Cinching their waists were celestial sashes made of velvet, studded with star-like gems that twinkled with an inner fire.

Both women looked nothing short of stunning. Lilith's mature beauty was highlighted by the sophisticated design of the dress, while Sasha's youthful elegance was accentuated, making her appear both innocent and alluring. Their eyes sparkled with an inner radiance, and their hair was styled to perfection, completing the ethereal appearance.

The room was filled with appreciative glances, and more than one person was caught staring, enraptured by the vision before them. The dresses not only showcased their physical beauty but also seemed to capture the essence of their personalities, elegant and strong, yet delicate and mysterious.

As the moments stretched on and the room remained silent, Sasha's initial sense of pride began to wane, replaced by a growing nervousness. Her heart pounded in her chest, and a cold feeling settled in her stomach. Her earlier confidence, buoyed by the stunning dress and Aditya's firm support, started to crumble under the weight of the unbroken stares.

Fortunately, Aditya remained steadfastly by her side, his hand clasped in hers, not releasing her even as the seconds ticked by. The boldness of his act, the simple, unspoken statement of their relationship, provided a lifeline for Sasha. She squeezed his hand a little tighter, seeking reassurance, and found it in the warmth of his grip and the steadiness of his presence.

With a reassuring smile, he squeezed her hand back, letting her know that he was there for her, that she was not alone. He also wanted her to not to not feel so nervous.

Though she was feeling nervous, Sasha failed to notice that the stares were not critical but admiring. She didn't see the appreciation in the eyes of the onlookers, the genuine pleasure they took in her and her mother's appearance.

Lilith, standing tall and poised, was aware of her daughter's discomfort. Her experienced eyes read the room, understanding the dynamic at play. She knew that the silence was not a judgment but a tribute, a collective pause to take in the unexpected beauty before them. But she also knew that Sasha needed something more tangible, a break in the tension to ease her mind.

"Everyone, I want you all to meet Sasha. And this her mother Lilith." Not even a second had passed since Aditya had introduced Sasha and Lilith to everyone, Sasha suddenly found herself surrounded by all of the girls.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 492

The festive atmosphere in the room was full of laughter and jovial chatter, as everyone mingled, sharing stories and enjoying each other's company. The acceptance and warmth that Sasha and Lilith had received from almost everyone had been overwhelming. Julia, Alicia, and Lara had welcomed Sasha with open arms, treating her with the respect and affection of a real sister. They were kind, nice, and very friendly, making her and her mother feel truly at home.

But then came the moment when Sasha met Riya, and something instantly sparked between them. Perhaps it was their complete difference in nature or their surprisingly similar appearance, both blessed with stunning silver hair. Whatever it was, the connection was not one of sisterhood but rivalry.

Sasha, the alluring demoness, a Succubus by birth, exuded a seductive confidence. She was an assassin, a taker of lives, with a deep affinity for the darker aspects of nature. Clad in her sexy black dress that emphasized her curves, she was the very picture of dark temptation.

Riya, on the other hand, was the epitome of purity and grace. A healer by profession, her very presence was soothing. She was kind to the core, her affinity with light reflecting in her gentle demeanor. Her modest white dress, simple yet elegant, spoke of her serene nature.

Their differences were not just in appearance but in their very essence. And as soon as they locked eyes, the tension was palpable.

"What are you staring at?" Sasha's voice was sharp, challenging.

Riya's eyes narrowed, her gentle expression giving way to one of defiance. "I could ask you the same thing."

The room seemed to grow quieter as the two women faced off. It was a clash of personalities, a battle of wills. They circled each other, throwing barbed comments and heated glares.

"You think that modest white dress makes you superior?" Sasha taunted, her voice dripping with scorn.

"I don't need a dress to feel superior," Riya retorted, her eyes flashing. "Especially not one like yours."

The others in the room looked on, uncertain how to react. Aditya's other fiances tried to intervene, to smooth things over, but it was clear that the hostility between Sasha and Riya ran deep.

"Enough," Aditya finally stepped in, his voice firm but calm. "We're here to celebrate, not fight."

Both women turned to look at him, their expressions unyielding. But after a moment, they reluctantly backed down, the tension in the room slowly dissipating.

The evening continued, but the encounter between Sasha and Riya had left a mark. They avoided each other, their interactions limited to cool nods and forced smiles.

It was clear to everyone that while Sasha had found acceptance and even sisterhood with most of Aditya's fiances, her relationship with Riya was far more complicated. Their differences were profound, their animosity real. It was a clash of light and darkness, healer and assassin, angel and Succubus.

"Aunty! Why did you come so late?" Riya exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine affection as she embraced Lilith.

The others in the room, including Sasha, looked on in surprise, their eyes widening at Riya's uncharacteristic familiarity. The contrast between her interactions with Sasha and Lilith was stark.

Lilith returned Riya's hug, a gentle smile on her face. "It's good to see you again, dear."

"You know each other?" Aditya asked, curiosity piqued.

Riya turned to the others, her expression softening as she began to explain. "A few years back, I met Aunty Lilith when she was injured. I healed her, and we spent some time together. She's a wonderful person, and I'm grateful for the chance to have met her."

The room was filled with nods of understanding, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Lilith's eyes twinkled as she added, "Riya was like an angel to me that day. I was in a terrible situation, and she came to my aid without hesitation. It seems you have grown so much since then. You have become a beautiful woman."

Sasha watched the exchange, her expression a complex mix of surprise and contemplation. The antagonism between her and Riya was still fresh, but seeing this other side of Riya, her kindness and respect for her mother, gave her pause.

Riya's attention remained on Lilith, her voice sincere as she said, "Aunty, I'm glad you're here tonight. Let's enjoy ourselves and make this a memorable evening." Lilith nodded, her face glowing with happiness.

The joyous occasion was in full swing at the Dragon Palace. Everyone was busy chatting, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. But amid the happy noise, the experienced eyes of Watson, the esteemed butler of the palace, noticed the subtle fondness in Aditya's eyes as he looked at Sasha.

Aditya turned to Watson as he entered the room, his face lighting up with a warm smile. "Watson, you came here at the right time. Let me introduce you to Sasha and Lilith." He gestured towards the two women, both stunning in their elegant dresses, their eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement.

'Another addition to the family,' Watson thought, his heart swelling with a mixture of pride and joy. 'I better prepare two rooms for Lady Sasha and Lady Lilith. The family continues to grow, and it is a blessing to see such happiness.'

With a graceful bow and a warm smile that reached his eyes, Watson greeted the two newcomers. "It's really nice to meet you, Lady Sasha, Lady Lilith." He addressed them with the utmost respect, his voice filled with genuine pleasure. Both women nodded their heads in acknowledgment, their faces reflecting the warmth of his welcome.

Aditya's face was alight with satisfaction as he watched the exchange, clearly pleased with the growing connections within his family.

"Your Majesty," Watson turned to Aditya, his tone shifting to a more formal one, "dinner is ready. Would you like to have dinner now or later?" He asked, his eyes scanning the faces of the guests.

Aditya looked around, seeking the agreement of everyone present. Seeing nods and smiles, he turned back to Watson, his voice decisive. "Now, Watson. Let's have dinner now."

"In that case, please come to the dining table. Everything is ready." Watson's voice was filled with contentment as he led the way, his steps sure and graceful.

As the guests made their way to the dining table, Aditya's fiances remained behind.

"Lady Sasha.....!!!!" Sasha was about to walk when she noticed that a man wearing black mask that covered lower face of his face. She immediately recognized this man. How can she no recognize the leader of the Shadow Guardian. Though she has never met him, what from she has heard from her subordinate she knew that this was Nathan. The description matched 100%. Especially his iconic lower half mask. No one has ever seen his full face.

"It's really an honor to meet you." Nathan bowed his head head. Every Assassin in the whole world deeply respected Sasha and her mother. As both of them were the best Assassins in the whole world. It's a shame that Lilith retired. But Sasha proved herself to be even more deadly, dangerous, and stronger than Lilith. She carried Lilith's legacy and took that to a height that no other Assassin in the whole world and in the history would be capable of achieving. Sasha has changed the whole meaning of being an Assassin.

The organization that Sasha runs is the best and most dangerous Assassin organization in the whole world. There isn't any man on earth who doesn't shudder in fear hearing the name of the one sentence and that is "The goddess of lust is after your life".

Sasha's steps halted as a figure caught her eye. Dressed in dark, elegant attire with a distinctive black mask that covered the lower half of his face, the man stood out even in the grandeur of the Dragon Palace. His eyes met hers, and a jolt of recognition shot through her. It was him. Nathan, the leader of the Shadow Guardian, a name that struck fear and respect in the world of assassins.

How could she not recognize him? Though they had never met, the descriptions she had heard from her subordinates were etched in her mind. Especially that iconic mask, a symbol of mystery and strength. No one had ever seen his full face, but his reputation preceded him.

"Lady Sasha...!" Nathan's voice broke the silence, his tone filled with reverence and awe. He bowed his head, his eyes never leaving hers. "It's really an honor to meet you."

The room seemed to hold its breath as the two legendary assassins faced each other. The words were simple, yet they carried the weight of respect and admiration that every assassin in the world held for Sasha and her mother, Lilith. They were not just skilled killers; they were artists, reshaping the very essence of their craft.

Sasha had inherited her mother's deadly prowess and had built upon it, becoming even more formidable and feared. Under her leadership, the organization she ran had become the most dangerous and respected assassin guild in the world. Her name alone was enough to send shivers down the spines of the most hardened criminals. "The goddess of lust is after your life" - a sentence that spelled doom, a mark of death.

Her eyes locked with Nathan's, Sasha felt a strange connection, a mutual understanding that went beyond words. They were kindred spirits, warriors who had walked the same path, each leaving their unique mark on the world.

"It's an honor for me as well, Nathan," Sasha finally replied, her voice steady and calm. Her words were few, but they conveyed a depth of respect that mirrored his own.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 493

After talking to Nathan, Sasha was about to follow everyone to the dining table when Riya stopped her. "Come with me." Riya said.

Everyone exchanged glances, wondering what could be so important that it required privacy. Sasha's eyes narrowed slightly, an unspoken question in her gaze as she followed Riya out of the room. Even Lilith, usually so composed, watched her daughter's retreating back with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Leading Sasha into a small, elegantly decorated chamber, Riya closed the door behind them. The room was softly lit, filled with the pleasant fragrance of flowers. The two women faced each other, and for a moment, the air was charged with an unspoken tension. Sasha's arms were folded under her chest, her posture radiating both wariness and defiance.

"What do you want to talk about?" Sasha asked, her voice cold.

Riya's eyes met hers, and she seemed to hesitate for just a second before speaking. "Have you bought a gift?" she asked, her tone soft.

Sasha's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Gift? For what?" she demanded, her confusion evident.

Riya took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving Sasha's. "Today midnight is Aditya's birthday. We're going to celebrate his birthday along with the new year," she explained, her words slow and deliberate.

Sasha was surprised. She didn't know when was his birthday. He never told her about it or she never asked it. Sasha has never celebrated her own birthday. For her and her mother birthday, new year, and other important days doesn't really matter much. Both mother and daughter spends their birthday like they spends their normal days.

Click!

"Ladies, I know the perfect gift that Aditya will love." The sound of the door bursting open was like a thunderclap, Sylvie opened the door and said with a flushed and excited face. Seeing Sylvie both Riya and Sasha had blank faces. The way Sylvie was breathing while looking flustered and super excited was kind of creepy.

"What are you talking about?" Sasha asked since she wanted to try hearing what idea Sylvie has.

"Well..." Sylvie came forward and whispered her plan to Riya and Sasha.

"What!!!! I am not doing that...." Riya stammered, her voice filled with flustered indignation. Her body trembled with a mix of embarrassment and outrage, and she took a step back, as if trying to distance herself from the audacious idea.

But while Riya's reaction was one of immediate refusal, something about Sylvie's proposal seemed to strike a chord with Sasha. Perhaps it was the daring nature of the plan, or maybe it was Riya's obvious discomfort, but something ignited a spark of determination within her. Sasha unconsciously raised her chest and holding her arms under her chest while looking at Riya. "I will do it. I am not scared." Her eyes gleamed with a provocative light, daring Riya to match her boldness.

Riya felt a strange mix of emotions. She was surprised, a little scared, but also felt a strong urge not to lose to Sasha. Unconsciously, she saw Sasha as a rival, and she didn't want to back down.

"Sasha, you can't be serious," Riya stammered, her voice shaking. "This idea is... is..."

"Crazy?" Sylvie interrupted with a grin. "Maybe it is, but it's perfect for Aditya. Don't you think so, Riya?"

Riya looked at Sylvie, then at Sasha. Sasha's eyes were filled with challenge, daring her to say yes. Riya felt her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't want to be the one to back down. Not in front of Sasha.

"You know what?" Riya said, lifting her chin. "I'll do it too. I won't let you have all the fun, Sasha."

While Sasha and Riya were locked in a glaring contest, filled with rivalry and determination, Sylvie was grinning broadly at the unfolding scene. She was thrilled by the enthusiasm and competitiveness that had sparked between the two women. Her plan was falling into place perfectly, and she could hardly contain her excitement.

But what Sasha and Riya didn't know was that just outside the door, hidden from view, Lilith was standing with a sly smile on her face. Her eyes twinkled with mischief, and she listened intently to every word being spoken in the room.

Lilith had known all along that Sylvie's bold idea would provoke this reaction from Sasha and Riya. In fact, she had been the one to push Sylvie to present the plan in the first place. She knew her daughter, Sasha, very well and was aware that Riya would rise to the challenge too.

'Riya is just like her mother.' Lilith thought while walking back to the living room.

Scene change______

Riya, Sasha, and Sylvie soon joined everyone at the dining table, and their eyes widened at the feast laid out before them. The dining table was filled to the brim with delicious foods, each dish carefully crafted to suit the tastes of the guests and Royal Family members. The rich aroma of the meal was tantalizing, filling the room with a scent that made Clara and Zak's mouths water.

Both Clara and Zak were staring at the food with hungry, sparkling eyes, completely mesmerized by the array of dishes. Their excitement was contagious, and everyone else at the table looked eager and enthusiastic about diving into the meal.

"Let's eat," Watson declared, his voice filled with pride.

He had personally overseen the preparation, ensuring that the chefs catered to the specific likes and dislikes of each guest. General Josh, known for his love of grilled meat and wine, was treated to a special dish called Fairy-Touched Venison. This succulent venison roast had been soaked in a unique moonbeam wine and slow-cooked with woodland herbs. It was accompanied by enchanted mushrooms and a silvery wine sauce that made it a dish fit for someone like Josh.

General Scott, a lover of vegetables. The chef had prepared a rich vegetable stew with a tiny bit of meat added to the broth, giving it a depth of flavor that would surely satisfy his palate.

Aditya's fondness for spicy dishes was well-known, and Watson made sure that there were plenty of spicy options for him. The chefs had outdone themselves, creating fiery delights that would surely set Aditya's taste buds tingling.

And for the young Zak and Clara, who had a sweet tooth, the table was adorned with all kinds of sweets and desserts. From creamy pastries to chocolate delights, the dessert spread was a wonderland for the children.

Everyone at the table couldn't help but admire the thought and effort that had gone into the meal. Each dish was a evidence to Watson's dedication and the skill of the Royal chefs. With a collective sense of anticipation, they all reached for their utensils, ready to savor the feast. The room was filled with the clinking of cutlery and the soft murmur of appreciation as they began to eat, each bite a celebration of taste and tradition.

"Watson, join us," Aditya warmly urged the seasoned butler, his voice filled with genuine invitation.

"Your Majesty, I wouldn't dare..." Watson immediately replied, his voice wavering with uncertainty.

"What are you saying, Grandpa? You're part of the family. Join us," Julia added with a bright and friendly smile, her eyes twinkling with sincerity.

"Alright," Watson agreed, though he still looked a little bit hesitant. He took a seat at the table.

As they continued to eat, laughter and lively conversation filled the room. Aditya engaged in discussions with Adam and the others, sharing stories of their lives.

Meanwhile, the girls—Alicia, Julia, Riya, Lara, and Sasha—had their own animated conversation. They chatted and giggled, exchanging glances and sharing secrets. Although earlier, there had been a heated exchange between Sasha and Riya, now everything seemed fine. Both of them respected each other, and the tension had dissipated, replaced by a friendly competitiveness that glinted in their eyes.

The dinner lasted for a delightful two hours, a leisurely feast enjoyed by all. Everyone, except for the eager children, Zak and Clara, ate slowly, savoring both the food and the companionship. The conversations were pleasant and engaging, filled with laughter.

Lilith and Sasha, in particular, seemed to be enjoying their time. Their faces were relaxed and content, their smiles genuine and heartfelt. It was clear that they felt welcomed and at ease in this warm gathering.

Time seemed to slow down as they all lingered at the table, lost in the joy of being together. The food was delicious, the company was cherished, and the evening was perfect.

Eventually, the plates were cleared, and the table was a happy mess of empty dishes and half-filled glasses. The satisfied smiles on their faces told the story of a meal well-enjoyed.

Scene change_______

"It's finally time." Everyone was standing at the balcony from which they all could see the Azure city in the few kilometers distance. The whole city was glowing in gently golden lights. The streets were full of people.

"20 more seconds left..." Standing at the right side of the balcony, Aditya was staring at the Azure city with a proud smile on his face. He has never felt so proud of all his hard work. Within a year, this city transformed from a small city that was full of crime and corruption and poverty to the most developed and prosperous city in the whole continent. The small city that was full of poverty and slums had changed to a city where millions of people lived. A city where there were almost no poverty. And now after an entire year, staring at the Azure city, he felt proud of his hard work. But he was far from being satisfied.

Aditya was standing in the middle. On his right, Julia was standing. On his left, Alicia was standing. Riya, Sasha, Lara, were standing on his sides. Sylvie, Amber, and Lilith were standing little bit far.

The anticipation built to a feverish pitch as the seconds ticked away. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the night sky, hearts pounding, breaths held in expectant silence. The glow of Azure City provided a mesmerizing backdrop, but the real spectacle was yet to unfold.

"5..." The crowd began to chant in unison, voices filled with excitement and joy.

"4..." Faces turned towards one another, eyes sparkling with shared anticipation, hands reaching out to grasp those of loved ones.

"3..." The energy in the air was palpable, a thrilling wave of emotion sweeping through the gathered masses, resonating in every heart.

"2..." Time seemed to slow, each heartbeat echoing the promise of a new beginning, the close of one chapter and the thrilling start of another.

"1..." The final count, a collective breath drawn, the world poised on the cusp of something magical and profound.

"Boooom!!!!!" The night sky exploded in a breathtaking display of fireworks, illuminating the entire city in a cascade of brilliant colors and dazzling patterns. Cheers erupted from the crowd, a thunderous roar of joy and celebration that resonated through the streets of Azure City.

"Happy new year!" Voices rang out, laughter and shouts of delight mixing with the resounding booms of the fireworks. Embraces were exchanged, kisses shared, and toasts raised as the city rejoiced in the arrival of a brand new year.

The fireworks continued to light up the sky, each burst a symbol of hope, joy, and the endless possibilities that lay ahead. Faces turned upwards, awestruck by the beauty of the display, smiles wide and eyes filled with wonder.

As the clock struck midnight, signaling the arrival of the New Year, the entire Azure City transformed into a spectacle of unparalleled beauty and enchantment. The cityscape, already mesmerizing in its nightly glow, took on an even more magical appearance, becoming a living, breathing work of art.

Azure City, true to its name, was bathed in a soft blue glow, the sky illuminated by fireworks that erupted in brilliant cascades of color. The fireworks painted the heavens with dazzling patterns, each burst of light reflecting the joy and hope of the new beginning. The sound of celebrations filled the air, a symphony of laughter, music, and cheers that resonated through the streets.

The city's buildings, already adorned with colorful lights, became even more resplendent, their surfaces dancing with reflections from the fireworks above. Traditional Chinese elements blended harmoniously with modern designs, creating an architecture that was both stunning and symbolic of the city's vibrant culture.

The bustling streets were filled with people, all gathered to witness the marvel of the New Year. Families, friends, and strangers alike shared smiles and embraced, their faces illuminated by the warm glow of streetlights and lanterns. Trees swayed gently, their branches adorned with twinkling lights, adding to the magical ambiance.

In the heart of the city, the pond sparkled with the reflection of fireworks and lights from the buildings. A breathtaking display of lanterns floated serenely on the water, each one a symbol of wishes and dreams for the coming year. The lanterns, in shapes of spheres and lotus flowers, created a delicate dance of illumination on the river's surface, enhancing the ethereal atmosphere.

Bridges arched gracefully over the shimmering water, adorned with decorative lights, connecting different parts of the city in a physical and symbolic embrace. Gondolas glided silently, their passengers awestruck by the serene beauty of the night.

Beyond the city limits, majestic mountains stood as silent witnesses to the celebration, their peaks glowing with a mystical aura, veiled in the soft mist of the night.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 494

The dazzling display of fireworks still lit up the sky, casting a magical glow over the gathering, when Aditya turned around to face his friends and family. His eyes twinkled with excitement, and his heart was full of warmth as he spread his arms wide, ready to wish everyone a happy new year.

"Happy new year everyone," he began, his voice filled with genuine joy. But before he could continue, a chorus of voices interrupted him, a surprise that caused his eyes to widen and his words to falter.

"Happy birthday Aditya!" Julia, Alicia, Riya, Lara, Sasha, Sylvie, Amber, Lilith, and all the others chimed in, their faces beaming with big smiles, eyes sparkling with affection and mischief.

For a moment, Aditya was stunned, the realization dawning on him slowly. "Oh....right.....today is also my birthday." He voiced his thoughts out loud, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. How could he have forgotten something so personal? But then, the memories came flooding back, and the smile faded slightly.

He had stopped celebrating his birthday ever since he was just 12 years old. Those were the days when birthdays were nothing but a stark reminder of his loneliness and the indifference of his parents. They didn't really care about his special day, and soon, even he had stopped remembering when it was. The joy and anticipation that used to accompany his birthdays had turned into a void, a forgotten date on the calendar.

And then, when he was adopted by King Ahmed and ascended the throne to become the King of the Istarin Dynasty, his birthday took on an even lesser significance. The death of King Ahmed had only deepened the chasm, sending Aditya into a depression, the alcohol bottle becoming his constant companion. He could vaguely remember Watson's gentle wishes and the taste of cake, but those moments were blurred by his indifference and pain. The idea of celebrating his birth had become alien to him, a thing of the past.

But now, surrounded by those who cared for him, who had taken the time to remember and celebrate this special day, he felt a warmth he had not felt in years. His eyes moistened, and he looked at each one of them, gratitude welling up in his heart.

Even with the joyous celebration around him, Aditya still couldn't fully shake the realization that he had become so detached from the significance of his own birthday. Years of neglecting the date had left him feeling strangely ambivalent about it. Achieving so much in life, becoming a ruler, transforming a city, all of these milestones had overshadowed the personal joy of celebrating his birth. His birthday had become so insignificant that he had forgotten about it entirely.

"Thank you," he said softly, his voice thick with emotion, his heart swelling with gratitude for the people who had taken the time to make this day special for him.

Julia, sensing his thoughts, took his arm gently, her touch warm and reassuring. "Come," she said, her voice filled with anticipation, leading him towards the living room. Aditya followed her, curiosity piqued, while the others trailed behind, their faces glowing with excitement and happiness.

As they reached the living room, Aditya's eyes widened in surprise at the sight before him. There, in the middle of the room, stood a large birthday cake, beautifully decorated and radiating a warmth that filled the room. The cake was a work of art, each layer crafted with love, each decoration evidence to the care and affection that had gone into its creation.

"Everyone has helped in making this cake," Watson explained, his face adorned with a small but genuine smile. His eyes twinkled as he looked at Aditya's surprised expression. Aditya now understood why he had been kept away from the kitchen. Julia, Riya, Lara, Alicia, Sophie, Amber, Aria, and Sylvie had all been working together, putting their hearts into making this cake.

"Thank you," Aditya repeated, his voice barely above a whisper, the magnitude of their gesture leaving him nearly speechless.

"No need to say it," Alicia interjected, her eyes dancing with joy. "Now cut your cake." Her words were a gentle command, filled with warmth.

Aditya approached the cake, a mixture of emotions dancing in his eyes. His hand trembled slightly as he picked up the knife, not from nervousness, but from the overwhelming sensation of being surrounded by friends and family who had put so much effort into celebrating a day he had long ignored.

The room fell into a hushed silence as he made the first incision into the cake, the sweetness of the moment filling the air. As the knife glided through the layers, he looked up to see the faces of those around him, each one reflecting a different shade of love and respect.

With the cake cut, Aditya took the first piece and fed it to Julia, her eyes sparkling with joy. Next was Alicia, then Riya, Lara, Sasha, Sylvie, Amber, Lilith, and the others. The atmosphere was filled with laughter and gentle teasing, the atmosphere light and full of happiness.

Watson informed everyone that he had secretly spread the word to all the nobles of the Empire about the Emperor's birthday celebration. The grand event would be held on the first night of the new year. The announcement brought a new wave of excitement to the room.

Eventually, everyone began to return to their rooms. Aditya too returned to his bedroom. But Alicia, Julia, Riya, Lara, Sasha, Amber, Lilith, and Sylvie stayed behind as they had something to talk about. Amber wanted to return to her room but Sylvie and Lilith with strange grins on their faces held her hand and did not let her go.

Scene change_______

Returning to his room, he had changed into his pajamas and was getting ready to sleep. But in reality he also knew that tonight he wasn't going to sleep. As soon as Julia and Alicia comes to his room, things are going to become very wild. It had become an everyday thing for both of them. And since today was his birthday, he had a feeling that things were going to be very spicy.

Click!

Around 10 minutes later, he heard the sound of door clicking. But contrary to his expectations instead of seeing Just Julia and Alicia, there were more people behind her. In addition to Julia, and Alicia, there were also Riya, Lara, Sasha, Lilith, Sylvie, and Amber.

"Surprised?" Seeing Aditya's surprised face, Sylvie asked with a grin. Lilith who was standing next to her also grinned. One thing Aditya noticed that ever since Lilith and Sylvie met both of them immediately seems to have become really close.

!

Aditya's eyes were immediately drawn to Sasha and Riya, who had returned to the room wearing attire that was both alluring and completely unexpected. As opposed to the other girls in the room, who were dressed in comfortable pajamas, these two had chosen to don something tantalizingly provocative.

Aditya's heart pounded in his chest, his throat went dry, and he felt a stirring within him that was impossible to ignore. He tried to keep his face neutral, but his body's reaction was clear and immediate.

Riya's choice of clothing was a white nun outfit that was far from demure. The mini skirt she wore was so short that it barely covered her rounded bottom, leaving the curves of her thighs exposed. Every movement revealed a tantalizing glimpse of skin, and she seemed aware of it, constantly pulling at her skirt, a blush staining her cheeks. Her long legs were encased in white stockings that reached up to her thighs, accentuating the shapeliness of her limbs.

But it was her upper wear that was truly daring. The fabric clung to her body, highlighting the contours of her breasts. The neckline plunged in a bold V, offering a view of her cleavage that was at once both teasing and inviting. Her arms were covered in matching white fabric that contrasted beautifully with her smooth skin. She looked every bit the part of a nun, but the outfit was a far cry from traditional. It was unabashedly bold and sexy, and her obvious embarrassment only added to its appeal.

Sasha, on the other hand, had chosen a black babydoll that left little to the imagination. The fabric was soft and sheer in places, allowing Aditya to see the outline of her body beneath it. It clung to her figure perfectly, accentuating her curves in a way that was both mesmerizing and seductive.

The babydoll's hem was cut high, exposing her long, toned legs, and the matching black panties beneath were clearly visible. The upper part was even more daring, with sections that were entirely see-through, revealing that she wore no bra underneath. Her breasts were showcased in a way that was unapologetically alluring, and her confident stance and proud expression made it clear that she reveled in the attention.

Unlike Riya's shy and reluctant demeanor, Sasha's poise was one of pure confidence. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and her lips curved in a knowing smile, as if challenging Aditya to look away.

The juxtaposition of Riya's apparent innocence and Sasha's bold sensuality created a heady atmosphere in the room. Aditya's reaction was one of both shock and fascination. His breath caught in his throat, and his mind seemed to go blank for a moment as he took in the sight before him.

Lilith, the Succubus Empress, sashayed into Aditya's room with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Hehe! Little Emperor, the night is far from being over. The real fun is just about to begin," she purred, her voice dripping with insinuation.

As she spoke, her nostrils flared, and a heady smile spread across her lips. The room was thick with the lingering smell of intense passion, a scent that only she, with her heightened senses, could detect. The unmistakable aroma of Aditya, Alicia, and Julia was intermingled, creating a perfume that was intoxicating in its sensuality.

Lilith inhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling in a slow, deliberate rhythm. The scent was like a drug to her, and she felt her body respond instantly. Her legs became slightly weak, a tremor of need running through her. Her crotch tingled with a craving that was both maddening and delicious.

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the fragrance wash over her, picturing in her mind's eye what must have transpired in this room just a day before. The images that danced in her head were vivid and erotic, and she felt a flush of heat spreading through her body.

Sasha, standing beside her, seemed oblivious to what was happening. Her senses were not as finely tuned as Lilith's, and she could not smell it.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 495

Sylvie gathered everyone around, a teasing smile playing on her lips as she prepared to explain the rules of a game that would surely bring both laughter and embarrassment to the night's gathering.

"So for those who are not aware of this game's rules, let me give you a basic explanation," she began, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "We're going to play a game known as 'King.' It's a simple yet entertaining game where the King's command is absolute."

She held up a handful of chopsticks, one of them marked with the word "King" and the others numbered from one up to the total number of players minus one. "These chopsticks will decide our roles. One of you will be the King, and the rest will have numbers. Here's how it works."

She continued to explain, her voice filled with excitement as she described the process. "I'll jumble these chopsticks up and conceal the writing. You'll each pick a chopstick, and the person who gets the one with 'King' on it becomes the King for that round. The King will then call out a random number and issue a command to the player with that number."

The room was filled with anticipatory giggles and glances as Sylvie delved into the details of the game. "The commands can range from simple tasks like 'Number 3, drink two shots' to more embarrassing ones like 'Number 5, take off your socks.' The chosen player must obey the King's command."

Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked around the room, gauging everyone's reactions. "Once the dare is completed, we'll collect the chopsticks and redistribute them for another round." Sylvie already had prepared 9 chopsticks.

The atmosphere in the room was charged with excitement as Sylvie finished explaining the rules. The idea of obeying the whims of a randomly chosen King brought a thrill of unpredictability to the party, and the guests were eager to dive into the game.

"You better not be scheming anything." Last time, Sylvie schemed and made everything drink Elven Elixir Wine which in turn made wild and unforgettable things happen between the girls and Aditya. Aditya doesn't want Sylvie to pull another of those pranks on them.

"Of course not. The plan to play this game was agreed by everyone. Isn't that right, girls?" Sylvie grinned and asked. To which everyone nodded their heads.

"Fine." Aditya agreed since he saw Julia and others agreeing to play the game. He thought why not play this game. It looks fun.

Seeing Aditya agreeing, Sylvie and Lilith secretly gave each other thumbs and grinned at each other but no one noticed them as both of them were sitting together.

!

Sylvie's mischievous smile widened as she leaned forward, a new sparkle in her eyes. "Before we begin, let me add another rule for this game," she declared, causing everyone to turn their attention to her. "Whoever does not obey the order of the King will be punished."

Aditya's eyebrow arched in curiosity and concern, wondering just what kind of punishment Sylvie had in mind.

Lilith, sensing the moment was ripe for added excitement, took over and finished Sylvie's thought. Her voice dripped with sensuality as she announced, "And the punishment will be the participant will have to strip his or her clothes and play the rest of the game naked."

The room was filled with gasps and nervous laughter, but Aditya's voice broke through the din. "I think doing that would be too much," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. He could feel that implementing this rule would send the game into a wild, uncontrollable spiral.

Sasha, never one to shy away from boldness, immediately chimed in. "I agree with this rule." Her eyes met Riya's, and a competitive spark flashed between them. Riya, not wanting to appear weak or afraid, gritted her teeth and reluctantly accepted the rule as well. The rivalry between the two women was palpable, and neither was willing to back down.

"I also have no objection," Julia said, her voice steady. She had no qualms about being naked in front of the girls, and as for Aditya, he had already seen her in her most intimate moments countless times.

"Me neither," Alicia agreed, her thoughts mirroring Julia's.

Lara's face turned a deep shade of red, her embarrassment rendering her speechless. She looked down at her lap, unwilling to voice her thoughts. Amber, however, was more analytical, sensing something deeper at play. "I don't think this rule sould be implemented," she said thoughtfully, feeling that Lilith and Sylvie might have a hidden agenda.

Lilith's eyes glinted with triumph as she counted the votes. "We have six votes out of nine participants in favor of implementing this rule," she announced, her grin widening. "Since the majority wins, the rule will be implemented, and everyone will have to obey."

"Alright, let's start," Lilith announced, her voice filled with authority and a hint of mischief. She held her palm out, displaying the jumbled chopsticks in such a way that the numbers written on them were hidden from view. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she commanded, "Everyone, pick one."

A nervous energy filled the room as each participant reached out to take a chopstick. The choice was random, but the consequences could be unexpected, daring, or even humiliating. With each selection, the tension in the room grew, until only one chopstick remained in Lilith's hand.

Lilith's fingers closed around the remaining chopstick, and she covertly checked the number. Her grin widened, and she looked around the room, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Now who is the king?" she asked, her voice dripping with intrigue.

A triumphant squeal broke the silence as Sylvie, who was sitting next to Lilith, raised her hand in the air like an excited child. "I am the king!" she declared, her voice filled with glee.

The room fell into a hushed silence, broken only by the soft rustle of clothing and the nervous shifting of bodies. Sylvie's expression was one of pure delight, but everyone else looked more or less apprehensive, unsure of what to expect from her. Sylvie had a reputation for being adventurous, wild, and unpredictable, and now, with the power of the king in her hands, no one knew what she might command.

"I order Number 5, choose an article of clothing for Number 7 to remove, and then do the same for them." Hearing her words, everyone looked at each other and wondered who number 5 and number 7 was. The girls were relieved that their numbers were ordered to do anything.

"Who is number 5 and who is number 7?" Someone asked out.

"I am number 5." Lilith announced with a smile on her face. Seeing that Lilith was numbered 5, Aditya knew that he was in deep trouble. This Succubus would never make it easy for him.

"Then who is number 7?" Asked Julia. No one answered but everyone saw Aditya raising his hand.

The room seemed to grow quieter as Lilith's lips curled into a knowing smile. Her eyes, filled with a playful glint, locked onto Aditya's as she issued her command. There was something unmistakably tantalizing about the way she spoke, her voice low and sultry, lingering on each word.

"Number 7, remove the T-shirt that you're wearing," she instructed, her eyes never leaving Aditya's.

When he removed his T-shirt, She didn't look away, her eyes roaming over his bare torso with an appreciative and unapologetically hungry expression.

"Now, Number 5," Sylvie's voice broke through the spell, her tone teasing. "It's your turn to choose something for yourself to remove."

Lilith's eyes sparkled with mischief as she reached for the hem of her dress. Unlike other girls, Lilith was still wearing her dress. She did not change into her Pajamas. The room watched, entranced, as she slowly lifted it, revealing a hint of thigh.

The game had taken a decidedly erotic turn, and the players knew that they were venturing into uncharted territory.

With a graceful motion, Lilith removed her dress, leaving her in an alluring piece of lingerie that left little to the imagination. Her body was a work of art, curves and lines that beckoned the eye to explore further.

The room was filled with a charged silence while staring at Lilith. Aditya's specially felt himself nearly losing control seeing Lilith like that. She had worn black sexy lingerie. She looked really pretty in her dress. Looking at her body, no one would think that she was Sasha's mother. Rather she looked the same age as Sasha. Anyone would think that she and Sasha were twins not mother and daughter.

The game had been progressing with an intoxicating blend of laughter, teasing, and daring challenges. But beneath the surface of enjoyment, there was an underlying tension that grew with each round, especially when it came to Lilith and Aditya. Their interactions were filled with a complex dance of attraction and resistance, and it had not gone unnoticed by the others.

Lilith's interest in Aditya was clear to everyone in the room. The way she looked at him, the bold and provocative manner in which she approached him; it was a heady mix of desire and temptation. But Aditya's feelings were more enigmatic. Although he played along with Lilith's daring flirtations, there was something guarded in his eyes, a mystery that no one could quite decipher.

The relationship between Lilith and Aditya was unlike anything the others had witnessed. Close and yet distant, filled with unspoken promises and tantalizing possibilities. And as the night wore on, it seemed that Lilith was intent on pushing the boundaries even further.

The room held its collective breath as Lilith's turn to be King arrived. Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, and her lips curved into a beautiful, predatory smile.

"I want number 4 and number 6 to serve number 7 with their bodies," she declared, her voice dripping with sultry intention.

The words hung in the air, heavy with implication and promise. The room went still as everyone checked their numbers, anxiety and curiosity mingling in their eyes.

Julia, Alicia, Lara, Amber all breathed sighs of relief, their eyes widening as they realized who had been chosen. But Riya and Sasha were not so fortunate. With hesitant hands, they raised their hands, their faces betraying a mix of trepidation and determination.

Sylvie exchanged a glance with Lilith, her eyes reflecting understanding and shared mischief. Of course, this whole thing was planned by both of them. It wasn't even a question. Both of them loved drama and entertainment.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 496

The room had fallen into a hushed silence, each person captivated by the unfolding scene. Lilith's misleading command had hung in the air, tantalizing and provocative, leaving everyone's imaginations to fill in the details.

Sasha and Riya's eyes were locked onto Aditya's, a mix of determination and uncertainty in their gazes. Aditya himself was caught in a whirlwind of emotion, his heart pounding in his chest, his throat dry with anticipation. His eyes were wide, torn between desire and disbelief as he watched Sasha and Riya begin to move towards him.

Sasha was the first to act, her competitive spirit driving her forward. With a sultry grace, she began to crawl towards Aditya, her body moving in a sinuous, hypnotic rhythm. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of challenge and allure, and she bit her lower lip, her gaze never leaving Aditya's.

Riya was more hesitant, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she too was driven by a need to compete, to not be outdone. With a determination born of rivalry, she matched Sasha's movements, her body swaying in a dance of temptation as she advanced towards Aditya.

The room was filled with a tangible tension, each person's gaze fixed on the unfolding scene. Aditya's breath had become ragged, his body electrified by the proximity of Riya and Sasha. Their bodies, clothed in outfits designed to tease and tantalize, were moving closer, their eyes filled with a mix of desire and challenge.

As Riya, in her provocative white nun dress, and Sasha, in her daring black babydoll, continued to close in on him, a sudden warmth enveloped Aditya from behind. Lilith's arms encircled his waist, her soft body pressing against his back, her breasts nestling into him, sending a thrilling shiver down his spine.

"What do you think, little Emperor?" Lilith's voice was a sultry whisper, her hot breath teasing his ear. The words were filled with an invitation that was impossible to resist.

Aditya's body reacted instinctively to her touch, a surge of arousal rushing through him. His heartbeat pounded in his chest, his throat dry with anticipation. The combined allure of Riya and Sasha, coupled with Lilith's seductive embrace, was overwhelming, a heady mix of desire and confusion.

He sucked in a sharp breath, his mind a whirl of conflicting emotions. Riya's dress, pure and innocent yet boldly revealing, contrasted sharply with Sasha's dark and daring babydoll. The juxtaposition of fire and ice, of temptation and restraint, was impossible to ignore. The two women were different, yet equally captivating, their unique charms playing havoc with his senses.

Lilith's voice broke through his thoughts, her tone dripping with desire. "Both of them beg for mercy....!" she purred into his ear.

Aditya's mind took a moment to process her words, the implication hitting him with the force of a physical blow. The room seemed to spin, the words echoing in his mind, a shock of realization followed by a wave of disbelief.

He choked on his own breath, a strangled cough escaping his lips.

Cough! Cough!!

"One says punish me father and other says punish me daddy....." Lilith continued. In her eyes, Aditya's reaction made her giggle.

"Both are into Missionary..."

"____"

"One kneels to pray other kneels to pay...."

"_______"

"Hehehe! Little Emperor, do you like it?" Lilith asked while giggling. Aditya now can someone understand why Sasha and Riya wore such clothes. It seems all of this was indirectly Lilith's plan. Though from the looks of, it seems Sylvie was also involved in this.

In the end both Sasha and Riya when for massaging Aditya's shoulders and neck. Both of them also understood that since Lilith's order wasn't anything specific, they were not breaking any rules just by massaging him. They were using their bodies to service Aditya. But seeing this Lilith and Sylvie pouted as their plans failed.

"Alright, everyone, that's enough fun for tonight." Aditya's voice rang out, breaking the lively atmosphere in his spacious room. A playful smile was still lingering on Aditya's face as he looked around, feeling that it was time to bring their game to an end. The mood in the room was lively and energetic, filled with laughter, and flirtatious teasing.

"Yeah, I also think that we should stop now," Julia chimed in, nodding in agreement with Aditya. Julia might have stopped the game earlier, but she realized that through this game, even though Lilith and Sylvie were giving erotic orders and was pushing everyone towards the forbidden boundaries, everyone was enjoying their time together. The room was filled with the sounds of laughter and chit-chat, bringing them all closer. Especially Sasha and Riya, who seemed more connected than ever.

Julia's eyes twinkled with understanding as she thought about how Lilith and Sylvie had made things tantalizing but never went too far. They knew when to pull back and keep things appropriate. She admired their ability to maintain balance and control in the game.

She then turned her gaze to Lara, a delicate figure, who had already fallen asleep. "Lara's already asleep," Julia announced, her voice filled with tenderness. Lara wasn't accustomed to staying awake for such long hours. It was quite a miracle that she managed to remain awake even for an hour. Her mysterious illness often caused her to sleep for prolonged periods. However, tonight, she played with them, laughing and enjoying the game, before fatigue took over, and she fell asleep in Aditya's lap.

Aditya had been gentle and attentive, ensuring that Lara was comfortable. He had later moved her to his soft, cushioned bed so she could sleep more comfortably, covering her with a blanket.

The room was filled with a sense of satisfaction and contentment as they acknowledged the end of their game. They hadn't stopped because they were tired; all of them were powerful cultivators, and fatigue was far from their minds. They had stopped simply because it felt like the right moment to pause. And 3 hours, this game was started to become more and less little bit boring. Also it would be reckless of them to play this game for the entire night though some participants who really enjoyed this game wouldn't mind doing it.

"Then, I will take my leave." Amber's voice broke the lingering silence as she was the first one to stand up, ready to leave.

"Amber, wait....." Aditya's voice halted her, firm yet inviting. Amber turned her head, her eyes meeting Aditya's, filled with curiosity, wondering what he wanted from her.

"Here take this." Aditya's next words were accompanied by a deliberate movement. He reached into his storage ring and withdrew an orb that immediately caught Amber's attention.

The core itself was a captivating object, about the size of a human fist, with a mesmerizing iridescent glow. Swirling hues of emerald, sapphire, and fiery orange danced within its depths, creating an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors. The surface was smooth and cool to the touch, yet it seemed to pulse with an internal heat, as if the life essence of the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox still resided within.

Contained within the core were delicate strands of crystalline energy, winding and intertwining like the nine tails of its original bearer. These luminescent tendrils seemed to move of their own accord, casting intricate shadows and reflections that played tricks on the eye. When looked at closely, faint images and illusions could be seen fleeting within its depths, tantalizing glimpses of otherworldly landscapes and mystical realms.

Surrounding the core were inscriptions, ancient runes etched with precision, detailing spells and enchantments. They spoke of wisdom, cunning, and seduction - the very attributes that the Nine-Tailed Fox was renowned for. These inscriptions seemed to hum with an unseen power, resonating with the pulsing energy of the core.

As soon as the orb was taken out of the storage ring, Amber's whole body trembled for a brief second. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the orb in Aditya's palm, breathing heavily. She had never seen such an object, and yet she knew instinctively that she needed it. A strange connection formed between her and the orb, calling to her, promising that her body would become significantly stronger once she consumed it.

"This is the Nine-Tailed Fox's Core," Aditya declared, his voice filled with a mixture of reverence and assurance. He continued to explain, "This core belongs to a Peak 5th-order magic animal. If you consume this core, then not only is there a chance that you might reach the beginner 5th-order, but there's also a possibility that your Royal Fox Bloodline will further evolve into something even higher, something that has never been heard or seen by anyone in the whole world. In addition to all of that, consuming this orb will increase your mastery over your illusion powers and also will enhance your natural charm."

Aditya extended his hand, offering the enchanting nine-tailed fox's core to Amber. The captivating iridescent glow of the core filled the room, reflecting in their eyes as he spoke, "This is my New Year's present to you."

Amber's heart fluttered at Aditya's words. She had watched earlier as he gave gifts to Julia's parents, Watson, his other generals, and his siblings Leo and Clara. She had felt a pang of longing, a tiny whisper of disappointment, as she was among the few in the room left without a gift. But now, as she reached out to take the core, all those feelings were swept away, replaced by a profound sense of joy and gratitude.

Aditya had carefully chosen his gifts, distributing them with thoughtfulness and affection. However, with Amber, it was different. She was the 5th general of the Istarin Empire, but Aditya's relationship with her was unique. She was more than just a general to him; she was a close confidante, someone he trusted and valued deeply.

"Your Majesty, thank you for such an amazing gift." Amber's voice trembled with emotion as she held the nine-tailed fox's core in her palms. A small smile broke through, lighting up her face. The core was not just a beautiful object; it was essential to her growth and strength. It was a symbol of Aditya's understanding of her needs, his support, and his unwavering faith in her abilities.

"No need to thank me; you deserve it," Aditya responded, his voice gentle and reassuring.

"By the way, Your Majesty, I also have a little gift for you as well." Amber's voice was soft, yet filled with anticipation. Her words caught Aditya by surprise, and his eyebrow raised, curiosity piqued. Yet he waited patiently, allowing her the time and space to present her gift.

Their relationship was unlike any other in the Empire. While other generals maintained a respectful distance from their Emperor, Amber enjoyed a closeness that was both enviable and inspiring. Everyone can tell that in their relationship there was a spark but the spark came from Amber's side. So far, Aditya did not show any signs of that spark. Everyone in this room was aware of Amber's feelings for Aditya. But as for what he thought of her, no one knew. After all, the girls can't tell what he is thinking in his heart.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 497

"This...." Aditya's eyes widened as he gazed at the gift that Amber had prepared for him. Spread out on the table were many ancient books, their covers worn with age but rich with history. The gold and silver inlays gleamed faintly in the soft lighting of the room, giving them an aura of reverence and wisdom.

"These are some ancient books," Amber began, her voice quivering with uncertainty. "These books are full of legendary tales of adventures of powerful Emperors in the past. Since His Majesty is into reading books, I thought you would like it." Her words were hesitant, and her eyes remained fixed on the floor. Amber's body language was a stark contrast to her usual confident demeanor. She looked vulnerable, nervous, and uncharacteristically unsure of herself.

This was a new experience for Amber, the first time she had ever bought gifts for anyone, let alone for someone as important as the Emperor. Her heart pounded in her chest as a wave of insecurity washed over her. She knew deep down that her gift could not compare to the extravagant offerings that others might present to Aditya. She was not wealthy enough to afford expensive gifts, nor had she stumbled upon any rare artifacts or weapons that might suit a ruler of his stature.

After much consideration and seeking the counsel of Aditya's personal butler, she had decided that these old and ancient books would be the most appropriate gift. They were stories from bygone eras, filled with wisdom, adventure, and lessons of leadership. But now, as she stood before him, presenting her carefully chosen present, doubt gnawed at her, making her question her decision.

She felt like she had made a mistake. Her gift was simple, modest, and unassuming. It lacked the grandeur and flair that would be expected of a gift for an Emperor. Amber's mind raced with thoughts of rejection, fear that Aditya might not like what she had chosen, concern that she had failed to meet his expectations.

Aditya continued to stare at the books on the table, his eyes reflecting a thoughtful curiosity. His gaze then shifted to Amber, who was standing before him, her body visibly tense and her little fist tightly clenched. Her head was lowered, and he could sense her apprehension, the fear that her gift was inadequate.

"Your Majesty, if you don't like my gifts, then you don't have to accept them. I will take them back," Amber said softly, her voice trembling with uncertainty. Her words were filled with self-doubt, and she seemed convinced that she had made a poor choice in gifting the Emperor a collection of old books. She reached out to take them back, a look of resignation in her eyes, but Aditya's hand shot out, gently but firmly holding her wrist and stopping her.

This unexpected gesture made Amber raise her head, and her eyes met Aditya's. What she saw in his expression was not disappointment or disapproval but a genuine interest and appreciation.

"I like your gift," Aditya said, his voice calm and reassuring. "I always had an interest in knowing more about the history and various empires that existed throughout time. I am going to read them when I have some free time." His words were sincere, not merely spoken to placate her or to offer false praise. The titles of the books had already piqued his curiosity, and he truly felt a growing desire to explore the contents within their pages.

Hearing his words, Amber's eyes widened, and a wave of relief washed over her. The uncertainty that had been gnawing at her began to dissipate, replaced by a newfound confidence that her gift was not only accepted but truly appreciated.

Aditya gave her arm a firm but gentle squeeze, a physical affirmation of his gratitude. He then offered her a sincere and warm smile, his eyes twinkling with genuine affection. "Thank you, Amber," he said, his voice filled with sincerity. "These books mean a lot to me. I know you put thought and care into choosing them, and I truly value your effort."

Aditya's eyes moved across the collection of books laid out before him, taking in the names and the varied subjects they covered. Each title seemed to promise a unique journey into the realms of history, mythology, and wisdom. Amber had carefully chosen a wide array of topics, and Aditya found himself intrigued by every single one of them.

1. "Chronicles of Elarian Might"

2. "The Astral Prophecies of Seraphis"

3. "Tales of the Dragon Lords"

4. "The Silk Diaries: Journeys through the Empyreal Roads"

5. "Gems of Turion Wisdom"

6. "The Rise and Fall of the Obsidian Empire"

7. "Songs of the Sea Kings"

8. "Sorcerous Traditions of the Arcanum Realms"

9. "The Golden Bestiary of Arcturus"

10. "Canticles of the Moon Priestesses"

11. "The Labyrinthine Atlas of Eldara"

12. "Histories of the Scarlet Warlords"

With a graceful wave of his hand, Aditya magically transferred all these books into his storage, a place where they would wait for the time when he could delve into their pages. He felt a longing to begin reading immediately, the anticipation growing within him. He could lose himself in these books, traveling through time and space, learning, exploring, and growing.

Amber watched Aditya's actions with a smile on her face, her heart filled with joy and satisfaction. She had seen his genuine interest and excitement, and she knew that her gift had been a success. Her efforts, the long journey to the Westnia Continent, the battles with grave robbers, the search through ancient abandoned libraries and various ruins, and even the considerable expense for rare volumes like 'The Labyrinthine Atlas of Eldara' and 'Sorcerous Traditions of the Arcanum Realms,' had all been worth it.

The smile on Aditya's face, the spark in his eyes, were more than enough to make her feel proud and happy. Her gift had not only pleased the Emperor but seeing him, she felt a strange sense of joy. She had not chosen the most extravagant or luxurious items; she had chosen thoughtfulness, care, and understanding of Aditya's interests.

Aditya then turned his attention to Sylvie. Although this girl has been nothing but a constant source of trouble for him and the girls, although this naughty girl loves to make trouble, Aditya still considered her more than close friend.

'Especially after I spanked her ass...cough!.....I don't know if we are still close friends or more than that.....' Aditya clearly remembers how loudly moaned when he spanked her.

Cough!

'I shouldn't about it.' Aditya tried his best to not think about that night's event. He truly had no intention of expanding his harem. He already had 5 girls as his fiances. Maybe if thinks work out between him and Amber then maybe the number will increase.

'As for Sasha's mother.......cough! Cough!......I shouldn't think about it.' Aditya clearled his head and looked at Sylvie who had a small smile on her face.

Aditya reached into his pocket and pulled out a stunning white ring, adorned with a bluish-white stone that sparkled in the room's light. As he extended his hand, offering the ring to Sylvie, her eyes lit up, and for a brief moment, they reflected the brilliance of the ring. A teasing smile then played on her lips, and she couldn't resist the opportunity to jest.

"Your Majesty, you're giving me a ring..." she said, her voice dripping with mock astonishment. "By any chance, are you proposing to me?"

The room seemed to freeze at her words. Aditya suddenly felt the temperature drop, and a nervous sweat began to form on his brow. He looked around and was met with the narrowed eyes of Riya, Lara, and Sasha. Each of them had a dangerous glint in their eyes, and he felt a sense of suffocation as if three deadly assassins had placed their swords against his throat. One wrong move, and he might find himself in peril.

The situation was fraught with tension. Riya, Lara, and Sasha were unofficially engaged to Aditya, and yet they had not received any engagement rings from him. They had patiently waited for their turns, and seeing him present a ring to Sylvie first, their jealousy was ignited. The very symbol of commitment that they yearned for was being offered to someone else, and the injustice of it stung them deeply.

Once Aditya mets Riya's parents, then he was planning on holding a engagement ceremony. And then he would give ring to Lara and then Sasha. That's what he had thought and the girls seems to have no problem but now seeing a ring, it appears everyone has misunderstood.

With a sudden movement, Aditya lightly brought his right palm down on Sylvie's head in a gentle chop.

"Ouch!" she cried, her mischievous smile replaced by a look of surprise. The room echoed with her exclamation, and the tension of the moment was momentarily broken.

"Don't talk nonsense," Aditya admonished, though his tone was more playful than angry. "This is not an ordinary ring. It's called the 'Eldenleaf Band,' an artifact imbued with special enchantments. One of its unique features is the size manipulation function, allowing it to adjust to the size of your fingers." He handed the beautifully crafted ring to Sylvie, its design inspired by nature and resonating with elvish elegance.

Sylvie's eyes widened as she took in the complex details of the Eldenleaf Band. She could feel the magic emanating from it, and her curiosity was piqued. What other functions did this unique artifact possess?

Aditya seemed to read her thoughts, and he handed her a piece of paper, carefully extracted from his own storage ring. "You can read about all the functions of this artifact here," he explained, watching her eyes skim over the paper.

Sylvie's eyes sparkled as she read about the Eldenleaf Band's abilities.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 498

? Eldenleaf Band ring ?

?Peak 4-star (????)?

?Description: - The illustrious Eldenleaf Band ring was meticulously crafted 300,000 years prior by a dark elf of exceptional genius. Upon its creation, the ring held the remarkable ability to store up to [1000+] units of mana for the user. Through the tides of tumultuous warring periods and the relentless passage of time, the Eldenleaf Band ring was lost to history, its once-celebrated value and unique functions faded into oblivion.

Subsequently discovered in a damaged state, it was skillfully restored by a master dwarf, utilizing the precious material of Adamantite. The Rune Monarch, a figure of mythical status, further enchanted the ring with powerful runes, transforming its properties and elevating it to a Peak 4-star artifact.

The Eldenleaf Band ring is distinctively attuned to its owner; once recognized, none other than the chosen bearer can utilize its functions or wear the ring, as it adapts in size to fit the finger of the rightful owner.?

?Function 1: - Essence Reservoir - The Eldenleaf Band's 'Essence Reservoir' enables the absorption of mana from various sources, including the atmosphere, mana stones, or the owner, storing up to [600+] units of mana within the ring. The wearer may access this stored mana as required.?

?Function 2: - Windrider's Grace - Bestowing the 'Windrider's Grace,' the Eldenleaf Band enhances the wearer's agility by [350+], granting them unparalleled swiftness and fluidity of movement.?

?Function 3: - Vitality Wellspring - Equipped with the 'Vitality Wellspring,' a specialized mana gathering array, the Eldenleaf Band harnesses mana from the atmosphere, bolstering the wearer's stamina recovery speed by 25%, and allowing for sustained energy and endurance.?

?Function 4: - Mystic Conduit - The Eldenleaf Band's 'Mystic Conduit' function, facilitated by a carefully engineered mana gathering array, channels mana towards the wearer, augmenting their cultivation speed by 10% and nurturing a harmonious connection to the magical energies of the world.?

Sylvie's eyes widened as she read the description of the Eldenleaf Band ring, her face lighting up with amazement and wonder. She looked up at Aditya, her voice trembling with excitement as she said, "This is truly incredible, Aditya. The Eldenleaf Band ring is absolutely perfect for me."

She took a moment to consider the specific details, realizing the profound impact this ring could have on her abilities. The boost of [350+] in agility was no small matter; it would make her movements swifter and more fluid, especially during intense fights. The additional supply of [600+] mana was equally impressive, allowing her to cast powerful spells without worrying about exhausting her mana reserves.

With a thoughtful expression, she continued to reflect on the ring's capabilities, her mind racing with possibilities. 'This ring... it could even enable me to fight against a Mid 5th-order opponent,' she mused, her voice filled with awe. 'This fight would be all about reinforcement, and with the Eldenleaf Band, I'd have such an advantage.'

Her eyes were drawn back to the ring, admiring its beauty and craftsmanship. She marveled at the thought of having a storage ring that also boasted such remarkable functions. Her heart swelled with gratitude, understanding the rarity and value of such an artifact. She couldn't help but feel a mixture of joy and disbelief, as she realized that something so precious and perfectly suited to her needs was now hers.

"I can't believe you're giving me such a rare and valuable gift, Aditya," she finally said, her voice soft and filled with sincere appreciation. "I don't think I could find anything even remotely as good as this artifact in the market. It's truly one-of-a-kind."

"Thank you, Aditya, for such a wonderful gift," Sylvie said, her voice warm and her smile filled with genuine emotion. The happiness in her eyes was unmistakable, and her gratitude shone through every word.

Aditya responded with a kind smile, his voice both gentle and teasing as he said, "No need to thank me. Just don't make any more trouble for me." As he spoke those words, the second half of his voice seemed to carry a hint of tiredness, as though recalling all the mischievous antics Sylvie had put him through.

Sylvie's laughter rang out, a playful "Hehe!" escaping her lips as she saw his exaggeratedly weary expression. Her eyes twinkled with merriment as she reached into her bag, her voice full of anticipation as she announced, "I also got a gift for you. Although my gift isn't as rare as the one you've given me, I truly hope that you will like it."

With those words, she produced a test tube filled with a dark purple liquid. The liquid had a mysterious sparkle to it, catching the light in an enchanting dance. Aditya's curiosity was immediately piqued, and he couldn't help but ask, "What is this?" Julia and Alicia and others, leaned in closer, equally curious about the strange substance.

Sylvie's mischievous smile widened, her eyes dancing with a playful glint as she replied, "This is a secret potion made by the elders of my home. Drinking this elven potion, the chances of your wives getting pregnant increase by 15%."

The room fell into stunned silence, all eyes fixed on Sylvie as her words sank in. Aditya's face was expressionless, his eyes wide and unblinking as he stared at her. The lively atmosphere was replaced by a surreal stillness, punctuated only by the faint sound of breathing.

"____"

He was hoping that she was going to give him something else. He never expected her to give him something like this. Although it's true that for a Dragon as powerful as Aditya to impregnate his wives would be extremely difficult, that does not mean he was desperate to make a child now. As cultivators, he and his wives had millions of years up ahead. There was no need to rely on potions to increase the probability of getting pregnant.

The reason the population of Dragons and elves are so low is because of the difficulty of having a dragon or elven child. And since Riya was a Royal Elf and while Aditya was a Divine Crimson Storm dragon, the difficulty for both of them increases even further and reaches near impossible level. The rarity of dragon or elven offspring was well-known, and the added complexity of their unique heritage made the challenge even greater.

Aditya's deadpan expression was met with Sylvie's triumphant laughter. "Haha! I am joking... Here is your real gift," she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. From her bag, she drew out a sword that was unlike anything Aditya had seen before. It was a Peak 4-star dark purple sword, and its appearance was simply breathtaking.

The blade of the sword was crafted with exceptional precision from a gleaming precious rare metal, reflecting ambient light that struck its surface. It possessed a graceful curvature, accented by a subtly serrated edge running along one side, hinting at its formidable cutting power. The light that reflected off the blade created a mesmerizing dance, adding to the allure of the weapon.

The hilt of the sword was adorned with intricate designs, displaying an artist's attention to detail. Made from a strong, dark-colored material, it offered a comfortable grip for its wielder. The hilt was further embellished with delicate engravings, which depicted winding vines and intricate patterns, adding a touch of elegance to the weapon.

At the base of the hilt, a unique pommel caught the eye. This pommel resembled a majestic jewel, glistening with a deep purple hue. Its smooth, rounded shape added balance to the overall design while acting as a counterweight to ensure proficient sword handling.

Sylvie's voice broke through Aditya's entranced admiration, her words tinged with self-deprecation, "Honestly, it's hard to find a gift that you will like since you don't lack anything. You have wealth, you have the best alchemist in the whole world by your side, you certainly don't lack land, sword, armor, and artifacts. I didn't know what to choose for you. In the end, I ended up picking this 4-star sword. Though I am sure this sword won't be of any use to you." She referred to Aditya's existing possession of a Mid 5-star sword, clearly believing her gift would never be used by him.

"No, I like this sword. I am definitely going to use it," Aditya replied earnestly, his voice filled with genuine appreciation. He took the sword in his hand, swinging it a few times to feel its balance and weight. Unlike his heavy Adamantite Doomblade that weighed 3 tons, this sword was very light. Aditya felt that with this lighter sword, he would have an advantage when fighting someone fast. Its sharpness and deadliness were apparent even in these simple movements.

Aditya's eyes remained fixed on the elegant sword, his mind drawn to its unique appearance and exceptional craftsmanship. Finally, he looked up at Sylvie and asked, "What is the name of this sword?"

Sylvie's eyes twinkled with pride as she revealed, "The name of this beginner 4-star sword is the 'Eclipse Blade of Shadows.'" Her voice held a note of reverence, reflecting her respect for the weapon she had chosen for Aditya.

Aditya's face lit up at the name, and he spoke with sincere gratitude, "Thank you for the gift, Sylvie. I will treasure it always."

Sylvie's response was a gentle giggle, her eyes gleaming with genuine happiness. "Your gift was more valuable, but I'm glad that you liked mine as well," she said, her voice filled with warmth. Her words held no hint of comparison or competition; it was the thought behind the gift that mattered to her.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

is going to be a massive one. Probably more than 5k. I am aiming for something like 10k. Let's see what happens.

Chapter 499

Carefully placing the 'Eclipse Blade of Shadows' inside his sword ring, Aditya's gaze shifted to Alicia. A warm smile spread across his face as he addressed her, "Princess, this is for you." His voice held a hint of excitement as he reached into his pocket, producing a small, exquisitely wrapped package.

Alicia's eyes widened in surprise, her curiosity piqued. Aditya's gifts were always something special, crafted with care and attention to detail. This particular gift had been in the making for a few months, a project Aditya had embarked on in his spare time. Instead of giving it to Alicia earlier, he had decided to refine it further, perfecting it to his satisfaction.

Aditya's prowess as a 4-star runemaster was well-known, but he never rested on his laurels. Always pushing his skills to new heights, he continually sought to create innovative rune spells to benefit both himself and those close to him. His mythical class, The Rune Monarch, further augmented his abilities, increasing his learning and comprehension speed. While he was undoubtedly one of the world's foremost experts in rune mastery, Aditya never proclaimed himself the best, maintaining a humble attitude.

A soft request broke Alicia's reverie, "Turn around first," Aditya instructed, his voice gentle but firm. With a mixture of anticipation and trust, Alicia complied, feeling Aditya's fingers deftly fasten a delicate pendant around her neck.

As the pendant settled against her skin, Alicia sensed its unique properties, a blend of energy and elegance that resonated with her very soul. Her voice trembled with awe as she asked, "What is this?"

Aditya's reply was filled with pride and affection, "This is the 'Twilight Embrace.' It's a Peak 4-star artifact and probably one of the best artifacts I have ever crafted to this date." His eyes sparkled with accomplishment, for he had poured his heart and soul into creating this beautiful piece specifically for Alicia.

Alicia's hands reached up to touch the pendant, her fingers tracing its intricate design. Its beauty was breathtaking.

?Name - Twilight Embrace?

?Rank - Peak 4-star Pendant (????)?

?Description - The Twilight Embrace

History - In the Empire of Eldoria, there exists a legendary pendant known as the Twilight Embrace. This exquisite artifact was crafted centuries ago by the renowned elven artisan, Elysia Starweaver, who was renowned for her mastery of enchantments and intricate jewelry.

The pendant was originally created as a symbol of harmony and balance, representing the delicate equilibrium between light and darkness in the world. Elysia poured her heart and soul into the pendant, infusing it with the essence of twilight itself, a shimmering blend of dusk and dawn.

For many years, the Twilight Embrace remained a cherished heirloom, passed down through generations of the Starweaver family. It became a symbol of wisdom, protection, and unity among the elven people. Stories were told of its ability to enhance one's magical abilities and provide guidance in times of uncertainty.

However, as time wore on, a great conflict erupted in Eldoria, plunging the land into chaos. During the chaos, the Twilight Embrace was caught in the crossfire of a fierce battle between rival factions. The pendant suffered severe damage, its delicate enchantments shattered and its once-glowing gemstone cracked.

Though the exact age of the Twilight Embrace is uncertain, it is believed to be over a thousand years old, with the damage inflicted upon it occurring several centuries ago. The pendant now carries the scars of its past, a testament to the trials and tribulations faced by the elven people.

Despite its damaged state, the Twilight Embrace still retains a glimmer of its former power. Legends whisper that those who carry the pendant can still tap into its residual magic, though its abilities are diminished compared to its original form.

Today, the Twilight Embrace is a relic of history, a symbol of resilience and the enduring spirit of the elven lineage. It is carefully preserved within the Starweaver family vault, a reminder of the sacrifices made and the strength found in the face of adversity. The elven elders ensure that the pendant's story is passed down, keeping alive the memory of Elysia Starweaver and the legacy of the Twilight Embrace for generations to come.

Through ingenious enchantments, the Twilight Embrace has been endowed with new faculties and its abilities have been modified.

The Twilight Embrace pendant is specifically attuned to its proprietor; once acknowledged, no individual other than the chosen bearer can avail of its functions or don the pendant, as it customizes its size to conform to the finger of the rightful owner. Should anyone attempt to wear the pendant forcibly, its functions will cease, and it may fracture if a 5th-order cultivator endeavors to exploit the Twilight Embrace's attributes.?

?Function 1 - «Emberstorm» - Emberstorm is an enchantment that harnesses the elemental power of fire to create a swirling vortex of fiery embers. When activated, the enchantment forms a visible aura of dancing flames around the wielder or the object it is imbued upon. Emberstorm is a captivating enchantment that combines both offensive and defensive aspects, harnessing the fierce power of fire to create a mesmerizing display of swirling embers. It grants the wielder a versatile tool for combat, as well as a deterrent against adversaries who would dare to approach the blazing inferno it creates.

- ?Offensive Capabilities?: Emberstorm provides potent offensive capabilities. The swirling embers can be launched as projectiles toward enemies, striking them with searing heat and causing burn damage upon impact. The intensity and velocity of the projectiles can be controlled by the wielder, allowing for precise and targeted attacks.

- ?Defensive Shield?: The swirling vortex of embers also functions as a defensive shield, providing protection against incoming attacks. The flames act as a barrier, deflecting or neutralizing projectiles, and absorbing the energy of magical spells or elemental attacks. It offers a temporary layer of defense, buying the wielder time to plan their next move.

- ?Area Denial?: The Emberstorm enchantment creates a danger zone around the wielder, making it difficult for enemies to approach. The intense heat emitted by the swirling embers acts as a deterrent, forcing foes to keep their distance. Stepping into the range of the Emberstorm can result in immediate burns or ignite flammable objects in the vicinity.

- ?Duration and Activation?: The Emberstorm enchantment typically has a limited duration, as it requires a significant amount of Mana to sustain the swirling vortex of embers. It can be activated by a command word, gesture, or a specific trigger.

- ?Enhanced Fire Manipulation?: Emberstorm grants the wielder increased control over fire-related abilities. It amplifies existing fire-based spells or allows the wielder to manipulate flames with greater precision and finesse. This additional fire manipulation can further enhance the offensive and defensive capabilities of the wielder.?

?Function 2 - «Essence Reservoir» - The Twilight Embrace harbors the capacity to reserve Mana, possessing a storage potential of approximately [650+]. When its other functionalities are inactive, the pendant gradually extracts Mana from the ambience and surroundings, conserving it for the owner's utilization.?

?Function 3 - «Agility Boost» - Adornment of the Twilight Embrace augments the wearer's agility by a magnitude of [350+], consistently.?

?Function 4 - «Molten Armor» - The Twilight Embrace constructs a protective encasement of ephemeral molten armor in a solid state around the bearer, diminishing the impact of both physical and magical incursions. Upon activation of Molten Armor, it expends [10+] per second to maintain the molten shield. This armor is robust enough to thwart the offenses of a Peak 4th-order cultivator. Utilizing the entirety of the stored Mana, the wearer can fashion molten armor sturdy enough to endure a solitary assault from a beginner 5th-order cultivator. However, subsequent to this usage, the Molten Armor function enters a cooldown phase lasting 72 hours.?

Alicia's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in pure disbelief as she read the description of the Twilight Embrace. She looked back and forth between Aditya and the paper, struggling to grasp the reality that such an extraordinary artifact could even exist in their world. The functions detailed were beyond anything she could have imagined, putting this 4-star pendant on a level that seemed to rival some beginner 5-star artifacts.

"Wow, Aditya, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with awe. "I can't believe you created something so powerful. How did you even do it?"

Aditya's face broke into a proud smile as he began to explain, "Originally, I wanted to add even more functions, but I reached the limit of what I could do as a 4-star rune master. The space on the pendant just ran out, and I couldn't draw any more rune spells. It's like trying to write a really long equation on a small piece of paper; there's only so much room."

He paused, searching for the right words to make it simpler for Alicia to understand. "Think of it like learning advanced math formulas," he continued. "Each of these rune formulas were created to take up less space. Instead of writing out the entire spell, If I write the formula on the artifact, It saves room and lets me put more complex runes on small objects. However, with my current level, I am unable to do it. It will take practice and lots of dedication."

Alicia nodded slowly, absorbing his words. The world of runes was vast and complex, and she knew that Aditya had only scratched the surface of what was possible.

"But even turning those long runic spells into formulas is extremely difficult," Aditya added, his voice tinged with a mix of excitement and frustration. "To be a 5-star rune master, I'll need to do that and much more. It's like a thousand times harder. Becoming a 5-star rune master isn't just about shortening spells. It's an entirely new level of understanding and skill."

Alicia's eyes sparkled with joy as she handed Aditya a finely crafted envelope, her smile revealing her excitement. "I have obtained something truly amazing for you," she declared, her voice filled with happiness.

Aditya, intrigued by the unexpected gift, carefully took the envelope and looked at Alicia. "What might this be?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Just read it," Alicia replied, her smile widening as she anticipated his reaction.

Aditya slowly opened the envelope and pulled out an ornate piece of parchment, inscribed with elegant handwriting. He began to read aloud:

?Royal Edict of the Ethereal Empire!?

?Be it known to all and sundry that the ownership of the Province of Tempest's Tear, situated at the furthest reaches of the Western borders of our esteemed Ethereal Empire, is hereby granted in perpetuity to the sovereign lands of the Istarin Empire. The Istarin Empire shall henceforth have complete and unfettered authority to govern the Province of Tempest's Tear as a territory within its dominion. No levies, tariffs, or impositions of any kind shall be charged upon the lands or the peoples of the Tempest's Tear province. This decree shall stand unbroken and inviolate, executed with the full weight and authority of the Ethereal Empire.?

Aditya's eyes widened as he read the words, and he raised an eyebrow, his face reflecting a mix of surprise and awe. It seemed that Alicia's father, the Emperor of the Ethereal Empire, had chosen to bestow the Tempest's Tear Province upon Aditya, the ruling Emperor of the Istarin Empire, as a gift for his birthday.

Aditya's face lit up with a genuine smile as he digested the magnitude of the gift. "Please thank your father for me," he said to Alicia, his voice warm with gratitude. "This is an incredible present, and I like it very much."

A deeper understanding crossed his eyes as he considered the motive behind Ronnie's, the Emperor of the Ethereal Empire, choice of this specific province. Of all the lands within the Ethereal Empire, Ronnie had chosen to give him this Province, strategically situated at the Western borders.

The Ethereal Empire was nestled among several large and powerful neighboring Empires, and relations with them had been tense lately. Particularly since an invasion from aggressive mutant fire ants, attitudes toward the Ethereal Empire had soured. Envy had festered in the hearts of these surrounding Empires, jealousy of the Ethereal Empire's prosperity and success.

Ronnie had taken measures to keep these envious neighbors at bay, but the threat of possible attacks always loomed. This gift, Aditya realized, was not just a mere present. It was a brilliantly devised move in the complex game of politics.

By bestowing a province on the Western borders to the Istarin Empire, Ronnie was strategically placing a powerful ally at a critical point. The Istarin Empire would now have an official presence on the Westnia continent, and this fact would not be lost on the neighboring Empires.

Aditya could see the wisdom in this move. If these envious Empires ever considered attacking the Ethereal Empire, they would now have to think twice. With the Istarin Empire officially in place at the Western borders, it would be ready to deploy troops to aid the Ethereal Empire if need be. The mere presence of the Istarin Empire would act as a deterrent, keeping these aggressive neighbors at a respectful distance.

Everyone was well aware of the deep connection between the Ethereal Empire and the Istarin Empire. Alicia, the Ethereal Empire's princess, was officially engaged to Emperor Aditya. This engagement had already bound the two Empires in a close alliance, and now, with this gift, the ties were even stronger.

"This was a gift from my father," Alicia began, her voice trailing off mysteriously as she reached into her storage ring. "But this is a gift from me." Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she pulled out a set of clothes. It was a black suit, and even at a first glance, Aditya could tell that it was made from very special materials.

The suit seemed to capture the essence of elegance and sophistication, its fabric glistening with a unique sheen. It looked delicate and exquisitely crafted, the work of a master tailor.

"This black suit is custom made from Gossamer Silk," Alicia explained, her voice filled with pride. She paused for a moment, allowing Aditya to take in the full beauty of the garment.

Delicate and translucent, Gossamer Silk is incredibly light and airy. It's a luxurious material often used for ethereal clothing and elegant accessories. Craftsmen also use it for beautiful decorative items like dreamcatchers, and it has a reputation for being one of the most exquisite and the most expensive textiles in the world.

Aditya's eyes widened as he touched the fabric, feeling the smooth and almost weightless texture between his fingers. "Thank you for such a gift," he said, his voice tinged with genuine appreciation. "I really like it."

He couldn't help but try on the blazer, and as he wore it, he was amazed at how perfectly it fit him. It was as if the suit had been created specifically for his body, molding to his form with grace and elegance. The feeling of the Gossamer Silk against his skin was like a gentle caress, soft and luxurious.

Alicia's smile broadened as she watched Aditya admire himself in the suit. She had put a lot of thought into this gift, wanting to give him something that would not only look beautiful but feel special as well. The suit was a symbol of her affection, and she knew she had chosen well.

Aditya's eyes twinkled with affection as he handed Julia, his first fiancée, a stunning bracelet. It was a Peak 4-star artifact, crafted with precision, and it gleamed with an otherworldly charm. Similar to the pendant he'd previously given her, this bracelet was more than just a piece of jewelry; it was a magical item imbued with special properties.

The bracelet's capacity to hold more than [650+] of mana within it was remarkable. Designed to increase her agility, it was specially tailored for Julia's needs as an alchemist. The supportive functions of the bracelet were meant to aid her in her craft, providing her with additional resources and flexibility. This bracelet can also store items in it.

Julia's eyes widened as she examined the beautiful artifact, and her heart swelled with gratitude. In return, she presented Aditya with a pair of black gloves that she had lovingly made with her own hands. The gloves were simple, yet the personal touch made them incredibly meaningful.

Aditya was truly touched by the sentiment behind this gift. He carefully wore the gloves. He looked at her and nodded his head, his face glowing with a happy smile. Julia smile in response. She was really happy that he liked her gift. Originally she couldn't decide what to give Aditya. He had everything. Being the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, there wasn't a thing that he lacked. So she decided to make something for him with her own hand.

Next, it was Riya's turn. Aditya's third fiancée watched as he revealed a pair of dark emerald earrings, sparkling with enchanting runes. These weren't ordinary earrings; they were magical artifacts, each capable of storing more than 400 units of mana. Together, they had a total storage capacity of over 800 units.

Since Riya's powers were connected to nature, Aditya had carefully selected runic spells to enhance her defense and agility. He had thoughtfully crafted the earrings to resonate with her natural abilities, making them the perfect accessory for her.

Riya's face lit up as she admired the stunning earrings, feeling a deep appreciation for Aditya's consideration. In return, she handed him a bunch of 5-star magic fruits. These weren't ordinary fruits but magical ones that could instantly recover mana when consumed. Riya had spent a great deal of time creating these magical fruits using her powers. Though she never told him, but just making one fruit consumed all of her Mana multiple times. Also, she couldn't just grow magic fruits out of thin air even if she is the goddess of nature. She had to sent someone to find magic fruit plants in the wild. In the end, her servants found a small tree that was still in its baby stages. Using her power to manipulate plants, she accelerated the growth the plant and then she had to pour a huge amount of her mana to force the magic plant to make magic fruits. Normally, it would take several centuries for a such tree to grow a ripe magic fruit.

Aditya's eyes sparkled as he looked at the unique fruits, understanding the effort and care that had gone into making them. He was truly grateful and delighted to have such wonderful gifts from someone he loved so deeply.

Next Lara, Julia had awakened Lara a little while ago.

Lara's heart was pounding in her chest, her small and soft hands fumbling nervously with the small, wrapped package she held. Watching the others exchange such extraordinary gifts with Aditya had left her feeling uncertain and overwhelmed. Her eyes flickered between her big sisters, each of them having presented something unique and valuable to Aditya.

Big sister Alicia's gift was a rare treasure, something she could never hope to match. Big sister Julia had crafted something with her own hands, imbuing it with love and personal touch. Big sister Riya had used her incredible powers to create a gift that was both beautiful and functional.

And then there was Lara, standing there with a simple handmade item, feeling a pang of inadequacy. She wasn't skilled in crafting gloves or sweaters like Julia, and she didn't have any special powers like Riya nor she was ridiculously rich enough to buy something really expensive like big sister Alicia has done. Her heart ached with uncertainty, fearing that her gift would be a disappointment.

Her maid and her big sisters had encouraged her, telling her that it was the thought that counted. They had convinced her to create something herself, assuring her that Aditya would appreciate her effort. But now, as the moment approached, doubt gnawed at her heart.

Aditya, meanwhile, seemed oblivious to her inner turmoil. He had just finished putting a pendant around her neck, his fingers deft and gentle. His eyes met hers, serious and intense, as he spoke, "Make sure to wear this all of the times."

Lara's eyes widened at his words, absorbing the meaning behind the beautiful pendant. It was more than just a piece of jewelry; it was a protective artifact, imbued with powerful magic.

"This artifact will protect you even from Peak 4th-order cultivator's attacks and has the capacity to block three powerful attacks from Beginner 5th-order cultivators. Also, this artifact lets me know your location. So if you're in danger, I can instantly know your location and come to save you," Aditya explained, his voice firm and reassuring. He had made this artifact with defensive runic spells. Even if Lara wasn't a cultivator, using the magic storage function, the artifact will have enough mana supply to use other functions and protect Lara.

Lara's heart swelled with emotion, understanding the thoughtfulness and care that had gone into selecting this particular gift. Unlike her big sisters, Lara was just a normal Vampire. She wasn't a cultivator, and she didn't have the power to defend herself. Aditya's choice of gift was a manifestation of his concern for her safety, a token of his desire to protect her at all costs.

Aditya's eyes sparkled with a childlike excitement as he looked at Lara, his smile warm and genuine. "So do you have anything for me?" he asked, his voice filled with anticipation. The look on his face was so open, so sincere, that even a simple stick would have filled him with immense joy.

Lara's heart ached at his question, her insecurity and doubt suddenly magnified. She couldn't bring herself to meet his penetrating blue eyes, those eyes that seemed to see straight into her soul. Instead, she lowered her gaze, biting her lip nervously, feeling a surge of shame and uncertainty.

"Lara...doesn't have anything....." she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. Her hands clutched the small, wrapped gift she had hidden behind her back, her fingers trembling. She had spent hours in the kitchen, pouring her love and effort into making something special for Aditya, despite her weak and ill body. But now, she felt paralyzed by fear, convinced that he wouldn't like her gift.

"Is that so....." Aditya's voice trailed off, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. He looked at Lara intently, his keen eyes noticing the slight bulge of the wrapped gift behind her. Since Lara was a normal vampire, she couldn't use a storage ring, and her attempt to hide the gift was endearingly transparent.

The room seemed to hold its breath, the other fiancées watching with wide eyes, sensing the tension in the air. Lara's head remained bowed, her body language conveying her sadness and depression. It was a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.

Lara was well known for her sweet and kind nature. Though shy and timid, she had always been open and honest with Aditya, never hesitating to share her feelings, no matter how embarrassing or vulnerable they might be. Her lie was so out of character, so unexpected, that it left the others stunned and confused.

Aditya, however, seemed to understand. His eyes softened, his smile turning gentle and understanding. He stepped closer to Lara, his movements slow and deliberate, as if sensing her fragility.

"Since when did my cute wife learned to lie?" Aditya bent down a little bit and met her eyes. Finding herself staring at his eyes, Lara looked bitter and defeated.

"Husband won't like Lara's gift. Lara better throw it away. Lara will give Husband another gift later." Lara admitted the truth. But saying these words, she looked sad.

"Can I see your gift?" Aditya asked with a small smile. Lara weakly presented her gift to Aditya.

Opening the gift, Aditya was surprised to find a heart shaped chocolate in it. The chocolate was little bit burned. Seeing Aditya staring at her chocolate, Lara felt embarrassed. "Lara will make husband something even better than this...."

The rest of her words got stuck in her throat as she watched Aditya eat with her chocolate. Lara widened her eyes. Aditya calmly ate the chocolate without showing any emotions. Once he was done then he turned to Lara. Seeing his gaze, she panicked thinking that he was going to criticise her but instead she found herself pulled into his embrace. Before she could understand what was happening, she found both of cheeks tenderly kissed by him.

Aditya gently bent down a little, bringing his face closer to Lara's level. His eyes met hers, filled with both concern and amusement. "Since when did my cute wife learn to lie?" he teased, his voice soft and affectionate.

Lara's eyes widened at his words, and her face turned bitter and defeated. She looked like a child caught doing something wrong. "Husband won't like Lara's gift. Lara better throw it away. Lara will give Husband another gift later," she admitted, her voice trembling with sadness.

Aditya's heart ached at her words, and he gave her a small, reassuring smile. "Can I see your gift?" he asked gently, his hand reaching out to take the small package she weakly presented to him.

As he carefully opened the gift, a look of genuine surprise crossed his face. Inside was a heart-shaped chocolate, slightly burned around the edges. He looked up to find Lara's eyes on him, filled with embarrassment and fear. "Lara will make Husband something even better than this...." she began, but her voice trailed off, her words stuck in her throat.

The room was filled with silence as everyone watched Aditya lift the chocolate to his mouth. Lara's eyes widened, her breath caught in her chest as she saw him calmly eat the chocolate, his face betraying no emotion. She could feel her heart pounding, fear and anticipation swirling within her.

Once he had finished, Aditya turned to Lara, his eyes soft and filled with love. Lara's heart skipped a beat, panic rising within her, as she braced herself for criticism. But instead of words, she found herself being gently pulled into Aditya's warm embrace.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, she felt his lips tenderly kissing both of her cheeks. The kisses were soft and loving, filled with genuine appreciation and affection. Lara's eyes filled with tears of joy, her body trembling with emotion.

"Thank you, Lara. I really love your gift. You must have worked so hard for this." Aditya's voice was gentle and filled with genuine appreciation. As he looked into Lara's eyes, his face lit up with a warm and loving smile, reflecting the deep affection he felt for her.

Lara's heart swelled with joy at his kind words, and a feeling of immense luck washed over her. She felt truly blessed to have someone like Aditya as her husband, someone who understood her and cherished her just as she was. But then, realization struck her like a bolt of lightning, and her entire face turned a bright shade of red.

She had just been kissed by her husband in front of others! The thought sent a wave of embarrassment coursing through her, yet it was tinged with an undeniable sense of happiness. Her heart was full, her emotions a complex mix of joy, gratitude, and shy mortification.

Meanwhile, Riya, Sasha, and Alicia watched the scene unfold with a mixture of emotions. They couldn't help but pout a little, feeling a twinge of jealousy as they saw Aditya kissing Lara. They too had given him gifts, and yet he hadn't kissed them.

But as they looked at Lara's radiant face, her eyes sparkling with happiness and relief, they understood why Aditya had acted the way he did. Lara had needed that gesture, that tangible expression of love, to restore her confidence and to reassure her that she was not inferior.

They knew that Aditya's actions were not a reflection of favoritism but rather a demonstration of his sensitivity and understanding of Lara's unique needs and feelings.

Aditya turned his attention to Sasha, his eyes twinkling with anticipation. "Little Kitten, this is for you." He extended his hand, offering her two black curved daggers, both of Mid 5th-order. They gleamed ominously, their unique curvature adding an extra layer of intrigue.

Since Sasha was an Assassin, specializing in stealth and precision, Aditya had carefully chosen this gift. He figured that these daggers, crafted with the utmost skill and imbued with special properties, would be incredibly useful to her in her line of work.

"What do you think? Do you like them?" Aditya asked, his voice laced with hope, a warm smile dancing on his lips.

Sasha's eyes widened as she took the daggers, her hands exploring their exquisite craftsmanship. The cold metal felt alive in her grasp, resonating with her very essence. These were not just ordinary daggers; they were made from higher quality materials and enchanted with runic spells that could increase her agility and flexibility.

However, instead of expressing her delight, Sasha's face twisted into a scowl, and she snapped, "Hmph! I don't like them. I have much better daggers." Her words were harsh, her tone dismissive.

But those who knew her well could see the faint blush coloring her cheeks, the way her fingers lovingly caressed the daggers' curves. They understood that Sasha was acting as a "tsundere," a term often used to describe someone who is outwardly cold or hostile but inwardly affectionate or loving.

Though she was too embarrassed to say thank you or admit that she loved these daggers, her actions spoke louder than words. Even the daggers she currently used were only of beginner 5th-order, far inferior to Aditya's thoughtful gift.

Sasha's contradictory behavior was not lost on Aditya. He could see through her facade, recognizing the genuine appreciation hidden behind her brusque exterior. Her reaction was endearing in its own way.

He knew that Sasha's pride and independent nature made it difficult for her to openly express her feelings. But that only made the moment more special, more intimate.

Aditya finally approached Lilith, his eyes narrowing slightly as he caught her grinning at him with a teasing smile. Something in that grin sent a shiver down his spine, as if she were plotting something. Shaking away those unnerving thoughts, he extended his hand, presenting her with a beautiful bracelet adorned with glittering diamonds. The bracelet wasn't just a pretty piece of jewelry; it was enchanted with runic functions that allowed it to store items within.

"Hehe! Little Emperor, thank you for your gift," Lilith's voice was full of mischief, her eyes twinkling with unspoken secrets. She handed him a small, folded round piece of cloth. Its plain appearance contrasted sharply with the elegance of the bracelet he'd just given her.

Aditya's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at the cloth. "What is this?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and uncertainty.

"Hehe! Why don't you open it?" Lilith's laughter seemed to dance in the air, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Feeling a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, Aditya pinched the side of the cloth, holding it up in the air. Gravity did its work, and as the cloth unfolded, the room fell into stunned silence. It turned out that the white piece of round folded cloth was nothing but a white panty.

Aditya's face went blank, his right eye twitching uncontrollably as he stared at the garment. Others in the room wore strange expressions, their faces a mixture of shock, amusement, and disbelief.

Lilith's laughter rang out, pure and mischievous, filling the room with her joy. "Hehe! This is my freshly worn panty. This is for you. I hope you like this, Little Emperor," she said, her voice dripping with playful wickedness.

"_____"

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

This is 5300+ long chapter. I hope you all liked it.

Chapter 500

Aditya felt a surge of mixed emotions as he looked at Lilith, who still wore that mischievous smile. He realized that expecting anything conventional from this woman was a mistake on his part. It was best to leave the matter behind, he decided, shifting his attention away from her unconventional gift.

His eyes landed on Amber, who stood quietly among the group. An idea formed in his mind, and he turned fully toward her. "Amber, why don't you consume the Nine-Tailed Fox core here? I want to see just how much of your bloodline will change," Aditya suggested, his tone filled with genuine interest.

Others in the room, still recovering from Lilith's surprise, quickly became curious about Aditya's suggestion. They looked at Amber, some nodding in agreement, but everyone's eyes held a sense of understanding. If Amber wasn't comfortable with this proposal, they would respect her decision, and no one would force her.

"Okay...." Amber's voice was soft, almost hesitant, but she nodded. A mix of anticipation and nervousness filled the room as she quickly sat down on the plush carpet. Her eyes fixed on the Nine-Tailed Fox core in her palm.

The room fell into a hushed silence as Amber began to concentrate, putting a little bit of her mana, into the core. The assembled onlookers watched with bated breath as something extraordinary began to happen.

A white energy, ethereal and pure, began to flow from the Nine-Tailed Fox core. It moved with a graceful, almost hypnotic rhythm, winding its way into Amber's right hand. The energy continued to spread, covering her entire body, encasing her in a radiant white aura. The energy seemed to meld with Amber, becoming a part of her, enhancing her very being. Amber's expression was one of deep concentration and inner peace. Her whole body seemed to glow with an otherworldly light, and the air around her became charged with a mystical energy.

Aditya could sense the change happening within Amber. Her power was rapidly growing, and the transformation was clearly visible. The soft white glow that had initially enveloped her was now intensifying, growing stronger and more dazzling with each passing moment.

"Lara can't keep staring," Lara whimpered, the first to be overcome by the intense brightness. She was just an ordinary vampire, lacking the supernatural strength of others in the room, so for her, the light was overwhelming. Her eyes squinted shut, and she raised her hand to shield them from the radiance.

The light continued to expand and grow in brilliance, its force compelling even the most powerful beings in the room to avert their eyes. Julia and Alicia, despite their formidable cultivation, soon found the brightness too much to bear. They too closed their eyes, unable to withstand the intensity of the light.

Now, only Aditya, Sylvie, Sasha, Riya, and Lilith remained with their eyes open, each transfixed by the transformation unfolding before them. Sylvie, Sasha, Riya, and Lilith, all mighty 5th-order cultivators, were still able to endure the luminous display, but even they felt a strain on their eyes.

Aditya's ability to continue watching was perhaps the most astonishing. Though he was only at the Peak 3rd-order level, his unique dragon physique and his extraordinarily high physical attributes allowed him to withstand the brilliance. He stared intently, his eyes narrowed but unflinching, as he witnessed Amber's remarkable metamorphosis.

The room seemed to throb with energy as the light reached its peak. It filled every corner, casting strange, dancing shadows on the walls and bathing everyone in a pure, white glow. The sensation was almost ethereal, as if they had been transported to a different realm altogether.

Aditya's mind was racing as he sensed Amber's transformation. 'Her Aura is nearing the threshold of a 5th-order cultivator,' he thought, a surge of excitement welling within him. Consuming the Nine-Tailed Fox core had catapulted Amber's cultivation to a whole new level. Her Aura was not merely growing; it was soaring, expanding in power and complexity, and now teetering on the brink of the 5th-order mark.

Aditya couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and anticipation. He wanted Amber to grow stronger, to reach new heights in her abilities. This breakthrough would make her the first general of the Istarin Empire to attain such a lofty cultivation rank. The thought was exhilarating.

But there was more to Amber's strength than just her cultivation level. She was a unique and extraordinary being, a dual cultivator that cultivated in both warrior and mage paths. This made her a formidable force, her stats and abilities far surpassing those of ordinary cultivators.

Being a dual cultivator meant that she could draw from two distinct sources of power, weaving them together in a harmony that elevated her capabilities. She could channel the raw, physical might of a warrior, and couple it with the subtle, intricate magic of a mage. Being a mage cultivator allowed her to use her illusion magic. And being a warrior cultivator made her body very strong.

This rare combination would enable her to stand toe-to-toe with mid 5th-order cultivators, if only she reached the beginner level of the 5th-order herself. Her statistics, her attributes, and her overall prowess would be at an exceptional level, akin to Aditya's own unique status as a dual type cultivator, because of the system.

Aditya's eyes suddenly widened, filled with a mixture of surprise and fascination. He could sense something extraordinary happening within Amber. Though she had awakened the Royal Fox Queen bloodline, and he had given her a drop of his divine Crimson Storm Dragon bloodline, making her a unique fusion of Dragon and Fox, now the two bloodlines seemed to be joining together in an unprecedented way.

This wasn't something merely magical or mysterious; it was a transformation that transcended anything anyone in this world had ever witnessed. Aditya could feel it in his very core. Instinctively, he felt his own bloodline reacting to this profound change. It wasn't an adverse reaction; it was rather a positive resonance that made his heart pound with anticipation.

With bated breath, Aditya and the others continued to watch the unfolding scene. A profound silence hung in the air, punctuated only by the occasional breaths of those who were present. Five long minutes passed, and the process showed no signs of abating. Time seemed to stretch out, and an uneasy feeling began to settle in everyone's hearts. This shouldn't be taking so long; something was not quite right.

Ahhh.....!!!!

Suddenly, a piercing scream filled the room. Amber's voice was filled with agony and torment, and everyone knew instantly that she was in excruciating pain. Concern and fear etched across their faces as they realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

Aditya's mind raced, thoughts tumbling over each other as he tried to comprehend what was happening. And then, like a bolt of lightning, understanding struck him. The two bloodlines within Amber were attempting to merge, but the process was fraught with complexity. It wasn't merely a fusion; it was a delicate dance between two different races, two different essences, trying to become one.

He realized with a jolt that a single drop of his divine Crimson Storm Dragon bloodline might not be enough for Amber's evolution. She needed more of his blood to successfully evolve and overcome the pain she was currently enduring.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Aditya as he suddenly moved towards Amber, determination etched on his face. Confusion filled the room, and Julia, unable to contain her curiosity and concern, began to question his actions.

"Aditya, what are you...." Her voice trailed off as she noticed him swiftly pulling out a small dagger from his storage ring. Without even a moment's hesitation, he sliced across his right palm, leaving a substantial vertical cut. The wound was stark and fresh, and yet, Aditya's face remained stoic, betraying no signs of pain. It was a mere scratch compared to the injuries he had endured in the past, the trials and tribulations that had shaped him into who he was.

Blood began to well up from the cut, bright red and vital. The others in the room looked on, a mixture of shock and bewilderment on their faces, unsure of what he intended to do.

Aditya's movements were quick and purposeful as he crouched down in front of Amber, his eyes filled with understanding and resolve. Instinctively, as if guided by an unseen force that knew exactly what she needed to survive and evolve in this precarious situation, Amber reacted.

With a desperation born of necessity, she began to drink Aditya's blood, the very essence of his divine Crimson Storm Dragon bloodline. The act was intimate and profound, a connection that went beyond mere physicality.

The room was filled with a tangible tension, the very air seeming to thicken as everyone watched in stunned silence. Slowly, a transformation began to take place. The intense white aura that had previously enveloped Amber began to change, the color shifting from pure white to a vibrant red.

As Aditya's blood entered her system, the red deepened, becoming richer and more profound, until it settled into a shade of crimson that mirrored the name of Aditya's bloodline. It was a color that symbolized both life and power, a reflection of the connection between the two of them.

Once Amber had consumed enough of Aditya's blood, she stopped, her body seeming to sense that it had what it needed. Aditya stood up, carefully backing away a few meters from her. Compared to the others in the room, he remained quite close, his eyes never leaving her face. He could sense that something extraordinary was about to happen.

And then, it happened. Just as Aditya's blood began merging with Amber's unique bloodline, her aura exploded with an incredible force. It broke through the limitations that had previously confined her to the Peak 4th-order and soared upwards, reaching the unprecedented level of beginner 5th-order.

Booom!!!!

A small but powerful wave of Mana erupted from Amber's body, sending a shockwave through the room that everyone could feel. The energy was so intense and extraordinary that it reached beyond the confines of the room, resonating throughout the entire Dragon Palace.

Even those who were not cultivators, the ordinary people who worked in the Dragon Palace, felt something inexplicable stir within them. Drawn by a force they couldn't understand, they looked towards Aditya's room, their faces etched with curiosity and awe. Even the non-sensory cultivators, who usually couldn't detect such energies, sensed this remarkable event. This widespread reaction was a testament to just how remarkable Amber's transformation was.

As the moments ticked by, the intense and bright Crimson Aura surrounding Amber began to dim. It was as if the energy that had been so vibrant and alive was settling into her, becoming a part of her very being. Gradually, the light faded away completely, leaving the room bathed in normality once more.

But when everyone's eyes turned to Amber's face, normality was the furthest thing from their minds. They were left stunned and in deep shock, their faces reflecting a mixture of astonishment and disbelief.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

" I made a mistake here. I thought 499 was actually chapter 500. Just today I realized this mistake. But what can I do, I already have written such a long chapter. The damage is irreversible. For today, only one chapter as I am very busy with some personal stuff. From tomorrow, I will upload two 2 chapters. And yes, I haven't forgotten about all the that I own you all."

Chapter 501

As the vibrant Crimson Aura that had enveloped Amber finally faded away, everyone in the room found themselves staring in awe and disbelief. Although the woman standing before them still had a familiar face that they recognized as Amber's, her fox-like features had undergone a complete transformation. Gone were her fox tails and ears; she now appeared as if she was an ordinary human being. It would be hard for anyone to guess that she had ever had any fox attributes.

Staring at this new version of Amber, everyone was at a loss for words. Their faces showed a complicated mixture of shock, amazement, and perhaps a bit of confusion.

Breaking the stunned silence, Amber giggled softly. "Hehe," she chuckled, her eyes twinkling with delight.

Aditya, who had been observing the changes closely, finally spoke, "It seems that the merging of both the dragon and fox bloodlines within you has altered not just your abilities, but also your appearance."

And it wasn't just her animal features that had changed. Even her hair, which was once a different color, had turned black, framing her face like a dark halo. She had always been beautiful, but now her beauty was breathtaking. Her face had a celestial quality to it, as if she were a fairy that had descended from the heavens to grace the mortal world. It wasn't just Aditya who noticed this; the others in the room could also see that Amber had transcended into a realm of beauty that matched, Aditya's other fiancées.

Amber had undergone a profound transformation. Not only had her appearance altered, but even the energy or Aura that surrounded her had evolved. Now a Beginner 5th-order cultivator, it was evident that she had gained immense power from consuming the Nine-Tailed Fox core.

Curiosity filled the air as Aditya, followed by the others in the room, couldn't help but wonder about this unprecedented change. "Amber, do you know the name of your newly evolved bloodline?" Aditya inquired. In all the history of their world, or at least as far as they were aware, no one had ever experienced such a dramatic transformation.

Amber chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling with excitement and a dash of playfulness. "Hehe! To be honest, I have no idea. Since you played a crucial role in this evolution, Your Majesty, why don't you have the honor of naming my new bloodline?"

Aditya paused, deep in thought. The task was monumental; her new bloodline was a unique blend of her original fox traits and his own divine dragon blood. Whatever he chose needed to be a name that would honor both aspects equally.

After a few moments, an idea popped into his mind. "How about we call it the Ethereal Phantom Dragon-Fox Bloodline?"

Amber repeated the name softly, letting each syllable roll off her tongue as if tasting a new and exotic flavor. "Ethereal Phantom Dragon-Fox Bloodline," she said, almost whispering, clearly savoring the name. Her face brightened, and it was evident she was enamored with the title. "I like it, I really like it," she beamed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Amber said, her head dipping in a slight bow towards Aditya. Memories flooded back to a time when she was a mere slave, her ability to cultivate Mana irreparably damaged. She mana heart was destroyed. She had been resigned to a life of servitude, devoid of any hope, as she awaited a potential owner to buy her from the slave traders.

She had heard rumors about Aditya before she was purchased by him. He was known as a neglectful king, an alcoholic who seemed to care more for his drinks than his kingdom. His days were a continuous cycle of drinking all night and sleeping it off throughout the day.

Initially, Amber wasn't sure why he had chosen to buy her. What could he want with a slave whose abilities were so limited? Yet, from the moment she was brought into his kingdom, her life began to shift in directions she had never anticipated. Her ability to cultivate Mana was miraculously restored, and she was elevated from a life of slavery to the esteemed role of a general in the burgeoning Istarin Kingdom.

Fast forward a year, and she now stood as the strongest general in what had become the most formidable empire in the entire world. Her gratitude towards Aditya was immeasurable; he had quite literally saved her from a hopeless existence. It was as if he had appeared at the end of her dark, bleak tunnel not just to offer her a glimmer of light, but to completely demolish the tunnel itself, rescuing her into a world filled with endless possibilities.

As she stood there, gazing at Aditya, a torrent of thoughts swirled through Amber's mind. 'Even if I never capture Your Majesty's attention in the way I secretly hope, it's alright. Even if I remain just a peripheral figure in the grand tapestry of your life, my devotion to you will remain unwavering. I'm your loyal sword, forever ready to serve. I will stand by you through thick and thin, irrespective of what place I hold in your life.'

Amber had always kept her deeper feelings for Aditya securely locked away. Even now, after the incredible evolution of her bloodline, she couldn't muster the courage to step forward into the spotlight of his romantic life, especially given that he already had five goddess as his fiances.

For her, the mere privilege of being by his side in any capacity felt like enough. 'Just being your loyal general, watching over you from a distance, serving your needs, that's far better than having no place in your life at all,' she silently affirmed to herself.

Unbeknownst to her, if Aditya could hear the echoing thoughts in her mind, he would respond with a sigh. "It's not that I'm blind to your affection for me, Amber. I do sense a stir of feelings within my heart where you're concerned. But relationships, like everything else worth having, must be carefully nurtured over time. I need time to fully grasp my emotions for you, to authentically reciprocate your feelings, rather than rushing into something neither of us is fully prepared for." In Aditya's perspective, things were evolving rapidly with Amber, and he believed in letting emotions mature naturally over time.

"Amber, where did your fox features go? What happened to your fox ears and tails?" Julia, who had always been Amber's closest friend, couldn't help but ask, her fingers lightly tracing the contours of Amber's transformed hair and complexion.

"Oh, don't worry," Amber reassured her, smiling warmly. "I can still bring out my fox tails and ears whenever I want to." No sooner had she spoken than her appearance began to alter. Her hair shifted in hue from its black shade to a vivid, unmistakable Crimson. Her pupils underwent a similar change, turning a deep, fiery red. In a moment, Crimson-colored fox ears sprang to life atop her head, and nine luxuriously fluffy tails appeared behind her.

Everyone present watched in awe, clearly impressed. Even when donning her Kitsune form, Amber radiated an irresistible cuteness that captivated all who saw her.

"So does this mean you can also morph into a dragon?" Alicia asked, her eyes wide with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

"No, that's not something I can do," Amber clarified, her gaze meeting each pair of eyes in turn. "Although I carry a dragon's aura within me thanks to Aditya, I don't possess any of the physical traits associated with dragons. My inherent form remains that of fox-folk, my original race."

The crowd nodded, absorbing this information. If Amber could effortlessly switch between a dragon and a fox, it would essentially make her a natural shapeshifter, a concept that defied the laws of their world. But what they understood now was that Amber's Royal Fox Queen bloodline was so pure and potent that even after its evolution, it allowed her to maintain her fox-like features. What was particularly fascinating to them was the way her fox features now bore the distinctive Crimson hue that reflected Aditya's own unique Divine Crimson bloodline.

"Alright, girls, it's time for you all to go back to your room. It's has gotten really late. Go to sleep. Tomorrow, you all will have to wake up quite early." Julia said while waving her hands as if signalling them to leave now. They had played, exchanged gifts and even have witnessed Amber's evolution, and now it was time to go back to their own rooms.

"Hmph! You want us to leave just so that you three can fuck like rabbits." Sasha snorted and said. Although Sasha's words were rude, no one minded it. And also, what she was the truth indeed. Hearing her words, Alicia and Julia's faces slightly turned red.

Cough....Cough..!!!

Julia even coughed a few times.

Meanwhile, Aditya didn't even notice when Lilith sneakily came behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and firmly pushed her boobs against his back. "Hehe! Little Emperor, why don't you invite me to stay. We can do all sorts of naughty things...."

Aditya "..."

Aditya felt that Lilith has become even more bolder now. She was openly teasing him like this. If she wasn't Sasha's mother, then he would have eaten her.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Amber's image is in the comment section if anyone is curious about her new transformation.

Chapter 502

In the stillness of the early morning, after a night filled with unrestrained passion, the Dragon Palace was enveloped in a deep calm. Last night, After everyone left his room, they had went wild. Aditya found himself cozily sandwiched between Julia and Alicia. Their arms were wrapped around him, almost as if they were competing for his attention, even in sleep. Aditya seemed peaceful, his face relaxed, but that tranquility shattered abruptly. He opened his eyes, and his brows furrowed, knitting together in a look of deep concern.

Without uttering a single syllable, he cautiously disentangled himself from the soft, embracing arms of Julia and Alicia. He moved them gently aside, taking great care not to disturb their slumber. Both women remained blissfully unaware as Aditya slipped out of bed and padded softly towards the living room.

As he entered the living room, Amber, who was already up, noticed him. "Your Majesty, good morning. It looks like you're headed somewhere?" she asked. The sun had barely started its ascent, and the Dragon Palace was usually still lost in dreams at this hour. Amber was taken aback to see Aditya up and about, especially given the stern expression marking his features.

"Morning, Amber. What brings you here?" Aditya questioned, visibly surprised to find her awake and in the living room at this ungodly hour.

"Your Majesty, I spent the entire night cultivating to stabilize my newfound powers. I got a bit peckish, so I came out here to grab a bite," Amber explained. Her efforts had paid off; she had successfully advanced to a beginner 5th-order last night. She had continued to cultivate through the night to stabilize her cultivation and also she gained a firmer grasp on her newly acquired abilities.

Just as Aditya was about to reveal his destination to Amber, he noticed his loyal butler, Watson, emerging from the kitchen. Watson was holding a plate brimming with freshly sliced fruits, obviously intended for Amber. The butler did a double-take upon seeing Aditya, clearly not expecting the young emperor to be up and about at this hour.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Watson greeted, still wearing an expression of mild surprise. "You're up rather early today. May I inquire where you're off to?"

Aditya paused for a moment before responding, "I'm heading to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire."

Watson and Amber exchanged puzzled glances before turning their attention back to Aditya. "The Northern Frost Dragon Empire?" Amber echoed, her eyebrows knitting together in bewilderment. "Why are you going to the southern region so early in the morning?"

Watson chimed in, equally perplexed. "Yes, Your Majesty, is there a specific reason for this sudden journey? It's highly unusual for you to leave at this hour, especially without informing anyone."

Their faces were marked by confusion and concern, eagerly awaiting Aditya's explanation. They couldn't fathom why he'd embark on a trip to such a distant and potentially dangerous territory with the day barely begun.

"The reason I'm heading there is that three of my Dragonians have been killed," Aditya said, his brow furrowing even more. This morning, he was awakened by an ominous sensation, one that informed him of the demise of three of his Dragonians in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Due to the bond formed when he shared a drop of his divine Crimson Dragon bloodline with them, Aditya could sense their well-being and locations. If any of his Dragonians met their end, he would immediately know about it.

However, it wasn't just the fact that he lost Dragonians that urged him to rise so early and embark on this trip. If the fallen had been lesser in strength, he would have merely sent Nathan or one of his other generals to look into the situation. He'd then carry on with his vacation without much worry. But this was a different matter altogether.

The Dragonians who had been killed were far from ordinary. They were formidable warriors, whom he had dispatched to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire for a specific mission about five and a half months ago. One of them was a beginner-level 5th-order cultivator but had the skills to even beat a mid-level 5th-order cultivator. The other two were at the peak of 4th-order but were capable of going head-to-head with 5th-order cultivators, especially if they used their unique abilities wisely.

For warriors of such caliber to be killed could only mean that their assailant was extremely powerful. Moreover, this act was a blatant provocation, a sign that the perpetrator did not fear the consequences of offending the Istarin Empire. Aditya knew that the gravity of this incident was too great to be handled by anyone else.

Determined to take matters into his own hands, Aditya decided he would personally travel to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire to investigate and exact revenge. With the vast extent of his capabilities, a single day would be more than sufficient to annihilate the individual or group audacious enough to murder his Dragonians. The urgency of resolving this dire issue was the reason he chose to head there himself.

"Watson, once everyone wakes up, inform them of my sudden departure to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire," Aditya instructed his butler, his voice imbued with an air of authority.

"Understood, Your Majesty," Watson responded, his tone equally formal and respectful.

Just as Aditya was about to turn away, Amber hesitated before speaking. "Your Majesty, may I accompany you on this journey?"

Aditya looked at her, slightly puzzled. "Why would you want to come?"

"Your Majesty, I've recently advanced to a beginner 5th-order cultivator," Amber explained, her eyes shining with a blend of excitement and earnestness. "I wish to test and utilize my newfound abilities. This mission presents a fitting opportunity to do so."

Considering her words, Aditya weighed the risks and benefits. Ultimately, he found her request to be reasonable. "Very well, Amber. You may come along. Prepare yourself; we leave immediately."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will not disappoint you," Amber replied, her voice tinged with a mixture of relief and anticipation.

Scene change_______

As Amber walked alongside Aditya on their way to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, a question gnawed at her thoughts, one that she felt she needed to ask. Finally, she mustered the courage to speak up.

"Your Majesty, if you don't mind me asking, why did you send such formidable Dragonians to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire in the first place?" Amber's voice was tinged with genuine curiosity. She had never heard of any official missions or operations targeted at that particular region. The Northern Frost Dragon Empire had been in a state of disarray and internal strife for the past seven months, ever since the death of their leader, the White Dragon King. The Istarin Empire had made no overt moves to annex this neighboring territory, even though it constituted nearly half of the entire Southern region.

As they continued their march, Aditya took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying. "When the White Dragon Emperor passed away, his demise triggered a brutal internal conflict among his children, each vying for the throne," Aditya began, his words measured and precise.

Amber nodded in agreement; this was common knowledge, public information that had circulated far and wide.

"What you might not know," Aditya continued, "is that several months ago, I made a discreet journey to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. My objective was to meet with a particular individual, the 5th-prince, one of the late White Dragon Emperor's sons."

Upon hearing this revelation, Amber couldn't conceal her surprise. She was a high-ranking general in the Empire's army, yet she had never been privy to this piece of confidential information.

"The reason for the secrecy surrounding this meeting," Aditya added, sensing Amber's astonishment. "But now you are part of this mission, it's crucial that you're informed." Amber felt a mixture of relief and curiosity. Now, more than ever, she was keenly aware of the gravity of their mission, and the intricate web of political and military maneuvers that had led them to this point.

"Besides Watson, Nathan, and a select few within the Shadow Guardian, nobody else is in the loop about this particular mission," Aditya stated, his tone emphasizing the confidentiality of what he was about to share. Amber nodded in understanding, acutely aware of the weighty matters that were being discussed.

"Now, let me elaborate," Aditya continued, "Over the course of its 500-year existence, the Church founded by the White Dragon King has grown exceptionally influential. It has accumulated so much political power that whichever of the late King's children gains the Church's endorsement is practically guaranteed to be crowned the next Emperor. And this led to a scramble among the royal siblings to win the Church's favor."

Amber listened intently, absorbing each word.

"But the fifth-prince is a different breed altogether," Aditya went on, his eyes showing a glimmer of respect. "He is extraordinarily mature and possesses an intellect that far surpasses his siblings. To me, he stands as the ideal candidate to fill the void left by his father, the late White Dragon King."

Here, Aditya paused to weave in some added context that Amber needed to know. "You see, after the death of the White Dragon King, the battle for the throne erupted, dividing the royal family into factions, each clamoring for control. Among all the princes and princesses, the fifth-prince found himself at a significant disadvantage. He lacked the political sway and power that his siblings enjoyed, forcing him into a sort of exile, laying low to avoid becoming a casualty in the sibling rivalry."

"The fifth-prince had no other option but to go into hiding, steering clear of the chaos that had engulfed the royal palace," Aditya explained further. "And that's when our paths crossed. Seeing his potential, we struck a deal. The Istarin Empire would covertly supply him with highly skilled cultivators and the resources he'd require to ascend to the throne. We're invested in his success because a stable and friendly neighbor benefits us as well."

Amber now realized the full scope of the geopolitical moves that had been in play behind the scenes. This knowledge deepened her understanding of why their current mission was of such critical importance.

"So, here's where it gets even more complex," Aditya resumed, his forehead creased in concern. "I dispatched some of my most formidable Dragonians to protect the fifth-prince, who goes by the name of Jordan. Their main mission was to keep him safe, listen to his directives, and assist him in whatever ways necessary."

Amber's eyes widened slightly, intrigued by the scope of Aditya's covert operations.

"And it wasn't just a one-time thing," Aditya added, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. "I have been in regular communication with Jordan, exchanging letters on a monthly basis to stay updated on the situation. Based on his last correspondence, everything seemed to be moving in a favorable direction for him. He was confident that if things continued as they were, he'd soon be able to claim the throne."

Amber noted the seriousness on Aditya's face as he concluded his point. "What baffles me is the abrupt turn of events that led to the demise of my Dragonians. I can't even confirm if Jordan is still alive, and that's what's worrying me the most."

Amber could see the genuine concern etched onto Aditya's face, a sharp contrast to his usually composed demeanor.

"So, our first course of action is to find Jordan? Is that the plan?" Amber inquired, seeking clarification on their immediate objectives.

Aditya nodded, his face reflecting a mix of determination and apprehension. "Yes, meeting Jordan is our priority. If he's safe, then we can proceed to investigate what led to this tragedy. If not, then we have an even bigger problem on our hands."

The gravity of the situation was now fully comprehensible to Amber. The unexpected deaths had disrupted carefully laid plans, and the stakes were higher than she initially understood. Both of them now shared a common understanding of the urgent mission that lay ahead.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 503

Xolas City serves as a key urban center in the sprawling Northern Frost Dragon Empire, an empire that found itself in utter turmoil following the unexpected death of its long-reigning monarch, the White Dragon King. His demise set off a chain reaction of chaos and infighting, plunging the empire into a brutal civil war. The Northern Frost Dragon Empire stretches across nearly half of the Southern region of the Dying Isle Continent, making its instability a matter of great concern.

In the first month following the emperor's passing, a whirlwind of political maneuvering and military clashes engulfed the realm. The most immediate and glaring consequence was a contentious battle for succession among the White Dragon King's numerous offspring. Each prince and princess was keen on seizing the opportunity to occupy the vacant throne, setting off a familial war that tore at the fabric of the already beleaguered empire.

The White Dragon King had been a fixture of stability and power for over half a millennium, ruling his domain for over 500 years. His sudden departure from life had left a power vacuum that no one was prepared to fill adequately. The ramifications of his absence were made even more acute by a conflict that had preceded his death. A fierce war had erupted between his own Northern Frost Dragon Empire and their historical adversaries, the Southern Fire Dragon Empire.

In that titanic struggle, the White Dragon King had dispatched his most favored child, Charles, whom many believed was being groomed to take over the empire eventually. Charles was not just another prince; he was widely considered to be the most likely successor to his father's throne. Tragically, Charles met his end during the hostilities between the two warring dragon empires. His death was a significant blow, not only to his father but also to the unity and future of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire.

Now, with both the White Dragon King and Charles gone, the empire found itself in a precarious state, bereft of stable leadership and ravaged by internal strife. The absence of these two influential figures had set the stage for an unpredictable and perilous future.

Even though the White Dragon King managed to maintain a stoic facade when his favored son Charles died, the event had a seismic impact on the royal family. Charles' death ignited a newfound hope among his siblings, who had, until then, largely resigned themselves to a life without the prospect of ever ascending to the throne of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire.

Contrary to the aspirations of his children, the White Dragon King had never actually intended for any of them to inherit his position. In his eyes, none were adequately prepared or capable of taking on the monumental task of ruling an empire. He had always planned to be the sole leader for the entirety of his life, never contemplating a successor. However, his untimely death threw this equilibrium off balance, causing a massive power vacuum that severely destabilized both the political and military structures of the empire.

The resulting instability erupted into an all-consuming civil war that yielded no true winners. The conflict was devastating, leading to the death of over a hundred thousand innocent civilians who were caught in the crossfire. As for the nobility, they found themselves in a complicated dilemma. They were compelled to choose sides, aligning themselves with one of the White Dragon King's numerous children who were vying for power.

While some of the more powerful noble families initially tried to remain impartial, that neutrality proved unsustainable in the face of intense political pressures and shifting alliances. Their hesitance to pick sides was quickly met with punitive actions. The weaker nobles, who had first chosen the path of neutrality, were among the earliest casualties of this internal strife, losing their lives and estates in quick succession. This grim outcome served as a cautionary tale to the remaining influential families, emphasizing that sitting on the fence was no longer an option.

The message was clear: in this perilous and divided landscape, neutrality equated to vulnerability. Everyone had to make a choice, and that choice would determine their survival and future standing within the fractured empire.

The political landscape of the empire was in utter disarray, to put it mildly. The military, which had already been severely weakened from their prior engagements with the Southern Fire Dragon Empire, found itself at the breaking point. Devoid of the steadying influence of the White Dragon King, they were ill-equipped to withstand the mounting pressures from various political factions jockeying for control.

Inside the military ranks, divisions ran deep. There were factions who openly endorsed the church, viewing it as a stable institution that could perhaps bring some semblance of order. On the other hand, there were those who aligned themselves with one or another of the would-be successors to the throne, swayed either by personal loyalties, promises of future power, or ideological alignment.

The unity that a military organization relies on for its strength had been thoroughly compromised. High-ranking officers, including influential generals and captains, were no longer on the same page. Some leveraged their influence and resources to prop up specific princes, offering both covert and overt assistance in their bids for the throne. Weapons were redirected, troops were repositioned, and secret strategies were leaked, all in service of various internal factions rather than the good of the empire itself.

The result was a military structure that was fundamentally fractured, rife with internal conflicts that rendered it incapable of effectively protecting the empire or even itself. In essence, the military didn't just weaken; it imploded from within, torn apart by competing allegiances and rendered ineffective by its own internal strife. With this collapse, whatever threadbare semblance of stability that had remained in the empire was irrevocably lost, plunging the Northern Frost Dragon Empire into deeper chaos.

In the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, the church wielded an immense amount of behind-the-scenes power and influence. Founded by the Emperor himself, this religious institution had gradually entrenched itself deeply into the political framework over the span of 500 years. After the Emperor's untimely demise, all eyes turned to the church, eagerly waiting for it to endorse one of the late White Dragon King's offspring as the legitimate successor to the throne. However, that moment never came.

Publicly, the church denounced the violent power struggles tearing the royal family apart, decrying the loss of moral values and the unethical quests for power. But behind closed doors, they maintained cordial relations with each and every claimant to the throne, playing all sides against each other.

Their unwillingness to take a decisive stance had catastrophic implications for an already fragile empire. In a realm fueled by cultivation practices, the destabilization wrought by civil war led to a complete breakdown of social structures. The economy, already weakened by prior conflicts, nosedived further. Commerce ground to a halt, with merchants afraid to traverse the dangerous lands and sea routes. This impacted the cultivation resource market significantly, leading to a scarcity of essential materials required for advancing one's powers.

The poverty rate skyrocketed as jobs vanished and livelihoods were destroyed. Without stable income, families couldn't afford the necessary resources for cultivation, creating a cycle of impoverishment and weakening the empire's overall strength.

Death rates also surged, and not just among combatants. The average citizens found themselves caught in the crossfire or subjected to the cruelties of rogue cultivators who took advantage of the chaos. Many were forced to abandon their homes, seeking refuge elsewhere, but finding shelter became increasingly difficult as resources grew scarce.

In terms of food and shelter, the situation was equally grim. With the collapse of centralized power, regional lords and nobles hoarded essential resources. The prices for basic commodities like grain, meat, and vegetables soared, becoming luxury items that only the affluent could afford.

All of these calamities were compounded by the lack of a guiding moral authority. The church, which could have been a beacon of stability and ethical governance, instead revealed its hypocritical nature. Their public pronouncements were increasingly seen as empty rhetoric, as they chose to perpetuate the war for their own shadowy aims, rather than bring it to a decisive and peaceful conclusion.

In essence, the church's failure to act unequivocally set off a chain reaction that plunged the empire into a chasm of economic decay, social upheaval, and an utter lack of safety and well-being for its citizens. It was an empire in name only, its glory days a distant memory, as it continued to fracture and burn from within.

In the midst of the pandemonium that had enveloped the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, the 5th-prince, Jordan, had shown keen insight into the dangers posed by the church's increasing influence. Despite the covert support he received from the Istarin Empire, it seemed that his efforts had ultimately been in vain.

"And so, it appears that Jordan has met his end, extinguishing the final roadblock in the church's path to unchecked power," said Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, softly. His gaze was fixed on the lifeless form of Jordan, who lay sprawled on the ground of Xolas city's grand hall. Beside him, equally lifeless, were the bodies of three of Aditya's most formidable Dragonians—warriors he had personally dispatched to aid and protect the young prince.

Standing next to Aditya was General Amber, her eyes also filled with a complicated blend of disappointment, regret, and concern. Both of them had traveled to this desolate city to personally confirm the devastating news of Jordan's demise and to pay their last respects.

It was an especially bitter pill for Aditya to swallow. He and Jordan had struck a clandestine deal, where Aditya had pledged to offer both resources and military support to Jordan. These resources were meant to bolster Jordan's chances in the chaotic war for succession, pitting him against his own siblings. The hope was that Jordan, whom Aditya had considered a promising and mature leader, would rise to the throne and restore some semblance of order to the troubled empire.

But as he looked down at the fallen prince and his Dragonian guards, Aditya felt the weight of his failed gambit. All the efforts, the resources poured into this alliance, and the clandestine operations designed to empower Jordan had come to naught. All that was left were the still bodies on the floor, a grim testament to the church's accelerating ascension and the empire's further descent into anarchy.

"The death of Jordan not only marks a personal loss for us," Aditya mumbled, almost as if talking to himself, "but also symbolizes the crumbling of the last barrier that could have prevented the church from consolidating its dangerous influence."

Witnessing the grotesque scene, Aditya couldn't help but feel his heart sink into an abyss of sorrow and rage. The sight was unbearable: Jordan's head lay severed, a grim distance from his lifeless body, as if to mock the very idea of royal dignity. Around him were Aditya's own Dragonians, their bodies marred by countless wounds and scars of varying sizes and depths. It was evident that these loyal warriors had fought valiantly, perhaps to their last breath, to protect Prince Jordan.

Each scar told a tale of a brutal and vicious struggle, implying that the church had dispatched a considerable number of skilled cultivators to ensure the prince's downfall. This wasn't just a simple assassination; it was a veritable battle.

Aditya felt a sharp pain pierce through his heart as his eyes scanned the lifeless faces of his Dragonians, who had been among his empire's finest warriors. They had served him loyally, and in their final moments, they had upheld their duty with fierce courage. The realization that they had met such a brutal end under his command weighed heavily on Aditya's conscience.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered with an icy killing intent, and the air around him seemed to grow colder, as if mirroring the frigid emotions brewing within him. "This isn't just a senseless slaughter. It's also a clear message to us—to the Istarin Empire," he uttered, his voice tinged with a frigid calmness that contrasted starkly with the heat of his emotions.

The church had options. They could have neutralized Jordan while leaving the Dragonians incapacitated but alive. But no, they chose the path of total annihilation, deliberately killing Aditya's most elite and highly-ranked warriors. This was an overt act of provocation, a challenge slung in the face of the Istarin Empire.

It was as if the church was saying: 'Not only can we take down the prince you supported, but we can also eliminate your best, right under your nose.'

Standing beside him, General Amber sensed the shift in her Emperor's demeanor. She too felt the weight of the message that the scene before them conveyed—a challenge, a declaration of war, delivered through the death of their comrades and allies. The stakes had become undeniably clear, and the battle lines firmly drawn.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 504

On what was supposed to be a day of celebration, Aditya found himself standing amidst death and betrayal. It was his birthday, yet the grim reality before him left no room for festivities. A wave of exhaustion washed over him as he realized that the day was far from over; in fact, it was shaping up to be one of the longest and darkest days of his life.

General Amber, who had been at his side through countless battles, stood there surveying the grotesque scene. She had a pretty good idea of what was coming next. She hesitated momentarily before speaking, her voice tinged with both uncertainty and expectation. "Your Majesty, are we going to...?" Her voice trailed off, leaving the question unfinished but clear in its intent.

Aditya looked at her, his eyes still icy but also full of understanding. He knew exactly what she was asking without her having to articulate it. "Yes," he confirmed, his voice colder than ever, as if each word were carved from a block of ice. "The Church will pay a steep price for this."

He continued, "Initially, I had reservations about extending our influence into the territories of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Back then, the Istarin Empire had just acquired an enormous amount of new land. Our military was stretched thin, and adding more territory would have been an irresponsible move. We were already struggling to secure our existing borders."

Aditya paused, collecting his thoughts before going on. "But the circumstances have changed now. The Church has openly provoked us. They've killed our allies and desecrated this place with their treachery. Adding insult to injury, they chose to do it on a day that should have been one of personal joy for me. It's an affront that can't go unanswered. The Church has slapped us in the face, and it's high time we slapped them back. They will rue the day they chose to cross the Istarin Empire."

Standing amidst the grim tableau of death, Aditya looked down at the lifeless bodies of Prince Jordan and the three Dragonians who had fought valiantly beside him. These fallen warriors were a stark reminder of the cost of treachery and political maneuvering.

"Amber," Aditya began, his voice tinged with a solemnity that matched the gravitas of the situation, "ensure that my Dragonians are taken back to the Istarin Empire for a proper burial, a ceremony befitting their sacrifice and valor." His eyes shifted to the body of the fifth prince, Jordan. "As for him," he paused, weighing his words carefully. "He was our ally, and in death, he deserves our respect. Send his body back with our Dragonians, so he may also receive a burial worthy of his station."

Amber simply nodded, understanding the full import of Aditya's instructions. "Understood, Your Majesty," she said, her voice carrying a respectful acknowledgment of both the order and the emotion behind it.

A little distance away, roughly about 100 meters from where Aditya and Amber were standing, a crowd had gathered. They were a motley assortment of citizens, each with their own loyalties and convictions. Aditya and Amber had made no effort to conceal their identities, and so the crowd had watched the entire event unfold in front of their eyes.

The opinions among the assembled people were as diverse as they were conflicted. Some were supporters of the fifth prince, mourning the loss of a man they believed could have been a fair ruler. Others bore no love for the church and were more inclined to side with the Istarin Empire, given its reputation for strength and justice. Yet another faction was deeply religious, their faith aligning them firmly with the church. They wished for nothing more than for Aditya to take his leave from their lands as quickly as possible.

However, no one dared to voice their opinions openly. The atmosphere was thick with tension, and they could sense the dark mood that clung to Aditya like a cloak. Even those with strong convictions held their tongues, recognizing that speaking out at this moment could very likely be their last act. Aditya's palpable displeasure served as an unspoken warning, a cautionary tale in a land already rife with cautionary tales. It was clear to everyone: this was not the time to test the limits of the Istarin Emperor's patience.

Just as they concluded their solemn duties among the fallen, Aditya turned his back on the tragic scene, signaling his readiness to depart. Amber, sensing the shift, quickly fell into step behind him, her eyes clouding with uncertainty. This was the first time she had seen Aditya look so cold and displeased, and she couldn't shake the feeling that he was on the verge of making a historic decision, one that would leave an indelible mark on the world.

"Your Majesty, where shall we head now?" Amber inquired cautiously, her voice tinged with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. She felt as if they were on the cusp of a pivotal moment, and she couldn't fathom what would come next.

As the pair moved forward, the crowd that had gathered sensed their intentions and instinctively parted, clearing a path for Aditya and General Amber to pass through. For his part, Aditya couldn't care less about the thoughts and judgments of the assembled onlookers. He had long since accepted the simple truth that it was impossible to please everyone in life. Now was not a time for concern about public opinion; he had more pressing matters to attend to.

Breaking the uneasy silence that hung between them, Aditya finally spoke, his voice as cold as the Arctic winds. "What else could we be doing at a time like this? We're going to light up the sky with Crimson Flames." With that ominous declaration, he continued to walk, his form slowly disappearing into the distance, leaving a crowd of anxious and bewildered people in his wake, pondering what the meaning of his words could be.

Just as Aditya and Amber were about to leave the vicinity, a distinct voice rang out, arresting their steps. Emerging from the crowd was a man dressed in pristine white garments, gripping a staff in his hands. He seemed to carry an air of divine authority.

"Dead people, we've cleansed our sacred land of pollution. The 5th-prince Jordan, regrettably, was tainted by the influence of the Istarin Empire," he proclaimed with an audacious tone. "Moreover, the Emperor had the audacity to dispatch Dragonians into our hallowed grounds, disturbing our tranquility and sowing discord."

Aditya paused mid-stride and pivoted to face the audacious speaker. Amber, trailing closely behind him, suddenly felt an increase in the ambient temperature. It took her a moment to realize that the heat was emanating from Aditya himself, as if his body were a furnace fueled by suppressed fury.

Identifiable by his clothing and bearing, it was evident that the man was a servant of the church.

"In eliminating this foul presence, peace will inevitably be restored to our lands. These words come directly from our Pope," the man continued, casting a smug grin in Aditya's direction as he spoke.

The crowd around them, hearing that this message was endorsed by the Pope, seemed to lean in favor of the church's servant. After all, the Pope was a figure of enormous significance in their culture, considered the epitome of kindness and virtue. Nobody dared to speak ill of him for fear of retaliation from his devoted followers, who would vehemently defend his honor.

This public endorsement, couched in language that was clearly meant to provoke, turned the eyes of the crowd toward Aditya, waiting for his reaction. Would the Istarin Emperor let this insult slide, or would the air ignite from the spark of his smoldering rage?

Surveying the crowd, Aditya noted that the majority seemed to side with the man from the church. It was hardly surprising; much of the Empire's population was uneducated and vulnerable to the carefully crafted rhetoric of religious authority figures. Attacking the man now would risk a backlash from the masses, who were already primed to view him as an outsider and an intruder.

He also realized that this public confrontation was a trap. The man from the church was baiting him, aiming to provoke a hostile response that would ruin his reputation. The church would surely use such an event as propaganda, painting Aditya as the villain in their carefully constructed narrative.

"Let's go," Aditya finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. He was well aware that launching a military action against the Northern Frost Dragon Empire in response to this provocation was not an option. After all, from a certain standpoint, he was in the wrong for sending his Dragonians into foreign territory. However, that didn't mean he was powerless.

Without uttering another word, Aditya turned his back on the crowd and began to walk away, with General Amber following closely behind. As they departed, the man from the church, who had been eyeing Aditya expectantly, found his insides churning with frustration. He had failed to elicit any sort of reaction, not even a glimmer of emotion crossing the Istarin Emperor's face.

From a distance, it might have seemed as though the church had won this public relations skirmish. But what the crowd failed to understand was the insidious nature of the church's influence. Cloaked in divine rhetoric, the institution wielded enormous power over the 90% of the population who lacked education and discernment. They played the part of saviors, angelic figures offering guidance, but in reality, they were the architects of chaos and division. By cunningly seizing this opportunity to frame Aditya and the Istarin Empire as the cause of the ongoing strife in the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, they had revealed themselves to be master manipulators, expert at shaping public opinion to serve their own ends.

Chapter 505

The main church of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire is an awe-inspiring edifice that stands as a testament to the intricate fusion of architectural grandeur and religious fervor. Situated in the heart of the Empire's capital, the church takes up an expansive piece of land, so large that it takes several minutes just to walk from one end of the property to the other.

Constructed primarily from white marble, quarried from the rare alabaster mountains to the north, the church gleams in the sunlight, its imposing form visible from miles away. A series of tall, slender spires rise toward the sky, and ornate buttresses offer both support and decoration. The whole structure is infused with an ethereal glow, thanks to thousands of inset diamonds and crystals that catch and refract the light. Stained glass windows, rich with depictions of angelic beings and holy scriptures, adorn the walls, creating kaleidoscopic patterns of light within the hallowed interior.

The most striking feature, however, is the statue that crowns the church. Carved with painstaking detail, a life-sized statue of the White Dragon King graces the highest spire. With wings outstretched, it seems almost as if he's poised to take flight, gazing down benevolently upon the masses below. The statue is coated in a layer of luminescent material that makes it shimmer with an otherworldly light, especially under the moon and stars. It's a sight that would take anyone's breath away, underscoring the narrative that this man was an angel descended from heaven.

Inside, the central nave of the church is no less opulent. Rows of intricately carved pews provide seating for hundreds, and the altar at the front is a magnificent work of art made from gold, silver, and precious stones. Wall frescoes tell the story of the White Dragon King's supposed descent from the heavens and his acts of kindness and valor, reinforcing the church's carefully crafted narrative.

Surrounding the main building are gardens, fountains, and smaller chapels dedicated to various saints and archangels, adding to the sense of sanctity and divinity that pervades the area.

All these architectural details serve to perpetuate the myth of the White Dragon King as an angel, a narrative that has been handed down through generations and is deeply imprinted in the psyche of the common folk. The sheer size and grandiosity of the church amplify its message, making it easier for the people to believe in the divine nature of their once-living king.

Inside the church_____

Inside the sprawling, opulent main hall of the church's inner sanctum, a long, rectangular table stood as the centerpiece. Made of dark mahogany and inlaid with gold, the table was surrounded by 12 regal chairs, each one ornately designed to symbolize the importance of the person who would occupy it. Seated in these chairs were the pillars of the Church: the Holy Son, the Holy Knight Captain, the Head Nun, and other figures of great influence and power. Each person radiated authority, yet their faces wore expressions of solemnity.

One chair, however, remained conspicuously empty. It was a chair that once belonged to the White Dragon King, the supposed founder of the Church. Since his death, the chair had stood vacant, a symbol of the missing Emperor of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. As if in reverence, or perhaps out of superstition, no one had ever sat in it since his passing.

In the room, silence hung heavy, as thick and palpable as the incense-laden air. Not a single whisper, not a rustle of fabric; it was as if the very walls were holding their breath, waiting. The tension was only broken when footsteps echoed in the corridor, signaling the arrival of someone important.

The Church had long claimed that the White Dragon King was an angelic emissary of God. For over 500 years, they had been leveraging his charismatic legend to their advantage. Many people had heard tales or even claimed to have seen the White Dragon King, and his extreme good looks and angelic wings only fueled their beliefs. Through carefully crafted stories and outright lies, the Church had been wildly successful in convincing the common folk that the White Dragon King was nothing less than a celestial being who had graced the earth.

But behind the mask of piety, the Church's intentions were far from divine. Ever since the death of the White Dragon King, the Church had transitioned under the almost dictatorial control of the Pope. In this shadowy room, where decisions that shaped the destiny of an empire were made, these so-called holy men and women plotted not for the spiritual well-being of their flock but for more worldly gains. Their smiles masked their true natures, their grand robes concealed hearts filled with greed and lust for power. While claiming to be the voice of divinity, they had turned the institution into a mechanism for manipulation and control. In the name of a long-dead king who may not even approve of their actions, they conspired, knowing that their manipulated narrative would keep the ignorant masses in line.

"His Holiness, Pope Alaric, has arrived," announced a deep voice, filled with a reverence that bordered on awe. The heavy wooden doors swung open and in walked the Pope, flanked by two imposing figures dressed in shining armor—beginner 5th-order Holy Knights, their faces stern and eyes vigilant. The entire room immediately shifted its focus to the Pope, a signal that the important meeting could finally commence.

Pope Alaric was an elderly man, his hair a snowy white that contrasted sharply with the deep crimson of his intricate, flowing robes. Despite his advanced age, there was an undeniable vigor to him, a tautness in his posture and a sparkle in his eyes that belied a reservoir of untapped energy. His garments were made of the finest silk, dyed in the richest shades of red and gold, adorned with elaborate patterns that caught the light in a way that almost seemed magical. Golden threads traced arcane symbols and sacred texts along the hems and cuffs, adding another layer of grandiosity to his already imposing presence. On his head sat a magnificent mitre, the ceremonial headdress that only added to his stature.

His face wore a perpetual, gentle smile, the kind designed to put anyone at ease. It was a smile that had deceived nations, won the trust of countless followers, and belied his true intentions. For behind that mask of amiability and concern lurked a soul tainted with greed, a heart corrupted by unquenchable lust for power. But none could see that—his image was meticulously curated, a facade so convincing that even those who sat closest to him in this hallowed room would find it hard to believe the darkness that resided within him.

As Pope Alaric took his seat at the head of the table, the room seemed to exhale a collective breath. The meeting could now begin, and with it, another chapter in the Church's long history of manipulation and control, carefully hidden behind the mask of this seemingly kind and gentle old man.

"Ah, greetings to you all! My apologies for keeping you waiting," Pope Alaric said as he settled into his lavishly crafted chair at the head of the table. Though his smile radiated warmth and kindness, everyone around the table had to fight the urge to roll their eyes. They were well aware of the old man's true character. The world might view him as a saint, a benevolent figure committed to the well-being of all creatures, but those within the inner circle knew better. Pope Alaric was driven by an insatiable greed, an alarming degree of self-interest, and worse still, perverse inclinations that led him to exploit the women and nuns under the guise of religious devotion.

"Now, I'm certain you've all heard the news," Pope Alaric continued, his tone shifting to one of gravity. The solemnity swept through the room, affecting everyone seated around the elongated table. They had indeed heard the news and were all taken aback by the audacity of Pope Alaric's recent declaration. He had publically denounced the Istarin Empire and its ruler, Emperor Aditya, laying all blame for the chaos at their doorstep and labeling them as agents of evil and corruption.

And yet, the irony of it all was not lost on them. Since the death of the White Dragon King, their empire had been mired in a complex, never-ending civil war. Siblings and half-siblings, armed with the support of factions within the military and the noble class, were waging a bloody struggle for the throne. The church, with its overwhelming influence and sway over the population, could have intervened and steered the empire toward peace. But they chose not to. Instead, Pope Alaric and his inner sanctum focused on amassing more power and wealth, letting the coffers of the church overflow with gold coins even as the empire crumbled in agony.

Pope Alaric knew that this downward spiral couldn't last indefinitely. Sooner or later, someone would have to be held accountable for the suffering and chaos. And so, he found the perfect scapegoats: their neighboring Istarin Empire and its potent ruler, Emperor Aditya.

By pushing all the blame onto them, Pope Alaric had not only diverted attention away from his own dark machinations but also managed to paint himself as a savior, upholding the church's so-called righteous values. And all this while hiding behind the ever-convincing mask of a kind, gentle old man.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

And this is the last chapter of this month. I know that at the starting of this month, I made lots of promises to upload along with two regular chapters but it seems I was unable to do any of that. Since Summer has ended and everyone has reopened, my schedule is getting tighter, leaving me with not so much time to write. For september, I will upload 9 to 10 chapters per week depending on how much time I have on my hand. Along with that, I will also try to release .

My apologies.

Chapter 506

"Your Holiness, may I inquire as to the purpose of this unexpected gathering?" asked one of the esteemed members seated at the table.

Pope Alaric's gentle smile, which had been carefully maintained until this point, morphed into a malicious grin within moments. This was his true face, a visage so far removed from the saintly demeanor he presented to the public. If the common people, who revered him like a god, ever caught a glimpse of this dark countenance, they would undoubtedly be struck with disbelief, perhaps even terror.

"We've arrived at a pivotal juncture, my dear council," Pope Alaric began, the earnestness in his voice a stark contrast to the wicked smile he had just displayed. "We've successfully diverted all culpability onto the Istarin Empire, tarnishing their reputation while bolstering our own. The next step in our master plan involves finding a suitable candidate to ascend to the throne and finally quell this turbulent civil war."

At this, nods of approval circled around the table, each member internally calculating how the new phase could further elevate their own positions within the church hierarchy.

"I have no objections, Your Holiness," responded one of the council members, a twinge of greed lining his words. "After all, these tumultuous times have been rather lucrative for us. The coffers are overflowing, thanks to the chaos we've so expertly exploited."

Indeed, the church had skillfully used the ongoing unrest to not only improve their public standing but also to amass a fortune. Their influence had now reached a point where a mere word from them could mobilize the common populace into war, should they so wish. This was a terrifying level of control, one that allowed them to steer the fate of an empire even while its people languished in suffering. And all of this was orchestrated under the careful guidance of Pope Alaric, the man who wore the mask of a saint while harboring the soul of a devil.

"Ah, the beauty of manipulating public sentiment!" the Holy Knight exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with a blend of malice and satisfaction. "Should the Istarin Empire even think of waging war against us, they would have to face not just our armies, but also the hordes of common folk who revere us as messengers of the divine. Emperor Aditya clearly understands the weight of this reality; he can do nothing but wallow in the shame we've so skillfully imposed on him."

At this, a wave of approving smiles rippled around the table, each member savoring the delicious taste of their shared machinations.

"Your Holiness, pray tell, what course of action do we undertake next?" inquired the Head Nun, her voice tinged with a restless eagerness for further subterfuge.

Pope Alaric leaned back in his chair and stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "First and foremost, it is crucial to bring this disruptive civil war to a close. We must identify a pliable figurehead to sit on the throne, someone who can be easily controlled to serve the interests of this esteemed institution," he outlined, the veneer of sanctity overlaying the calculated scheming in his words. "Continued unrest will only stir suspicion among the populace. Our decades-long subterfuge could unravel if we overextend ourselves. As the old adage warns, 'Do not bite off more than you can chew.'" Ironically the one who was speaking is more than 500 years old.

Heads nodded in solemn agreement. The council members recognized the wisdom in Pope Alaric's words. They had come far by treading the fine line between greed and caution; to overstep now would be disastrous.

"But rest assured, halting the civil war doesn't imply that our revenue streams will dry up," the Pope continued, his eyes narrowing and his lips curling into a sly grin. "After all, we still have our most precious asset at our disposal—the Drug. With it, our stranglehold over the empire, both in spirit and coin, will remain as strong as ever."

Pope Alaric cleared his throat before speaking, a subtle smile crossing his lips. "How many promising young talents have we managed to acquire recently?" His inquiry was, of course, a veiled reference to the church's long-standing practice of scouting for children with powerful elemental affinities under the guise of baptismal ceremonies. Once identified, these children would be whisked away, only to undergo a form of indoctrination that would ultimately transform them into obedient pawns for the church.

In this world, the link between an individual and an element—known as affinity—was crucial for any cultivator. This affinity essentially meant the strength of connection a person had with a certain element or, in exceptional cases, multiple elements. A strong affinity with an element, such as Fire or Water, made it much easier for a cultivator to manipulate that element in battle. Not only would they require less Mana for attacks of that specific type, but the attacks themselves would also be far more potent.

Take, for instance, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, Aditya. He was one of those exceedingly rare individuals who possessed robust affinities for two elements—Fire and Lightning. Rumors abounded that Aditya's affinities were of the extraordinary SSS-rank, a level so high that the odds of encountering someone of such caliber were astronomical. To provide a sense of the rarity, the chances of someone having a triple S rank affinity for any element were lower than the odds of being struck by a falling meteor from the sky.

Another example could be a simple fisherman in a coastal village who had a C-rank affinity with Water. He could catch fish with a bit more ease compared to others, maybe even summon a small wave to bring the catch toward his net. But he'd never rival the capacities of someone with an A or S-rank affinity, who could command tides or even cause storms if they so wished.

Yet another example was a baker's daughter with a B-rank affinity for Earth. She could make the most extraordinary pottery because the clay almost seemed to shape itself in her hands. But she was leagues away from a military general with an A-rank Earth affinity, who could use his power to raise walls of stone for defense in mere moments.

These affinities weren't merely about personal capabilities; they also represented valuable assets for organizations like the church, who sought to manipulate these individuals for their own gains. Hence, their covert operations to identify and "secure" these promising souls under the benevolent mask of religious sacraments.

Pope Alaric's question, therefore, carried a weight of implications, each more sinister than the last, as it echoed in the room filled with equally devious minds.

On the other end of the affinity spectrum, consider someone with an F-rank affinity for the Fire element, the lowest possible classification. For such an individual, performing even the most basic of elemental tasks would be a daunting challenge. Casting a simple fireball spell, for example, would require double the amount of mana compared to someone with an S-rank affinity for Fire. The spell's impact would also be notably weaker, barely capable of lighting a campfire, let alone causing any meaningful damage in combat.

Now contrast that with someone like Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, whose Fire affinity is of the extraordinary SSS-rank. The mana efficiency for him is unparalleled. He would not only require significantly less mana to unleash spells of cataclysmic power, but those spells would also be infused with a level of destructive force that could annihilate entire armies. Where an F-rank individual might struggle to start a fire, Aditya could effortlessly conjure a blazing inferno capable of engulfing entire landscapes.

The benefits of having such a high affinity extend far beyond simple mana conservation or the potency of attacks. With his dual SSS-rank affinities for both Fire and Lightning, Aditya could potentially combine the elements to create uniquely devastating hybrid spells. He might also possess an innate understanding of these elements at a molecular level, allowing him to manipulate or even invent new elemental abilities that would be unthinkable for anyone with lower-ranked affinities, though doing it takes a lot of times. And no one in the history has managed to accomplish something like this.

Furthermore, Aditya's remarkable affinities likely grant him faster recovery rates for his elemental mana reserves, allowing him to maintain a sustained onslaught of powerful attacks over extended periods. His high affinity could also afford him a natural resistance to attacks of the same elemental nature, making him practically impervious to most Fire or Lightning-based assaults.

To sum it up, the gap between having a low F-rank affinity and a towering SSS-rank affinity is colossal, impacting everything from basic resource management like mana consumption to the scale and diversity of magical abilities one can wield. It's not merely a matter of being 'better'; it's like comparing a flickering candle to a raging sun.

For many years, the Church had been methodically scouring every nook and cranny of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. They ventured into rural villages, bustling cities, small towns, and almost every other kind of settlement you could think of. Their aim? To identify youngsters with powerful elemental affinities. Posing as holy messengers of God, they had a knack for persuading parents to hand over their children under the guise of divine service. Once the children were in their clutches, they were systematically brainwashed and molded into unquestioning instruments of the Church.

This had been the Church's practice since its inception. In the early days, these gifted kids would be handed over to the military forces of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Back then, the Church was firmly under the thumb of the White Dragon King. But as time passed, the Church gradually broke free from the King's influence. The Pope, now holding the reins tightly, ensured that his flock's loyalty was solely to him. Of the multitude of children that they collected from all over, only a handful—those deemed less talented or useful—would be sent to serve in the Empire's military. The rest were kept under wraps, secretly nurtured and trained by the Church itself. With the demise of the White Dragon King, any previous restraint evaporated. The Church ramped up its efforts, emboldened to cast a wider net and identify even more prodigious children.

"In the past quarter of a year, we've identified a staggering 1,200 children with elemental talents. This number surpasses our tally for the entire last year, and even the year before that," said a young man, standing just behind Pope Alaric. "Moreover, we've successfully dispatched our operatives to other empires under the cover of anonymity. There, they are propagating our religious beliefs, accumulating more followers, and, of course, continuing our quest to discover more children with unparalleled elemental gifts," he informed the group assembled around the table.

As the meeting progressed, what Pope Alaric and the high-ranking church officials failed to realize was that they were not alone in their deliberations. Unbeknownst to them, every word they uttered, every secret they disclosed, was being closely monitored. They were unwittingly spilling their most confidential plans and underhanded schemes, completely oblivious to the eyes that were covertly watching them.

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Chapter 507

A few hours back______

Without saying a single word, Aditya left with Amber . He chose not to head back to the Dragon Palace, as one might expect. Rather, he went to the borderland that separated his Istarin Empire from the Northern Frost Dragon Empire.

"Your Majesty, may I inquire as to why we are lingering here?" Amber questioned, her face etched with confusion. They had been standing in that spot for hours now. Elevated on a mountainous perch, they had an expansive view. The closest city of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, sitting right at the border, was clearly visible to them. Thanks to their status as cultivators, their eyes were like powerful telescopes, enabling them to perceive things at great distances, much further than an average human could see.

Aditya, stood on the top of the mountain with his hands crossed on his chest. His eyes were looking into the further distance. "We're here because there will a spectacle that we cannot miss, a grand show that's not to be missed," As he said, there was a smile on his face as if he had planned something sinister. Seeing the smile on his face, Amber felt goosebumps. She felt terrified of this Aditya. This Aditya was cold, calculative, terrifying, and frightening.

Amber remained puzzled, unable to grasp the meaning behind Aditya's mysterious words about a "grand show." Aditya chose not to shed light on her confusion, keeping his thoughts to himself. Just minutes later, something extraordinary happened that captured everyone's attention. A massive transparent screen, spanning 20 meters, materialized in the sky at the heart of the nearest Northern Frost Dragon City.

Upon witnessing this sudden appearance, the citizens of the city ceased their activities, their eyes lifted skyward, fixed on the ethereal screen. They were bewildered, unsure of what to make of it. Some among them, particularly those of a religious bent, even considered this supernatural occurrence a divine intervention, a celestial sign from the church they so faithfully followed.

But then, the scene that unfolded on the screen was something entirely unexpected. A gathering of eleven individuals came into view, all seated around a long, rectangular table. There were twelve chairs in total, but one remained conspicuously empty. Prominent figures from the church, including the Pope, were easily recognizable, seeing this the people were confused. Initially, many thought this might be an important proclamation from the church, perhaps a groundbreaking announcement that could shape their future. However, the reality that emerged was not at all what they had expected.

At this moment, the transparent screen had not just appeared in one city but in all major cities of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. The transparent screen was also played in some major cities of the Istarin Empire territories in the Southern region."We've successfully diverted all culpability onto the Istarin Empire, tarnishing their reputation while bolstering our own. The next step in our master plan involves finding a suitable candidate to ascend to the throne and finally quell this turbulent civil war."

Hearing these words, the expressions of the every citizen who has been listening turned ugly. Seeing the expression on the Pope's face, many could not believe at what they were seeing. The kind and gentle angel that they thought of the Pope to be turned out to be just a facade that he put to deceive people. Some citizens felt so shocked that their minds were frozen and they were unable to comprehend what was going on. The words reaction different types of reactions from the people; especially from those who were devoted followers of the church.

A knowing smile stretched across Aditya's face. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a square-shaped crystal from his storage ring. Pouring a small trickle of mana into it, he activated the crystal. Almost instantly, the gem shimmered with a brilliant white light before conjuring a transparent screen, about 5 meters in size, hovering in the air above it.

"Check this out; it's one of my latest creations," Aditya said, his voice tinged with a self-satisfied smirk, as he noticed Amber's puzzled expression. After his victory in the last war, he had claimed the riches of the Echo Nexus Empire. Among the treasures was the 'All-Seeing Mirror,' an artifact of immense power. After spending time studying the magical markings on the mirror, Aditya had managed to create an even more advanced artifact. This new item had the unique ability to broadcast events live. And these small, fist-sized square crystals, well, they could project a live feed onto a transparent screen with just a small infusion of mana.

"Ah, the beauty of manipulating public sentiment!" the Holy Knight exclaimed, his eyes filled with a blend of malice and satisfaction. "Should the Istarin Empire even think of waging war against us, they would have to face not just our armies, but also the hordes of common folk who revere us as messengers of the divine. Emperor Aditya clearly understands the weight of this reality; he can do nothing but wallow in the shame we've so skillfully imposed on him."

"First and foremost, it is crucial to bring this disruptive civil war to a close. We must identify a easily figurehead to sit on the throne, someone who can be easily controlled to serve the interests of this esteemed institution," he outlined, the veneer of sanctity overlaying the calculated scheming in his words. "Continued unrest will only stir suspicion among the populace. Our decades-long subterfuge could unravel if we overextend ourselves. As the old adage warns, 'Do not bite off more than you can chew."

"But rest assured, halting the civil war doesn't imply that our revenue streams will dry up," the Pope continued, his eyes narrowing and his lips curling into a sly grin. "After all, we still have our most precious asset at our disposal—the Drug. With it, our stranglehold over the empire, both in spirit and coin, will remain as strong as ever."

As the meeting continued, one dark secret after another was revealed to the people watching. The pope talked openly about their money-making plans, how they were going to grow their drug business, and how much money they were making from big companies and rich people. These companies and wealthy folks were basically paying the church to keep their own shady dealings a secret.

The public got to see the ugly side of the church for what it really was. For instance, the church was secretly giving harmful drugs to people who were really into their faith. These drugs made people see things that weren't real, and they thought it was some kind of divine sign. Even strong people known as cultivators got hooked on these drugs. The church grew these drugs in small villages where people didn't know better. They were easy to trick with nice words.

The rich people who were in the church's pocket also gave a lot of money, pretending it was a donation. It was so much money, in fact, that it was more than double, sometimes even triple, what the empire got from taxing people each year.

Then there were the businesses. Big or small, they all gave loads of money to the church to stay on their good side. If the church said something bad about a company, that company could go down the drain. The power of the church was that strong, and now, all these hidden truths were out in the open for everyone to see.

When all the church's dark secrets spilled out for the world to see, the reactions were nothing short of explosive. Especially for the devout followers, those who had given their heart and soul to the church, the feeling was of utter betrayal.

"Oh no, this can't be happening. I've given them my whole life!" Mary, a devout follower in her fifties, said, trembling as she clutched her rosary beads. Her face was as white as a sheet, her eyes wide with disbelief.

In a local tavern, men who usually talked about their faith over a pint of ale were now shouting angrily. "To think I sent my boy to serve them! Those liars! Those cheats!"

On the streets, people gathered in small groups, staring at the screen, sharing feelings of shock and fury. "Can you believe this? They took money from my own business! And for what? To drug us?"

Parents who had given up their children to the church felt their hearts sink. "Our Sarah...what have they done to her?" One mother cried, hugging her husband tightly as they watched the screen.

The shockwave was not limited to just one town or city; it spread like wildfire across the entire empire. People were so angry that they were organizing protests and demonstrations, demanding justice and an end to the church's influence.

Youths who had looked up to the church felt their role models crumble before their eyes. "I was going to join the clergy next month," said a young man named Tim, his voice choked with emotion. "Now what do I do? How can I serve a place that does such things?"

In homes, in public squares, and even in places of work, the topic was the same: the church's betrayal. And the emotion was uniform: a mix of anger, shock, and a deep sense of being cheated by the church.

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Chapter 508

Unbeknownst to the Pope and his high-ranking associates, the entire Northern Frost Dragon Empire was in an uproar. They were completely clueless that their private meeting had been made public, revealing all their dark activities. The people had heard enough; their trust was shattered, and angry crowds had begun to descend upon churches across the empire, demanding accountability.

The fate of the church had already been sealed. Unless the people of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire were remarkably unintelligent, which they weren't, or the church had some magical means to control everyone's minds on a large scale, there was no going back. The damage was irreversible.

And yet, inside the meeting room, the Pope and his advisors continued their discussions, blissfully unaware of the raging storm outside. They were in the middle of a cheerful conversation about their profits and future endeavors when suddenly, the door burst open.

Bang!!!

A wave of lower-ranking members of the church flooded into the room, clearly panicked. The disruption was so abrupt that it took a moment for the high-ranking members to process what was happening.

Puzzled and irritated, the Pope looked at the intruders, his face a mask of feigned kindness hiding his annoyance. "My children, why have you disrupted this important meeting? Are you not aware of the penalties for such actions?"

One of the younger priests, out of breath and visibly stressed, blurted out, "Your Holiness, it's an emergency! Our meeting has been-- it's been broadcasted! The entire empire knows what we've been discussing!"

The room went silent for a moment, the weight of the revelation sinking in.

"What did you just say?" The Pope's voice trembled, and for the first time, the veneer of benevolence started to crack.

"It's true, Your Holiness," another cleric confirmed, holding up his tablet that showed social media awash with outrage against the church. "Angry crowds have started attacking our churches. We are losing control!"

The mood in the room shifted dramatically. Faces that were once smug and self-assured now displayed panic and disbelief. The walls seemed to close in as they all realized the terrible reality: their empire of lies was crumbling, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

At first, the Pope and the other high-ranking members couldn't quite process the magnitude of the news. It seemed too absurd, too unbelievable. But then, a distant roar of angry voices reached their ears, growing louder and closer by the second. The reality began to sink in, and their faces turned ashen.

"Bring out the Pope, the deceiver!"

"You liars, you thieves!"

"Burn the church!"

The shouts and curses from the approaching mob were unmistakable, their wrath aimed squarely at the Pope and the church. The room, once filled with an air of self-assured confidence, was now thick with tension and dread.

The Pope's face twisted into an expression of pure horror. He was visibly shaking, and sweat began to bead on his forehead, trickling down his face. His hands clenched into fists, as if trying to hold onto the last remnants of his crumbling world.

The Holy Nun, always so serene and composed, was equally shocked. Her eyes widened, her lips quivering as she clasped her hands tightly in front of her, as though praying could undo the unraveling disaster.

The Holy Priests, who had been so keen on discussing profits and illicit activities just moments ago, were now paralyzed with fear. Their gazes darted around the room, looking for some sort of escape or solution that simply didn't exist.

The Holy Knight Captain, who had always carried himself with a stern, almost robotic demeanor, seemed to malfunction. His face flushed red with humiliation and shock, and for the first time, he looked truly human—vulnerable and afraid.

"All of you, gather yourselves!" The Pope tried to regain control, his voice cracking as he spoke. "We must find a way to survive this crisis!"

But deep down, they all knew the truth. The tide had turned irreversibly against them. The angry chants and footsteps growing ever closer signaled the end of an era, and the faces of the high-ranking church members reflected nothing but despair and the grim realization of their impending downfall. It was over for them.

"Curse it all! Five centuries of careful planning, of weaving this intricate web of influence across the Northern Frost Dragon Empire! I thought with the White Dragon King gone, the empire would finally be mine to control. And now, all of it, every single year of hard work, unravels in mere moments! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?" The Pope's face was red, veins bulging on his forehead as he yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with bitterness and unimaginable fury.

His question hung heavily in the air, but nobody dared to answer. The room was so thick with tension and fear, you could almost cut it with a knife.

The Holy Knight Captain was the first to break the silence. "Your Holiness, I must, uh, inspect the outer defenses. Yes, that's critical right now." His voice wavered as he spoke, not meeting anyone's eyes.

The room filled with scoffs and disdainful looks. "Outer defenses? In a time like this? Coward!" snarled one of the Holy Priests.

Ignoring the insult, the Holy Knight Captain swiftly exited the room and headed straight for the teleportation array. His true destination was a distant city where his family and his hidden wealth awaited him.

Seeing this, one by one, the others also started to make their excuses.

The Holy Nun chimed in, "I have to, um, check on the sacred relics. Can't let them fall into the wrong hands."

"And I must safeguard the financial records," stammered another Holy Priest, already halfway out the door.

Each gave their hastily thought-up reason for leaving, and like a house of cards collapsing, they all fled one after the other, leaving the Pope standing alone in the room that had just witnessed the collapse of their world.

The Pope stood there, trembling with rage and disbelief, as he realized he was the last man standing in his crumbling empire. Every word of excuse, every hurried exit, was like a slap to his face. He had lost not just his empire, but the loyalty and courage of his closest allies. All his plans, his dreams of control, shattered in mere moments. For the Pope, it was the ultimate betrayal, the final blow in a rapidly unfolding tragedy.

Scene change_____

Without wasting any time, Captain Alex, the Holy Knight, made a beeline for the teleportation array, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and anticipation. With a wave of his hand, he activated the magical device, the runes glowing as he was whisked away to his private castle, Stormshield Castle, in the coastal city of Dragonspire Bay. This was where his family lived, and more importantly, where he had stashed away all the wealth he had secretly accumulated over the years from his association with the church.

"To hell with them all! If the empire is falling apart, it's every man for himself. Time to grab my family, my loyal men, and all my treasure, and get out of this doomed continent," he thought, a smile tinged with greed and urgency stretching across his face.

The moment he stepped out of the teleportation array, safely inside the walls of Stormshield Castle, he felt a heavy shift in the atmosphere. The air was thick, almost suffocating, like a prelude to some impending disaster.

"Something's not right," he muttered to himself, glancing nervously around his grand hall, his eyes darting to the various doorways and corridors leading deeper into the castle. "Guards! Assemble in the hall! Now!"

Within moments, his personal guards hurried in, weapons at the ready. "Captain Alex, is everything alright? You look troubled," one of them queried.

"I wish I knew, soldier. Gather everyone, we're leaving. Get the treasure from the vault and alert the rest of the family. We don't have much time," Alex commanded, his voice tinged with an edge of desperation.

"But sir, what about the people of Dragonspire Bay?" another guard hesitated.

"Forget them! This is about survival now! Our loyalty is to ourselves, first and foremost. Now go!" Alex barked, his eyes flashing with a mixture of fear and determination.

However, before his guards could even take a step to execute his orders, a chilling voice rang out through the hall, stopping everyone dead in their tracks. "Why the rush, Captain Alex?"

The voice was dripping with amusement, and as it washed over him, Alex felt a sudden, icy dread pierce through him. His heart felt like it was lodged in his throat, and an unsettling chill ran down his spine. Slowly, almost as if against his will, he turned around to identify the source of the voice.

What he saw made his blood run cold. Seated nonchalantly on his own throne, in his very own throne room, was none other than Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, also known infamously as 'The Devil.' The Emperor was staring at him with an amused, almost playful smile, as if enjoying Alex's visible distress.

The sight of the Emperor was like a hammer blow to Alex's nerves. His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, barely able to support his weight. His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white from the strain as he tried to maintain some semblance of composure, and failed. Sweat broke out across his forehead, trickling down his temples, as if his body was betraying his internal panic.

He opened his mouth to speak, but found that his voice had deserted him. All the bravado, all the plans for escape, they had evaporated in an instant, replaced by a gut-wrenching fear that consumed him entirely.

"Do you find my presence surprising, Captain?" Aditya continued, his voice silky smooth yet laced with an undertone that promised anything but kindness.

Alex was cornered, trapped like a rat in a cage, and the sinking feeling in his stomach told him that there was no way out of this. His body had frozen, paralyzed by the sheer terror of the situation, rendering him incapable of even the simplest actions. At that moment, deep down, he knew all of this chaos was caused by him, the man who was staring at him with a smile. Yet his smile was the most scariest thing that he had ever seen in this entire life. Just a few hours back, the church humiliated Aditya and put the blame on him. And now, the Emperor was still calm but the church had lost its biggest strength. The Emperor had him, and deep down, Alex knew there was no escape.

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Chapter 509

The moment he laid eyes on Aditya, who was also known as the Dragon Monarch, Alex felt as though the world around him had abruptly morphed into a nightmarish hellscape. Although Aditya was smiling, to Alex it felt like the devil himself was grinning back at him. His entire body shook uncontrollably, his legs threatening to give way beneath him at any moment.

"Wha--How did you get here?" Alex managed to stutter, trying desperately to muster some semblance of courage, though his shaky voice betrayed him.

Aditya slowly moved his hand to rest on the right armrest of the throne. With a casual air, he tapped the armrest rhythmically as he looked at Alex with a gaze that seemed to pierce through him. "Have you forgotten who I am?" His words, simple as they were, sent a shiver down Alex's spine, as if someone had just walked over his grave.

It was then that the reality of the situation dawned on Alex. He realized how insanely arrogant and foolish he and the church had been to think that the mighty Istarin Empire would simply swallow their humiliation and do nothing in return.

Aditya continued, "Did you really think that a man who can dismantle an entire Empire in a single night and bring it under his rule would find it hard to step into your castle?"

Those words weighed heavily on Alex, and it was as if the scales fell from his eyes. He thought about the rumors and stories he had heard about the Dragon Monarch--how he could sneak into an enemy's land in the dead of night, eliminate their ruler, and escape without anyone being the wiser. How could he, how could any of them at the church, have been so naive to think they could outwit or escape the Dragon Monarch?

Stricken with this newfound understanding, Alex felt his insides turn to liquid. His bravado had evaporated, replaced by a visceral dread that gripped him in its icy claws.

"Captain, you've amassed quite a fortune," Aditya began, his smile widening ever so slightly. "You know me, I have a fondness for seizing wealth. So, I decided to help myself to your treasure vault before anyone else got the idea. Don't bother thanking me."

Alex felt like he had been struck by lightning upon hearing Aditya's words. "You—what did you do?" he stammered, his voice barely more than a hoarse whisper. The thought of losing his treasure—a stash of nearly half a billion gold coins that he had painstakingly accumulated over a century—felt like a physical blow to his gut.

At this moment, even as he stood before Aditya, one of the most powerful and fearsome individuals in the world, his mind was consumed by the devastating loss of his fortune. He felt an overwhelming, gut-wrenching sense of emptiness. Even the open threat of losing his life seemed secondary to the vanishing of his hard-earned wealth.

"You can't be serious," Alex said, almost pleading, his eyes widened in disbelief and desperation. "That was my life's work, my life's saving. Are you telling me it's gone? Just like that?"

Aditya leaned back, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin that seemed all the more chilling for its casualness. "I find it amusing how much you're agonizing over gold when you're standing before someone who could end your life in the blink of an eye."

Alex's face flushed with a mix of dread and indignation. Here he was, in the presence of the Dragon Monarch, a man who could extinguish his life as effortlessly as snuffing out a candle, and yet all he could think about was his lost treasure. His love for gold had always outweighed even his concern for his own family; now, faced with his own mortality, he still couldn't shake his mind off his immense fortune that had vanished into thin air.

"Don't you want to know what happened to your family?" Aditya asked in a curiosity tone as he studied Alex's expression. He had a hunch that the captain might be more obsessed with his riches than concerned for his own flesh and blood.

Alex's eyes flicked up, meeting Aditya's gaze. "What did you do to them?" he muttered, his voice carrying a tone of resignation more than apprehension or dread.

Aditya took note of Alex's lackluster response and felt a wave of boredom wash over him. It was as if this man's avarice had hollowed him out, leaving him a shell devoid of any familial attachments. "I'm done here," Aditya declared, unimpressed and no longer entertained by the man's one-dimensional greed.

With a swift snap of his fingers, a tide of crimson flames erupted from the ground beneath them. The fire surged upward, completely engulfing Alex and his soldiers who had been standing like statues behind him. Within seconds, the entire throne hall was consumed by an inferno. As the flames danced wildly, licking the air and shooting toward the vaulted ceiling, they left nothing behind. When they eventually dissipated, there was no trace of Alex, his soldiers, or even the ashes that should have remained.

Aditya looked around the now empty and scorched hall. His face wore an expression of faint dissatisfaction, as if the day's events had been but a minor distraction, hardly worth his full attention. "Let this be a lesson to those who underestimate the Istarin Empire," he mumbled to himself.

"But things are not over yet." With that he vanished from the throne hall. A moment after he stepped outside the castle, the whole castle was engulfed in Crimson flames. Eventually the whole castle was burned down.

Scene change_____

Just like Alex, the Holy Knight Captain, other high-ranking members of the church, including the Holy Nun, the Holy Son, and the Holy Priest, had hastily retreated to their respective hometowns. Their ultimate aim wasn't hard to decipher: they wanted to secure their ill-gotten wealth and make a quick escape. Not just them, but even other elite members who had attended the ill-fated meeting were doing the same. They scurried to the places where their families resided or where they had stashed their considerable fortunes.

"No time to waste, gather everything!" the Holy Son yelled as he stormed into his lavish estate, his voice tinged with panic.

"Yeah, pack up all the gold, all the valuables! Don't forget the important documents!" loudly barked the Holy Priest, frantically directing his servants in his own opulent residence.

Everyone was in a very hurry and was really desperate right now. The calm and gentle facade on their faces had long disappeared. They were desperate to gather their wealth, their loved ones, and their blindly loyal subordinates—the ones who had followed their every command, no matter how wicked or morally reprehensible those orders had been.

Now that the veil of their evil deeds across the Northern Frost Dragon Empire had been lifted and the whole Empire's population knew about it, they knew that if they remained in this Empire, the anger crowd would march into their homes and kill them or the enemies of the Church will definitely use this chance to hunt them down. Staying in this empire would be the same as letting themselves get killed like Dogs As for what happened to the church or any other members or the Holy Pope, none of the cared. What mattered was their own life. They were all scheming to flee, to disappear from the empire with their loot, families, and unquestioning followers.

However, what they didn't anticipate was the grim welcome that awaited them. Just as Aditya had been waiting for Alex, the members of the Shadow Guardian—led by Nathan and Amber—had spread out, lurking in the shadows of their estates and hiding places.

The Holy Nun opened the door to her underground vault, only to be met by Amber's cold eyes. "I think it's time for some divine justice, don't you?" Amber whispered, drawing her blade. The next second, the Holy Nun's head fell to the ground. Her eyes were full of shock. The last thing that she saw was her subordinates falling to the ground one by one.

Nathan appeared before the Holy Priest just as he was about to unlock a safe filled with gold and jewels. "It's unfortunate, but your wealth can't buy you a reprieve from the punishment you so richly deserve," Nathan stated, unsheathing his sword.

The Holy Priest didn't even had a second to escape. He tried to turn around and run away but he found his legs to be binded with shadow hands that rose from his own shadow. Nathan was using Shadow Manipulation at this moment. When he looked up to find Nathan, he was already gone. In the blink of an eye, the Priest felt a cold sword on his neck. Before he could utter a single word, the sharp sword slashed his throat. A large amount of blood gushed out of his throat. The holy priest fell to the ground and then lost his life.

One by one, each of these corrupt leaders met their fate at the hands of the Shadow Guardians and Nathan and Amber. The guardians and the Generals didn't flinch or hesitate; they delivered what they considered to be well-deserved punishment under the order of the Dragon Monarch: a swift, unceremonious death.

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Chapter 510

"It's all slipping away, all slipping away," the Pope was muttering to himself. He was still sitting in the cavernous meeting room long after everyone else had fled with poorly made up excuses. His eyes were staring into the void, struggling with the calamity that had just unfolded.

Unlike his shortsighted colleagues who had foolishly scampered off, the Pope was well aware of the grave reality of their situation. If their unseen enemy had the cunning and resources to sneak into their most sacred spaces, plant runes, and broadcast their most incriminating discussions to every corner of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, then surely, that enemy could snuff out their lives whenever they pleased. The Pope was understanding that the enemy's real aim wasn't just their physical annihilation but a far more devastating blow: stripping away their credibility and turning the populace against them.

'And the only person who would benefit from this is the .....Istarin Empire...' He was slowly realizing. At that moment, a shiver was running down his spine, goosebumps were covering his entire body. In the next instant, a look of lunacy was taking over his face. It was dawning on him how naive he and his compatriots had been. How could they have ever believed that Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, would let their provocations slide without any form of retribution?

Realizing he was trapped with no way out, he was feeling a sense of doom envelop him. At this point, he wouldn't have been surprised if the next faces he saw were the stern, unyielding soldiers of the Istarin Empire, come to mete out the justice he had long evaded.

"I guess it's all ending, Hahaha!!!!" the Pope was thinking, resignation settling in his weary mind. At the end he just laughed as if he had gone crazy.

Witnessing the Pope's unsettling fit of mad laughter, the remaining followers in the room exchanged uneasy glances, their faces etched with worry and bewilderment. "Has the Holy Pope lost his mind?" one junior priest muttered to another, their eyes darting between the Pope and each other, desperately searching for some sliver of reassurance.

"I don't know, but this is not the man of wisdom we've all looked up to for guidance," a nearby nun whispered back, her eyes widening with concern. They had stayed behind because of their unshakable faith in the Pope's leadership, even when it seemed like the sky was falling. Now, seeing him unravel so dramatically made them question everything.

"Maybe the stress finally got to him? This situation is, after all, unprecedented," suggested a deacon, trying to make sense of the surreal scene unfolding before them. They all had resisted the temptation to flee, putting their faith in the Pope's fabled wisdom. They had believed that if anyone could navigate this perilous storm, it would be him.

"I don't know about you all, but I stayed because I thought he would have a plan," said an older priest, his voice tinged with regret. "It's devastating to see him like this."

"Yes, he was our last hope," agreed another nun, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. "We thought he'd have some sort of guidance or solution, even when everything we've worked so hard for seemed to be collapsing." From the tone of Nun one would think that they are facing injustice but the reality of the situation was this was something that they had called upon themselves for playing with the faith and trust of the people for centuries.

Watching their spiritual leader break down, they all felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness wash over them. This man, who had been their pillar of strength, seemed to have crumbled under the weight of the catastrophe. And as the Pope laughed crazily, their hearts sank further, leaving them to wonder whether the leader they had placed so much trust in had truly lost his way.

Tap! Tap!

The sound of footsteps echoed in the cavernous hall, drawing everyone's eyes toward the entrance. Each footfall seemed to reverberate, resonating with the tension that had already filled the room. As they glanced over, they saw a mysterious figure walking towards them, clad entirely in a black cloak and hood. The cloak concealed the stranger's features effectively, but the shape of the fabric hinted at a male physique.

At the sight of this uninvited guest during such a precarious time, every member of the church became instantly alert, their postures rigid with tension. A few priests and nuns instinctively took a step forward, hands clenched, ready to confront the stranger. But just as they moved, the man released a sliver of his aura into the room.

Eyes widened in collective astonishment as they quickly realized the man's formidable cultivation level. He was a Peak 5th-order Cultivator, a being of unimaginable power and skill. Although the church also had several Peak 5th-order cultivators that the Pope had nurtured for centuries in secret, none of those Peak 5th-order cultivators could match against this man. This strange guest's power was on complete different level. Conversations broke out in hushed, hurried whispers among the congregants.

"Did you feel that? He's extraordinarily powerful," a junior priest murmured to a nun standing next to him.

"This is no ordinary intruder; this is someone who can obliterate us with a wave of his hand," another priest added, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His face was starting to look pale.

Meanwhile, the Pope, who had been lost in his crazed laughter, snapped back to his senses. Sensing the powerful aura that the stranger had deliberately released, he raised his head and locked eyes with the shadowy figure. "Who are you?" the Pope inquired, his voice imbued with a mixture of calm and arrogance.

It wasn't a sudden shift in his attitude; the Pope had always been a prideful man. He had hidden this part of his personality behind a mask of humility and kindness, particularly when dealing with figures like the Emperor, to whom he had to show deference. It irked him to bow or lower his head, and he had secretly resented every moment of it. When the White Dragon King had died, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Now, he thought he could finally realize his dream of turning the entire Northern Frost Dragon Empire into a religious state. So, even now, faced with an intruder of unknown but obviously powerful origin, the Pope's pride was unshaken.

The cloaked man finally broke the silence, his voice filling the room like a chilling wind. "Alaric, I am someone who could offer you a sliver of salvation. While I can't restore your lost prestige, your previous stature, or reinstate you as the Holy Pope, I can certainly propose an alternative path for you."

The congregants, their eyes darting between the mysterious man and their fallen leader, whispered among themselves, each exchange tinged with a blend of awe and suspicion.

"Do you think he's a spy? Someone from the Istarin Empire, perhaps?" one priest said to another.

"Could be a double agent, or even worse, someone with intentions we can't even fathom," a nun replied, her eyes narrowing as she studied the cloaked figure.

Alaric, perturbed yet intrigued, looked at the man intensely. "What alternative are you talking about?"

The mysterious man stepped closer, now standing directly in front of the Pope. "You've cultivated an image of kindness and benevolence over the course of five long centuries. But in mere minutes, that edifice has crumbled. Five hundred years of dedication and maneuvering have evaporated in the blink of an eye. It's rather unjust, wouldn't you agree, Alaric?"

Annoyance bubbled within Alaric. Had this stranger been any less powerful, Alaric would have launched an attack by now. "Just get to the point," he spat out, his patience waning rapidly. His day had already been disastrous, and he had no desire to indulge in sweetened words.

Unfazed, the cloaked man continued, "What I'm saying is simple. It takes an enormous amount of effort and time to build something valuable, but almost no time at all to destroy it. Ant colonies, for example, labor ceaselessly, investing countless hours to construct intricate nests. Yet it takes but a single stomp to ruin their work. A forest may take centuries to mature, but a wildfire can level it in hours. Similarly, your reputation took lifetimes to build but was shattered in moments. Do you grasp the gravity of what I'm conveying, Alaric?"

Bang!

With a swift flick of his hand, the mysterious man shattered the table that stood before Pope Alaric. Wood splinters flew in all directions, yet Alaric's face remained impassive, as if he had expected such an action. The destruction of the table served another purpose; now, their conversation would remain concealed from any prying. Under the wooden table, Nathan had secretly put a small cube shaped artifact that was letting them show the meeting between Alaric and other members. And this mysterious man was able to see this hidden object under the table the moment he entered the room.

After a moment of contemplation, Alaric broke into a mad grin. "So, am I correct to assume that you're here to extend me the power to dismantle, to obliterate, just as effortlessly as you destroyed that table?"

The mysterious man chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that reverberated through the room. "Ah, Pope Alaric, I have a fondness for smart men."

As if sealing an unspoken agreement, their hands met in a firm handshake. Church members who had been watching this unfold exchanged glances, their eyes wide with a mixture of awe, fear, and perhaps a tiny glimmer of hope. Could this enigmatic figure be the catalyst for a turnaround, or was he the omen of an even deeper abyss?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 511

Observing through the small, cube-shaped magical object that Nathan had surreptitiously placed in the room, Aditya's eyes narrowed at the sight of the enigmatic cloaked figure who had just made his entrance. An unsettling sense of familiarity gripped him, yet he couldn't put his finger on why, especially since the stranger's face and physique were obscured.

Not wasting any more time, Aditya initiated the teleportation array's complex sequence of glyphs and sigils. In less than a minute, he found himself standing in the capital city of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Amber, Nathan, and the remaining members of the shadow guardians materialized alongside him, their faces etched with resolve.

Turning to Nathan, his voice took on a grave, formal tone, embodying the royal authority he held. "General Nathan, listen to my command. Return to the Dragon palace and convey my instructions to Prime Minister Spencer. I hereby decree that the Istarin troops are to be mobilized and transported to the capital through the teleportation arrays. Should any individual—be they civilian or otherwise—endeavor to obstruct our troops or impede their mission, they are to be dispatched without delay. Such are my royal orders. Execute them with the utmost urgency."

Nathan stiffened at the formal command as Aditya has never commanded him in such tone. But from his tone he understood how serious the whole situation was. "Your Majesty, consider your command my top priority. I shall ensure that your orders are carried out to the letter."

As Nathan vanished to carry out his orders, Aditya turned to Amber and the other shadow guardians. "You shall accompany me. We must capture that enigmatic figure." Aditya had feeling that this mysterious man was an inner part of that organization, the one that the White Dragon king was a part of.

"Follow me," Aditya commanded, leading the shadow guardians and Amber toward the church with unyielding determination in his eyes.

At the same time within the church, the enigmatic cloaked figure sensed a shift in the magical energies around them. His eyes narrowed, alert and discerning. Turning to Pope Alaric, he spoke gravely, "The Emperor of Istarin has arrived in the capital, and he's not alone. He's brought his elite troops. You should dispatch your own forces to intercept them."

A calculating gaze entered Alaric's eyes. Though filled with pride, he was no fool. "Do you really think my subordinates can delay them for any meaningful length of time? The Istarin troops are not to be underestimated."

The mysterious man smirked beneath his hood and gestured for Alaric's subordinates to come closer. "I have a way to bolster their capabilities, albeit temporarily."

Before they could question what he meant, the cloaked figure swiftly produced small, two-inch-long worms from a hidden pocket. With an almost inhumane speed, he inserted the wriggling creatures into the ears of Alaric's subordinates.

Ahhhh.....!!!!!

The reaction was instantaneous and gut-wrenching. The men and women screamed in agonizing pain as the worms burrowed into their ear canals. Their faces twisted in torment, hands clutching their heads as if trying to physically pull the pain out. Their shrieks filled the sacred halls of the church, casting an eerie pall over the already tension-filled atmosphere.

Alaric, though shocked, did not let his expression change much. "What are these creatures? And what have you done to my subordinates?" At this point, he didn't cared if they died in front of his eyes. He asked because he was curious.

"They are a form of parasitic worms that will enhance your subordinates' combat abilities for a short duration," the cloaked man explained, maintaining his calm demeanor. "The pain is a small price to pay for the power they will temporarily possess. Sometimes, the ends justify the means."

Still filled with pride but appreciating the gravity of the situation, Alaric nodded. "Very well. Let's hope your...enhancements prove useful in stalling the Emperor and his troops." The pope did not ask what would happen to them once the short boost in their power ends. What would happen to their bodies. He and the mysterious cloaked man just didn't cared.

The mysterious figure inclined his head, his own plans unfathomable behind the veil of his hood. "Oh, they will. Of that, I assure you."

Scene change_____

When Aditya, Amber, and their cadre of 500 elite Shadow Guardians arrived at the entrance of the church, they found their path obstructed by a veritable army. Nearly 5,000 church members stood defiantly before them, a motley assembly of different groups.

There were Holy Knights, their bodies encased in intricately designed full-body armor, each carrying an assortment of swords and greatswords that gleamed menacingly in the sunlight. Nuns, dressed in modest black garments, stood solemnly beside them, an air of divine righteousness radiating from their bodies.

But what truly caught Aditya's and Amber's attention was a small cluster of individuals who didn't fit the mold of either Holy Knights or Nuns. This small group was comprised of 101 individuals, each one a Peak 5th-order Cultivator. The enormity of what this meant caused both Aditya and Amber to exchange glances, their eyes widening in a mixture of disbelief and dread.

For Aditya, the sight was staggering. Reaching the rank of a Peak 5th-order Cultivator was no small feat. It represented the absolute pinnacle of what was achievable for cultivators hailing from the six continents. The amount of resources, both material and mystical, required to elevate even a single individual to this exalted level was astronomical, enough to financially ruin a mid-tier empire.

Aditya felt extremely shocked. Here stood 101 such figures, all part of a church that wasn't even a sovereign empire but an organization functioning within the borders of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. He was floored, flabbergasted, utterly stunned. It was as if someone had dropped a ton of bricks on his expectations and shattered them into tiny pieces.

Amber was equally stunned. She had faced formidable foes in her time, but this was an army that defied comprehension. It was akin to discovering an arsenal of nuclear weapons in the backyard of a supposed non-military entity. It shook the very foundations of what she believed to be possible.

With a resonating "Crack!" that sounded like the tearing of the very fabric of reality, crimson lightning erupted around Aditya. The atmosphere itself seemed to feel the tension, as the sky above the capital transformed. Once bright and sunny, it now became an ominous dark hanging as foreboding clouds converged, as if aligning themselves with the Dragon Monarch's unyielding resolve.

Aditya grasped his black sword and took a step forward, "Amber, deal with the others. These Peak 5th-order cultivators are mine to handle."

Had anyone dared to question Aditya, known as the Dragon Monarch, about whether he felt fear in facing 101 Peak 5th-order cultivators, especially given his own standing as a Peak 3rd-order, they would have been answered not with words but a smirk. A smirk that would speak volumes, a smirk that would say he feared no one, no matter how powerful.

While it's true that Aditya was deeply shocked—floored, in fact, by the staggering number of Peak 5th-order cultivators standing against him—it didn't translate to fear. If his Shadow Guardians had uncovered such a force within the church earlier, Aditya wouldn't have wasted time revealing the church's corrupt deeds to the public in a measured manner. No, he would have deemed the church as a ticking time bomb that needed defusing immediately—a malignant virus to be eradicated without delay from the Southern region.

Though he had no answers for how the church had amassed such a formidable force of Peak 5th-order cultivators, he suspected it had something to do with the enigmatic figure who had approached the Pope. An unknown variable who seemed to have shifted the equation altogether.

"High Cleric Harrison, servant of the church, bearer of divine authority, I tell you, Istarin Emperor, you've made a massive mistake," began the man, his graying beard contrasting with the golden embroidery on his flowing white robes. His eyes, once calm and placid, now seethed with uncontained anger. "You have humiliated us. You've torn us down. And as long as we stand, as long as we breathe, we shall—"

He couldn't even complete his sentence when a bolt of crimson lightning, as if summoned by some unseen hand, plummeted from the sky and struck him squarely on the head.

Bang!

Crack!

The heavens themselves seemed to respond to the drama unfolding below. The sky, already dark and ominous, began to shake and rumble as if angry gods were expressing their displeasure. Crimson lightning bolts began to swim in the dark clouds.

When everyone's eyes darted back to where Aditya had been standing, they found nothing but empty air. He had vanished, as if he were never there in the first place, leaving only the charged atmosphere and the gathering storm clouds as proof of his presence.

"Search... Kill him..." The Peak 5th-order cultivators sprang into action, their eyes darting frantically in every direction, desperately trying to locate Aditya. But it was as if he had become a wisp of smoke, dissolved into the wind. No matter where they looked, no matter how keen their senses, they could not find a single trace of him. It was as if the earth had swallowed him up, leaving them grasping at straws, their expressions turning from shock to unease to outright dread.

Swooosh!!!!!

Crack!!!!

At this moment, Aditya had become so fast that even the Peak 5th-order cultivators couldn't sense his presence. It was as if he had become one with the nature. He moved so fast that he easily broke the sound barrier of this world. The sound barrier of this world was many times higher than the sound barrier of Earth.

When Aditya disappeared everyone had cracking-boom sound the next second. But from Aditya's perspective, as if time itself had slowed down. He was moving so fast that this moment that even the Peak 5th-order cultivators were moving as slow as turtles.

Swoosh!!!

Around a second later, Aditya returned to the place where he was standing originally. The 101 Peak 5th-order cultivators looked at Aditya. The next second, something happened that left everyone present in shock and in disbelief. One by one, the heads of the 101 Peak 5th-order cultivators began to fall to the ground. Even the cultivators whose heads were severed by Aditya stared at Aditya in disbelief as they slowly lost their consciousness.

Amber thought that now that she had reached Beginner 5th-order cultivation, she would be able to somewhat catch up to Aditya but now she was proved how wrong she was and how naively and how highly she was evaluating herself in comparison to Aditya. At this moment she knew that she was no where close to Aditya's power level.

In the blink of an eye, Aditya reappeared at the same spot where he had been standing just a moment ago. The 101 Peak 5th-order cultivators who had been so keen on finding him, fixed their eyes upon him. Then, something almost incomprehensible happened. With a fluidity that defied the imagination and a speed that shattered the sound barrier of their world—which was exponentially higher than Earth's sound barrier—the heads of all 101 cultivators dropped to the ground almost simultaneously.

For a split second, the air was thick with disbelief. Even the severed heads seemed to stare at Aditya, their eyes wide with a mixture of shock and awe, as the light of consciousness gradually dimmed from them.

The atmosphere was thick with a stunned silence. The sheer speed and precision of Aditya's movements had stunned everyone. This man, who wasn't even a 4th-order cultivator, had managed to slay 101 Peak 5th-order cultivators in what felt like less than two seconds. It was a feat that defied all logic and understanding.

The Shadow Guardians and General Amber, who had always been loyal to their Emperor, felt their blood boil with a thrilling excitement they had never experienced before. Their king had just performed a miraculous feat that would be talked about for generations to come. Although they knew that their Emperor was super strong, no one expected Aditya to be this strong. The current Aditya could kill even peak 5th-order cultivators like slaughtering pigs.

In stark contrast, the faces of the nuns and holy knights turned ashen. Deep shock settled into their eyes, which were now wide open in terror. The thought that had been lurking in the backs of their minds—that this might be a fight they couldn't win—had just been brutally confirmed in the most horrifying way possible. Their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably, a cold chill running down their spines. Their mouths felt parched, as if they had been wandering through a desert for days. No amount of training or religious conviction could have prepared them for this moment. They were facing not just a powerful enemy, but what seemed to be an unstoppable force of nature. It was a sobering, terrifying realization that left them paralyzed, contemplating the reality they had refused to acknowledge: they were utterly powerless in the face of this man's might.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 512

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Beginner 5th-order status. Experience points have been accrued on your behalf and shall be preserved for future application.?

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Beginner 5th-order status. Experience points have been accrued on your behalf and shall be preserved for future application.?

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Mid 5th-order status. Experience points have been accrued on your behalf and shall be preserved for future application.?

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Mid 5th-order status. Experience points have been accrued on your behalf and shall be preserved for future application.?

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Beginner 5th-order status. Experience points have been accrued on your behalf and shall be preserved for future application.?

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Mid 5th-order status. Experience points have been accrued on your behalf and shall be preserved for future application.?

?Ding! You have successfully eliminated a cultivator of Mid 5th-order.....?

Seeing the notifications from the system, Aditya was baffled. The cultivators that he just slaughtered was Peak 5th-order cultivators. Yet the system is showing him that he had killed Beginner and Mid orders cultivators. He had no idea what was going on. Aditya did not doubt that the system might have made some mistake. The possibility of the system making a mistake was completely zero.

'This means that.... the mysterious cloaked man from that organization has done something to these cultivators which had temporarily pushed their cultivation ranks.' Aditya thought in his mind. Aditya wasn't completely sure of his theory. This was the only possible explanation that he could find at the moment.

Aditya calmly looked back at Amber. Both of them stared at each other for a second before Amber stepped forward. Aditya watched Amber's back for a second before he disappeared once again.

Swoosh!!!!

He had left the rest to his general Amber. Now that Amber has evolved her bloodline and also has reached beginner 5th-order, he is confident that she will be able to take down the rest of the enemies without needing any help from the shadow guardians.

Amber noticed that Aditya had disappeared. She figured that he must have gone after the mysterious cloaked man and the Holy Pope before those two could escape or plot something dangerous.

Taking out her dagger, Amber calmly started walking towards the rest of the forces of the church. Seeing her walking towards them so calmly, the forces of the church felt a sense of danger from the unknown power that the 5th general of the Istarin Empire might held within her. At the same time, in their minds, the memories of what Aditya had done to their Peak 5th-order cultivators was still very fresh and crystal clear. This made them even more hesitant to attack Amber. Who knows Aditya could be around and before they could even attack her, their heads might be flying up in the air.

Everyone nervously watched as Amber made her way towards them with calm and steady steps. "You fools, what are you doing attack her? What are we hesitating for? We are going to die anyway. Death will claim us today or tomorrow. So let's not live a life of coward and let's live like a lion. So that we won't have any regrets and guilty even if we die here." One of the Holy Knights shouted very loudly seeing no one attacking the enemy.

As if his speech seems to have given the members some hope, everyone gained some courage and one by one everyone started attacking Amber.

An old nun raised her hand towards Amber and then closed her eyes. "By the heavens' grace and the stars' luminosity, I call upon the Divine Spear of Light! Pierce through the veil of darkness!"

Divine Spear of Light!

Another Nun followed the old nun and chanted a different spell. ""Blessings of the cosmos, descend as a rain of purity! Holy Starfall, let your embers cleanse!"

Holy Starfall!!!

A third nun followed and chanted a different spell. "In the quiver of the almighty, lies a bolt of sanctity. Sacred Arcane Arrow, fly true and shatter evil!"

Sacred Arcane Arrow!!!!

The Holy Knights also followed everyone and rushed at Amber.

Witnessing the rising morale among the ranks of the church forces, Amber couldn't help but let a captivating yet icy cold smile appeared on her face. Her charm had reached such hazardous heights after her evolution that she could easily stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the seven goddesses in terms of beauty. Had she not been the enemy they were facing, her smile would've certainly charmed the men in the crowd.

"A stirring oration, indeed," Amber acknowledged, momentarily stopping her advance. Her fingers tightened around the hilts of her daggers, their knuckles going white. The atmosphere seemed to grow heavy as she unleashed her Beginner 5th-order Aura. Her eyes, burning with an intense desire to kill, met those of her enemies. A cold energy emanated from her, sweeping across the battlefield and causing involuntary shivers to run down the spines of the church forces.

The Nuns and holy knights, who had just moments before found their courage uplifted by the inspiring words of one of their own, felt an icy dread creeping into their hearts. They realized that the words that had fueled their bravery could not protect them from the impending doom they sensed from Amber.

"Speeches may inspire, but they don't shield you from blades," Amber declared in a voice as chilling as the winter wind. The words seemed to hang in the air, a stark counterpoint to the blood pumping speech that had just heard across the field.

Just as she finished these sentences, many different kinds of attacks reached her. There was holy fireballs, Sacred Arcane Arrows, Holy Starfalls, Divine Spears of Light, Divine beam, and many other kinds of attacks. Everyone clearly saw all of these attacks hitting her.

Booooooooooom!!!!!!!!

From the combined attacks, the whole capital shook as if earthquake has come. A loud explosion took place and the thunderous sound of the explosion reached the ears of everyone. The shadow guardians for a moment became nervous wondering if General Amber has been killed from all of this attacks hitting her at once. Meanwhile, the forces of the church at first looked stunned before smiles started appearing on their faces. Even if they knew that they can't stop emperor Aditya, but if they managed to at least kill the Istarin Empire's 5th general Amber, then it's worth it. And it would make them really happy.

Watching Amber apparently fall to the barrage of their attacks, a wave of exultation erupted among the nuns and Holy Knights. Their faces, which were tense and anxious moments ago, broke into wide smiles and their eyes sparkled with joy. They mistakenly believed that they had successfully vanquished their formidable foe, a belief that filled them with newfound hope and lifted their spirits enormously.

"By the grace of the gods, we've done it!" shouted Sir Gilbert, a middle-aged Holy Knight with a bushy beard, as he lifted his sword skyward in a triumphant salute.

Sister Agnes, a nun in her late twenties with a youthful face, clasped her hands together and exclaimed, "Our prayers have been answered! We are victorious!"

A young Holy Knight named Timothy, his armor still gleaming and barely touched by the battle, chimed in with a hearty laugh, "I knew we could do it! She was tough, but nothing stands a chance against our unity and faith!"

Another nun, older and with gray hair peeking out from under her wimple, simply closed her eyes and muttered a quiet prayer of thanks. "Blessed be the Divine for delivering us from evil."

Others among them cheered, clapped, and even embraced each other in their shared joy, certain that they had successfully removed a powerful threat from the battlefield.

Just as the atmosphere was at its peak of joy and relief, a chilling voice sliced through the celebratory uproar, instantly freezing the smiles on their faces. "Victorious? Is that what you think you are?"

Emerging from the smoky aftermath of the explosion came Amber, her figure outlined against the curling plumes of gray ash. She stepped forward, untouched by the onslaught they were sure had defeated her. Her cold, calculating eyes swept over the crowd, and her icy tone sent shivers down everyone's spine, instantly dampening the celebratory mood.

The nuns and Holy Knights took an involuntary step back, their faces draining of color as they stared at her in disbelief and fear. At the same time, all they gulped in fear. Their faces turned pale and their backs were drenched in sweat.

"Impossible..." stammered Sir Gilbert, his sword arm dropping to his side, the weight of the weapon now seemingly too heavy for him to hold up.

"It—it can't be. How is she unscathed?" Sister Agnes murmured, her hands trembling as she clutched her rosary beads.

Timothy, the young Holy Knight who had been so jubilant moments earlier, swallowed hard, his eyes wide with terror. "W-what kind of monster are you?"

The older nun who had closed her eyes to offer a prayer of gratitude now opened them, her expression shifting from serenity to one of deep concern. "This is an abomination."

A second figure emerged from the billowing smoke and flames. It was another Amber, a mirror image of the first, her expression as cold and steely as the original."Is that so? Then how do you explain this?" The second Amber's icy voice cut through the air, freezing the church's forces to their very core. The two Ambers stood side by side, and as they did, an oppressive aura emanated from them both.

A heavy, shocked silence descended upon the crowd. Jaws dropped, eyes widened, and swords and shields were lowered in disbelief and dread.

"But...there's two of them?" Sir Reginald's voice quivered as he questioned the reality in front of him.

"No, this can't be happening," muttered Sister Eleanor, her eyes darting between the two Ambers as if expecting one to vanish. Her fingers nervously gripped her cross pendant.

Sir Leonard, an older, battle-hardened Holy Knight, took off his helmet, exposing a face etched with disbelief and a dawning horror. "We're facing something beyond our understanding, beyond our worst fears."

A young nun named Maria was literally trembling, her eyes moist with oncoming tears. "I-I thought one was terrifying...but two? How can we ever hope to face this?"

After evolving into a Ethereal Phantom Dragon-Fox Bloodline, Amber has gained a lot of powerful abilities. Now, she can confidently say that only a few rare exceptional beings in this world can compare against her in illusion. Her illusion powers had grown so much that now it will be impossible for her enemies to draw a boundary between what is reality and what is illusion. Not even Vespera, the one who put Aditya in illusion and nearly killed him could compare against the current Amber.

After her evolution, she has gained many new skills related to illusion. One of the new gained skills was 'Illusionary Queen's Mirage'. It was a skill that allowed her to cast highly realistic illusions that can deceive even the most perceptive beings. These illusions can be used to manipulate both sight and other senses, providing her with an incredibly versatile tool in combat or diplomacy.

From the moment Aditya left, Amber had put them under her illusion without them even knowing. Aside from 'Illusionary Queen's Mirage', she had many other skills which she is really excited to explore in the future.

'I guess, I have played with them for long enough. It's time to end their lives.' Amber thought in her mind while staring at the Nuns and Holy knights. She wanted to see them fear and look scared. And now she had achieved her goal. She has shaken their morales and their believes and now it was time to end them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 513

Meanwhile, Aditya had arrived inside the church within less than two seconds. With his new speed, it was easy for him to get past everyone that was trying to buy time for the pope and the mysterious man. As soon as he got inside, he spread his senses to locate the pope and the mysterious man.

"Shit!!!! I was too late. They already have reached the teleportation array." Aditya moved as fast as he could trying to catch up and prevent both of them from teleporting away. Once these two teleported away, it would be impossible for him to catch them ever again. Not only Aditya would lose the Holy Pope but he would also lose his chance to catch one of the inner-circle members of the organization.

Once Aditya arrived at the teleportation array, he was surprised to see the mysterious man waiting for him. The 9 circles made the teleportation array was shining brightly; showing that the teleportation array was active and was ready to teleport the mysterious cloaked man away to his desired location.

"No time no see, Aditya.....or should I call you Dragon Monarch now...?" Hearing the familiar tone Aditya immediately recognized this man. This man was the one who managed to get away from his hands. He, the White Dragon King, and a few others were responsible for releasing the Snake Sage. In exchange for releasing the Snake Sage, he and his group asked the Snake Sage to defeat the Titan Guardian who guards the Forbidden Treasure Land. Simon is the core member of the The League of Black Tomb organization. Simon is the one who leads the inner members to start the war between the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Southern Frost Dragon Empire so that there will be enough sacrifices to release the Snake Sage who has been imprisoned for ages now. The war was nothing but a tool to make sacrifices.

The League of Black Tombs used the white Dragon King, Jay, who was one of the inner members of the organization to start this war. Later Aditya killed Jay along with a few other inner members, and he took one of the inner-members as his prisoner. The only one who managed to escape from Aditya using a teleportation crystal was Simon, the core member of The League of Black Tomb.

"The one who managed to get away......." Aditya paused as he still didn't know Simon's name. No one told him his name before. He knew him as the core member of The League of Black Tomb.

"It's Simon Lloyd........it's a pleasure meeting you again...Your Highness..." Simon said to Aditya in a mocking tone.

"What do you want?" After their last confrontation, neither Simon nor The League of Black Tomb did anything to Aditya or his Empire. This entire time he has been worried about this mysterious organization. Because of the organization, Aditya has been working hard to increase the Istarin Empire's overall military powers.

"You will know very soon," Simon said with a smile on his face. The last time, he and Aditya fought, Simon ended up losing one of his arms. And to this day, he has been holding that grudge and has been dying to repay the favor back to Aditya. And he was going to do it very....very soon.

"Farewell, Your Highness. You shall meet each other very soon. Sooner than you think.....Hahaha...!!!" While laughing, Simon teleported away leaving Aditya completely alone at the church.

The appearance of a core member of The League of Black Tomb, and an old foe someone who is clearly looking for revenge here made Aditya feel uneasy. He had a feeling that Simon was going to do something crazy this time. Although it made him frustrated to admit it, The League of Black Tomb had more information and knowledge about the unknown things than he did. The organization knew what Aditya didn't know. For example, no one except for The League of Black Tomb knew that the Snake Sage was imprisoned in the Southern region. And they only knew how to free the Snake Sage.

"Your Majesty...." Amber who had just finished dealing with the forces from the church came to Aditya. With her current powers, it was really easy for her to kill them. She took some time to enjoy torturing these people who called themselves the Saints and the representation of light. She looked around and could not find anyone. The entire church was empty. There was no one in the church. All of the members were killed while the senior members who did escape were killed by them. Only the Pope now remained alive.

Aditya didn't say a word. He turned around and walked began walking away. "Let's go...." Amber could tell that something happened here that was heavily worrying him.

Amber didn't say a word. She silently followed him from behind. As both of them exited the church, they met Nathan along with 100,000 troops of the Istarin Empire behind him. All eyes were on the Istarin Emperor. The troops secretly wondered who was this woman following the Emperor. She looked somewhat like the 5th general and 5th Division Captain Amber. Some were able to recognize Amber and wondered what had happened to her.

"Your Majesty.....I am here with 100,000 troops as you ordered." Nathan said in a low tone. He clearly looked awkward. Nathan was more suited to work in the darkness. Taking on such a role put him into the spotlight which he did not feel comfortable doing but since his Monarch had ordered him to do so he was going to lead the troops regardless of how he felt.

"Nathan, send the shadow guardians to take the wealth of the church and bring it to me." Aditya was about to say something more when he and others noticed a large crowd of people approaching them with hesitant looks. They looked afraid of Aditya and hesitant to approach him.

Aditya turned to the crowd who approached him and stood 50 meters away from him. He remained silent and waited for the crowd to say what they wanted.

As the crowd collectively lowered their heads in a deep bow, the air was thick with a sense of desperation and surrender. "Please... allow us to become a part of the Istarin Empire," they pleaded in unison.

Witnessing this, Nathan, Amber, the shadow guardians, and the 100,000 troops were all struck with a profound sense of shock and bewilderment. Their eyes widened, and some even exchanged puzzled glances, struggling to wrap their minds around what they were seeing.

Aditya, however, was quick to grasp the undercurrents of this startling display. He recognized the depth of the people's despair. Ever since the exposure of the church's heinous acts, their faith had been shattered. Add to that the internal strife within their own Empire, caused by the warring children of the white dragon king, and it became clear why they felt so cornered. Their empire had been plunged into civil war, where ordinary people had borne the brunt of suffering. Their lives had been filled with insecurity, poverty, and ceaseless conflict.

Word had spread that the territories annexed by the Istarin Empire had undergone remarkable transformations. Jobs were abundant, people had roofs over their heads, and food was plentiful. Crime rates had plummeted. The general quality of life had been elevated to new heights. Newly formed middle-class families began to flourish in these lands, enjoying safety, stability, and an absence of corruption. Soldiers and officials of the Istarin Empire were seen as protectors, not oppressors.

So, for the weary citizens of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, this wasn't just about shifting political borders; it was about seeking a life worth living. Being absorbed into the Istarin Empire wasn't just a best-case scenario—it was their only glimmer of hope. They envisioned a future where their children could play in the streets without fear, where jobs were more than just a dream, and where the days of being crushed under the weight of tyranny and corruption would be left far behind.

In their hearts and minds, joining the Istarin Empire was more than a change of flags; it was the doorway to a better existence, free from the agonizing hardships they had known all too well. As they bowed before Aditya, it was clear that their plea was driven by a collective yearning for peace, prosperity, and a life finally worthy of living.

With a stern expression that mirrored the gravity of the moment, Aditya stepped forward, towering above the crowd like a sentinel of change. "Listen carefully, everyone. From this second on, I, Aditya, Emperor of the Istarin Empire, lay claim to all the lands and people of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Let this message echo across every corner of this realm."

His voice was imbued with an unwavering resolve that penetrated the air, making it clear that he was not one to be taken lightly. "If you stand against me, consider yourselves my enemies. If you lay down your weapons and pledge your loyalty, your lives will be spared. But mark my words—if any of you dares to lift a weapon against the sovereignty of the Istarin Empire, know that you will meet your end swiftly and without a hint of mercy."

Aditya was keenly aware of the contentious landscape he was stepping into. He knew the children of the white dragon king were locked in a petty and destructive power struggle over the throne. These squabbling heirs, fueled by arrogance and stubbornness, were unlikely to bow down easily. But Aditya's declaration was also an open invitation for them to reconsider their stance, to weigh the dire consequences that would befall them if they chose to persist in their defiance.

This was no mere act of bravado. Aditya was issuing a final warning, giving those power-hungry nobles and war-mongering heirs a clear choice: either embrace a new era of peace and prosperity under the Istarin Empire or face a grim future carved out by their own foolish pride.

Once the announcement was made by the Istarin Empire, the crowd was overjoyed. All of the crowd to their knees and greeted their Emperor.

"All hail the Emperor of the Istarin Empire!" they chanted collectively, their voices tinged with joy and relief.

With a gracious wave of his hand and the hint of a satisfied smile gracing his lips, Aditya acknowledged their cheers.

Turning his gaze back to the crowd, Aditya felt a deep sense of responsibility settle within him. The Northern Frost Dragon Empire was now under his rule, and he was fully committed to this new chapter of governance.

"Nathan, relay a message to the military forces of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire," he continued, his voice taking on a stern yet fair tone. "Tell them they have options. If they lay down their arms and pledge allegiance to the Istarin Empire, we will retrain them and welcome them into our own ranks. However, if they decide to defy us, they will be met with the ultimate consequence—death. And for those who wish to step away from the life of a soldier, they are free to retire and live as ordinary citizens in this newly annexed territory."

Aditya was crystal clear in laying out the terms. For the military forces of the now-defunct Northern Frost Dragon Empire, the choices were laid bare: embrace change and find a new purpose under a benevolent ruler, or cling to old loyalties and face inevitable destruction.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 514

Aditya's declaration spread throughout the entire Northern Frost Dragon Empire and throughout the entire Dying Isle continent within a day. His words reached the words of his enemies and his allies. His Allies, of course, chose to support him and acknowledged the territory of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire as a part of the Istarin Empire's territory. At the same time, his allies ordered to making of a new map in which there was no Northern Frost Dragon Empire. In the new map, the borders between the previous Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the Istarin Empire will be removed and the whole Southern region will be shown as a territory of the Istarin Empire.

As for his enemies, the people who were dissatisfied with this announcement, there was nothing that those people could do about this. Face the emperor in battle, they will end up dying or being destroyed and their territories being annexed by the Emperor. Challenge the Emperor's authority, the Emperor will expose them to the public just like they did to the church and humiliate them in front of their own people. Indirectly try to cause trouble or assassin the Emperor, the result would not change and they would only get themselves in trouble.

Regardless of how dissatisfied they were, the people that did not like Aditya and were against this announcement had to suck it up and keep their mouths shut otherwise the emperor had made his statement clear that he wasn't going to show any shred of mercy towards those who choose to stand in his path.

Aditya rose from being a homeless man to being the King of the smallest Dynasty in the whole continent to having the largest Empire in the whole world. If one underestimated Aditya, it would be the same as shooting oneself in the foot and bringing his own demise.

The children of the white Dragon King, Jay, weren't the least bit happy when they heard under the request of the people, the Emperor, Aditya had announced his formal annexation of their father's empire. This whole day has been really strange and shocking for them. At first, the words of the church humiliating the Istarin Empire reached their ears. Then later, the church was exposed to the whole Empire. And now the whole Empire itself was annexed by the Istarin Empire.

Once they heard the announcement, the children of the white dragon King's anger knew no bounds. They wanted to go in front of Aditya and yell at him for being unfair as the throne of this Empire and the right of the whole Empire should belong to one of the children and one of them should become the rightful ruler. Yet despite their anger, they knew if they dared to try something like this, even before they could raise their tone in front of Aditya, their tongues would be cut and they would be burned to ashes. Even if they spoke to Aditya about him being unfair and taking what should rightfully belong to them, Aditya could say that it was the people who begged him to annex the Empire. He could say that he did it for the people and their prosperity something that they had failed.

Besides, why should Aditya care if he was being unfair or fair? Aditya believed in the power of the fists. If there were any revolts or protests, he would suppress those rebellions with his fists and kill them without showing any mercy. This world wasn't fair. It was a game of winners and losers. The winner gets to keep everything and write the narrative of the history while the loser loses everything along with his life. There was no such thing as fair or unfair. The Istarin Empire was the overlord or the superpower of this continent and one of the top powerhouses of this world. No Empire has the right to question him or at least no one would dare to question him.

Less than 1% of the population did not like this but on the bright side, more than 99% were really happy and overjoyed hearing this news. This news meant that a new age was coming for them. Under the Istarin Emperor, they would be safe from the violence of War. There will be plenty of cheap and available foods, shelter, jobs, and peaceful times.

However, Aditya did not have the time to celebrate. Even though today was his birthday, he couldn't spend his day in peace and relaxation. He was still at the capital of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Just because he announced that the whole Empire would become a part of his Empire didn't mean that he was done. Rather, his workload increased even more. He was at the Palace where the White Dragon King lived previously, taking care of the small and miscellaneous works.

Around 4 hours later, Aditya finally got some free time. He had left the rest of the unimportant tasks on Spencer's shoulder. Even though they were supposed to be enjoying their holidays, because of Aditya, everyone else had to end their vacation and come with him for work. Other than Spencer no one else mind doing this. Spencer was reluctant to end his vacation so early as he wanted to give time to his girlfriend Aria. If the whole matter wasn't that serious, Aditya would have sent General Nathan to take care of everything but this matter was really serious. The core member of that organization was involved in this. And whenever Aditya has faced members from that organization, nothing has ever gone right.

"Finally, I got some time alone." Aditya sighed in relief. Aditya and Spencer felt that their best course of action would be to send at least 10,000 Istarin Soldiers along with a Dragonian and a Dragon Warrior to every Northern Frost Dragon Empire to guard the cities. Also from Aditya's announcement, other than a few thousand highly-ranked military officials, everyone else had basically surrendered and had agreed to serve the Istarin empire.

Although Aditya knows that there could be spies among the soldiers who surrendered, he still took the risk as later on all of the surrendered soldiers will be made to sign a soul-binding contract that will prevent them from leaking any confidential information about the Empire to anyone. Even if they spoke a thing to their wives or spouses, they would immediately die.

Also once this serious phase is over, all surrendered Soldiers will have to go through another training phase in which the soldier's loyalty and the soldier's capabilities will be tested. This training phase will last for 3 months. In this training phase, the soldiers will be taught to become proper Istarin Empire's soldiers.

"With my current speed, it should be easy for me to defeat Simon. This time I am not letting him leave so easily." Last Simon escaped from Aditya's hands because he used a teleportation crystal.

In the past, Aditya wasn't as fast as he was today. This was because of the new agility enchantments that he put on his boots and on other artifacts on his body that his agility had increased too much.

"System" Aditya opened the system and reread the description of his new artifacts.

?Wraithwalk Boots?

?Rank - Peak 4-star Boots (????)?

?Description: - The Wraithwalk Boots are made from special rare materials. The Wraithwalk Boots were made from the following items; the Ebonshard Leather, the Netherweave Threads, Ghastly Sole, and Starlight Buckles.

Ebonshard Leather is Harvested from the mythical Ebonshard Beast that resides in the Shadowlands, This leather has inherent magical qualities. The Ebonshard Leather offers its wearers an uncanny lightness.

Netherweave Threads are extracted from the Nether Spiders that live in the Abyss, these threads possess trans-dimensional properties. They allow for the enchantments necessary to support the boots' agility abilities.

Ghastly Sole are crafted from the preserved skin of a long-deceased specter, the sole of these boots grants the ability to walk without making a sound, effectively making the wearer's steps ghost-like.

Starlight Buckles are metal clasps forged from a meteorite that fell from the sky above. These metals possess light-bending qualities, making the boots difficult to spot in low-light conditions.

The Wraithwalk Boots are made by a skilled blacksmith and later enchanted by a skilled runemaster. With both of their extraordinary skills, the Wraithwalk Boots are now immune to magma, water, ice, and fire. The Wraithwalk Boots are extremely tough and cannot be easily damaged or destroyed. No one other than the wearer can use the functions of these boots.?

?Function 1 - «Agility Boost» - The Wraithwalk Boots gives its wearer an agility boost of [500+] all of the time. Whenever the Wraithwalk Boots are worn, the boots won't make any noise when walking due to the Ghostly Sole that was used in making the boots.?

?Function 2 - «Lightness» The Wraithwalk Boots decrease the wearer's body weight and make the wearer's body light by 20%.?

?Function 3 - «Kinetic Absorption» - The Ghastly Sole of the Boots captures and stores the kinetic energy produced from the wearer's movements. When activated, this stored energy is released to give a sudden, explosive burst of speed. Up to [500+], Kinetic energy can be absorbed into the Boots. When activated, the energy increases the wearer's speed by [500+] for a duration of 3 seconds.?

?Function 4 - «Flash Step» - This function allows the wearer to instantly move a short distance in any direction, effectively "flashing" to that spot. This can only be activated once every minute but is extremely useful for dodging or closing distances.?

?Function 5 - «Windwalk» - When activated, this function lets the wearer glide smoothly over water or other soft terrains without sinking, thanks to the lightness provided by the Ebonshard Leather.?

"These boots are definitely cheat code no matter how I look at them." Aditya thought out loud. He knew that if he had become a 5-star runemaster, then he would be able to make something even more amazing. Aditya especially loved the 3rd function of his boots that allowed him to store kinetic energy and then for a duration of three seconds, he can use that energy to increase his speed even more. In narrow situations where even one second matters a lot, where even one second decides the fate of someone, this function would prove to be really effective and life-saving.

Click!

Aditya opened the doors that led him to the balcony. Standing on the balcony, he could see the entire Capital of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. Even though he had such a large territory, he did not feel happy. As if he had gotten used to the feeling of adding new large territories to his Empire. The current Northern Frost Dragon Empire didn't have anything of value other than the few mana stone mines that this Empire had. Previously in exchange for helping the white Dragon King's 7th son, Jordan, they had agreed to give the Istarin Empire the ownership of their third-largest Mana stone mine; which was almost as big as the second-biggest Mana stone mine.

The current Northern Frost Dragon Empire was a broken Empire that would take at least 4 to 6 months to fix. The ongoing Civil War had destroyed the Empire from the inside. He had tons of work he had in front of him. Maybe after seeing this much work in front of him, Aditya lost the joy of acquiring new large territories or he had just gotten used to getting new territories.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 515

When it was late afternoon, Aditya returned home after he was done. It wasn't that he was done with his work. Rather he had left the remaining work to his subordinates. Aditya had to admit that without Spencer, Nathan, Amber, and others to help him out, his current life would be really busy and he wouldn't get any time for his wives or for himself.

Aditya didn't want to stop but Spencer convinced him...it was more like forcing him to stop. Spencer wanted Aditya to leave the rest to him. His prime Minister told him to leave the rest on his shoulders and enjoy his birthday.

'And I keep forgetting the fact that today is my birthday.....' Aditya thought in his mind. To Aditya, his birthday has never been anything special. He very rarely celebrated his birthdays. His birthdays have been like his normal days.

"Your Majesty, would you like to have a cup of Herbal Tea?" Watson, Aditya's kind and caring Butler asked him.

"No, thank you, Watson. Where are others?" Aditya asked.

"Lady Julia and Lady Alicia asked for you when both of them woke up. After having breakfast both of them went to spend the day with their parents and their families. Lady Alicia asked me to let you know that she will come home before sunset with her parents. As for Lady Alicia, she said she would return in the evenings." Hearing this Aditya nodded his head.

"What about Lara?" Aditya asked but before Watson could answer, Riya answered for him.

"Lara is sleeping." Riya came and sat next to Aditya.

"I did forget to let her drink my blood this morning as I was in a hurry." Aditya felt a little bit guilty. At the same time, he realized that this could not go on much longer. He really hoped Julia would be able to make a cure for Lara. It's not that Aditya hated it when she drank his blood but he didn't want her to be too dependent on him. This illness had caged her. Lara was the only mortal in his wives. If this continues then she will grow old in the next 50 years and then will die. This was something that Aditya wasn't ready to accept. He had come to deeply love this shy yet honest girl who also loved her husband very much. As long as a cure was made, then Lara would be able to cultivate and would be with them forever.

"So what happened?" Riya asked while taking his hand. Though she didn't say it out loud she also wanted to come with Aditya. And from Watson, she has been able to learn a little bit of the story. And knowing that the church dared to insult her husband, she was really furious. For a moment she even thought of heading to to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire to confront the church if Watson hadn't stopped her.

"We would like to listen as well..." Raising his head, Aditya found Sasha and her mother Lilith. Lilith was the one who spoke. Even though Sasha did not speak she clearly looked really interested to know what was going on.

"An ally of mine who was the 7th son of the White Dragon King had been killed along with three of my Dragonians. The church was the one who did it. The church misused the trust it had gained from the people and put all of the blame on the Istarin Empire. Then I..." Aditya was left speechless seeing Sasha sitting on his right. She sat even closer to him than Riya and then held his right hand with both of her arms. Her soft mounds were pressing against his arm.

Seeing this Riya coldly glared at Sasha before doing the same as well. Aditya was left speechless seeing this. On one hand, Sasha was really bold and she was pressing his mounds against his arm. She wasn't even trying to hide it or make it unintentional. Whereas Riya looked slightly bit embarrassed. She wasn't as bold as Sasha but she didn't want to lose to her.

"Oh....my...I" Lilith also wanted to join the fun but Aditya did not want that. Even though there was no denying that he was enjoying every single second of this moment he had other important things to focus on.

Ahem!!!!

Aditya coughed and then continued explaining while ignoring Lilith. Once he was done with his explanation, everyone became serious. Aditya also took this opportunity to tell Riya, Lilith, and Sasha about the mysterious organization and about their history. He told them everything that he knew about the organization. Aditya didn't need to hide anything since he trusted them. Some might ask why Aditya is so easily trusting two Assassins whom he had just met two or three times. The answer was simple. It was their character. Sasha might be really stubborn but she wasn't the type who would sell out people close to her. She was faithful and loyal. Lilith was the same. She might be naughty sometimes........most of the time...but she was someone whom Adiya could trust even with his life. If hadn't trusted them, he wouldn't have bought them to his Dragon palace in the first place.

"I have sent the whole shadow guardians all over the Northern Frost Dragon. I just hope that neither Pope Alaric Nor Simon has left the Northern Frost Dragon otherwise, I will be never able to find them." Aditya said. He was deeply worried about what Simon was planning. Simon said before leaving that they were going to meet very soon. Simon wouldn't have such confidence and courage to face Aditya as he cannot defeat him with his suppressed strength. The last time they fought, Simon had no choice but to escape from Aditya. In the process of escaping, he even lost his arm to Aditya. And now that he has become even stronger unless Simon has a way to remove the restrictions placed on his cultivation rank by the natural law of this world, he can never hope to defeat him.

'Not to brag or anything, even 101 Peak 5th-order cultivators aren't enough to even put a fight against me. This only means that he is planning something.....something really big.' Aditya thought.

"I can help you out." Sasha broke the heavy silence in the living room. Watson had long left them alone. There weren't any servants or maids around as well.

"How?" Riya asked in confusion. She understood that Alicia had vast connections and through those connections, collecting information or spreading propaganda was extremely easy for her. The news of the church's evil deeds spread throughout the whole Northern Frost Dragon even faster due to Alicia's Seekers of Impurity guild that was everywhere within this continent. But how can Sasha help Aditya find Simon and Pope Alaric?

"I can will my organization." Sasha had inherited the organization from her mother.

"No, Sasha, sadly even that won't work."

"Because I am sure that Simon and Pope Alaric won't just walk around especially when the whole Empire knows Pope Alaric and has seen his face. I am sure both of them will put a disguise and that means it is impossible to find them in a short period of time. Unless they decide to reveal themselves, we can't find them."

While they were talking, Watson came carrying a tray of snacks and pastries for everyone. As Watson arrived, Aditya turned to Watson and said. "Watson, can you please postpone tonight's party?" Hearing this everyone was surprised.

Seeing their surprised faces, Aditya decided to explain. "Before this matter is fully reserved, I won't feel relieved much less relaxed." Simon was a powerful man with a powerful organization backing him. Aditya felt uneasy seeing him. He was constantly having this gut feeling that something really bad was going to happen in his new territory. So he decided to postpone the birthday party and held it for some other time.

Once Aditya explained his reasoning, Watson nodded his head. Everyone else also understood. "Your Majesty, I will write letters to all of the guests and inform them about this."

"Thank you, Watson. And also sorry for the trouble." Aditya helplessly smiled as he knew that he had given Watson a lot of work. Writing letters for all of the guests was going to take a long time.

"Your Majesty, it's always been my honor to serve your needs and to follow your orders."

Hearing this Aditya smiled. "I will personally write letters to my allies and to Julia and Alicia's parents while explaining the situation." It would be only fair if Aditya wrote the letters himself to show his sincerity and also to show how serious this matter was. Aditya hoped that one week would be more than enough to deal with this matter.

Watson also understood this. With a bow, Watson left them alone.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 516

While waiting to find Simon and Pope Alaric, Aditya's birthday passes. As the birthday party was postponed, Aditya found himself with a lot of time. Although he could have spent his time playing and having fun as usual, he didn't do any of that. Instead, he spent the entire night, making some upgrades to his armor and his sword and preparing for a big battle. The entire Istarin Empire's troops were ready under the 7 general's command. If anything happened in any of the Empire's territories, in less than 5 minutes, a million of the Istarin Empire's troops would reach there.

That night, Aditya did not have any intimacy with Julia and Alicia as his mind was somewhere else and he looked restless for some reason. This greatly worried, Julia and Alicia. Both girls tried various means of making him relax but nothing worked. Although Aditya smiled and talked calmly, everyone could tell that Aditya and his behavior were slightly different from his usual self.

And just like that the whole night passed. As soon as dawn came, Aditya went to the training ground to do some sword training. But he hadn't even had the chance to start his training when Watson came to him running with a panicked face. Very rarely, Aditya had seen that panicked look on Watson's face.

"Watson, what happened?" Aditya asked his butler.

"Your Majesty, you have to come." Watson was literally shaking at this point. He was trembling. His whole body was soaked in sweat. His heart was beating loudly; like a drum. Aditya grew even more concerned about why Watson was looking like this. He had never seen his butler looking like this. Even when things looked absolutely helpless in the past, Watson never looked this panic as he is right now.

"You need to head to the Northern Frost Dragon Empire right now. Something terrible has happened." Watson said in an urgent tone.

Aditya frowned and asked. "Did Simon show up or what?" Aditya asked.

"No, the situation is even worse than this. I....It's so difficult the explain the whole situation in words."

"Alright. Let's go." Aditya grabbed Watson's hand and then teleported to the teleportation array. Both of them stood in the teleportation array. Watson set the coordinate and the next second both of them teleported to the Southern region.

Scene change_____

As soon as Aditya and Watson came to the Capital of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire, there was chaos all over. The people were running here and there. There were giant spiders with red eyes and transparent bodies running around. People were screaming and running here and there to escape from the giant-looking spiders.

Ah.....!!!!

"Someone, please save me..." Said one of the young women who was being chased by one of those 2-meter strange-looking Spiders. However, no one paid anything to her screaming or pleading. The woman couldn't outrun the strange-looking Spider and was caught by one of the white spider webs that the strange-looking Spider shot at the woman. Under Aditya and Watson's eyes, the strange-looking Spider opened its large hideous mouth and bit the woman's shoulder.

Under their shocked and disbelieving gazes, at an alarming pace, the woman's whole body started to wither like tree leaves. She rapidly began to age. Her hair started to turn hair. Wrinkles began to appear all over her skin. Even the scream that she let out became weaker. A few seconds later, her whole body had shriveled. Her body completely withered and became a former husk of what she was. She looked completely unrecognizable. She was dead. She looked like she had become a mummy.

Meanwhile, the strange-looking Spider that did this let off the woman and went after another target. Aditya noticed that the strange-looking Spider had gotten a bit stronger after doing this.

The very same thing was happening to people all around him. Not even cultivators were spared. The strength of these strange-looking Spiders varied from 1st-order to even 4th-order. Aditya can even sense Peak 5th-order Spiders in the city. Each second, thousands of people were getting killed.

Chaos was everywhere. The soldiers were protecting their own lives much less saving the lives of the ordinary people who were really weak and could not even put up a fight in front of these strange-looking Spider.

Aditya had never seen something like this. It was an apocalyptic situation. Mother wasn't even hesitating to abandon her child to save herself. Father abandoning his daughter to save his life. Son was betraying his mother, his Girlfriend was betraying his boyfriend, and young ones were abandoning the elderly ones...at this moment he was able to see all kinds of betrayal. There were also people who sacrificed themselves to save their loved ones. To let their loved ones run away.

"Where did these spiders come from?" Aditya asked in an icy cold tone as crimson lightning bolts started cracking around his body. The appearance of Simon yesterday and now this cannot be just a coincidence. Aditya was willing to bet his Empire that Simon and the mysterious organization were behind all of this.

Watson gulped nervously seeing Aditya in such a bad mood. "Your Majesty...." Watson noticed the sky above Aditya rapidly darkening. Crimson lightning flickering around Aditya had become rapid and very chaotic. Seeing his Watson took a few steps back. He knew that if he stayed closer to Aditya then he might get hit by one of these crimson lightning bolts. And Watson isn't sure if he can take a hit from one of the lightning bolts without severely getting injured.

Suddenly a Peak 4th Spider started running towards Aditya's direction. Aditya did not even look at the strange-looking Spider.

Crack!!!

Suddenly a crimson lightning bolt fell on the strange-looking Spider's body from the sky. The lightning bolt made the strange-looking Spider explode like a water balloon. The white blood of the spider along with its meat spread in all directions.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Soul Devouring Spider. You have gained experience points. Your experience points have been saved.?

From reading the notification that flashed on his retina, Aditya was able to learn the names of these strange-looking Spiders.

"Soul Devouring Spiders...." Aditya frowned. The young Emperor had a habit of reading history books. And thanks to reading books on a regular basis, he has learned a lot of things about this world and about the history of this world. The Dragon Monarch has come across many strange kinds of monsters. But he seen these strange-looking spiders with transparent bodies before nor had he heard about Soul Devouring Spiders.

"Watson...." However, this wasn't the time to think or frown about such a matter. Each second many lives were being lost. These people were now Aditya's people. As their King, he cannot allow them to die.

Watson understood Aditya's call. Without any reservation, he took out twin swords and disappeared in a flash.

Crimson wings appeared on his back, and the next second, Aditya flew up in the air. Once he was 100 meters above the city, he took a moment to observe the chaos that was happening all over the city. The Soul Devouring Spiders were everywhere. These damn Soul Devouring Spiders could easily climb and destroy any barriers.

From the sky, he could even that even the Dragonians were having trouble defending themselves from the Soul Devouring Spiders. He could sense up to nearly 100,000 Soul-Devouring Spiders within the city itself. And the number was even higher outside of the city. Actively, the number of the Soul Devouring Spiders was increasing as more and more spiders were entering the city either by climbing the walls or through the gate as the guards who were guarding the entrances of the city had long been killed.

Swoosh!!!!!!!

Grabbing the black sword, Aditya disappeared. The people who were being chased by the Soul Devouring Spiders suddenly felt strange. As they stopped running and turned around to look back, they found that the Soul Devouring Spiders that were chasing them had been killed.

Aditya's current speed had reached a dangerous level. He was able to break the sound barrier easily. To the eyes of the people, he had become a red light that moved extremely fast. Whenever the red light passed by, all of the Soul Devouring Spiders would be killed.

The capital was filled with Soul Devouring Spiders. If not for Aditya, the whole capital and its millions of population would have fallen. However, Aditya alone was enough. With his super speed, he moved through the entire capital. Along the way, every single Soul Devouring Spiders was slaughtered by him.

Within a few minutes, the situation within the city began to stabilize and everyone began to calm down. Once Aditya determined that the city was no longer in danger and the soldiers could take care of the rest, he went outside of the city to take care of the bigger horde.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 517

Flying outside of the city, Aditya was stunned to see the almost infinite number of Soul-Devouring Spiders outside of the capital. Aurora Frostreach, the capital of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire was surrounded by countless number of Soul-Devouring Spiders. The number of Soul-Devouring Spiders looked infinite from the sky.

From the sky, Aditya saw countless Soul-Devouring Spiders grouping against soldiers of the Istarin Empire. There were about 100,000 Istarin troops at the Capital to guard the city. For every soldier, there were 10 to 50 or even 100 Soul-Devouring Spiders in some cases. The Istarin troops were being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the Soul-Devouring Spiders.

There were so many Soul-Devouring Spiders that Aditya was having a headache while trying to count their number through his senses. But with a rough calculation, he quickly was able to estimate that there were around 17.5 million Soul-Devouring Spiders. Aditya had no doubt that the number was even higher. The number could be well over 25 million or even 50 million.

'How the hell such a humongous scale of Soul-Devouring Spiders came around the capital?' Aditya asked himself while staring.

He did not dwell on the question any longer. He further flew into the sky.

"All Soldiers retreat back into the Capital. I will take care of the rest."

Using Mana Aditya amplified his voice. His voice was able to reach the ears of all of the Istarin Soldiers. Unfortunately by now many of the troops have lost their lives. Around 18,000 troops were already dead as they were overwhelmed by the number of Soul-Devouring Spiders. If all of the Soul-Devouring Spiders were 1st-order then even fighting 100 million of them wouldn't have been much of a problem. But Soul-Devouring Spiders had many strong ones. There were millions of Peak 2nd-order and Peak 3rd-order spiders. Although there were very less Peak 4th-order and 5th-order spiders compared to the millions of Peak 2nd-order and Peak 3rd-order spiders, their strength was also something that cannot be ignored.

As soon as Aditya's voice reached their ears as if the soldiers had suddenly found new determination and courage to fight, the soldiers used all of their powers to make a path to retreat back.

At the same time, Aditya also used Crimson lightning from the sky. He helped the soldiers who were in very tight situations with his crimson lightning and helped them make a path to the city gate.

Bang!!

bang!!

bang!!!

A few minutes later, the troops had successfully retreated back to the city. But as soon as the troops retreated, the Soul-Devouring Spiders began to make their way to the city. The Soul-Devouring Spiders tried to enter the fight through the four entrances and by climbing the walls. On the walls, the soldiers started using cannons, arrows, and long-ranged spells to keep them away but their numbers were just too much.

Meanwhile, Aditya took a deep breath. "It's time...."

Rumble!!!!

Suddenly it started to rain. As the first few drops of rain fell on the bodies of the Soul-Devouring Spiders, smoke started rising. The Soul-Devouring Spiders' bodies started burning from the acidic rain.

The rain did not put on the Capital. As if the rain was protecting the entire capital from the Soul-Devouring Spiders. If one took even one step outside of the walls, his body would get burned because of the acid rain.

The rain started all around the capital. Under the Acid rain, the Soul-Devouring Spiders quickly started dying. Especially the 1st-order and 2nd-order Soul-Devouring Spiders couldn't witness even a few seconds of the heavy acid rain. The moment the acid rain hit their bodies, their flesh started burning and melting.

From the walls, the injured and tired soldiers of the Istarin Empire watched in a mix of astonishment and shock as the number of Soul-Devouring Spiders rapidly started to decrease.

However, unable to bear the acid rain, the Soul-Devouring Spiders tried to force their way to the city where it wasn't raining at all.

"Start the city defensive Dome," Watson ordered. The nearby soldier did what he was ordered to. Before a large wave of Soul-Devouring Spiders could enter the city, a white transparent bubble-like barrier covered the entire city and prevented the Soul-Devouring Spiders from entering.

Watson did not stop there. He took out three Solar Cannons. He gave two of the Solar cannons to fellow Istarin Soldiers while he used one. He showed the soldiers how to use the Solar Cannons. Under their shocked gazes, a long beam of light was released from the Solar cannon. The beam of light instantly clearly a path and destroyed every single Soul-Devouring Spider in its path. Not even peak 4th-order and beginner 5th-order cultivators were spared.

Booooooom!!!!

Seeing what kind of damage these Solar Cannons had, the other two soldiers became excited and started using the Solar cannons as well.

Even the Peak 3rd-order Soul-Devouring Spiders couldn't resist the acid rain. Around half or a minute later, even the 3rd-order Soul-Devouring Spiders also rapidly began to die.

"This type of situation is perfect to use this skill of mine." Acid rain was a skill that let Aditya use acid rain over a large area. The only limitation of this skill was the acid rain was ineffective against magic monsters and cultivators whose cultivation rank was higher than his. Since he was currently a Peak 3rd-order cultivator, the acid rain wasn't powerful enough to kill 4th-order and 5th-order Soul-Devouring Spiders. But that does not mean the acid rain wasn't giving any damage to the 4th-orders. The 4th-orders weren't completely resistant to the acid rain after all.

At the same time, Aditya's experience bar was exploding. He was gaining a ton of experience points. The system was making a non-stop ringing sound that was starting to give him another headache.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 1st-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 1st-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 2nd-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 1st-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order Soul-Devouring Sp...........?

These Soul-Devouring Spiders possess striking, blood-red eyes that seem to pierce through the very soul of any unfortunate being that encounters them. Their bodies are unique, characterized by translucent exoskeletons, allowing glimpses of their otherworldly, spectral innards. Despite this apparent fragility, their skins are really tough, with a metallic sheen, as if their skins are forged from otherworldly materials.

Their long, spindly legs terminate in sharp, obsidian-like tips, enabling them to move with eerie grace and super-fast agility. Their mouths are equipped with serrated mandibles designed to suck the spiritual essence or life force of living beings.

Swoosh!!!!!

Bang!!!

In the next few minutes, the area around the Capital turned into a bloody battlefield where a single man took on more than 25 million of Soul Devouring Spiders. Aditya constantly kept appearing and disappearing in various parts of the battlefield. He alone kept the 5th-order and Peak 4th-order Soul Devouring Spiders away from the city from all sides. He moved so fast that to others it looked as if he was teleporting around the whole battlefield each second.

At the same time, aside from the Acid rain, lightning crimson bolts constantly kept striking down as if heaven was punishing the Soul Devouring Spiders. The whole battlefield had become crazy. Each second, the number of Soul Devouring Spiders was rapidly decreasing. At first, there were more than 25 million Soul Devouring Spiders. Now that number had dropped from 25 to 17 million. 8 million that died were Peak 1st and 2nd-order and third order Soul Devouring Spiders; that died from acid rain. The acid rain had become a shield for the people of Aurora Frostreach City and the soldiers.

Without Aditya, by now the whole Aurora Frostreach city would have been overrun by Soul Devouring Spiders and millions of people would have died as a result.

Even though in such a short time, a huge number of troops and people had died, which was really sad and unfortunate, thanks to Aditya more casualties were prevented.

The battle continued for more than 5 hours straight. In those 5 hours, Aditya alone took on the millions of Soul Devouring Spiders. As the weak ones had died within a few minutes, the remaining ones were the real strong ones. In Aditya's opinion, the existence of such strange spiders defied the laws of this world. How could something like this even exist in this world?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 518

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 4th-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a beginner 5th-order Soul-Devouring Spider. Your experience points have been saved.?

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 3rd-order Soul-Devouring Sp.....?

Huff....!!!!

"Finally....." Finally, Aditya was done. It had taken him more than 5 hours to wipe out every single one of the Soul-Devouring Spiders from around the capital. In these hours, he hadn't taken a break. At first, it felt as if no matter how much slaughtered there wasn't any, and to these Soul-Devouring Spiders. The more he killed the more kept coming.

He kept going on for hours till he finished the last remaining Beginner 5th-order Soul-Devouring Spider.

Sigh!

"It has been a while since I had felt this exhausted," Aditya said in a tired tone. He was really exhausted right now.

"Your Majesty, are you alright." As soon as Aditya killed the last remaining of the Soul-Devouring Spiders, his butler Watson approached him with a worried look.

"Watson...I am alright. How is everything going on within the city?" Aditya asked back with a tired smile. Aditya was sitting on the top of the walls of the Aurora Frostreach City.

"Thanks to your help all of the Soul-Devouring Spiders that had managed to get inside the city have been killed. Though I am sad to inform you that a lot of people including a lot of our troops have died." Hearing this Aditya sighed while looking into the distance. It pained him to hear this. But this whole invasion from the Soul-Devouring Spiders was something that neither Aditya nor anyone else could have anticipated.

"But Your Majesty, I still have bad news."

"Other cities were also attacked by these Soul-Devouring Spiders.....?" Aditya was able to guess before Watson needed to say it out loud. While fighting these Soul-Devouring Spiders for about 6 hours now, he was able to understand some things about these monsters. These monsters worked as a group or single unit. This meant that there was someone controlling these Soul-Devouring Spiders. During the battle, he had noticed that none of the Soul-Devouring Spiders were trying to flee or run away. Instead, these stupid spiders kept coming at Aditya.

Aditya hadn't been able to find the main controller of this Soul-Devouring Spiders. The Queen Soul-Devouring Spider was nowhere to be seen during the whole battle. During the battle he had kind of figured it that the Queen was somewhere else and he wouldn't be surprised if other cities were attacked by these Soul-Devouring Spiders. And it happened.

"Yes...." Watson nodded his head heavily. Due to the crazy number of Soul-Devouring Spiders attacking other cities, Watson had to call all of the Istarin troops and even ask the Istarin Empire's allies to send lending hands to fight these Soul-Devouring Spiders.

The only reason Watson did not call any backup to the capital was that there wasn't any need to do it as their Emperor alone was more than powerful enough to take care of millions of Soul-Devouring Spiders. There were close to 25 million Soul-Devouring Spiders surrounding the Capital and within the capital, all combined together. Yet their Monarch managed to defeat them all. This was something that even an army of 5 million or even 10 million won't be able to accomplish.

"Watson, I think I have figured out how these Soul-Devouring Spiders can grow their numbers so fast." Aditya broke the silence.

"Really?" Watson asked in a hopeful tone. The more they understood this unknown creature the better they could prepare to face this monster in the future.

"When I was killing these Soul-Devouring Spiders. While killing adult female Soul-Devouring Spiders that can grow up to the size of 7 to 10 meters, I found many of the female adults were pregnant. Can you guess how many spiders were there inside the stomach of each pregnant female Soul-Devouring Spider?" Aditya asked.

Watson looked confused but he tried to make a guess. "I don't know. Maybe 100 or a few hundred at most. Did I guess anywhere close?" In Watson's mind, even a few hundred would be a ridiculous amount.

Aditya shook his head. "10,000. There were TEN THOUSAND unborn Soul-Devouring Spiders within the stomach of an adult female Soul-Devouring Spider. Can you freaking believe it?" Hearing this Watson's pupils contracted to the size of a needle. His whole body visibly shook as he gasped for air. He stared at Aditya in deep shock.

When Aditya discovered this fact, even he couldn't believe it either but thought about how it felt as if these Soul-Devouring Spiders were nearly infinite in number made him accept this fact. "It all makes sense now....." Watson still looked shaken and shocked by hearing this.

"Yeah. I had at least killed around 50,000 pregnant female Soul-Devouring Spiders. If each spider could give birth to 10,000 more of these parasites, 50,000 pregnant spiders would have resulted in half a billion of these spiders. Watson, can you believe this figure? Half a billion for heaven's sake...!!!" Even Aditya had a hard time believing this number.

"500,000,000..." Watson mumbled in a low tone.

"If these pregnant spiders were able to give birth to 500,000,000 more Soul-Devouring Spiders, then even I won't be able to stop this calamity from spreading. The whole Istarin Empire and its allies would have failed to stop 500,000,000 Soul-Devouring Spiders."

"And now that you're telling me that other cities were also attacked by Soul-Devouring Spiders, I can't help but fear for the worst. Even if there are 10,000 pregnant female Soul-Devouring Spiders, then these 10,000 will multiply into 100,000,000. And if that happens the entire Southern region is doomed forever." Aditya said in a serious tone.

"One hundred million...." Both Aditya and Watson silently looked at each other. Both of them realized that the situation had suddenly become even more serious.

While Aditya and Watson were talking, a soldier came running to them holding a letter in his hand.

"Your Majesty, my apologies for disturbing you when you're resting but there was a mysterious man who handed me this letter and then disappeared." Hearing these words, Watson and Aditya shared another look.

"See if you could see still this mysterious man. Search for this man." Aditya merely shook his head. If that person was Simon, then he already had left the capital and there was no use in searching for him right now. It was already a big fortune that this soldier wasn't killed and then this letter wasn't dropped on his corpse for Aditya's attention.

Aditya took the letter from the soldier's name and then signaled him to leave them alone. Once they were alone, Aditya opened the letter.

[Hello, Aditya!!!!]

Reading the first two words, Aditya felt as if Simon was mocking him. He felt angry but he calmly suppressed his anger and continued reading.

[I hope you liked my gift. It was really difficult to get these Soul-Devouring Spiders from the organization. Even though I am a core member of the organization, I had a difficult time getting these Soul-Devouring Spiders from the organization.

Since you don't know much about these monsters, let me tell you about them as an apology for all of the people who are going to die in your empire.]

[These monsters are called Soul-Devouring Spiders. These spiders can only eat the life force of living beings. And fulfilling the stomachs of these Soul-Devouring Spiders isn't easy at all. The moment these Soul-Devouring Spiders are born, their lifelong mission is to keep eating life force. The adult female Soul-Devouring Spiders can get pregnant once they have filled their stomachs with life force. And surprise for you, each pregnant spider can give birth to 10,000 more baby spiders. In other words, these spiders are the perfect weapon for bringing a civilization to its knees. They were the perfect tool for causing chaos and calamity.]

[These sinister creatures are social beings, they work in groups under the command of the mighty Soul Devouring Spider Queen.

Once these newborn Soul Devouring Spiders emerge, they will randomly go in all directions, seeking out more life force to feed upon. Meanwhile, the adult female that has just given birth undergoes a transformation, becoming the queen of her own nest. This transformation is accompanied by a shift in her physical appearance, as she grows larger and more imposing.

These newly born spiders become members of her nest, and they are governed by a strict hierarchy. The queen of the main nest retains control over her sub-Queens, who are the mature females that have given birth to their own broods. Each sub-queen governs her sub-nest, ensuring that all the members work together in their relentless pursuit of life force.

This complex web of interconnected nests and queens allows Soul Devouring Spiders to multiply at a terrifying rate, posing a grave threat to the balance of this whole continent. If you're not fast enough, then before you know it the whole Southern region might be full of these soul-devouring spiders and all living beings will die.

Dragon Monarch, you have lots of things to do while having very little time. I wonder what you will do now. And as promised, I will see you very soon.]

As soon as Aditya finished reading the letter, his forehead was covered in sweat. He wasn't afraid of Simon or the mysterious organization behind him but if his words in the letter were true, then the whole southern region was in grave danger.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 519

Icetail Fortress was a city with nearly one million population. The city is located approximately 129.1 Km (80.21...miles) away from the former capital of the Northern Frost Dragon empire. But now that the whole Empire has been officially taken over by the Istarin Empire, the Aurora Frostreach was no longer considered the Capital.

Icetail Fortress was located on top of the mountain that was 2,250 meters (7381.89 feet) tall. For the most part of the year, the temperature on top of the mountain where the city was located has always been low. This city experiences more snowfall than any other city within the Southern region.

And being situated at the top of the mountain has always made this city extremely tough to conquer or capture. Another reason why this city was given the name Icetail Fortress is because of its impenetrable defense system. Since its formation, not a single army has breached the city's impenetrable defense system. This was something that all of the citizens of this city were proud of.

But today it looks like that was about to change. For the first time in its history, it looked like Icetail Fortress City was going to lose the battle. Because the army that they were currently fighting weren't humans, or beast-man or elves or Dragons or Mermen....the army that they were currently facing were strange spiders that had transparent bodies.

The appearance of the strange white-looking spiders started around 10 in the morning. The city's people were doing their work and were continuing with their lives just like any other day. There was a slight excitement among the population as they had become a part of the Istarin Empire. But most normal people ignored this matter. However, they were relieved to know that there won't be any civil war in this Empire because of this annexation.

Around 10 in the morning, a strange thing happened. A small white spider with a transparent body and red eyes appeared in front of the Icetail Fortress City's northern entrance. The guards didn't know what kind of monster this spider was until the spider killed a normal woman in front of them and sucked the woman's life force. Realizing the danger of this spider, the guards immediately killed the spider.

But as soon as they did that, they were alarmed by the watchtowers that a horde of countless white spiders was heading in their direction.

All four of the city's entrances were completely shut down. The 3-star defensive Dome was activated. All the 25,000 guards that guarded the city and kept the public order were deployed to fight the enemies. And the battle started.

When the guards of 25,000 started fighting against the Soul Devouring Spiders, at first everyone thought that this was going to be a tough battle but in the end, they were going to win. But just a few minutes later, they realized how wrong they were. The Soul Devouring Spider's numbers kept increasing with each second. More and more Spiders marched towards the city.

As a result what had started as a battle between 25,000 troops against around 100,000 Soul Devouring Spiders quickly changed into the number of Soul Devouring Spiders rapidly increasing. The number of spiders went from 100,000 to 150,000 to 200,000 to 300,000 and kept increasing.....

The pressure on each soldier increased as more Soul Devouring Spiders kept coming and joined others to attack the soldiers as soon as possible. Even though the soldiers used magic cannons, arrows, and long-ranged spells, nothing worked. The number of the Soul Devouring Spiders was ridiculously high. Within a few minutes, things took a worse turn for the city as the number of troops started falling from 25,000 to 20,000 and then 15,000.

What made the situation even worse was the fact that unlike in normal battles where even if a troop was seriously injured, the chances of him surviving were still there. But in this battle, as long as the soldier was even injured the Soul Devouring Spiders would use this invulnerability to kill the soldier, and then a few of the Soul Devouring Spiders would suck the soldier's life force before moving on to the next target.

The situation had already gotten out of hand. Fortunately, 50,000 Istarin Empire troops were dispatched to Icetail Fortress. All of the cities, towns, and even villages where it was reported to be attacked by Soul Devouring Spiders, reinforcements from the Capital of the Istarin empire were sent there immediately under Watson and Spencer's command. Among the 50,000 Istarin troops there were 100 powerful Dragonians.

As long as 50,000 Istarin troops joined the battle, the other soldiers were able to take a deep breath of relief but that relieved feeling did not last long as the number of Soul Devouring Spiders kept increasing. All of the Istarin Soldiers felt despair after seeing the ever-decreasing number of Soul Devouring Spiders.

The sight of the relentless wave of Soul Devouring Spiders was demoralizing to the troops. As the number of spiders continued to surge, a thick cloud of despair settled over the battlefield. The once coordinated and valiant soldiers of the city, now worn out, were quickly losing hope.

"Why... why won't they stop coming?" a soldier gasped, his eyes wide with terror, glancing around the battlefield where his comrades were being overwhelmed.

"I can't take it anymore. It's like fighting against the tide!" another soldier cried out, his voice trembling with exhaustion. Sweat dripped from his brow, mixing with the dust and grime of battle.

"I feel so tired. My hands are numb," complained one soldier, dropping his weapon momentarily to shake out his aching hands.

"We've been fighting for hours, and it feels like we've achieved nothing," said another, looking out at the sea of spiders. "Every time we take one down, ten more appear."

A veteran soldier, scars adorning his face, tried to rally his comrades, shouting, "Stay strong! Remember our families and our city. We can't give up now!"

But his words felt hollow, even to him, as he saw younger soldiers, many fresh out of training, with tears in their eyes, their spirits broken. The situation was dire, and everyone felt the weight of it. To make things worse, many of the soldiers were almost out of Mana and were beginning to feel extremely tired to continue the battle. This battle was really demanding. They had to engage not just one Soul Devouring Spider but rather a whole lot of Spiers at once while keeping their guards up as if they were careless even for a second, they would lose their lives.

"You think the reinforcements will make it in time?" a young soldier asked hopefully, trying to look for some light at the end of the tunnel. But even he knew that might not be any reinforcement. As 50,000 reinforcements were just sent 30 minutes ago.

"I hope so," replied his friend, gripping his weapon tighter. "But we have to keep fighting until they arrive, no matter how hard it gets."

All around, the once mighty army looked defeated, not by the enemy's might, but by the sheer endless numbers they faced. The mental strain was clear; every soldier was pushed to their limit, battling not just the spiders but their own growing despair.

Another 10 to 15 minutes passed. By now, the majority of the soldiers had grown really tired and they were almost out of Mana. The moment some of them ran out of Mana, they were defenseless against attacks from the spiders and were killed as a result of it. The situation was only getting worse and worse.

While the troops were mentally and physically exhausted but kept fighting regardless. Suddenly all of them sensed a strong presence on the battlefield. The presence was so strong that they felt their bodies being paralyzed in fear for a second. Even all of the Soul-Devouring Spiders stopped attacking and sucking life force from dead soldier's bodies as if acknowledging the presence of this Soul Devouring Spider.

"That's....." The Commander of the troops took a step back in deep fear. Drops of sweat began rolling down his cheeks as he gulped nervously while staring at the Peak 5th-order Soul Devouring Spider. The size of this Soul Devouring Spider was 10 meters. It was a Female Soul Devouring Spider. The stomach of this spider was slightly larger compared to other spiders; indicating that this female spider may be pregnant.

The appearance of Peak 5th-order Soul Devouring Spider changed the whole tide of this battle. From the beginning, their chances of winning this battle were really low. And with the appearance of Peak 5th-order Soul Devouring Spider, no their chances of winning this battle were zero. After all, who the hell in their ranks could take on a peak 5th-order cultivator? Even the commander himself was a Beginner 4th-order cultivator. Even if the Dragonians joined hands and fought this Soul Devouring Spider, the chances of them winning were basically zero.

The sight of the monstrous Peak 5th-order Soul Devouring Spider had struck terror into the hearts of the already under-pressured soldiers. The overwhelming pressure emanating from the massive creature was unlike anything they had ever felt before. Their fatigue seemed to intensify tenfold, making the ground beneath them feel like a quagmire, pulling them down.

"It's over..." One of the soldiers dropped his weapon, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he stared, wide-eyed, at the enormous Soul Devouring Spider. His once fierce determination had been replaced with overwhelming dread and fear.

"We've lost...." Another soldier murmured, his voice devoid of hope. His face was ashen, and his eyes carried the look of someone who had seen the abyss.

"Is this... is this the end?" A third soldier whispered, tears streaking down his dirt-covered face.

"We can't... we can't beat that," a young recruit stammered, his legs failing him as he sank to the ground, defeated.

Even the hardened veterans, who had seen countless battles, were dumbfounded. "By the gods... I've never seen anything like it," a grizzled sergeant muttered, clutching his chest as if trying to calm his racing heart.

Nearby, two soldiers leaned against each other for support, their shoulders slumped. "Even if we had the energy to keep fighting... how can we stand against that?" one of them said, his voice heavy with resignation.

The morale, already fragile, crumbled in the face of the titanic spider. All of the troops lost their hopes and felt that it was useless to continue this battle when the winner of this battle already had been decided.

The Peak 5th-order Spider slowly stepped forward. The other Soul Devouring Spiders moved out of the way for her. All of the other spiders showed immense respect to this Spider. The Peak 5th-order Soul Devouring Spiders had used its cultivation Aura to suppress all of the troops.

Before she could take the lives of any soldier, suddenly thick grey roots rose from the ground. Under everyone's disbelieved and shocked gazes, the Soul Devouring Spider found herself bound with the grey roots.

The Spider tried to break herself free from these damned roots but to her horror, she realized that no matter how much she tried, she couldn't even move an inch. Realizing this fact, for the first time, she felt fear in her heart. Since she was a Peak 5th-order cultivator, her intelligence was really high; as high as humans. She immediately became cautious and tried to sense any Powerful cultivators around but she found no one. This made her feel confused and wonder who had done this to her.

Even with her monstrous strength of being Peak's 5th-order powerhouse, she couldn't break these damn grey roots. The next second she felt the roots tightening around her body, making her feel suffocated. Before she could do anything, she felt her mana was being sucked from her.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 520

The next second she felt the roots tightening around her body, making her feel suffocated. Before she could do anything, she felt her mana was being sucked from her. She wasn't just losing a small amount of her mana each second. It was as if a dam had been broken and the water holding the dam had been released. She feared that if this continued within a few minutes, her reserve of mana will be completely sucked dry by these grey roots.

Crack!!!

The next second, the heavy silence on the battlefield was broken by loud cracking sounds. The earth started to crack. Large fissures appeared on the ground. Seeing this everyone panicked. Even the Soul-Devouring Spiders also panicked. This also caused a small earthquake. The people inside the city also felt this earthquake.

Once the cracks stopped appeared on the ground. At super fast speed, from these cracks, a countless number of grey roots emerged. Before the Soul-Devouring Spiders even had time to react, they found themselves bounded by the grey roots. The grey roots were not just any roots that could be destroyed. These roots were extremely tough and could not be destroyed. The number of Soul Devouring Spiders was anything but small. The grey roots captured the spiders that had reached the top of the mountain. As for the other incoming spiders, the grey did not reach that far.

Seeing all of this, the soldiers kept a strange sense of hope in their hearts. At the same time, this made them wonder what was happening. Who was doing all of this? Who was saving them? Could it be that Mother Nature had answered their calls and had come to save them? No one knew. No one had an answer. Everyone could just stare at what was happening with a sense of excitement building in their hearts. They felt hopes of winning this battle for the first time. The soldiers began to regain their hopes and their fighting spirits.

Suddenly a green Aura enveloped all of the troops. The green Aura felt warm to the troops. They felt as if they had become one with Mother Nature for a moment. At the same time, the wounds that they received during the ongoing battle, rapidly started to heal. The soldiers kept that their exhaustion and tiredness were disappearing. At the same time, they also noticed that their Mana reserve was being fulfilled once again.

"I... I feel... amazing," one soldier stammered, staring at his previously injured arm, now fully healed.

"Is this a dream?" another exclaimed, flexing his fingers in wonder as he felt the rush of mana coursing through him.

"We've got a fighting chance now!" a third declared, his voice carrying a note of hope and determination that had been missing just moments before.

"It's as if the land itself is fighting with us," a young soldier whispered, eyes wide with awe.

A grizzled veteran, who moments ago had been on the brink of collapse, now stood tall, feeling years younger. "I've never felt anything like this. We're being given a second wind!"

"Look at my wounds, they're gone!" another soldier shouted, showing off his once scarred chest that was now smooth and unblemished.

Soldiers around started talking animatedly, their despair replaced by hope and gratitude. "Mother Nature is on our side," a mage murmured, tears of relief in his eyes.

A small gust of wind blew past the soldiers. As the wind blew past them, the looks on the soldier's faces changed. Some of them even looked confused wondering if what they heard was real or their imagination. It was as if the wind carried these words to their ears.

[Soldiers of the Istarin Empire do not stop fighting. Until the battle ends, you all will never run out of Mana. If you are injured then you will be healed. You will feel no exhaustion. So don't hesitate anymore. Pick up your weapons and fight these monsters. Protect this land and protect this city. Protect your loved ones. Don't lose hope as the goddess of Nature is by your side.]

The ethereal whisper of the Goddess of Nature resonated through every soldier's heart, like a melody of hope and strength. Their rejuvenated bodies now trembled with newfound excitement.

"We heard her! The Goddess of Nature herself is with us!" one soldier cried out, his voice quivering with emotion.

"She believes in us! We cannot let her down!" another declared, clutching his weapon tightly, newfound determination shining in his eyes.

"All this time, we were never alone. She's been watching over us!" A young soldier exclaimed, wiping away a tear.

"Come on, lads! With the goddess on our side, these spiders don't stand a chance!" yelled a seasoned warrior, rallying those around him.

A wave of exhilaration spread through the ranks. Soldiers looked at one another, their faces reflecting a shared sentiment - a deep-rooted belief in victory. The weight of despair that had once threatened to crush them was now completely lifted.

"For our homes, our families, and the Goddess herself, we will not falter!" declared a commander, raising his sword high, the metal gleaming brilliantly under the sun.

While all of this was happening, Riya who had hidden herself using 'Natural Camouflage' just smiled. 'Natural Camouflage' was one of the powerful passive skills that allowed her to hide in nature. Not even a Peak 5th-order cultivator would be capable of sensing her presence if she used 'Natural Camouflage'.

The situation here was so bad that Riya had to come here. Just like Riya, other Generals of the Istarin Empire also had to step up. Riya came to the battlefield around the time when the Peak 5th-order Soul Devouring Spider also made its appearance.

Unlike Aditya, Riya did not have firepower. Instead, she used grey roots to drain the Soul-Devouring Spiders' Mana and used that Mana to heal the wounded soldiers and keep filling the soldiers' mana reserve so that the Soldiers could keep fighting without needing to worry about their wounds and mana reserve slowing them down. Riya had taken the role of supportive in this battle. If any more Peak 5th-order or any 5th-order Spiders in general came to the Battlefield, her grey roots would be more than enough.

After she had reached Mid-5th-order, she had grown strong enough to take care of pretty much all Peak 5th-order cultivators. Her ability to Drain and absorb Mana from her opponent made Riya really dangerous. And this was just a small part of her true powers that she still hasn't used yet.

The next second the smile from her face disappeared as she sensed the number of the Soul Devouring Spider. There were approximately 5 million of these Soul Devouring Spiders. If the troops knew of such a number they would instantly lose their fighting spirit again. This was a bad news. Even with the buffs that Riya was providing them, taking down 5 million Soul Devouring Spiders will be extremely tough for them if not impossible.

Riya raised both of her hands up as a green Aura enveloped around her entire body. Her sliver hair started to float along with the edges of her cloth. Her eyes also started shinning in deep green.

[Whispers of the ancient grove, awaken from your silent doze,

Hear the call of the forest's plea, rise as guardians, strong and free.

Stones of old and roots so deep, from the earth, your promise keep,

Guard the lands and skies so wide, stand as sentinels, side by side.

By the pulse of life's eternal dance, and nature's evergreen romance,

Bear the strength of mountains tall, heed the sacred sentinel's call.

Let this chant be the incantation to summon the powerful guardians of nature.]

[Nature's Sentinel!!!]

Crack!!!!

With Riya's call, suddenly the whole mountain started to shake. For a moment all of the soldiers stopped fighting and wondered what was going to happen now. And for some reason, all of the Soul Devouring Spiders looked really restless at this moment.

The shaking stopped very soon. And everyone refused to fight. But a minute later, all stopped fighting the sound steps. Each step seems to shake the ground a little bit. This really made the soldiers and the people within the city feel frightened not knowing what was going on.

From the north, a being that was almost 17 meters (55.7743 feet) slowly walked towards the Soul Devouring Spiders. Each step this being took, shook the ground around it a little bit. Everyone felt the ground tremble as this was being approached.

"What the hell is this thing?" One of the soldiers gazed up in shock.

"I don't know..." Another soldier responded.

An earth mage among the soldiers immediately recognized this being. In a trembling tone, she replied in a slightly loud tone. "This is a Foliage guardian."

"Foliage guardian....? What's that?" Asked the commander while staring at the Foliage guardian in a mix of shock and astonishment.

The Foliage Guardian looked like a giant made of leaves and branches. It's really tall, about as tall as a five-story building; 17 meters (55.7743 feet). Its body is made up of thick vines twisted together, and its hands look like big clumps of leaves. It has two glowing green eyes that shine brightly. The guardian's feet are rooted into the ground, and when it moves, it looks like the ground is helping it walk. It's covered all over with different types of leaves, some big and some small. It's a mix of green shades, making it blend well with the forest. The guardian looked strong but also gentle, like a big, friendly giant that loved nature.

The face of the Foliage Guardian had a peaceful, ancient look. Its eyes were big, round, and glowing a soft green, like two lanterns lighting up a forest path. The eyes were surrounded by thick leafy eyebrows that moved like they were alive. Instead of a nose, there was a gentle slope with vines trailing down, and its mouth was a simple line, which could curve into a smile or frown. The whole face was framed by hanging moss and ferns, giving it a wise and old appearance. It didn't have ears like humans; instead, there were clusters of leaves that rustled softly whenever it "listened". Every feature on its face seemed to be in harmony with nature, making it look kind and gentle.

The female earth mage looked at the Foliage Guardian with stars in her eyes. She looked like an excited child staring at the Foliage Guardian. She looked so excited because she had never seen a Foliage Guardian of such a huge size. "The Foliage Guardian is a big protector made out of leaves and plants. Usually, only someone super strong and really close to nature can call it. Since Elves are the only race that is really close to nature, they are capable of summoning the Foliage Guardian. But the ones they summon are like 5 to 8 meters tall, tops. This one is almost 17 meters long! That's way bigger than usual. This is to be expected from the Goddess of Nature herself."

Tap! Tap!

Soon the soldier's attention was focused on two other gigantic beings. One of them came from the south and the other came from the east direction. Seeing them everyone was again surprised and shocked.

"That's Stone Guardian and Wood Guardian."

The Stone Guardian looks like a huge giant made entirely of rocks and boulders. It's super tall, way taller than a big building, about 20 meters high. Its whole body is made up of different sizes of stones, all stacked and fitted together. It has two deep holes for eyes that glow a bright blue color. The guardian's arms and legs are thick and strong, like massive pillars. When it moves, one can hear the sound of rocks grinding together. Its feet are so big that with each step, the ground shakes a bit. The guardian's face is simple, with a flat surface for a mouth that doesn't move much. It looks really tough and solid, like a mountain that walks and protects.

Everyone felt even more confident as three Guardians joined them in battles against the spiders. Their massive sizes weren't just for show. Their bodies were filled with power. Normally summoning such giant Guardians would consume a lot of Mana. So much so that Riya can only summon these three Guardians for about 1 minute.

Since the grey roots were constantly sucking Mana from the Soul Devouring Spiders, she had no problem with Mana supply. The three Guardians were receiving mana from the grey roots directly.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 521

The Wood Guardian is like a massive giant made from old trees and logs. It's super tall, standing at about 18 meters, which is taller than most trees in the forest. Its body looks like big tree trunks all joined together. It has eyes that are like hollowed-out knots in wood, and they glow a soft yellow. The arms of the guardian are like big branches, and its hands have long wooden fingers. Its legs are thick like the base of big trees, and when it walks, it sounds like heavy wood thumping on the ground. The guardian's face has features carved from the wood, with a simple mouth and nose. It gives off a feeling of being old and wise, just like the ancient trees in deep forests. It's like a walking, protective forest giant.

Boooom!!!!!

The whole tide of the battle had changed with the arrival of the three Guardians. Each three Guardian was built like a tank. In front of them, none of the Soul Devouring Spiders were able to stand. The spiders were crushed to death.

Even though the situation was under control for now, Riya knew that the number of soul-devouring Spiders was massive. More reinforcements were needed.

Fortunately, around 20 minutes later, 100,000 troops reinforcements arrived on the battlefield. Seeing them, the troops that had been fighting till now felt really relieved. With an Additional 100,000 troops, the battle was going to become even easier and the burden from their shoulders would be reduced.

"Look at that! We've got backup!" a young infantryman shouted.

"Haha, those spiders won't know what hit 'em!" another soldier chuckled, the tension visibly easing from his shoulders.

"I knew they'd come! We aren't alone in this!" a sergeant declared, her eyes glistening with unshed tears of relief.

An archer, pulling back his bowstring, commented, "With this many extra hands, we might just push them back faster than we thought!"

A nearby mage, who'd been constantly casting spells to fend off the spiders, sighed deeply. "I was about to reach my limit. Thank the gods they're here." Although physically they did not feel any exhaustion, after fighting this long, they were mentally starting to feel exhausted.

A group of cavalry, seeing the reinforcements, whooped in joy, their horses neighing in what seemed like approval. "This is it! The turning point!" one of them cried.

Soldiers began clapping each other on the back, the weight of hopelessness now replaced by newfound vigor. The morale of the troops skyrocketed. The heavy burden they'd felt, the responsibility of holding the line, was now shared, lightened.

"Let's give those spiders a taste of the Istarin might!" a commander bellowed, rallying his troops with the sight of reinforcements in the backdrop. The soldiers, with reignited spirit and backed by the sheer number of new comrades, prepared to push forward with newfound determination.

Riya silently watched them while keeping herself hidden from everyone's view with a smile. She too felt relieved now that an additional 100,000 troops had arrived.

And so with the additional troops of 100,000 and with the goddess of Nature by their side, the momentum of the whole battle changed. It took around 3 hours to end the battle. By the end of it, 5 million Soul-Devouring Spiders had been killed by 150,000 troops which was nothing but a miracle.

If not for the Goddess of Nature, they would have long lost this battle, and the people of Icetail Fortress would have become the food of the Soul-Devouring Spiders. The battle was the toughest battle that the troops had ever fought but fortunately, they had won and Icetail Fortress still stands as an impenetrable fortress.

Scene change____

However, there were 5 other cities including the Icetail Fortress, and the Aurora Frostreach (the former capital), that were attacked by the Soul Devouring Spiders. Aditya alone defended the Aurora Frostreach and fought against a whooping 25 million Soul Devouring Spiders. Riya greatly assisted 150,000 troops in withstanding attacks from 5 million Soul Devouring Spiders.

Compared to the millions of Soul Devouring Spiders that attacked the former capital and the Icetail Fortress, the number of Soul Devouring Spiders that attacked the other five cities was rather small not more than 2.5 million in total but more than enough to break the defense of those cities. Fortunately, the generals of the Istarin Empire were deployed to each of these cities in time along with a large number of troops.

Scene change______

Silvermist Harbor is a city that is located on the coast. Around a few centuries back, the city was nothing but a small village where the people of the village lived by fishing and farming. But as the Northern Frost Dragon Empire grew, this village also grew. In less than a century the population of this city grew from less than 10,000 to 1,200,000 in number. The reason for such fast growth was because of the Gold mine that was found just a few kilometers away from the city. The White Dragon King heavily invested in this city.

"General Henry, the Soul Devouring Spiders are here." One of the soldiers informed General Henry about the arrival of the Soul Devouring Spiders. The whole city has been shut down. The defensive dome of the Silvermist Harbor has been activated. Magic cannons have been loaded. Archers were ready with their arrows. Mages were ready to launch their powerful spells. Everything was ready. Everyone was just waiting for General Henry's command.

"Don't do anything for now...." Everyone thought that as soon as the horde of Soul Devouring Spiders arrived in their way, General Henry would order them to attack but rather he told them to stop, this made most of the troops confused. Especially the archers and the mages looked confused hearing this.

Meanwhile, the infantry were grinning like devils. The smiles on their faces said a lot of things.

The Silvermist Harbor was attacking from the South direction. The scouts that General Henry sent out had collected valuable information on the enemy. The size of the enemy was somewhere around 500,000. Fortunately, there weren't any 5th-order Soul Devouring Spiders in the horde. This fact already increased their chances of winning a lot higher than before. Because if they were forced to face a 5th-order cultivator, they would have a hard time.

Henry folded his hands on his arms as he coldly stared at the incoming horde of the Soul Devouring Spiders from the south. From the walls, he and other troops could see white small things running toward them.

The areas around the Silvermist Harbor were grassland fields. As the Soul Devouring Spiders stepped within 1500 meters range of the city, a loud explosion took place.

Boom!!!!

Following the first explosion, many other explosions began to take place. It wasn't just one or two or even 10 explosions happening at the same time. More than hundreds if not thousands of explosions were taking place at the same time. Each explosion was releasing a small mushroom cloud of smoke.

Booom!!!

Booom!!!

Booom!!!

Booom!!!

Around an entire minute later the explosion stopped. All of the troops looked at the scene in a mix of shock and disbelief. The view in front of them had been blocked by the heavy black cloud of smoke.

"What just happened?" Asked one of the mages while staring at the scene in front of him in a daze.

"General Henry had ordered us to set up traps a few hours ago. These traps are not just ordinary traps. These were 3-star and 4-star explosion tags. We had put more than 20,000 of these explosion tags on the ground. Each explosion tag is powerful enough to kill several 3rd-order cultivators.

Hearing this everyone was shocked. These explosion tags were ordered to be created by Aditya. All of the 4-star explosion tags were created by him and the rest were mostly created by other runemasters or bought for emergency situations such as the current situation.

From this unexpected invasion, the Istarin Empire already suffered a lot of casualties. Henry wasn't willing to let more troops of the Empire die. So he asked Spencer if he could use the explosion tags. And Spencer gave him the green light and handed him the entire stock supple of the explosion tags to Henry.

"Dragonians, and Dragon warriors, take care of the rest." The next second, thousands of Dragonians flew up in the air and went hunting the remaining Soul Devouring Spiders. Dragon Warriors transformed into Dragons and joined the Dragonians in the battle.

The Dragon Warriors were wild Dragons that evolved into Dragon Warriors after Aditya gave them a drop of his Divine Blood.

"The battle here is over. Inform the people of this city about the news." And soon announcement was made. Hearing the announcement the whole city celebrated. The soldiers began to see General Henry in a new light. To them, General Henry was badass and really cool.

He was cold and always calm-minded. He wasn't good at talking or at giving motivational speeches before the battle. He spoke through his actions not by his words.

Scene change______

Emberhold was the city that Amber was in charge of defending from the Soul Devouring Spiders. She had brought her entire 5th-division members to the Emberhold city. Right now she was watching as the Soul Devouring Spiders marched towards the city.

She had cleverly used the earth mages to build a trench surrounding the whole city of Emberhold. The trench that the earth mages created wasn't just a simple trench. The trench was 100 meters deep and 50 meters wide.

And what's more, the trench was filled with corrosive acid. This wasn't just simple acid. Thanks to her best friend Julia helping her out, she was about to execute her plan. Julia created this corrosive acid. The acid is so strong that it can instantly corrode the body of a 3rd-order Soul Devouring Spider.

On the other side of the trench, Amber had put hundreds of magic cannons, infantry, cavalry, mages, and knights. Not to mention that she had 5000 Dragonians and 1000 Dragon warriors under her command. The strength of 5000 Dragonians isn't something that should be underestimated.

The Number of Soul Devouring Spiders that attacked Emberhold was somewhere around 600,000. With the preparations that she made, her troops should have no problem winning this battle with very few casualties.

An hour into the battle, everything was going according to Amber's plans. The trench that she made was working really well. And the cherry on top, she received an additional reinforcement of 500,000 troops.

Not to mention the fact that after evolving and reaching beginner 5th-order, Amber had become the strongest Istarin General. In the end, She was able to end the battle in less than two hours.

The other three cities large number of reinforcements. A total of 5,000,000 additional troops were sent to win the battles in the other three cities. One of the cities was being guarded by General Scott. The second city was being protected by General Josh and General Nathan. The third City was being protected by General Eleanor and General Tyler.

The other three cities were also able to defend themselves from the Soul Devouring Spiders and achieve victories. However, the threat from the Soul Devouring Spiders wasn't over yet. The immediate danger of these spiders was gone but as long as these spiders were left alone, very soon their number was going to start growing rapidly once again.

And this is exactly what worried Aditya. Even though he alone was able to defend Aurora Frostreach from 25 million Spiders, he had no time to be happy or to relax as he had to work on preparing for the next wave of spiders. He had now two choices. Either, slaughter every single one of the Spiders or face them in the next wave. With their fast reproduction, a week should be more than enough for them to recover their numbers.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 522

"How is the current situation?" Aditya asked. Right now, Aditya is standing on the walls of the Aurora Frostreach City (the former capital). Watson and Spencer were standing behind him.

Watson and Spencer shared a glance on hearing the question before Spencer replied. "Your Majesty, although we were successful at defending the cities from the Soul Devouring Spiders, villages and small towns weren't so lucky. The Istarin Empire's troops couldn't reach those villages and small towns in time as there weren't any teleportation arrays built in those villages and towns."

Making teleportation arrays in towns and villages wasn't so economical. Teleportation arrays are only built in big and small cities that have a population exceeding 100,000. Folks from Villages and towns would need to travel to the nearby cities to use the teleportation arrays. And also the people of the rural areas weren't rich enough to afford the cost of teleportation arrays. Not all common-class people have the money to use teleportation arrays.

If there were teleportation arrays built in towns and villages, then the Istarin Empire troops could have sent reinforcement in time to protect those small towns and villages.

"Although currently, I don't have an exact figure according to my estimation somewhere close to 4000 villages have fallen. The number of small towns that have fallen could be anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand." Since the Istarin Empire had just annexed the Northern Frost Dragon Empire's territories, the Empire did not have enough time to send troops to each village.

Normally, every settlement within the Empire is under the Empire's protection. In the Istarin empire, even a small village that has a population of less than 100 is protected by at least a dozen troops.

But here in the Northern Frost Dragon empire, things were different. Villages weren't given any priority. Almost no protection was offered to the villagers. And since most villages did not have any cultivators and the villagers were mostly normal humans who survived by hunting, fishing, and cultivating crops, the poor villagers weren't able to defend themselves from the Soul Devouring Spiders.

Another reason why the Istarin troops couldn't reach these small towns and villages in time was because of the lack of a good road network system connecting the small towns and villages with big cities. There were many villages that were located deep in the mountain valleys. There were towns that were located on top of mountains and hills. Without a proper road network, it took the troops two or three times longer to reach the villages and small towns than it would have with better roads.

"This explains how the Soul Devouring Spiders were able to grow its population this fast in such a short period of time," Aditya murmured in a low tone but Watson and Spencer were able to hear what he was saying.

The big towns were able to defend themselves as these big towns had enough adventurers and soldiers. Since everyone's lives were at risk, everyone worked with each other to kill the Spiders. Also, the big towns had better resources, better magic cannons, and better defensive dome systems which further helped them.

"Your Majesty, there is more."

"Go on..."

"Around 35 million Spiders had attacked the big cities in groups. But there are countless small groups of spiders that are scattered all around the Northern Frost Dragon Empire. If we don't take out these small scattered groups, these small groups could rapidly increase their populations by feeding on the villagers and the small-town folks."

"There is also another problem. If we don't act fast, there is a chance that these small groups of spiders will cross the border and reach the other side, the annexed territories of the Southern Fire Dragon Empire." Hearing all of this, Aditya rubbed his head feeling stressed about the entire situation.

In this situation, even Watson and Spencer didn't see a way out. It was impossible to even think that they could wipe out every single soul-devouring spider from the Southern region. Especially given how fast these damn spiders can repopulate their race. As long as these spiders had food, their population was going to grow at a rapid speed.

"Watson, have you asked for reinforcements from our allies?" Aditya asked.

"I already have, Your Majesty," Watson replied.

"Spencer, please send a message to Victoria. Tell her to come here. I want to see her here within 10 minutes." The reason Aditya was calling for Victoria was because she was a Peak 5th-order cultivator. She was the most powerful Dragonian of the Istarin Empire. Till now, she was staying at the annexed territories of the Echo Nexus empire. Aditya had given her the task of destroying every single one of the rebel groups and protestors against the Istarin Empire.

Aditya was going to need her assistance here.

"Alright." Spencer hurriedly left to send a message to Victoria.

"Watson, I am going on a hunt." Aditya sensed two figures appearing behind like ghosts.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Hehe! We thought we would lend you a helping hand." It was Lilith and Sasha. Both mother and daughter were wearing black cloaks and hiding their faces with black masks. The soldiers around Aditya looked at the two beautiful figures in confusion. The soldiers had a feeling that these two women were really beautiful.

Aditya appreciated both Lilith and Sasha's help. Both of them were powerful Peak 5th-order cultivators. Both of their assistants would definitely help him a lot in this hunt.

"Thanks. What's with the mask?" Aditya curiously asked.

"Well, it was Sasha's idea. She wouldn't let me come here without wearing this mask and this black cloak." Lilith said in a complaining tone.

"Hmph! I did this for your own good." Aditya understood that Sasha did this to keep both of their identities a secret.

A few minutes later, Riya, also arrived. Aditya thought that both of them would start arguing as soon as they saw each other but strangely enough, both Riya and Sasha remained quiet and just nodded their heads to acknowledge each other's presence. But this was enough to show the seriousness of this whole situation.

Aditya felt truly lucky to have these girls to share his burden with.

Around a few minutes later, Victoria arrived. As soon as she arrived, Lilith, Sasha, and Riya all stared at her.

Victora's presence was intimating. She was really beautiful but at the same time looked scary. She was rather tall for a woman; being 6 feet tall. She had tan skin and black hair that she tied into a ponytail. She was muscular like the Amazonians even though she is human. But those muscular did not make her ugly at all. In fact, in the eyes of Riya, Sasha, and Lilith, Victoria was really beautiful. Her muscles were well-balanced and made her look sexy.

Victoria had dark brown eyes. The dress she wore revealed most of her skin and highlighted her curves making her even more seductive. She was really bold in her dress. And she didn't seem to care what others thought of her. She has big breasts and a round ass. Bandages were wrapped around her big chest. Her stomach and her abs were left exposed. And she wore black tight-fitting leather pants. She wore black gloves.

Victoria was really sexy. Lilith even wondered if this badass woman was Half-Succubus.

"This is Victoria Baxter."

"Victoria, they are Riya, Lilith, and Sasha."

Victoria looked at the girls. She nodded her head without saying a single word. Victoria wasn't good with conversation as she was socially awkward. Considering the current situation, Lilith or Riya did not say anything. The girls just nodded at her in response.

"Let's head out. We will go to the central region of the Northern Frost dragon empire. According to our spies, in the central region, there are many small groups of the Soul Devouring Spiders scattered everywhere. We need to wipe these small groups out before they small groups can further repopulate and grow bigger in number and in size." Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

Victoria was informed of the whole situation by Spencer while she was on her way here. So she knew the seriousness of this entire situation

"Let's head out." Following Aditya, the 4 of them flew away.

At the same time, Spencer sent out the entire shadow guardians to find out the locations of all of the scattered Soul Devouring Spiders so that Aditya and others wouldn't have to spend too much time searching.

Under Aditya's orders, the patrol on the borders between the Northern Frost Dragon Empire and the annexed Southern Fire Dragon Empire was increased so that no Soul-devouring Spiders could cross the borders.

Scene change______

"Let's spread out." Everyone agreed with Aditya's suggestion. Everyone spread out in different directions. Each of them had sensory powers. Throughout their sensory powers, they can sense up to a 50 km radius around them and know if there are any Soul-Devouring spiders within their radius. And the search was going to keep going until every single one of the Spiders was wiped out from the Southern region.

It didn't take long for Aditya to spot two small groups of Spiders. One group was heading toward a village while the other group was 30 km away from the first group and was in the forest. The first group had up to 500 spiders while the second group had somewhere around 100 spiders, but most of these spiders were really young and were led by an adult female spider.

And thus the hunt for spiders began. The 5 of them continue to hunt Soul-Devouring Spiders for hours. Around 5 and a half hours later, they were done wiping out most of the smaller groups.

But even after searching for 5 and half hours, they still hadn't been able to find the Main Queen from which all other spiders were born.

Five hours later, Aditya was about to return as he didn't find any more Soul Devouring Spiders anywhere. As he was heading back, he realized that he had left one area. He hadn't searched this area. So he decided to check this area in hopes of finding the Main Queen.

The area that he hadn't searched was a rainforest. The rainforest extended up to 109km. The rainforest had a very unique atmosphere. The forest received more rain than all other Southern region's areas combined. From this forest, many rivers originated and ran across the whole Southern region.

As Aditya stepped into the region, the very first thing that he sensed was a powerful presence. "There is no doubting this presence. This is the Soul Devouring Spider's Main Queen." The Aura of this Main queen was really unique and powerful. The Queen was somewhere deep in the rainforest.

"Found you......" Without wasting a single second, Aditya disappeared.

Boooom!!!!

He moved so fast that he easily broke this world's sound barrier. At the same time, the sky above the rainforest started to darken. Dark clouds containing Crimson lightning started to gather.

As Aditya approached the Main Queen also sensed Aditya's presence. The Main Queen became alert. Sensing the powerful Aura of this human, she knew that it was impossible for her to fight this human. She also knew that she could not outrun this human given how fast he was heading in her direction.

So the Queen waited for him to come.

Swoosh!!!!!

As Aditya arrived, the Queen raised her head and looked at the Dragon who was in his human form right now, above her. His whole body was surrounded by Crimson lightning. His eyes were glowing red. He had Crimson Dragons wings on his back. He was holding a black sword. Even though she was a Peak 5th-order powerhouse, in front of this Dragon, she felt inferior. She felt as if she was an ant that could be stepped upon at any second by this human.....no Dragon.

"So my time has come...." The Queen said.....

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 523

Bang!!!

The ground around cracked from the impact of his landing. The Queen of the Soul Devouring Spiders gulped in fear. She took a few steps back in fear while staring at Aditya. His face was cold as frost.

"Are you a Queen of the Soul Devouring Spiders?" Aditya asked in a cold tone. Aditya knew that being a Peak 5th-order Spider, the Queen should be able to understand what he was saying and also talk in their language.

The spider Queen nodded her head. "Yes...."

"Your Children have done a lot of chaos to my people and to my troops..." At that moment Aditya was like a beast that was trying his best to not lose control of himself. Heavy killing intent was threatening to lose out on his body.

Although no calculations have made been on the casualties, Aditya had some rough estimations in his mind. He has lost close to half a million of troops, and the number of civilians that had died should have exceeded a million. Countless farmers who lived in small villages were killed. Without these farmers, the food supply of the whole empire is going to get worse in the future. Without the farmers, who was going to grow crops and cultivate the lands? These farmers were a really important part of the Southern Region's economy. Aditya still hadn't counted the properties damaged due to the attacks from the Soul Devouring Spiders.

"Where is Simon?" Taking a step forward, Aditya asked her in a cold and threatening tone.

"I don't know..." When I opened my eyes, I found myself here along with around 100,000 of my children. My children went out to look for food. A voice in my head told me to send most of my children to the capital where there was supposed to be a lot of food.

Aditya didn't know if this Queen was lying or not. He decided to trust her words. From her tone, it didn't look like she was lying. Aditya didn't think that she was stupid enough to keep information About Simon especially when she was about to die.

"You're not going to ask me to spare your life?" Aditya asked.

The Queen merely shook her head and replied in a mature way. "My very existence is a threat to the balance of this whole world and I understand that. As long as I exist there always will be a strong desire within me to reproduce. And my children will always continue to devour living beings and keep on multiplying. And this will keep going on until, all living beings in the whole world are devoured by them and when that happens, there will be no more food for my children. What do you think will happen then?" The Queen asked.

"I don't know. Maybe the possibilities of cannibalism are very possible." In other words, hunger might drive the Soul Devouring Spiders to devour each other.

"Exactly. We are a species that goes against the laws of this world. It's better if you kill me." Aditya calmed down a little bit hearing her words. Her words made sense. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't control all of the children and stop them from hunting living beings. As their numbers increase, the Spider's hunger will keep increasing. This is a never-ending cycle.

"How many of your children are still alive?" The Queen should be able to sense her children and even control them.

"None. You and your people have killed every single one of them. However, there are still a few remaining locations where there are eggs of the Soul Devouring Spider. If you don't destroy those eggs, from those eggs a new generation of Soul Devouring Spiders will arise."

"Can't you destroy the eggs?" Aditya asked.

"I can give birth to life. I can't destroy them. At most, I can tell you the locations of where those eggs are located." Without any of her Soul Devouring Spiders, she can't order them to destroy those eggs.

"Alright tell me the location," Aditya asked.

"The three locations are close to the Capital of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire...." Once Aditya received the exact locations, he thanked the Queen.

"It's time." Aditya prepared to end her life in one strike. But then the Queen stopped him.

"Before you kill me there is something that I want to give you." As she spoke, a strange Silk Cocoon flew in Adiya's direction. Aditya caught the Silk Cocoon. As soon as he read the description of the Silk Cocoon, he gasped and then stared at the Queen in deep shock. He never thought that she would give him something so valuable, especially when he is the one who is going to kill her.

"This is a parting gift. Originally I intended to use this to get powerful. I want you to use this to get stronger." Aditya nodded his head with a complicated look.

Snap!!!

Aditya snapped his fingers. The next second, a huge wave of Crimson flame engulfed the Queen and a part of the forest in it. Around an entire minute later, under Aditya's control, the Crimson flames slowly died down.

?Ding! You have killed Soul Devouring Spider Queen. You have obtained Experience points. Your experience Point has been saved for future use.?

Aditya then took a second to look at the Silk Cocoon in his hand.

?Name - Spatial Silk Cocoon ?

?Rank - Peak 5-star (?????)?

?Description - The Spatial Silk Cocoon can only be made by the Soul Devouring Spider Queen once in her entire life. A rare cocoon is woven from the threads of the Spider Queen's essence. Once cultivated inside, it allows the user to perceive the delicate fabric of space and the entangled weaves of the universe.?

'By using this Spatial Silk Cocoon, I can learn to increase my affinity for Spatial Elements and learn to open portals or even learn to teleport.' Aditya already knew two types of Spatial Passive skills. One of them allowed him to teleport back to the Dragon palace from any place in the whole world. He can also teleport anywhere within 25 km range of his Dragon Palace. And the second one allowed him to teleport next to any of his Dragonians or Dragon warriors. These two skills were already extremely valuable to Aditya. If he further managed to increase his affinity for Spatial elements then, he might be able to learn teleportation Skills as well.

The Spatial Silk Cocoon glittered like a pearl. Delicate and translucent, it appeared almost ethereal, with faint, entangled patterns swirling across its surface. The silk seemed to capture the essence of the night sky, with tiny speckles resembling distant stars. Its beauty was unparalleled, captivating any onlooker's gaze, making it seem like a celestial treasure. Anyone who glanced at it would feel a pull, an undeniable glamour as if the very universe was contained within its delicate folds.

After gazing at the Spatial Silk Cocoon for some time, Aditya gently put away the Spatial Silk Cocoon in his storage ring. He then returned back to Aurora Frostreach City.

Once he returned, Aditya immediately gave orders to Watson to send three teams led by three powerful Dragonians to go and destroy the eggs of the Soul Devouring Spiders immediately.

Sometimes later, Riya, Sasha, Lilith, and Victoria all returned to Aurora Frostreach City as well.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Echo Dominion Empire and the King of Hephaestus Kingdom are here to meet you. Both of them have been waiting to talk to you about the Soul Devouring Spiders and a few other matters." Usually, the members of The Triumvirate Alliance which were the Istarin Empire, The Echo Dominion Empire, and The Hephaestus Kingdom met at least once every 2 to 3 months time to talk and discuss various problems and how to tackle them.

In the meeting, the three Kings talked about politics, geopolitical, and other serious matters that needed their attention. Even the three Prime Ministers from member Kingdoms would come to talk about the finances of the Triumvirate Alliance and their Empires and Kingdoms.

"Let's meet them." The Echo Dominion Empire and The Hephaestus Kingdom had sent their troops to help the Istarin Empire in this emergency situation. Even Alicia's father, the Emperor of the Ethereal Empire had sent about 200,000 troops after hearing the news. Aditya knew that he needed to thank them each personally for lending a helping hand in this emergency situation.

However, Aditya couldn't take a step when suddenly his senses flared up. Aditya immediately looked in the direction of the north.

Seeing the serious face on Aditya's face, Watson became confused. "Your Majesty, what happened......?" Just as he asked the question, he instantly got an answer to his question as his senses also flared up.

Not just Watson, every soldier, every Adventurer, every rogue cultivator, every Dragonian, and every Dragon warrior in the Southern region all were able to sense this. Like Watson, the soldiers' faces instantly turned pale as they sensed this.

Watching the reaction of Watson and other soldiers Aditya thought in his mind. 'Interesting! Watson isn't even a sensory cultivator yet he was able to sense that.'

"Your Majesty, what was that?" Watson asked. His face had turned pale. He looked breathless.

"Aditya..." Riya, Sasha, Lilith, and Victoria all came to Aditya. They too had sensed it.

"I don't know. But I feel the law of this world is starting to weaken." Even Aditya wasn't completely sure what was going on. The density of Mana in the atmosphere had suddenly increased. The Mana density did not increase too much. But the change was felt by all cultivators and magic beasts in the Southern region.

Across the six continents, the mana density in the atmosphere is more or less the same. There was a natural barrier (law) that kept the mana density from rising. It was this law that prevented any Peak 5th-order cultivator from reaching beginner 6th-order from the 6 continents without needing to go to the Main continent.

"What is happening.....now?"

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Spoiler - Something really big is going to happen in the next few chapters. Something that you all have been asking for months now.

Chapter 524

The whole night Aditya and others did not sleep in worry of what was happening to the Southern region. It turned out that this mysterious phenomenon was only happening in the Southern region not any other region. This left everyone confused and wondering if this phenomenon was natural to begin with. The Mana density around the entire Southern region continued to increase slowly but surely.

The Mana density did not immediately increase to the point where it would crush normal people who are not used to such high mana density. The sudden pressure of such density would instantly kill normal people. Instead what happened was, that the Mana density in the atmosphere slowly kept increasing. Although the normal people did feel uncomfortable and felt their chests tighten as a result of this, soon their bodies were able to adapt and that uncomfortable feeling went away.

And those who couldn't withstand this had died due to heart failures. Those people had found it extremely difficult to even breathe. For those unfortunate ones, there was nothing Aditya could do. It was impossible to save those people in such a short period of time.

Around the entire Southern region, almost 20,000 to 40,000 people died as a result of this according to an estimate. The clear number was still unclear. But the good news is that most normal people have been able to survive and adapt.

To tackle this challenging difficult situation, Aditya had to take some steps. Firstly he ordered an evacuation of the most affected areas. Even if most people had adapted to the new Mana density, he wanted to ensure the safety of all his subjects. Temporary shelters were set up in areas where the Mana density was more tolerable.

Next, he called upon his council of mages and scholars of the Istarin Empire to investigate this mysterious phenomenon. They were tasked with determining the cause and finding a solution to stabilize the Mana density. This was a really important matter. His allies including the Ethereal Empire sent their best mages and scholars to the Southern region to study the mysterious phenomenon and work with the Istarin Empire's Mages and scholars to find some sort of solution.

The whole task was led by Riya who proposed this in the first place. Being the goddess of Nature, Riya had a deeper understanding of Nature. She could accurately guess what changes were happening to the Southern region.

Additionally, medical camps were established throughout the Southern region to treat those feeling unwell due to the Mana fluctuations. These camps provided medical aid and distributed Mana stabilizing potions to help people cope with the sudden change. Julia and Paige worked non-stop to make Mana stabilizing potions for the common people.

Lastly, he dispatched the Shadow Guardians throughout the region to gather accurate information and report back. This would help in getting a clearer picture of the situation and make informed decisions. Aditya also did this in hopes of finding some clues about Simon. He had a feeling that he was responsible for this as well. Even if it wasn't true and Simon wasn't responsible for this, Aditya still needed to find him and Pope Alaric before both of them left the Southern Region. If that were to happen, then it would be impossible to locate them or capture them.

This continued for the next 15 hours. Around 15 hours later, the Istarin Emperor was sitting in front of the table and was reading the reports that the Shadow guardians sent back all around the Southern region. And reading the reports Aditya was really disappointed. The shadow Guardians could find anything. Even Alicia with her vast network of connections wasn't able to find anything about this mysterious phenomenon or anything about Simon and Pope.

Sigh!

"Just what is happening in the Southern region? I was supposed to be celebrating my birthday but now this chaos had to come...." Aditya hadn't moved from this place for almost 10 hours now. Every 30 to 50 minutes later, more reports would arrive at his table. Some of these reports were about the findings of the Shadow Guardians, some of them were from the Mages and Scholars who were working with Riya, and some of them came from Paige and Julia.

Most of the reports were about the casualties of this event throughout the Southern region. As Aditya picked up another piece of paper to read suddenly Spencer barged into his study room.

"Your Majesty, we have some good news." Spencer came and reported.

The words made Aditya feel relieved. In such a situation, good news brought relief to him. "What?"

"The Mana density has stopped increasing." Hearing this Aditya felt relieved. If the Mana density kept increasing then it bring catastrophic calamity to the Istarin Empire.

An increase in Mana Desnity would lead to the weakening of the laws that prevented higher-level cultivators from retaining their cultivation powers when they came outside of the Main Continent. This prevented the Higher-Order cultivators on the Main Continent from coming outside. The Higher-Order cultivators didn't want to come out. As if they did their powers would be limited to Peak 5th-order. This meant that other Peka 5th-order cultivators that lived and roamed within the 6 continents had the power to kill them.

If the Mana Desnity in the Southern region reached the level of Mana Desnity of The Main Continent, then the Southern region would become a place where the cultivators from the Main continent could come while retaining their powers. At that time, nothing could stop the forces from the Main Continent from claiming this Land. And since the whole Southern region was under the istarin Empire, the one's factions and the Empires that would want this region would attack the Istarin Empire. At that time, the Empire would have no choice but to retreat as there was no way that the Istarin Empire could fight the forces from the Main continent; not when the higher-order cultivators could retain their powers.

"But Your Majesty, there is bad news."

"What?"

"The Mana density has reached a level where now it is possible for Peak 5th-order cultivators to break through and reach 6th-order."

This was really bad news. As currently other than Aditya no one in the Istarin Empire had the power to take on 6th-order cultivators. Aditya can only push himself up to the level of Beginner-6th order cultivator but if a Peak 6th-order cultivator were to appear then it would mean that even he wouldn't be able to defeat him.

"According to Lady Riya, even if the Higher-Order cultivators come to the Southern region, the restriction on their cultivation will be raised to Peak 6th-order." Before the Higher-Order cultivator's cultivation was restricted to Peak 5th-order when they came out of the Main Continent but now here in the Southern region, this limit was Peak 6th-order due to the high density of Mana within the Southern region.

The World itself naturally put this law to prevent the Higher-Order cultivators from destroying the six continents with their presence. If the Higher-Order cultivators were allowed to come to the Six Continents where the Mana Desert was many times compared to the Main Continent, simply their presence would destroy the Six Continents. This is because the Six Continents are simply not strong enough to withstand any High-order cultivator.

For this reason, cultivators from Six Continents cannot ascend to Higher-Order without going to the Main continent. The Mana Desnity in the Six Continents was simply too low. For years many have tried to figure out this mystery and know why the Mana Density in the Main Continent was higher than other Six Continents.

On hearing this, Aditya was sure that this was done by Simon. "This is why that Bastard looked so confident and repeatedly told me that he was going to meet me soon. This is why....." Simon was originally a Peak 6th-order cultivator. But when he came outside of the Main Continent, his cultivation was restricted to Peak 5th-order. And he knew that with his restricted powers he could not defeat Aditya as the last time they fought Aditya had severed his hand and almost killed him.

"Spencer, I am going out." Leaving Spencer confused, Aditya left.

Scene change____

"Sir, I can't seem to contact one of our members who had been sent to Starfire City." Reported one of the Shadow Guardians.

Hearing this Nathan frowned under his mask and then asked. "Since how long?"

"We have been having this issue for about 15 hours now."

"Then why are you reporting such a serious issue so late?" Nathan lost it hearing this.

Aditya who came to take Nathan with him heard everything.

Bang!!!!

With a punch, he broke the wall and left towards the teleportation array. Nathan coldly looked at his subordinates. "You stay here. Once this is over, Your punishment will be decided." Saying that Nathan went after Aditya to follow him to Star Fire City.

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 525

Star Fire City is a big city with about 100,000 people. It's a second-tier city, which means it's important, but not the most important in the area. The city has tall walls all around it, like a big circle. These walls help keep the people safe.

The city is up north of the Southern region. Because it's so far north, it's cold a lot of the time.

The land around Star Fire City is mostly flat with some small hills. Just outside the city, there's a big river called the Frostbite River. People use this river for fishing and to travel in boats. On the other side of the river, there's a forest known as the Whispering Pines. This forest is full of tall pine trees, and many magic animals live there.

Most houses in the city are made of stone and wood. Because it's cold, many homes have big fireplaces to keep warm. People wear thick clothes made of animal fur. They also like to drink hot drinks, like tea or warm cider.

The city has a big market where people buy and sell things. One can find fresh fish from the Frostbite River, fruits, vegetables, and hand-made crafts there.

A lot of people in Star Fire City have jobs related to the cold. Many are fishermen, catching fish from the river. Some are hunters, going into the Whispering Pines forest to find animals for food or fur. Others are crafters, making things like clothes, shoes, and jewelry to sell.

The city is safe because of the tall walls and the soldiers who guard it. These soldiers are called the Istarin troops. There are 8,000 of them in Star Fire City.

"Can you contact anyone inside the Star Fire City?" Aditya asked. After learning of what had happened to Star Fire City, Aditya along with more than 50,000 troops rushed to the far north of the Southern region. The far north of the South region was the least densely populated area in the whole Southern region. As the north is more colder than the rest of the region, very less people live here.

"We have been trying but nothing....." Nathan replied feeling guilty. If he had noticed this problem much earlier then the current situation wouldn't have happened. He was feeling angry at himself and at his subordinate. He never thought that subordinates of his would be this careless.

"We have been trying to teleport to the Star Fire city, but it appears every teleportation array in the city has been cut off." Amber who was walking behind Aditya said in a serious tone.

"So our only option is to force ourselves in...." Aditya said narrowing his eyes. Strangely enough, he couldn't sense any presence in the city. It was as if there weren't anyone in the city at all.

"I have a bad feeling about this....." Amber murmured in a low tone.

The Istarin Empire already had lost too many people.

Boooom!!!!!

Suddenly a strong presence pressured them all. The pressure was so intense that other than Aditya, Nathan, and Amber, all other troops were instantly forced to their knees. Some of the weaker troops even directly lost their consciousness. While many other troops's noses started bleeding from the intense pressure. Everyone except for Aditya and Victoria felt suffocated.

"You're finally here....." Aditya recognized this voice.

"Retreat. I will deal with him." Aditya said to Amber before he flew towards the Star Fire City to meet Simon.

Watching Aditya fly away, Victoria was very unwilling to retreat. She wanted to fight alongside Aditya. But she knew that she was far too weak to fight alongside Aditya. She would only end up becoming a burden on his shoulders if she went along with him.

Amber felt complicated as she watched Aditya fly away. 'I felt I had gotten strong enough to stand beside him or at least stand behind him. But it seems I was mistaken.' Amber thought in her mind.

Scene change______

"I told you that I was going to meet you soon." Aditya found Simon and Pope Alaric flying above the Star Fire city.

"So this was all your doing?" Aditya asked in a cold tone.

"Yup. Do you remember about the Great Sage Snake?" Simon asked with a grin.

Of course, Aditya remembers everything about the Great Sage Snake. Somehow and for some strange reason the world's laws did not affect the Great Sage Snake and he was able to retain his full powers. To this day Aditya doesn't have an answer to how this was possible.

"You see when the Great Sage Snake, who was a 6th-order was forcefully bought out of his sealed dimension to the Southern region, the world laws of the Southern regions were weakened."

"I just needed to further weaken the world laws by artificially increasing the Mana Density of the entire Southern region."

"How?"

"Hehe! We used the people of this city. 100,000 lives were sacrificed. In simple words, we were able to turn their souls and their life forces into pure Mana and use this mana to artificially increase the Mana density. However, the downside of this is, that the Mana Density will return to normal after a few days. But that much time is more than enough for me."

Aditya looked down. On the streets, on the alleys, and in the houses, he could see countless corpses of people. No one was spared. It was taking his all to calm his calm.

Crack!!!!

Crimson lightning started flickering around Aditya's body.

Aditya hated Simon. He hated that mocking smug smile that Alaric had on his face. He hated the arrogant expression on Simon's face. He felt anger boiling inside him.

"And the Soul Devouring Spiders were nothing but a nice distraction to you and to the Entire Istarin Empire," Alaric said with a smile on his face.

Now Alaric had lost everything that he had worked hard to build, he now desired nothing but destruction and chaos in the Southern Region. He wanted to see the downfall of the Istarin Empire. He wanted to see the downfall of the Dragon Monarch. He wanted to see Aditya in despair. This is the reason why he did not hesitate to take Simon's side even though he knew Simon was just using him to deal with Aditya.

Alaric was happy knowing this. As of now in his life, he only had one goal and that was to see Aditya suffer. He lived for revenge.

"Time to die." Before Aditya could react, Simon closed the a few hundred meters distance between them. It was as if Simon had teleported in front of Aditya. Before Aditya could react in time, a fist glowing in golden light hit Aidtya's chest.

Boooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aditya's body into an unnatural shape as he flew back like a meteorite. He flew back so fast that he broke back the sound barrier. The sound barrier of the Southern region had increased as the Mana density of this world increased artificially.

Like a meteorite, he flew back. Victoria, Amber, Nathan, and the retreating Istarin soldiers all noticed a meteorite-like thing flying in the direction of the east at a super fast speed.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!

Aditya ended up flying back more than 50 km. He stopped only when his body crashed on a rocky mountain. The entire mountain cracked from the impact.

Cough!!!!

Aditya violently coughed out a large amount of blood from his mouth. Aditya was sure that his coughed-up blood contained small pieces of shattered bones.

There was a dent in Aditya's chest. All of his ribcage bones had been shattered into countless small pieces. The punch had directly stopped Aditya's heartbeat. If not for his other heart, the black heart, he already would have died by now. This shows the power of Simon's punch. It was already considered a miracle that Aditya was able to take the punch of Peak 6th-order cultivator without exploding like a water balloon.

Cough!!!

'I hate this pain...' Aditya thought while blankly staring at the sky. He didn't feel any pain. He couldn't feel the rest of his body. Aditya could tell that he had become extremely close to death. If he could see souls, then he would find the soul reaper very close to him right now. He was just a few breaths away from death.

'Death.....that doesn't sound like a bad place. But...' Remembering all the faces of Julia, Alicia, Riya, Lara, Amber, Sylvie, Sasha, Lilith, Clara, Leo, Watson, Nathan, Josh, Henry, Scott, and everyone else close to him.....everyone who loved him...'I can't die here. This daddy still hasn't shown the world the true might of the Dragon Monarch. I still have tons of things to do. Lying down here isn't an option.' Aditya took a deep breath and closed his bloodied eyes for a second before reopening them.

"Sys....Sytem..." Aditya weakly called out the system.

? ....?

"I want to level up...."

?Ding! Using the Saved up Experience points of the Host to level up.... ?

Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

The Peak is here...

Chapter 526

"Sys....Sytem..." Aditya weakly called out the system.

? ....?

"I want to level up...."

?Ding! Using the Saved up Experience points of the Host to level up to Beginner 4th-order.?

Rumble!!!!

The sky started rumbling. All of a sudden, the sky started to darken. Amber, Victoria, Nathan, and other soldiers who were retreating all raised their heads and looked up at the sky. They all recognized that this was Aditya due to the Crimson lightning bolts swimming in the dark clouds.

Suddenly it had gotten so dark that it almost felt as if the sunlight had disappeared. Everything became really dark. The only source of light was the Crimson lightning bolts that were swimming in the clouds.

"Your Majesty....." Amber had no idea what was happening. She wanted to know how the battle was going. Looking at the Crimson lightning bolts, she had never seen the Crimson Lightnings bolts so violent. She felt if she was hit even by one of these Crimson lightning bolts, she would be dead. The sky was making loud Rumbling sounds.

"My King....." Victoria stared at the sky for a second.

Nathan said nothing but he was also deeply concerned about Aditya's safety. He knew that his Monarch could never lose. Nathan and other Dragonians held this belief in their hearts. In their eyes, Aditya was the strongest and no one could beat him. Even though he knew that the enemy was super strong, Nathan believed that Aditya could beat him but the battle wasn't going to be an easy one.

Many kilometers away, seeing the sky suddenly turning dark with crimson lightning, Pope Alaric and Simon both raised their heads and glanced at the sky. Seeing the Crimson bolts of lightning in the clouds, Alaric frowned and said with an arrogant look.

"It seems he isn't dead yet." Alaric was sure that a mere Peak 3rd-order would be dead from this punch but it seems he was mistaken. The Dragon Monarch was tougher than he had expected.

"It seems he is breaking into 4th-order....." Simon smiling saying this.

"Then shouldn't you end his life before makes his ascension?" Pope Alaric asked in an urgent tone.

"Relax. Even if he reaches 4th-order, what can he do against a Peak 6th-order like me?" Simon was fully confident that no one in the Southern region could beat him.

On the other side of the Southern region, Julia who has been making potions for the ill and sick people who couldn't withstand the increase in the Mana density of the Southern region, suddenly noticed that the sky had become really dark. It was as if a violent storm was going to come. For a second, she even wondered if she had been so focused on her work that she didn't notice the sun going down. She can even hear loud rumbling sounds.

"Lady Julia, you should come and take a look at the sky." Paige, who is an assistant of Julia and was someone whom Julia called big sister called Julia to come outside.

Hearing Paige's words, Julia stopped her work and curiously walked outside of her laboratory. Just as she came outside, she widened her eyes seeing the sky. As far as her eyes went, the sky had been covered with dark clouds.

Seeing this Julia remembered the time when Aditya reached 3rd-order during the Goblin Invasion. What happened that day was crystal clear to her. She can tell every single small detail of that day.

"Aditya is breaking through 4th-order...." Julia wasn't sure if this was a good news or a bad news. Julia knew that her husband wouldn't choose to break into 4th order especially when the entire Southern region was in chaos. He would wait till this whole matter is resolved and only then decide to break through. But if he had faced an enemy that is stronger than him then it was possible that he was forced to break through.

"Where is Aditya?" Julia asked Paige. Since the whole day she had been inside her laboratory making potions, she didn't know anything about Aditya's whereabouts.

"I am afraid I don't know either....."

Riya who was at the Aurora Frostreach and was working with the mages and scholars to try and find a way to change things back to how they were, suddenly felt something. She raised her head and looked at the ceiling for a second before she quickly closed the book that she was reading.

"My apologies everyone, but I will have to go...." The next second she disappeared from everyone's view.

"Why did she leave?" One of the Mages broke the ice and asked while looking around. Everyone looked as confused as him.

"Everyone come outside. You all should see this....." No one knew who said these words but all of the Mages and the Scholars went outside. They were beyond stunned by what they found.

In another part of Aurora Frostreach City, Lilith and Sasha were staring at the Crimson sky.

"Could it be something happened to that Pervert?" Lilith asked. Unlike her usual self, right now she did not look like she was joking at all. She looked really serious.

"Mom, I am going..."

Boooom!!!!!!

Sasha flew off to the sky. Within a few seconds, as her pace increased, she disappeared. She left the ground cracked like a spider web.

"Wait, I am coming..." Lilith gently flew into the air. The next second, she also disappeared. Both mother and daughter were heading in the direction of the North.

It wasn't just the entire Southern region that was experiencing this. But rather the entire Dying Isle Continent was seeing this. The entire continent was covered in dark clouds. The sun had disappeared from the whole continent. All the people were seeing Crimson Lightning bolts swimming in the dark clouds.

Aditya who was on the verge of dying, suddenly started flying. His body started slowly floating up in the air. He wasn't flying using his Crimson Dragon wings. His body was floating on its own.

His whole body was still covered in his own blood.

Once his body was above 100 meters in the air, his body stopped floating. The color of his hair started changing to Crimson red. Violent Crimson Lightning bolts started coming out of his body. It was as if he was discharging Lightning from his body.

Alicia and Lara who were in the Eastern region, noticed that the crimson Lightning bolts swimming in the sky were starting to change their color.

"What is happening now...?" It looked as if the Lightning bolts in the sky were suddenly losing their Crimson color.

Meanwhile, as Aditya's body stopped 100 meters above the ground, the color of Crimson lightning started to change. At first, the Crimson lightning lost its Crimson color to appear white for a few seconds then slowly that white color started deepening into light blue, and that light blue color started deepening into Dark blue lightning. The lightning color had changed to Dark blue.

This transformation wasn't only happening to Aditya but also to the Crimson lightning bolts swimming in the dark clouds. The lightning changed its color to dark blue now.

While Aditya's body floated as if the gravity of this world didn't affect him, no one noticed that small stones and pebbles and other small and tiny objects were also floating alongside him.

At the same time, all of the Crimson lightning bolts that now had changed color to dark blue started gathering above Aditya.

?Ding! It has been detected that the Host possesses Spatial Silk Cocoon.?

?Ding! The Spatial Silk Cocoon can be merged with your Soul. Merging might give you Spatial-related skills and increase your understanding of the Space element. Do you wish to proceed??

?Yes??No?

"Yes..."

Within a few minutes, the sky above Aditya had gotten so bright from all of the lightning bolts gathering above his head that even from the other end of the Southern region people could see the intense bright light.

Nathan, Victoria, Amber, Simon, and Alaric all were able to see the intense bright light that had formed as a result of all of the Dark blue bolts of lightning bolts gathering and merging at one point.

Riya, Sasha, and Lilith who were heading towards the Northern direction all noticed the bright light. They started following this intense light.

?Ding! The Spatial Silk Cocoon is going to be merging with your Soul.?

?Ding! Merging....1%?

Aditya felt something was changing within him as the Spatial Silk Cocoon started merging.

?Ding! Merging....5%?

?Ding! Merging....11%?

?Ding!....?

Around a few minutes later,

?Ding! Merging....100%?

?Ding! The host is leveling up..... ?

?Ding! The host is leveling up..... ?

?Ding! The host is leveling up..... ?

?Ding! The host is leveling up..... ?

?Ding! The host is leveling up..... ?

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for reaching the beginner 4th order.?

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I intended to write a much bigger chapter as there is too many things to cover but unfortunately I didn't had much time in my hand.

Chapter 527

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for reaching the beginner 4th order.?

?Ding! Now a random Class will be chosen for the host.?

?Ding! Class selecting.....?

?Ding!....Analyzing the Host's Body and Soul?

?Ding!....Analyzing the Elemental Affinities that the Host possess....?

?Ding! It has been detected that the host has merged with Spatial Silk Cocoon, changing the host's class....?

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting a Mythical Class.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving Mythical Class 'Void Walker' as your 4th Class.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Innate Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Void Step.?

?Ding! Passive skill 'Crimson Lightning Dash' and Innate skill 'Void Step' have been merged. The newborn Innate skill is called 'Crimson Warp Flash'.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Passive Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Starlight Recovery.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Passive Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Stellar Surge.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Innate Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Galactic Gaze.?

?Ding! The system has detected that the Host possesses a similar Passive skill, 'Fiery Eyes'. Both skills 'Galactic Gaze' and 'Fiery Eyes' will be merged into one skill. The name of the name Innate skill will be 'Stellar Inferno Sight'.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Passive Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Dimensional Rift.?

?Ding! Due to the Host gaining new skills and a new Mythical class, the Host's 1st mythical Class has been modified by the system.?

?Ding! Your understanding of Fire nature has been deepened.?

?Ding! Your understanding of Lightning nature has been deepened.?

?Ding! 3rd-order innate skill Crimson Blaze has evolved into the 4th-order skill, 'Scarlet Inferno'?

?Ding! 3rd-order innate skill Crimson Lightning Manipulation has evolved into the 4th-order skill, 'Azure Thunder Dominion'.?

?Ding!.... ?

Aditya couldn't keep up with the barrage of notifications that he was receiving. With his injuries and half-fading consciousness, he couldn't read all the notifications in time. But he learned that he had managed to gain Void Walker class which sounded really cool and powerful.

As soon as he evolved into beginner 4th-order, Aditya's body began to heal rapidly. At the same time, his new skill Starlight recovery had activated. But Aditya wasn't still anywhere fit enough to fight Simon.

With his trembling hands, he put a small 5-star healing pill made by Julia in his mouth. As soon as the pill entered his mouth, his healing speed increased by many folds. Before Aditya couldn't sense or feel his lower body but now everything had returned to normal.

Once Aditya reached beginner 4th order, the darkness that covered the sky of the whole Continent slowly began to fade. But in the entire Southern region, the dark clouds still remained and showed no signs of going anywhere. Instead, It started to rain. It started to rain all over the Southern region.

At the same time, the bolts of dark blue lightning that had gathered above Aditya's head had somewhat dispersed. It was more like the bolts of dark lightning had gone back to swimming in the dark clouds.

"I don't know if it's fate that saved you or if you're just too lucky." While Aditya was recovering, he heard Simon's voice. He didn't panic seeing Simon. He already had sensed Simon arriving in this direction. Behind Simon, there was Pope Alaric who had an arrogant look and was glaring at Aditya as if trying to eat him alive with his gaze.

'By now it's clear that Aditya isn't a normal cultivator. The normal standards that apply to him. Even before breaking through 4th-order, he was able to fight Peak 5th-order cultivators and even slaughter 101 of them without breaking a sweat. And now that he has evolved, his powers should have increased even further.'

Gazing at Aditya, Simon could feel it. 'The current Aditya's Aura is many times stronger than his previous Aura.' Although Simon appeared to be an arrogant man, in fact, he was an extremely clever and cunning person. If he was just arrogant then he never would have reached this far in his life.

Aditya has gotten stronger, but does that mean Simon is going to escape now? The answer was obviously no. Simon had planned all of this. Aditya's existence had become a bone that The League of the Black Tomb could neither shallow nor throw out. This bone was stuck in their throats.

Before whoever stood in their paths, The League of the Black Tomb organization had no problem crashing them like ants. But Aditya was different. He had interfered with their recent missions many times already. All of their attempts to get rid of him either through another party or with their inner members all had failed. Because of him, The League of the Black Tomb organization lost really powerful and loyal members such as the White Dragon King (named Jay), Ivan, and others.

In the organization, everyone more or less hated Aditya. But Simon hated him the most. For getting in his way so many times and for losing his arm. During their last confrontation, Aditya had severed Simon's arm. Simon had to flee without his arm. In the end, if not for the 6th-order valuable medicines, he wouldn't have managed to regrow his lost arm.

Simon had planned all of this. He used the organization's tons of resources. At this point, there was no option for failure. He had used the Soul Devouring Spiders which was one of the hidden cards of The League of the Black Tomb. The creation of the Soul Devouring Spiders was an accidental product that The League of the Black Tomb has failed to replicate. At this point, if he lost and went back to The League of the Black Tomb. Even though he was a core member of The League of the Black Tomb, for his failure, he would be killed or severely punished by crippling his cultivation.

Aditya smirked, meeting Simon's eyes and then glancing over at Pope Alaric. "Maybe it's neither fate nor luck," he replied casually. "Maybe I'm just not easy to get rid of."

Simon stopped smiling hearing his response. "Let's see if you are still going to smile when I kill you....."

Swoosh!!!!

Simon disappeared and reappeared in front of Aditya. It was just like before. But this time Aditya was easily able to follow Simon's movement. With an angry and crazy look, he punched Aditya in the chest. Aditya calmly moved to the right and effortlessly dodged the punch.

Booom!!!!

However, the power within his punch created a large shockwave behind Aditya. Taking a step forward, Simon launched at Aditya at full speed. He tried to punch or kick Aditya but Aditya effortlessly blocked his moves without having to take a step back. This entire time he was extremely calm and quiet.

Simon tried to kick him with his left leg but he grabbed his left leg. Simon found that he couldn't retreat his left leg no matter how hard he tried. Aditya threw Simon away in some random direction.

Using this distraction, Aditya slowly turned his focus to Pope Alaric. As soon as Pope Alaric found Aditya staring at him, it was as if a ghost had put his sword on his neck. He froze. His entire body rapidly started to sweat. The previous arrogant expression on his face had long vanished with a look of immense fear. He slowly started to retreat in fear.

Even if this man had lost everything that he held dear to and now he wanted nothing but revenge on the Istarin Empire and on Aditya, he was still really afraid of death. After all, having lived for more than 500 years, he never thought of dying. The thought of dying frightened him more than anything.

There was a saying, "The longer one lives, the deeper the shadow of death looms."

Unfortunately for Alaric Aditya had no plans on keeping him alive. He was going to make Alaric pay for doing all those evil things to the people of the Istarin Empire with Simon. Aditya wasn't simply going to end his misery by instantly killing him. If that was what he wanted then he could have killed him the moment he saw Alaric with Simon.

Aditya spoke in a voice cold as ice, his eyes glowing a deep red. "I'm going to make sure you pay, and not quickly. You won't just die. After I'm done, the people you've hurt will have their turn with you. If you're close to dying, we'll heal you up. We'll make sure you stick around for a long time. We won't let you die. Only after you have been punished thoroughly for your crimes, then we will kill you by pouring lava into your ears and through your mouth and nose." Just imagining what was going to happen to him sent chills down his spine.

"No....." Alaric took tried to flee from Aditya. Aditya didn't bother to chase Alaric back.

"How dare you ignore me?" From behind, Simon attacked with a grey color sword in his hand. However right before his sword could touch Aditya, he simply vanished from Simon's view. Seeing this Simon widened his eyes in deep shock.

Alaric who has been running away from Aditya felt happy that Simon was keeping Aditya's occupied. He no longer had the thought of watching both of their battles. Just Aditya's warning had frightened him to the point that he now just wanted to escape from this Continent as soon as possible. He wanted to get away from this Monster.

However, just when he thought that he had found his freedom, Aditya suddenly appeared in front of him.

"You're not fast enough...…" Aditya said in a cold emotionless tone.

Seeing Aditya appearing in front of Alaric, Simon widened his eyes in deep shock.

While working with Alaric, Simon had taken a liking to him. After he was done with Aditya and the Istarin Empire, he was even planning on bringing Alaric back with him to the Main continent. Alaric had the potential to become an excellent bootlicker and a good and loyal subordinate.

"Stop." Aditya looked at Simon who was looking a little bit angry. Seeing this Aditya smiled feeling amused.

"Istarin Emperor, if you kill Simon you will make things personal. Let him leave...." Simon warned Aditya in a serious tone.

Before Simon could fully finish, Aditya destroyed Alaric's Mana Heart and crippled him of his cultivation.

Bang!!!!

Ah…..!!!!

Holding his chest, Alaric coughed out a large amount of blood. He screamed as he had never felt so much pain in his life before. A few seconds later, His eyes rolled back and he fainted. He slowly fell to the ground while Aditya observed Simon's reaction.

"What do you think?" Aditya asked with a smile.

Aditya noticed Simon shaking in anger.

Aditya's smile also faded. His face looked cold as ice. "The things that you have done to my people are 10 million times worse. You already had made things personal when you interrupted my peaceful life."

As soon as he finished, both of them rushed at each other at full speed.

Swoosh!!!!

Bang!!!!

Both of their fists collided. As soon as both of their fists collided, it created a strong shockwave.

Aditya felt that his left arm was numb as both of their fists collided. This gave him a better understanding of Simon's strength. Simon was superior when it came to physical Strength.

"Die....!!!" Simon roared as he horizontally swung his sword at Aditya.

Bang!!!

Aditya blocked his attack by taking out his own sword, the Adamantite Doomblade at the very last second. Both of them started exchanging sword moves. Simon fiercely kept attacking Aditya while he kept calmly blocking them.

I would appreciate some golden tickets. The rest of his upgraded skills will be revealed along with descriptions in a few more chapters or much later.

Chapter 528

The two of them began swinging their swords at each other. Simon was going at Aditya with all his might, trying to land a hit. Aditya, on the other hand, was just calmly blocking every move, looking like he was taking a leisurely stroll in the park.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Every time their swords met, the sound echoed loudly. The force of each strike was really intense. Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal, again and again.

Suddenly, Simon unleashed a special move, swinging his sword in a broad arc and aiming for Aditya's neck. But Aditya was ready. He deftly parried the blow and responded with the exact same move, making Simon scramble to block in return.

Simon then tried a rapid succession of stabs, moving quickly to try and break through Aditya's defenses. But just as swiftly, Aditya mirrored those very moves, forcing Simon to use his own sword to fend off the same attacks he had just launched.

Simon's face showed his shock as he realized what was happening. Aditya had been studying him, learning every move Simon made, and was now turning them against him. Each swing, each stab, each feint Simon tried was sent right back at him by Aditya, like a reflection in a mirror.

As minutes passed, the tide turned. Simon, once the aggressor, was now on the defensive. He widened his eyes in disbelief. His own techniques, the ones he had perfected over the years, were being used against him. It was as if Aditya had copied his entire fighting style. Simon was not just fighting Aditya; he was fighting a mirror image of himself.

'How is this even possible?' Simon asked himself in deep shock while blocking Aditya's attacks. Aditya was attacking him using the very same moves that he previously used against him.

'I was never told that he could do something like this...' The organization had collected a lot of data on Aditya's powers. But on that date, it was never stated that Aditya could copy his opponent's attacks and use them back on his opponent.

Meanwhile, suddenly Aditya found an opening. Aditya's black sword moved past Simon's defense extremely quickly and was able to land a small 10-inch-long diagonal cut on Simon's left shoulder.

'I can't fight him using swords.' Simon thought. He had to admit that when it came to pure sword moves, Aditya was undoubtedly even better than him.

Both of them have been fighting for more than 4 minutes now. 4 minutes might be too little for regular cultivators, but for them, 4 minutes was like 40 minutes of fighting. Since they moved extremely fast. If others saw their fight they would see only sparks flying around them with metal clinging sounds.

In a moment of sheer desperation, Simon thrust out his foot, giving a strong kick to Aditya, hoping to create some space between them. As he did, Aditya was forced to move back, his feet skidding across the ground for several meters. But as Simon caught his breath, he watched in awe and fear as Aditya took a deep breath.

Suddenly, Aditya let out a massive wave of burning Scarlett Inferno from his mouth.

Swoooo...….!!!!!

The bright, fiery red flames seemed to almost touch the sky. It lit up the surroundings with its ferocious glow, making shadows dance wildly. The heat was so intense it felt like the whole world was burning.

Simon's eyes widened as he saw this enormous wave of flames racing towards him. In a split-second decision, he lifted his sword high above his head. The blade began to shine with a golden-yellow glow. Then, with all his might, Simon swung it downwards. As he did, a massive blade of wind surged forward from the sword.

Boom!

The wind blade met the oncoming wave of Scarlett Inferno, slicing right through its center. The impact was so strong that it caused a huge explosion, sending a shockwave in all directions. The flames split in two, diverted by the force of Simon's sword swing, leaving a trail of smoke and embers in its path. The ground shook, and the air was filled with the sound of crackling fire and the whistle of the wind.

Through the thick haze of smoke, Aditya suddenly stepped out, appearing right in front of a startled Simon. His sudden emergence made Simon's heart race. In a split-second reaction, Simon, eyes wide with panic, swung his sword fiercely, releasing another sharp blade of wind toward Aditya.

But to his shock, just as the wind blade was about to hit, Aditya vanished into thin air. Simon's eyes darted around frantically, trying to locate where Aditya had gone. Simon was increasingly growing anxious seeing this. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Aditya standing to his right.

Without wasting a moment, Simon quickly turned and swung his sword again, sending another wind blade towards Aditya. But just like before, Aditya disappeared just in time, reappearing on Simon's left. Every time Aditya teleported, Simon's breathing became more ragged, and his movements grew more frantic, betraying his growing panic.

In a desperate attempt, Simon swung his sword again, but Aditya once more evaded the attack, this time appearing directly behind Simon. The sudden realization that Aditya could now teleport made Simon's back go rigid with fear. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and his anxiety reached its peak as he realized that he was at a significant disadvantage against this ability.

'How is he able to teleport?' Simon thought as he turned around and faced Aditya.

"How are you able to do this?" Simon couldn't help but ask Aditya.

"When I am about to end your life, I will tell you..." Aditya responded back in a cold and emotionless tone.

In a desperate move to gain the upper hand, Simon channeled his Mana into one powerful technique. With a sharp motion of his hands, he summoned the Wind Prison. The air around Aditya started to stir, picking up speed and intensity. Before Aditya could react, a swirling, massive column of wind enveloped him, trapping him inside. The wind howled and roared, creating a mini tornado that raged around Aditya. The force of the gusts tossed and turned him, making it nearly impossible for him to gather his footing or cast any of his spells.

However, Simon's momentary victory was short-lived. Just when he thought he had Aditya cornered, in the blink of an eye, Aditya disappeared from the turbulent wind cage. Simon's eyes widened in surprise as he spotted Aditya reappearing to his left, free from the windy grasp of the Wind Prison. The suddenness of Aditya's escape left Simon momentarily stunned.

'This teleportation ability of his is really annoying.' But Simon hadn't completely lost all of his hope. He still believed that he could win this battle.

Aditya controlled a huge wave of Scarlett Inferno towards Simon. This time the crimson flame surrounded Simon from all sides. Simon did not move or even tried to block the attack. He let himself be engulfed in Scarlett's Inferno.

However, it was soon revealed to Aditya that Simon had created a powerful barrier of wind around him that protected him from Aditya's flames.

"I have been training to face you...." Simon had trained a lot after their previous confrontation. His rage and anger towards Aditya for losing his arm and his subordinates was the fuel that drove him to train harder than he had trained in his entire life.

With a determined expression, Simon declared, "I'm still working on mastering this move, but let's see how it does..." Holding his sword firmly, he lifted it high above his head. The blade began to glow, shimmering with a bright yellow light. Taking a deep breath, Simon then started to swing the sword in rhythmic motions, slicing through the air in front of him.

"Airblade Assault!" he shouted with conviction.

With every swing of his glowing sword, sharp, crescent-shaped blades made of compressed wind shot out, aiming directly at Aditya. It was like a flurry of invisible razors flying through the air. Aditya, noticing the incoming danger, braced himself and got ready to counter the windshades.

However, as Aditya observed closely, something strange was happening. As the wind blades neared him, their strength seemed to wane. They began to lose their form, slowly fading away, it was almost as if evaporating before they could even reach him. It was as if they were being pulled into the void before their attack could land, leaving Aditya both puzzled and confused at the same time.

Bang!!!

An invisible wind blade left a big vertical cut on his chest. Looking at the blood coming from the cut, Aditya understood that these wind blades hadn't faded away or lost their form but rather the wind blades had become invisible.

"I see...." Aditya widened his eyes in surprise.

Swoosh!

Aditya teleported away and reappeared in another location so that the invisible wind blades wouldn't annoy him. He had no idea where the invisible wind blades were.

Simon tried to keep up with Aditya but in the next microsecond, Aditya once again teleported. He appeared behind Simon. He then drove his sword forward to end Simon's life. Everything happened extremely fast pace. Even Simon was having a hard time keeping up with Aditya.

Meanwhile, Riya, Sasha, and Lilith had finally come. From the distance, they were able to instantly feel the presence of Peak 6th-order Simon. Realizing that Aditya was fighting Peak 6th-order cultivator, Riya, and Sasha became nervous. Both of them were about to rush to aid Aditya when Lilith held them back.

"Mom, what are you doing? Let me go." Sasha looked really stubborn. She was annoyed by the fact that Lilith was holding her and wasn't letting her go.

"Aunty, I greatly respect you but please move out of my way." Riya tried to remain polite but even she was frowning. Lilith insists on standing in her way, then she would have no choice but to fight her.

"Both of you calm down..." Lilith shut both Riya and Sasha. Her tone was extremely cold. Even Sasha had never seen her mother looking this serious.

"I know that you two are worried about Aditya but what are going to do you can go there. You two will only become his burdens and will only end up getting in his way. If you two had calmed down and analyzed the situation, then you two would have realized that Aditya was actually holding his own against the Peak 6th-order cultivator." Only then did Riya and Sasha calm down a little bit.

Lilith's eyes softened as she looked at her daughter and Riya. "Look, Aditya has reached beginner 4th order. You two have to realize that little Rascal is way stronger than all of us combined even before he reached 4th-order. And now that he has reached beginner 4th-order, he has also gotten extremely powerful."

"If you two went there to help him, then the enemy might use you two as hostages and this will put Aditya in a difficult situation." Lilith being a mature woman, was calmer than everyone. Having lived a long life, compared to everyone, she was much more calm and she was really good at observation.

Sasha, Lilith, and Riya were about a few kilometers or more distance away from Aditya and Simon. From this distance even though they were 5th-order cultivators, they couldn't follow their movements. To them, it appeared as if two rays of light were constantly moving around each other and hitting each other.

Whereas, in the eyes of lower-order cultivators, Aditya and Simon were almost invisible. They just moved too fast for their eyes to even see them.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I would really appreciate some Golden tickets. I hope you guys liked the chapter as much as I did while writing this chapter.

Chapter 529

"Oh….!!" Aditya was slightly surprised to find his sneak attack blocked. Simon had created an invisible barrier of wind around his entire body this whole time. Aditya had to say that he was really impressed. From this, he understood that Simon had a really high affinity with Wind. Not everyone could make such a strong windshield around them.

Simon kicked Aditya using his left foot. Aditya took the hit and was pushed back.

Simon turned around and looked at Aditya. Just as he had expected, a kick wouldn't do a thing to Aditya.

"Do you think you can keep up?" Simon asked with a grin.

"You're not going anywhere." Aditya became alert. Last time, Simon had escaped from his hand after he had severed his arm. He used a teleportation crystal to teleport away from Aditya. But this time he wasn't going to allow that to happen. Rather for Simon, this wasn't possible since Aditya now had 'Crimson Wrap Flash'. Using this he can simply teleport in front of Simon.

Both Aditya and Simon stared at each other for a few seconds before both of them charged at each other.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!!!

Both swords clashed a few more times before Simon kicked Aditya's gut and then diagonally swung his grey sword at him. Aditya was able to use the hilt of his sword to block the attack but as he did, he saw Simon simply give up and move back.

Bang!

But the next second, an invisible condensed wind blade cut Aditya's left shoulder. Before he could recover, another wind blade cut his stomach. Another wind blade cut his left cheek. Another wind blade cut his left arm's forearm.

Bang!

Bang!!!!!

The wind blades were hitting Aditya extremely fast and weren't giving him any time to react. One after another the invisible wind blades kept cutting him. The blades left small and big cuts throughout his body.

Unable to endure these annoying invisible wind blades anymore, Aditya released a wave of Crimson flame at Simon. The Crimson flame wave destroyed all the small wind blades that were coming at Aditya from

"Wind at my heels, grace in my stride, Zephyr's touch, be by my side!"

Zephyr's Grace!

Boooom!!!!

The Crimson flame wave resulted in an explosion however Simon wasn't caught in that explosion. Aditya stood there and watched as Simon began running away.

"Is he dumb or Is this just his plan?" Aditya felt that this was Simon's plan. He wasn't flying away but rather he was taking him somewhere else. But Aditya decided to chase after Simon as he wasn't going to let him escape from his hands this time. He was going to make sure that Simon was dead.

'He has gotten faster than before. So that was a wind spell that he used to increase his body."

Crimson Wrap Flash!!!!

Aditya's eyes started shining in red. The next second, he disappeared from his place. He reappeared behind Simon but seeing this he didn't stop. He rather increased his speed even faster.

Booooom!!!!!!!

Simon began moving so fast that he easily broke the sound barrier. The Sound Barrier of this world had increased once again when the Mana density of this world had increased.

However, Aditya was more than comfortable keeping up with Simon.

Swoosh!!!

Around 5 seconds later, Aditya once again teleported behind Simon but he continued to run in the direction of the east. Seeing this Aditya fired a colossal wave of Crimson flame at Simon. The wave Scarlett flame was so big that it stretched more than 2,000 meters wide. The attack was so big that the light from this attack was seen from even a few hundred kilometers away.

Meanwhile, Sasha, Lilith, and Riya watched both Simon and Aditya completely disappear from their view. Both of them were simply too fast for them to follow them. They also realized the difference between the 5th-order and 6th-order. The gap between the 5th-order cultivator and the 6th-order cultivator was really wide.

Simon didn't need to turn around to feel what he coming at him. He could already feel the terrifying temperature. After Crimson Blaze evolved into Scarlett Inferno, the flames got even stronger. The flames had become even more terrifying than before.

"Shit.....!!" Simon cursed as he saw what was behind him. His face turned pale just seeing this. Simon did not hold back his speed anymore. He moved his body as fast as he could. He used every single bit of his agility to get away from the terrifying attack. An attack of such magnitude could easily seriously injure him if not end his life.

In the last few moments, Simon realized that trying to get away from this attack wouldn't be enough. He rapidly began to descend from the sky. As he flew towards the ground; towards the forest, the attack exploded.

Boooooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A huge explosion took place. The explosion shook the entirely of the northern part of the Southern region.

As a result of his own attack, Aditya had to stop. But he soon realized that Simon had got away. Aditya slowly flew down while looking around. Due to the smoke released by the explosion, Aditya's vision has been limited for now.

Meanwhile, Simon was breathing heavily while standing on top of a mountain that was just a few kilometers away.

Huff!!! Huff!!

"That was close. I almost died there." Simon never had to run this fast in his entire life. He had to move this fast knowing that if he held back even a tiny bit or did not give his all while escaping he would have died there.

Even though he gave his all, it still wasn't enough. Aditya certainly wasn't kind with his attack. His intention has been to kill Simon. He had to use a large portion of his mana to repel the Scarlett Inferno flames away from him using mana.

"That won't happen again." Simon was startled to find Aditya a few meters behind him. He was standing in the air with his Adamantite Doomblade.

"I didn't expect you to catch up so fast." Aditya didn't respond to his words.

"How did you become so strong? Even though you're only a Beginner 4th-order, how are you so strong?" Simon has been curious about this question for a long time. He always has wanted to ask this question to Aditya.

"I drink milk every single day..." He replied with a straight face. He didn't even change his emotions a tiny bit while saying that.

".....Simon

"This is the last phase of our battle." Simon's voice echoed as numerous copies of him materialized, encircling Aditya. But Aditya's demeanor remained undisturbed. He paused for a brief moment, shutting his eyes and then reopening them. When his gaze locked onto the real Simon amidst the illusions, Simon felt a cold sweat forming on his brow. He sucked a cold breath. He had to admit that the current Aditya had become too terrifying.

"I can see through your illusions," Aditya declared confidently. His special ability, the 'Galactic Gaze', allowed him to discern reality from illusion effortlessly. Simon's attempt at illusionary powers paled in comparison to what Aditya had seen before, especially when considering the superior illusionary techniques of his general, Amber.

Realizing his ruse had been detected, Simon admitted, "I had a feeling that my Mistral Mirage skill might not work, but..." As he spoke, the other illusory copies of him faded, leaving just the genuine Simon standing. He took a deep breath, opened his mouth wide, and unleashed...

Pandemonium Roar!!!

As the name suggested, a formidable sonic wave burst forth from Simon's mouth. This wasn't any ordinary sound; it was specifically tuned to target Aditya's heightened dragon senses. The piercing, tumultuous wave of noise washed over Aditya, wreaking havoc on his auditory system. It was like a shrill siren blaring directly into his ears, only magnified manifold. The overwhelming sensation made Aditya press his hands hard against his ears, trying to block out the assaulting noise. His eyes shut tightly, attempting to regain his composure amidst the sonic onslaught. The surroundings seemed to blur, and for a moment, even the mighty Aditya seemed disoriented and vulnerable to Simon's surprise attack.

Simon saw his opportunity. Aditya, the Dragon Monarch, was momentarily caught off guard by a sudden distraction, allowing Simon to seize this precious moment.

Closing his eyes briefly, Simon began to channel his energy. With a deep breath, he clasped his hands together, calling for his signature weapon. From the depths of his being, a radiant surge of ethereal fire bubbled up, forging itself into a formidable shape in front of him. As he opened his eyes, a magnificent lance, glowing brilliantly with otherworldly flames, materialized in his grip.

The lance was a magnificent piece of work. Its shaft glowed with a blend of azure and gold, while the flames that danced around its tip seemed almost alive, eager, and restless. These weren't ordinary flames; they pulsed with a life force, proof of the part of Simon's very soul that gave the weapon its unparalleled potency.

With all his might, he threw the Soulfire Lance toward Aditya. As the lance soared through the air, it left behind a mesmerizing trail of golden light, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Soulfire Lance!!!

Weavering from the effects of the previous sonic attack, Aditya felt a momentary loss in his sharp senses. Unbeknownst to him, the Soulfire Lance was rapidly approaching. Almost as though the universe whispered a warning in his ear, a fleeting intuition alerted him at the very brink of impact.

Boooom!!!!!

The force of the collision sent shockwaves throughout the vicinity. Simon, with a happy grin plastered across his face. He felt he had won this battle. Although the battle was cruel and extremely tough he had won. He was convinced that he'd finally gotten the upper hand over Aditya.

Yet, that smirk of satisfaction was swiftly wiped off Simon's face as he witnessed something that left him utterly shocked and in despair.

Aditya stood unharmed, but he was no longer in his human form. Towering in front of Simon was a massive Crimson Dragon, stretching a staggering 50 meters in length. His transformation was awe-inspiring: two robust, elegant crimson wings unfurled from his back, their span almost blocking out the sky. The once-human arms had reshaped into formidable dragon claws, pristine white and menacing. Aditya's entire physique was now armored with robust red scales that glistened menacingly. His once-clear eyes were now a deep abyss, with blood-red pupils marked by vertical slits that stared down at Simon with sheer authority. Two imposing, straight horns crowned his head, adding to his majestic aura.

With every breath Aditya took, tiny tendrils of crimson fire danced near his nostrils. When he opened his mouth, an array of large, pearly white teeth became visible, with a burning crimson-red tongue flicking in between. And the highest of his magnificence was his tail; it swayed with a force of its own, its tip blazing with a brilliant crimson flame.

Simon's happy face from moments ago had completely vanished. He felt his throat tighten, parched. For a few seconds, his limbs wobbled uncontrollably. The sight before him was something he hadn't prepared for, and the overwhelming presence of the Crimson Dragon sent chills down his spine.

Aditya opened his mouth. He sucked a large amount of air into his lungs. Seeing this Simon's face turned pale.

"Don't you dare underestimate me, Dragon Emperor?" Simon roared in anger. The next second, Simon's pupils contracted to the size of the needle. Countless red veins appeared in his eyes. Slowly but surely blood started filling his eyes before blood started rolling down his cheeks his eyes like tears.

Just like before Simon was creating an energy Lance but this time, Aditya could sense that this lance was extremely tough. He had a feeling that this Lance could very well end his life.

"This is the final attack...."

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 530

"Don't you dare underestimate me, Dragon Emperor?" Simon roared in anger. The next second, Simon's pupils contracted to the size of the needle. Countless red veins appeared in his eyes. Slowly but surely blood started filling his eyes before blood started rolling down his cheeks his eyes like tears.

At the same time, his skin started becoming extremely pale. It was as his someone was sucking blood out of his body. His vitality rapidly started to decrease. His Aura started to weaken. He had put all of his remaining Mana into this attack.

Just like before Simon was creating an energy Lance but this time, Aditya could sense that this lance was extremely tough. He had a feeling that this Lance could very well end his life.

"This is the final attack...."

Seeing this Aditya also didn't hold back. He put most of his remaining of his Mana into his attack. Aditya's Mana was almost drained from this battle.

A ball of Scarlett Inferno Flame formed before Aditya. While Simon was holding a lance Lance was at least 1000 times stronger than before.

Simon's body had withered as if a Soul Devouring Spider had sucked all of his Life force. He looked like a ghost. It was as if he had lost all of his muscles and was only left with his bones and his skin. He had become extremely skinny and fragile-looking. His knees were shaking uncontrollably. His hair had become grey. His skin had been wrinkled. His skin had become slightly dark. The current Simon had become so weak that it looked like he might die even from a strong gust of wind.

Using the Soulfire Lance consumed a small part of the user's soul. Using the Soulfire lance too many times can be extremely dangerous for the user. Simon had used all of his Soul, His Mana, and his life force in this attack. This is why he had become so skinny and fragile.

"I am going to take you with me," Simon said in a weak tone. His tone was so weak that he wasn't even sure if Aditya had heard his words.

"I am not planning on dying, unfortunately." Both of them fired their attacks.

But just before both attacks cloud collide, Aditya used Crimson Warp Flash and tried his best to get out of the range of the explosion. As he knew that an earth-shattering explosion was going to take place in a second. Being at the center of the explosion, he wasn't sure if he could survive especially now that he had consumed almost all of his Mana. Fortunately, he didn't put all of his mana into his last attack and saved up for Mana to use Crimson Warp Flash.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!

Around 40 km away, Sasha, Lilith, and Riya suddenly saw a gigantic mushroom cloud rising in the air. At the same time, a wave of flame was heading in directions at the speed of sound. Seeing the wave of flame heading in their direction, they turned around and ran away from it as fast as they could.

Fortunately Nathan and Amber had taken the Istarin troops far away. The shockwave of the attack didn't reach them or any nearby city or villages. Fortunately for Aditya, this part of the region was the least populated.

Sigh!

"Fortunately we are already far away....." When the explosion happened Lilith, Sasha, and Riya were already far away. They had more than enough time to escape otherwise they would have been caught in the shockwave. The shockwave was so strong that it could have ripped their bodies apart.

"That was scary....." Riya also admitted.

Only Lilith wasn't saying anything. She was looking at the sky. The rain had stopped and the dark clouds had started to disperse but now due to the explosion the sky was covered in black smoke. Due to this, she couldn't see what was going on.

Lilith could tell that this attack might have been the last and final attack. Lilith's heart was filled with worry. She hoped that Aditya was okay.

Meanwhile, Aditya pushed away all the debris and ashes that were covering his body. His whole body was slightly burned. But he was still alright. It should take him a few hours to naturally heal these minor wounds.

?Ding! You have killed a Peak 6th-order cultivator. You have gained experience Poins.?

Seeing this Aditya sighed in relief that he had finally managed to end Simon's life.

"I want to sleep...." Aditya had drained all of his Mana and he was super exhausted from his battle. Even before the battle he hadn't spent for multiple nights and spent all of his time working.

"Fortunately the threat is gone. But I can't stop here now." Simon had made Aditya realize just how far the reach of the League of the Black Tomb went. If tomorrow, another core member of the organization came after his life or came to take revenge for Simon's death, at that time, no matter how strong Aditya is, he can't stop them from killing his own people. In a less than week's time, due to Simons' actions, the number of people that had died was over 2 million.

And Aditya hated this weakness of his against the organization.

"Since the organization keeps on disturbing my peaceful life, I am not going to let you guys sleep either." Aditya tightly clenched his fists. His eyes were full of anger. This experience has been a wake-up call to Aditya. The organization can strike at him whenever it wants. And Aditya needs to be prepared to defend himself and his Empire.

"The Istarin Empire has to spend more money on its defense." Aditya thought out loud. Many other kinds of plans began forming in his mind. The next time he faces the League of the Black Tomb organization's members, it is going to be them who are going to suffer at his hands.

As Aditya flew up and looked down he realized just how much the of the land had been destroyed. In front of him, there was a wasteland that stretched more than 50km in all directions. The land was formerly full of greenery and vegetation. But now the land was covered in ashes. In the middle of the wasteland, there was a gigantic crater that was 18 meters in size.

Scene change______

Lilith, Sasha, and Riya finally felt relieved seeing Aditya flying towards them. It was as if a massive weight had been lifted from their shoulders. The trio flew towards him.

"Aditya.....!!!"

"Are you alright?"

Lilith just seriously stared at Aditya.

Aditya's condition wasn't good. His clothes were torn up. Parts of his skin were slightly burned. There were many cuts on his body. Other than that, he didn't have much serious injuries. The life-ending injury that he received from Simon's punch was healed when Aditya used this new skill and also ate one of Julia's 5-star healing pills.

"I am alright. There is no need to worry about me...." Aditya couldn't even finish when Riya came forward and hugged him. She started sobbing in his arms. Aditya felt complicated as he hugged with his one arm.

This whole time Riya has been genuinely scared and really worried about Aditya. If the enemy was a Peak 5th-order, she wouldn't have been worried. But the enemy that he faced this time was extremely strong. The enemy was so strong that she and others had to stay out of their way.

He hated it when he saw any of his women cry.

"Alright. There is no need to cry. Everything is over now." Aditya gently stroked Riya's head while saying these words.

Aditya looked at Sasha and Lilith. When Sasha and Aditya's gaze met, she just snorted. But Aditya knew that she was being a tsundere.

"Come...." Aditya didn't want to give all of his attention to Riya.

"Hmph! Who wants to hug you? I am not doing that." Sasha snorted and looked away. But in reality, she was just too embarrassed to come and hug him along with Riya.

"Hehe! Then I will take your place." Sasha found her mother hugging Aditya. Seeing this she felt speechless before she puffed her cheeks in jealousy. She kind of regretted her actions and felt that she should have stopped her mother.

Aditya also felt speechless seeing Lilith burying her face in his face and hugging him tightly. Once again he felt complicated. He wasn't sure what to do with Lilith.

Aditya wasn't stupid. He can see all the signs and hints that Lilith is dropping at him. But he didn't take any action. When it came to Lilith, Aditya felt more complicated than ever. There is no doubt that staying with her and with her constant teasing, he is becoming fond of her. A sense of attachment is growing in his heart. But she was Sasha's mother and the matter was really sensitive.

Aditya wasn't complaining. Which man in this world had the privilege of hugging the Goddess of Nature and the mother of the Goddess of Lust at the same time? If other men saw him, then they would of envy and jealousy.

Aditya continued to hug both beauties for a while before he separated from them. Riya had finally calmed down. Aditya gently wiped the tears from her cheek. This was the first time he had seen Riya breaking down.

Lilith on the other hand left very reluctant to separate from him. She wanted to continue hugging him forever. She loved his masculine smell more than anything. His strong smell turned never failed to turn her on.

"Are you done?" Sasha asked in an impatient and slightly frustrated tone. Since she had refused to join, she couldn't join now. Her place had been taken by her own mother which she didn't think much of. Seeing them hugging, Sasha felt jealous. She wanted to be a part of it or at least wanted this to end.

Suddenly Aditya teleported in front of her. Before she could react, she found herself in his arms. For a second she resisted but that resistance quickly faded as she wrapped her arms around his back and hugged him as tight as possible.

Riya looked at Sasha for a second. For today, she decided to not tease Sasha or pick a fight with her.

And so, once Aditya returned, he went back to his busy life. He had to fix the damage that was done to the Southern region because of Simon's actions.

For the next one week, he was completely busy. He didn't come out of his office at all. Aditya remained inside his office. He worked endlessly. Even when everyone in the Dragon Palace went to sleep, Aditya never slept and continued with his work. He was busy with work and work

Around a few days later, the Mana density around the Southern region returned to normal. This brought a great sense of relief to the Istarin Empire and especially to Aditya as he had been worried that hearing this news forces from the Main continent were going to come to the Southern region and would try to claim it for themselves. And this would start a big conflict.

Aditya wanted to avoid this. Because of this, he and the shadow guardians suppressed information about the Mana density as much as possible. For the next few days, no one from the outside was allowed to enter the Southern region. Aditya did this to prevent any spies from coming to the Southern region to confirm this news and send this confirmed news back to the Main continent or the enemies of the Istarin Empire.

Fortunately, there were no nasty surprises for the Empire and its people. Soon things returned to normal. The peaceful lives of the people returned with an unforgettable scar that will forever remain in their hearts.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

End of the first major Arc of this Volume!

There will be two more major arcs in this volume before we are completely done with this Volume.

Chapter 531

"Hello, Aditya. It has been a while."

"It's good to see you again Laura. How have you been doing?"

Around one week after killing Simon, Laura along with her personal Maid Kate had come to the Istarin Empire to meet Aditya. Unlike her previous visits which weren't official and were mostly kept a secret from everyone, this was an official meeting between the Emperor of the Istarin Empire and the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace.

"I should be the one asking you this question." Laura had heard of what had happened in the Southern region. What she heard was the public version of it. Aditya didn't reveal too much about the culprit or about the organization. Only top officials, dukes, and the people that Aditya trusted knew everything about this incident.

"Well, what can I say? Things have been a little bit rough for me." Meanwhile, Watson served them tea with some delicious snacks.

"Please enjoy yourself." Watson then nodded at Aditya before taking his leave. Since he was no longer the acting Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire, his presence wasn't needed here. Ever since Watson had stepped down, he has been moving away from politics and the affairs of the Empire and let Spencer handle all of it.

Picking up the cup of tea, Aditya took a sip. "So what brings you here Laura if you don't mind me asking?" Aditya asked.

"It has been a while since I came to the surface world. I decided to take a break from everything and come to the surface. Also, there are a few other reasons why I came here. Besides, hearing what happened, I was worried so I came to check on you." Laura took a sip of the tea. She had to admit that this tea was really delicious. It was easily one of the best teas she had ever had.

Since this was an official meeting, Aditya had spent a carriage along with 500 troops to escort Laura and Kate to the Capital.

"So how is everything going in your Empire?" Before Aditya left, he had secretly hunted every single one of the Old nobles who wanted Laura dead. These old nobles were like pests. The fools refused to change the laws and stubbornly held onto their old traditions which were doing the whole Deep Sea Palace more harm than good.

"After you left, there wasn't anyone who stood against me. You have removed the biggest obstacles in my path to becoming the Empress. Within my first week of becoming the Ruler of the Deep Sea Palace, I was able to get rid of the remaining small problems. And since then, things have been sailing very smoothly." Laura said with a smile while taking another sip.

"Is that so..." Aditya wondered why Laura was here. It only has been 4 months since she became the Empress. Although the Deep Sea Palace wasn't as big as the Istarin Empire, it would have taken her more than 4 months to stabilize the whole Empire and finish her work. Even before she took the throne, the Deep Sea Palace had been without a ruler for more than 6 months. After Aditya killed Lewis, the Empire didn't have a King. Hence a ton of administration work had been left to be finished. He thought it would take a lot more time for Luara to finish these works.

'I guess I underestimated her.' Aditya thought in his mind.

"Aditya, looks like you're on a winning streak, huh? Congrats on expanding your empire even more," Laura said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

At the sound of her words, Aditya felt a slight twitch in his right eye. His empire, nearly the size of an entire continent, had just expanded further a week ago. With that growth had come an avalanche of added responsibilities and never-ending tasks.

"Yeah, Laura, because what I really needed was more paperwork and sleepless nights. But hey, at least I've got more land to worry about now," Aditya replied, his voice dripping with sarcastic amusement.

"Hahaha!!!!" Hearing this Laura couldn't stop laughing.

"Our little King is really hard working. He works hard both in his work and even harder in his bedroom." Hearing these words, Laura spat out the tea from her mouth. Her cheeks were slightly red. Laura tried her best to control herself from laughing out loud. Even Kate looked like she wanted to laugh but she controlled herself.

Turning her head to her right she saw a beautiful woman. The woman had long silver hair and fair skin. She was tall and had a curvaceous body.

She walked towards them with a teasing grin on her face.

"....Aditya wondered if he should spank Lilith's ass. But knowing that doing that would be wrong he kept quiet and decided to get his revenge on his woman later.

"Aditya, she is...." Laura was surprised to see this woman. This woman was really beautiful.

"Her name is Lilith. She is Sasha's mother." Hearing this even Kate who had been stoic this entire time was surprised. Laura was even more surprised. Sasha had left a deep impression in her mind.

She didn't think Aditya would be able to tame that wild girl and make her and her mother live here. She had to admit she was impressed.

She had kept trying to end Laura's life over and over again. If not for Aditya she would have died.

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty. My name is Lilith." Lilith slightly bowed her head before she sat next to Aditya.

"I won't apologize for what my daughter did since this is what we do. Or at least this is what I used to do and now my daughter does in my place. It's our profession." Laura nodded her head. She didn't really hold any anger towards Sasha. It was the old nobles who had paid her. She was even kind enough to tell Aditya about the clients who hired her.

"Also you can rest assured. Our organization won't accept any bounty on your head." Hearing this Laura inwardly felt relieved. Now she doesn't have to worry about being assassinated ever again.

"Thank you. Aunty, you're more than welcome to visit My Deep Sea Palace whenever you want."

"Sure I will. I will also bring Aditya with me." Lilith excitedly said.

Cough!!!!

"Let's not get distracted shall we...?" Aditya reminded them that this was an official meeting. He also knew that he couldn't Lilith do whatever she wanted. If she was allowed to do whatever she wanted then things might go in the wrong direction just like before. He really can't trust this Succubus.

Laura became serious upon hearing this. Fortunately, Lilith also became quiet. "Aditya, today I am here to make the Alliance between us official." Since Laura still hadn't become the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace, she couldn't make an official alliance with the Istairn Empire but now she could.

"The Istarin Empire is happy to be an ally of the Deep Sea Palace." This official Alliance was a big thing for the Istarin Empire. Now Empire will have an even stronger influence on the world stage. And this official Alliance with the Deep Sea palace was going to bring a ton of benefits in the short and long term.

"I have been meaning to ask. Why not make a link between our teleportation arrays?" The teleportation array in the Deep Sea Palace and Istarin Empire weren't linked. If there wasn't a link between two points, then it is not possible to use the teleportation array. Linking the teleportation arrays will make traveling to both Empires super easy. Both of them can come and go to see each other whenever they want.

"I also have been thinking of doing this." Laura was more than happy to agree. It was a hassle to travel for hours to reach the Deep Sea Palace or for Laura to reach the Istarin Empire. Through the teleportation array, a lot of their precious time could be saved.

Aditya and Laura discussed the affairs and the workings of their alliance for the next few hours. Both of them discussed the terms and conditions of the alliance.

While they were discussing, Lilith suddenly interrupted them with a suggestion. "Instead of making a new alliance, Laura why don't you just join The Triumvirate Alliance." Hearing this both Aditya and Laura paused and then exchanged glances.

"I don't mind if that's okay with you, Aditya," Laura replied. The Triumvirate Alliance was the current strongest alliance in the Dying Isle continent. Joining such a strong alliance would only benefit her. She also would be one step closer to erasing the boundaries between the surface and the oceanic Empires.

Lilith's suggestion wasn't something that Laura had thought of before.

Aditya thought that Laura wouldn't want to join the Triumvirate Alliance so he never invited her. He thought she was only interested in becoming an ally of the Istarin empire. "Why would I mind? In fact, I welcome the Deep Sea Palace with open arms. But forgive me for saying this but since I am not the leader of this alliance, I would need to ask the Echo Dominion Empire, and The Hephaestus Kingdom's opinions on this before I could make any decision."

Although the Triumvirate Alliance didn't have a leader and all matters of the alliance were discussed by three members, everyone knew that the Istarin Empire was the unofficial leader of this alliance. This alliance formed as a result of the war with the Oracle Alliance. There is no doubt that the Echo Dominion Empire and The Hephaestus Kingdom will agree to Aditya's suggestion without question.

Aditya knew this. But he respected his alliance members and wanted to know their opinions before making any decisions.

Laura smiled understanding this. She knew that even if Aditya made him the leader of this alliance both the Echo Dominion Empire and The Hephaestus Kingdom would accept it.

"I don't mind."

"If that's the case, then I will call for an alliance meeting. Laura, in that case, you might need to wait in the Istarin Empire for one or two days."

"I don't mind." She replied with a smile. This was a really big step for her Empire as well.

"Lilith, would you mind showing Laura around the Dragon Palace? Sorry, I can't personally show you around as I am going to write two letters to the Echo Dominion Emperor, and The Hephaestus King, explaining the whole situation to them."

"Not at all. Thank you for having me."

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 532

"Let's take a look at the system Log" Aditya had some free time. He had enough time to take a look at his new stats and the changes in his skills and in his class.

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for reaching the beginner 4th order.?

?Ding! Now a random Class will be chosen for the host.?

?Ding! Class selecting.....?

?Ding!....Analyzing the Host's Body and Soul?

?Ding!....Analyzing the Elemental Affinities that the Host possess....?

?Ding! It has been detected that the host has merged with Spatial Silk Cocoon, changing the host's class....?

?Ding! Congratulations to the host for getting a Mythical Class.?

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving Mythical Class 'Void Walker' as your 4th Class.?

Aditya touched on the 'Void Walker' on the transparent screen. The next second a description of the 'Void Walker' class appeared in his view.

?Void Walker?

?4th-order Mythical Class?

?Description: - A Void Walker is someone super special who can mess with Space itself! They can make doorways in the air and walk through them to go really, really far—like from one side of the world to the other, or even from one world to a completely different one. They can even jump from one part of the Universe to another. The Abilities of the Void Walker are so powerful and amazing that even the ancient Gods would get super jealous.

Void Walkers are like kings and queens of the sky; they're the bosses when it comes to anything related to space. A Void Walker is guaranteed to become someone great and do things nobody else can. A Void Walker is like a master artist, but instead of paint, the Void Walker uses Space itself.?

?Passive abilities: - Just by being a Void Walker, you get faster and more agile; your Agility goes up by more than [400+]!?

1. ?Cosmic Resilience?: Your body gets tougher and can heal itself super-fast, making it harder to hurt or kill.

2. ?Stellar Intuition?: You can sometimes know things without being told, like reading people's minds or knowing things that haven't happened yet.

3. ?Nebula Harmony?: You feel really calm most of the time like you're floating in space, which helps you think clearly even when things get crazy.

4. ?Black Hole Focus?: Once you decide to do something, it's almost impossible to distract you. Your focus is like a black hole; nothing escapes it.

5. ?Dimensional Affinity?: You have a special bond with magical things, like artifacts or spells, and they work better for you than for most people.

6. ?Warp Efficiency?: Using your space-bending powers takes less energy than it should.

7. ?Galactic Magnetism?: People naturally like you and want to help you, like you've got your own gravitational pull.

"Cosmic Resilience will make my body tougher. This is a really nice ability." Aditya thought while rubbing his chin. With Cosmic Resilience, Aditya was confident that he could pretty much withstand attacks of any Peak 5th-order cultivator.

"Stellar Intuition and Nebula Harmony will help me out a lot during battles and emergency situations. It's really important to not lose calm on the battlefield.

"Black Hole Focus will really help me when I am working. This will increase my overall productivity." Even on the battlefield, this skill will help Aditya a lot. He would be able to stay focused and his opponents would have a hard time distracting him. This passive ability also grants him resistance against Illusion attacks.

"What does it even mean to have a special bond with magical things.....?" Aditya didn't understand what kind of Passive ability was Dimensional Affinity.

"Galactic Magnetism? Did I really need this Passive Ability?" Aditya asked himself. He wasn't bad at socializing.

"I just hope that the passive effect of the Galactic Magnetism is not too severe." If the wrong people liked him then it would be troublesome for Aditya.

"My other three classes also should have reached 4th order." While Aditya was taking a look, he decided to read the description of his other classes.

?Storm Marshall?

?4th-order Mythical Class?

?Description: - Long, long ago, the class known as Storm Marshall was so strong that even gods and goddesses had to respect its power. Imagine being able to control the stormy skies, the booming thunder, and the fast wind. That's what the Storm Marshall can do. This class has a special connection to the forces of lightning and wind, making it super powerful. Recently upgraded from a 3rd-order to a 4th-order mythical class, its abilities are now even more incredible than before.?

?Passive Abilities?:

- ?Weather Sense?: The host becomes like a human weather station, able to tell when the weather will change. This sense is so strong, that it's almost like having a sixth sense just for the weather.

- ?Storm Affinity?: The host feels a natural bond with storms. It's like the storm and the host are old friends, making it easier to control and harness the energy of storms.

- ?Mana Surge During Storms?: When there's a storm brewing, the host's mana increases by 65%. It's like the storm fuels the host with extra power.

- ?Elemental Amplification?: Any attack that uses lightning or wind gets a big boost, increasing its power by 65%. This means that lightning bolts or wind blasts become even more devastating.

- ?Swift as the Wind?: With this class, the host's speed and ability to move quickly skyrockets. The host becomes faster, with an agility boost of up to [600+] in agility.

- New Passive Abilities:

- ?Thunderous Resonance?: The host's voice can carry over the storm, allowing for clear communication even in the worst weather conditions.

- ?Skywalker?: During storms, the host gains the ability to levitate or float a few inches off the ground, making it easier to move around.

- ?Lightning Reflexes?: The host's reaction time is significantly improved, allowing for quicker responses to dangers and opportunities alike.

- Weather Ward?: The host gains a level of resistance to weather-related ailments, such as being too cold in a snowstorm or too hot in a desert.

Reading how much the passive abilities of the Storm Marshal class had changed Aditya was left shocked. His mouth was left wide open as he stared at the screen in shock.

"I have become whether man now...." Aditya chuckled at his own words.

The biggest and most eye-catching ability was 'Mana Surge During Storms'. "My Mana would increase 65% when there is a storm."

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Innate Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Void Step.?

?Ding! Passive skill 'Crimson Lightning Dash' and Innate skill 'Void Step' have been merged. The newborn Innate skill is called 'Crimson Warp Flash'.?

?Crimson Warp Flash?

?4th-order Innate Skill?

?Description: - A special Innate skill that was gained due to the host having Void Walker Class. ?

?Ability: - With Crimson Warp Flash, the host can go from one place to another place super fast. All the hosts have to do is look at where they want to go, and the host will be there in an instant! Using this skill takes a lot of Mana. The basic amount needed is around [100+] Mana. The amount of Mana needed can go up if the host is trying to go a really long way, or if they're taking people or things with them. The heavier the person or object, the more Mana it's going to take.?

Aditya looked outside of the window for a second. The next second he had disappeared from his office and had arrived more than 5 km away from the Dragon Palace.

"With the amount of Mana I have, I can keep using this ability without having to worry about running out of Mana." Aditya said with a smile. The main reason he was able to win against Simon was because of his ability.

The next second Aditya had teleported to the Azure city. Another second later, he was back at his office.

"I love this skill....." Aditya said with a smile.

?Ding! 3rd-order innate skill Crimson Lightning Manipulation has evolved into the 4th-order skill, 'Azure Thunder Dominion'.?

?Azure Thunder Dominion?

?4th-order Innate skill?

?Description: - A special type of lightning manipulation skill that was gained from having Divine Crimson dragon bloodline and Storm Marshall class.

The Crimson Lightning Manipulation has evolved to become Azure Thunder Dominion. The Azure Thunder Dominion is a special type of skill that was born as a result of having Void Walker class.?

?Function 1?: - Every time the user activates this skill, it will consume [1+] mana per second. The limit of this skill depends on the user's imagination and the user's mana.

?Function 2?: - Passively increases the user's lightning resistance and also decreases the damage of Lightning attacks by 80% used by a 4th-order cultivator. Gives 25% resistance to lightning-type attacks used by a 5th-order cultivator. The resistance percentage decreases against Higher-order.

"Hmm...nothing much has changed about these skills. Compared to Crimson Lightning Manipulation, the Azure Thunder Dominion is 10 times stronger. Even though the skill had gotten stronger, the Mana that it consumes has remained the same so that is a big thing." Aditya said while staring at the screen.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 533

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Passive Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Starlight Recovery.?

"Starlight Recovery....this is a pure healing skill." Before Aditya didn't have any healing skills. Having a skill that can heal his body would be really helpful in long battles.

?Starlight Recovery?

?4th-order Passive Skill ?

?Description: - A special passive skill that was gained due to having Void Walker class.?

?Ability 1?: - The Starlight Recovery works by using the light from distant stars to slowly heal the host's wounds. Each second the Passive skill recovers [0.5+] Health points of the Host.

?Ability 2?: - The Host can accelerate the healing speed by using Stamina Points. For [1+] Stamina point, one Health [1+] point is recovered.

?Ability 3?: - The host can use [1000+] Mana points to recover [250+] of his health or Stamina. For each use of this ability, this ability will enter into a cooldown period of 12 hours.

"Not bad....." Aditya could use the third function of this skill to bring himself back from the brink of death as long as he had [1000+] Mana points.

"Besides, every one second I am recovering [0.5+] Health points which is really nice." Aditya already had strong natural healing due to being a Divine Crimson Storm Dragon. Now adding this, his natural healing speed had gotten even stronger.

But he couldn't help but feel that the second function of this skill was really useless. Unlike his Mana, the amount of Stamina he had was not so much. Turning all of his stamina into Health points would mean he would become instantly exhausted and wouldn't have the strength to function.

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Passive Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Stellar Surge.?

?Stellar Surge?

?4th-order Passive Skill?

?Description: - A special passive skill that was gained due to having Void Walker class.?

?Ability 1?: - The host can channel the raw power of the Cosmos into a powerful energy blast. Once the skill is used, The Steller Surge skill will enter into a cooldown period of 30 days. Once the skill is used, as a use of channeling the raw power of the Cosmos, the host will become blind and lose all of his senses for 24 hours. After 24 hours, it would take another 12 hours for the host to slowly recover your senses. (The raw power of the Cosmos is extremely destructive in nature. The host is able to wield this power for having a Divine Crimson Storm Dragon Bloodline and for having Void Walker class.)

"Just what kind of destructive skill is this?" Aditya gulped and asked himself. The skill itself had a cooldown period of 30 days which was the longest cooldown period among his passive and innate skills.

"I really hope that I will never have to use this skill in my life." Aditya thought to himself.

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Innate Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Galactic Gaze.?

?Ding! The system has detected that the Host possesses a similar Passive skill, 'Fiery Eyes'. Both skills 'Galactic Gaze' and 'Fiery Eyes' will be merged into one skill. The name of the name Innate skill will be 'Stellar Inferno Sight'.?

?Stellar Inferno Sight?

?4th-order Innate Skill?

?Description: - This extraordinary skill was born from the fusion of three distinct powers: War Dancer, Rune Monarch, and Crimson Heavenly Dragon. Evolving from Lunar Vision and Fiery Vision, it gained an additional layer of depth when the host acquired the Void Walker class, merging the 'Galactic Gaze' skill with 'Fiery Eyes' to create what is now known as Stellar Inferno Sight. This skill has transcended from being merely a Passive skill to a more innate part of the host.?

?Abilities?:

?Dark Sight?: With Stellar Inferno Sight, the host gains the ability to see in complete darkness, as though it were daytime. This ability ensures that darkness is never an obstacle. Dark Sight is always passively active. The host doesn't need any Mana to use Dark Sight.

?Weak Spot Finder?: This skill allows the host to pinpoint the weaknesses of an opponent whose power level is one order above theirs. Weak Spot Finder can be passively activated whenever the host wants without needing to use any Mana.

?Truth Sense?: When using this skill, the host can instantly tell if someone is lying. A feeling in the host's heart will signal that someone is being deceitful. When using Truth Sense, it will cost [100+] Mana per second to keep the skill activated.

?Mental Fortress?: Stellar Inferno Sight provides the host with a full shield against mind-control spells and illusions cast by enemies whose powers are one order above the host. However, this resistance weakens if the enemy is significantly more powerful.

?Long-Range Sight?: This ability extends the host's vision to incredible distances. The host can see clearly up to 20 km away. The number of times Long-Ranged Sight can be used in every 24 hours is limited to 10 times. Each time using this skill is going to cost [100+] Mana peruse.

"Now I don't have to worry about being put into an illusion by 5th-order cultivators." Memories of what Vespera had done to him around 4 months back were still fresh and very clear in his mind. He was happy that he now had a resistance against illusion.

"If I could use long-ranged Sight without any limit with my Crimons Wrah Flash then it would be too overpowered." Aditya smiled. He would be able to teleport 20 km away in microseconds. But this time itself is an overpowered ability. He could chase down his enemies.

?Ding! Congratulations to the Host for receiving a New Passive Skill related to the 'Void Walker' class, Dimensional Rift.?

?Dimensional Rift?

?4th-order Passive Skill?

?Description: - A special passive skill that was gained due to having Void Walker class.?

?Ability 1?: - The Dimensional Rift lets the host open a portal to a random location in the world. Opening Dimensional Rift doesn't require any Mana. The Dimensional Rift can be used once every 15 days.

"Not bad. I can use this skill to escape if anything goes wrong." This skill had its uses. But regularly he won't be able to use this skill too much.

?Ding! Due to the Host gaining new skills and a new Mythical class, the Host's 1st mythical Class has been modified by the system.?

"How exactly my first class has been modified? Or by how much my class has changed now?" Aditya asked himself out.

?War Dancer?

?4th-order Mythical Class?

?Description: - The War Dancer is not just a warrior; they are the maestro of the battlefield, conducting a deadly dance amid the chaos of war. With precise movements and flowing agility, they turn every fight into a choreographed spectacle. Their mastery of combat is like an art form, making them both feared and respected by enemies and allies alike. The War Dancer class now has been modified by the 'Void Walker' class, infusing it with an even more extraordinary set of capabilities.?

?Passive Abilities?:

- ?Battle Grace?: The War Dancer moves with unparalleled elegance on the battlefield, making their movements difficult to predict. This grants the host an increase in evasion rate.

- ?Rhythm of War?: The host's attacks flow in a rhythmic sequence, allowing for seamless combos that deal increased damage over time.

- ?Swift Step?: The host's speed is enhanced by [15%], making quick dodges and rapid advances second nature.

- ?Heart of Valor?: The host gains increased resistance to fear-based spells and abilities, remaining steadfast where others might falter.

- ?Harmony of Elements?: The host gains an increased affinity with elemental skills, making their elemental attacks more potent.

- ?Void-Touched Agility?: Due to the influence of the 'Void Walker' class, the host can now move through short distances instantaneously as if stepping through portals.

"I really hope there won't be any other wars in the future. Since coming to this world, I have already fought so many wars. I have fought in 4 wars now. Not to mention the huge number of paperwork that comes with each work." But that didn't mean from now on Aditya's foreign policies were going to become soft to avoid war. If war is what the opponent or the other party wants, sure bring it on. Aditya isn't afraid of Anyone.

Before he needed to carefully take his next step as his political and his Empire's powers were limited. And if they weren't careful they would be defeated and killed. If the Echo Nexus Empire or the Oracle Alliance had attacked them when the Istarin Kingdom had just won against the Zulux Dynasty, then there is no way Aditya would have made it so far.

Before Aditya relied on his political insight and his knowledge but now he didn't need to do such a thing. He had the power. He could destroy any Empire within the Six Continents as long as he wanted to.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Normally it doesn't take me that much time to write one chapter. But today it took me almost 3 hours to complete this chapter. Writing descriptions for each new skill isn't easy at all.

I would really appreciate it if we could at least get 50 golden tickets.

Chapter 534

?Ding! 3rd-order innate skill Crimson Blaze has evolved into the 4th-order skill, 'Scarlet Inferno'?

"Scarlett Inferno..."

?Scarlett Inferno?

?4th-order Innate Skill?

?Description: - Evolving from Fiery Blaze, advancing to Crimson Blaze, and finally reaching the pinnacle as Scarlett Inferno, this skill grants the host unparalleled mastery over fire. The Scarlett Inferno isn't just any flame; it's counted among the most potent and destructive fires known to exist in the world.?

?Abilities : -?

?1. Mana Furnace?: Whenever the host activates this skill, it starts consuming mana at a rate of [1+] per second. The strength and scope of the fire are only limited by the host's creativity and the amount of mana they can channel.

?2. Infernal Ward?: This skill provides the host with substantial defensive capabilities. Any fire-based attack from an enemy is reduced in impact by [50%]. For those enemies at or below the 4th order of cultivation, their fire attacks become virtually ineffective against the host.

?3. Blaze Amplification?: When the host uses fire-based attacks, their potency is increased by [40%], particularly effective against beings or cultivators of 5th-order or lower.

?4. Flame Tongue?: The host gains the ability to understand and communicate with fire-based elemental beings, opening up avenues for alliances or gaining additional knowledge about fire manipulation.

?5. Molten Core?: As the host's understanding of fire deepens, they can temporarily turn their Scarlett Inferno into molten lava, giving them the ability to control not just the flames but also their liquefied form.

"Not bad...." Aditya was satisfied reading the description of Scarlett Inferno.

"Instant learning and adaptation is a skill that wouldn't be upgraded by the system even if I reach a new order. It kind of makes sense since the skill is already too powerful and allows to me basically remember anything that I see or hear or read. Using this skill, I can learn skills really fast. It kind of makes a genius." Aditya couldn't help but chuckle.

"The same is true with Dragon Transformation. The skill doesn't fall into any Order. This means the the description of Dragon Transformation will remain the same unless my bloodline evolves again which is not going to happen since my Bloodline has reached the peak already."

?Ding! Innate skill Weapon Grandmaster has been upgraded.?

?Weapon Grandmaster?

?4th-order Innate Skill ?

?Description ?: - A powerful innate skill is only given to people who have the War Dancer class.

?Ability 1?: - This skill gives the user knowledge and instant mastery over any weapon that is held by the user. Weapon Mastery increases the power of any weapon by [30%].

?Ability 2?: - Gives the host a 90% chance of dodging or landing a critical strike if the opponent is in the same order as the host. The percentage might increase or decrease depending on the level of the opponent.

Aditya noticed that even though this skill had upgraded the name of the skill hadn't changed. "I guess upgrading a skill doesn't mean that the name of the skill is also going to change."

"It's a useful skill. An increase in the power of any weapon that I wield by 30% is going to make a big difference, especially fighting against 6th-order or high-order cultivators." Aditya thought to himself.

?Ding! Passive skill Charm of Plasma and Innate skill Runic Enchantment have been merged to become an Innate skill named, 'Runic Soulforge'?

?Runic Soulforge?

?4th-order Innate Skill?

?Description: - Emerging from the fusion of two foundational skills, the Charm of Plasma and Runic Enchantment, the Runic Soulforge skill is an incredible boon for the host. Both of these foundational skills were unlocked due to the host possessing the Rune Monarch class. This merged skill provides the host with unparalleled capabilities in the realm of rune crafting and elemental manipulation.?

?Abilities?

?1. Rune Mastery?: The host gains an almost unfailing expertise in crafting 4-star rune formations. There's a 100% guarantee that any 4-star rune, artifact, weapon, or armor enchantment the host attempts will succeed. Additionally, there's a 25% chance of the host successfully crafting 5-star runes and enchantments. This makes the host a formidable rune crafter capable of imbuing objects with potent magical properties.

?2. Elemental Lexicon?: The host can now explore the deep knowledge of Elemental Runes-specifically Fire, Lightning, Storm, Magma, and Space. The host can create complex elemental rune formations or add elemental enchantments to a variety of objects and even make artifacts.

?3. Runic Insight?: The host gains a sixth sense for identifying the innate magical properties of any object, making it easier to choose the best rune combinations for enchanting purposes.

?4. Plasmic Infusion?: Tapping into the essence of the original Charm of Plasma, the host can now infuse plasma energy into their runes, supercharging them and adding an extra layer of complexity and power.

?5. Spatial Engraving?: Given their affinity for Space elements, the host can embed spatial runes onto objects to manipulate their weight, and size, or even create pocket dimensions within them.

"This skill is going to be really useful to me." Since these days Aditya is always making artifacts and drawing rune formations, just as his skill evolved, he felt as if an open door of possibilities had been opened in his mind. A door that gave him almost countless possibilities.

He couldn't wait to try drawing runes.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in," Aditya called out when he heard a knock on his door. The door creaked open, and Lara cautiously stepped inside, her eyes scanning the room curiously. Though she lived under the same roof as Aditya, this was her first time setting foot in his office.

The office was a space that Aditya considered private. When he wasn't working, he didn't let anyone in there except for Watson, who was the only one given permission to clean the space. It wasn't because Aditya had secrets to hide; rather, he often left important papers scattered across his desk and the nearby couch. He didn't like it when someone disturbed his work. Aditya had a habit of tidying up all the papers once he was finished with his work, and he preferred to work alone.

Spotting Lara, Aditya looked up from his desk and greeted her warmly. "Lara, what brings you here?" he asked, his face breaking into a smile.

"Husband, it's time to stop working. Dinner's ready," Lara gently reminded him.

It was only at that moment that Aditya realized time had slipped away from him. So engrossed was he in reviewing his various skills that he hadn't noticed the sun setting outside the window. Dinner time had arrived without him even realizing it.

"Wow, I totally lost track of time. Dinner already, huh?" Aditya said, scratching the back of his head as he stood up from his desk. He stretched his arms wide, trying to shake off the stiffness that had settled in his body from hours of sitting.

"Husband, you are working too much," Lara said, her eyes filling with sadness as she looked down at the floor. "We hardly see you anymore. You're always busy."

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Aditya quickly wrapped his arms around Lara's petite frame, pulling her into a comforting hug. "I'm really sorry, Lara. There's just so much stuff that needs to get done. If I don't take care of it, bad things could happen to a lot of people. It's my job as the leader to make sure everything's okay."

All week long, Aditya had been burning the candle at both ends, giving up sleep to focus on his work. The only breaks he took were for meals, and even those were often rushed. Family time had become a rare luxury, something he knew he couldn't keep sacrificing.

If it hadn't been for Simon's evil plans, Aditya's workload wouldn't be this crazy. Because of Simon, millions of those dangerous Soul-Devouring Spiders invaded, and so many people lost their lives. On top of that, he messed up the whole Mana density in the Southern Empire of the Dying Isle Continent, making everything even more tricky. And let's not forget, he wiped out an entire city. All this forced Aditya to step up the safety measures for all the cities in his Empire. He didn't want anything like this to happen again.

So now, he was buried in work, dealing with the fallout. As the leader, it was his job to make the army stronger and keep everyone in the Empire safe.

Trying to ease Lara's worries, Aditya looked into her eyes. "It's okay, you know. I'm almost done with all this work. Tomorrow, I've got a big talk with our friends who help us out, our allies. But once that's over, I'll mostly be free." Smiling, he leaned in and planted a kiss on each of her cheeks. Lara's face lit up with happiness, a clear sign she was looking forward to spending more time with him.

"Let's go." Taking Lara's hand both of them walked to the dining hall.

Aditya wasn't the first to arrive. Others were already there, sitting and waiting. But today was not like any other day. They had a very special visitor from another empire, the Deep Sea Palace Empire. The lady in charge of that place, Empress Laura, had come to visit. And she didn't come alone; her maid Kate was with her too.

Lilith took the lead in making introductions. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Laura. She's the big boss of the Deep Sea Palace Empire," she said, making sure to introduce Laura to everyone in the room. Some people had already met with Laura. Julia, for example, had met her ages ago. Back when Aditya and Julia were enjoying their date Laura interrupted them. Alicia caught a glimpse of her once when she got back home after a long, tiring day. But for Riya and a few others, this was their first time seeing Laura.

The person who looked the most shocked to see Laura was none other than Sasha. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she seemed almost speechless.

"So you're Sasha? This is what you look like?" Laura said, her face lit up with a welcoming smile.

"It's great to meet you," Laura continued, her smile staying in place.

However, Sasha looked more than just a little uneasy. She actually looked kind of guilty. Just a few months ago, she had been on a mission to try and kill Laura. And she would have, if it weren't for Aditya stepping in to stop her. Sasha never thought that she would end up face-to-face with Laura again. Back when she made those attempts on Laura's life, she was wearing a disguise.

Feeling the tension, Sasha managed to muster a response. "It's good to meet you too. I'm Sasha," she said, offering a nod in Laura's direction.

While this strange exchange was going on, Riya, Alicia, Julia, Lara, and the rest of the gang were left scratching their heads. They couldn't help but wonder what could have possibly happened between Sasha and Laura in the past. Julia glanced over at Aditya. Seeing him just sitting there, calmly munching on his food, she got the sense that he probably knew what was up.

Catching on to everyone's puzzled looks, Lilith couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle as she continued to enjoy her meal.

Sylvie calmly looked at Lilith and Aditya's faces and thought. 'I have a feeling that there is a really interesting story between the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace and the strongest assassin in the whole world. I have to approach Lilith to get to know what happened.' Sylvie loved drama. She could smell a Big Drama between Laura and Sasha.

Aria also looked thoughtful. While Spencer completely ignored the situation and focused on his food. He wasn't interested. He wanted to finish eating dinner early and spent time with his lover Aria.

As for Leo and Clara both of them were clueless.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 535

As soon as dinner was over, Leo and Clara headed back to their rooms to hit the books. They had some studying to do. Meanwhile, the rest of the family and their guests settled down in the cozy living room.

The air was thick with curiosity, and Sylvie couldn't hold back any longer. She finally blurted out the question that had been on everyone's mind: "Have Laura and Sasha met each other before?"

Aditya chose his words carefully, not wanting to dive into the touchy details. "Well, let's just say that Sasha and Laura weren't exactly friends before. They had some issues due to a misunderstanding," he explained, purposefully keeping it vague. He knew Sasha wouldn't be too keen on rehashing the past; she wasn't proud of what she had done.

Catching Aditya's careful wording, Sasha shot him a thankful nod. She was grateful he hadn't spilled the beans. The rest of the group picked up on this silent exchange and chose to let the subject drop. It was clear that neither Sasha nor Laura wanted to dwell on their complicated history, and everyone else respected that.

Laura sat comfortably on the plush couch, her eyes sweeping over the room. She took in the appearances of Julia, Alicia, Riya, Lara, Sylvie, Lilith, and Sasha. Each one of these women was strikingly beautiful. Four of them were even called as goddesses. From her observations so far, it seemed that not just the four official fiancées but also Sylvie, Lilith, and Sasha had more than a passing interest in Aditya.

"So, Aditya, is this what they call a one-man show with an all-star cast?" Laura quipped, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I mean, it's almost like you're holding auditions for a romantic blockbuster here."

Aditya chuckled, picking up on her banter. "Ah, you've got it all wrong. This isn't a blockbuster; it's a long-running series with a dedicated fan base," he shot back jokingly. "You know, it takes a village to keep up with all the drama and plot twists."

Laura grinned, satisfied with his playful reply. The room felt lighter as if everyone had been waiting for just that kind of easygoing exchange to break the ice.

Laura leaned forward, genuinely curious. "So how did each of you come into Aditya's life? I'm sure you all have fascinating tales to tell."

Julia was the first to respond, her eyes glowing with the memory. "I was his maid for two and a half years. During that time, he was quite a different man. He was an alcoholic and not very responsible. But then, one day, like a switch flipped, he changed for the better." She paused for a moment, thinking back to that transformative day when Aditya became a devoted king and a caring husband. "From that moment on, our lives took a turn for the better, and he became the man he is today."

Alicia chimed in next, leaning back in her chair. "Well, I first met Aditya when I was hiding my face under a veil. I had come to the Istarin Empire to talk about expanding the Seekers of Impurity Guild. At that time, I had heard stories of his changes and wanted to see for myself." Her voice took on a tone of admiration. "And it turns out, the rumors were true. Not only has he changed himself, but he has also managed to grow his kingdom into this massive empire."

Sylvie, Alicia's best friend, couldn't help but grin as she began to speak. "I first crossed paths with Aditya when he returned home with Alicia to meet her family." She paused, her eyes sparkling. "I remember that day like it was yesterday. Everything about it is imprinted in my memory, crystal clear."

Riya was the next to share her story, her face taking on a warm, nostalgic expression. "Well, Alicia and I already knew each other. We had met a few times for various reasons. One day, she called me to help with healing someone who had a really bad scar on their eye. When I got there, it turned out the person was none other than Aditya." She chuckled softly. "It's kind of funny how life works out like that. But even before all of that, Aditya and I go way back. We were childhood friends, you know. We used to play together all the time."

Lara spoke up next, explaining her unique situation in a careful manner. "As for Lara, well, Lara was in a very deep sleep before meeting her husband. Lara's parents had put Lara to sleep. Lara's parents made sure that Lara didn't age while sleeping for more than 1,000 years. Then Lara's husband, Aditya, came along and woke Lara up." She chose not to delve too deeply into the finer details, keeping her explanation simple and straightforward.

Finally, Sasha cleared her throat, sharing her own story which had a more complicated beginning. "I first encountered Aditya because of a really big mess. One of the assassins from my organization broke the rules and decided to take on a job to kill Aditya. The job came from the Echo Nexus empire."

Riya was the next to share her story, her face taking on a warm, nostalgic expression. "Well, Alicia and I already knew each other. We had met a few times for various reasons. One day, she called me to help with healing someone who had a really bad scar on their eye. When I got there, it turned out the person was none other than Aditya." She chuckled softly. "It's kind of funny how life works out like that. But even before all of that, Aditya and I go way back. We were childhood friends, you know. We used to play together all the time."

Lara spoke up next, explaining her unique situation in a careful manner. "As for Lara, well, Lara was in a very deep sleep before meeting her husband. Someone had put Lara into a sleep so deep that Lara didn't age at all. Then Lara's husband, Aditya, came along and woke Lara up." She chose not to delve too deeply into the finer details, keeping her explanation simple and straightforward.

Finally, Sasha cleared her throat, sharing her own story which had a more complicated beginning. "I first encountered Aditya because of a really big mess. One of the assassins from my organization broke the rules and decided to take on a job to kill Aditya. The job came from the Echo Nexus empire." She took a deep breath before continuing. "The funny thing is, when we first met, I told him straight up that I wasn't interested. I said not to bother me or look for me. But as it turns out, life has a way of surprising you. In the end, I was the one who fell for him."

Laura's eyes then shifted to Lilith, who was sitting comfortably on the couch. "And what about you, Aunt Lilith?" Laura decided to use 'Aunt' as a term of respect since Lilith was Sasha's mom.

Lilith smiled warmly at Laura and responded, "Oh, Laura, you can just call me Lilith. There's no need for formalities here."

Lilith took a moment to glance over at Aditya before continuing her story. "Well, the first time I actually met Aditya, he was not doing well at all. My daughter Sasha was the one who led me to him." She paused for effect, making sure she had everyone's attention. "You see, he was caught in a really scary mind trick. He was on his way back to his home, the Istarin Empire, when he was attacked. The person behind the attack was an old witch named Vespera who had been around for hundreds of years."

Laura leaned back in her chair, intrigued by yet another remarkable tale connected to Aditya. "Wow, that's... really interesting," she remarked, her voice filled with genuine curiosity.

"Aditya, I heard you've broke into beginner 4th-order. You must be really strong now. I mean, when you were just at the 3rd-order beginner level, you could already go up against someone at the top level of the 5th-order. I can only guess how much stronger you've gotten," Laura respected Aditya's strength. Sometimes she even felt jealous about the fact that he was the Emperor of the Istarin Empire. In her mind, she couldn't help but think how things would have been different if Aditya had been part of her Deep Sea Palace Empire. If that had been the case, he might have been the leader there, doing her job. In Laura's mind, Aditya was more capable than her.

Aditya smiled modestly. "Well, I'm not exactly sure how strong I am now, but I did manage to beat someone who was at the top level of the 6th-order recently."

Laura's eyes widened a bit. She was intrigued by his rapid progress. "That's really amazing. So, do you have any thoughts about going to the Main continent? You know, once you reach the 5th-order beginner level?" She had heard that Aditya skyrocketed from 1st-order to 4th-order in a year, so she figured it wouldn't be long—maybe just another 6 to 12 months—before he hit that next milestone. The main continent had more resources than the 6 continents combined. The Main Continent was a dream of many cultivators.

As Laura's question hung in the air, all eyes in the room turned to Aditya. He took a moment to think before nodding his head. "Yes, I've been thinking about going to the Main continent. There are some matters I need to take care of there."

In his mind, Aditya knew he could go back to the Main continent anytime he wished, given that he was born there. But the thought of it didn't excite him. His own parents had cast him aside and disowned him. He didn't feel any emotional pull to go back and see them. Truth be told, if something were to happen to his parents, he wouldn't be bothered at all. He had found a new family in his current empire, and he was determined to keep them safe and happy.

The real reason he contemplated going back to the Main continent was to deal with a certain troublesome group. This organization had been a thorn in his side for a long while, sending strong members to make trouble for him and his empire. He had had enough. His plan was to send Nathan, once he reached the beginner level of the 5th-order in his skills, to the Main continent first. Nathan would gather all the information Aditya needed to finally put an end to the group's meddling.

"This isn't important. What about you, Laura? How are you tackling the situation to end racism and discrimination between the Merfolks and other sea races?" The Merfolk were given the privilege in the Deep Sea Palace while other races that lived in the Empire were always facing racism and discrimination. Merfolks were always given more opportunities in every field. If the Deep Sea Palace wanted to move toward then as its ruler Laura would need to end these issues.

"I am working on it but to be honest, it's difficult." Laura sighed feeling slightly depressed thinking about the current situation in her Empire.

"What happened?" Alicia asked.

"The thing is, the society of the Deep Sea Palace is very different. Not everyone is given equal rights. Merfolks are always given all opportunities and priorities. Racism and discrimination are extremely common. As a result of this Merfolks stands at the top of the society while other races have to live beneath them. This is especially true for the Sea elves who are at the very bottom of society. The Sea Elves are treated like slaves. Even other races treat them horribly." Aditya replied in place of Laura. Since he had been to the Deep Sea Palace, he had seen how worse the whole situation was.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 536

"You know, the Deep Sea Palace is a really unfair place," Aditya began, choosing his words carefully. "It's like, the Merfolks get all the good stuff, all the chances, and everyone else just has to deal with it. There's a lot of treating people badly based on what race they are. Merfolks are always on top, while other races, like Sea Elves, are at the bottom."

As he spoke, Aditya remembered his own experience visiting the Deep Sea Palace. The unfairness was not just a story; he had seen it with his own eyes. The situation was truly terrible for those not born as Merfolks.

"But wait, there's more," Laura took over and continued. "The Deep Sea Palace might seem really strong, both in how it's run and its fighting forces. But here's the thing: that power isn't really all mine. It's spread out among a bunch of strong clans, important families, and groups that have been around for a long time. And my grip on that power? It's not that strong. If all these strong and important people got together against me, I could be kicked out of my position really fast."

Laura crossed her arms, pressing them against her chest as she leaned back slightly. "Look, from what my undercover agents have found out, a lot of these big-name families and groups don't like me being in charge. See, they're all stuck in their old ways of thinking. They're so full of themselves that they can't see how some of their old-fashioned rules are actually making things worse, not better."

Laura paused, taking in the room to gauge reactions. "Here in the Deep Sea Palace, I'm pretty well-known for wanting to shake things up. I want to get rid of some of the outdated ways we do things and bring in some new ideas. That's putting me on a collision course with these powerful folks. Sooner or later, they're gonna try to get rid of me. They might even try to kill me or start a big fight against my rule. I've been careful not to give them a reason to turn on me, but realistically speaking sooner or later, they'll find some excuse." This was a clash of ideals. While Laura wanted change, they wanted to keep their old ways. A clash between the two sides was inevitable.

Laura took a deep breath before dropping another piece of alarming news. "And as if that's not bad enough, one of the empires next door is thinking about attacking us. My spies have told me they're getting ready for war."

The room went quiet, everyone absorbing the weight of Laura's words. She wasn't just up against problems from within her own empire, but also threats from the outside. If all these issues came to a head at the same time, the whole Deep Sea Palace could fall apart.

Alicia tilted her head, trying to choose her words carefully. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but with everything so shaky back home, shouldn't you be there to keep things calm?"

Laura nodded, appreciating the concern. "I get where you're coming from. But right now, the people I've put in charge are following my instructions to get ready for war. I think it's more important to first deal with the threats from outside our borders. Then, once that's sorted, I'll turn my focus to the mess inside the empire. I'm working on getting stronger, too. The moment I feel like I've got enough power, you better believe I'm going to clean house and get rid of all the bad stuff dragging us down."

Aditya listened intently and couldn't help but be amazed by Laura's level-headed approach. Even when facing so many problems, she seemed to have a good handle on things. "Laura, I've got to say, I'm really impressed with how you've thought all this through. If you ever need help, just say the word. We're on the same team, after all."

Aditya knew this situation wasn't one you could just muscle through. If that was possible, Laura could've just hired some tough guys to get rid of all those powerful families and factions who were giving her a hard time. But that would be a bad move. Those families and factions have a lot of say in how things go, both in politics and the military. Wiping them out would throw the whole empire into chaos.

"One reason I'm here is to make my Alliance with the Istarin Empire stronger. If I can officially become part of The Triumvirate Alliance, the outside enemies might think twice before attacking us," Laura explained, a thoughtful look on her face.

Riya raised an eyebrow. "But, don't you think that the powerful families and groups back home might get mad if you do that? Worst case, they might even turn against you."

Laura gave a half-smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Well, what other options do I have? If I just sit back and do nothing, my empire will be too weak to defend itself."

Julia then chimed in, "Why not ask these families and groups to share their armies with you? They've got lots of resources."

Laura sighed before answering, "To really understand that, you'd need to know more about how things work in the Deep Sea Palace. From the start, a lot of folks weren't happy about me becoming the leader. I earned my spot by winning a tournament, fair and square. But even after I took charge, I've tried to get help from these families and groups. They've pretty much just ignored me."

In her voice, one could hear the weight of the unspoken struggles and conflicts that she'd been facing ever since she took the throne. Laura had tried to reach out for help, but it was like talking to a wall; no one seemed to be listening.

"Because of this, I can't implement any of the policies that I had thought of before becoming the Empress. I was planning on changing the policies and laws of the Empire to give equal rights to all races but now I have to put that on hold." Everyone felt bad for Laura. She was under so much pressure from all sides

Scene change

Next day,

"It's really good to see you again, Your Majesty," said Daxton Ferguson with a warm smile. He was the Emperor of the Echo Dominion Empire.

Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, returned the smile and shook Daxton's hand firmly. "The pleasure is all mine, Daxton. Welcome to the Istarin Empire. I hope your journey here was smooth?"

"Very much so, thank you for asking," Daxton replied. "Your lands always offer a kind of peace I don't find elsewhere."

Just then, Aidan, the King of the Hephaestus Kingdom, walked up to join them. "Aditya, Daxton, it's has been a while since we last met," He said, extending his hands for hearty handshakes with both men.

Aditya greeted Aidan warmly, "Aidan, it's great to see you. How have things been in the Hephaestus Kingdom?"

Aidan chuckled, "Busy as always, but we're managing thanks to all the supper you and Daxton have provided to my Kingdom. How about you? How is everything going well in your Empire?" Aidan was asking about the aftermath of the things that Simon did.

"Thanks to the hard work of everyone, we're doing quite well," Aditya humbly replied.

"Please follow me," Aditya said, turning to lead the way down a corridor adorned with complicated designs. Aidan and Daxton followed closely behind, their Prime Ministers followed them at a respectful distance.

They finally reached a set of grand doors, which Aditya opened, revealing the meeting room inside. At the center of the room stood a square-shaped wooden table, carved with elaborate designs. There were four chairs placed around the table, each one cushioned and ornately decorated. The moonstones hanging from the ceiling were casting a soft, ethereal light throughout the room. These stones shined just like the moon and gave off a calming aura.

"Please, have a seat."

The three leaders sat around the square table, their Prime Ministers taking up positions a little behind them.

"Shall we begin?" Aditya asked, looking at both Aidan and Daxton.

"Yes, let's get down to business," Aidan replied, settling into his chair.

Daxton nodded in agreement, "Absolutely, there's much to discuss."

"I appreciate you both taking the time to join this sudden meeting, especially knowing how busy your schedules must be," Aditya began, glancing at the two other rulers. "I know that meetings like this are usually planned well in advance, and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused in your daily plans."

"No need to apologize, Your Majesty," Daxton responded, his face breaking into a friendly smile. "We know that you wouldn't have called this meeting if it wasn't really important."

"I agree with Daxton," Aidan chimed in, nodding his head. "Important matters like these deserve quick action. So don't worry about it."

"Thank you both for your understanding," Aditya said, feeling relieved. "That brings me to the main topic of our discussion today. What are your thoughts on the idea of bringing the Deep Sea Palace Empire into our Triumvirate Alliance?"

This was a sensitive topic. Being part of an alliance meant you had to weigh everyone's thoughts and opinions. He couldn't just make a decision without consulting them; doing so would only create tension and mistrust within their partnership. Aditya looked at both Aidan and Daxton, eager to hear their thoughts.

"I appreciate your openness, Aidan," Aditya began, taking in Aidan's words carefully. "I do understand that the idea of having an empire from the ocean join forces with land-based empires is new and could ruffle some feathers. Historically, the ocean empires have kept to themselves, living underwater and minding their own business. They've got different races like Sea Elves and Merfolks. Whenever they've interacted with the land empires, it's usually been met with some sort of disapproval from their fellow oceanic kingdoms."

Then, turning his attention to Daxton, Aditya asked, "What are your thoughts on this, Daxton?"

"I don't have a problem with adding more allies either," Daxton replied, his face becoming more serious. "But I want to know if we can trust the Deep Sea Palace. Our alliance, after all, is built on a foundation of trust. We help each other out when times are hard. So, I'm curious about how much we can count on them. Are they reliable? What are your feelings on this?"

Aditya considered Daxton's point carefully. It was true, their alliance was not just a simple agreement on paper; it was built on mutual trust and the promise of support in difficult times. Adding a new member would only be beneficial if that trust could be upheld.

"Your concerns are valid, Daxton," Aditya finally said. "Trust is indeed the cornerstone of our alliance. And that's why we need to be really sure about who we bring into our fold. But I believe that the Deep Sea Palace, despite its internal issues, can be a trustworthy ally. Of course, it would require some discussions and agreements to make sure everyone's on the same page."

"On a side note, I personally known Laura for a long time. Even before she became the ruler of the Deep Sea Palace, we had met several times. I know that I can trust her. Furthermore, even before The Triumvirate Alliance was formed, we already had agreed to officially become allies once she ascended the throne."

Listening to Aditya's words, both Daxton and Aidan exchanged glances. Both were caught off guard by the news that Aditya had known Laura for quite some time. It was unexpected but it certainly helped tip the scales in favor of bringing the Deep Sea Palace into their alliance.

"If you, Aditya, have known Laura for that long, then that changes things," Daxton said, nodding his head. "Knowing someone personally means there's a level of trust that can't easily be replicated. So if you vouch for her, I don't see why we should hesitate."

Aidan chimed in, also nodding, "I agree with Daxton. Personal relationships are really important when it comes to trust. If you're saying that Laura is trustworthy, then that's good enough for me."

Daxton then added, "Then let's go ahead and welcome her and her empire into our alliance. It sounds like the Deep Sea Palace could be a strong and reliable partner."

Both Daxton and Aidan looked at Aditya, their faces showing that they were in complete agreement. "We're ready to welcome them with open arms, as long as you believe it's the right move," Aidan concluded.

Aditya felt a sense of relief wash over him. Having the backing of both Daxton and Aidan was crucial. With their support, the Deep Sea Palace's inclusion in their alliance would go a long way in cementing their collective strength. And perhaps, it could be the key to overcoming the numerous challenges they were all bound to face.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 537

"Since we are letting the Deep Sea Palace Empire join our Alliance, on that note, why not let The Storm Isle Dynasty and The Thera Kingdom join the Alliance? I mean way before The Triumvirate Alliance was even made, I had formed an Alliance with them. It wasn't just a simple Alliance rather we signed an FTA between our borders to facilitate trade and eliminate trade barriers."

"The Triumvirate Alliance was made between the Empires of the Northwest region. It's about time we changed that status. The Triumvirate Alliance won't be just an alliance between the Northwest region but would also include other Kingdoms and Empires from other regions and continents." Aditya suggested this change.

"Then we would need to change the name of our Alliance as well." Daxton and Aidan were with Aditya in this change. Letting more members join the Alliance wasn't going to harm their Empires in any way.

Even before The Triumvirate Alliance was a thing, The Storm Isle Dynasty and The Thera Kingdom had already been good friends with Aditya's Istarin Empire. In fact, they liked the idea of the alliance so much that they had sent formal letters asking if they could join in. But Aditya had a lot on his plate and couldn't give them a clear answer right away. He had been swamped with other big tasks and just didn't have the time to focus on expanding the alliance.

Just then, the huge metal doors of the meeting room creaked open. All eyes turned toward the entrance as Laura, the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace, made her way in. She was about to become the newest member of this growing alliance, and the room seemed to sense the weight of the moment.

Following behind Laura was Watson, the top butler in the Istarin Empire. Aditya had told Watson to guide Laura to the meeting room and make sure she felt comfortable. Watson did his job well; he walked her over to her seat and then moved the chair back so she could easily sit down.

Watson's manners were perfect, as always, and he made a small bow before stepping back to let Laura take her seat. With her arrival, it seemed like the alliance was truly entering a new chapter, one full of new friends and bigger opportunities.

"Let me introduce you all to our newest member, the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace—Laura," Aditya announced, sweeping his hand in her direction. As he said her name, every head in the room turned toward her, and polite nods were exchanged.

Aidan found himself especially interested as his eyes met Laura's. Truth be told, he was still a bachelor, mostly because running a kingdom kept him too busy to find a queen. But as he looked at Laura, he felt something stir inside him.

She was breathtaking. Laura had deep blue eyes that seemed like they held the mysteries of the ocean. Her long silver-white hair cascaded down to her waist, framing her face perfectly. A few stray bangs covered her forehead, adding to her allure. Her ears were adorned with blood-drop earrings, enhancing her already captivating appearance. Dressed in a long white gown that enveloped her entire figure, she emanated the grace and allure of a mature woman, commanding attention without demanding it.

At that moment, Aidan couldn't help but consider what his life could be like with someone as striking as Laura by his side. He caught himself thinking, 'Could she be the one?' For the first time in a long while, the concept of marrying for love, and not just alliance or convenience, crossed his mind. With her entry into the alliance now made official, who knows what possibilities the future could bring? 'Perhaps...' Aidan mused to himself, his eyes still discreetly fixed on Laura.

"Hello, everyone. I'm truly honored to now officially be part of the Triumvirate Alliance," Laura spoke up, her voice imbued with a gentle confidence. Her words seemed to flow like a melodious song, and she had this aura of power around her that was impossible to ignore. Even as she moved or spoke, there was a certain grace about her, an elegant softness that was captivating. Everyone in the room felt instantly drawn to her; it was as if she had some kind of special charm.

"My friends, Laura and I go way back. I had the chance to visit her empire just a few months ago," Aditya chimed in. He wanted to emphasize his friendship with Laura. The point was to let Aidan and Daxton understand that Laura was not a pushover; she was someone to be respected, especially because she had his backing.

Aidan, who had been particularly enchanted by Laura, saw this as an opportunity to chime in. "Your Majesty, I've heard a lot about the Deep Sea Palace and always wanted to visit. Maybe now, with this new alliance, I'll finally get the chance," he said, a noticeably warm tone to his words.

It was clear Aidan was more than just a bit interested in Laura. The way he spoke, the change in his body language—all signs pointed to an increased level of enthusiasm when it came to her. His shoulders seemed less stiff, and his eyes held a certain sparkle as if he was truly excited by the prospect of getting to know her better.

Laura noticed Aidan's overt interest, and while it was flattering, she had to manage his expectations. "Your Majesty, I must apologize. I've only recently taken on the role of Empress, and there are many issues back home that I need to settle before I can extend an official invitation to you."

Aidan, though visibly disappointed, tried to mask it with a courteous smile. "That's completely understandable, Your Majesty. The responsibilities of ruling are never-ending, aren't they?"

Even as he said this, Aidan couldn't help but try to keep the conversation going. "If you don't mind me asking, what's it like, ruling an underwater empire? The concept is so different from anything we have on land."

Laura picked up on Aidan's attempts at small talk, but she wasn't interested in prolonging the chat for its own sake. However, she remained polite. "Well, the dynamics are certainly different, but the essence of leadership remains the same — to govern wisely and justly. The ocean has its own set of challenges, as I'm sure the land does too."

Aidan wasn't easily discouraged. "Certainly, I couldn't agree more. Governance is a heavy burden, no matter where you are. Maybe once things settle down, you could educate me on marine governance over dinner sometime?"

Laura heard the invitation but had no intention of making commitments. "That's a kind offer, Your Majesty. I'll consider it once things are more stable in my Empire."

She answered more out of diplomatic courtesy than any real interest. Her focus was on the matters at hand — the new alliance and the welfare of her people. Aidan was polite and engaging, but her priorities were clear. Even in the midst of royal alliances and diplomatic talks, she remained steadfast, her attention never straying far from her ultimate responsibilities.

While Laura acknowledged Aidan's good looks and royal status — traits that many women might find alluring — she held herself to different criteria. She was, after all, the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace, a position that came with its own set of requirements for a life partner. Laura was a proud woman. She wanted her husband to be equally intelligent as her.

As charming as Aidan might be, he just didn't check off those boxes for her. More than that, the idea of 'love at first sight' seemed like a fairytale she couldn't afford to indulge in.

Her gaze discreetly shifted to Aditya, the man who had been her pillar of strength during some of her weakest moments. He had been there for her when she felt vulnerable, offering support and companionship. There was an emotional connection with Aditya that she hadn't experienced with anyone else, and it made her heart waver.

As her eyes met Aditya's, a stream of thoughts rushed through her mind. 'Aditya already has many wives; there's no room for me in his life. And even if there was, what would become of my own empire if I left to join his? Our responsibilities are too big, our worlds too different. He can't abandon his empire and his many commitments for me, just as I can't leave my people and my position behind for him. These feelings I have for Aditya, they'll have to stay locked away, deep in my heart, unspoken and unrealized.'

Laura shook off these thoughts, reminding herself to stay focused. Now wasn't the time for what-ifs; it was a moment for diplomatic decisions and alliance discussions. But even so, the unspoken emotions lingered in her heart, adding a bittersweet undertone to the meeting's proceedings.

"Let's get back to business, shall we? Laura, you're not the only new face we're welcoming today. We've got plans to add a couple more kingdoms to our Alliance," Aditya announced. Laura felt a momentary jolt of surprise but kept her face calm and simply nodded in response.

"We're also going to need to come up with a new name for our Alliance," Aditya continued, "since there'll be more than three members now."

The meeting went on, stretching for another few hours. Points were raised, discussions were had, and decisions were taken. Finally, as the clock signaled that they had been at it for almost four hours, Aditya wrapped up the session.

"Alright, everyone, let's call it a day. Tomorrow, we'll be having another meeting to officially bring the Thera Kingdom and the Storm Isle Dynasty into the fold. We'll also finalize a new name for our Alliance then. As for today's developments, including Laura's joining, we'll keep it under wraps. We'll make a big public announcement tomorrow when the other kingdoms are officially part of the Alliance too." Feeling the weight of the day's discussions slowly lift, everyone got up from their chairs. The day had been long, and tomorrow was going to be just as important.

"Your Majesty, I must be going now," Daxton said, getting up from his chair. Without waiting for a prolonged farewell, he headed out of the room, his steps echoing softly as he disappeared down the corridor.

Aidan, however, lingered a bit longer. Turning his attention toward Laura, he offered her an inviting smile. "Your Majesty, we wrapped up the meeting a bit earlier than expected. Since it's about time for lunch, would you be interested in coming over to my kingdom? We could have a meal together, and I could give you a little tour."

At this, Aditya, who was about to make his way out, paused in his tracks. He felt a twinge of discomfort at Aidan's attempt to cozy up to Laura. Instead of exiting, he decided to stay a bit longer to hear what Laura would say.

Laura picked up on the tension in the room, but her face remained impassive. "Your Majesty, I appreciate the invitation. However, I've already made some plans for lunch today," she replied, her tone full of grace but firmly declining the offer. She didn't elaborate further, letting her polite but clear refusal hang in the air.

She didn't want Aidan to misunderstand and think that just because she was being polite, she was interested in him.

Aditya, who had been silently observing, couldn't help but feel relieved at Laura's response. Though he didn't show it, he just left without saying a single word.

Aidan looked slightly disappointed in hearing Laura's comment. But he didn't think too much about it. After all, it was very possible that a busy person like Laura already has made other plans.

"Then we can try tomorrow or maybe next time." Hearing this Laura's right eye twitched. For a second she doubted if this man was an idiot or too innocent. She clearly told him through her actions that she wasn't interested in him.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 538

Laura's POV______

Laura felt exhausted as she exited the meeting room. Fortunately, the meeting was a success.

Sigh!

'I hope Aidan will give up.' Laura felt tired of dealing with Aidan. Aidan has been nothing but a headache.

About half an hour after the meeting ended, Laura found herself at the dining table where Aditya's family had gathered for lunch. She noticed that two seats were empty. Aditya's adopted brother and sister, Clara and Leo, were still in school and couldn't join them.

As she sat down, a thought crossed her mind. 'The schools here in the Istarin Empire are so good. I really need to start some schools in my own Empire too. I want everyone, not just the rich, to be able to read and write and have a chance at a better life.'

Back in the Deep Sea Palace, education was a luxury, mostly only for the wealthy. Families with money would hire private teachers to educate their kids. This meant that many people, especially those who didn't have much money, didn't get the chance to learn. If you weren't educated, it was hard to find good work or make a better life for yourself.

For wealthy families, even if just one child took over the family business or land, the other children had choices. They could use their learning to go into business, or they could try to become Knights or do other jobs that needed special skills. More often than not, those who didn't take over the family wealth became businesspeople.

Sitting there, surrounded by Aditya's family, Laura felt a strong determination. She wanted to make changes in her Empire. She wanted to give everyone, regardless of their birth or wealth, the chance to learn and grow. And for that, she knew she had to bring education to the Deep Sea Palace. If the people were educated in the long term this would greatly benefit the Empire. Everyone would get equal opportunities and tools to start in their life regardless of their backgrounds.

Laura glanced around the table, her eyes lingering on the empty chair where Aditya should have been. "Is Aditya not joining us?" she asked, a little surprised by his absence.

Watson, Aditya's dependable butler, was busy setting dishes on the table. He paused to answer Laura's question. "His Majesty has some important tasks to attend to, so he won't be able to join us for lunch today."

"I see," Laura responded, her eyes dropping to her plate for a moment. She had always thought that Aditya led a pretty easygoing life, but being around him in his daily environment had shown her just how packed his schedule really was.

She took a quick look at Aditya's family members around the table. By their expressions, she could tell that this wasn't anything new for them. They seemed used to Aditya missing meals, something that suggested the weight of his responsibilities.

Julia, noticing Laura's curiosity, chimed in. "Don't worry about Aditya, Laura. If he's skipping lunch, it usually means he's deep into something really important. My guess is he's either crafting some magical item or busy with rune drawings."

Hearing Julia's words, Laura nodded. It appeared that Aditya's life wasn't as laid-back as she had initially thought. The responsibility he held as the Emperor of an empire seemed to come with sacrifices, even simple ones like missing a family meal. It made her respect him all the more.

"So, how did your meeting go?" Alicia asked, a look of genuine curiosity lighting up her face.

"It went as planned," Laura responded, her face breaking into a warm, lovely smile.

Taking a moment to elaborate, Laura shared that another meeting was scheduled for the next day. She didn't explicitly say it, but everyone around the table seemed to understand that this meant she would be staying with them for one more day at least.

Julia, always so friendly and welcoming, spoke up. "Laura, if you're interested, I could show you around Azure City tomorrow."

"Would that be okay?" Laura questioned. "I mean, don't you have other things to handle?"

"Don't worry about it," Julia assured her, smiling. "I've decided to take a day off tomorrow. My sister Paige can look after things while I'm away."

Laura nodded in agreement, touched by Julia's generosity.

Turning to Alicia, Julia asked, "How about you, Alicia? Would you like to come along?"

Alicia's face took on a regretful expression. "I wish I could join you, but I've got to visit one of my warehouses. There have been some issues there recently. Besides, I'm also planning to expand my business, and I don't think it's something I can just leave to my staff right now. So, I'll have to pass. You two should have a good time, though."

Laura listened intently to the exchange between Julia and Alicia. She couldn't help but marvel at the warm, sisterly relationship that existed between them. Despite being engaged to the same man, there was no hint of jealousy or competition between them. They acted like real sisters, supporting one another and sharing their lives openly. This had caught Laura's attention ever since she had moved in to stay with them, and she found it truly remarkable.

'Wow, Aditya's fiances are all so different from each other,' Laura thought to herself as she looked around the table. 'Julia is like the super nice and caring older sister who's always looking out for everyone. She's like the glue that holds the family together. Then there's Alicia. She's really smart, kind, and sometimes likes to make fun of people, especially Riya. It's so funny to watch them argue about silly things. Their playful banter keeps everyone entertained.'

'And Riya,' she continued her inner dialogue, 'She is slightly obsessive with Aditya. But she's also super kind and always looking out for everyone's best interests. Lara is another story. She's really shy and doesn't talk much, but when she does, she is being honest. It's sweet.'

'As for Sasha, she might seem a little standoffish and tough on the outside, but she's got a good heart. She's just a bit guarded, that's all. Lilith, who is her mother, is the total opposite. She's clever, loves to tease people, and has a mature way about her. Given that she's a Succubus, she also has this playful, slightly naughty side that adds a spark to the group.'

'Last but not least, there's Sylvie. She's a dark elf who's obsessed with bread and drama. She even likes to stir the pot sometimes, just to keep things exciting around here.'

'Each one of them is so unique,' Laura mused, 'It's really amazing how they all bring something different to the table, yet they get along so well. It makes this family really special.'

"Laura, you haven't met Amber, have you?" Julia asked.

'Julia just mentioned a name I've been hearing quite a lot since I got here. Amber,' Laura thought to herself as she shook her head. "No, I haven't had the chance to meet her yet," she answered Julia. She had noticed that Amber's name kept coming up during the girls' conversations. It was clear that Amber had a special place in this family, being mentioned so often.

"First thing we'll do, then, is introduce you to her," Julia said, her eyes lighting up. "Amber is a really nice person, and I'm pretty sure you're going to like her a lot. She knows Azure City inside and out, so she can give us a great tour." Julia shared that Amber was not just her best friend but also one of the high-ranking generals in the Istarin Empire.

'So Amber is a general, and she's close friends with Julia. I can't wait to meet her,' Laura thought, feeling a sense of excitement and curiosity. "Alright, sounds good to me," she said, nodding her head in agreement. She looked forward to meeting this person who seemed so important to Julia and the rest of the family.

She was enjoying her time at the Istairn Empire more than she had initially expected. If she knew that she would have this much fun here, then she would have come to the Istarin Empire much sooner.

End of Pov____

Next day____

The meeting room was noticeably different. Unlike yesterday, when only three members were present to kick off the meeting, today Laura was there too, adding a fourth seat to the arrangement.

"So, the Istarin Empire suggests that we let the Thera Kingdom and the Storm Isle Dynasty join our team. Anyone against it?" Aditya laid out the topic on the table. If even one person said no, then the whole idea would be scrapped right there and then.

Daxton, crossing his arms over his chest, quickly spoke up, "The Echo Dominion Empire is fine with it." They had already gone over this topic yesterday, so this was really just Aditya making sure, one last time, that everyone was on the same page. It was more about going through the official steps than anything else.

Aidan followed right after, simply nodding his head and saying, "I'm good with it, too."

All eyes then shifted to Laura, the newest addition to the room. "And what's your take, Laura?" Aditya questioned.

Laura didn't hesitate, "I don't see any problem with it." From what she had heard from Aditya last time, it seemed both Kingdoms had been long Allies of the Istarin Empire and Aditya trusted both Kingdoms' rulers greatly. So she had no problem with them.

With everyone in agreement, Aditya concluded, "Great, we're all on the same page then. The Thera Kingdom and the Storm Isle Dynasty will officially join us. Our alliance just got bigger." He said the latter part with a smile on his face.

Charles and Ren from the Thera Kingdom walked into the room, closely followed by Sofia Davis, the ruler of the Storm Isle Dynasty. Sofia chose to keep her face hidden behind a veil.

The room, which had originally held only four chairs for its attendees, now had two more to accommodate the new entrants. Charles used to be the King of the Thera Kingdom, but he had stepped down. After his daughter Isabella married Ren, Ren took over as the new King. Even though Charles was no longer King, he stayed involved in running the kingdom by offering his years of know-how to help Ren make good choices. Today was a big day for them, joining this alliance was a massive step, especially for a kingdom as small as theirs, so Charles decided it was important enough for him to be here.

The only reason Thera Kingdom hadn't been taken over by any other kingdoms or empires was that the Istarin Empire, led by Aditya, had been their protector. From the very start, Aditya made sure to keep good ties with the Thera Kingdom. Whenever they were in a tight spot, he'd even send money to help them out. It was safe to say that the leaders of the two kingdoms were more than just formal allies; they were close friends.

Once the doors to the meeting room shut, a lengthy discussion unfolded. Seated around the table, the rulers talked about a lot of important stuff. Guided by Aditya, who took the lead, they got through their agenda pretty smoothly. They all shared ideas and took turns speaking, showing both respect and attention to each other's points.

First, they talked about new rules that should govern their alliance. They discussed how to make sure everyone played fair and how to solve any disagreements that might come up among them. They agreed on creating a committee that would look into these issues, making sure that fairness was upheld.

Next, they turned their attention to trade. Everyone thought it was a good idea to lower taxes on goods moving between their kingdoms and empires. By doing this, they could all benefit and make their citizens happier with cheaper goods.

Security and defense were up next. They talked about forming a joint army and sharing resources for protection against any outside threats. Each leader agreed to contribute troops and weapons, and they discussed strategies for common defense.

They also went over social policies, like education and healthcare. Each ruler shared what was working in their own land and what wasn't. They looked for ways to help each other improve in these areas. Maybe one kingdom had a great way of teaching math, while another had figured out a cheap way to provide medical care. They made plans to learn from each other and share these successful policies.

Finally, they talked about public relations. How would they tell their citizens about this alliance and make sure everyone understood its benefits? They decided on a series of public announcements and educational programs.

All in all, the meeting was long but productive. With Aditya steering the conversation, they managed to cover a lot of ground. By the time the meeting ended, everyone felt like they had made good progress and were on the path to a strong and effective alliance.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 539

"Just before we call it a day, there's one last item on our agenda," Aditya announced, handing a stack of papers to his Prime Minister Spencer who was standing right behind his chair.

"A final topic to discuss? What is it?" Aidan questioned, showing interest.

"We need to come up with a new name for our alliance," Aditya revealed, a broad smile spreading across his face.

"I'm all ears for any ideas. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good name?" He asked as his gaze drifted around the room, making eye contact with each leader.

Everyone thought for a few seconds before Aidan suggested something. "Why don't we call ourselves the Dying Isle Continent Faction?" Aditya blankly stared at Adian while Spencer explained on his behalf.

"Your Majesty, I don't think this would be a good name. Calling ourselves the Dying Isle Continent Faction wouldn't make sense especially when our Alliance is only made up of 6 members. Even outside of our Alliance, there are still many other Kingdoms and Empires. And also, the name itself is too big and too boring." Aditya nodded his head in agreement.

"Sorry, I am bad at naming things." Aidan smiled before giving a side look to Laura but to his disappointment, Laura was writing something on a paper and wasn't focusing on the conversation.

"How about we go with The Cosmic Tide Alliance?" Suddenly Laura made this suggestion. No one rejected her suggestion. After thinking for a moment, everyone felt that this would be a suitable name for their Alliance.

"I agree. Does anyone have any objections?" Everyone shook their heads.

"Since we have reached an agreement. This concludes our meeting. Thank you for taking the time to attend this meeting on such short notice."

As the Alliance meeting ended, Aidan tried to invite Laura to have dinner with him again but she refused saying that she had made plans with her boyfriend. This time she had to lie as she knew that unless she didn't lie, Aidan wouldn't give up and would continue to trouble her. Laura found this to be very troublesome so she just lied. End of story!

And so following the alliance meeting, the newest members of the Alliance were made public along with the changes to the Alliance's name as well. The news was quickly spread by using the Seekers of Impurity Guild. In each branch office of the guild around the whole Continent, the news was put next to the guild mission board for the public to see.

Due to the large number of people who regularly came to the guild, the news quickly became a hot topic. By the end of the day, the news had managed to reach the ears of other Kingdoms and Empires around the Dying Isle Continent and to the ears of foreign Kingdoms outside of the Continent.

There were some who were dissatisfied once they heard of the announcement. It was almost considered taboo for an Oceanic Empire to form an alliance with a Land Empire. And not to mention the Deep Sea Palace Empire had joined a Land-based Alliance.

Many extremists were very dissatisfied with this but what can they do about it? Fight the Istarin Empire? Or Fight The Cosmic Tide Alliance? Both options would lead to their utter destruction.

By now, around the Six Continents, the mighty strength of the Istarin Empire was well known. The Empire is called the Graveyard of Empires for a reason. And if they foolishly attacked the Empire through direct or indirect means, then the Dragon Emperor himself was going to come after them.

The Dragon Emperor was a calamity that everyone wanted to avoid at all costs. He was a calamity that would destroy anything in his path.

If an Empire or Kingdom messed with the Istarin Empire, their Empire would be conquered by Aditya within a single night. No one in the six continents had the resources or the powers to conquer a 5th-tier Empire within a single Night. And in the end, their Empire would be annexed by the Istarin Empire. By now everyone had seen this story repeating over and over again.

And the worst thing was the population was more than happy to be annexed by the Istarin Empire especially knowing that under King Aditya's rule, their lives were going to be changing. They would get better opportunities and more freedom. They would be protected and guaranteed food and shelter. This meant the population wouldn't come to the streets to protest.

Aditya was cruel and also calculative. He perfectly knew when he needed to be kind and when he needed to be cruel to protect his interest and for the overall greater good.

The news of the Dragon Monarch fighting a Peak 6th-order cultivator had reached the ears of all big Empires within the Six Continents. Aditya suppressed the news till the Mana density of the Southern region returned to normal. But once things returned to normal, everyone heard of the news.

If Aditya himself is capable of fighting Peak's 6th-order cultivator despite being 4th-order, then the Istarin Empire can no longer be considered a 5th-tier Nation. Under his rule, the Empire had become a 6th-tier Empire. Only Nations in the Main continent had managed to reach the 6th-tier or 7th-tier.

The current Istarin Empire had become such a powerful force that once the news of this Alliance reached the ears of the Deep Sea Palace Empire's neighbors who were recently preparing to invade the Empire had to cancel their plans. No one wanted to provoke the Calamity.

Next morning,

"I had a lot of fun staying here. Thank you for having me." Laura slightly bowed her head to Aditya to express her gratitude.

"Why are you bowing your head to me? I thought we were friends. And also if it is anyone who should be apologizing is me. I hope you will forgive me for any inconvenience."

"Of course not. Everything was perfect. Everyone has been really kind to me. I enjoyed my stay here." Laura replied.

"Then, if you don't want you can come here to stay with us anytime you want. We will always welcome you with open arms." Laura has stayed with them for about 3 days. In these 3 days, she had close really close to the entire Family. She not only got to know a different side of Aditya but also met new amazing people around Aditya and experienced many different things. This trip will be unforgettable for her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Laura was sure that she was going to come to stay here again. Aside from Aditya, she has made some other friends as well.

She then turned to Alicia, Julia, Riya, and other girls who were standing behind Aditya. They already had said their goodbyes. Laura just nodded their head to them before the teleportation array's rune circles started glowing.

"Farewell Aditya." Just as the rune circles of the array glowed completely, Laura looked at Aditya with a gentle smile on her face. Her eyes held warmth and love for him. Aditya felt that those eyes of hers were the reflection of her heart and her emotions.

Swoosh!!!!

Laura and her personal maid Kete had disappeared. Both of them had returned to the Deep Sea Palace.

Once Laura left, Aditya felt confused. 'Her eyes...'

Sigh!

Aditya closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The day Laura left, Julia and Lara felt that the Dragon Palace had become slightly lonely due to Laura's absence. Even though she stayed with them for only about 3 days, her presence had made things brighter and even more joyful around the Palace.

Scene change______

"So when are you going to return?" Asked Alicia. Ever since Aditya took her first time, Alicia has become much more mature and more beautiful looking. Her personality has also changed.

Although she was kind of embarrassed to admit it she was going to miss him a lot. She had grown fond of sleeping with Aditya. Their nightlife was really healthy and satisfying. She was going to miss him a lot. Deep down, she wished for him to return soon.

"I am not sure. Depending on the circumstances, the amount of time I stay there could change from 2 weeks." Aditya had planned to stay there for at least 2 weeks. This is why he has been working extra hours for the last two weeks.

"Husband...." Lara looked at Aditya.

Aditya patted Lara's head. She just smiled and closed her eyes accepting her husband's affection.

"I have left enough of my blood for you. If anything happens then don't forget to contact me. I will immediately rush back home." Lara nodded her head with a smile.

Seeing her smile, Aditya couldn't help but pull her into his embrace. 'My wife is really cute.' Aditya then kissed both of her cheeks and then her lips which Lara accepted even though she felt shy as other girls were watching.

Aditya knew that he couldn't give all of his attention to Lara. So he went ahead and did the same with Alicia, Julia, and Sasha.

Aditya feared that Lilith might do something mischievous in this situation and Sylvie would accompany her but nothing like that happened much to his relief.

"Spencer, if there is an emergency, you know what to do right?" Spencer nodded his head.

Aditya took Riya's hand while looking at her with a smile. "Shall we?" Riya nodded his head.

Both of them stepped onto the teleportation array. The next second both of them disappeared from everyone's view.

Although Julia wouldn't say it to anyone every time she parted with Aditya, she felt sad and lonely. Even now, she felt sad and lonely.

"I am going to my laboratory." She was going to continue her research to find a cure for Lara.

"Lara is going to the library. Grandpa Watson, if anyone looks for Lara, please tell them Lara is at the library." Watson nodded his head and watched as Lara left the living room. For part of the day, Lara slept due to her mysterious illness. Whenever Aditya wasn't around, she would read books. She found reading books to be really interesting.

Alicia and Sylvie didn't stay any longer. Both best friends left together. Alicia and Sylvie were returned to the Ethereal Empire for a few days. She was going to stay with her parents for some days. She missed them a lot.

"Mother, where are you going?" Sasha asked her mother.

"I am going to sleep." Lilith replied without looking back.

Sasha didn't stop her mother. She used the teleportation array to head to her organization. In recent months, the organization has been slowly decreasing its operations around the Istarin Empire. It was impossible to completely stop taking bounties of the citizens of the Istarin Empire at once.

At the same time, she was slowly getting rid of the ones who were not loyal to her and rather loyal to money. Once those were eliminated or removed from the organization, the whole organization was going to discontinue its operations in the Dying Isle Continent altogether. Sasha had grown tired of this life of hers.

"We completely forgot about Aditya's birthday, didn't we?" Watson suddenly remembered about Aditya's birthday party which was postponed due to the Church.

"I guess we did. We were so busy that the matter was completely forgotten from our minds." Spencer replied with a bitter smile. Both of them had made surprise plans for his birthday party but all of their planning was for nothing.

"Maybe later we can." Spencer and Watson looked at each other before both of them went to their separate ways. Spencer was going to spend some time with his girlfriend and soon to be his wife Aria while Watson was going to return home to see his twin brother.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 540

This Chapter has been edited to fix some details - Riya, her mother, and her grandmother are Royal Elves, not High Elves. I made this mistake while writing this chapter. Please take note of this.

The name Celestial Terrain was first thought up by the very first Elven Empress. While other continents usually have a bunch of Kingdoms, Empires, and different groups within their borders, the whole land of Celestial Terrain was controlled by just one Empire. So, the continent and the Empire had the same name, which is Celestial Terrain.

But it wasn't always like this, with one Empire running the whole show. A lot of Elves live here, and that's why people sometimes also call this place the Elven Continent or The Land of Elves.

Going way back in history, the Elves who lived on this continent didn't belong to one big Empire or Kingdom. Instead, they lived in small groups called tribes. In total, there were more than 10,000 separate tribes scattered across the land. And these tribes had different rules about family life. For instance, some tribes didn't let their members marry people from other tribes, while other tribes actually encouraged it, saying it was a good thing.

With so many different tribes living on the continent, it was no surprise that there were always battles, fights, and disagreements happening between them. Often, the tribes that were stronger would push around the weaker ones, making the people in those weaker tribes serve them. It is very important to note that the Elven society regardless of tribes was a matriarchy society. The elven women ran the homes and were often the ones in high-up roles in government and the military. In fact, every tribe had a female leader, commonly called the "Elven Matra."

In this Elven society, it was clear that women were in control. One could even say that Elven women were more skilled, better looking, braver, and stronger than men.

Now, among these more than 10,000 tribes, one would find a lot of different kinds of Elves. There were regular Elves, High Elves, The Royal Elves Blood Elves, Moon Elves, Night Elves, Snow Elves, Dark Elves, Sea or what you could call Aquatic Elves, Wood Elves, Sun Elves, and even Half-Elves. So in total, there were 10 different sorts of Elves living across the continent.

Among all ten different types of elves, the Half-Elves were the most discriminated group. The Half-elves were nothing but the Elves who were half Elf and half of other races; such as humans, or beast race, etc. The Half-Elves are looked down upon by the Pure-blooded elves. Even to this date, the Half-Elves suffer the most discrimination and hatred. The Half-Elves are treated like slaves and used as slaves.

There used to be other variations of Elves but over time either those variations have evolved due to their surrounding environment and availability of food and water or their bloodline had simply come to an end. This is the case with the Night Elves. The Night Elves are one of the elves that are currently on the verge of being extinct.

It is already extremely difficult for Elves to give birth. And for Night Elves and Royal Elves, the difficulty multiplies by 2 to 4 times. Hence due to this reason, The Night Elves and The Royal Elves's numbers have always been low. The number never surpassed the 10,000 mark. While for the most part of History, Royal Elves have stayed at the very top; often being leaders of strong tribes. This wasn't so true for the Night Elves. The Night Elves weren't separated rather they formed a tribe together. After years of conflicts, and fights with other tribes, their numbers had reached a point that even after 1,000 years of peace, their number never recovered and was on the verge of extinction.

Throughout history, there had always been some leaders, known as Elven Matras, who dreamed big and wanted to bring all the tribes together under one rule. About 7,000 years ago, one special Elven Matra made this dream come true and became the first Empress of The Celestial Terrain. Around the same time, a lot of outside forces, meaning armies from other lands, were coming into the Elven territory and taking advantage of the fighting and disagreement among the tribes. These foreign intruders only made things worse and caused even more suffering and death for the Elves.

That's when this first Empress, who was a Royal Elf, stepped in. She was really smart and worked very hard. She used her brains and her skills to not just bring all the Elven tribes together, but also to kick out all the foreign enemies. She treated all types of Elves the same and made sure everyone felt included in this new, united Empire.

Even now, 7,000 years later, a lot of Elves still talk about how great she was. One can find statues of her all over the continent, reminding everyone of the amazing things she did.

Aditya couldn't believe what he was hearing and his face showed total shock. "Wait, you're telling me your grandmother is the first Empress?" He knew Riya had some important family ties, especially as a Royal Elf, but this was way beyond what he had ever imagined.

Riya giggled a little and said, "Yep, I guess I'm just lucky like that! The people here really love and respect my grandmother." She looked out of the carriage window as she said this. At the moment, the two of them were riding through the capital city of the Celestial Terrain, and they were on their way to meet Riya's mom, who is the current ruler of the Empire.

"I thought your grandmother had died?" This is what Aditya had heard.

"Of course, not."

"So where is your amazing grandmother now?" Aditya was curious to know more.

Riya answered, "Well, she's spending her time in a secluded place on the Main Continent, focusing on her spiritual practice. She decided it was time to step back from ruling and let my mom take over. The last time I saw her was about five years ago, and even then, our visit was really short. She has stopped meeting anyone outside of our family. Only me and my mother know that she is alive on the Main continent. Not even my aunt knows about this. And now you know the truth."

"Don't worry my mouth is always sealed."

"My dream is to be like my grandmother one day," Riya said, her eyes fixed on the scenery outside the carriage window.

Aditya looked at her and felt certain she had the potential. "I have no doubt you'll become someone even more amazing than your grandmother," he said warmly. He knew Riya was a truly special person. She was kind-hearted, soft-spoken, and even a little playful at times. All in all, she was simply wonderful.

Riya chuckled and replied, "Thank you for the compliment!"

Shifting the topic, she continued, "You know, my grandmother was in charge here for a really long time, like 6,000 years. And when she first brought everyone together to make one big empire, she made some big changes. One of the first things she did was to cut down on the number of people from different places who could come here. She also made rules about what could be sent in and out of our land. Elves like to keep to themselves, and so we don't really like strangers much. That's why when you look around while we're out on the street, you'll notice there aren't many people from other places. It's mostly elves."

What Riya said really did match what Aditya had seen so far. As they had been riding through the city, he had noticed that there were very few people who looked different from the elves. It was a sea of elf faces, and only a small number of humans or members of other races could be seen.

"Do those rules about not letting outsiders in apply to me too?" Aditya asked, his tone light and joking.

"Absolutely not," Riya quickly said, her voice a bit louder than before to emphasize her point.

Aditya reached over to gently pinch her cheek and then burst into laughter. "I was just kidding, you know!"

Switching gears, Riya went on to say, "There's more to why elves usually stick to themselves and don't go live in other places. There are some serious reasons tied to politics and our traditions. A long time ago, 7,000 years to be exact, some empires from other places did really bad things here. So, a lot of elves have a negative view of other countries and people from outside."

"Look, we elves love the Earth and everything natural. We really enjoy peace and calm, and we feel happiest when we're close to the natural world. But when we opened our doors to people from other places, what we got wasn't peace. Instead, they brought war with them, and that caused a lot of pain, death, and suffering for our people." Aditya nodded his understanding.

"My grandma and my mom have always tried to keep out of other countries' fights. They've always wanted to stay neutral. That's why our place, the Celestial Terrain, doesn't really have enemies, but we also don't have close friends," Riya explained. "Your empire, the Istarin Empire, might actually be the first one that got any kind of help from us. We sort of helped you guys out when that big war started, the one they call The Battle of the Factions." Aditya knew the only reason the indirect help was offered was because of Riya.

For clarification, The Battle of the Factions was a huge war where the Oracle Alliance fought against a group that had newly become allies. This new group was made up of the Istarin Empire, the Echo Dominion Empire, and the Hephaestus Kingdom.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 541

The 540 has been edited to fix some details - Riya, her mother, and her grandmother are Royal Elves, not High Elves. I made this mistake while writing this chapter. Please take note of this.

In the room that looked like a tree house, there was such a peaceful and lovely library. The walls were a mix of strong wood and clear glass. This lets a lot of sunlight come in and shows off the beautiful green trees and plants outside.

The room was full of bookshelves that held all kinds of books, from old stories to important writings from long ago. The shelves were made of shiny wood that gave off a warm light all around. And the room didn't just have trees outside; big, tall trees grew right up from the floor, their leaves making a sort of roof above. Sunlight came through the leaves and made pretty shapes on the floor and walls.

For sitting, there were comfy nooks and spots with soft pillows and chairs, right next to the green trees and plants. This made it feel like the outside world and the room were all one big space.

In this amazing room, two beautiful ladies were sitting on a couch. One of them said, "Big sister, we have to keep our Riya away from that Dragon King. It's really important."

"Big Sister, do you even realize just how much the Elders are going to be pissed if you allow a Dragon to marry the Royal Elven Princess of our Celestial Terrain?" The one who spoke was the sister of the current Elven Empress of the Celestial Terrain Empire. Her name was Seraphine.

Just like Riya and her big sister, she has long beautiful silver hair and elongated elf ears. Bangs covered her forehead. She was extremely beautiful. She had modest-sized breasts and a large round ass. She was fair-skinned. She had golden eyes. The white dress she wore tightly hugged her body and highlighted her curves. She also wears two flower-like ornaments in her hair.

There was a woman sitting on the couch and was reading a book. The woman looked very much like Riya herself. In fact, both of them looked more like twins than mother and daughter. No one would guess that these two are mothers and daughters as both of them looked so much alike. The only difference between them was that this woman's breasts and ass is slightly bigger compared to Riya's.

The woman who was Riya's mother wore a modest dress. Unlike her little sister, her dress wasn't so revealing.

Seraphine, with a serious face, laid out all the problems that could come up if Riya and Aditya got married. "Riya is supposed to be the next Empress here, right? She's also the Goddess of Nature. How can we let her marry someone who's not even one of us, an Elf? If she marries him, she'll leave and live in the Istarin Empire. Do you know how much people would dislike us and her for doing that? And, if she goes away, who will take your place as the leader?" Seraphine was trying to say that this whole matter would cause chaos throughout the entire continent.

Riya's mom, the current Empress, put down the book she was reading. She looked at her younger sister Seraphine and spoke gently, "That's enough, Seraphine. I already know what could go wrong."

Seraphine, still concerned, softly suggested, "If you know what could happen, why let it? You should stop their relationship. Riya should marry someone from our own people, an Elf man. That way, we keep our family traditions going."

"My dear sister, think about it: my son could be a wonderful choice to be Riya's future husband. They've been friends since they were little kids. They get along so well. And if Riya marries him, our family's Elf blood will stay pure. Plus, Riya won't have to move far away; she can stay close to you," Seraphine told her older sister, knowing well that Amelia was always very protective of Riya and would want to keep her nearby.

Seraphine noticed her words were starting to make her big sister think. This made her really happy. For a long time, she'd been hoping that Riya would marry her son. That kind of marriage would be really good for both her and her son in many ways.

Amelia, the current Empress and Riya's mom, looked at her younger sister Seraphine. What her sister was saying made a lot of sense, but she didn't want to decide something so big without talking to her daughter first. Amelia thought to herself, 'Riya wrote to me, saying she's coming home with Aditya. This will be a good chance for me to meet him and see what kind of man he has grown into.'

"Seraphine, before making any big choices, I really want to meet with Riya and Aditya. They're coming home today, you know. Your son is a wonderful young Elf, but I can't force Riya into a marriage that won't make her happy," Amelia said, her voice filled with love for her daughter. Amelia knew very well how much Riya loved Aditya. She also remembered Aditya from when he was just a little boy.

Things had changed over the years, and the two families weren't as close as they used to be, but Amelia still thought Aditya deserved a chance. She wanted to see for herself if he was the right person for her daughter.

Listening to her sister's words, Seraphine kept a smile on her face, but deep inside her heart, she was very unhappy. She was even thinking bad thoughts about her older sister for not immediately agreeing with her plan.

"Big sister, just so you know, the 10 elders might have some tough questions for you about this," Seraphine warned while keeping a polite smile on her face. The 10 elders are really important people in the Celestial Terrain, looking after all sorts of things. They have about as much say in how things are run as Empress Amelia does. In other words, the political power that these 10 elders have is equal to the Empress.

"I'm aware of that, don't worry," Amelia responded, sounding a bit tired and frustrated. When she thought about the 10 elders, she couldn't help but feel a little bit annoyed. For the past few months, they have been nothing but a headache. Any time she wanted to make a new law, or change something, they would fight her on it or make things difficult.

"Alright, I'm going to go now, big sister. Take good care of yourself," Seraphine finally said as she made her way out of the room. She had other important things she needed to do.

"Alright, I will let you know once Riya arrives." Seraphine nodded her head.

Amelia looked at Seraphine's back for a second before she went back to reading.

Scene change_____

As Aditya and Riya sat in the fancy royal carriage, they made their way toward Riya's family home. The Elven Society was like no other place Aditya had ever seen. Even though they were right in the heart of the capital city, big, tall trees were all around them. It was like a forest in the middle of the city. Trees were everywhere you looked.

Some of the houses were made out of wood, cut, and shaped into cozy-looking homes. But what was even more surprising was that some homes were built right inside the trunks of massive trees. The feeling in the air was really calming and soothing. And there were even more houses up in the tree branches. These treehouses were truly works of art, each one unique and so very pretty.

"Why didn't I come to visit this amazing place sooner?" Aditya thought to himself. The Celestial Terrain was such a beautiful and peaceful place. Just being there, he felt so calm and so at ease. The whole city looked like a paradise for people who love nature, with its tall trees and wooden houses blending perfectly into the natural surroundings. It felt like a dream world, and Aditya couldn't help but feel completely at peace.

Aditya felt like he had stepped into a completely different world, one that was far removed from the cities he knew on other continents. The Celestial Terrain was unique, and he could feel its special vibe.

"Is it common for elves to mostly eat fruits and veggies?" Aditya was curious because his army general, Scott, who was a dark elf, always seemed to go for veggies over meat. On the other hand, his friend Josh, who was a beastman, loved meat more than anything else.

Riya smiled and said, "Well, it's not the same for all elves. A long time ago, certain groups of elves would eat only fruits, veggies, and nuts. For them, eating meat was looked at as a really bad thing, almost like an evil act. Even though many of these groups aren't around anymore since our empire came together, some families still follow this way of eating. But times are changing. These days, many of us do eat meat, but we still like veggies a bit more. For me, I don't really care what I eat. What matters to me is that the food tastes really good."

Aditya nodded his head in understanding. He found it fascinating to learn about the food customs in this unique and beautiful place, where nature and tradition mixed together in such a harmonious way.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 542

"Welcome home, Lady Riya." A line of maids stood on each side of a path, bowing their heads as Riya and Aditya stepped out of the royal carriage. Their faces were warm and welcoming, showing great respect for their lady.

As soon as Riya moved away from the carriage's steps, the focus of the maids shifted to Aditya.

"We're pleased to welcome you to the Celestial Terrain, Emperor of the Istarin Empire," they all said together, bowing their heads in a way that showed deep respect.

Aditya paused for a moment to take in his surroundings. Right in front of him was a unique and special kind of house. It looked like it had been made from the wood of an enormous, living tree. The house was a bit smaller in width and length than most big homes he had seen, but it was very tall. The roof was covered with soft, green moss, making the whole building look even more like a giant tree.

The house had little tree branches sticking out from its sides, and those branches were covered in green leaves. It was as if the house itself was a part of the natural world around it.

Looking up, Aditya saw that the very top of the house had even more branches sticking out. In between these large branches, there were green mosses growing on them. These larger branches were covered in leaves, so much so that the entire house seemed to be wrapped in a blanket of green. The sight was awe-inspiring and made Aditya feel like he had stepped into a new world.

All around the main house, there were many other smaller homes built in a similar fashion. Each was like a miniaturized version of the larger structure. Between these tree-built homes, a tiny stream of water flowed gently, adding to the sense of peace in the area. Looking up at the branches above, Aditya spotted birds perched comfortably, chirping away. Some even had nests built into the nooks and crannies of the tree branches.

"So, what do you think?" Riya asked, a proud smile lighting up her face.

"It's really beautiful," Aditya replied, still taking in the magical scene around him.

Riya continued, "You see, there's no need to cut down trees to make homes. We can build right within them. It's just a matter of thinking about it in a different way. And it helps that some of us elves have a unique ability. We can control how plants grow, shaping them as we like."

"The trees you see here aren't just wood; they're living beings. They're a special kind of tree that naturally has hollow spaces in their trunks. All we did was make those hollow areas bigger. And the best part is, this way of building doesn't hurt the tree at all."

Aditya listened carefully, and the more he heard, the more amazed he became. This way of living seemed so respectful of nature, and yet it was also so functional and beautiful. It was an eye-opening experience for him, to say the least.

"Plus, these tree houses are really nice to look at and they help a lot with the problem of finding enough space for homes in a busy city," Aditya added, thinking that trying out this style of building in his own empire might not be a bad idea at all.

"Yeah, but we can chat about that some other time. We should go see my mom now. She's been waiting for us," Riya said. She had given her mother a heads-up about their visit a few weeks ago. They were supposed to arrive a week earlier, but some unexpected things came up in the Southern region of the empire, causing them to delay their trip by a week.

"Sounds good," Aditya agreed, though he couldn't shake off a slight feeling of nervousness. Despite being the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, the thought of meeting Riya's mom to discuss marrying her daughter was a bit nerve-wracking for him.

'Oh man, I hope she's not the super strict type. That would make everything so much harder,' Aditya thought to himself. He knew Amelia was very protective of Riya. When Riya had left her home to live with him, Amelia had written letters to her daughter nearly every day, begging her to come back. This made him a little anxious about the upcoming meeting.

"I'm ready," Riya said while gripping Aditya's hand warmly as she smiled at him. They walked together toward her unique tree house. A housemaid was there to swing the door open as they arrived.

Once they were inside, Aditya was a bit surprised to find that the inside of the tree house looked just like a regular house. It was so similar, in fact, that if you didn't know you were in a tree, you'd never be able to tell just by looking around.

Right at the doorway, the housemaids had thoughtfully placed two pairs of slippers for them to change into. Aditya followed Riya's lead, slipping his feet into the slippers before stepping further into the house. The maids stayed at the entrance; they didn't come along as Riya and Aditya moved down the hall. They walked through a passageway that was about four meters long before finally entering the living room.

Once they were in the living room, Aditya couldn't help but notice a strikingly beautiful woman standing there. She looked so much like Riya that he would've believed anyone who told him they were twins. The only real difference was that this woman seemed more grown-up compared to Riya, and her chest was a bit larger. It was clear to Aditya that this must be Amelia, Riya's mother.

"Mom!" Riya couldn't contain her excitement as she sprinted across the room to embrace her mother.

Amelia also got up from where she was sitting and opened her arms wide to hug her daughter. They held each other tightly for a few minutes, completely lost in the joy of their reunion.

Aditya stood off to the side, feeling a bit out of place during this heartfelt moment. He simply watched the mother-daughter reunion, unsure of what he should do next.

Finally, the lengthy hug came to an end. Riya turned to her mom and started, "Mom, I'd like you to meet—"

Amelia cut her off abruptly, "I know who he is." She walked over to Aditya, looked him straight in the eyes, and said, "So you're the guy who took my daughter away from me for months, huh?" Amelia was talking about the months that Riya stayed at the Istarin Empire with Aditya.

Aditya was caught off guard by her cold words. He looked toward Riya, searching her face for some kind of explanation.

Riya appeared just as shocked by her mother's chilly reception. "Mom... what's going on?"

Amelia added sternly, "Don't think that marrying my daughter is going to be a walk in the park."

"What?" Aditya was taken aback. He already had the sense that winning Amelia's approval would be challenging, but he didn't expect her to be so direct in her disapproval right off the bat.

"Because..." Amelia pulled Riya back into another hug and began to gently rub her cheek against her daughter's. She was crying like a child.

"How could I ever let someone take away my most treasured daughter?" Her voice quivered with emotion as she started to cry, still nuzzling her cheek against Riya's.

Aditya stood there, a bit puzzled. 'I thought she'd be more stern and serious, but she's showing a completely different side. Still, it's too soon to make any judgments,' he mused internally.

Riya gave Aditya a somewhat helpless look as if to say, 'What can I do? She's always been this way.' Aditya simply nodded, his expression conveying that he understood, even if the situation was a bit awkward and also funny for him.

After a bit, Riya was finally able to calm her mom down. Even so, her mom clung to her tightly, casting wary glances at Aditya like he was some kind of thief out to snatch her daughter away. Her protective demeanor reminded him of a mother cat ready to hiss and swipe at anyone coming too close to her kittens.

Aditya watched this spectacle, finding it oddly amusing. He had to confess that Amelia's overprotective mannerisms were kind of cute, almost like watching an anxious cat. In that moment, he felt like he was staring at a lovable, if slightly fierce, feline.

At the same time, Riya was gently dabbing her mom's face with a handkerchief, wiping away the lingering tears. Her other arm remained tightly wrapped around her mom, providing both emotional and physical support. Watching this exchange, Aditya was struck by how the roles seemed to have reversed. It was as if Riya was now the parent, comforting and reassuring her own mother. The whole scene left him a bit speechless, yet deeply moved.

'What I am even seeing here?' Aditya thought in his mind.

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Chapter 543

After a while, Amelia finally calmed down.

The trio now were sitting on the couch in the living room. Amelia has finally calmed down by now.

"Riya, give us some time to speak alone." Amelia's voice and attitude turned very serious. Just a second ago, she looked broken and really sad and now she was very serious.

Riya hesitated but Aditya nodded at her with a reassuring smile. Riya nodded back and stood up to leave.

"And one more thing, please don't try to eavesdrop on us." Hearing this Riya awkwardly laughed before leaving them alone. Since her mother had warned her to not stand behind the door and eavesdrop, she decided to return to her own room.

As a Mid-5th-order cultivator, Riya's senses were extremely sensitive. If not for the rune enchantments, then she could have heard what her mother was going to say with Aditya even from her own room. But in this world, every house of a cultivator has something that is similar to a soundproof system. When the house is built, on the walls and the doors, special runes are drawn to prevent sounds from leaking outside of the room.

These special runes even be drawn by a novice-level rune master. Without these runes, whatever one is doing in their rooms can easily be heard from far away by other cultivators with enhanced senses. This was not needed for normal average humans.

But for a family of cultivators, this was a really important thing. No couple would want their family members to listen to whatever activities they are doing in their rooms.

But it didn't mean that each of the rooms was completely soundproof. One can still hear some noises standing just outside of the room. This is why Riya's mother strictly told her to not eavesdrop on them. And even if she did, Aditya and Amelia would be able to feel her presence just outside.

"You have become grown up to be a handsome and intelligent man, Aditya." Amelia with a smile. Amelia could still remember the time when Aditya was very little.

"Time sure flies fast. Just yesterday you were a small boy playing with Riya and now you have grown up." Aditya remained silent. He can remember his childhood but ever since he was thrown in the streets by his own parents, a part of him had died.

"Back when you used to be so innocent. You used to laugh. You used to be so cheerful. Never did I think that you would change this much in these years." Amelia said with a smile on her face.

"Times change people, Aunty. I had to change to survive and adapt to my environment." Aditya was hinting about all the cruelty that he faced to reach this point in life.

Sure he was lucky when an old King saw him on the streets and decided to adopt and even make his successor. But what about the rest? Was Aditya lucky? Yes, maybe a small part of it could be considered luck but the rest that he has achieved is through his hard work.

He has taken the Istarin Dynasty from a small nation that was about to be annexed by its neighboring nation to the largest Nation in the whole world. But it is also very true that he couldn't have done this without the amazing and wonderful people around him.

Amelia's words just served as a reflection of how far Aditya has come in life. From a prince of the Strongest Empire in the whole world to being exiled. And then rising from the ashes and reaching a height that his former past could have never reached.

Amelia felt extremely sad about what had happened to Aditya. Back then, when Aditya was thrown out, Amelia hadn't heard of the news immediately.

Before all of this, the relationship between Aditya's parents and Amelia was really good. Both families were really close. Riya and Aditya have grown up playing together. But as both of them grew older, especially Riya who is 4 and half years older than Aditya, she had less time to play with Aditya.

Riya was the princess of the Celestial Terrain. On top of that, she was also the Goddess of Nature, so the responsibilities on her shoulders were a lot. From a young age, she was expected to carry a lot of burdens.

Amelia knew that she cannot let her daughter be spoiled and become an arrogant bitch just because she is the princess of the Celestial Terrain and the goddess of Nature. She couldn't let her daughter become spoiled. She made sure that Riya took her training seriously from an early age.

All these factors resulted in Riya seeing Aditya less and less as she grew older. It was also around that time that the relationship between Aditya's family and the Tombrook family began to become strained.

To this day, Amelia always wondered if she or someone from her family had done anything that might have been the cause of this but she couldn't think of any such event. Both families always had been really close and from a young age both families kind of agreed on the fact that Riya would grow up and marry Aditya.

The relationship between the two families became strained to the point where Amelia stopped visiting Aditya and his family entirely. It wasn't that Amelia didn't want to continue this great relationship between both families to continue. It was Aditya's parents who increasingly became colder towards her. At first, their attitude was somewhat distant and guarded which Amelia found odd. And over time, their attitude shifted entirely.

The last time Amelia went to the Main continent with her daughter was because Riya had been asking her to meet Aditya for months now. Around that time, Aditya was 12 years old. But Amelia and Riya weren't given the chance to meet Aditya by his own parents. His own parents told them that they couldn't meet Aditya and gave some stupid excuses.

His parents weren't even trying to hide their displeasure and their not-welcoming attitude. Their words and expressions were harsh and insulting.

No matter how close both families were, this meeting was the last breaking point for her. Since then she entirely stopped visiting Aditya's parents altogether. She even forbade Riya to not go to The Celestial Dragon Empire. At that time, Amelia had no idea that Aditya was suffering in his own home.

A few years later, one day she got the news that the engagement between Aditya and Riya was no longer official. Almost six months later, she got news from a friend inside the Celestial Dragon Empire that Aditya had been exiled from the Celestial Dragon Empire. Around the same time, the Celestial Dragon Empire also made an official statement about the exile of its Prince. Aditya's cousin was announced as the New Crown Prince of the Celestial Dragon Empire.

Once Amelia heard the news, she did everything in her power to find where Aditya was. She wanted to take him in and give him a new home at the Celestial Terrain. She used her connections to search the main continent. At first, she thought that Aditya was still on the Main Continent.

Amelia stood up and bowed her head to Aditya. She still felt guilty and sad for not being able to give Aditya a home when he was kicked out of his own home country. "Aditya, I am extremely sorry."

Amelia's apology surprised Aditya. "Aunty, please raise your head," Aditya said in a gentle tone. Aditya never held any grudges against Amelia. Why should he hold any grudges towards her? She didn't owe him anything.

Amelia stared at Aditya as he continued to speak. "Besides, it's not like you didn't even try to look for me," Adiya said as he understood why Amelia was apologizing to him.

Riya had told Adtiya about this. She had looked for him almost everywhere. Once she learned that Aditya had been adopted by King Ahmed and had been named as his successor, Amelia felt it was better to let Aditya continue with his new life. He was happy with King Ahmed. If she appeared, she thought she would only hurt him by reminding him of his painful past. Amelia only found Aditya because of Alicia who used her connections to look for Aditya and managed to find him.

Since Alicia had assured her that she always had a bodyguard protecting Aditya, Amelia wasn't too worried about Aditya's safety. Amelia was thinking of going to the Istarin Dynasty to meet Aditya but around that time, King Ahmed died and Aditya soon fell into depression.

Around that time, Riya wanted to go and meet Aditya but Amelia forbade her as she was in her final stages of training. Another reason why Amelia forbade Riya from meeting Aditya is because Aditya's status had changed.

Though from time to time, Riya did go to meet him in disguise at the bar where Aditya went to drink.

As much as it pained her, she had to admit that since Aditya wasn't longer the prince of the Celestial Dragon Empire, he had lost his former status. And even if Riya married Aditya, this might cause a civil war in her own Empire. The marriage would make many dissatisfied and would question Amelia since there are far better candidates even in her Empire. Many would turn against her and some would even use this opportunity to remove her entirely from power. Amelia couldn't risk this.

Even now, just like her sister Seraphine told her, the elders are definitely going to give her a headache about her decision to let Riya marry someone who isn't even an Elf. Who knows there might be some who might even raise their weapons against her for allowing this to happen. In the elven society, interracial marriage is looked down upon. The elves that are married to a man or woman of some other race find themselves kicked out of the Elven Society.

An elven woman will be kicked out of her home by her own parents if she decides to marry a human male or a beastman. This is the many reasons why many of the elves live outside of the Celestial Terrain. Although the whole Celestial Terrain was a paradise to live in, this paradise came with restrictive social norms (unwritten rules of the society) that everyone was expected to follow.

Amelia still would have agreed to help Aditya but he fell into depression and became an addict. Since he didn't have any motivation left within him, how could she help him? If only he had shown a little bit of motivation and drive for change and to grow, Amelia would have used her whole connection to make sure that the Istarin Dynasty of that time grew to become one of the biggest Empires of the Dying Isle Continent. If he was interested in cultivating then she would have poured everything at her disposal for Aditya to become one of the greatest cultivators on the continent.

The elves would have had no choice but to shut their mouths in the face of absolute power and authority and this was something that Aditya lacked. At that time, he didn't even have the will for such a status.

This is another reason why Amelia didn't hesitate to break the foreign policy of staying neutral to pressure the Oracle Alliance as she knew that Aditya wouldn't be able to win the war if the entire Oracle Alliance was allowed to fight.

As much as Amelia hated the idea of her daughter leaving her, Amelia knew that her daughter loved this man beyond anything. Those years that she spent without him seem to have stolen her daughter's happiness.

Fortunately, Aditya changed for the better. During the war with the Zulux Dynasty, Amelia almost sent her elven forces thinking that the of that time Istarin Dynasty wouldn't be able to win against such a powerful Dynasty but Aditya surpassed her expectations.

Since then Amelia and Riya have kept a watch on Aditya. Aditya kept surpassing their expectations.

'I clearly remember the day when Riya excitedly returned to the Celestial Terrain and told me about meeting Aditya.' Amelia chuckled as the face of her excited daughter appeared in her mind.

After meeting Aditya, Riya was so excited that she didn't waste any more time and went to stay with Aditya. Amelia could have tried to stop her daughter but she let her go. She already had held back her daughter enough.

And now being with Aditya, Her daughter has once again begun to smile like she used to do. 'They say people change with time but this isn't entirely true.' Riya loved Aditya just as much as she did when they were children.

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My apologies for not uploading yesterday. Yesterday the whole day I was outside for some important work and had no time to write

Chapter 544

"Now let's talk about you. You have obviously changed a lot. You have grown up to become a fine man. And also maybe a playboy as well." Amelia ended her sentence in a slightly cold tone. She was unhappy about the fact that Aditya already had 3 fiances before Riya. From what she had heard, aside from his 3 beautiful fiances, he also had numerous other beauties who could potentially become his wife one day.

Still, Aditya was much better than the Emperors who openly slept with every woman in his court. Aside from having multiple wives, some of these Kings had a huge harem. For example, the current Half-Incubus King had 21 wives and the number of concubines he had was nearly 1000.

And the number of women he slept with is simply too many to count. They say that husbands would hide their wives if the Half-Incubus King was in the city or town. Every night the King would sleep with at least 25 women. Since these women were mortals, he was easily about to battle them and would still have stamina left inside him.

In his Empire, if a woman of another man is caught sleeping with the Half-incubus King, then this isn't a crime. Due to this cheating has become really common in this Empire. There were even some rumors that some of the wives were sleeping with other incubus slaves. In short, things were really messed up.

Aditya wasn't that kind of man. But it didn't mean he was bad either. Amelia didn't like the fact that he had so many beautiful women around him. But this wasn't her place to comment anything about his harem life.

Hearing her words, Aditya just smiled and replied. "What can I say? My charm is simply irresistible." Aditya jokingly said.

Hearing this Amelia rolled her eyes.

"You know, I am proud of what you have managed to achieve." Amelia wasn't just sugarcoating her words and trying to please Aditya with her words. She was really happy for all that he had achieved, maybe except for his growing harem.

"If your mom and dad knew about all the amazing things you've done in such a short time, they'd probably want you back," Amelia spoke these words with a specific purpose. She was keen on gauging how Aditya felt about his biological parents. She wouldn't have been shocked if he harbored some anger or bitterness toward them, given their history. Still, she wanted to uncover his current emotions and thoughts about them.

Upon hearing her words, Aditya simply lifted his left eyebrow and looked at Amelia intently. He understood the underlying reason behind her comment. "Aunty, it doesn't matter to me what they think about me," he responded, his voice tinged with calm assurance. What caught Amelia off guard was the total absence of anger or hate in his tone when he spoke about his parents.

"Have you never felt like going back to where you were born, to see your mom and dad?" Amelia pressed, trying to dig deeper.

"No," Aditya gave a simple shake of his head as he responded. At this point, Amelia found herself at a crossroads in her understanding of him. She couldn't tell if Aditya was skillfully concealing his true emotions, masking any bitterness or anger he might feel, or if he was genuinely indifferent about reconnecting with his biological parents.

"Why?" Amelia was still curious and couldn't help but ask for more clarification.

"Because I've moved on," Aditya answered plainly. In his mind, it was simple. His parents had left him when he was younger, so why should he hold onto any feelings for them? He had come to terms with their absence a long time ago and had gotten on with his life.

What would be the point in going back to see them? He really had no reason to do that. He wasn't searching for their approval or validation. He was more focused on living a happy life with the new family he had made for himself.

"I don't even think about them anymore. What's important to me now is taking care of the people I have in my life. I'm happy with the family I've got now," Aditya elaborated. He had been lucky enough to find a wonderful, loving family. He had an adopted brother and an adopted sister whom he cared deeply for. He was also very much in love with his fiancées. All these relationships meant the world to him, and he was not willing to jeopardize them for anything.

Amelia didn't feel the need to dig any deeper into Aditya's feelings about his parents. She felt she had gotten the answer she was looking for. She was pleased to see that Aditya had managed to move on from his past, showing a level of maturity that impressed her.

As she thought about how much Aditya had changed, it struck her how fast time seemed to have flown by. She felt like he had grown up right before her eyes.

"Aditya, there are some things we need to clear up," Amelia said, taking on a more serious tone. "A long time ago, when you and my daughter Riya were just kids, you two were engaged to be married. At that time, you hadn't been kicked out by your parents yet. But once that happened, the engagement was called off. I want you to know that I'm aware of how much Riya cares for you. And the idea of you two being together really warms my heart. I'm not against it in any way. But I do have to tell you, the council of ten elders might make things tough for us." Aditya listened carefully and nodded, signaling that he understood what she was saying.

"Since the time Riya moved to your empire, the Istarin Empire, I've been under a lot of pressure from the elders to bring her back home," Amelia started to explain. "You see, Riya is not just any elf; she's a Royal Elf, the Princess of our land, Celestial Terrain. We don't have many Royal Elves left. You, Aditya, are a special kind of Dragon, the Divine Crimson Storm Dragon to be exact, and you rule over the Istarin Empire. If Riya marries you, she will become your empress, but that would put our own royal family line at risk. We'd be left without someone to take over the throne here."

Aditya listened carefully and nodded, showing he was following along with what Amelia was saying.

"And there's more to consider," Amelia continued. "Riya isn't just royal; she's also the Goddess of Nature. You probably know how important nature is to us elves. We practically worship the goddess of nature, and Riya is the goddess of what we hold dear. So, marrying her off to someone from a different empire is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, especially the elders. What I need from you, as Riya's mom, is some kind of answer or plan. How can we solve these problems so that you two can be together without risking a big uproar from our people, or even worse, causing a civil war?"

Aditya took a moment to absorb everything Amelia had said. He nodded his head once more, signaling that he understood the weight of the situation.

Amelia knew how much her daughter Riya was cherished by the people of their empire. The thought of Riya marrying the ruler of another empire would not sit well with them. In fact, it could even lead to large protests or, even worse, a full-blown civil war. Amelia realized that if it came down to it, she would find herself pitted against the council of 10 elders. Given that she and the elders had roughly the same amount of influence and power, this disagreement had the potential to blow up into a major conflict within their land.

Amelia was a person who truly valued peace and harmony. The last thing she wanted was to see her own people fighting each other, tearing the empire apart in a civil war. This was why she was asking for a solution from Aditya. She understood that she couldn't just push the Elders aside or overrule them. Their combined authority was just as strong as hers, even though she was the Empress.

The stress of this complicated issue had been weighing on her for months, ever since Riya moved to live with Aditya in his empire. Amelia felt stuck, unable to come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone involved.

"Can I ask you a question, Aunty? And please, don't think that I'm being rude or trying to offend you," Aditya started cautiously.

"Of course, what's on your mind?" Amelia replied, her eyes meeting his as she waited for his question.

"Would you ever think about getting the 10 Elders killed? You know, just remove them from power altogether?" Aditya asked, laying out what he thought could be a quick fix to the problem with the Elders. Killing them would be extremely easy and the quickest way to fix this problem. If Amelia said yes, then by tonight the 10 elders are going to die mysteriously.

"I couldn't do that. I've known each one of them for hundreds of years. Sure, we don't always agree on everything, but I couldn't just kill them off to make my life easier," Amelia responded, shaking her head firmly at the thought.

Aditya took a few moments to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "Aunty, I can offer you an answer right now, on the spot. But, if you give me about two weeks, I can come back to you with a well-thought-out plan. What would you prefer?"

Amelia hesitated for a second before responding. "Then you can take two weeks time to give me your answer." She would much prefer to know the longer and much more detailed version of his plan.

Aditya simply couldn't give her a plan. He lacked enough information to make a perfect plan. For information, he asked for two weeks of time. And Aditya was planning on staying here for a few weeks anyway.

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For those who are bored with these chapters please have patience and give time for the build-up.

Chapter 545

"All that aside, there is something I have been eagerly waiting to ask you," Amelia asked Aditya with a sweet smile. But for some reason, Aditya felt a hidden danger in her smile. Aditya had a bad feeling about what she was going to ask. As far as Aditya could remember, even back when he was a child, Aunt Amelia always has been over-protective of Riya. Sometimes, she wouldn't leave her daughter alone and would stay with her as she played with her friends.

"What is it?" Aditya still asked nonetheless.

All of a sudden the whole living room seems to have become much more colder. "Have you done with Riya yet?" Amelia asked Aditya in a bone-chilling tone.

Aditya took a deep breath and answered honestly. He wasn't afraid of Amelia. Even if this woman went crazy, he was more than confident that he could handle her physically. "No, I haven't done it."

Aditya knew that Riya was ready to give herself to him but he held back from taking her first time before getting her mother's approval. Even if Amelia were to stand in their way, Aditya wouldn't let go of Riya.

Aditya loved his wife and wouldn't let anyone separate them. If her mother became an obstacle then Aditya would have no choice but to remove that obstacle.

Hearing Aditya's response, Amelia sighed in relief. Seeing this Aditya wondered why she was being so overprotective of Riya. 'I am going to eat sooner or later anyway.' Aditya thought in his mind.

"That's good to hear. Then until you two are married, you two are not allowed to do it." Hearing this Aditya secretly felt a little bit annoyed. He wanted to marry his wives but not now. Before he married, he wanted to take care of his enemies. Aditya had made a lot of enemies. Once he is done with his enemies, then he is going to waste no time and get married to his wives.

The mysterious organization is one of his biggest enemies. Before the organization attacked Aditya or his Empire, he wanted to attack them first and wipe them out. Aside from that, Aditya had a few other potential enemies but they weren't much of a threat to him.

'Besides, the prophecy hasn't been fulfilled yet.' Aditya has received two prophecies. One was passed down by the ancestor of the Majin village. When Majins submitted themselves to Aditay, the village leader told him about the Prophecy. The second one was given to him by Origin Dragon (Michael). These were Aditya's main worries for now. He was worried that he wouldn't get enough time to raise an army strong enough to withstand what was about to come in the future.

All this meant that Aditya wasn't going to get married any time soon. He was kind of annoyed by the stupid rule Amelia was making.

"Allowed not to do what?" Aditya asked with a teasing smirk.

"You know the one where..." To Aditya's surprise, Amelia blushed like a high school girl and lowered her gaze as she struggled to find the right words.

"Where?" Aditya pretended to be oblivious to what she wanted to say.

"Where couples sleep together and then do..." Her face was becoming red like a tomato. "Do naughty things together."

"Aunty, I have no idea what naughty things you are talking about," Aditya replied with a blank face. Hearing this Amelia for a second wondered if Aditya was making fun of her by pretending to be oblivious but looking at his serious blank face, she believed that she wasn't clear enough.

Taking a deep breath....."I meant sex.....!!!!" As she said these words, even her ears had turned red. She couldn't look at Aditya. She lowered her head like an embarrassed High school girl. At this moment, no one would believe that this woman was nearly 1000 years old. Yet she shuttered like an embarrassed innocent girl while trying to say the word 'SEX'.

Aditya didn't think that Amelia was acting shy or innocent. It was clear from her body language that right now she was super nervous and also embarrassed. She was clenching her fists. She had lowered her head. Her whole face was red in shame. Her heart was beating very loudly.

"Aunty, why are you being so shy? It's not like you never had sex." Aditya asked.

"Ye.....Yeah....! Of course, I had se....Se....Sx....!!! I had a...ton....of SX.....!!!!" Amelia looked so embarrassed that she wasn't even able to complete her sentence properly.

Seeing this Aditya was left speechless.

"...."

Aditya had to admit that Amelia looked extremely cute. She was like an innocent high school girl. Her blushing face was really cute....!!!

'No...no! What I am even thinking? Amelia is going to become my mother-in-law.' Aditya shook his head.

'But Somehow, Amelia's personality is completely opposite of Lilith's personality. Lilith is extremely provocative. She is the true definition of being a Succubus. She would use every single opportunity to tease me. Sometimes she can be really bold.' Many times, Lilith wouldn't simply care who was watching. She would cling to Aditya and would often sexually tease him.

'But Amelia is like a pure angel who is completely pure and innocent. It is as if the sins of this world hadn't tainted her yet.' Another similarity between them was the fact that both Riya and Sasha looked like their mother. Both of them were carbon copies of their mother. They looked more like twins than mothers.

'While Lilith is really naughty, she can be extremely decisive and clever but Amelia isn't as sharp as Lilith. Riya and Amelia are extremely kind. In my conversation, she instantly rejected the idea of assassinating all the 10 elders because she didn't want them dead. Being kind is a really good thing but sometimes being too kind can be a big flaw.' Lilith was too smart while Amelia was clever but she wasn't clever was Lilith. Aditya thought in his mind.

Amelia's kindness could lead to her own downfall if she wasn't careful.

'That also reminds me, since childhood, I have never heard Amelia talk about her husband or Riya's father. I have assumed that he is dead but there isn't any talk about him. And the fact that Amelia becomes so embarrassed when talking about Sex or such related matters makes the whole thing even more suspicious.' Aditya remembers that even when he asked his parents about this, they said they didn't know anything about it as Amelia never spoke of Riya's father.

Cough!!!!

"Leaving that aside, I heard a very interesting rumor." Amelia's face was still somewhat flushed but she had managed to recover her calm.

Knowing that she can't talk about Sex or that matter with Aditya, she decided to drop the matter. She was going to discuss this matter with her daughter but she knew in her heart her daughter wouldn't agree to wait that long.

"Rumor? About what?" Aditya asked looking confused

"I heard that there are many Emperors who are very interested in engaging their daughters to you." Amelia said with a smile on her face.

Hearing this Aditya rolled his eyes. Did he have time for such nonsensical rumors? The answer was obviously no. He didn't even entertain such an idea in the first place. There might have been a time when Aditya thought that in order to make close allies he might need to marry a Princess from a powerful Kingdom however currently there is no need for such a thing.

His wives were extremely comfortable with each other to the point where they didn't mind sleeping together with him. Bringing another potential future wife into the family might create a conflict in his harem. This is something that Aditya never wants to see happening. Besides he is already more than satisfied with his current number of fiances.

"I don't really care about these rumors. This is the first time I ever heard about such rumors." Aditya wasn't lying.

"Hehe!!!" Hearing this Amelia giggled and replied. "I don't know if you know it but you're really famous in the noble circles. You're simply the dream husband of many princesses. There are many who would need content just being your concubine." Aditya was handsome, he had a super strong and once-in-a-lifetime bloodline that his children were going to inherit. He had power. He was the emperor of the biggest Empire in the whole world. He was extremely powerful. Above all, he was the Dragon Monarch who was loved by his people. He was simply the perfect man that a woman dreams of.

"You might not have realized this but you're simply the dream man that every woman desires," Amelia said.

On hearing this, Aditya didn't think much and said whatever came to his mind next. "Then am I your dream man?"

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Chapter 546

On hearing this, Aditya didn't think much and said whatever came to his mind next. "Then am I your dream man?" Aditya instantly regretted saying these words. After all, Amelia was his mother-in-law. He shouldn't say such words to someone like her. He didn't want to make her think that he was flirting with her.

But contrary to his expectations, her reaction was very different. Her reaction surprised him a lot.

Amelia's face instantly flushed red. Steams started coming out of her head as she lowered her head.

"Dream man....?" She murmured these words with a dreamy look.

In her mind,

She imagined a half-naked Aditya on top of her. He had pinned her down. "We shouldn't do this. After all, I am your mother-in-law." Amelia said as she looked away.

Aditya harshly grabbed her chin and made her look at him. "From now on you're my Woman." He said these words in a dominating tone.

"Kyaaaa!!!"Aditya didn't know what happened, but Amelia buried her face with her palms and squealed in happiness.

"..."

Seeing her like this Aditya felt speechless. His lips twitched. He wondered what this woman was thinking in her mind.

Aditya didn't ask what she was thinking. Since their conversation was over, he silently left the room.

Scene change____

"So what did you and mom speak about?" While alongside Aditya, Riya asked. She was curious about what topic Amelia and Aditya were talking about.

Aditya held Riya's hand and said. "A lot of topics. But in short, we're going to stay here for 2 weeks. After that, our engagement will be officially announced." Aditya specifically maintained the part that would make Riya happy. As for the rest, there was no need to mention it to her.

The past is always the past. Instead of thinking about the past, enjoying the present and working towards a bright future is better.

"Really!!!" As expected Aditya's words really made Riya happy. She couldn't control her happiness. She instantly hugged Aditya.

"Ah.... I am so happy right now....." Riya always has been worried that her mother would oppose their marriage but now hearing Aditya's words she felt relieved and extremely happy knowing that she no longer has to worry about anything. As for what the rest of the council or the public thought, she didn't care. She would leave these things for Aditya to deal with.

Riya never wanted to become the Empress of the Celestial Terrain. Instead, she always has dreamed of becoming Aditya's wife ever since they were children. Although her mother trained her to become the next Empress, she never put her heart into her training.

'Even if I have to really become the Empress, then I would leave all of the administrative work to Aditya.' Riya made up her mind. If Aditya knew what his wife was planning, then he would freak out. He already had too many things on his plate. And if all of the administrative work of the Celestial Terrain was pushed on him, then he would be spending his whole time in his office. Even though he is a cultivator, he might die from an overload of work.

If the Celestial Terrain was a small Kingdom then he could have considered this as an idea but the Celestial Terrain was the entire Elven Continent. There is no way Aditya alone can handle the administrative work of an entire Continent. But it would be possible if he had talented people under him.

Aditya didn't know what Riya was thinking. Even if she currently voiced out her thoughts to him, Aditya wouldn't reject her. Instead, he would try to create a system where most of the work would be done by others and Riya would just need to supervise everything.

Aditya hugged Riya back and enjoyed the feeling. Her breasts were pressing on his chest. Her breasts were really soft and bouncy. Riya's breasts weren't as huge as Alicia's. Her breasts were modest-sized; neither too huge nor too small, just perfect in size.

While Riya and Aditya were hugging, a certain blond man was watching them from the distance. The man was angrily gritting his teeth as he watched Aditya hug Riya. Angrily he stepped towards the couple.

"Hey, Riya! Long time no see." Hearing the voice, Riya and Aditya separated. Both of them looked at the 3rd wheel that came to ruin their intimate moment. Neither of them was happy about the fact that someone had to ruin their intimate moment.

But seeing that it was her own cousin, there was nothing that Riya could do. She didn't show her anger and greeted her cousin. After all, she couldn't blame a family member for approaching her after not seeing her for so many months.

"Hello, Cousin! It has been a while since I saw you." Riya greeted him back.

Aditya looked at the man who interrupted them. As a man, he could see that this cousin of Riya had feelings for Riya. Aditya can see that this man was really jealous of him. This whole time he was ignoring Aditya as if he didn't even exist.

'From what Riya has told me about her family, this man should be Riya's Aunt Seraphine's son.' Aditya thought while staring at him.

He was as tall as Aditya. His hair was blond and long; his hair reached his waist. He had green pupils and a very handsome face. He was fair-skinned and slightly muscular in size. From his Aura, Aditya concluded that this man was a Peak 5th-order cultivator.

'His name is Thalos. Thalos is more than 100 years older than Riya. But he was still not married. Because in Elven society, elves tend to marry once they are above 100 years old. Even Riya's grandmother married very late.'

"Thalos, let me introduce you to my future husband and my fiance, Aditya. Aditya is the Emperor of the Istarin Empire." Riya cheerfully introduced Aditya to Thalos.

"Aditya, this is my cousin Thalos."

Thalos gave Aditya a condescending look before stretching out his hand for a handshake. Aditya just smiled and shook his hand. As both men shook hands, Thalos tried to use his strength to give some pain to Aditya but...

To Thalos's shock even though he had put his full strength, he couldn't hurt Aditya. Riya noticed that Thalos's face was turning red as if he was being suffocated. But Aditya's face remained normal. He had a small smirk on the corner of his face.

Aditya let go of Thalos's hand. "It's nice to meet you, brother Thalos. If you have time then please visit the Istarin Empire. This Dragon Monarch will personally host you." Aditya was indirectly warning Thalos to not get any funny ideas if he did then he would personally kill him. The only reason he was still on his foot even after disrespecting Aditya is because he was Riya's cousin.

But that didn't mean that he was going to tolerate being disrespected by him again and again. This was Aditya's final warning.

Riya was completely oblivious to the silent interaction that took place between them. "By the Riya, didn't you say that you were going to show me around the Capital?"

"Oh....Yeah..... I totally forgot about that."

"Big brother, it was nice meeting you. I will talk to you later." Saying that Riya took Aditya's hand and began to walk away. But as Aditya was leaving, he turned back and looked at Thalos.

Aditya gave him a friendly smile. But to Thalos, this was the same as the God of Death from hell smiling at him. His whole body started shivering. His face went pale as if someone had drained blood from his body. His legs and hands started shaking.

Even though Aditya had released just a tiny fraction of his killing intent, Thalos felt he was being drowned in a sea of blood and corpses. He felt suffocated. He was having difficulty in breathing. He felt like he was going to pass out any time soon.

As Aditya and Riya left the area, Thalos couldn't hold on any longer. He fell to his knees. Drops of sweat rolled down his cheeks.

"I felt like an ant in front of him. Just what kind of monster is he?" Thalos looked at the direction in which Aditya and Riya had left.

Once he calmed down, without wasting any more time, he rushed to talk with his mother.

Meanwhile, Riya was happily walking beside Aditya without knowing what had happened. "Are you close with your cousin?" Aditya suddenly asked.

Due to the age gap between them, Riya never really spent too much time with her cousin. "Not really."

"Thalos is more like a big brother to me."

"Hmmm!!!" Aditya listened and said nothing.

'It seems I would need to make some modifications to my plan.' Aditya coldly thought in his mind. People like Thalos were everywhere. This is why Aditya pressured him with a tiny fraction of his killing intent. But if Thalos didn't learn from his mistake and tried to come at Aditya again, next time, he wouldn't be so kind.

'Who knows the next day Thalos might be found dead?'

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 547

An extremely beautiful woman with long silver hair was sitting on a chair and looked focused on drawing a painting. As the woman moved the painting brush to add final touches to her painting, a few strands of her silver hair fell over her golden eyes.

With her slim and soft other hand, the woman gently moved the few strands of her silver hair behind her ears and continued to add final gentle strokes to her painting.

The woman was very focused on painting. It was as if while painting she had forgotten about everything else around the world. Her beautiful face looked really serious. She had forgotten about all of her worldly worries and matters. Each of the painting strokes was very gentle and very elegant.

One would feel themselves at ease seeing her paint. Her strokes were so smooth that they gave others a sense of peace and calmness.

Around an unknown amount of time later, the woman was finally done with her work.

"Finally done....." The woman murmured these words while staring at her painting with a satisfied look.

The painting that the woman had finished drawing was a painting of herself sitting on the throne of the Celestial Terrain. Staring at the painting, a beautiful smile appeared on her face which made her look even more charming. Her eyes were full of obsession and desire as she stared at her own Portrait sitting on the throne.

"Soon....my dream will come true....!!!" The woman murmured these words while staring at the painting.

Knock!! Knock!!!

Hearing the knocking sound that seemed to have interrupted her private time, a frown appeared on her beautiful face. She gently put the painting on the table and then snapped her fingers.

Snap!!!

With the snap of her finger, two green veins rose from the ground and opened the door. As soon as the door was opened, the green veins went back into the ground like they never existed in the first place.

"Mother.....!!!!" The woman's frown deepened as she saw Thalos, her own son walking into her room with a panicked look. Seraphine had never seen her soon looking this panicked. He looked like he had experienced his own death.

Seraphine's room was very simple. It was a simple bedroom with a large bed and a small table. There was a bookshelf on which there were many different kinds of books. One thing that made her room very unique was all the paintings that she made herself and was hanging on the walls around her room.

If someone walked into her room, that person would think that they had mistakenly come to a painting exhibition. Each of her paintings was more beautiful than the other. If someone was told to pick one of the paintings of their liking from this room, that person would never be able to pick a painting from all the paintings collections in her room.

"What happened Thalos?" The Seraphine asked her son in a cold tone. Her expression had undergone a drastic change. Her golden eyes were extremely cold and were slightly glowing dangerously. The gentle Aura around her seems to have changed completely.

Seeing this Thalos gulped in fear and took a step back. Facing his own mother, he felt like he was standing in front of the Empress. Yet he knew that his mother wasn't the empress. Rather she was a special member of the Elders that advised and controlled various affairs of the Celestial Terrain.

Seraphine was wearing very revealing clothes. She was wearing a see-through baby doll. Her modest-sized breasts were in full display for Thalos to see. Yet he feared his own biological mother so much that he didn't stare at her body with any nasty or bad thoughts. If Thalos became a little bit bolder then he would be able to see her pink mini mountains that can be seen through the silver see-through babydoll.

Seraphine didn't care if her own son saw her like this. She felt comfortable wearing this kind of clothes. Fortunately, she was wearing a silver color pany which matched the color of her babydoll.

Seraphine's body was perfectly toned. She was extremely sexy. She was considered to be the 3rd most beautiful woman in the Celestial Terrain after Riya and Amelia. As for the first and second spots, there always has been confusion about it. Riya and Amelia looked like they were twins. The only area that Riya lost to Amelia was when it came to her boobs and her ass.

"Mother, I have been bullied." Thalos looked like a child who had been bullied by bad boys at school and now he was complaining about it to his mother. He was on the verge of crying. But he held it back knowing that his mother hated a man who cried easily.

Seraphine had manipulated Thalos since childhood to trust her more than anyone else in the whole world. She had manipulated him to become extremely dependent on her. Whether it was any emotional or physical aspects of Thalos's life, he always had been independent of his mother. She had manipulated Thalos so much that if she told Thalos to attack Amelia, he wouldn't hesitate to do it.

So when Aditya pressured Thalos with just a tiny fraction of his killing intent, Thalos had come to his mother to seek advice and hoping that his mother would give him a solution.

Thalos hated Aditya. He hated the fact that the woman whom he had grown to love was engaged to Aditya. He was extremely happy and overjoyed when he learned that the engagement had been broken and Aditya had been exiled.

Thalos had been completely relaxed thinking that it was inevitable for Riay to become his wife. But things took a worse turn when one day Riya found Aditya and since then she has been staying with him. Thalos and Seraphine have tried many indirect methods to pressure Amelia and make her bring back Riya.

When Riya did return to the Celestial Terrain, she had to return with Aditya. And today seeing them hugging had infuriated Thalos to the point that he felt his blood boiling and his eyes burning in rage. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything as Aditya is strong. Aditya is strong enough to even kill a Peak 6th-order cultivator.

The news of Aditya killing a Peak 6th-order cultivator had reached Seraphine, Amelia, and other Emperors and Kings ears around the 6 continents.

"Speak clearly. Tell me what happened?" Seraphine asked Thalos in a cold tone.

Hearing his mother's cold tone, Thalos shivered for a second before replying. "I have been bullied by Aditya." Thalos proceeded to tell his mother what had happened. He told his mother how Aditya bullied him for no reason.

Of course, Thalos had changed the whole story slightly bit in his favor to make himself appear as the victim here and make Aditya look like the villain in his story.

But Seraphine was able to guess that her son was making himself appear as the victim. But she didn't point it out or expose her son. Aditya has been like a fishbone that was stuck in her throat. He was a fishbone that she could neither swallow nor spit out. Aditya was the biggest obstacle in her path.

And when it came to Aditya she felt very helpless as there was no way to defeat him or take him out.

Once Thalos ended his part of the story, Seraphine stood out and stretched her body. As she did, Thalos lowered his head because he didn't want to stare at his mother. Ignoring Thalos, while swaying her large round ass, she walked towards her bookshelf. She took out the books with a red cover. She opened the book and took out a neatly folded letter from her book.

She threw the letter at Thalos. The letter was perfectly carried by the wind to Thalos's hand. "Deliver this letter for me. As for Aditya, I have the exact plan for him."

"As you wish mother." Thalos didn't dare look at Seraphine. He left her room as soon as possible.

Once Thalos left, the whole room fell into silence again. Seraphine sat on the edge of her bed and gazed at the ceiling of her room.

Seraphine's husband had passed away a long time ago. Just when Thalos was born, her husband had been killed. To this day, no one knows that it was Seraphine herself who had ended her husband's life and made it appear that he was assassinated.

Her husband was nothing but trouble for her. Seraphine only got married to have an heir which she did. And once her husband fulfilled the role, she saw no reason for him to stay alive. If he stayed alive, then he would only hinder her plan that she has been carefully crafting for ages.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 548

"So who is the person that you're taking me to see?" Aditya asked.

As the royal carriage of the Celestial Terrain Empire leisurely advanced through the bustling streets of the capital, its gloriousness was impossible to ignore. One could immediately distinguish its kingly origin, thanks in part to the elegant blend of human craftsmanship and Elven artistry.

The carriage itself was crafted from rich, dark wood, polished to a high sheen that shined in the sunlight. Gold and silver inlays beautify the wood, forming intricate patterns that seem to be inspired by both the heavens and the natural world. Elven motifs, such as leaves, stars, and ethereal vines, were engraved into the carriage, imbuing it with a mystical touch.

On each corner, one could spot lanterns made of what looked crystal, giving off a warm, otherworldly glow even in the daylight. Pulled by four majestic white magic horses with ornate harnesses, each studded with gemstones, the carriage moved as if floating, thanks to its wheels that had been carefully designed with Elven runes to minimize noise and jostling.

The windows of the Royal Carriage were framed by lush velvet curtains, also inlaid with subtle golden threads, partially obscuring the view inside. These weren't ordinary windows; they were made from an enchanted translucent material that seemed neither glass nor crystal, possibly an elven creation that allowed those inside to look out, but not the other way around.

Other carriages moved out of the way seeing the Royal Carriage. This wasn't out of fear or anything. But rather because of the huge respect and admiration that the people had for the Royal family and their Empress. Naturally, the citizens of the Empire weren't aware of the return of their Goddess.

"This person is an Uncle of mine. I have trained under him for a few months." Riya said in a mysterious tone.

"Trying to be mysterious huh....!!! I guess I would need to punish you." Aditya playfully pinned Riya down using his own body.

Kyaaa!!!!

"Someone save me from this monster...!!!" Riya pretended to be scared and played along.

"No one is going to save you from me. Hahaha!!!" Aditya evilly laughed before taking her lips. Riya didn't struggle. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Both of them were soon lost in their own worlds.

Meanwhile, RIya's Maid who was driving the carriage had a blush on her face as she could hear lewd sounds from inside the Carriage.

"It seems Lady Riya and His Majesty Aditya have forgotten that they are not alone." The maid mumbled in a low voice.

As a cultivator, her senses were very sensitive compared to normal humans. She easily could hear all sorts of sounds inside the Carriage.

"I better warn Lady Riya to be mindful of her actions next time." The Maid mumbled in a low tone. As for telling another soul what they heard today, that thought never crossed her mind. She would rather die than reveal any of her Lady's secrets to anyone in this whole world. Her loyalty lies with Lady Riya and Lady Riya forever. Even if the whole world were to turn against her Lady, she was going to stand with her Lady and serve her. Even if her Lady were to become a normal Elf, she would still be with her.

Fortunately, the carriage was enchanted with Runes that pretended any noises from coming out of the carriage. Outsiders won't be able to hear any noises coming from the Royal carriage.

Knowing that Her Lady and her Lady's fiance were busy, she drove the carriage extra slowly which increased the time taken to reach their destination by 2 more hours. In those 2 hours, the maid was able to hear sounds that she would be never able to forget in her whole life. She heard things that made her entire body shiver. Her body trembled.

Hearing the moans of her lady, she felt her legs becoming weak. The whole journey was nothing but torture for her. She had to fight her own demons and not give in. She felt as if she was being tested.

Fortunately she managed to hold on and not fall into temptations till the very end.

Scene change______

After a long time, the Royal Carriage finally stopped.

"Lady Riya, we have arrived." The Maid reminded Her Lady and Aditya that they had reached their destination. Fortunately, by then, they were also done. The noises have died down.

"Coming." Inside the carriage, Riya was panicking while trying to adjust her clothes. She shot a cold glare at Aditya. She blamed this hungry wolf for their current situation. And the worst thing was, he was so skilled that she couldn't reject him. She went with the flow and ended up doing a lot of things instead of showing Aditya around the Capital.

"All of this is your fault." Riya glared at Aditya before going back to adjusting her clothes. Her clothes were a mess.

"Let me help you." Usually, Aditya would use this chance to tease her but knowing that she was going to meet someone whom she respected a lot, he helped her fix the mess that they created.

"All done! But what about the rest?" Aditya looked around. The whole interior of the carriage was a mess. Many parts were wet and covered in a white slimy liquid.

But Aditya had to admit that it was a lot of fun doing it.

"Hmph!!! My maid will take care of everything. Let's go." Riya's maid just bowed to them as Riya and Aditya walked out of the carriage. The reason she bowed her head is because she was too embarrassed to face her lady and His Majesty.

"Now that we are here, can you tell me a little bit about this mysterious Uncle of yours?" Aditya asked.

Right now they were walking inside the barracks. The whole training ground was off-limits to the general public. Only members of the military and the recruits could come and leave this place. Other than that, the elders the Empress, and members of the Royal family are allowed to visit this place. As for other nobles and others, they would need special permission from the Empress or from one of the elders to get inside the training ground.

The whole training ground was surrounded by wooden walls and further protected by defensive magical runes. These runes prevent anyone from illegally entering the training ground. These defensive runes also kept what was happening inside the Training ground a secret for the outsiders and prevented any recruits from escaping.

"My uncle is in charge of this training ground. And this training ground is the largest training field in the entire Celestial Terrain Empire. Every single recruit of the Empire has at least trained in this training ground for a week before becoming a soldier."

"Oh....!!!" Aditya was surprised to hear this.

As they walked inside, many people instantly recognized Riya which showed that Riya often came here. As both of them walked together, many came up to Riya and greeted her with a smile. A few of the female recruits even took the responsibility of taking Riya and Aditya to meet her uncle.

As Aditya walked beside Riya on the large corridor, he could see at least 100 recruits bowing their heads to Riya as she walked past them. Everyone was staring at her in admiration and their eyes were full of respect. After all, Riya was their Goddess.

'I can sense more than 10,000 recruits inside this training ground.'

"Mylady we are here. The commander already has been informed about your arrival. He is waiting for you, inside."

"Thank you." Riya politely thanked the girls before walking inside. Riya followed her inside the office.

"Hello, Uncle! I hope I am not disturbing you." Riya put her hands back and said with a smile. Riya was really close to her uncle Cassian.

"Hahaha!!! Silly girl, what are you saying? I was just done with my work." Cassian laughed and said with a big smile.

Cassian then looked at Aditya and said. "I suppose this young man is your future husband. Known as the Emperor of the Istarin Empire and the Dragon Monarch. The strongest cultivator in the six continents; Aditya." Unlike a certain someone, he wasn't looking down on Aditya. His eyes were very sincere when he said those words.

Cassian was a warrior. He respected and admired strong people. Knowing how difficult these strong people must have worked to become strong. And meeting the strongest cultivator in the six continents was an honor for him.

Cassian stood up and walked up to Aditya. "I am Cassian Nightrider. It's really nice to meet you, Your Majesty." Aditya shook hands with Cassian with a small smile on his face.

"Hello, Uncle!!! It's kind of awkward if the uncle of My future wife called me this formally. You can just call me Aditya. I don't mind." Aditya recognized that Cassian was the elder here and was someone who was very close to Riya.

"Hahaha!!!! I like you even more now, Aditya." Cassian laughed out loud. It looked like Cassian was genuinely a nice person.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Word from the Author -

My sincere apologies for not uploading any chapters for the last few days. The last few days I have been extremely busy with my personal life. I went out at six in the morning and I returned home at 5.30 in the evening.

Since I have a football competition this Saturday I was busy practicing and when I returned home I did not have the energy to write any chapters. I hope you guys will understand and will accept my apology. I will try to make up for all the missing chapters.

[And I haven't forgotten about all the chapters that I previously owned you guys. I just don't get enough time to write these days.]

Chapter 549

Cassian is a strikingly handsome man, with a strong and imposing figure befitting his warrior background. His face bears the mark of his experiences, with a scar that runs over his left eye, a reminder of battles fought and won. Despite the rugged appearance, there is a certain allure to him that draws both admiration and caution from those who meet him. His dark eyes reflect the weight of his experiences.

"Hahahaha!!!!! I like you even more now, Aditya." Cassian had no hatred towards Aditya. Unlike most elves who were racist towards other races, Cassian wasn't like that. Being a noble warrior, he had learned to respect the other fellow warriors from other races.

In fact, he even felt that there was no one more suited to marry the goddess of nature than Aditya. Aditya's wasn't any ordinary cultivator. He was the Dragon Monarch. The Emperor of the largest and one of the strongest empires in the whole world. He was the strongest cultivator in the Six Continents. If he wasn't suited to become Riya's husband, then Riya would need to stay single for the rest of her find.

In Cassian's eyes, Aditya was a once-in-a-lifetime genius. He was the type of Genius who would never appear in this world again. Cassian felt blessed to live this long and see the rise of the Dragon Monarch.

"So when are you going to officially announce the engagement?" Cassian asked Riya with a small smile.

Cassian gestured for them to sit on the couch so that they could talk. It has been a while since he last saw Riya. The last time he saw Riya was when she broke through Beginner's 5th order and needed to spar with someone to test out her new powers and limits.

And Cassian had to admit that Riya was even more talented than Amelia and the first Elven Empress. Despite being just a beginner 5th-order at that time, she had managed to make Cassian serious in their spar. This was a very admirable feat in his eyes.

"Uncle, the engagement will be announced after two weeks." Hearing this Cassian knew that in these two weeks, a lot of drama was going to take place between the Empress and the 10 elders. He had a feeling that these elders were going to strongly oppose this engagement and wouldn't want this marriage to take place.

But Cassian saw this as the opposite. Ever since the very formation of this empire, the Empire has remained neutral in all foreign matters and never accepted any alliances or never took part in any foreign wars. He saw and understood the desperate need for this empire to have a powerful foreign ally. The Empire needed someone who could back them in times of need.

Cassian always believed that the Empire had grown weak especially after Empress Amelia took over all the affairs and the previous Queen passed away. [1]

Cassian believed that the Empire was in desperate need of increasing its military and political influence outside its borders. The marriage with the Istarin Empire would not only give the Empire a powerful foreign ally but also open new possibilities for the Celestial Terrain Empire.

Cassin, in fact, supported this Marriage more than anything. Although he didn't like many of the peaceful policies that Empress Amelia had taken over the years. Policies that he believed had significantly weakened the Empire. If there was anything good that Amelia could do as the Ruler of the Celestial Terrain in Cassian's eyes, that would be to let Aditya and Riya get married so that this Empire would finally have a strong foreign ally.

"Uncle, how is sister Nienna doing? It has been a while since I last saw her." Nienna was Cassian's only daughter.

Cassian had lost his wife due to an accident. Nienna was the only family member that was left in this world. Cassian really loved and cared for his daughter.

"Nienna is doing well." Nienna was more than a hundred years old. She was still single. Just like her father worked in the military she too also worked for the military of this empire. Nienna was an excellent archer. She was one of the best archers in the whole Empire.

"Uncle, Big sister Nienna is already this old. I get the fact that we cultivators can live up to Millions of years but the women of her age are already seeing their own grandchildren getting married and she hasn't married yet. You should really try to find someone for her." Nienna was really old. If this continued like this she would continue to be a virgin till she was over 300 years old.

Hearing Riya's words, Cassian sighed. He was also worried about his daughter's future.

Sigh!!!

"I don't want my daughter to marry a weakling. She is free to marry anyone, from race and from any background as long as her future partner is as strong as her or stronger than her. But so far no one has managed to defeat my daughter or even come close to defeating her. She is one of the strongest archers in the whole Continent."

Hearing this Riya's eye started twitching. She wanted to ask why he had set such a rule. 'Big sister Nienna is a Peak 5th-order cultivator. This itself reduces the number of potential partners that she could find. After all, not everyone could reach Peak 5th order. If reaching Peak 5th-order was so easy then there would be Peak 5th-order cultivators everywhere.'

'Big Sister Nienna easily could have found a partner for herself but she decided not to romantically date anyone until she reached Beginner 5th-order. By then she was already 150+ years old. And now she is suffering from her own success. The number of people that can defeat her on this continent is very few. And even those very few people, are mostly females such as her mother, and Seraphine or the 10 elders. And even if someone managed to defeat that, unless that guy is handsome, Big sister wouldn't accept him as her partner. She also had her own requirements. She wanted her partner to be tall, handsome-looking, and pure-blood Elf. So in short her option was very limited.'

'Honestly, these two are some of the most stubborn people I have ever met aside from Sasha.' Riya felt a headache just thinking about the whole matter.

"Excuse me! Not to interrupt you two, I was wondering what is the age of your Big sister." Aditya asked in a curious tone. Maybe he could help.

"She is very close to turning 300." Riya said in a flat tone.

"Oh....!!!" Aditya raised his eyebrows in surprise.

'So there is someone who is even more unluckier than Sylvie.' Aditya thought to himself. Sylvie's weakness was the fact that she was single for over a century but Riya's big sister Nienna had been single for close to 300 years.

"I have been wanting to visit the Istarin Empire and see it with my own eyes," Cassian said while looking at Aditya.

"Uncle, you're always welcome at the Istarin Empire." Aditya smiled and responded.

Knock!! Knock!!

Someone knocked on the door of Cassian's office. "What is it?" Cassian sounded displeased. His mood had changed to slightly angry. Aditya and Riya noticed this.

"Sir, our new recruits have stopped training. No one is currently training. Everyone is skipping training." Hearing this Cassian stood up. Aditya and Riya exchanged a look before following him outside of the office.

"Why are they not training? What about the other instructors? Why they didn't punish the recruits for this behavior?" Cassian asked his secretary who was a 5 feet 7 inches tall Elf. The elf had long blond hair and was fair-skinned. He was a Peak 3rd-order cultivator.

"Sir, the other instructors are busy with other important work." There were only 3 other instructors other than Cassian. One of the instructors had gone to the Capital to meet one of the elders. The second instructor was cultivating in seclusion. He was very close to breaking through. The third instructor was teaching another batch of Soldiers; soldiers that had come from another training camp.

"I want all the recruits to gather at the field within 2 minutes. If any of them are late, I am going to increase their punishment by 10 folds." Hearing his cold and threatening words, even his secretary shivered in fear. Without wasting any time, he quickly ran off to call all the recruits.

Aditya was surprised to see this change in Cassian. Just a moment ago, he was laughing and talking with them but now he was so serious. The Aura around him had completely changed.

And soon 3000 recruits were standing on the field. Their faces looked very pale. Some of them were even shivering facing Cassian.

It was clear that these recruits were really frightened.

"What was the reason for skipping training today?" Cassian asked in a cold voice. Cassian was a like wild beast at this moment. He was barely holding his anger back.

A recruit replied in a shaky tone. As he spoke his legs were trembling. "Sir, previously we were given a holiday once every week." This batch of recruits had been sent to his camp just a week ago. So they were not aware of the rules of this camp. And since all the instructors were busy as well, nobody informed them that they training today.

"Holiday? There is no such thing as a Holiday in my training camp. If you don't like it then pack your bag and just leave. I hate lazy pigs the most. If you're a lazy pig then you better get out of my sight before I find you." Cassian shouted in a loud tone.

"The reason you all are training to become soldiers is so that you can serve this Empire. If you're here because you want power or status or money, then you can leave. If you don't take your training seriously, then you all will face the consequences. I don't care how you all lived in your previous training camp but in this camp, you follow my rules otherwise I will throw you out. I don't need rotten seeds in my camp." Hearing his words, the recruits lowered their heads in shame.

"You all have been to this training camp for a week now. By now, you all should have known about my rules. You all are going to be punished for your carelessness." Hearing this their faces went pale.

"All of you are going to run around their field for 1000 times." Hearing this everyone looked at Cassian in disbelief. It was as if no one could believe what Cassian was saying. This whole field was 10 km big. Not even a 1st-order cultivator would have the stamina to complete 1000 laps around this field.

"Those who stop running won't get anything to eat. Their food and their belongings will be taken away." Aditya didn't know what Cassian was thinking. Most of these recruits have barely reached Beginner 1st-order. For them doing something like this is nearly impossible if not completely impossible. After all, elves are not known for their crazy stamina like beast-race.

"What are you waiting for? Start running now....." Everyone started running while Cassian watched over them.

"Uncle, isn't this a bit too much?" Aditya couldn't help but ask Cassian.

"Aditya, I have to be strict. These recruits are irons that need to be sharpened. Only under extreme pressure diamonds are formed." Aditya wanted to say that his way of thinking was wrong. His way of training these recruits was going to break them even before they could turn into diamonds. But Riya held his hand and shook her head signaling him to not say anything. So Aditya went quiet.

It looked like Riya already knew about this wild and strict side of Cassian. She was used to it.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

[1] Even though he's a high rank military officer he has no idea that the first Elven empress was still alive and was cultivating at the Main Continent.

Chapter 550

"Now that I am done with them, Why don't you show me just how strong you have grown?" Cassian suddenly said to Riya. He had calmed down by now. He looked satisfied to see recruits running around the field.

"Alright." Riya didn't reject Cassian's suggestion. She also has been itching to fight someone as strong as her uncle.

"Since this isn't going to be a real battle, how about we put some rules and limitations in this fight?" Aditya came up with the suggestion.

"Go on....!!" Cassian said to Aditya. There was no need to go all out against Riya. This was just a spar to test how strong Riya has become.

Swoosh!!!!

Suddenly Aditya disappeared from Cassian and Riya's view. Cassian widened his eyes in deep shock seeing how fast Aditya had moved just now.

'So fast! That was his base speed. He isn't even using his full speed.' Cassian got a glimpse of Aditya's true powers. He got to know what kind of monster he was.

'No wonder a Beginner 4th-order cultivator could defeat a Peak 6th-order cultivator.' Cassian thought.

Within a few seconds, Aditya made a circle on the ground with a stick. The circle covered 1/4th of the total field.

"The guidelines for this spar are straightforward. Neither participant is permitted to cause death or serious harm to the other. Both participants must remain inside a marked circle during the match. Leaving the circle will result in immediate disqualification. Furthermore, attacks that could damage anything outside the circle are strictly prohibited."

"The match may conclude in one of three manners. Firstly, if a participant leaves the circle. Secondly, if a participant openly admits defeat and gives up. And thirdly, if a participant is rendered incapable of continuing the match due to exhaustion or any other reason." Aditya said in a formal tone.

Aditya couldn't let them use their full powers, if they did use their full powers in this friendly fight, then they would end up destroying this training camp along with other infrastructure around it.

He couldn't let them seriously injure each other otherwise this whole thing would become very nasty. This fight was meant for Cassian to see how strong Riya had gotten. There was no need to go all out.

"Does any of you have any problem with these rules?" Aditya asked in a formal tone. It sounded as if Aditya was the referee of his friendly fight.

"No."

"Let's get started then." Saying these words, Cassian stepped inside the circle. Riya followed him. As she was about to enter the circle, Aditya gave her an encouraging nod to which she nodded back and then stepped inside the circle.

"You two can begin this spar whenever you want." Aditya remained on his guard. If in case, Cassian used any life-threatening attack on Riya, he could teleport in front of her and save her life.

Riya and Cassian took positions inside the circle while facing each other.

'Uncle Cassian isn't like most elves who use long-ranged attacks to fight. Rather his fighting style is rather brutal. He is a close-ranged fighter. I can't fight him in close combat. He will easily dominate the fight and easily will be able to defeat me.' Riya thought while staring at Cassian.

The last time that they fought, Cassian was able to pressure Riya using his physical abilities alone. Cassian is a Warrior-Path cultivator.

'In this fight, I have to engage Uncle from a long range.' Riya could easily defeat any Peak 5th-order cultivator, But Cassian was different. He was an experienced cultivator who had fought countless battles. On the other hand, Riya didn't have that much experience. Even Aditya was more of an experienced fighter than Riya.

It wasn't that Riya avoided fighting but she was a person who loved peace and calmness. After becoming a 5th-order cultivator, the number of battles that she had fought was very few.

"Riya, here I come...!!!!" Cassian began to charge towards Riya.

Riya didn't need to chant any spells or snap her fingers. Just using her mind, she controlled roots to come out of the ground.

Cassian suddenly found his whole body wrapped in thick roots.

"This isn't going to work against a Peak 5th-order." Aditya murmured seeing this.

Suddenly the roots began to suck Cassian's Mana. But within a second later, all the roots that had wrapped around Cassian were torn apart.

Cassian then jumped up towards Riya intending to punch her. As he was in midair, 3 green spheres formed behind Riya. Before he could land on the ground, the 3 green spheres hit Cassian. Cassian put his hands in an attempt to shield his head and chest from the attack.

Bang!!!!

These green spheres weren't just simple spheres. But rather each of these spheres had special abilities. The first sphere would make Cassian confused. Depending upon how strong the cultivator was and his mental health, the effect of confusion could last from 3 seconds to 30 seconds. The Second sphere was called the 'Life Drain'. Meaning the sphere would drain his stamina and health and transfer them to Riya. The third Sphere would drain his Mana and transfer it back to Riya.

"Is this the end of this battle?" Aditya asked. He was kind of disappointed as he had expected more from Cassian.

A thick root rose from the ground and wrapped around Cassian's waist and then tossed him out of the circle.

However, just before the Cassian whole body could leave the circle, his eyes snapped wide open. His body stopped just barely inside the circle. Cassian was still in this game.

"Impressive!! That was certainly clever. But that isn't going to work twice." Saying that Cassian charged at Riya. This time he was moving even faster than before.

But then his path was blocked as large trees started rising from the ground. Cassian was left with no choice but to stop. Within a few seconds, the whole area within the circle had turned into a small forest.

"That's the Goddess of Nature for you." Aditya was surprised by the fact that Riya literally created a small forest within a few seconds.

Suddenly Riya vanished. She completely disappeared. Cassian and Riya couldn't find her presence anymore.

"Where is she?" Cassian looked around and wondered.

Like a ghost, Riya appeared behind Cassian. Before he could react, he was hit with a confusion sphere.

Bang!!!!

Cassian was confused. His mind didn't know what to know. He didn't know whether to move to his right or left. For the next few seconds, he couldn't think rationally. She used this chance.

Under her control, another big root rose from the ground and threw Cassian outside of the circle with ease.

"Winner of this battle, Riya." Aditya was surprised while saying these words. He thought that this battle was going to last longer but it was over under one minute. It hadn't been even two minutes since this battle began.

"You have gotten stronger, Riya. I accept my defeat." Cassian said while standing up.

Looking at Cassian who was smiling, Aditya felt something was strange. He felt that this man hadn't used his everything. He just went easy on Riya. This was nothing but a gut feeling that Aditya was having to watch Cassian. He felt that this man was hiding something. After all, there is no way the commander of this empire would lose a friendly spar any less than a minute. 'Or Maybe I am just thinking too much about this entire situation.' Aditya thought while looking at Cassian.

At the same time, the trees that Riya had grown all over the training field started to wither at a rapid speed.

"Riya you become stronger but that doesn't mean you should stop training. Even if there are no wars or there is no need for you to get stronger as you have Aditya, don't stop training. You have been blessed with immense potential. Something that I and millions of others lack. Please don't waste it." Cassian said to Riya in a very serious tone.

"I will, Uncle." Riya nodded her head.

"Uncle, it's about time that we head back."

"Alright. You two are always welcome here." Aditya and Cassian shook hands and said goodbye to each other.

As Aditya and Riya approached the Royal Carriage, Riya's maid greeted them with a simple bow. Aditya noticed that the maid's face was slightly flushed. Her breathing was a little bit heavy as if she had been working out.

Although he was a little bit suspicious of what she was doing before they arrived, he didn't ask her anything. This wasn't his place to ask her any questions. After all, she wasn't his maid.

"Did anything happen?" Riya asked noticing her maid breathing heavily.

"Nothing happened Mylady. Shall we return home?" She asked to which Riya nodded her head.

The whole Carriage was cleaned. It was so well-cleaned that it was sparkling.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 551

"So what do you think of Uncle Cassian?" Asked Riya as they were heading back.

"I would describe him as a very tough man...no warrior. He is a man with a simple mind. From our interaction, I could tell that he really hates weak people. He expects the people around him to be strong." A good example of that would be the rule that he made for his daughter. His daughter is allowed to marry anyone from any race and from any tribe as long as the man his daughter chooses is as strong as her or stronger than her.

"You're right but there is more to it." Riya looked outside of the window. It was time for the sunset.

"Uncle Cassian is our Hero. Back when, the first Elven Empress, my Grandmother was on the path to unite all the elven tribes to form the Celestial Terrain Empire, Cassian was someone who played a very important role. He was my grandmother's sword and spear. Cassian is considered to be the greatest general and commander that the Lands of Elves have ever produced."

"Out of 89 battles that he was leading, he has never lost any of the battles. He had accomplished 70 clean victories and 19 draws in his life. Whenever he was leading an army, the people used to celebrate their victory in advance because it was Cassian Nightrider who was leading the battle." Aditya just nodded his head. Deep inside, he was really impressed by what this man had accomplished.

From her words, he understood that the war hero was as old as the first Elven empress of this empire. 'But to think that a man who has lived this long and has so much experience would lose to Riya under one minute...!!!' Aditya wasn't denying Riya's strength or anything but he was now more sure that Cassian was holding back in that spar.

"Uncle Cassian was one of the forces that was responsible for driving out the foreign Empires that tried to colonize parts of our Empire. To this day, Cassian is seen as the War Hero of the Celestial Terrain Empire. He had the option to retire and live the rest of his life peacefully when my Grandmother retired. Or he could have gone to the Main continent to reach a Higher level of cultivation rank. But he didn't. Instead, he chose to stay in the Celestial Terrain and train the next generation."

"There is no questioning Uncle's loyalty towards the Celestial Terrain Empire. Because he was so busy with his work he didn't get married up until 500 years back. He loves this Empire and this land very much."

"But, Uncle's views are kind of flawed. When my mother took over, on many occasions he had disagreements with my mother. He didn't like the peaceful policies and steps that the New Empress took right after sitting on the throne."

"This is why the relationship between my mother and Uncle Cassian is strained and not that good. Even though both of them live lives in the Capital, it had been years since they last saw each other's faces. Uncle believes that under my mother's rule, the Celestial Terrain had gotten a lot weaker. He believes that her policies and the steps that she took to maintain peace only made the Empire weaker both internally and externally."

"Soon after my mother took charge of everything, Cassin who had disagreements with her gave up his position as the Commander of the Celestial Terrain's army and willingly became an instructor." Since the Celestial Terrain always has been at peace, the commander of the military didn't have much work to do. So it makes sense why Cassian gave up his position and chose to become an instructor instead.

Aditya could somewhat understand Cassian's frustrations. From his conversation with Amelia, he understood that her means of doing things were very peaceful. She always did things in a way to ensure that there was always peace and stability in her territory.

Even when the 10 elders of the Empire were pressuring her and were giving her a hard time she still refused Aditya's offer to end them.

"Before our Empire controlled a few islands at the Westnia Empire. And through a series of trade deals and agreements with foreign empires, some small parts of the Beast Continent also came into our Empire's possession. Until my mother took the throne, we had sent our troops to these territories of ours to provide protection to the people who lived in those territories."

"But when my mother came into power she sold these small territories to other powers and recalled all the troops back to the Empire. Uncle Cassian was very displeased and very unhappy with her choice. He even argued with my mother on this matter."

"Cassian argued that keeping those foreign continent territories would have increased the Empire's influence in other continents and this would have been beneficial in the long run. But my Mother said that keeping those territories was a waste of time and resources. Keeping those territories and sending troops was costing the Empire a lot of money and resources which was really true and which was something that Uncle Cassian failed to see. The Celestial Terrain was already powerful enough, there was no use of having any foreign presence."

"Aditya, what do you think on this matter?" Asked Riya. She was also confused on this matter. She wasn't that good at Geopolitics. She wasn't sure who was right or who was wrong in this situation.

Aditya folded his arms and thought for a second before responding. "It's difficult to say who is wrong and who is right in this matter. As far as I am aware, the foreign policy of the Celestial Terrain always had been to stay neutral and maintain peace. Because of this reason, the Empire has accepted any Alliance offers that it received from other Empires. Because of this, the Empire has never supported any conflict or any wars around the whole world. On one hand, I understand that Aunty wanted to make their intentions clear and pulled back their foreign presence to make it clear that she wanted the world to know that the Celestial Terrain would always remain neutral no matter what. The Empire isn't concerned by what is happening outside of its territories."

"But from the perspective of the General, this was a wrong decision. Uncle Cassian saw this move was weakening the Empire's might and foreign presence."

"If you ask me who is right and who is wrong then I would pick Uncle Cassian's side because his views align with mine. If my empire was in such a situation then I never would give up those territories. The Istarin Empire's foreign policy has never been able to stay peaceful or neutral. Sure, we will stay neutral and peaceful towards those who didn't provoke us but if someone provokes us then we will respond back."

"Aligning with my views and foreign policies, giving up those foreign territories was a really stupid move. I would never do that and I can understand why Uncle Cassian was so dissatisfied and angry about this matter. But when understanding the foreign views of the Celestial Terrain, then I can't blame Aunty Amelia for her actions either."

"After all, she did this for the best interest of her empire. Even under your grandmother's rule, the Empire's foreign policy has been to stay neutral and peaceful. Since the Empire was not concerned about what happened outside of its territory, there was no need to hold on to foreign territories and waste millions of gold coins and tons of resources."

"This is one of those situations where both sides are right from their own perspectives but both sides have failed to understand each other's perspective."

Riya was amazed by Aditya's response. When she taught about it, Aditya was right. Cassian doesn't want the Celestial Terrain to become weak. He had fought, bled, and made so many sacrifices for this empire. He fears that if the Empire becomes weak, then foreign enemies might try to attack the Empire again.

On the other hand, the Empress wants peace. She wants nothing to do with any foreign power. She wants her Empire to stay completely out of any conflicts and wars. She doesn't wish to make any enemies nor does she wish to make any friends. In simpler words, her foreign policy was, 'Leave us Alone'.

"When I was young I was sent to train under Uncle Cassian. But because of how brutal his training was, after one week, my mother brought me back home. Uncle Cassian thinks that the new generation is weak because there are no wars and conflicts. This is why he is so strict and harsh with the new recruits."

"He is too strict in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with being strict but being too strict isn't good either. Who knows maybe because he was being too strict, many of the recruits will leave the training camp saying that this is too hard for them and they can't do it anymore. This will be a loss but the Empire." Riya nodded with his head.

Scene change____

By the time, Aditya and Riya returned home it was already time for dinner. Entering inside, Aditya was surprised and even slightly shocked to find the Empress herself cooking dinner for them.

Amelia was cooking dinner. Aditya didn't think that a woman of her status would cook with her own hands. This was really surprising to Aditya. There were no maids to help her out. She was doing everything alone.

Seeing Aditya looking surprised, Riya smiled and said. "My mother likes to cook. She has been cooking as long as I can remember." Saying that she went to the kitchen to help her mother. Although she can't cook, she could help her mother with other stuff.

"Oh, you two have already returned..." She said looking slightly surprised.

"Yes. We went to meet Uncle Cassian." Riya didn't hide the fact that she took Aditya to meet Uncle Cassian.

Riya respected Cassian a lot. She viewed Cassian as her real uncle. This is why she took her future husband to see him.

"How was he?" Although the relationship between Amelia and Cassian is strained and conflicted, Amelia never forbids Riya from meeting Cassin.

"He is doing fine as always."

As both mother and daughter worked side by side, Aditya leaned against the wall and stared at them. Looking at them, he almost couldn't tell the difference between them. If both of them wore similar dresses and with same hairstyles, then it would be extremely difficult to distinguish them. The only major difference was Amelia's breast and ass was much bigger compared to Riya's.

'I wonder if Riya will grow like her mother.' Aditya couldn't help but have such thoughts in his mind.

Chapter 552

"Aditya, let me introduce you to my sister Seraphine. Seraphine is one of the special members of the Elders council." Aditya looked at Seraphine. Just like Riya and Amelia, she too had long beautiful silver hair. She was fair-skinned.

Seraphine's dress was more bold and revealing compared to Riya and Amelia's. She was wearing a tight dress that perfectly highlighted her curves. Her breasts slightly shook as she moved

Regardless of how revealing and bold the dress she wore, there was no doubt in Aditya's mind that Riya and Amelia were more beautiful compared to her. To Aditya, it felt as if, Seraphine knew that she couldn't compare to Amelia and Riya so she chose to show more of her skin to appear more beautiful and appealing to the eyes of the men.

This might have worked on any normal man but Aditya wasn't any normal man. Every single day, he had to endure the seduction of the Succubus Empress (Lilith) who was 100 times more seductive and sexually appealing than Seraphine. Not to mention the fact that all the girls that Aditya had in his Dragon Palace were more beautiful than Seraphine.

"Seraphine, this is Aditya — the Emperor of the Istarin Empire."

"Hello, Aunty!!!" Aditya politely greeted Riya's aunt.

'I wonder if Thalos has complained about me to her.' Aditya thought in the back of his mind while greeting Riya's Aunt, Seraphine.

The Empress has personally cooked a feast since this was Aditya's first time coming to the Celestial Terrain Empire.

"Hello, Aditya! Various rumors about you are always circulating in our empire. I have heard a lot of things about you."

Before dinner began, Seraphine came to join them for dinner since this was a special occasion. Amelia introduced both of them to each other.

"By the way, Seraphine, where is Thalos?" Asked Amelia as she put a dish of fried fish on the dining table. She had asked Seraphine along with her son to come but Thalos couldn't be seen anywhere.

"My apologies Sister but my son is not feeling well. Thalos said that he was going to take some rest."

Hearing Seraphine's words, Aditya and Riya rolled both of their eyes. However, Amelia's expression didn't change.

How can a Peak 5th-order cultivator not feel well? This was nothing but a lame excuse for not coming to join the family at the dinner party.

Riya wasn't that concerned about why her cousin didn't come to the dinner party. She didn't really care about him. When she was born, Thalos was already an adult. So there always has been a barrier between her and Thalos. Besides, she also didn't like the way that he stared at her. So in her mind, it was better that he didn't come with his mother.

On the other hand, Aditya understood that the reason Thalos didn't come to the dinner party was because of him. Aditya was sure that he had left a very deep impression on their first meeting.

"That's a shame. I wanted to introduce Aditya to Thalos. But if he is not feeling well, I guess there is nothing that I can do." Amelia said.

Amelia understood that her little sister was dissatisfied with her. Even before her daughter along with Aditya returned, she had been advising her to not allow this relationship and instead let Riya get married to Thalos. Amelia knew that if she went along with Seraphine's suggestion then she would avoid having a clash with the 10 elders and also have things easy way but how could she take away her daughter's happiness?

When Aditya was out of her life, her daughter lost all of her happiness. As her mother, she didn't want her daughter to go through that experience again.

"That's alright, Aunty. I already have met with Thalos."

"Did you? He didn't tell me about it." Seraphine pretended to be surprised. Aditya had a feeling that this woman was just pretending.

Amelia wasn't that naive. Although she wasn't as smart as Seraphine, she could somewhat guess why Seraphine kept suggesting she get Riya engaged to Thalos. If that were to happen, then it was inevitable that Thalos was going to come into power. This was what Seraphine wanted.

Amelia understood that Seraphine not bringing Thalos with her was her way of protesting against her decision. But did Amelia care about this? The answer was no. She didn't care.

Amelia knew that there was darkness in her little sister's heart. There always has been darkness in Seraphine's heart. This is the reason why she became the Empress instead of Seraphine. Riya's grandmother was able to see this darkness. Even though Amelia and Riya's grandmother tried many times to erase this darkness Seraphine never changed.

If Seraphine's heart was pure and didn't have any darkness, there was no doubt Seraphine would have become the Empress. Amelia wouldn't have any problem giving the throne to Seraphine. But Amelia feared what Seraphine would do to this Empire once she became the Empress.

"As the guest, Aditya, please go ahead and take the first bite," Amelia said. Every eye in the room, be it Riya's, Amelia's, or Seraphine's, turned to Aditya. They all waited, showing respect to him as the guest, eager to see him take the first taste of the meal.

Aditya picked up his fork and knife and gracefully cut a small piece of the fried fish that was served. He then lifted the piece to his mouth and took a bite. As he did, it was like a flavor explosion happened right in his mouth. The fish was cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The seasoning was spot-on, a mix of spices that seemed to dance on his taste buds. His eyes instantly lit up, brightening like stars, and he couldn't help but nod his head in sheer amazement at how good the food was.

"Wow, this is incredible! It's really good." Aditya's voice was filled with genuine delight. "The flavors are just perfect. It's like a little piece of heaven in each bite."

Seeing Aditya's amazed face, Amelia couldn't help but let out a little laugh. She felt really happy. All the time she had spent in the kitchen, getting everything just right felt totally worth it now. Watching him enjoy the food filled her with a deep sense of joy.

"Wow, Aunt Amelia, this is the best-fried fish I've ever had, seriously!" Aditya didn't hold back his praise. It was something really special for the leader of such a huge land to even know how to cook. And Aunt Amelia wasn't just any cook; her cooking skills were even better than the top chef he had back in his own kingdom.

Amelia's face turned a little red, clearly touched by his words. "Oh, you're too kind, Aditya. Thank you for the lovely compliment."

With a thought, Aditya realized he had to ask about the name of this incredible meal. "By the way, what do you call this feast? I've never had anything like this before. It's an Elven feast, right?"

Amelia smiled, "Yes, it's an Elven feast. We call it 'Sylvari's Bounty.' It's a traditional meal in our culture, usually made for special occasions. Along with the fried fish, it includes honey-glazed vegetables, Elven bread that's been seasoned with herbs, and a fruit tart made from Celestia berries for dessert."

Aditya nodded, clearly impressed, "Sylvari's Bounty, huh? What a fitting name for such an amazing spread of food. You've truly outdone yourself, Aunt Amelia. I feel honored to partake in such a cultural experience."

"I totally agree, no chef back in our kingdom could even come close to matching my sister Amelia's culinary skills," Seraphine chimed in, her words full of pride. She picked up her fork and started to eat, along with everyone else at the table.

Hearing Seraphine's words, Aditya couldn't help but think she wasn't just saying that to make her sister feel good. Amelia was a truly gifted cook. And the most amazing part was that she was the ruling Empress of the Celestial Terrain. That meant, that despite her busy schedule and all the responsibilities that came with leading a vast empire, she still managed to find time to master the art of cooking. Her talents in the kitchen were even better than the best chefs in Aditya's own realm, the Istarin Empire.

As Seraphine took a bite of the honey-glazed vegetables, she sighed in delight. "Ah, these veggies are just perfect. Sweet, yet not too overpowering. You've really outdone yourself, Sis."

Riya nodded her head in agreement while enjoying a slice of the herb-seasoned Elven bread. "Mom, this bread is heavenly! It's got just the right mix of herbs. Honestly, I think it would be hard for anyone to not fall in love with your cooking. I really missed your cooking."

Amelia blushed, clearly touched by the flood of compliments coming her way. "Well, I'm just happy you all enjoy it. A meal is always better when shared with loved ones."

The dinner stretched on for almost an hour. Everyone was taking their time, savoring each bite, and enjoying the lively conversation that flowed around the table. As they chatted about this and that, Aditya couldn't help but notice that Seraphine was acting extra friendly toward him. It wasn't just simple politeness; it was something more, something that made him wonder what she was up to.

About an hour into the evening, Seraphine stood up, smoothing out her dress. "I've got some important stuff I need to take care of tonight, so I can't stick around any longer. Aditya, do come by my house when you find the time," she said, smiling in his direction.

Aditya picked his words carefully, not wanting to commit to anything. "When I have the time," he replied, keeping his answer purposely unclear.

Seraphine seemed to accept this vague response. "Alright, goodnight everyone," she said, smiling once more before leaving the room.

'I will need to look out for this woman.' Aditya thought as he watched Seraphine leave.

"Aditya, come with me I am going to take you to your room."

Chapter 553

The Celestial Terrain Empire had 10 elders who were in charge of various affairs of the Empire. Each elder was like a minister. Each elder held a very important position in the Empire. Each of the elders reported to the Empress. The empress and the 10 elders together discussed the internal and external affairs of the Empire.

Unlike a Minister, the 10 Elders together had equal political influence in the Empire as the Empress of The Celestial Terrain Empire.

There was a time when things weren't used to be like this. Back when the first Elven Empress ruled The Celestial Terrain Empire, there used to be 10 Elders but at that time, the 10 Elders didn't have that much political power in their hands. The 10 Elders obeyed the command of the Empress and did not dare to raise any objections. The Empress's words were absolute and no one had the right or the power or the courage to disobey the Empress.

But when the first Elven Empress stepped down from the Throne and Amelia became the Second Empress of The Celestial Terrain Empire, the Elders gained a lot of political power. These Elders misused the trust that Amelia had in them. They took advantage of her kindness.

Before there wasn't a special Elder aside from the 10 Elders. But when Amelia took the throne, she appointed her little sister Seraphine as the Special Elder. Aside from the 10 Elders, Seraphine acted as the Special Elder who gave advice to everyone including the Empress on all matters.

Unlike the 10 Elders, the political power and influence that Seraphine had in her hand was quite limited. She could only give advice and propose new ideas during meetings.

Technically, Seraphine's power as the Special Elder was very limited. But over centuries of time, she had developed her power and influence to the point where she could be considered the 11th member of the Elder Council.

Today, a very special meeting was called because this matter was related to the future of The Celestial Terrain Empire. This wasn't a decision that the Empress could take alone.

The marriage of the Goddess of Nature always has been a matter of debate between the 10 elders and the Empress. The 10 Elders wanted Riya to marry someone from this empire and keep the Royal blood Pure. In their opinion, Seraphine's son Thalos was the best candidate to become Riya's future husband. That way the Royal Elven bloodline could be preserved and everything would remain stable.

However, Amelia's thoughts were quite different. She felt that the aspect of preserving the Royal bloodline was nothing but a stupid joke. Eve if Riya and Thalos were to get married and have a child, then who the child was going to marry?

No, one.

Thalos and Riya were the only ones who had the Royal Elven bloodline in them. There was no one else who had the Royal Elven Bloodline. The bloodline cannot be preserved unless the children of Riya and Thalos marry each other which was nothing but a taboo. And no one was going to allow that to happen.

In the Elven Culture, the elves would rather die than marry their own siblings. This was one of the biggest levels of taboo for the elves. The thought of marrying siblings didn't even cross their minds.

At the same time, Amelia wasn't going to use her daughter for the sake of politics. She wanted her daughter to be truly happy. And getting married to Thalos wouldn't give Riya any happiness. Riya has made her opinion clear on this matter on several occasions. She wasn't going to marry her own cousin. She never was interested in him.

Amelia already has accepted the fact that the future of the Royal Elven Bloodline is already over.

In the meeting room,

The mood in the meeting room was really serious, almost heavy. Everyone there had a super serious look on their faces, showing just how important this gathering was.

They were all seated around a long, rectangular table. At the head of the table was Amelia, the Empress. She was sitting in the most important chair, ready to lead the discussion. "Okay, let's get this meeting started," she announced, glancing around the room.

The ten elders looked at each other, nodding as if sharing a silent agreement. They were ready to get into the issues at hand.

"Elder Celestia, why don't you start us off?" Amelia wanted to get through the other topics first, saving the issue about her daughter for last.

Just as she was about to let Elder Celestia start, her sister Seraphine, who was also a Special Elder, calmly interrupted her. "Hold on a second, sister. Before we dive into anything else, we really need to talk about something super important. It's a matter that could affect the future of our whole empire," Seraphine said in a calm tone, keeping her voice steady but filled with urgency.

Amelia felt a flash of annoyance at her sister's interruption, but she didn't let it show on her face. She maintained her composed appearance.

"Elder Seraphine has a point. This issue needs to be addressed first. We can talk about the rest later," chimed in the other elders, as they all turned their eyes to look directly at Amelia.

At that moment, Amelia couldn't shake off the feeling that the elders were trying to gang up on her, putting her under pressure. She had sensed that something like this might happen today, but she hadn't expected it to be so intense.

Choosing her words carefully, but with a firm tone, Amelia addressed the room. "My daughter, who is also the princess of our Celestial Terrain Empire, is now engaged to the ruler of the Istarin Empire. I've given them both my blessings. So, what's the big problem here?" Her face was emotionless as if she couldn't care less about what the elders thought.

This caught the elders off guard. They looked at each other, surprised and a bit shocked. The reason everyone looked so shocked was because they had never seen Amelia looking this indifferent and cold.

Seeing her, for a second, the elders including Seraphine felt that they were in the presence of the first elven Empress.

A few of the Elders seemed ready to back down, their eyes showing a glint of fear as they took in Amelia's uncaring expression. But Seraphine wasn't about to let this topic go so easily. If the matter was put to rest right now, her carefully laid plans would fall apart.

"Big sister, I think you're missing the real issue," Seraphine said, choosing her words very carefully. "We have just one princess in the Celestial Terrain Empire, our Riya. If she marries a non-elf, then who's going to be next in line for the throne? What happens to the future of our empire? We'd be left with no one to take over."

Seraphine's words struck a chord. Amelia had to admit, her sister had a point. But that didn't mean she was willing to compromise her daughter's happiness just to satisfy the Elders' demands.

It was true, that if Riya married Aditya, she would likely become the Empress of the Istarin Empire. And that left a question hanging in the air: who would then lead the Celestial Terrain Empire?

Hearing Seraphine's question, Amelia didn't answer. Rather she didn't have an answer. Seeing this the other elders seem to have found some courage and added more.

"Yeah, besides how can we let the Goddess of Nature get married to someone who isn't even an Elf?"

"This will bring us nothing but shame and criticism. By doing this we will also make the public our enemy."

"If Riya marries Aditya, then what will happen to the Royal Elven Bloodline? We must preserve the Royal Elven Bloodline at any cost."

"Thalos is the perfect candidate for Riya."

"Your Majesty, you should cancel this engagement and kick Aditya out of this Empire once and for all. He isn't the right man for your daughter. I heard that he is already engaged to multiple other girls. Our Riya won't find any happiness there."

"Your Majesty, we are saying this for the greater good of this empire. Please understand."

One by one everyone kept adding their opinions. Seeing all of this Seraphine had a sly smile on her face. Her plan was working. Everything was going according to the plan. 'And soon my dear sister is going to break down in pressure.' Seraphine was waiting for that moment to come.

The position of Seraphine was given to her as a consolation prize since her big sister Amelia became the Empress. Seraphine knew this and she wanted revenge. She felt that she was more suited to become Empress yet Amelia became the Empress. For centuries she has been waiting to take revenge and rightfully take all the power from her sister.

At some point, Amelia had enough. Hearing all of this, something inside her completely snapped. Especially the words ["Your Majesty, we are saying this for the greater good of this empire. Please understand."] hit her sensitive nerve.

Before being the Empress, Amelia was a mother and cared more about her daughter. When she heard one of the elders talking about how this was for the greater good of this empire, she snapped. Something inside her broke.

Booooom!!!!!!

The wooden floor and the wooden walls around Amelia completely cracked. Amelia unleashed her Aura. All the Elders instantly shut their mouths while staring at Amelia in complete utter shock and disbelief.

Chapter 554

All the elders including Seraphine were staring at Amelia in a mix of shock and disbelief. They had never seen the Empress like this. The current Amelia looked like she wouldn't hesitate to end their lives if they were not careful with what they said.

Among everyone in this room, Seraphine was the most shocked person. As her little sister, she had never seen her big sister lose her calm like this. She always thought that her sister Amelia was someone who was extremely kind and was always cool. The number of times that she had seen her sister lose come was very few in all the centuries that they spent living together.

'Things are not going according to the plan.' Seraphine felt fear and also frustration. Even though all of the elders were peak 5th-order cultivators including herself, Seraphine knew in her heart very well that even if all of them combined their powers it still wouldn't be enough to defeat her sister.

Not to mention the fact that they can't just attack the Empress. Not without a valid reason.

Amelia coldly looked at everyone in the room. Facing the Empress, even Seraphine had to lower her head.

"Shut Up!!!!!" Amelia has been wanting to say these two words to the elders and to her sister for a long time. She was fed up of everyone. She was fed up with the constant nagging from the elders. She was fed up with the constant pressure that everyone around her was giving.

And now she had enough. She was the Empress. At that moment, Amelia felt that she had been too soft on these Elders and on her sister. If she had been a little bit strict, then things never would have come to this point. She was regretting it.

"I am the Empress of the Celestial Terrain. And your job is to make my work easy. If you can't do that, then get out of this room." Amelia said in a cold tone. Her cold tone sent shivers down everyone's spine. Even Seraphine's face became pale.

Amelia looked at everyone's faces and waited to see if anyone wanted to get out. Of course, no one wanted to go out. No one was going out of this room. Every elder in this meeting room dearly loved the position and power that they had found here. No one was going to willingly surrender their power.

"When I have decided on something, my decision is absolute. My decision is final. When the Empress of this Empire decides to do something, the elders should just their mouth and obey the Empress."

Amelia again looked around the room and then said in a stern tone. "The engagement will be officially announced two weeks from now. And I don't want to hear any complaints from any of you. If I do hear any complaints from any of you or if any of you try to give me any advice on this matter, you will be removed from your job. There are countless others who are equally if not more suitable for this job and they can do their job while keeping their mouth shut."

Amelia calmed down a little bit. Today's event was a severing point. Amelia had lost all of her trust in these elders. Amelia was even more disappointed at her own blood sister.

"I am really disappointed in you." Saying these words Amelia left the meeting room. Amelia didn't even look at Seraphine as she left the room.

Once Amelia left the room, everyone sat down. Their faces still looked pale. They have never seen the Empress looking this angry before. By 'Before', it was not just a few years or a few decades but almost a thousand years.

However, unlike others, Seraphine looked much calmer than before. She was still standing. She had lowered her head. Although she didn't show it in front of Amelia when Amelia said those words to her, Seraphine didn't feel any bitterness or any sadness but rather she felt her whole body, mind, and soul trembling in Anger and only anger.

Right now, Seraphine was clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Her arms were shaking.

"What was really a stupid move?" One of the Elders commented.

"Yeah. I think we were too direct with our words. Our approach should have been more indirect." Another Elder agreed.

"Elder Seraphine, what do you think about this?" Asked another Elder who was also trying to include Seraphine in the conversation and know what she thought of this entire matter.

"Shut up!!!!"

Seraphine roared in a loud tone. Some of the Elders were startled but the room immediately became quiet.

Scene change_____

As Amelia walked away from the meeting room, she finally felt relaxed. Amelia was someone who almost never lost her calm or snapped at anyone.

'It seems I have been building up a lot of stress.' Although Amelia never told Riya, her daughter's decision to be with Aditya had put a lot of pressure on her the last few months. Especially the 10 elders were not gentle with their words.

And today she had enough of this and finally lost her mind. She never thought that she would scream at the elders. She also began to feel bad for saying that last sentence to her sister.

'Now this is going to make our relationship awkward and strained.' Amelia thought in her mind.

While thinking about all these, Amelia had walked in front of a large pond without even realizing it. The pond water was crystal clear. The whole place was surrounded by large and tall trees. Since Elves loved nature, the whole Land of Elves could be considered a continent of Forests and Jungles.

"Aunty, you don't look good. If you want to talk then I can listen." Suddenly hearing Aditya's deep tone out of nowhere had startled the Elven Empress.

Amelia put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath as she tried to calm down. "Don't scare me like that." She said with a pouting face.

Seeing this Aditya was speechless. Why she was acting like a girl? Aditya certainly didn't have the courage to ask such a question. But he had to admit that she looked really cute when she pouted. Of course, he never was going to say it to her or anyone.

Aditya was sitting on a wooden bench and was reading a book. Seeing Amelia, he had closed the book.

Seeing Aditya here, Amelia became curious and wondered where her daughter was. She thought her Daughter was going to stay with Riya all of the time.

"What are you doing here?" Amelia asked as she sat down next to Aditya. There was still some distance between them. She sat on the other side of the wooden bench.

"Nothing. While walking around, I found this place. I decided to read a book since I had nothing else to do." The weather was very nice.

Aditya was reading one of the books that Amber had gifted him on his birthday. Till now, he didn't get any free time to read the books that she gave him.

Aditya could have not read these books, no one would have said anything to him. But knowing the knowledge that was inside these books, Aditya simply couldn't resist. Before he was busy with the girls and with his duties as the Emperor but currently he was on a vacation and had a lot of free time in his hand. So why not increase his knowledge?

"Where is Riya?" Asked Amelia while taking a glance at the book that Aditya was reading. The book that he was reading was named 'Chronicles of Elarian Might'.

"A few hundred people were waiting outside of the Palace. Riya is using her powers to heal them." Aditya was very surprised when he saw those few hundred elves standing outside of the Palace early in the morning. All of these people had traveled very long distances just to see the Goddess of Nature and receive her divine healing.

Some of the people wanted to heal their arms or legs or their eyes or other injured body parts or permanently damaged parts of the body. There were also some who wanted Riya to cure them of their illness that was killing them from inside. The people that were waiting outside of her house were not just elves but also humans and from other races who had traveled to this Continent just in the hopes of seeing the Goddess of Nature.

Hearing his words, Amelia wasn't that surprised. After all, before her daughter left to live with Aditya, this used to be a regular thing.

"I see." Somehow hearing this gave her a sense of calmness and peace. Aditya noticed that Amelia's posture had become much more relaxed. She was staring at the pond in silence.

"Aunty, you did the right thing." Amelia widened her eyes and looked at Aditya in surprise.

"You know, Aditya, you're becoming more and more mysterious." She wondered how did Aditya know what happened in the meeting.

"What should I do now?" Amelia looked to Aditya, feeling that he was more than capable of offering the advice she desperately needed at the moment.

something, but Aditya raised his hand slightly, asking for a moment to fully express himself. Understanding his intent, Amelia nodded and turned her gaze back to the tranquil lake before them, allowing him to continue.

"You're an even kinder person than Riya is," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Now, being kind is a good thing. It's a great thing, actually. But sometimes, that goodness can turn into a problem, especially when you're too good-hearted."

"You might be wondering what I mean by 'too good-hearted,'" he continued, pausing for emphasis. "What I'm trying to say is, that people notice how nice you are, and they might try to use that against you. They see that you're the Empress of the Celestial Terrain Empire and they think, 'Here's someone we can take advantage of.'"

"So, the real fix here isn't to stop being a kind person," Aditya concluded, his eyes meeting Amelia's once again. "Instead, it's about knowing when it's the right time to be kind, and when you have to watch out for people who are just trying to use you for their own gains."

"Aunty, you have spoiled the elders rotten with your Kindness for Centuries. This is why today these Elders dared to about to you in such tone. You need to be more strict towards these Elders." Amelia silently nodded her head. Aditya's words were indeed true.

"There is also a big problem, as you have given the 10 elders too much power and influence, now if the 10 elders stand together, they wouldn't have any problem throwing you from power. So you might want to be careful in the next two weeks. Anything could happen." Aditya said in a mysterious tone.

Aditya could have helped Amelia out of this mess but he chose to watch over her. It was because he wanted her to understand and realize that in life being kind wasn't always the right choice. As the ruler of this empire, she needed to be decisive.

"Aunty, if I may offer some guidance," Aditya began, locking eyes with Amelia. He gave her a serious look. Amelia started to say ----------------

Chapter 555

"So where are we going today?" Aditya asked as he sat inside the Royal Carriage.

"We are going to continue our little tour around Eldoria. Yesterday due to a certain someone I couldn't show you around." While saying the latter part Riya glared at Aditya.

Aditya innocently blinked his eyes and pretended as if he had done nothing wrong.

"You're not allowed to do any ecchi stuff while we are touring around Eldoria." Her face was slightly flushed red as she remembered the things that they did inside the carriage. Of course, Riya was still a virgin. But they did all things except take that final step.

"Alright!!! Alright!!!"Aditya gave up since he was also interested in knowing more about the Capital.

"What were you talking about with mom?" She curiously asked.

"Nothing too important. Just some political stuff." Hearing this Riya lost her interest and dropped the matter entirely. She wasn't that good at Politics.

"Riya, what do you think about the 10 elders?" The question made Riya feel strange as she wasn't expecting such a question from Aditya. But she still decided to be honest with Aditya and reply to his question.

"The 10 Elders are an essential part of this Empire. Without them, I probably would not have had any time with my mother. The 10 Elders are meant to reduce the burden on the empress. But personally speaking, I don't like them at all."

"Can I know why?" He asked as he looked outside through the window. Although Riya might have failed to notice it it seems Amelia has sent hidden guards with them. Just now he saw one of these hidden guards from the window.

'And the impressive thing is neither of us were able to sense their presence.' Aditya thought. No ordinary cultivator could hide their Aura from other cultivators but there are some special ones who could.

"Since I was young, the Elders always has been very strict towards me. Whenever I wished to go out of the Celestial Terrain, the elders always strongly opposed it. And even if I was allowed to go out, they would always send 100 guards with me to ensure my safety. I always felt that the elders were trying to use me for their own personal goals."

"There were even times when some of the elders would demand me to use my powers to heal people that they had brought along. I don't have any problem with using my gifted powers to heal people. But I hate it when some of these elders demand me to use my powers in a bossy tone. It's as if I owe them money. Honestly, mom should just replace some of these elders." In the end, Riya was frowning as she remembered all the bad things that the elders had done to her.

"Is that so...?" Riya didn't catch the slight, cold smile that flickered across Aditya's face for just a moment.

"Whenever I told Mom about the Elders, she did do something about it, but it was never enough. She wasn't really tough on them. Eventually, I just started avoiding the Elders. I didn't like being around them," Riya admitted. As she finished her sentence, she glanced over at Aditya, who was nodding slowly. It was as though he had made up his mind about something important.

"What would you think if all the Elders were, well, let's say, removed, and replaced with new ones?" Aditya posed the question, watching her closely.

Riya's eyes went wide for a split second before she regained her composure. "I wouldn't mind, really. But Mom would never let that happen." She understood the concept all too well. It was like a basket of apples; if one apple goes bad, it can ruin the whole basket. Sometimes, you have to remove the rotten apple to save the rest.

But her mom was too soft-hearted to see things that way. She would keep hoping that the bad apple would magically become good, not realizing it could spoil the others.

While Aditya and Riya were talking, the carriage came to a stop. Seeing this Riya and Aditya glanced outside to find the whole street was blocked by protestors.

"What is happening?" Aditya tried to understand the situation or the cause of this protest while looking outside. He instantly noticed that the people that were protesting were not elves. But rather it was humans and beast-folks that lived in Eldoria.

There were many humans and beast-folks to came to the Celestial Terrain to work since compared to their homelands, the pay here was often two or even three times higher. However, the problem was the discrimination that the humans and the Beast-folks received from the native Elves who treated them like slaves.

"They're protesting out against the way things are, against how the Empire treats them," Riya said, her eyes shifting to look outside the window.

Aditya understood right away, no further explanation was needed. The Elven community was pretty closed off. Elves tended to think very highly of themselves. To them, other beings like humans, Beast-folk, and dragons were less important. This mindset really hurt the humans and the Beast-folk living on this land.

The people in charge usually favored the elves. They got more chances to succeed and were treated better. For example, if an Elf and a human had a fight, even if the human was only trying to protect himself, he'd be the one going to jail. And some elves really took this unfair treatment to heart. They used it to get away with not paying the humans and Beast-folk who worked for them.

The people protesting were just tired of it all. They wanted an end to being treated like they were worth less, and for things to start being fair for everyone.

"I can't believe they've actually blocked the roads," Riya said, her voice tinged with surprise and a bit of shock.

"When I was last here, sure, people were protesting, but they never took it this far. They kept to the sidewalks and were peaceful about it," she added, recounting her previous experience with the local demonstrations.

"Maybe we should call it a day and head back home," Aditya suggested, noticing that the sun was beginning to set, signaling the end of the day.

Riya nodded in agreement. She then instructed her maid, "Please turn the Royal Carriage around. We're going back to the mansion." With that, they began the journey back, both contemplating the evolving situation in the city.

Scene change_____

"What's going on? I thought you both were planning to come back later," Amelia asked. She was in the kitchen, slowly putting together the ingredients for dinner.

"Mom, we had to come back early. The protestors have taken over the streets and blocked the roads," Riya explained, settling down on the living room couch.

Amelia's eyes widened a bit at the news. "They're blocking the roads? Really?" She felt both surprised and a little mad. As the ruler of the Celestial Terrain Empire, she should have been one of the first to know about something as serious as this. Instead, she was finding out from her own daughter, which made her question why the news hadn't reached her sooner.

Upon hearing what Riya had to say, Amelia didn't waste a second. She quickly washed her hands at the kitchen sink and took off the cooking apron she had on.

"Mom, where are you headed?" Riya asked, a bit puzzled by her mother's sudden change in behavior.

"I've got some important stuff to handle. Don't worry about dinner; the Royal Chef will take care of it. I might be back late, so go ahead and eat without waiting for me," Amelia told her as she started moving towards the door.

As the leader of the Celestial Terrain Empire, Amelia knew she had to do something right away to deal with the protestors blocking the streets. She was also pretty upset that this critical information hadn't come to her first through her own team of advisors and officers. It bothered her that if Riya hadn't mentioned it, she would have been completely in the dark about the whole situation.

That night, Amelia wasn't there for dinner. So, it was just Aditya and Riya sitting down to eat. As they tasted the food, both of them couldn't help but feel that it wasn't as good as what Amelia would have made. Her cooking had a special touch that made everything taste so much better.

With Amelia not around, the atmosphere became a bit more relaxed. Aditya and Riya decided to have some fun to pass the time. They pulled out a deck of cards and started playing some simple card games. As the evening progressed, the card games turned into a more personal and intimate time between the two of them. Hours flew by in this comfortable setting, and before they knew it, it was time to go to bed.

Amelia, on the other hand, didn't come back home until it was really late. She had been dealing with serious matters that needed her immediate attention.

But what no one knew was that something bad was brewing that very night. Something that was going to cause a lot of trouble and unrest among the people living in the Celestial Terrain Empire.

Chapter 556

Next morning____

Early in the morning, Aditya woke up. Waking up, he felt a little bit empty and lonely as he usually Alicia or Julia would be sleeping with me. But today he was alone. Since Riya and Aditya hadn't taken the final step yet, they didn't start sleeping together. Besides, Aditya was sure that Amelia wouldn't allow them to sleep together.

From Riya, he heard that even though Amelia and Riya had their own separate rooms, Amelia always slept with Riya. Amelia just cared about her daughter too much.

After washing up, Aditya went to the living room. He found Amelia was already awake and was making breakfast in the kitchen.

Seeing him, she nodded her head. "Good Morning, Aditya. I hope you slept well." He instantly saw that Amelia wasn't looking good. Usually, she would be full of bright and positive energy but today she looked very serious and looked as if she had something on her mind.

"Good morning, Aunty. Did anything happen?" Aditya asked as he walked to the kitchen.

Sigh!

Hearing this, Amelia sighed.

But just as he stepped inside the kitchen, Aditya suddenly felt his lower body twitching as he looked at her. Aunt Amelia was wearing a dark red silk nightgown. There weren't any problems with her dress. But it was just that the dress was tightly clinging to her body. Especially from behind, the view was very naughty.

Her ass was perfectly sticking out. Not to mention her long pair of white legs and her thighs. Seeing this Aditya was having a hard time controlling himself. Knowing that being in the kitchen would only bring him trouble, he turned around and left.

Aditya didn't think that even she realized how seductive she looked in that dress. Fortunately, she was wearing an apron that covered her top.

"Actually, last night, 31 Elves were killed." Hearing this Aditya became serious. He turned around to find Amelia cutting tomatoes as she spoke.

"How did this even happen?"

"Everyone is saying that the 31 elves were killed by the protestors. Their houses were burned down and their bodies were burned to death."

"But Aunty, you feel that this wasn't done by the Protestors?" Hearing this Amelia stopped and looked at Aditya and just nodded her head with a troubled look.

"I am not sure whom I should believe in this situation. But I have a feeling that this wasn't done by the Protestors. After all, there have been protests in the past as well but no one was killed or even harmed in those protests. I don't see a reason for the protestors to suddenly become so violent and even kill the citizens of My Empire." Amelia honestly shared her worries with Aditya.

For some reason, she felt that she could share her worries and her troubled thoughts with Aditya. Maybe it was because of the deep conversation that they had yesterday in front of the lake. Or maybe because Amelia sees Aditya as someone who is equal to her status. She feels that with his sharp and clever mind, Aditya would be able to give her a solution to her problems. And talking to Aditya has proved to help her.

"Now the Elders are pressuring me to use violence against the protestors. What do you think I should do in this matter?" Amelia honestly asked. If this was before then she would've listened to the advice that the elders and her sister have given her. But due to yesterday's meeting, Amelia's trust in the Elders and her Sister was kind of shaken. She couldn't bring herself to completely believe in their advice. So instead, she asked Aditya for advice.

"Aunty, my suggestion is that don't take any actions right now. Right now it is not clear who is the main culprit behind this. This whole incident could have been preplanned and could have been done purposefully to put the blame on the protestors. Or Maybe this was done by one of the angry protestors. Without proper investigation, I don't think it would be a wise decision to take any action right now."

"Alright. I will follow your suggestion." Amelia smiled at Aditya.

"You know, I've been doing this job for close to a thousand years," Amelia said, letting out a sigh. "Sometimes I can't help but think about how much longer I'll have to keep ruling. Riya isn't prepared to take my place yet. And if she ends up marrying you, I might have to keep sitting on the throne for many more centuries, maybe even another thousand years, until I find someone else who's fit to take over."

"Then what about Thalos, Aunt Seraphine's Son? Technically, Thalos is part of the Royal Bloodline and if Riya does not become the Empress then he deserves to sit on the throne of this Empire." Aditya asked testing the water.

"A male can never sit on the throne of the Celestial Terrain Empire. After all, our elven society is ruled by Female Elves, not male Elves. This goes against our norms and tradition. And even if we ignored the rules and social norms for a second, Thalos really isn't suited to be the Emperor anyway."

"How should I even put it... Thalos is still his Mama's boy. Despite being over centuries old, he still listens to his mother's words in the letter. Being a Mama's boy isn't a bad thing but he is over centuries old and he is still living in the shadow of his mother. This shows that he isn't responsible. I can only imagine what would happen if someone like him sat on the throne." At the end of her sentence, Amelia chuckled.

Aditya, who had been pondering something ever since he arrived, spoke up. "Aunty, there's something I don't get."

Amelia looked at him, curious. "Go on."

"Why can't Riya be the Empress here even if she marries me?" Aditya questioned. "I don't see any rule saying she can't do both."

Amelia paused, her eyes widening in surprise. A thought crossed her mind: 'Why didn't I think of this before?' Indeed, there was nothing stopping Riya from marrying Aditya, who would be the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, and still be the Empress of the Celestial Terrain. They were both powerful cultivators, not bound by the usual rules that limited regular humans. It was a perspective she hadn't considered, and it opened up new possibilities.

For an entire minute, Amelia kept quiet and didn't say a word. In her mind, Aditya's words have opened a new world full of possibilities.

"I don't think Riya can do both of her duties. She wouldn't have time to do both. As her husband, I don't think you would want your wife to stay away from you. But as the Empress, she can't stay away from her duties either. She will have an extremely difficult time doing both at the same time." Besides, Amelia knew that her daughter wasn't the type who wanted to become the Empress. Since she was young, no matter how much she tried she never was able to make Riya interested in becoming the Empress.

Her mind was filled with the idea of becoming Aditya's wife.

"I think it's possible to do both and have time for her personal life as well," Aditya replied.

"How?" If Aditya was saying that it was possible then there must be a way. That's what Amelia believed in her mind.

"It's really not that complicated," Aditya began, eager to simplify what seemed like a daunting task for Riya. "First off, Riya would need a right-hand person, someone like a Prime Minister. The empire doesn't have a Prime Minister right now, which is why you're swamped with all kinds of work that a Prime Minister could easily handle. This person would step into your shoes, doing most of the tasks you currently have to manage."

Amelia listened intently, absorbing Aditya's words. She never thought of having a prime Minister before.

"The idea is that the Prime Minister would take care of day-to-day business. Then, every so often, Riya would sit down for a meeting with this person. They'd go over everything that's been happening, and Riya would share her thoughts on how she'd like things to go. For instance, they might discuss how much money should go to schools, or how much should be spent on public services. The important decisions would still be discussed and finalized with Riya, but the lesser issues would be handled by the Prime Minister and other elders during their own meetings."

Aditya paused for a breath before continuing, "And don't forget, this Prime Minister wouldn't be alone. He or she would have helpers, like secretaries, to make the job easier. These people would sort out all the little details, and Riya would just get a short summary of what was talked about in each meeting. That way, she's still in the loop but not weighed down with every single decision."

This was Aditya's way of reassuring Amelia that becoming the Empress wouldn't overwhelm Riya, especially if they found the right support staff to help her.

about the engagement.

Just like she expected, the elders were pressuring her to take action against those Amelia felt that his mind was always full of ideas. 'It's no wonder why the Istarin Empire rapidly grew under his rule.' Amelia thought in her mind.

"Talking to you has really opened my eyes. Once I am done with this current situation, I am definitely going to implement your ideas. That way I will have more time for my daughter. Thank you, Aditya."

"There is no need to thank me for such a small thing. I just shared my thoughts with you." Amelia's way of thinking was traditional but Aditya's way of thinking was very different. Since he was from a different world, his way of thinking was different from hers.

Scene change_____

Following the conversation that Amelia had with Aditya, right after having breakfast she and the elders had another meeting. Although the relationship between them had become stiff and strained, everyone went smoothly. No one mentioned anything about the engagement.

Just like she expected, the elders were pressuring her to take action against those protestors. Some of them even went as far as to demand that all the protestors should be executed publicly.

However, Amelia did not change her mind even when all of the elders including her own sister were telling her to take action. Amelia ended the meeting telling them that she was going to start an investigation on this whole matter.

However, her decision did not seem to satisfy anyone. This once again greatly disappointed her knowing that none of the Elders and even her sister did not trust in her judgment and her decision-making ability. At the same time, she was starting to have some thoughts of replacing all the elders from power.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 557

Once the decision of the Empress was heard by the people around the Empire, there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the people. There were many people who were unhappy with the decision of their Empress. Some people were so unhappy with Amelia's decision that they started protesting.

Elves already did not like the foreigner that came to live in their land. Most Elves's attitudes towards the foreigners weren't that good in the first place. And after yesterday's event, all the Elves now wanted them out of their land. They wanted their Empress to take severe actions against them.

Most of the elves instantly believed that it was the protestors who had killed the 31 Elves. No one stood up to defend the protestors.

Cassian was one of those people who were very dissatisfied and very unhappy with the decision. Cassian was already dissatisfied with many decisions that Empress Amelia had taken in the past.

And this was the last breaking point for him.

Scene change______

"Cassian!!!! You still look the same as ever. The stern look never changes; does it?" Amelia calmly spoke as she took a sip of tea.

Cassian was standing in front of Amelia. He was sharply looking at Amelia's eyes. No one in the whole Celestial Terrain Empire would dare to look at the Empress like this other than Cassian.

Cassian had a sword on his waist. He had put his arms on his back and was coldly looking at Amelia.

This was the first time they were meeting each other in years if not decades. The last time Amelia met Cassian was when he wanted to Train Riya personally which Amelia immediately rejected as she knew how harsh Cassian's training was. Being over-protective of her daughter, Amelia felt that her baby girl wouldn't be able to survive his brutal training. In the end, both of them ended up having a massive argument over this topic. Riya only stayed in Cassian's training camp for a week and that was enough to kind of traumatize her.

"Cassian, is there a reason why you're here?" Amelia asked. Even though both of them had many arguments in the past, Amelia cared about Cassian and viewed him as someone extremely important to The Celestial Terrain Empire.

Celestial Terrain Empire's greatest General.

After all, the contributions that he has made to The Celestial Terrain Empire cannot be ignored or forgotten. Cassian was their hero and will be their hero. He is The Celestial Terrain Empire's greatest General.

Cassian was one of those remaining people who had been serving The Celestial Terrain Empire since the very formation of this Empire. There was no questioning his loyalty.

If the First Empress was the light that guided the Elven people in their dark times then Cassian was the sword that the Empress used to fight the evils in the darkness.

"Your Majesty, today I am here for only one reason." Cassian said in a stern tone.

"And, what that would be? You can sit down and we can calmly talk about this." Cassian agreed and sat opposite her, facing her.

"Would you like to drink a cup of tea?" The Empress offered. Amelia treated Cassian as an elder.

"No, Thank you. Your Majesty, why did you not take any action against the protestors?" Cassian asked Amelia in a serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Hearing his question, Amelia frowned and asked him. Although Amelia respected Cassian a lot, she felt that Cassian was overstepping his authority.

Who was he to question her?

She was the Empress of this Empire and who was Cassian. He was nothing but an instructor. He used to be the commander of this Empire's military but that title and the authority that came with that title had long been taken away from him (ever since he willingly gave up his position).

Seeing the frown on Amelia's face, Cassian wasn't afraid of her. He did not back down. "31 Elves had been killed the very same night when the protestors took over the streets of the Capital. Do you think this is a coincidence? I certainly don't think so. This was done by the protestors."

"Instead of launching an investigation, you should have used military force to massacre all of these protestors so that in the future no one else would have the balls to protest against the Empress again." Cassian's words made Amelia's frown deepen.

"Cassian, do you have any idea what are you talking about?" Asked Amelia in a slightly raised tone.

"This isn't just a few thousand people. There are more than 10,000 people that you're suggesting to massacre. Have you completely lost your mind?" Amelia asked in a loud tone.

However, Cassian was completely calm and composed even though Amelia was so angry right now. "I haven't lost my mind yet. But I will if I keep seeing these protestors get out of hand."

"Your kindness has allowed these protestors to have the courage to take over the streets of the capital. For a second let's forget about all the 31 elves that died last night. The fact that these protestors took over the streets of the capital is itself a big crime. These protestors deserved to be thrown to jail if not killed for their actions."

"Ever since you took over the throne, this Empire has been becoming weaker and weaker. You have made this empire weak. The Empire that I and many others like me fought, bled and even sacrificed their lives to build is in danger of becoming invaded by a foreign power because you have been slowly turning this Empire weak." Hearing Cassian's words Amelia was stunned. She didn't know how to respond to his words.

"You are not suited to become the Empress of this empire. The policies that you made have done nothing but make this empire even weaker. Maybe instead of you, Seraphine is more suited to become the Empress." Saying those words Cassian stood up and left leaving Amelia conflicted.

His words definitely had hit on her insecure spot. Amelia always doubted if she was even suited to lead this Empire. And today Cassian has made her question if she should just step down from the throne.

It was just as Cassian said, it was because she was too kind that the protestors had the guts to take over the streets of the Capital. If she had been more strict, then this wouldn't have happened and maybe the 31 elves that were killed would have been alive today.

Scene change

Meanwhile,

As Cassian was leaving, he stopped seeing Seraphine leaning against a tree and waiting for him.

"Hello, Sir Cassian!!!" At first, Cassian completely ignored her and kept on walking. Cassian wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone. Talking with Amelia only has made him more pissed and more angry. At the same time, he started to feel hatred towards Amelia.

In his eyes, Amelia was completely incompetent. She wasn't allowed to lead this empire. If she was allowed to lead this Empire, then she would ultimately bring the end of this empire. That's what he thought about her.

"I hope your meeting with Big sister went well. Or did it not?" Seraphine asked with a small smile on her face. Her fingers were playing with her hair.

Hearing this Cassian stopped and finally looked at Seraphine. "What do you want?" He asked her in a not-so-friendly tone.

Hearing this Seraphine giggled. She wasn't offended at all. This was how Cassian was. And this was how Cassian talked when he was pissed or angry.

"You know I am very sad hearing what happened. Those elves didn't deserve to die at the hands of the Protestors. If only my big sister had been a little bit more decisive this wouldn't have happened. When I and the elders tried to convince Big sister to change her mind, she only screamed at us and told us to piss off."

Sigh!!!

Seraphine sighed as she looked at the night sky. "it's really unfortunate. We the elders wanted to give justice to the families of the 31 elves. But it seems it's no longer possible. Sister wasn't used to being like this. I suspect that the arrival of Aditya who is an outsider to our society has changed her mind. She is now leaning towards the outsider's side rather than making sure that justice was served to our people." Seraphine's eyes really seem to have opened Cassian's eyes.

Cassian just stood there for a few minutes. He was thinking things all over again. It was just as Seraphine had said. It seems Aditya's arrival has changed Amelia's mind.

"Then I will take matters into my own hands." Cassian left before saying these words. Hearing this Seraphine smiled as she had successfully manipulated Cassian with her words again.

Manipulating people like Cassian always has been easy. Seraphine has been doing it for centuries now. Cassian who was already very dissatisfied and unhappy with Amelia and her ways failed to see the importance of this investigation and thought that Amelia was siding with the protestors.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 558

The mood in Eldoria was far from peaceful. Usually, the capital had a relaxed vibe, but not now. The Empress Amelia had called for a full investigation to figure out what was really going on. Still, the tension between elves and other races like humans and Beast-folk was getting worse because of recent events.

But Amelia didn't just stop at calling for an investigation. She also put out a new rule that said no one could protest in the streets of the capital city. If anyone was caught doing it, they'd be arrested right away, no questions asked. It didn't matter if the person was an elf, a human, a Beast-folk, a dragon, or even a demon. The rule applies to everyone, no matter their race, gender, family background, or social standing.

And the punishment for breaking this rule was pretty harsh. People would have to pay a big fine of up to 100,000 royal gold coins. Plus, they'd be sent to work in the mines for as long as 20 years. Some people might think Amelia was being too tough with these punishments, but she felt it was the only way to keep order and make sure everyone followed the rules.

At the same time, the number of soldiers who were guarding around the capital drastically increased. More than 20,000 soldiers, were patrolling around the whole city to make sure that there was no protest or any killing or any violence going around the whole city.

In the history of the Celestial Terrain Empire, something like this has never happened before so the Empress wants to make sure that nothing like this ever is repeated. She wants to make sure that peace is maintained at all costs.

Amelia also knew that if something like this happened again then the pressure that she was going to face both from the public and the elders would be too much. This is why other than calling for the investigation, she took the following steps. She made sure that security around the whole of Eldoria was tight and no street of Eldoria was left without the watch of the guards.

To some extent, the steps that Empress Amelia took worked. As her steps instantly decreased any possibility of another big protest from the elves rising within the Capital. If another protest from the elves arose then not only this would make the whole situation even worse by increasing the friction between the elves and the other races but also it would increase the pressure on Amelia.

The peace that Amelia holds dear so much cannot be maintained and as a result the whole City, perhaps even the whole empire will be caught in the flames of this new conflict.

Scene change

Late at night, when most of the city was asleep, a man was walking through the streets. He had a sword at his side. This man was famous in the Celestial Terrain Empire. He used to lead the Empire's army. His name is Cassian.

"Commander, it's great to see you! Are you walking around to keep an eye on things too?" A female soldier who knew Cassian from before asked him.

"Hey!!! Yeah, sort of like that."

"You guys have been doing a lot of hard work. Well done. Keep it up." The soldiers felt really happy and more eager to do their best when they heard their former commander praising them.

It was about 1 a.m. Every so often, small groups of soldiers on their night watch would spot Cassian. They knew who he was. Each group of soldiers that crossed paths with Cassian would stand straight, salute him, and say hello before they went back to their night watch.

"If the Empress isn't willing to take action, then I will take this whole matter into my own hands." Saying these words, Cassian drew his sword and stepped inside the home of one of the protestors who was a human male.

Scene change_____

Next morning,

Very Early in the morning, Aditya opened his eyes feeling the weight of another person sitting on him. As he opened his eyes, he found Riya sitting on his waist and staring at his face.

"Good morning!!!" Aditya found that Riya looked very serious today which was really unusual. Aditya had a gut thing that something bad had happened.

"Get up! Something big has happened." Saying that Riya moved away. She didn't give him any explanation as to why she was sitting on his waist and staring at his face. As she was moving away, she intentionally rubbed her ass with his crotch.

This instantly made him excited. But before there could be any hope for his excitement to continue, he found her walking out of his room. He couldn't tell or guess what kind of expression she was making as she was walking out of the room.

But to him, it felt that she had intentionally teased him.

"Let's think about this matter later." Aditya decided to get up first and check what happened.

Around 20 minutes later, after a quick shower, Aditya came to the living room to find Amelia and Riya waiting for him while sitting on the couches. Both mother and daughter had very serious faces.

"What happened?" Aditya asked looking confused.

Amelia remained silent. Aditya could tell that Amelia was in a very bad mood.

"Uncle Cassian has been arrested for killing more than 4,000 protestors last night."

"I am sorry...what?....!!!" Aditya simply could not believe the words that came out of Riya's mouth.

"It's just as Riya said. Cassian has killed more than 4,000 protestors last night. Furthermore, when the soldiers tried to stop him, he even attacked them as well. More than 5000 troops were injured while trying to stop him." In fact last night, Amelia herself personally had to go and stop Cassian as none of their troops were strong enough to even stand in front of Cassian. Fortunately, Cassian did not kill any troops. He just injured them but allowed them to survive.

It would be an understatement if Aditya said that he was just shocked. He was beyond shocked hearing this. For a second his ears couldn't believe the words that they were hearing. For a second, he even doubted the words that he heard from the woman whom he loved so much.

It took Aditya more than 5 minutes to digest everything. In those 5 minutes, the whole room fell into deep silence. Everyone appeared to be troubled by what Cassian had done.

"So what's going to happen now?" Aditya finally broke the ice and asked the obvious question. Riya also wanted to know what was going to happen to Uncle Cassian now.

Cassian was the Hero of The Celestial Terrain Empire. Cassian has fought alongside the First Elven Empress. He has been loyal to The Celestial Terrain Empire since its founding years. However, what he has done was a very serious crime. He had slaughtered over 4,000 protestors at night while they were sleeping. Not only that also he resisted when the soldiers tried to stop him and even went as far as to injure another 5000 soldiers. The whole situation has gotten so serious that the Empress herself had to get involved.

By now, this entire matter had become a national sensation. Aditya doubted that there would be any tribes or clans within the lands of Elves out there that still hadn't heard of this news. If there were such clans then these clans or tribes must be living under a rock or living at the bottom of a well to not hear the news.

Now the obvious question was what was going to be the future of Cassian.

"A few hours later, there is going to be a trial. All the elders are going to be present at the trial. I want you two to be there in this trial as well." Aditya and Riya nodded their heads together.

Around that time, someone knocked on the door. Riya looked at Aditya before going to open the door.

"I never expected or thought in my wildest dreams that I would see a day where the people of the Celestial Terrain would support a killer." Many people around the whole empire were coming out to show their support for Cassian. These people said that the foreigners that Cassian had killed deserved to die. In their eyes, Cassian was their Hero. And these people demanded the release of Cassian.

"Aunty, I have a feeling that there are some people who have been wanting this whole thing to happen. These people have been spreading their propaganda and we are currently seeing the effect of this propaganda on the people." This was nothing but Aditya's guess.

Amelia nodded her head hearing his words. "At today's trial, I am also going to make important announcements." Amelia was tired of everything. She was tired of the elders, she was tired of her sister who was with the elders instead of standing with her, she was tired of Cassian who did not follow her orders, she was tired of the protestors, and she was tired of the pressure that everyone around her has been putting on her.

Aditya was about to ask what important announcements she was going to make but then Riya came to the living room. Behind her, there were a few maids who were carrying freshly made steaming foods in their hands.

"Aunt Seraphine has sent these for us to eat." Hearing this Amelia felt a little bit touched. At least, her sister was still considerate towards her.

"Alright, let's eat."

As soon as Aditya put the food in his mouth and ate it, he got a notification from the system.

?Ding! You have been poisoned....?

Hearing this Aditya stopped eating for a second before he continued eating. This didn't go unnoticed by Riya.

"What happened, Aditya?" She asked while chewing on her food. She felt nothing wrong with the food.

"Nothing. This food has brought back memories." Aditya shook his head and lied with a smile.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Wait for it. The final moment is here!

Chapter 559

Chapter 559:- Trial

Amelia was seated on a plain wooden chair, her arms resting on the side supports. On her head, she wore the regal crown that symbolized her rule over the Celestial Terrain Empire.

The crown is intricate and delicate. It shines with a light blue and silver glow, much like a frosted winter morning. The design looks like fine lace made from silver, with elegant curves and swirls that come together to form the shape of the crown. In the center and scattered throughout are round pearls and crystals that resemble tiny, delicate ice droplets. At the heart of the crown, a larger blue gem catches the eye, sparkling like a star amid the silvery frost. Tiny beads and smaller blue gems branch out from it, looking like a frosty explosion of ice crystals.

Amelia was dressed in a long, white dress with sleeves that went all the way down to her wrists. The silver of her crown and the white of her dress made her look like a real goddess who had come down from the skies. She was so pretty it took one's breath away. But despite her beauty, she wasn't smiling. Her face was indifferent. Her face lacked enthusiasm and the interest that it usually had, but if one looked closely into her eyes, one could see she was feeling a bit sad and disappointed.

"Your Majesty, the council members have arrived," A maid whispered quietly to Amelia. Surrounding Amelia were 11 other simple wooden seats. Six were arranged to her left and five to her right. Aditya took note of the fact that these 11 seats were a bit shorter than the throne Amelia was seated on.

The difference in the height of the chairs was a way to show who was in charge. Amelia's chair was not just taller, it also had fancier carvings and more details to stand out, fitting for the ruler of the Celestial Terrain Empire. In contrast, the seats for the council were more basic and didn't have decorations.

Normally, there would be an even number: five chairs to her right and five to her left. However, because Amelia's sister, Seraphine, was not just any council member but a special one, there was an extra seat added just for her.

Riya was dressed in a special outfit that made her stand out. She wore a long dress that flowed down gracefully, colored in rich shades of brown with golden accents that caught the light with every movement. The dress was adorned with intricate golden designs and gemstones that shimmered subtly. Around her shoulders, a cape the color of sunset draped elegantly, its edges fluttering softly. Her hair was framed by a hood that matched her cape, and her face was accentuated with delicate jewelry that highlighted her features.

Riya's presence was striking, and her attire gave her an air of sanctity and innocence. A light touch of makeup enhanced her natural beauty, giving her a radiant look. Despite her efforts to stay composed, the hints of nervousness could be seen in the tightness of her brow and the slight quiver of her lips. Aditya, standing close by, could feel the tension in her. With a gentle and understanding gesture, he reached out and took her hand into his. The moment their hands touched, a sense of peace washed over Riya. Her nerves eased. Riya and Aditya looked at each other. Aditya nodded his head with a smile. Riya felt courage having him by her side. The group of Elders walked in, with Seraphine at the front. She wore a small, gentle smile. As she made her way to the chair meant just for her, she gave a small nod to Amelia. Amelia looked back at her without any clear feeling showing on her face and kept watching until Seraphine took her seat.

They were all gathered outside for the trial, surrounded by big, strong trees. The tree branches above were so thick that no sunlight could reach the ground where they were. Every now and then, a soft wind would blow, moving everyone's hair and clothes lightly. This place was chosen for a reason; it had a history of hosting trials like this one. Amelia had picked this spot in the open air on purpose because the place meant something important.

The Elders couldn't help but look at Aditya for a moment because they had never seen him before. But Aditya didn't pay them any mind; he was focused on helping Riya stay calm.

Once every Elder had found their seat, it was time to start the trial. "Bring him here," said Amelia firmly.

Not long after, two Elves with pointy ears brought Cassian to stand in front of the Elders and the Empress. His hands and feet were bound with dark, shiny chains. These weren't ordinary chains; they seemed to have a power that stopped Cassian from using his own, leaving him without any strength.

Unfortunately, Amelia didn't allow Cassian's daughter to attend the trial. Amelia knew that Cassian's daughter would most likely plead or beg for her father. Amelia didn't want that. Only certain members can come to this trial ground. And Nienna was not one of those members. "Let's start the trial," Amelia said, keeping her voice even and giving nothing away about her thoughts.

"Cassian, who used to be a commander of the Celestial Terrain and then later became the instructor of the training academy, you are here because you took the lives of 4,300 people who were protesting. Out of these, 3,400 were humans, and the others were creatures from different races who had come to our lands to make a living. You've also hurt more than 5,000 of our soldiers and caused trouble and worry among the people of Eldoria with what you did. You didn't listen to the Empress's commands and you ended the lives of 4,300 people who were there to protest peacefully. What do you have to say?" Asked the judge.

All this time, Cassian had been silent, his head down. Not a word had come from him since he was captured last night.

But when the judge finished speaking, he lifted his head and his eyes met Amelia's. "The ones I killed weren't innocent,"

Amelia lost her calm hearing his response. "Even if the people that you killed were not innocent, that didn't mean you had the right to end their lives. It's me who gets to decide how I am going to punish them. And it's not even proven if these people were the murders of the 31 elves, to begin with. What made you believe that these people killed 31 elves in the first place? Have you become so dumb Cassian?" In the end, Amelia felt nothing but disappointed in Cassian. "Then what about these heavy rumors that have spread around the Capital? How do you explain this? There is no smoke without fire." Cassian argued back.

"This whole thing wouldn't have happened if you had been more strict towards the protestors in the first place. These protestors wouldn't have dared to take over the streets of the capital if the Empress of the Celestial Terrain had been a little bit more strict with her policies." "I admit that I made a mistake but that does not justify your actions. To find out the true culprit, I ordered this whole case to be investigated so that no innocent person would be wrongfully punished." Amelia felt that there was no use in arguing with Cassian anymore. This whole matter had gone past that. Right now Amelia was more than just disappointed. She couldn't believe that Cassian would make such a dumb decision. "Cassian, you have broken the law. Regardless of how much you have done for this Empire, you will be punished accordingly." But then Seraphine interrupted Amelia. "If I may speak." Amelia wasn't pleased that Serahpine interrupted her at the crucial moment.

Seraphine walked in front of him, everyone. She stood between Cassian and Amelia. "My apologies for interrupting you but there is something very important that I would like to talk with everyone." Seraphine looked at Amelia with a small smile. "Big sister you're unfit to become the Empress of this Empire." "I agree with Elder Seraphine." All the elders stood up to show their support to Seraphine.

"Me too." Another elder agreed. "From now on, The Celestial Terrain Empire is going to have a new Empress. And the new Empress is going to be none other than Seraphine." Elder Lunaria Zephyra Skye announced. Seeing what was going on and hearing what all the elders including her aunt were saying, Riya felt like she had been hit by a lightning bolt. She was extremely shocked at this moment. However, Amelia didn't look that shocked. She looked like she had expected this kind of outcome. ----------------

Chapter 560

Chapter 560:- Silent Executioner

"From now on, The Celestial Terrain Empire is going to have a new Empress. And the new Empress is going to be none other than Seraphine." The announcement had deeply shocked Cassian and Riya. Both of them widened their eyes and stared at Seraphine.

Aditya was totally calm. He had crossed his arms on his chest and was staring at Seraphine and the elders with interest. He looked bored with all of this. He already saw this coming. This is why he warned Amelia about it when they talked in front of the lake a few days ago. Although he could have directly told her what Seraphine and the elder's intentions were, there was a very high chance that Amelia wasn't going to believe his words as Amelia was just too kind. She had been with the elders and her sister for centuries. Even if he told her about the intentions of the elders and her sister Seraphine, why Amelia should believe in his words? Besides, Aditya wanted to use this chance to make Amelia realize that in life she can't always be kind and soft towards every single matter. From the beginning, if she had been strict with the Elders and hadn't given them so much power, then this day wouldn't have come. However, Amelia still had an indifferent face. Her face lacked any reaction. "Seraphine, do you think you can force yourself to become the Empress?" Amelia calmly asked. "Hahaha!!" Hearing this she just merely laughed and responded. "I added poison to the food that you ate this morning. By now, the poison should have started taking effect. You three won't be able to use any of your powers now." It had taken Seraphine a lot of money

and time to get this special poison. Around the same time, Thalos, Seraphine's son made his entry. Thalos was carrying an axe on his shoulders. Thalos was staring at Aditya with a massive grin on his face. "You have humiliated my son, Istarin emperor. To be honest, because you decided to come with Riya, I had to make a ton of changes to my plans. From time to time, you have kept running my plans. I have grown kind of sick and tired of your existence."

At first, Seraphine was planning on Manipulating the elders to pressure Amelia to agree to let Riya get married to her son. That way she could be in power from the shadows. But that plan obviously failed.

"So I assume, you're the one who pulled the strings from the shadows and killed 31 elves and put the blame on the protestors." Aditya calmly asked. "Some of the protestors worked for me in secret. So it wasn't that hard for me to get them to take over the streets of the capital. Once 31 elves were killed, using the elders I spread the rumors that the protestors had angrily killed these so-called innocent elves. This is too obviously...." Seraphine gave a knowing smile and looked at Cassian. "You set me up.....!!!" Cassain angrily roared at Seraphine. Cassian angrily clenched his fists as he looked at Seraphine. He used to think that Seraphine was one of these people who could understand him but it turned out that she had been using him for her personal gain. At this moment Cassian was very angry unfortunately his powers were sealed because of the chains that were tied around his wrist and his ankles. These chains were saving Seraphine right now. Otherwise, nothing could stop him from tearing her body bit by bit. She just giggled and nodded her head. "People like you are too easy to manipulate. I just used your hatred towards big sister to get what I wanted. I have to thank you Cassian. You have helped me set up the perfect stage to become the Empress of this Empire and fulfill my dream at long last." Hearing this Cassian could only grit his teeth in anger. In fact, this wasn't the first time that Seraphine had manipulated Cassian. Since Amelia and Cassian were always at odds with each other, she used this to whisper bad things about each other in their ears and make them dislike each other even more. This was especially true for Cassian. "So all the nonsense about the public becoming angry at their Empress for allowing their Goddess to marry an outsider is nothing but propaganda that was spread by you and the elders?" Aditya asked. He already knew that someone was being this. Hearing this Amelia and Riya also looked surprised.

Seraphine did not deny what Aditya was saying. "When you have so much power in your hand, it's very easy to control the public opinion. I needed a tool to put more pressure on my sister's head and it worked to a certain extent until she lost her calm in that meeting which kind of ruined everything." "But in the end, it's me who is going to win." "So you did all of this just so that you could become the Empress?" Amelia asked her sister in a disappointed tone. It would be impossible for Amelia to not feel any disappointment and sadness. "It was not just about becoming the Empress." Seraphine suddenly became angry. "I was born to be the Empress of this Empire. I have worked extremely hard for this. Yet when it was time, our mother suddenly felt that you were better suited to become the Empress than me. Despite working so hard, what did I get in return, I got the position of special elder. A position that feels nothing but a consolation prize. It was supposed to be the other way around." Seraphine had a crazy look on her face as she screamed at Amelia. "Over the centuries, one by one I began controlling all the elders. You had no idea about the fact that these elders were taking advantage of your kindness and were using you to fill their own profits, did you? I found out and used this to increase my powers." All of the Elders guilty lowered their heads. Seraphine had been blackmailing them for years now. They had no choice but to listen to her words. And they had to admit following Seraphine had given them more profits and powers than they could have imagined. "We apologize, Your Majesty. But we have chosen to follow Lady Seraphine." All of the elders were Hypocrites. They only cared about their profits. For the sake of their power and wealth, they didn't care about the laws and policies of the Empire. For centuries, they have been taking full advantage of Amelia's kindness. They were parasites. For centuries they have sucked from Amelia and now that the power was shifting to Seraphine, they were siding with her so that they could continue to enjoy their power and wealth.

Hearing all of this Amelia was having a hard time controlling herself. "Aunty...!!!" Aditya put his hand on Amelia's right shoulder and gently called out her name. Amelia felt very conflicted at this moment. She was saddened and heartbroken by her sister's words. And above all, she was extremely disappointed in her sister and in herself for her failures. Sigh!!!

Amelia took one last look at her sister and Thalos. Regardless of how bitter the relationship between them was, they were still part of her blood. They were her family. But just like her mother once said, [Seraphine isn't worthy of becoming the Empress as there is darkness hidden in her heart].

'And that darkness was Jealousy.' Amelia realized what that darkness truly was. 'Mother, you were right all along.' Amelia looked up at the sky and thought in her mind. "End it."

After saying these words Amelia painfully closed her eyes as she could never bring herself to watch what was about to happen next. Since doing it with her own hand would be too painful, she selfishly wanted someone else to do it for her. Meanwhile, Seraphine, the elders, and even Thalos looked confused seeing the interaction between Amelia and Aditya. Swoosh!!!!!

Cassian felt a strong gust of wind. He instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he saw the bodies of the Seraphine, the elders, and Thalos lying on the ground. Their heads had been separated from the rest of their bodies. Blood was gushing out of their severed throats. Their eyes were still wide open and full of shock. 'He was able to kill 12 Peak 5th-order cultivators within a few seconds. And worse of all, he isn't even an Assassin yet he did all of this so silently. I did not even hear any noise.' Cassian thought as he looked at the dead bodies of the Elders, Seraphine, and Thalos. 'Just how strong is he?' Cassian asked himself in his heart. Cassian knew that he would never find out the answer to this question as he could never hope to catch up to Aditya. Cassian's heart was full of admiration and respect as he stared at Aditya. Aditya did not stop there. Before Amelia opened her eyes, he snapped his fingers.

Snap!!!

With the snap of his fingers, all the dead bodies lying around them were engulfed in Crimson flames. A few seconds later, all the dead bodies were burned to ashes. There weren't even any stains of blood on the ground left. Other than the ground being slightly burned black, there was no sign or no trace of their existence. When Aditya Met Thalos, he was already suspecting that there was something wrong. When Seraphine does not bring her son Thalos to the dinner party even though Amelia asked her to, at that time, he begins to suspect that Seraphine is different from what she appears to be. She was hiding her true personality under a mask.

To confirm, Aditya's suspicion, Before the meeting began, Aditya had secretly put a talisman under the table in the meeting room. The elders and Seraphine had gathered in the meeting room to discuss things between them before Amelia even arrived for the meeting. He was able to hear things that revealed the true intention of the Elders and Seraphine. And this morning, the system had luckily warned him about the poison otherwise he wouldn't have even known that he was poisoned. Knowing about the poison, Aditya returned home. Julia made an antidote for the poison within a few hours and was able to cure Aditya. He had fed the antidotes to Riya and Amelia before the meeting began.

Amelia opened her eyes and found that Seraphine, all the Elders, and Thalos..... in short, all the annoying pests had disappeared from her life forever. From now on, she won't need to worry. Yet her heart felt heavy. After all, she had just lost a sister today. She had lost a nephew today. And with their deaths, the future of Royal bloodline also has ended. Even if Riya and Aditya have children in the future, their children would have a Royal Elven Bloodline. But this was for a better and bright future. Sometimes, sacrifices were absolutely necessary. And Amelia learned that lesson today in a very tough way. "Aunty, I have recorded the entire conversation with Seraphine. If you wish, we can show the people of this Empire what Seraphine and the Elders were planning." With a heavy heart, Amelia just nodded her heart. "Although she didn't wish to ruin her sister's name, it was absolutely necessary step to clear some misunderstandings and end all the propaganda that Seraphine had spread." After all, even when Seraphine showed her true colors, she never called Amelia by her name. Instead, she called her big sister, this just goes on to show the deep respect and love Seraphine had for Amelia. "Cassian, although this whole thing was planned by Seraphine, your actions cannot be ignored. You have broken the law and you killed a lot of innocent civilians. As the Empress of the Celestial Terrain Empire, I hereby punish you with 400 years of imprisonment. You will wear these chains for the next 400 years and work at the mines." Cassian accepted his mistakes and accepted the punishment that had fallen on his head. From the beginning, Amelia never planned to sentence Cassian to death. After all, the Empire needed him. Also, Amelia can't forget all the things that he had done for this Empire in the past. After thinking for the entire night, this was the suitable punishment that Amelia came up with for Cassian. "I accept." Cassian lowered his head and said. "Furthermore, in times of need, you shall answer to my call." That meant that if there was an emergency situation around the Empire, Cassian would need to come out of his imprisonment and serve the Empire. "Do you accept?" Cassian realized that Amelia was being very kind to him. He had already let go of all the hatred that he had for Amelia. He was grateful to her for giving him another chance. "I accept." Cassian kneeled in front of Amelia to express his gratitude. Once this was over, Amelia did not look at Aditya or Riya. She just stood up and began walking away. "Mother....!!!" Riya was about to go after her mother but then Aditya stopped her and shook his head. This woman just lost her blood sister and her nephew, she needed some time alone. ----------------

Chapter 561

After everything that happened, they showed the video of the event to everyone in the empire. Everyone could see on the screens what Seraphine and the council of elders had tried to do and how they didn't succeed.

The people of the empire could now see the truth about Seraphine and the elders. They found out that these leaders and the Empress's own sister weren't the good and generous people they were thought to be. The video also cleared up the mystery behind the deaths of 31 elves and the reasons why Cassian had taken the lives of more than 4,000 people who were protesting.

This video cleared up all the wrong ideas that the people had. It also showed everyone that the rumors were true about their goddess, who was going to marry the King of the Istarin Empire, Aditya.

Really, no one saw any issue with their goddess marrying Aditya. Of course, some elven men were not happy about this, but there was nothing they could do. They were really jealous and envious of Aditya. Aditya was more than a good match for their goddess. Also, being friends with a strong kingdom from another land would be a good thing for their own empire as time went on and everyone understood that.

Previously Seraphine and the elders were spreading their propaganda and made people believe that this was going tear the Empire apart. But now that all the misunderstandings had been cleared up no one had any problem with the marriage. And Amelia's words further calmed the public.

When the video came out, Amelia spoke to all the people in the Celestial Terrain Empire. She made it clear that Riya was still going to be the next Empress even after marrying Aditya. Even if Riya was the wife of a King from another place, she would still be the ruler of their own land. And the first baby Riya and Aditya would have was going to be next in line after Riya.

The Empress also said that those who helped Seraphine would be punished in the right way. Some would spend their life in jail. Others would face a worse fate – they would be put to death for everyone to see. This was so everyone in the Empire could learn a lesson and not try anything like this again. This was the first time in the history of the Empire, the people were going to witness public execution.

There was another reason why Amelia went with the public execution. She did not want anyone in the Empire to think that their Empress was very soft and kind and wouldn't sentence anyone to death. She wanted the message to be clear and loud - Those who cause harm and injustice were going to suffer the consequences of their actions.

She also said that the job of the Council of Elders would change. The authorities and the political powers of the Elders are going to be reduced to nothing. All powers will be concentrated in the hands of the Empress to make sure that no one misuses their authority and their political power.

The Empire was going to have a Prime Minister. This Prime Minister would work with the elders and tell the Empress about everything they did and talked about. Amelia said they were going to pick new elders and find the right person to be Prime Minister.

This new Prime Minister would have the power to ask the elders about what they were doing. The elders and the Prime Minister would have to meet often and talk about all the important things happening in the Empire. After their meetings, the Prime Minister would have to tell the Empress a short version of what they talked about and decided. The Empress would meet with the Prime Minister to go over important things and make big decisions. Then, the Prime Minister would tell the elders what they needed to do next, according to what the Empress decided.

Amelia took Aditya's advice and made everyone who worked for her, including even her Royal guards, maids, chefs, and even the gardeners sign the Soul binding contract that would prevent them from misusing their powers and authority and prevent them from spreading any sensitive information about the Empress or about the Royal Family.

Even the new Prime Minister and the new elders would need to sign the Soul Binding contract with Amelia. This would make sure that all the Elders and the Prime Minister are always loyal to Amelia and aren't abusing their status. This step would eliminate any chances of corruption among the elders and the other Royal Officials.

Making all of these decisions did not happen within a single night or within a few days. It took 12 days for these new rules and policies to be successfully implemented.

In those 8 days, a large amount of wealth was secured. The Elders and the Seraphine had amassed billions of royal gold coins in their pockets. Around 25% of this secured wealth was going to be invested in the Empire's military.

A total of 12 Peak 5th-order cultivators had been killed within a single day. This resulted in a huge loss in the Empire's military powers. Amelia realized that and understood the need to invest a lot of gold coins in the military. Since the elves' numbers were not that high, to begin with, Amelia was going to focus on quality rather than quantity.

At the same time, taking Aditya's advice, Amelia took many different steps to end if not reduce the discrimination between the elves and the other races that came from foreign lands to live in their Empire.

Scene change_____

Aditya could not sleep for some reason. Unable to sleep, he decided to go out for a walk. While walking out, he couldn't help but think about Amelia.

These days, Amelia looked like she wasn't herself. Since that day's event, Amelia had kind of changed. She had learned her lesson and had changed her ways. In many ways, she now had become much more strict.

'The betrayals and the deaths of Seraphine and Thalos have impacted a lot of ways.' Aditya thought in his mind. After all, Amelia wasn't as tough as Aditya. Aditya had seen and experienced the cruelty of mankind but Amelia was new to this.

While thinking about her, Aditya stopped walking as he saw Amelia sitting on a wooden bench and drinking wine from a wooden mug. It was the same wooden bench on which they talked last time. While holding the wooden mug, she was looking into the distance in a daze. She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not even realize that someone had walked behind her.

"Aunty, are you not going to sleep?" Amelia was startled for a second before she looked to her right to find Aditya sitting next to her.

"What about you?" Instead of answering, she asked him the same question.

"I could not sleep. Back at home, I am always sleeping with someone but now I feel very lonely sleeping alone. It's tough to fall asleep alone." Aditya said half-jokingly. Usually every single night, he would exercise with Alicia and Julia for hours before falling asleep. But now sleeping alone was proving for him to sleep.

"It's nice being so young. Young people are always full of energy." Normally if Aditya said such words, Amelia would get kind of angry and would warn him to not forget about her daughter but now she was feeling nostalgic.

Aditya just grabbed the bottle of wine that was between them and poured some of it into his mouth before gulping it down. Amelia curiously watched Aditya drink.

Once he was done, he put the wine bottle down and looked at Amelia. "You're not that old you know. If anything, you look more like Riya's older sister or twin sister than her mother. Besides, for us cultivators, age is merely nothing but a number since we can't get old. In the last 1000 years or 10,000 years, I will still remain young. So age doesn't really matter."

Hearing his serious words, Amelia smiled before taking a small sip of wine. The wine that both of them were drinking wasn't some normal wine. It was a special elven wine that could even make Peak 5th-order cultivators like them drunk. "I will take your words as a compliment."

Both of them stared at the lake in silence. The moonlight was reflecting on the lake. It was a very beautiful sight. And it was also very peaceful.

"Do you regret it?" Aditya broke the silence and asked while staring at the lake.

Amelia did not respond immediately. She finished the rest of the wine in her mug in one gulp. "My family isn't that big Aditya. I lost my father at a very early age. I can't even remember the face of my father anymore. From my mother, I learned that my father was a brave man who died as a result of being stabbed in the back by his own brother." When her father died, she was only 4 years old. So it was normal for her to not be able to remember the face of her father.

"Seraphine and my mother were the only families that I had. Once mother retired, she just went to the Main continent and started living a quiet life in exile." Amelia cherished her family very much. Regardless of how evil and corrupted Seraphine was, at the end of the day, she was still her sister. And now that sister of hers is no longer alive.

Aditya just silently listened to her words. He let her vent out.

"It definitely hurts." Saying these words, Amelia finally broke down sobbing. Till now, she hadn't shed any tears. But now she couldn't hold her tears anymore. The longer she buried her tears in her heart, the more heavy and burdened she felt.

The pain of betrayal from the people that she trusted her. The pain of losing her sister and her nephew and the pain from disappointment. If not for Aditya, then Seraphine would have succeeded.

Seeing Amelia breaking down crying like that, Aditya felt sad for her. He put the wind bottle on the ground before he stood up.

Amelia widened her tearful eyes finding herself in his embrace. He was standing in front of her and hugging her face. Amelia could feel a gentle hand slowly patting her head from behind.

"It's alright. It's not your fault." It was as if his words were what she needed at that moment. Amelia wrapped her hands around his back buried her face in his chest and started crying.

Amelia cried for a long time. Even though she was a grown woman and was 1000 years old and was the Empress of the Celestial Terrain, she was crying in his embrace like a little girl.

After sobbing for more than 15 minutes, Amelia stopped. She realized that this was the first time in her life a man had held her so intimately and cared for her like this. Realizing this, her face slightly flushed red and her heartbeat quickened.

Aditya was so manly right now. This might have been the first time she had shown her vulnerable side to a man.

Amelia then quickly shook her head. Amelia knew that Aditya wasn't taking any advantage of her. Rather he was just comforting her. He did not mean anything else. Besides, Aditya was her daughter's man. How could she have such thoughts about him?

Amelia gently pushed herself away from Aditya. "Sorry, I didn't mean...!!!"

She could not even finish her words when he interrupted her. "It's alright. I don't mind." Saying that he sat down next to her. This time the distance between them had closed.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

For the sake of character development, the scene between Amelia and Aditya was necessary. I tried my best to not make this scene cringe.

Chapter 562

Chapter 562 562:- Tree of Blood

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke any words. It was a comfortable silence. "The day after tomorrow, you two are going to return to the Istari Empire, aren't you?" Amelia suddenly asked. "That's what we had planned." Usually, he refrained from drinking but this was one of those moments when he felt like indulging a little bit. "I see." Hearing this Amelia became sad and disappointed again. Amelia was disappointed and sad to know that she was about to become alone again. Previously when Riya left her, Amelia was very lonely. Now without them, she was going to feel very lonely. Amelia did not have any friend circle or anyone with whom she could hang out with. Most of my free time was spent on reading books and cooking. Reading and cooking were the two things that she enjoyed doing the most. Seeing her face, Aditya remained silent for a few seconds before suggesting something that caught Amelia by surprise. "You know you can come and live with us at the Istarin Empire." "What me? That's not possible." Amelia laughed and said. She felt that it was a good suggestion but not possible. How can the mother come and live with her daughter's husband and his family? "Why isn't it possible? Now that you have hired a Prime Minister and new elders, your workload has significantly decreased and this is only going to continue. You will find yourself with more and more free time. If you want you can come and live at the Dragon Palace. That way you can be together with Riya." Hearing the last part of his sentence, Amelia nearly said yes but that was something that was still holding her back. "The people are going to say a ton of things about this." "Why do you even care what the people will say or think about you? Regardless of what you do in life, people are going to make comments about it. Besides, no one would even know other than the people at the Dragon Palace that you're living there. The mouths of everyone who works for me are always sealed through the soul-binding contract. There is nothing for you to worry about. And using the teleportation array, you can come and leave the Dragon Palace whenever you want." "Please let me think about it." Amelia nearly said yes but she felt she shouldn't make such decisions without talking to her daughter first. She didn't want to make such an important decision so suddenly. Going to the Dragon Palace and living there was going to change a lot of things in her life. "Aunty, you seemed to have a lot of admirers throughout the Celestial Terrain empire." Aditya casually said. There was no doubting the fact that after Riya, Amelia was extremely popular in her own Empire. She had a lot of admirers. Elves women idolized her and wished to become just like their empress. While there were many Elven males who had a crush on her. Many of these admirers have even openly expressed their intention to marry their Empress. Even among the nobles, there were many who were like this. Amelia was a little thrown off by the comment. "Oh, those are just court games," she replied, trying to keep the tone light. "Nothing to take seriously."

Aditya's response was casual, but there was a hint of something else in his voice. "I suppose," he said, his gaze lingering on her just a moment too long. "Still, I must admit I don't quite enjoy the thought of others vying for your attention. Silly, isn't it?"

There was a brief silence, filled only by the rustle of leaves in the gentle night breeze. Amelia looked at Aditya, trying to read his expression. "Why would it matter to you?" she asked quietly as her heartbeat increased, the question hanging between them like a soft and fragile thread.

Aditya looked towards the lake. "It shouldn't," he admitted, and there was a small, almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders. "Let's not dwell on it."

Hearing this Amelia stared at Aditya for a few seconds before remembering that she was going to give something to Aditya. "By the way, there is something that I would like to give you. I have been thinking about giving this to you for a few days now." Aditya had no idea what she was talking about. "Give me your hand." Aditya obeyed her words and opened his palm for her. She mysteriously took out something from her storage ring and hid it in her closed palm. With a smile, she placed the mysterious item on his palm. "This....!" As soon as the item made contact with his skin, Aditya gasped in shock as he stared at the mysterious item in his palm. His eyes widened and for a second his heartbeat also quickened at that moment.

Aditya has been looking for this item for a long time now but he has been unsuccessful in finding it. The mysterious item in Aditya's palm

"This is the seed of the Tree of Blood," Aditya said while staring at the seed on his palm. The seed on his palm was only two inches in length. The seed looked more like a crimson diamond-shaped crystal. But when looking closely at it one could see countless tiny veins inside the crystal. Amelia was surprised and also impressed by the fact that Aditya was able to recognize what it was. People without any knowledge of the Tree of Blood would think that this item was nothing but a very unique diamond-shaped Crimson crystal. "I impressed. I certainly did not expect you to know about the seed of the Tree of Blood. I can assume that you already know about the Tree of Blood and what it can do."

To which Aditya seriously nodded his head. It wasn't that Aditya recognized the seed of the Tree of Blood because of its shape. He recognized it because the system showed him the seed's description which was super helpful to Aditya. In order to upgrade the Dragon Palace to level 2, there were some conditions that Aditya needed to fulfill first. One of those conditions was to find the Seed of the Tree of Blood.

The tree of blood is a very powerful and unique ancient tree. The tree's roots lived by sucking the blood of other living creatures. The more blood of cultivators it sucked, the more stronger it became over time. Aditya carefully put the seed of the Tree of Blood in his storage ring and then gratefully looked at Amelia. "Aunty, I won't say thank you for this gift. But in the future, if you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to ask." Aditya seriously said. He can't express just how grateful he felt. "Silly boy, what are you talking about? This was my way of saying thank you. You have helped me immensely. Without you, things would've been very different. I probably wouldn't be sitting here if not for your help." Aditya just smiled in response. "By the way, I can tell that you really wanted this seed. Is there any particular reason for this?" Amelia curiously asked him. "There is a very important reason but I can't tell you why I want the seed of the Tree of Blood so badly. I hope Aunty will be able to understand." Aditya said in an apologetic tone. "That's alright. Everyone has their secrets." Amelia smiled and understood. Aditya sighed in relief seeing that Amelia had dropped this matter. If she had continued with this matter, then he would have been left with no choice but to lie to her. Amelia felt very refreshed after talking to Aditya. Talking to him has reduced the weight on her heart. Amelia felt that she would be finally able to move forward. Amelia now felt more relaxed.

Amelia looked at the sky and murmured, breaking the silence between them. "There are so many stars out tonight." Her voice was soft, a mere whisper carried away by the gentle wind. She wrapped her arms around herself, though not just from the chill of the night. There was a warmth growing inside her, unfamiliar yet not unwelcome.

Aditya glanced upwards, following her gaze. "Yes," he agreed, his voice low. "Each one shines bright, yet from so far away. Kind of like admiration from a distance, I suppose."

Hearing this she chuckled lightly. "You have a way with words, Aditya," she said with a playful edge in her tone. But her eyes were serious as they met his, reflecting the starlight and something more.

"I speak only what is on my mind, Aunty. Sometimes, it is the distant stars that we wish could come closer to us, isn't it?" Hearing these words, Amelia's heart skipped a beat. She understood the hidden meaning in his words.

Fortunately, Aditya wasn't looking at her otherwise he would see that she looked flustered. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Amelia stood up. "it's getting late, we should head back." Aditya nodded and offered his arm in a gesture of courtesy. "Let me escort you back to the palace then." Amelia took his arm. Both of them walked back to the Palace in silence. ----------------

Chapter 563

Chapter 563 563:- Greeted by a Surprise kiss

It was the day that Aditya and Riya were going back to the Istarin Empire. Their stay at The Celestial Terrain Empire has been very exciting. However, all exciting times must come to an end, and As the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, Aditya must head back to the Istarin Empire as there were some important things waiting for his attention. Just within 12 days of the execution of Seraphine and the council of Elders, things were already looking great. Everything around the Empire was going in the right direction and Amelia was very satisfied with the progression of everything. After their last night's talk, Amelia now looked really happy and fulfilled. She was once again back to her normal usual self. She was full of positive energy and a motherly Aura. Amelia had positively changed. After finishing breakfast, the trio sat on the couches for an important discussion. Amelia sitting opposite Riya and Aditya. "Aditya, I really can't thank you enough for all the help that you have given me. And I also apologize for being such a bad host. I am sorry that you had to work." Aditya had helped Amelia out with a lot of matters. Without him, it would have taken her at least two more months to completely sort everything out. Aditya was really fast with his work. He had sorted everything out which immensely helped her. "What are you saying, Auntie? I consider you as my family. It's normal for family members to help each other out." Although on the surface there was nothing wrong with his words Amelia felt that his words held a deeper meaning to them. She almost wanted to ask what he meant by Family. Because the way he said his words kind of sounded wrong. Or maybe it was just that she was reading too much into it. "Aditya, I am giving my daughter to you. Please promise me that you will take care of my daughter. Promise me that you will never hurt her or make her cry." While saying these words, Amelia became a little bit emotional for some reason. "I promise." Aditya seriously nodded his head. "If I ever heard that you have made my daughter cry, then I will personally make sure to dispose of your body." Amelia threatened him with a smile on her face. Aditya had goosebumps all over his body hearing her words. But her smile was anything but gentle. To others, it might look like a gentle smile but to Aditya, it was the smile of the Demon empress. "Please do not worry about anything," Aditya assured her. So for the rest of the day, Amelia personally showed Aditya and Riya around the Capital. She took them to various historical places and told them about various important events that took place under her long reign as the Empress. At the time of sunset, it was time to head back home. Amelia was very reluctant to partner with her daughter. "Aunty, you're not coming with us?" Aditya was one hundred percent sure that she would come with them and was going to start living at the Dragon Palace. Amelia shook her head with a small smile. "There are still many important things that I need to do before I can come and start living with you." Hearing this Aditya was very surprised but then he quickly understood the reason behind her decision. Aditya was expecting Riya to convince her mother to start living with them. He was completely sure that she would come along but it seems he had overlooked a few things. 'I guess this is one of those times in life when things do not go according to the plan.' Aditya thought in his mind. "But why not mom?" Riya asked her mother. Amelia gently patted Riya's hair with a smile and she explained. "Tomorrow morning, I am going to make a trip to the Main continent." Hearing this Riya and Aditya looked at each other as both of them understood the reason behind this trip. A small sad smile appeared on her face as Amelia looked in the distance. "Yeah, I am personally going there to tell her the truth and explain what happened. Even if she has long retired and to the ears of the whole world she is considered dead, as a mother and as the former Empress she deserves to know what happened."

"Besides, It has been a while since I have seen her." Amelia wanted to see her mother and spend some time with her. Amelia had planned a discuss a ton of things regarding the future development of the Empire with her mother. In Amelia's eyes, her mother was much more wiser than her. So she was planning on asking for her advice. "Once I return back to the Empire, I am going to be busy with work." Talking with Aditya had given her many new ideas. She wants to implement these new ideas in her empire after discussing them with her mother. "Then let me come with you? I also have been wanting to see Grandma for a while now." The last time Riya saw her grandma was when she was a young child. Since then, she never has stepped foot on the Main Continent. Riya was thinking of staying with her Grandma for a day or two before returning to the Dragon Palace. "You can visit her later. Now now." In reality, Amelia was still very scared of her mother. She was scared of how she was going to break the news of Seraphine and Thalos's death to her. Aside from what Seraphine and Thalos had done, they were still their blood. The question was how a mother was going to react knowing the death of her daughter and her grandson. She was also scared of the reaction that her mother would have once she revealed about Riya's engagement.

Even though it was most likely that the first Elven Empress wouldn't oppose the engagement Amelia was nervous because she took such an important decision without informing her first. And besides, even though she had retired a long time ago, she still held too much authority and power in her hand. She was called the First Empress for a reason after all. "Don't worry, I will come to live with you very soon." She then looked at Aditya and said. "I am doing this to make sure that you don't mistreat my daughter. You're going to be under my observation." That was obviously a small part of the reason why she would be coming to live with Riya Aditya and others. "Yes.....!!!" Hearing this Aditya just nodded his head with a strained smile. For some reason, he felt that this woman's arrival at the Dragon Palace was going to bring him a lot of restrictions. Aditya and Riya stepped into the teleportation array. A few seconds later, with the bright glow from the array, both of them had vanished. As soon as they were gone, Amelia felt empty. For the first time, she lacked the shoulder to rely upon. No matter what kind of person Seraphine was, when Amelia was lonely, Seraphine was always there for her. Even if she was always with Amelia for her personal reasons.

Now Amelia felt completely alone. Just thinking about living alone like this scared her a lot more than she had initially imagined. "I guess, I will just to have hurry up and finish everything so that I can live with my daughter as soon as possible." -

Scene change_____

Meanwhile,

As soon as Aditya and Riya returned to the Dragon palace, Aditya felt a huge boost in his powers. He felt an almost endless amount of power was returning into his body. He felt invincible. This was due to the fact that Aditya had returned to his territory. He had returned to the Dragon Palace which was his base. Inside the Dragon Palace, Aditya's base stats would be increased by 150% which would more than double his powers. Not only that but also being at the Dragon Palace increased his mana recovery speed, healing speed, and cultivation speed will be boosted by 300%. And the Mana inside the Dragon palace is many times denser than the outside world. Even Riya felt very comfortable staying inside the Dragon Palace. Riya saw Aditya and found him taking a deep breath with his arms spread. "It feels nice to return home after 14 weeks." Aditya took Riya's hand and teleported to the living room. As soon as they teleported to the living room, Aditya was pushed down on the couch by a figure. Before he realized it, his lips were taken by her. He just went with the flow and wrapped his arms around her soft body. Mmm....!!

Both of them continued to kiss for a long time until she ran out of breath. "I missed you." Julia said while panting. She was sitting on his crotch and her chest was pressed against his chest. Both of their foreheads were touching. "I missed you more," Aditya said with a smile before kissing both of her cheeks and her forehead. "Julia, if you're done then please get up. You can continue this later." Sitting on the opposite couch, Alicia said calmly while reading a book. Alicia was reading a book about financials while having a cup of tea. Hearing Alicia's words, Julia looked around the living room only to realize that the whole family was in the living room. And everyone was staring at her. This instantly made her embarrassed. Despite being intimate with Aditya in their bedroom almost every single day, Julia still wasn't used to publically showing her affection for Aditya. This made her very embarrassed.

After all, Aditya's wife was very shy.

"Wow, Julia, I never knew that you were so bold." Lilith's words only increased her embarrassment. Julia hid her face with her palms and buried her face on his chest. Right now she wished to dig a hole and hide her face from everyone. 'How am I going to face everyone? They are going to kill me with their teasing.' Julia thought in her head. Aditya just smiled and patted the back of her head. He was happy to see that his family had been doing well in his absence. Alicia was a little bit jealous since Julia had taken the lead. And she was too embarrassed to hug him in front of him, everyone. Especially since there was Aria, Spencer, Leo, and Clara present. She just focused on reading. However, suddenly her chin was raised. Aditya took her lips. Chu!!!

Their kiss was around 10 seconds long. After that Aditya kissed both of her cheeks and her forehead. "I missed you." Seeing this Spencer had to admit that his Majesty had a thick skin. If he had to kiss all of his wives in front of the whole Family then he would feel very embarrassed and would not choose to do it. And fortunately he only had one wife and did not planned to have any other wives beside his lover Aria. But Aditya was different. He ignored everyone's gazes and kissed all of his fiances. He was bold with his actions. Aditya always meant to be fair. If he was going to kill Julia in front of everyone, then he was going to do it with all of his other fiances. He wasn't going to be biased and give most of his attention to just one girl. ----------------

Chapter 564

Chapter 564 564:- Dragon Grass

After kissing Alicia, Aditya didn't forget to do the same for Lara, and Sasha. Lara was very happy to see that her husband had returned. She happily accepted the kiss and the intimate time that she had with her husband. As for Sasha, she was still in her rebellious phase. "I don't need any silly kisses from you. Hmph!!!" The Goddess folded her arms under her chest and snorted as she looked away. The goddess was tsundere. "Then let me...!!!" Riya grabbed Aditya's face and kissed him without any hesitation. On this trip, the things that both of them have done have made Riya more courageous and confident than before. Of course, both of them are yet to take the final step. But that was soon going to change as now Riya was legally his 3rd fiance with Lara being his 4th and Sasha being his 5th. Seeing Riya passionately sucking on his lips made Sasha incredibly jealous. She gritted her teeth in anger. The way this woman was pressing her boobs on his chest and possessing Aditya made her very jealous. "Hey! I didn't say that you could kiss him. It was supposed to be my turn." Being jealous, Sasha pulled Riya away from Aditya. The goddess was just too embarrassed to admit that she really missed Aditya and was waiting to be kissed by him. And especially in front of everyone, she was in her tsundere personality. "But you clearly stated that you don't want his kiss." Riya calmly replied as she folded her arms under her chest as well. She looked very confident. "But that doesn't mean you could kiss him in my place," Sasha argued back. "Who said I can't?" Riya responded with a smirk. "Besides, I wouldn't waste any chance of being intimate with Aditya. Since you didn't want it I just took it for myself." Hearing this Sasha gritted her teeth. Meanwhile, everyone in the living room instantly noticed the changes in Riya. Before Riya was the one who easily lost her calm and struggled to win any argument but now it there have been some changes in her character. She had become calmer and much more cool-headed than before. She appeared to be very confident. All these changes made everyone wonder what truly had happened back at The Celestial Terrain Empire.

"Alright, enough girls." Aditya did not want to see these girls start another argument right when he returned home. Aditya did not leave Sasha out of this. With the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of her which seemed to have startled her. But before she could move back, he grabbed her waist and kissed her lips. Chu!!!

As soon as his lips touched her's, all of her resistance melted in his arms. She closed her eyes and tiptoed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Around 20 seconds later, Aditya stopped. Sasha was blushing. She couldn't look him into his eyes. The deadliest assassin in the whole world had melted it in his arms just because of a 20-second-long French kiss. "Little Emperor, where is my kiss?" As Aditya sat down on the couch, Lilith appeared behind him and whispered these words into his right ear as she arched her body forward and pressed her soft mountains on the back of the sofa. Feeling her hot breath, Aditya had goosebumps throughout his entire body. Aditya secretly gritted his teeth knowing that this succubus was purposely teasing him. And since she wasn't just any ordinary Succubus but rather the Succubus Empress herself, even such a small move like whispering into one's ear was filled with charm and seduction. Lilith purposely wrapped her arms around his neck. However, Aditya just completely ignored her. "So how was everything going in my absence?" Aditya looked at Spencer and asked him. Spencer was sitting next to his future wife Aria. Both of their engagement had been confirmed and now they were waiting for a perfect day to hold the official marriage ceremony. Holding the ceremony right now wasn't possible due to the tight schedule of Spencer. Also, both of them weren't in a hurry to get married. Looking at Aria, there was no doubt that the Ice Elf had gotten much more beautiful ever since she came to live with them. The pills that Alicia made from her had made her even more beautiful now though she still isn't as beautiful as Alicia and others. The pills made by Alicia not only removed the impurities that were within her but also improved the quality of her skin and significantly improved her cultivation. "Your Majesty, everything has been going very smoothly in your absence," Spencer replied with a smile. Thanks to all the secretaries that Spencer selected to work under him, he now had much more free time than before. Which meant that he was able to give more time to his future wife as well. He wasn't always locked in his office doing work. Spencer felt that he had to thank Alicia for helping him find such talented and gifted secretaries. With them under him, Spencer's work has significantly decreased. "That's good to know." As Emperor of the Istarin Empire, he was relieved to hear that. He did not want to kill his own prime minister with too much work and pressure. Seeing that Spencer was doing well in his private and work life made him happy and relieved. "Aditya, do you have any plans in the upcoming days?" It was Julia who asked him this question. Looking at Julia, Aditya found her looking very serious. "Well, I had planned on going to the Beast continent with you all. Is there any problem?" Aditya asked. If Julia wanted him for something important then he could always push his plans. Julia clapped her hands. "That's perfect. In order to complete the last remaining part of the cure that I have developed for Lara's mysterious illness, I will need to go to the Beast Continent to find a Super rare item known as the Dragon Grass." "Dragon Grass? Can't you just buy it?" Aditya asked her. Julia had been working for months to make a cure for Lara's mysterious illness. And with the Herb that Aditya brought for her from the action, Julia was very close to making a perfect cure for Lara. But to complete the cure she realized that she was going to need one more item which was the Dragon Grass. "I have tried to buy this item but trust me when I said that this item was super rare I wasn't joking. Even with all the connections and influence that Alicia has, she couldn't get her hands on the Dragon Grass. Not only that but also, she found out that in the last hundred or 200 years the Dragon grass has never been seen in any auction or in any market." Hearing this Aditya and others were surprised. If Alicia couldn't get her hands on this super rare item that means that this was a very big problem. After all, Alicia was the goddess of wealth. She had connections in all six continents of this world. She had a wide range of intelligence networks. Alicia had the power to change public opinion and start a civil war in any Empire. If someone like Alicia who had so many connections and resources couldn't find the Dragon grass anywhere then how can Aditya hope to buy it? Alicia closed the book that she was reading as she joined the conversation. "Currently, our only option is to head to the Beast Continent so that we can locate the Dragon Grass ourselves. From my connections, I have learned that the Dragon grass could only be found some specific areas of the Beast Continent and no other place in this entire world."

"It's not just humans, elves, Dragons, beast-folks, and demons that wish to get their hands on such valuable and Super rare herb. All kinds of magic animals also want this item. Each time the Dragon Grass has appeared there has been a huge war between magic animals and various tribes and forces from various empires and factions. All sides want to get this rare item in their possession regardless of the cost."

"Interesting!!!" Aditya now had one more reason to head to the Beast Continent. "Then it's decided, we will be going to the Beast Continent very soon." "Spencer, I am sorry to say this but I'll have to leave things in your hand." Aditya was apologetic towards Spencer for always leaving all the work in his hands. "That's alright, Your Majesty. This is a very important matter. You can rest assured and leave everything in my hands. Besides I have Watson to help me out." Watson nodded his head hearing this.

Even though Watson had retired, he still gave valuable advice to Spencer and sometimes even helped him out with his work. ----------------

Chapter 565

"Your Majesty, please come this way." The principal of the Istarin Royal Academy personally showed Aditya around the whole school.

The Istarin Royal Academy was the first Academy the Istain Empire had. Before he took over, the children from the Royal family and the children of the noble families of the Istarin Empire had to go to other neighboring Empires or Dynasties for education. The Istarin Dynasty previously had some private Academies but the fees of this private academy were just too much and the normal people couldn't afford to send their children to study.

Also for the normal people education wasn't really a priority. The common class and the lower class people saw education to be something that was only reserved for the rich and the elites of the society.

But after Aditya took over, he spent a lot of money building public schools all around his empire. The qualities of these Public schools were better than the Private Academies. Not only that but also, all the public school around the whole Empire was free. Children were even given free nutritious lunch every single day.

The Istarin Royal Academy was the very first Academy that Emperor Aditya opened. This Academy was very different from the other Academies. Not only was the curriculum very different and advanced compared to other Academies but also other facilities were also top-notch. Even the Academy building was considered an architectural masterpiece.

Istarin Royal Academy was such a great place to study that not only did all noble families of the Istarin Empire send their children here to study here, but also foreign noble families and royal families sent their children here to study here as well. Of course, the children who are from outside of the Istarin Empire have to pay a fee to live and study at the prestigious Istarin Royal Academy.

One big reason why nobles' families sent their children here to study was so that their children could build connections with the children of other noble families. And in the world of politics, such connections will prove to be a valuable asset in the future. If the future heir of a Viscount family could befriend the future heir of the Duke family, then why not?

Of course, The Istarin Royal Academy wasn't a place that was only reserved for nobles and royal family's children. Even common-class people could send their children to study here. One thing that was well appreciated by every single parent was the fact that every single student of The Istarin Royal Academy was always protected and bullying was completely forbidden.

The Istarin Royal Academy was protected with a Defensive Dome. The Defensive Dome surrounded the entire Academy and prevented any intruders from entering the Academy. It was all thanks to the measures that Aditya took to ensure the safety of all children.

Due to this fact, there are many noble families that could send their children here without needing to worry about their children's protection. They don't need to send any guards or take extra security measures unless their children have decided to move out of the campus and live outside of the Academy.

"Can you remind me why you're here with me again?" The Istarin Royal Academy has been requesting Aditya for months to come and visit the Academy when he has time. Since he had time this morning, he decided to come here for a visit. When he asked the girls if anyone wanted to come alone, they rejected his offer as they had other work to do.

Lilith giggled hearing his words. "Did you already forget?" Since Lilith had nothing else to do other than stay home all day long, she decided to follow him. Lilith never has gone to the Academy before. She was taught everything by private tutors.

When Aditya returned yesterday, he learned that Sylvie had returned back to the Ethereal Empire as they had some very important work to do. From Alicia he learned that the entire next month she is going to be super busy and won't have time to come to the Dragon Palace.

"Yeah, I remember. But if you make any trouble while I am here then no one can save you from my wrath." Aditya was scared that Lilith would make trouble for him. After all, he couldn't believe this naughty Succubus. He was kind of regretting his decision to bring her with him.

"Hehe!!! Does that mean I can do whatever I want once we step outside of the Academy?" Lilith asked while covering her mouth. Today Lilith was wearing a beautiful Kimono. It was a dark purple Kimono. She had tied her hair into a bun. There was no doubt that she looked stunning today.

Before coming here, Aditya had forced Lilith to change her dress as the dress that she was wearing at home was too revealing and it wasn't an outfit that one should wear inside Academy.

Flick!!!

Aditya flicked at her forehead. "Stop with your dirty thoughts." Sometimes Aditya wondered if this woman was even capable of having normal thoughts. Her mind was always filled with naughty things.

Ah....!!!

"That hurts, Meanie!!!!" Lilith pretended to be in pain.

The principal who had happened to turn around to tell something to Aditya saw this and felt that an arrow had pierced his heart.

'So cute!!!!' The 134-year-old single principal felt that he had fallen in love once again. Lilith was just too damn cute. However, he quickly remembered that the woman was walking beside Aditya. He couldn't have such thoughts.

"Stop it!!!" Although Aditya had to admit that she was very cute he also remembered that they were in public and there were at least 100 students whose eyes were on them.

"What do you think, Lilith?" Aditya asked while walking with Lilith. The Principal was walking ahead and was showing them around the Academy. This was his first official visit to The Istarin Royal Academy. Before today, the only times he ever came here was when the Academy was just being built.

Since then so much things have changed. Some of the teachers who taught here were old and retired merchants and some belonged to noble families as well. For nobles, being a teacher in such a prestigious academy was a big thing.

"About what?" Lilith asked back.

"About this school?" Aditya was just casually asking this question.

Lilith had a rare nostalgic smile on her face as she responded to his question. "Being here I kind of want to return to to Academy and be a student." Lilith's childhood was very brought. Since birth, she had the weight of carrying her bloodline and her race so she very rarely had time to enjoy her childhood.

Aditya stared at Lilith's face for a few seconds. Looking at her nostalgic smile, Aditya suddenly had an idea in his mind. "Lilith, since you have nothing to do. Have you ever thought of becoming a teacher here?"

Aditya's suggestion was so surprising that she stopped walking and just stared at him. "You are not joking, are you?"

"I am not. I am being serious here." Aditya stared into her eyes showing how serious he was. Meanwhile, on one hand, the Principal was feeling kind of excited at the thought of Lilith working here, and on the other hand, he was feeling very nervous knowing that someone who is so close to the Emperor was going to work here.

'Maybe I should step down and hand over my to this lady.' This is what he was thinking is mine.

"What do you even expect me to teach?" Lilith asked.

Aditya put his hand on his chin and began to think. "Let me think....!!! Oh..... You can teach history." Since Lilith had lived a very long time, she is more than suitable to teach history.

"Why do I have this feeling that you're thinking something rude about me?" Lilith glared at Aditya.

"And what do you mean by teaching history?"

"Well, if you don't want to do it then you can teach something else. You're pretty good at illusion magic, aren't you? You can teach the students about the basics of illusion or give them guidance about cultivation or something else. The choice is yours."

"This school even teaches illusion and cultivation?" Lilith asked.

"School for the young ones is split into two main parts. The first bit is the basic stuff. It's like the ABCs of school where kids get to learn reading, writing, and simple math. Think of it as the starter pack for learning that gets them ready for the bigger stuff later on. They stay in this part until they're about 10 years old. After the children are done with basic education, they are free to leave the Academy but if they want to pursue higher studies then they will need to pay a certain amount of fee every month depending on the course that they have chosen."

"After that, if they've done well in the basics, they move on to the second part. This is where things get more interesting. They dive deeper into the subjects they already know and start learning about cultivating. Depending on what they're good at, like if they can do illusion magic or are on the body strength path, they get matched with teachers who know all about that stuff. They'll guide them and teach them all the cool tricks and techniques."

"Plus, this second part has all sorts of courses. Some are short, like half a year, and others can be as long as five years. It's all about giving kids the chance to get really good at what they like and what they're naturally good at."

"So that's what you meant. I understand however, I can't immediately make any decisions. Let me think about it."

"Sure take your time. Meanwhile, let's enjoy our tour." Aditya and Lilith's tour around the Academy continued.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 566

Aditya and Lilith ended up staying at the Istarin Royal Academy longer than they had initially expected. They met Leo and Clara at school. They finished their tour around 3 and a half hours later. But they didn't immediately return to the Dragon Palace.

"It's a shame that we didn't get to meet Leo's girlfriend." Aditya was really hoping to see the girl that his little brother is obsessed with.

"Guess, we can't do anything about it." Because of an important family matter his girlfriend had to return home and couldn't come to school.

"Leo, can't keep hiding his girlfriend from me. Next time he won't be so lucky." Aditya said in a determined tone.

"Yeah...!!! Yeah...!!! So are we returning back to the Dragon Palace already?" Lilith asked in a bored tone. Ever since she moved in to live at the Dragon Palace, most of the time, she has been staying at the Dragon Palace. Very rarely she went outside.

Aditya might not have realized this but this was their first time hanging out together. Usually, Sasha or someone else might join them but right now it was only them. Today she was strangely enjoying her time with him. She didn't want to go back rather she wanted to spend more time with him outside. But somehow Lilith didn't have the courage to say it to him.

"Let's..... not go back. Since I don't have much work in my hand, let's take this time to explore around the capital. It has been a while since I explored the capital." Aditya was about to return to the Dragon Palace since he wanted to use his free time to work on his rune magic but then midway, he changed his mind as he also wanted to take a break and enjoy.

Hearing this Lilith was happy. "But we can't just walk around the capital like this. It would only bring too much attention if the Emperor was walking on the streets. Let's change our appearance." Lilith suggested with a smile.

"Alright.....!!!" Aditya replied in an unsure tone. Even though he was the Emperor, more than 99% of his citizens had never seen him. So there was no need to change their appearances but Aditya felt that Lilith was planning something so he decided to go along with her suggestion.

"Come with me." Lilith pulled into into nearby alley. Around a few minutes, two people walked out of the alley.

It was an average-looking couple. The girl was holding the man's arm with her both hands.

"Lilith, why are you holding my arm?" Aditya asked while trying to not look down. He could feel her boobs pressing his arms. It was not that he was complaining but it was wrong given their relationship.

"Do you not like it?" Lilith asked with a teasing smile. Right now both of their appearances had changed. Both of them looked no different from ordinary couples. Other than changing the color of their hair, nothing much about their appearance has changed.

Or that's what Aditya had initially expected. But.....

Lilith had completely changed her Kimono. The Kimono that she was currently wearing was short and covered to her thighs. Her legs were covered in black stockings. Her thighs were slender and seductive. A part of Aditya wanted to touch her thighs.

A small part of her cleavage was intentionally left exposed. Her breasts bounced with each step that she took. She looked very seductive and also very cute in her outfit.

"It's not about whether I like it or not.....!!!"

Midway, she interrupted him and said. "Then it shouldn't be a problem." After thinking for a while Aditya gave up. He wasn't losing anything here.

"So where are we going?" Lilith broke the silence and asked him this question.

It was starting to get warm outside. The snow was starting to melt as well. Spring was on its way.

There were many carriages and magic mounts running on the street. The two sidewalks of the street were full of people. There were some people who looked at Lilith from time to time. Even though she had currently restricted most of her charm to keep a low profile, she was just so beautiful and charming that the people walking around them had to take a second look at her.

"I don't know. I will follow you." Aditya didn't really have anything that he wanted to buy or do around the city. He just wanted to enjoy his time exploring the City.

"Alright. Then come with me." Lilith waved her hand towards an empty carriage that was passing by. The carriage driver saw her and stopped for them.

Aditya silently followed Lilith into the carriage. "Good afternoon, Miss. Where would you like to go?" The carriage driver asked. The carriage driver was a middle-aged man. The carriage was very simple and ordinary.

Compared to the royal carriages, these kinds of carriages were extremely simple and shabby looking. No one even thought that the Emperor of the Istarin Empire would be riding such a simple and shabby-looking carriage. But neither Lilith nor Aditya cared about the carriage.

"Can you please take us to the Silver Moon shopping store? It's a shop located in the Western square of the City." Hearing this Aditya was left speechless. All the girls in the Dragon Palace regularly went shopping. And each time they went shopping they always bought a bunch of clothes. Shopping was the last thing that he expected her to do. After all, Lilith lacked anything but clothes.

"Alright, Miss." The carriage that was being pulled by two Magic horses began to move. Very shortly the carriage picked up speed but since there were other carriages and magic mounts on the street, it wasn't possible for the carriage to reach its full speed.

"You seriously want to buy more dresses? Just a few weeks back, I remember that you had bought 21 dresses to wear. I am sure you haven't even worn them yet." Since Aditya wasn't into shopping he couldn't tell the fun that Lilith and other ladies at the Dragon Palace had buying so many different outfits.

"Hehe!!! I love it." Aditya gave up. It wasn't as if Aditya lacked money. He had more money than he could ever spend.

"Aditya, there is something that I want to tell you." Lilith became serious and said.

She slightly leaned towards Aditya as a result both of their shoulders touched. Her voice wasn't that loud so that the carriage driver couldn't hear anything. "Have you done it with Riya?" Seeing her face he knew that she was completely serious right now. She wasn't joking around.

"No, I haven't." Given how surprises that waited for them at the Celestial Terrain, in the end, Aditya and Riya never got time for such activities.

"Oh my!!! That's surprising. I thought you would definitely do it." Lilith looked genuinely surprised.

"Get to the point."

"Can you do it with Sasha as soon as possible?" Aditya obviously knew the reason why she looked serious about this matter. Sasha and Lilith both were cursed. Sasha cannot live if she doesn't lose her virginity and just like Lilith, Aditya was the only man that she could have physical contact with. For some reason, she can't have skin contact with any other men regardless of their gender.

"Are you concerned about Sasha's....?" Aditya didn't need to finish his sentence. Lilith understood what he was saying.

"Um.....!!!" She lowered her head and nodded. She looked sad right now.

Aditya stared at her for a few seconds and then asked. "What about you, Lilith?" Back when he first met her, she said that only he could save both of them. She said that if he didn't do it with Sasha before she reached the age of fifty then she was going to die. And the same was going to happen to Lilith but at that time, Aditya had a question in his mind that he forgot to ask them.

"You can't touch any male other than me. But you have lost your virginity to have Sasha. Back then, you said that you would follow Sasha and die just like her. I don't understand. I can understand that Sasha's life will be in great danger because she's still a virgin and can't lose her virginity because she can't come in contact with any men. But how is that applicable to you? I mean you have lost your virginity, right?" Aditya always wanted to ask her this question.

"Actually, I never lost my virginity." Lilith lowered her head and replied.

"What?" Aditya couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's the truth. The thing is before I was pregnant with Sasha, I never had this strange disease."

"How did you even get pregnant without losing your virginity?" Aditya asked her in shock. It was all starting to make sense. Aditya finally understood why Sasha never knew anything about her father or why Aditya never heard anything about Sasha's father even though he had been with them for so many months now.

"This is a very important matter. Since I am telling you about this, I think Sasha also deserves to know the truth." Lilith knew that she couldn't hide from everyone forever. The truth needs to come out.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 567

"So....! What do you want to tell me, Mom?" This was the first time Sasha had seen Lilith looking this nervous and also this serious. Her face was straight. She had put her hands on her knees and was looking down.

Aditya was sitting next to Sasha and staring at Lilith. "It's something regarding your biological father."

Sasha didn't show much reaction hearing this. Since growing up, Sasha has never experienced the love of a father and she has long accepted the fact that she doesn't have a father. In her heart, she had no desire for any fatherly love. This is why Sasha never asked Lilith about her biological father or who her father was.

Lilith took a deep breath and she opened her mouth. "Actually, before I had you Sasha, I didn't have this strange disease that we currently have." Hearing this Sasha was surprised and also shocked. Sasha used to think that this strange disease had been passed down to her from her mother and her mother also has been suffering from this disease her whole life. But now her words had just shattered a belief that she had since childhood.

"But I was someone who was called the one of the two Saints known for her purity. Despite being the Succubus Empress, I never lost my virginity to anyone. I kept my purity because as I was one of the two chosen Saints. I have kept my purity for well over 1000 years." Aditya couldn't imagine what kind of struggle Lilith must have gone through because of having to keep her purity.

Even normal Succubus would go completely crazy and lose their minds if they were stopped from losing their virginity and from ever having sex for 1000 years. Not to mention Lilith who was the Succubus empress. Being the Succubus Empress, her sex drive was many times stronger compared to the sex drive normal Succubus. If the sex drive of a normal Succubus was like a big pond, then the sex drive of the Succubus Empress was like the ocean.

The Succubus Empress was born to lead all Succubus and Incubus. It's not just a title given to Lilith by other Succubus, she was born as the Succubus empress. Sasha was also the same.

This was the first time Lilith had openly admitted how old she was. Even Sasha looked surprised to know how old her mother was. Before whenever she asked how old her mother was, she would always say that she was hundreds of years old but never gave a specific number.

"But Mom, how did you even become the Saint? And what does it even mean to be a Saint?" Sasha asked her not understanding anything. Aditya was the same too.

"Even before I was born there was a prophecy that was passed down in the Succubus Society. The prophecy said that if the new generation Empress Succubus is able to maintain her purity for 1000 years, then the child born from the Saint will be a Goddess. The child born will be a genius of geniuses. No geniuses in this world will be able to compete with the Child's talent in cultivation."

"Once 1000 years was over, I didn't even need to find a man, I just found out that there was another life in me. This was probably the same with the other Saint."

"And since Sasha was born, this strange disease appeared out of nowhere and affected both of us. Since I was the chosen Saint, even though I didn't lose my first time for 1000 years, nothing affected me in any way. Normally even if a Succubus empress were to stay a virgin even for more than 50 years, she would die but I survived because I was the Saint. But after Sasha was born, I am no longer considered the Saint." Lilith felt a heavy load from her chest has been lifted now that she has revealed the truth to her daughter and her daughter's future husband.

Sasha and Aditya's minds froze. For a long time, neither of them spoke anything. Whatever Lilith revealed just now was just too much to take.

After a long time of silence, Aditya released cold air from his lungs and sighed loudly.

Sigh!!!

"This is just too much to take." If Aditya hadn't heard this from Lilith, then he probably wouldn't have believed what he had heard. While sighing he rubbed his forehead. But then a question rose in his mind.

"Wait a minute, does that mean the mothers of the other six goddesses were also Saints and also had to preserve their virginity for 1000 years?" This was very highly unlikely since Aditya already had met the mother of Alicia and Julia. Neither of their mothers was 1000 years old or had preserved their virginity for that long. He was sure about it.

"No. At first, I thought it was but it wasn't like this. Since Julia and Alicia's mothers aren't like me. They are very young. But I believe the goddesses whose mothers were saints like me will be born with extra talents. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but Sasha was able to reach Peak 5th-order when she was just 20 years old."

"She didn't use any cultivation pills or any mana-gathering formations to accelerate her cultivation speed. I believe she is extremely talented in Cultivation."

Hearing this Aditya couldn't help but think. 'And Riya is also the same age as Sasha. Not only that but also both of them are exact copies of their mothers. Now that I think about it, I never learned who Riya's father was as well. And Amelia is also over 1000 years old. Does that mean.......?' Aditya stopped thinking. It would be better to get these answers from Riya. And Aditya had a feeling that Lilith already knew about Amelia and both of them already has met.

'In her words, she maintained that beside her that was another saint.' Aditya thought in his mind.

"Aside from Julia, Alicia, and Riya, I have never met the mothers of the other three goddesses so I can't tell if their mothers were saints like me or not. But what I can tell is that the child of the saint is guaranteed to be born with talents and powers that the world has never seen."

"From what I have learned each of the seven Goddesses is based on a certain aspect. For example, Julia is the Goddess of Alchemy. But that did not mean that when she was born, she had all the knowledge of alchemy within her mind. But when it came to learning Alchemy, no one was better at it than her. She is simply the best alchemist that this world has ever seen. This is what makes her the Goddess of Alchemy. But in my understanding, I know that Julia can't give any blessings to anyone. And Alicia is also just like Julia in that matter."

"But Sasha is different. As the Goddess of Lust, her powers should be focused on charm seduction, and fertility but she became one of the best Assassins in the whole due to her talent. Not only that but also, she could bless people."

This was Aditya's first learning that Sasha could bless people. He looked at her to confirm Lilith's words. Sasha just nodded her head.

"There are many types of blessings that I can give to couples and individuals. For example, I can bless couples or women with the blessing of 'Fertility Enhancement'. Right now, I can bless anyone with 10 types of blessings. The blessing increases the chances of women getting pregnant. And as my cultivation improves, so does the power of my blessings."

Lilith was super happy that her daughter wasn't mad at her for keeping this secret for such a long time. "What do you think, Aditya? Sasha is awesome isn't she?" Lilith looked at Aditya with a smile only to find him lost in his thoughts.

"Aditya....?"

Aditya snapped out of his thoughts. "Sorry, I was just wondering if with your blessing you all could get pregnant much sooner." Aditya knew how long he would need to wait till he could expect his first heir to be born. Aditya being a Divine Crimson Storm Dragon drastically makes it difficult or next to impossible for his wives to get pregnant. So he wondered if he could shorten that period of time with her blessing.

Hearing Aditya's words, Sasha blushed. It turned out that he was thinking about having children. "It's possible." She murmured in a low tone. But with Lilith's and Aditya's super hearing, they managed to hear what she was saying.

"That's great. I can't wait to play with my grandchild. Hopefully, that day would come very soon." Lilith said with a smile. However, what Sasha said next completely froze her smile.

"Mother, since you're no longer the Saint, does that mean you would die like me if you didn't lose your first time within 50 years?" And since Sasha was already 24 years old, that meant that Lilith could live for another 26 years.

Lilith awkwardly nodded her head. For a second her eyes met Aditya's before she quickly looked down like a frightened rabbit. "And since Aditya is the only person that me and you could touch that means........!!!" The Answer was very obvious, not only Aditya would need to make Sasha his wife which he had accepted by now, but he also would need to make Lilith his wife if he didn't want her to die.

'Now, I kind of understand why she is so clingy with me.' Aditya thought while looking at Lilith who now looked embarrassed. This was his first time seeing her like this. She looked very cute right now.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 568

"So, can someone please explain what we are doing here and why we are in disguise?" Sasha asked the most obvious question. It wasn't just her who wanted to ask this question. Julia, Lara, Riya, and Lilith, all had the same questions in their minds.

"Trust me, this disguise is for our own good," Aditya replied with a smirk.

"I don't think a disguise was necessary. Right now we are in a different continent, one that is very far from our own continent. I don't think anyone here would even recognize us." Riya felt that this disguise wasn't needed at all. Who would recognize them here? And even if someone recognizes them, what could possibly happen? The answer was nothing. Riya felt that Aditya was being too cautious.

In the face of absolute power, even if they were recognized, no one would have the courage to attack them as they had the best and the strongest cultivator in the six continents. With Aditya here who could possibly even think of attacking them?

"Actually this disguise is going to help us keep a low profile while we are on this journey. In the eyes of the public, Aditya is currently in his own empire. What do you think would happen if the public were to learn that the Emperor of the Istarin Empire is away from his empire?" Hearing this question Riya became quiet.

Knowing that the Emperor was away, there could be many people who had dark intentions toward the Empire, to take some action from the darkness.

A big example of that would be the League of the black Tomb. The mysterious organization has been targeting Aditya and the Istarin Empire.

Everyone finally understood why they were in disguise. It had been more than 10 minutes since the group came to the beast continent.

Compared to other continents the beast continent was very underdeveloped, and the economy of the continent was very poor. Unlike other continents that had various kingdoms, empires, and factions, in the beast continent, there were tribes and clans.

Unlike the first Elven Empress who had been able to unite all the tribes, and all the clans in the land of elves to form the celestial terrain Empire, in the beast continent, no force till now has been able to unite all the clients and all the tries to form one massive empire. Small and big tribes and big clans were always constantly fighting with each other.

This is one of the reasons why so many foreign powers have been able to conquer parts of the beast continent throughout its history. But nowadays, except for a few powers that control very small parts of the continent, no one else controls the beast continent other than the native tribes and clans.

The Beast continent always has been severely lacking in resources. Most of the continent is one big desert, and the rest of the continent is a land of endless grass; one big Prairie.

The native tribes and clans that live in the beast continent, have long adapted to the harsh climate environment of this continent. The tribes and clans are very skilled at surviving with whatever they have at their disposal. Most stripes either realize on hunting for magic, animals or raising a few certain types of magic animals.

"So where are we going now?" Asked Julia. This was the first time for everyone coming to this continent. Not even the goddess of wealth had ever come to this continent before.

Alicia only sent her subordinates to come to this continent if there was anything that she needed or her business needed.

If she had to explain what kind of place the beast continent was then she would call this continent of wasteland because of the lack of resources. Compared to the other continents. The beast continent was indeed like a Wasteland.

"I will tell you later. For now, let's find a desert ship to buy for us and then we can leave this City."

Currently, Aditya and the girls had come to a City called the Savannahclaw. This was one of the only cities in the beast continent that was developed enough to have a teleportation array.

The city was built around Oasis. The city wasn't located that far from the sea. The Savannahclaw was only 11 km away from the sea. Being Located so close to the sea and having a supply of fresh water, just these two facts made this city very popular and was enough to stimulate its economic growth.

The Savannahclaw city had a population of 1.2 million. The city was under the control of a certain powerful tribe. 90% of the population of the city was foreigners and travelers. Travelers and merchants would come to this city.

Travelers who were traveling would stop here to restock their supplies and continue their journey towards the other parts of the beast continent.

The local population of the city survived by relying mostly on fishing. Due to the harsh climate, Agriculture wasn't possible. So the main food of Savannahclaw city was mostly fish and meat of the magic animals that had been hunted. But in this desert, even the quantity of such magic animals was very low and they are extremely hard to track down.

The foreign merchants from other continents brought vegetables and other goods with them to sell here. But the prices of vegetables and other foreign goods are too high and too expensive for normal folks to consume on a regular basis.

In the Beast Continent, the vegetable was something that everything wanted but was available in very low quantity. Hence, vegetables were something that was only meant to be consumed on special occasions or only the rich and elites could consume it on a regular basis.

"That reminds me, Riya, as the goddess of Nature, can you turn this entire City and the areas around the City completely green?" Julia was curious if Riya could do it.

The temperature was very high. Even though it was supposed to be spring, it was a hot sunny day. The sun was right above their heads. Fortunately, they were cultivators and they had resistance to cold and hot weather. But having resistance didn't mean that the girls were comfortable in such a climate. It was the opposite of comfortable for them.

And since Lara was the only one in the group who wasn't a cultivator, it was extremely hot for her. She had been sweating a lot ever since they came here. She also has been panting and drinking a lot of water.

"It will be difficult for me to do something so big. But if I rest a few times and recover my Mana then I can do it." Riya was very confident in her ability. By blessing this land, she could turn this desert into a fertile land where agriculture would be possible. She could also make springs and fill wells with water.

"Lara, are you alright?" Aditya asked Lara in a concerned tone. It had been not more than 15 minutes since they came to Savannahclaw City. And due to the intense heat, Lara didn't look so well. Her whole body was soaked in sweat.

Huff!! Huff!!

"Husband, Lara isn't feeling well." Lara weakly leaned against Aditya's chest and said while panting. She was feeling really hot.

'I should have thought of a solution for Lara before starting this journey.' Aditya blamed himself for being careless. As her husband, he should have known that this would happen to her if he brought her here. Seeing her like this, Aditya felt very guilty.

It wasn't just Aditya who was concerned about her. All the girls looked equally worried about Lara's condition.

"Should we take a break somewhere and head out at night?" Julia worriedly suggested. During night time, the temperature is going to drop and it won't be that hot anymore. And using the starry sky, it would be possible for them to travel.

"Let me help...!!!" Riya stepped forward with the intention of summoning rain. But Aditya was already one step ahead.

Crack!!!

Hearing the rumbling sound, everyone stopped and looked up. It wasn't just the girls but everyone in the city looked up. Under their astonished and shocked gazes, dark clouds blocked the sunlight within a few seconds. The whole sky was covered in dark clouds. Strong winds started blowing from the east.

Patter!!! Patter!!!

"It's raining." Aditya made it rain. It started raining intensely. Within a few seconds, all of their bodies were soaked in rainwater.

"Are you feeling well?" Aditya asked while hugging Lara.

"Thank you, Husband," Lara said as she leaned against Aditya's chest.

"It's raining...!!!" Someone looked at the sky and said with a smile.

"But who did...!!!" Another person wondered.

"I don't know who made it rain but we should be grateful to that person for making it rain. Today was especially too hot." A third person commented as he allowed the rain to fall on his body.

Everyone around the whole city was in joy and was celebrating due to the rain. Rain meant fresh water for the native people. There were many people who already had started collecting rainwater with the intention of storing it for future use.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

My apologies for not uploading any chapter for the last three days. Recently my schedule changed. I was barely able to keep up with everyone, leaving me with almost no time to write. When I sat down to write any chapters, I just fell asleep. Hopefully, something like this will not happen again.

Chapter 569

"Let's not wait here. Let's find an inn to spend the day and we can head out at night." Once they have brought a desert ship then their journey will become very easy. Lara will not have to suffer from the heat anymore.

'I will need to work on making something that would keep the temperature low inside the desert ship.' Aditya already had some ideas on what he wanted to make. he believed that with his current skills making something like this was possible.

Scene change____

Meanwhile, somewhere in the city, watching the rain, a person sitting on a throne had a pissed look. The man looked very angry and displeased. He tightly clenched his fists in anger as he stared at the sky.

This man was none other than the ruler of the Savannahclaw City. He was the ruler of his beast tribe. Being the ruler of his beast tribe meant that he was also the ruler of the Savannahclaw city.

"Find out who is responsible for this" The man sitting on the throne, angrily ordered his subordinates.

"But Sire, please understand that finding the person who is responsible for the rain would be impossible. And in this large city, where more than 1 million people lived finding a single individual is like searching for a needle in a haystack." One of the subordinates, who was kneeling in front of the man, replied with his head lowered.

They felt that their leader was making unreasonable requests. How they could ever hope to find a person whom they have no clue about? They didn't even know a single about this person. If they had some kind of clue about who this person was then they could have started a search.

Also, they felt that if a person is powerful enough to make rain, then this person might be an extraordinary cultivator. And messing with such a figure is never a wise option. Messing with the wrong person would lead to their eventual downfall.

"I don't want to hear any excuses. do whatever you need to do. Find me the person who is responsible for this." The reason the man sitting on the throne was so angry, was because this rain was severely going to affect their business. The people will be storing the rainwater for future purposes.

If there is no need for fresh water, then how can they sell water to the people? They were going to make a big loss. This is the reason why the man sitting on the throne was fuming with anger.

Unlike other cities, which were surrounded by tall walls, to protect the city from invaders and armies, this city didn't have any walls protecting it. This city didn't have any armies, or any soldiers, to maintain the law and protect the order of the city.

Anyone could freely enter and exit the city as a result of this. This also meant that criminals and people with bad intentions could freely enter the city without ever needing to change their identities or needing any disguises.

The city was under the control of a certain beast folk tribe. The tribe that controlled the city wasn't that large in number. So it wasn't possible for them to protect this entire city alone and also maintain order at the same time.

Due to this reason, there were a lot of crimes and criminal activities going on around the city, since there was no one to maintain the law and protect the order.

The beast tribe that controlled this city and the territories around also controlled the water supply, which was the most important resource in this continent. The entire oasis water supply was also under their control. The people had to pay money to get access to this water.

The beast tribe that controlled the city didn't really care about the criminal activities going around the city as long as they received their taxes in time.

Scene change____

Once they found an inn to stay in, Aditya immediately got to work. He found a table to use for his work.

Around a few hours later, Aditya was done.

The rain lasted for a few hours. Once Aditya was done, making an artifact that was going to help in keeping the temperature down, he went outside, leaving the girls alone.

As he walked on the streets of the city, he noticed the large tower that was located in the middle of the city. The tower was massive, and just like all other buildings and infrastructure of the city the tower was also built using locally found stones.

The tower was the place where the Ruler of this city lived. At least, that's what Aditya had heard from the people of this city. He had spoken to a few people whom he met on the street.

Since he had changed his looks completely. He looked no different from an ordinary man. Thanks to this he easily managed to blend into the crowd and walk around the city without attracting any attention to him.

However, this was different with the girls. The girls were so beautiful that even though they were in disguise, they still attracted a lot of attention from the crowd, especially from the men. This is the reason why Aditya left them at the inn while he came to look for a nice desert ship to purchase for their journey.

'Although we could continue our journey by flying, that would take away the fun of this journey. Also, not all of us could fly. For example, Julia, Alicia, and Lara cannot fly.' Aditya was going to buy a desert ship.

Desert ships were just like ordinary ships. But thanks to the special build and mechanism of these ships, these ships could run on sand. These ships are powered by Mana stones.

The speed of a normal desert ship isn't that fast when comparing the ship's speed to the 2nd-order or above-order cultivators. 'But if I add some modifications and change the weight of the ship using runes then I am confident that I can make a ship that is far faster than normal ships.' Since Aditya has never tried anything like this, he was kind of excited to test his theory out.

As Aditya was walking on the street, he suddenly noticed a line of crowd. The line itself was more than a few thousand meters long. All the people standing in the line looked distressed and some of them even looked very sick and tired.

'There are more than 4,000 people standing in the line. But why?' Aditya could see that all the people were waiting in lines to get inside the tent.

In front of the tent, there were two guards wearing full body armor and holding gold spears in their arms. Both guards looked very imposing.

'They are Peak 4th-order cultivators and inside the tent, I can sense a Beginner 4th-order cultivator along with a few other presences. But those presences are really weak this means that they are normal people.'

Seeing a girl with two orange foxtails running, Aditya stopped a 15-year-old-looking girl and asked. "Hey!!! Do you know what happened here?" Aditya curiously.

The girl stopped and looked at Aditya. Seeing that the man stopped was ordinary looking, she became disappointed. But she didn't show it on her face. Her job was to show tourists around the whole City and around this region. This is how she survived in this city.

"I can answer your question if you pay me one copper coin." The girl said with a smile. She wasn't expecting Aditya to pay her one copper coin just for an answer. But she widened her eyes when she saw a gold coin being tossed at her.

She hurriedly grabbed the gold coin and carefully put it in her pouch that was hanging on her waist before she cautiously looked around to make sure that no one saw her taking the gold coin. Otherwise, she feared that if someone were to see her with a gold coin, then she might get robbed and violently beaten.

"I gave you one gold coin. Now you will need to answer all of my questions." Aditya crossed his arms around his chest and said in an authoritative.

100 copper coins equal to one silver coin. And 100 silver coins equal to one gold coin.

"Alright." Knowing that the person whom she thought to be an ordinary person was a big shot, the girl became even more respectful. Her posture also became more straight.

"Why so many people are standing in lines here?" Aditya asked the most obvious question.

"Mister, are you by any chance new to this city?" Hearing this, Aditya nodded his head.

"That's why you don't know. The thing is, around a few weeks back people of this city started getting affected by a serious curse. Although the cultivators of this City were somewhat immune to this curse, the normal folks were completely defenseless to this curse. At first, it was only the people that lived here that were affected by this curse. But around a week ago, even the travelers that came to this city from other places also started getting affected by this curse."

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 570

"The thing is, around a few weeks back people of this city started getting affected by a serious curse. Although the cultivators of this City were somewhat immune to this curse, the normal folks were completely defenseless to this curse. At first, it was only the people that lived here that were affected by this curse. But around a week ago, even the travelers that came to this city from other places also started getting affected by this curse."

"Do you know what kind of curse is this?" Aditya asked while looking around. The people who were affected by the curse looked really pale and sick. Their bodies were much more skinner. They looked extremely weak and fragile. It was as if even a slight strong wind current could end these people's lives.

There were even some 40 and 50-year-old women and men who were standing with the support of a cane or needing the support of another person to keep standing in the line.

"More than 500 already had died and with each day the number of deaths is touching new numbers." A day before yesterday more than 150 died and yesterday around 200 died.

Aditya watched the long line of people in quiet thought. The girl stood by his side, giving him time to take in the heavy news she had shared.

The sight before them was hard to take in. The folks in line were clearly going through tough times.

What she didn't mention to Aditya was the grim detail that most of the 500 who had passed hadn't been laid to rest properly. Instead, many of their bodies were left around the city. This meant that one could stumble upon bodies that were starting to decay in back alleys or just outside the city's borders, abandoned. No one seemed to take the time to clean up the mess.

It was even worse on the outskirts of the city. While the city's core, with its tourists, powerful folks, and wealthy folks, saw a quicker cleanup because shop owners and businesses didn't want the bad smells to scare off their clients, the outer parts didn't receive the same attention. Here, the bodies were often just left to rot.

Aditya broke the silence with a question that carried the weight of the situation. "So, what's the City Lord doing to sort this mess out?" His voice was low but heavy mirroring the gravity of the situation.

The fox girl next to him let out a laugh, but there was no joy in it—just a hint of scorn and a dash of sadness. "The City Lord?" She answered with a bitter chuckle, her tone was full of mockery.

"Oh, he's only got eyes for gold and silver. That's common knowledge around here. No one's holding out for him to lift a finger. He wouldn't bat an eyelid even if every last one of us common folk—us beast-folks and humans—dropped dead this very moment." Her words were laced with a harsh truth that spoke volumes of the city's grim reality.

"Just who is the City Lord of Savannahclaw City?" Aditya didn't spend any resources or send any of his men to Savannahclaw in advance to gather information about the City Lord before coming here.

The original plan was to buy a desert ship modify it and then leave Savannahclaw City before night arrived. However, there were several facts that Aditya clearly wasn't expecting.

Aditya blamed himself for not thinking about Lara. The fact that Lara was a normal vampire kind of slipped his mind entirely. Or rather knowing that the Dragon Grass was the solution to Lara's disease and knowing that there was going to be a lot of competition, Aditya didn't waste any more time in preparation. He felt that he was enough prepared.

However, the problem was resolved within a few hours, and now the issue with this mysterious Curse. Since Lara wasn't a cultivator, there was a heavy chance that Lara might be affected by this curse.

This just goes to show that sometimes things just don't go as planned. It was impossible for everything to be under Aditya's plan. Unexpected things are bound to happen in life.

"The City Lord of Savannahclaw City is the Patriarch of the Tigrine clan." [1]

"The way the Tigrine clan picks their leader is really different. The next leader isn't automatically the son of the last one. Instead, when the current leader steps down or passes away, they have a big contest. All the strongest men in the clan fight in it. The one who wins the most battles becomes the new leader, the Patriarch. The ones who do really well in the fights but don't win, they get to be the future big bosses, the elders, of the clan."

"Now, if the old leader steps down on his own, he gets a special role. He becomes the Supreme Elder. Everyone in the clan respects him a lot, and all the other big bosses, the elders, have to listen to what he says and follow his orders. The only person who doesn't have to do everything he says is the new leader. But even then, the Supreme Elder can still share his wisdom and give advice based on what he learned when he was the leader."

"Interesting...!!!" This reminded Aditya of the tradition that the Deep Sea Palace had. Laura became the current ruler because she managed to win the competition.

"Tell more about about this current Patriarch." Aditya wanted to know more about this Patriarch.

Since Aditya had handsomely paid her, the fox girl had no problem talking for as long as Aditya wanted her to.

"The current Patriarch rose to his position around 5 years ago. Back when the previous Patriarch died while hunting for monsters in the desert. Zarim was only 20 years old when he became the Patriarch of the Tigrine clan."

"So his name is Zarim." Aditya nodded his head. He was going to remember this name while he was in this city.

"Although his clan members loved him, he is hated by everyone else outside of his clan. Ever since he became the Patriarch, the situation of this city has been getting worse and worse with each passing day. As long as one paid him money, he would allow any kind of crime to happen in this city. He wouldn't care if the people of this city died or lived. If there were some sorts of protests or the word of the people of this city being dissatisfied with him reach his ears, then he would straight up increase the price of water that we ordinary beast-folks cannot survive without." As the girl spoke, she remembered some bad memories of her past and tightly clenched her little fists in anger.

Aditya could feel the immense anger behind her words. It seems the girl must have gone through a lot in the past.

"Since the Tigrine clan took over Savannahclaw City, they have been controlling the natural water resource that should rightfully belong to the people of this city. We have been living in this city for generations after generations. Before there was no need for us to pay any money to get drinking water. Yet when the Tigrine clan killed the previous clan that controlled the Savannahclaw city and took over, we had to pay even for our daily water needs. And worse of all, we are also banned from harvesting rainwater. The City Lord has declared that all the rainwater is their property and no one is allowed to harvest it. If anyone is found breaking this law, then that person along with his family will be killed publicly. Despite the risk, there are many families who have no choice but to secretly harvest rainwater sometimes out of desperation."

Aditya felt that now he had a better understanding of what Zarim was like.

"Why didn't you leave this city and go somewhere else?" Aditya asked.

The girl gave a bitter smile and responded. "Just where can we go in this desert? We can't buy tickets for desert ships as the price of the tickets is just too expensive for us. Even if we save for decades, then I don't think we would save up enough money to buy tickets for the whole family. Though from time to time, there are many people who secretly try to sneak in and leave the city."

Aditya thought for a moment and then asked the girl's name. "What is your name?"

The girl hesitated for a bit not knowing if she should trust this man or not but then she decided to say her name. "My name is Huda!!!! It means 'Right guidance'"

"Do you have any parents?" Aditya asked. He could guess that here in this city, even someone as young as Huda would need to work hard to support the family. Due to her situation, she was forced to mature early in life.

"Yes."

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Sorry for not uploading yesterday. Yesterday, I was busy watching the Cricket world cup final match between Australia and India.

[1] Tigrine means Tiger-folk or Tiger-kin

Chapter 571

"Riya, can you help these people?" After Aditya explained the whole situation to Riya, he asked her this question.

"Let me give it a try." Riya clasped her hands together and started chanting spells in a low tone.

A bright green Aura covered Riya. The bright green Aura attracted the attention of the people who were standing in lines and the people who were walking on the street. The Aura around her only got brighter and brighter.

"Oh.....who is this girl?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"I don't know..."

"There is something holy about her......!!!"

"I feel like I am in the presence of a Goddess." Little did he know that he was in the presence of an actual goddess.

[Elements of earth, fire, sea, and air,

Gather your might and this burden share,

With sacred words, I now implore,

Heal the cursed, their light restore.]

Suddenly a green Aura enveloped the people who were standing in lines.

"What is happening?"

"Suddenly I no longer feel weak and fragile."

"Suddenly I am full of strength."

The people who were previously feeling sick, and really weak suddenly felt that their bodies were full of energy and their health had been restored. The pale expressions on their faces disappeared.

"All of this was done by her."

"Just who is she?"

"She is a Goddess."

"Thank you, kind lady."

"I can't thank you enough for healing us."

One by one, all the people who were healed by Riya bowed their heads to her. She just smiled. "Please raise your heads. There is no need to thank me so such small matter."

Meanwhile, from the crowd, the girl whom Aditya previously spoke to was staring at Aditya and Riya.

"Should I also.....?" The girl didn't know if she should approach Aditya or not. After hesitating some time and seeing that they were about to leave, out of desperation, she ran up to Aditya and called him.

"Mister.....!!!!"

Hearing this Aditya and Riya stopped and turned around.

Riya looked at the girl who appeared to be around Lara's age. Although she isn't as beautiful as Lara she is cute and her appearance would improve if she took beauty pills or if she was a cultivator.

"Aditya, who is she?" Riya became asked in a slightly aggressive tone.

'This womanizing bastard is too much. It hasn't been even an hour since he went out. I can't believe, he is already with another girl.' Riya clearly misunderstood the whole situation.

Aditya quickly held her hand to calm her. "Her name is Huda. She showed me around and told me about the situation of this city." Aditya quickly explained so that Riya wouldn't misunderstand the situation. After all, Aditya can't forget that Riya can be slightly Yandere sometimes.

"What is it, Huda?" Aditya kindly asked. He felt nothing but sympathy for this girl after understanding how difficult things were for the common class feast folks of this city.

"I have a request, sir....!!!" Huda bowed her head. Seeing this Aditya and Riya looked at each other.

While all of this was happening, a few men from the Tigrine clan were looking at Riya from a far distance. They had been looking around the whole city in groups to find the person who was responsible for the rain. They happened to witness how this mysterious woman managed to cure everyone of their curse with a single spell.

Scene change____

"Please come inside." The girl brought Aditya and Riya home.

The condition of her house wasn't that good. Everything was old and shabby-looking. There wasn't even any bed in the house. As they stepped in, Aditya and Riya saw her parents. Her parents were lying on the blanket. Their faces were pale and their bodies were really skinny just like how the people who were cursed looked.

Seeing this Aditya looked at Huda. By now the girl was on the verge of crying. "I didn't have enough money to cure them but Kind sir, could you please..." She didn't need to continue as Aditya put his hand on her head and patted her hair.

Aditya was impressed by this girl's courage. She was courageous enough to go out and use whatever she knew to earn money to heal her parents.

"So when did this happen?" He asked while looking at her parents who appeared to be sleeping.

"Around two weeks back." Huda replied while sobbing.

"Don't worry....!!!"

"I will heal them for you." Riya did the same thing that she did to heal the other cursed people.

"Heal........!!!"

Huda's parents, who had been resting, suddenly opened their eyes, sitting up to see the unexpected visitors in their home. Their expressions shifted from surprise to a warm welcome.

"Huda, don't let our guests stand around. Bring some chairs for them to sit on, and fetch some water for them as well," her mother instructed with a kind tone.

Aditya had heard a lot about the hospitality of the beast-folk on the Beast continent before his visit. People had told him that the beast-folk treated their guests with the highest regard, almost as if they were deities gracing their humble abodes. This respect and kindness were deeply ingrained in their culture, irrespective of their economic status. Whether a family was wealthy or not, they would share whatever food and drink they had with their guests. This generous and humble approach towards guests was a well-known trait of the beast-folk community – their way of showing respect, kindness, and an open heart to those who visited their homes.

"No, no, please don't leave just yet," Aisha, Huda's mother, said, shaking her head with a gentle insistence. "It would be wrong for us to let our guest leave without at least offering you a drink or something to eat," she added with earnestness.

In their culture, sending guests away without at least a small offering of food or drink was seen as highly disrespectful and ungrateful. This time, it was Huda's father, Kareem, who spoke up, his voice filled with warm hospitality.

Both of them seem to have completely forgotten the fact that they were seriously sick just a few moments ago and were very close to dying if not for Riya and Aditya healing them. Yet as soon as they opened their eyes, all of their attention was on their guests.

Quickly, Kareem got up, despite his weariness, to fetch some water for their guests. Under normal circumstances, he would have also prepared a modest meal, but given their tight financial situation, even offering water was a significant gesture of their hospitality.

Seeing the genuine kindness in their actions, Aditya felt a deep sense of respect and appreciation. He decided not to refuse their offer, understanding the cultural importance of their gesture. Their simple yet profound act of kindness touched him, reinforcing the renowned hospitality of the beast-folk community.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Kareem," Aditya gratefully said as he received the simple earthenware cup filled with water. The cup, crafted from natural clay, felt cool and comforting in his hands.

Understanding the value of water in the Beast Continent, where it was often scarce and costly, Aditya made sure to drink the water thoughtfully, savoring each sip. He was well aware that for Huda's family, offering this water was a significant gesture, one that came from their limited resources. To merely take a sip and leave the rest would have been inconsiderate of their sacrifice and kindness.

Meanwhile, Huda seized the opportunity to express her gratitude to the kind stranger who had saved her parents. "Mom, Dad, this wonderful lady here is the one who cured you of your illness," she excitedly told her parents, her eyes shining with relief and gratitude. "If it weren't for her help, things could have been much worse for us. We might have lost you both forever." The gratitude in Huda's voice was unmistakable, and it was clear just how much the healer's actions meant to her and her family.

Aisha and Kareem, Huda's mom and dad, turned their attention to Riya. They bent their heads down, a sign of saying a big thank you to her. Riya saw them doing this and hurriedly told them they didn't need to.

"Uncle, Aunty, please don't do this. It's really not needed," Riya said, trying to get them to stop bowing.

"But we must thank you. If you hadn't helped us, we would be gone. Our daughter Huda would be all alone. We can't tell you enough how thankful we are," Kareem said, his voice full of thanks.

"Uncle, you don't need to do that," Riya replied.

Then, Aditya, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. "Uncle, I have something important to tell you," he said, and Kareem listened carefully.

"My name is Aditya, and I am the Emperor of a big place called the Istarin Empire. This kind lady here, Riya, she's going to be my wife. We came to the Beast continent to travel around without anyone knowing who we were."

Hearing this Kareem and Aisha were shocked. Just being shocked would be an understatement as their hearts were shaken. In their whole lives they always have thought that Kings, patriarchs, and emperors, such class people could never be kind and polite. They were people from the upper class, even stepping into poor families' houses would make them feel disgusted.

Yet the man in front of them was wearing very simple clothes. He drank the water that Kareem offered to him in the earthenware cup. Not only but also, but he and his fiance were super respectful and polite with their words. There was no trace of arrogance in their eyes. They were really kind.

"Uncle, I want to help you. If you want, I can pay for everything so your family can come live in the capital city of the Istarin Empire. There, you won't have to worry about food, a place to live, water, or money. No one will bother your family there. Or if you don't want to leave the Beast continent, that's okay too. We're leaving this city tonight and going somewhere else. If you want, I can take your family to a new city. You can start a new life there. But if you want to stay here in this city, I respect your choice."

Aditya waited, giving Kareem and Aisha time to think about his offer. He wanted to make sure they knew he was serious about helping them and that they had options for a better life.

When Aditya told them his plan, Huda's eyes got really big because she was so surprised. Kareem and Aisha, her mom and dad, also looked shocked. They glanced at Huda and then started thinking hard. All their lives, they had a tough time with not much money. Life had been hard for them. And ever since Zarim took over, things have become even more difficult. Before the family at least never had to worry about food but nowadays, they often have to sleep on empty stomachs.

But the thought of leaving their home, the Beast Continent, to live somewhere else was scary. They really wanted a better life and future for their daughter, but they were afraid to make such a big change.

Aditya saw that they couldn't make up their minds right away, so he came up with a different idea. "Uncle, Auntie, you don't have to choose right now. Why don't you all come with us on our trip? During the journey, if you see a place where you think you could have a good life, just tell me."

Riya really liked this new idea from Aditya. She hoped Kareem and Aisha would think it was good, too.

Kareem and Aisha thought about it for a whole minute. It was a big decision. In the end, they nodded, agreeing to Aditya's idea. They would go with him and see if they could find a better place to live during the journey.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

They are not just some background characters. Trust the process of character building!!!

Chapter 572

After their visit, Aditya and Riya got ready to leave Huda's house. Huda's parents really wished they could stay longer, but they understood.

As they stepped outside, Riya's excitement was clear. She clung to Aditya's arm, her voice bubbly as she asked, "Where to next?" In her excitement, she didn't notice how close she was to him, but Aditya didn't mind at all. In fact, he was enjoying the softness and firmness of her chest.

Even if she had realized what she was doing, she wouldn't have moved away. Riya held onto his hand tightly, a special thing she did only with Aditya. He was the one she loved more than anyone else, the man she was going to marry.

As they walked down the street, people passing by saw them as a perfect, happy couple. Aditya, with a thoughtful look, said to Riya, "There are still many people who need your help to get rid of the curse. Do you think you can...?" He didn't want to ask too much of her.

Riya answered with a big smile, "Yes, I can do it."

Aditya, seeing her smile, couldn't help himself. He stopped walking, gently held her face in his hands, and kissed her right there on the street. He didn't care who saw them. He just wanted to show her how much he cared and how happy he was with her.

"So, where to next?" Riya asked, holding onto Aditya's hand with a big smile on her face. She felt a bit tired from using a lot of her magic to heal people in the city, but she was happy. She liked being with Aditya and not having anyone else around to interrupt them.

"We're going to buy a Desert Ship!" Aditya said excitedly. They were walking towards the market area.

"What's a Desert Ship?" Riya asked, looking a bit puzzled.

Aditya explained, "A Desert Ship is like a normal ship, but it travels on sand instead of water. They use magic stones to move. There are big commercial Desert Ships that carry many people from one city to another. People who want to travel on these ships have to buy tickets. The cost of the tickets depends on things like how big the ship is and how far it's going. But we're not going to use those big ships. We'll get our own smaller one for our trip."

Riya listened carefully as they walked, interested in learning about these unique ships that could travel over the desert like boats on water.

"Also, those big Desert Ships aren't very safe. Sometimes, desert pirates stop them and ask the passengers for a lot of money to let them go. And these ships aren't always safe for girls," Aditya added, thinking of all the reasons why buying their own Desert Ship was a better choice.

Riya just nodded in agreement, not worrying too much about it.

Aditya really wanted to buy their own Desert Ship because it would give them privacy. On the big ships where lots of people travel together, it's hard to find a quiet place just for themselves. This is especially important for girls, who might want more privacy than boys.

Plus, the big Desert Ships might not go exactly where they wanted to go. Having their own ship would mean they could choose their own path and travel more freely.

As Aditya and Riya walked, some men from the Tigrine clan were following them quietly. But Aditya and Riya, who were both skilled in sensing others, knew they were being followed. They could tell that these men had been behind them for quite a while, but they didn't say anything about it. They pretended to not notice their presence and continued with what they were doing.

Eventually, they arrived at the big market just outside the city. Big Desert Ships couldn't come into the city, so this was the place where they were parked. And the size of the desert ship was so big that it wasn't possible to put it inside the storage ring either. Not everyone had a storage ring with massive spaces in it. After all, not everyone was as rich and powerful as Aditya. This market was also where people came to buy and sell these ships.

Savannahclaw City had one of the largest markets for Desert Ships in the whole Beast Continent. There were so many ships for sale that the prices were lower than usual. This happened because there were more ships than people who wanted to buy them.

As soon as Aditya and Riya entered the market, a lot of sellers started trying to get their attention, hoping they would buy a ship. It was rare for a seller to sell more than five ships in a month. Even making 5 sales per month was considered to be an extremely lucky and profitable business. Since Desert Ships were expensive and cost a lot of gold coins for maintenance, only ultra-rich people could afford them, which meant there weren't many buyers around.

As Aditya and Riya walked through the bustling desert ship market, they were surrounded by the loud calls of eager sellers. Each one tried to grab their attention, hoping to make a sale.

"Hey there, Mister! Looking for top-notch desert ships? Come check out what I've got!" one seller shouted, waving his hand to draw them over.

Another seller, with a big smile, called out in a friendly tone, "Hey, man! Want a desert ship that's the best around? I give a one-year guarantee. I've got all sizes, and I can even make one just how you want it!"

Some sellers were polite and respectful, while others were more casual and chatty. But Aditya and Riya kept walking, paying no mind to the calls and offers.

Aditya whispered to Riya, "Let's not rush. We need to find the right ship, one that's reliable and suits our needs."

Riya nodded, "Yes, we should be careful. It's important to choose the best one, not just the first one we see."

As they moved through the market, they took their time, looking at the various ships but not stopping. They were focused on finding the perfect desert ship for their journey, one that would be safe, comfortable, and just right for them.

About half an hour later, Aditya and Riya found themselves in front of a ship that caught their eyes. It was a beautiful medium-sized vessel, its rich red wood gleaming in the sunlight. This ship wasn't like the others that were just cleaned to look new—it was clearly brand new. It was the perfect size; not too small that it would be cramped, nor too big to handle. The ship boasted several rooms, promising enough space for their group.

The red wood of the ship made it really pop against the sandy dunes around them. The more Aditya and Riya looked at it, the more they felt this was the right choice.

"Who owns this beautiful ship?" Aditya called out, his voice rising over the hustle and bustle of the market as he tried to find the person in charge of the ship.

A few minutes passed before the shop's owner showed up. He was an elderly man.

His long white beard fell down to his chest, and his head was almost bare, with just a few wisps of white hair left. His skin was a deep shade of tan, and he was dressed simply in a brown shirt and shorts that came down to his knees. Around his waist, he had wrapped a long red cloth, and on his feet, he wore plain sandals.

He appeared to be about 60 years old, his face lined with wrinkles, and he had a bit of a stoop as he stood.

"What do you need?" he asked, sounding a bit uninterested and lazy.

Aditya didn't appreciate the man's manner but kept a polite face. "How much for this ship?" he inquired. The old man sized up Aditya and Riya, looking them over with a skeptical eye. He seemed to doubt that this normal-looking pair was actually serious about buying the ship. This ship wasn't just any ship; it was a fancy desert ship, made especially to be very comfortable.

The old shopkeeper seemed to be in no mood for business. His eyes closed slightly as he spoke lazily, "Why bother asking about the price? It's not like you could afford it."

He waved his hand dismissively, clearly wanting them to leave him be. It was his resting time, and he was visibly annoyed by the disruption.

"Just go away," he said, motioning for them to move on.

Aditya's right eye began to twitch, a sign that he was struggling to keep his anger in check. "Please, just tell us the price," he said, his voice still calm. He reminded himself there was no point in getting upset over a grumpy old man who was probably closer to his last days than his first.

His one foot was already in his grave. At most, he had only a few years left to live.

"Five hundred thousand gold coins," the old man said, without even opening his eyes.

The other sellers around them couldn't hide their surprise. The old man had deliberately quoted a price that was five times the usual cost. The actual price should be a hundred thousand gold coins, not a penny more.

The price the old man asked for was way too high for a desert ship that size. There were even huge desert ships, as long as 1000 meters, that didn't cost more than 150,000 gold coins. Everyone around expected Aditya to just say no and maybe even get mad for such an unfair price.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Aditya's answer was different from what they had expected.

"I will take it." Hearing this even the old man was shocked. The old man turned around and looked at Aditya. He couldn't hide his surprise.

"What did you say?" The old man asked not believing what he heard just now.

"I said I will take it. Or have you changed your mind already?" As Aditya said the last part, the gentle smile on his face disappeared and was replaced with a cold chilling look that deeply frightened the old man.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

If you are curious to know what the Desert ship that Aditya is buying looks like or what Savannahclaw city looks like, then you can check the comment section.

Chapter 573

The other sellers in the market were buzzing with disbelief and envy.

"Can you believe that? He actually paid 150,000 gold coins for that ship."

"It's unbelievable."

"He must be the child of some wealthy and powerful family."

"We should have tried harder to get their attention," one seller lamented, shaking his head.

"If we had just pushed a bit more, those 150,000 gold coins could have been in our pockets," another added with a sigh.

They all shared a sense of regret. If only they had managed to catch the eye of Aditya and Riya, they could have made a sale that day—a sale so big that the profit from it would have set them up for many days to come.

"We really missed an opportunity," one seller moaned.

"Absolutely. That old man is so lucky," another grumbled.

"And he wasn't even trying to sell that ship, but look at the profit he made!" a third chimed in, his voice tinged with jealousy.

They all stared as Aditya and Riya finalized their purchase, feeling a mix of regret and envy for not being the ones to make such a lucrative sale.

Aditya walked up to the massive desert ship he had just bought. It was a huge ship, stretching over 100 meters from end to end. He paused to look at the desert, then placed his hand on the side of the ship. In the blink of an eye, the entire ship vanished.

Everyone around gasped and their eyes went wide. They couldn't believe what they had just seen. The old man, who had sold the ship, was especially shocked. His eyes were the widest, his body shook, and he took a big, loud breath. It was as if he had been struck by lightning.

The old man and the other sellers couldn't help but think, 'This young man has a magic ring that can hold a ship more than 100 meters long. How big must that ring be?'

Everyone knew that the more storage inside a magic storage ring, the more it would cost. Even a small ring, with just enough space to hold something 10 meters on each side, could cost a million coins. But Aditya's ring must be incredibly huge inside. It might even be worth a billion coins.

The old man who sold the ship felt a bit ashamed as he watched Aditya and Riya. He thought to himself, 'I was not very nice to this young man. I almost made them leave because of the way I acted. I need to think about how I behaved and make sure I don't do it again.' He shook his head, lost in his thoughts.

"Ready to go?" Aditya turned to Riya.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

Hand in hand, they walked away from the market, their task completed.

The members of the Tigrine clan who had been quietly tracking them now had expressions of fear. They were shocked at how wealthy Aditya and Riya seemed to be.

'This couple is too rich and powerful for us to bother,' they concluded, deciding it was best to leave them alone. The ring that could store such a large ship must be worth almost a billion gold coins. To this couple, it seemed like 150,000 gold coins were just a small amount of money. The trackers realized that meddling with such wealthy people was a bad idea. Wealthy people often have a lot of power and influence, and it's not smart to get on their bad side.

"Let's get out of here. There's nothing more for us to see," One of the men from the Tigrine clan said.

"Okay, let's go," Others two agreed.

But just as the three men started to leave, something strange and frightening happened. Green, plant-like ropes sprang from the ground and wrapped around them tightly. These ropes covered their entire bodies, even their mouths, so they couldn't shout for help. They were pulled away quickly and quietly to a hidden spot where no one could see what was happening.

In the quiet of the alley, when they could finally look around, their hearts pounded with fear. Standing in front of them was the same couple they had been secretly following.

"Who said you could go?" Aditya's voice was so cold it made them feel like they were freezing.

Aditya examined the three who had been tracking them. They were indeed from the Tigrine clan, just as he had thought. To Aditya and Riya, these three tigerkins seemed very weak, as weak as tiny bugs. That's why they didn't stop them from following earlier.

But now, with their other business finished, it was time to deal with their secret followers.

Actually, these three from the Tigrine clan were not weak at all. The strongest among them was a Peak Second-order cultivator. The other two weren't far behind; they were Mid second-order cultivators. But Aditya and Riya were so much stronger that even the top-level cultivators seemed like tiny bugs to them, easy to squash if they wanted to.

"Now, tell me by nodding your heads. Why? Why have you been following us?" Aditya asked, his smile wasn't friendly at all, but scary, as if he was looking forward to something bad.

Aditya and the girls had decided to keep a low profile so as to not draw too much attention to themselves, but sometimes, like now, they had to set aside that rule. After all, it wasn't Aditya who started it. It was the Tigrine clan who provoked them.

At the same time, Riya gently took away the green roots from one of the Tigerkin's mouths. She could control these green roots with her thoughts. "We came to find the person causing the rain," said the Tigerkin, his voice trembling as he looked at Aditya.

Aditya understood what Huda had told him about the City Lord was indeed true. The rain must have lowered their profits and this was going to continue for the upcoming weeks. Although it was made illegal to store rainwater, many families must have stored rainwater. This meant that fewer people were going to spend money on buying water from them. And given how massive the population of this city was, there was simply no way for the members of the Tigrine clan to search everyone's houses to know if they had stored rainwater or not.

The little bit of killing intent that Aditya was letting out made the Tigerkin feel like he was stuck in a very deep, dark place. He was frozen and couldn't move, his body hurt all over, and it was hard to breathe as if a huge rock was pressing down on his chest. But it was actually the fear from the small amount of killing intent coming from Aditya that was making him feel this way.

"Oh... really!!!" A smile came across Aditya's face. "I guess Zarim sent the three of you here," he said, still smiling.

The three Tigerkins nodded their heads quickly, showing they were scared for their lives. They knew now that they had made a big mistake by following such powerful people. Their lives were completely in the hands of Aditya and Riya, depending on how they felt.

Aditya turned to Riya. "Riya, why don't you head back to the inn? I need to have a short visit with Zarim," Aditya said with a smile playing on his lips.

"Okay, but please don't be too late," Riya replied, looking a bit worried.

"I won't be," Aditya promised, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Riya was very satisfied with the kiss as a beautiful smile blossomed on her face.

The three Tigerkins watched this, feeling speechless. They envied Aditya's life, seeing him so close and loving with his beautiful partner. He was rich, strong, and had someone who cared for him. What more could anyone want?

To them, it seemed like Aditya and Riya didn't even care about the Tigrine clan or its members. They were just living their lives, not worried about the clan at all. This just showed the confidence that they had.

"What should I do about them?" Riya asked about the three Tigerkins that were still tied to her green roots.

Aditya thought for a moment and responded. "Just destroy their Mana hearts and then throw them away." Aditya felt that he was already showing them mercy by not killing them.

"Alright." Riya agreed quickly. She also felt that this would be the right punishment for these three.

Swoosh!!!!

Crimson Warp Flash!!!

Under Riya's eyes, Aditya disappeared. Using Crimson Warp Flash, he instantly appeared in front of the big tower located at the center of the City.

Aditya landed at the entrance of the tower. Seeing this, the guards didn't look too pleased. If anything, they got ready to fight.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 574

"Calista...!!!!" A man called out one of his personal maids in a low and lazy tone. His voice broke the silence in the large hall. As he called out to his personal maid named Calista, the whole hall fell into silence again.

Other than the soft sound of water, the whole hall was hushed.

The personal maid named Calista who was massaging the man's shoulders stopped hearing her master calling her name. Her hands stopped midair as she curiously looked at her master from behind and wondered why he had called her.

"Yes....., Master.....!!!!" There was a slight tine of hesitation when she called the man master. However, that hesitation lasted less than a second before she called the man master. Once she replied, the whole hall fell into silence again.

There were also two other maids besides Calista who was silently massaging the man's two arms. They were in the swimming pool with the man. The water of the swimming pool only reached their waist. The man was sitting in the swimming pool with his back resting against the wall of the pool and the water level reaching his chest.

Neither of the maids made any noise. Their expression never changed. Like an emotionless doll, they continued to do what they were ordered to do.

Their movements made no sound at all. Their eyes were only focused on their master's arms. Both maids were really skillful with their hands. Behind the two maids, there were two small crystal cups which were half filled with olive oils. After every seven to eight minutes, both of the maids would take a few drops of the olive oil and rub it on their palms before continuing with their massage without making any noise at all. The two maids were more experienced than Calista.

However, compared to the two other maids who were very professional, Calista's actions and her expression clearly showed that she was still an amateur in this.

Calista was sitting on the floor with her knees folded and feet directly under the bottom, touching the floor. Her posture was straight. Though she clearly looked very uncomfortable sitting like this.

She had been sitting like this for about 2 hours now. The young master loved to relax in his swimming pool and get his whole body massaged by his personal maids. While the other two maids had long adapted to this routine, Calista who was new to this felt that she was reaching the limit of her patience.

Sitting like this for so long had restricted the blood flow in her legs.

On hearing Calista's response, the young master opened his eyes. He looked at the ceiling of the large hall. His eyes specifically focused on the image of a Throne. The throne wasn't anything special looking. It was a throne that was made by mixing gold, copper, crystal, and other rare materials. What made the Throne special was the thousands of numbers of Tigerkins who were kneeling on the Throne with their heads lowered. The mural on the ceiling was very well-detailed. Even small details such as sand grains weren't ignored. It almost looked as if this mural was real.

Looking at the Throne, a small smile formed on the young master's face. He then took a very deep breath. It was a breath of full satisfaction, content, and happiness. In the next second, it was the young Patriarch of the Tigrine clan sitting on the throne.

"Calista, please pour me a glass of wine." He said as he stared at the mural with a smile that was full of satisfaction and content.

That's right, whoever was the current Patriarch of the Tigrine clan would appear sitting on that throne to the eyes of others. This wasn't just a simple mural. It was a magical mural. Under this mural, there are complex rune arrays that were responsible for this phenomenon.

Before Zarim became the Patriarch, on the throne, it was the previous Patriarch who would appear sitting on the Throne in the mural. But now it was Zarim's face.

Ever since Zarim was really young, he always has fantasized about this. Now he was enjoying his dream life every single day.

"As you wish, Master!!!!" Calista wiped her hands with a towel so that the olive oil on her palm didn't touch the glass or the wine bottle. After all, the young master didn't like it when his glass was oily.

Sigh!!!

A silent sigh escaped Calista's mouth as she gently began pouring wine for the young master.

'What did I do in my previous life to deserve such a terrible fate?' The young girl asked herself. Compared to the two other maids, Calista was really young. She was only 21 years old.

Calista's whole life changed when one day Zarim who was walking around the city with his men found Calista who was returning home after a whole day of work. Since then, Zarim had become obsessed. He had made up his mind to make Calista his personal maid.

And due to Calista's poor financial conditions, the offer that Zarim's men gave her was simply impossible to refuse. In exchange for becoming an emotionless doll, she was getting paid 1000 royal gold coins per month.

Although some might call Calista cheap for doing this she didn't care. Calista was sick of the poverty-filled life that she lived. She wanted to help her parents and her family. Before meeting Zarim, no matter how hard she worked, it was never enough. Not to mention the pile of debt and the ever-increasing interest from those debts. After considering all the factors, Calista agreed to become Zarim's personal maid.

However, only after becoming his maid that Calista feel a trace of regret in her heart. Although her whole life changed because of Zarim, at the same time, this change came at the cost of her happiness and her emotions.

There are times when Zarim would abuse her and other maids to take out his anger. There are times when Zarim would make his personal maids do some unthinkable things. And there was no way out for her. She had to serve Zarim for at least 5 years. She had entered into a soul-binding contract after all.

As more time passed, the more Calista felt that she had made the wrong choice. She felt her original poverty-filled life was much better and was filled with more happiness than her current life.

Both Zarim and Calista had different thoughts in their minds.

The swimming pool in which he was currently relaxing was twice the size of the Olympic swimming pool. Not only that but also, the surface of the water was covered with rose petals. Every single day, this huge amount of water is thrown out and replaced with fresh water.

While Zarim charged for water from the normal beast folks that lived in this city, he every single day wasted tons of water.

While Zarim was staring at the mural and admiring himself sitting on the Throne, suddenly he and the other three maids heard cracking noises.

Crack...!!!!

At first time cracking noises were very low. With Zarim's enhanced senses, only he was able to hear them. But as the noises got louder, the three maids of his also were able to hear the noises.

Crack...!!!!

"What is happening?" Zarim stood up and quickly got out of the swimming pool. He hurriedly wrapped a white towel around his waist.

Zarim and the three maids looked up at the ceilings.

As the cracking sounds grew louder, Zarim suspiciously looked around. A few seconds later, he felt the cracking sounds were coming from above. As he glanced up, he widened his eyes cracking large cracks appearing all over the ceiling. The next thing he knew, the whole ceiling collapsed.

Booooom......!!!!

The whole mighty tower that stood in the center of the city had fallen to ruins in a matter of seconds. Once the clouds of dust and debris settled down, Zarim angrily flipped a large broken wall that was on his body and stood up.

His eyes had turned red from anger. His half-naked body was covered in dirt and sand.

At the same time, Calista somehow managed to push away the small pieces of debris that were covering her body. As she pushed the debris away, she finally managed to breathe.

'I thought I was going to suffocate to death.' She thought. However, the next thing in her mind was the pain that she felt from her legs. When the ceiling cracked and was about to collapse although she did try to run away, her legs were caught. Both her legs were under a large piece of the broken ceiling. It was impossible for her to move or push the ceiling away.

As for the other two maids, they were turned into meat paste. Although Zarim saved himself, he wasn't bothered about the lives of his maids.

"Who is this? Come out...!!!!" Zarim roared in a loud voice.

"Stop yelling, will you...?" Zarim and Calista both looked above only to find a man with Crimson wings standing in the air right above Zarim.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 575

"Stop yelling, will you...?" The voice of the man who said these words sounded really boring. Hearing these words, Zarim whose eyes had turned red from anger looked up. As he stretched his throat to glance up, he found an average-looking man sitting in the air right above him.

At this moment, there was no doubt that the Tigrine Clan Patriarch was really angry. The reason behind his anger was that this person had destroyed the thing that symbolized his power and his status.

To Zarim, his status his prestige, and his pride were everything. In his eyes, that magical mural wasn't just any mural but also the representation of his status, his prestige, and his power. But now this guy had destroyed the magical mural that meant so much to him.

"Who are you?" Although Zarim was prideful and arrogant, he wasn't stupid enough to charge at the mysterious man without figuring out how strong the other party was. Since the other party had dared to attack him in his territory that must mean one of either two things.

'One this man is super strong. He is a 5th-order cultivator. If that's true then I am done....!!!!' Just thinking of this possibility Zarim suddenly had his throat going dry in fear. He felt his heartbeat quickening.

'And the other possibility is that this man is someone who has the backing of some powerful clan or faction or maybe he is the price of some Kingdom from a foreign land.' Zarim did not look down on this man. There is no way the other party is a stupid madman who attacked without thinking about the consequences. If Zarim convinced himself to believe in such stupid and shitty reason then he might as well dig a grave in the desert and kill himself after lying in his own grave.

After all, being the Patriarch of the Tigrine Clan required just more than being physically strong. Strength was only required to become the Patriarch but to run the clan the Patriarch needed to be smart. And Zarim had managed to climb the ranks and get stronger even though he was so young. He was one of the youngest Tigerkin to become the clan Patriarch. He was able to come this far because he was cautious and smart with every step that he took.

"Who are you and what do you want?" This time Zarim's tone became a little bit soft and gentle. Although he was angry, he did not bark like a dog. His tone was slightly loud it did contain some of his anger.

Hearing this Aditya looked down.

Swoosh!!!!

The next second, Zarim's heart nearly stopped beating as Aditya suddenly appeared in front of him. He was so startled and also scared that he took a step back as a drop of sweat rolled down his neck.

'This guy is so fast. It was almost as if he teleported in front of me. He must be at least Mid 5th-order cultivator.' After coming to this conclusion, Zarim knew that he had to change his attitude otherwise he and his clan might vanish from the face of this planet forever.

Little did Zarim know that Aditya had actually teleported in front of him

Being a 5th-order cultivator meant having the power of Demi-God; at least that's what it was considered by normal people within the 6 continents. It's not every day that one meets 5th-order cultivators. And especially for someone like Zarim, meeting a 5th-order cultivator was so rare that in his whole life, he only had met 5th-order cultivators twice. The first time was when he was really young and the second time was now.

"Who am I doesn't really matter?" Aditya replied in an indifferent tone. He did not really care about small pests like Zarim. After all Aditya's life was so busy. If he wasted his time punishing these small pests then who is going to give time to his beautiful wives who were waiting for him?

"Forgive me if I am being rude, may I know the reason why Sir Cultivator is here today?" Seeing the 180-degree flip in his attitude Aditya felt speechless.

'Oi....! Where did your arrogance go now?' Aditya wanted to ask but he stopped.

Aditya could see that Zarim was a really smart man. 'He is the type of man who would live a very long life in this world.'

"Patriarch, I came to this city to stay for a while but some of your men asked me to pay for drinking water."

'Who is that bastard that dared to ask money from a 5th-order cultivator? I swear if I find out which bastard is responsible for this, I am going to burn you alive.' Zarim instantly understood why his tower was demolished. It was because of a few bastards from his own clan that provoked a 5th-order cultivator.

Zarim was fuming in anger but as he heard the latter part of Aditya's sentence, his expression changed. In the end, he looked really awkward and also very nervous.

"Since I was not aware of the rules and regulations of this city, I came to Patriarch. I hope the Patriarch will educate me. After all, I am a law-abiding person." Hearing these words, Zarim started sweating a lot.

'Educate a 5th-order cultivator...!!!! Do you mean trying to educate the Grim Reaper about death!!!! Hell No...!!!!' In his mind, both were the same thing.

Aditya was no different from a Grim Reaper who had come to take his soul in disguise. If he made a single mistake then this was yet.

With a forced smile, Zarim wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to speak normally even though his voice already had started to quiver. "Si....Sir Cultivator, please let me deeply apologize on behalf of my entire clan." Saying these words Zarim bowed his head.

Seeing this scene, Zarim's personal maid Calista was dumbfounded. Zarim was a Peak 4th-order cultivator yet he was bowing his head to someone who destroyed his tower and apologizing. Even though Calista was in grave pain due to her legs under the debris, she still felt very satisfied and happy to see someone as arrogant as Zarim bowing and apologizing.

"Sir, I have no idea who did this. But I swear on my mother's name. If I find that person, I am going to burn him alive."

Seeing Aditya not replying he continued in a nervous tone. "Sir, there is no need for you to pay for water. In fact, if you want, then your accommodation will be personally arranged by me. I will make sure that you have the best experience while staying in this city." Zarim knew that he had made a mistake. Now he wanted to do everything in his power to please this mysterious powerful cultivator.

It would be even better if this mysterious cultivator became pleased with him and his clan. So in the future, their clan would have the backing or support of a 5th-order cultivator. Thinking of this, Zarim became even more excited and continued speaking.

"Sir, the laws are only there to keep the ordinary people in check. The laws of this city do not apply to you, sir. You can do whatever you want in this city." If Zarim had no wish to live anymore, if he didn't wish for his clan to exist anymore, only then he would dare to say that the rules that he created were applicable to a 5th-order cultivator.

Meanwhile, Aditya was seeing this whole matter from a different perspective. 'Zarim is the strongest person in his clan. Only the strongest cultivator becomes the Patriarch. If I kill him, then his absence is going to destabilize the power structure. His death is going to leave a power vacuum that no one from the Tigrine clan can fulfill in a short period of time. This also means that the enemies of the Tigrine clan would have a chance to take down the clan entirely and take over the city for themselves.'

'Not to mention, even though the city was already full of criminals and illegal activities, the moment Zarim left this world, whatever restrain was put on the various gangs that operated in this city would disappear and the gangs would become more upfront and more violent. There is also a possibility that various gangs might work together to throw Tigrine clan and take control of the entire city or the possibility of a big fight among the gangs breaking out also existed.'

'All these things are going to severely affect the 1 million people that lived in this city. Things are going to become even more chaotic.'

Then someone might ask why didn't the Istarin Empire take control of the entire City and the surrounding land.

The answer was complicated.

'First of all, Taking control of this city would mean that I would need to stay here at least for a week to sort everything out. Right now I don't want to waste any time. Also taking over just this city wouldn't be worth the effort. After all, taking control of this city would give me almost no benefit at all.'

'Besides, if I take over this city, then this might become an international geopolitical issue which would result in more mess.' Right now Aditya wasn't looking for an international geopolitical mess. He was here to spend time with his wives and also look for the Dragon Grass.

'But there is no denying the fact that having a presence in the Beast Continent is going to be beneficial for the Istarin Empire in the long term. But I don't want to deal with the administrative work.' While thinking of what to do, Aditya's gaze suddenly fell on the woman who was lying in the debris with a painful expression.

'It seems her legs were crushed when I destroyed the tower.'

"What is your name, woman?"

Seeing that the mysterious powerful cultivator suddenly asked her name, Calista was obviously very surprised. "I am Calista."

"Calista is one of my personal maids. Sir Cultivator, if you like her then...." Zarim trembled in fear as Aditya coldly looked at him as if to say 'Did I ask you to speak?'

"Calista, my apologies for what happened to your legs. But do not worry, I will heal your legs." Saying that Aditya suddenly teleported in front of Calista. Before she could react, he gently removed the large broken piece of the ceiling.

As her legs came into his view, Aditya found her legs were in such a bad condition that he felt pity for this girl. Aditya looked at this girl in astonishment. It was a miracle that she still managed to stay conscious despite what happened to her legs.

Unlike the other two maids who were Peak 1st-order cultivators, it was a miracle that despite being a normal human, Calista was still alive.

"Take this.....!!!!" Calista was startled when Aditya suddenly threw a green glowing small round-shaped object at her. But she was able to catch it before it fell to the ground. Holding the green glowing round-shaped object, she inspected it. Upon a closer look, the object looked more or less like a bead but it was different. The bead-like object had veins all over it. The pill wasn't that hard. She felt that if she pressed the pill hard enough it would break.

"This is a 5-star healing pill. Eat it. This pill should heal your legs completely. Also, this pill will cleanse your body and will make your body more suitable for cultivation." Hearing Aditya's words, Calista didn't waste a second. She put the pill in her mouth and began to eat it like candy.

Meanwhile, Zarim was staring at his maid Calista in deep envy and jealousy. Although he only had heard that 5-star pills were extremely rare and had miraculous effects, he had never seen one in his real life.

'To give a normal human a 5th-star pill like it's nothing, just who is he?' At the same time, Zarim felt relieved that he didn't act arrogantly towards Aditya. Otherwise, by now, he would have been in hell or heaven.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 576

At this moment Calista did not know if she was having a sweet dream or if all of this was real. What started as a nightmare soon turned into a fantasy dream that she never expected to be real.

A mysterious powerful cultivator had come and had destroyed the arrogance that the Patriarch of the Tigrine Clan Zarim had. The man whom Calista never saw lower his head even when he was eating food had completely submitted himself to this mysterious powerful cultivator.

'Just who is this person?' Calista wondered in her mind as she stood up on her legs. Calista had completely given up any hope of surviving. She thought that along with Zarim, this mysterious powerful cultivator was going to kill her as well but that did not happen. Contrary to her expectations, Zarim changed his behavior. He did not act like a braindead and talked to this mysterious cultivator in an arrogant tone. Calista was sure that Zarim was going to do something like this. But he didn't.

Thanks to the pill that this mysterious powerful cultivator gave her, Calista's legs were completely healed. At the same time, she felt that the hidden injuries and other small wounds in her body also had been healed. Eating this pill she felt like she had been reborn completely.

Calista felt that her body had gotten lighter. She was able to breathe more freely. She also noticed that her skin had become more smooth and softer.

"Thank you so much. I don't know how I will ever thank you for such a priceless gift." Calista bowed her head to Aditya and thanked him from the bottom of her heart.

Hearing this Aditya was very satisfied. He liked this woman's attitude. "There is certainly a way you could repay me for this gift of mine." Calista raised her head and waited for Aditya's next words.

"But before that, tell me your name?" Aditya asked.

"My name is Calista, Sir!!"

"Calista, what do you think about becoming the City Lord of Savannahclaw City." Hearing this, Zarim became slightly agitated. He opened his mouth to speak but in the end, no words came out of his mouth. Zarim was very dissatisfied. He was the City lord of Savannahclaw City. But then how come Aditya was asking Calista to come the City Lord? Moreover, Calista was his personal maid and if his personal maid becomes the City Lord, could he show his face to his clan? The people are going to mock him.

By now he had understood his position very well. He had no authority to speak to a cultivator who held such mighty power. If he did, it wouldn't even take a second for the Grim Reaper to take his soul.

Meanwhile, Calista was taken aback by hearing this sudden yet shocking proposal.

"Seriously...!!!!" She asked in a loud tone. Her tone was slightly excited as well.

"I am being serious here. In addition to becoming the City Lord of Savannahclaw City, I will also provide you with all the resources to become a cultivator. The 5-star healing pill that you ate just now should have removed all the impurities within your body. This in turn would increase your cultivation speed by 2 to 3 times."

"And with the resources that I am going to provide you, as long as you work hard and cultivate diligently then becoming a 5th-order cultivator isn't just a dream." Aditya wasn't going to turn her into a Dragonian. At least not now. Now wasn't the time.

"If you accept my proposal, then you will be responsible for developing the Savannahclaw City and also getting rid of all the gangs and criminals from the city. You will have to work to develop this city. If you agree, then you will have the Protection of the Istarin Empire. These are the direct words from the Dragon Monarch." As Aditya said these words, his eyes shined red.

Hearing all of what Aditya said just now, Calista's jaw nearly fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Zarim's face became so pale that he looked like an ill patient who was about to die. Knowing that he had nearly messed with the Istarin Emperor and the entire Istarin empire, Zarim nearly fainted.

'Which dog face did I see first in the morning to have such bad luck?' Zarim forgot that the first face that he saw this morning was his own face. He was busy admiring his handsome face very early in the morning.

"What do you think, Miss Calista?" Aditya asked.

"Sir....I mean Your Majesty, I am nothing but a poor girl from a very poor family. I don't have any education. I don't know how to write or read anything. For the most part of my life, I have lived like a slave. I don't feel I am worthy of becoming the City Lord of Savannahclaw City." Hearing this Aditya was surprised.

'To think this girl would refuse my offer. How interesting....!!!' Hearing her answer, Aditya felt that no one else was more suited to become the city Lord of Savannahclaw City than Calista.

She could have accepted Aditya's offer. As long as she accepted his offer, then he would have provided her with everything. Becoming the City Lord would have meant that, she was going to become a noble. She was going to power that she only dreamed of. Yet facing such temptation, she refused in such a humble manner.

"I believe Miss Calista is a good human being. That's more than enough reason. Do not speak of worthiness as every single greatest being to ever walk on his planet had a humble being. You shouldn't feel inferior because of your background and your status." Aditya didn't know that his words had touched Calista's soul. She was never going to forget these words till the end of her life.

"Very well, Your Majesty. I shall not disappoint you." Calista got on one knee and lowered her head to Aditya.

"You may stand up, Miss Calista."

Aditya then turned to Zarim. "Patriarch Zarim, I believe you shouldn't have any problem with my decision. If you have any then please speak."

"No.....No.....no.....!!! Your Majesty, I agree with your decision. I and my clan will stand and help Miss Calista in every way possible." Zarim wasn't stupid enough to object to the Istarin Emperor who is also known as the Dragon Monarch's decision.

"Good." Aditya

"From now on, Miss Calista will become the City Lord of the Savannahclaw City. From now on the entire Savannahclaw City will be under the protection of the Istarin Empire. The Istarin Empire shall help Miss Calista in governing the Savannahclaw City in every way possible."

"Your Majesty, not that I am objecting to your decisions but what will happen to my clan?" Zarim's clan controlled the entire Savannahclaw City. But now with Calista becoming the City Lord, didn't it mean that all the power was going to the taken away from his and his clan's hands?

"The Tigrine Clan is going to be the protector of the Savannahclaw City. You and your clan shall serve Miss Calista and help her in governing Calista City. Do you agree?" Aditya asked.

"Yes, we of the Tigrine clan agree." Zarim's voice wasn't as loud as ever. It looked like he was struggling to speak. He felt that this was unfair to him but what can he do about it?

Nothing!!!

"In exchange for their service, the Tigrine Clan shall receive the following benefits."

"1. Exemption of Taxes: The entire Tigrine Clan will granted a complete exemption from paying taxes on any business they fully own. This meant that any enterprise owned by the clan would be free from the financial burden of taxes, allowing them to invest more in their businesses' growth and development."

"2. Trade Agreements: The Tigrine clan will be given priority in trade routes and access to valuable resources, ensuring a steady flow of wealth to support their endeavors."

"3. Representation: The clan will be granted representation in the city's advisory council, allowing the Tigrine clan to have a say in local governance matters and contribute to the city's development."

"4. Protection and Security: The Tigrine clan will be granted the protection of the Istarin Empire. Along with that, the top 10 most talented members of the clan will be provided with cultivation resources."

Just hearing this Zarim was convinced that losing control of the Savannahclaw city and serving Calista was totally worth it. With the protection of the Istarin Empire, their clan that regularly had to fight other clans wouldn't have to fight any clans anymore. The clan will be able to grow strong and the resources provided by the Istarin Empire were definitely going to make their clan even more prosperous.

"And lastly, whatever revenue is generated 10% of it will be given to the Tigrine clan for their development. In addition, the Tigrine clan will also receive other privileges."

"I agree, Your Majesty. Thank you very much for giving my clan such a big opportunity." Zarim bowed his head to Aditya.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 577

"I agree, Your Majesty. Thank you very much for giving my clan such a big opportunity." Zarim bowed his head to Aditya.

Compared to the benefits that the Tigrine clan was receiving from Aditya, losing control over Savannahclaw City was nothing. Zarim cannot thank Aditya enough for this opportunity.

At the same time, Calista also bowed her head to Aditya for giving such a lowly human the chance to become the City Lord.

"Rise your heads. There is a question that I would like to ask you Zarim." Aditya folded his hands over his chest.

"Yes, Your Majesty....."

"Are you also responsible for the mysterious curse that has been affecting the normal humans and normal beast-folks that are living in this city?" After all, Huda Aditya learned that in order to cure the curse, the people had to pay a large sum of money to receive healing.

Since Zarim was already charging money to the citizens of Savannahclaw City for water, naturally Aditya was suspicious of Zarim.

"I did hear about the curse from one of my subordinates. But since the curse did not affect any cultivator, I did not care much about it. Although I care about money but that does not mean that I would fall this low to earn money." Although Zarim was greedy, arrogant, and prideful in nature, he was a man of dignity. His prideful nature won't allow him to fall this low and do something like this.

Aditya decided to believe in Zarim's words for now.

"Your Majesty, if I may be bold, I would like to say something." Since Zarim decided to serve Aditya, he decided that he needed to be honest with his lord.

"What is it?"

"Actually, aside from my intention of making money by selling water, there is a second reason why I decided to charge money for water."

"Oh...that is....." Aditya became interested. He didn't think Zarim would have other reasons behind his motive to sell water at a price.

"The thing is, in all other neighboring cities and villages, and clans, water is a very precious resource. To us, Water is gold. When I took over the position of the City Lord, I heard that there were some people who were taking tons of water from the oasis of our City and selling this water to other cities for a huge profit. If I made water free for all, then I am afraid that greedy merchants from other cities would come here just to take tons of water for free and sell it to other cities. Eventually, this will suck all of the water that our city's Oasis has."

Hearing this Aditya fell into deep thought. He thought that only Zarim was charging for water but it seems all other cities and villages also charge for water.

'To the beast-folks, water is more precious and valuable than any other resources. The resource that we take for granted is so limited here that there are people having conflicts over the issue of water.' Aditya thought in his mind.

"How about this? All the citizens of Savannahclaw City will get a certain amount of water for free that will be enough for their daily needs. The amount of water that each person can get will be limited. Of course, for businesses (restaurants and inns) or firms that need water, those entities will still need to pay money. If one were to exceed the limit, then you can charge that person as much gold as you or Calista want."

"As for the non-residents of the Savannahclaw City, you can still charge money from them. But there will be still a limit to how much water that the non-residents of the Savannahclaw City can get. Once that limit has been reached, for every liter of water, the price will keep on increasing by 50%. You can decide how much water that a non-resident can get." Since the non-residents were mostly travelers and merchants were mostly stopped in this city to restock their water supplies for their journey to the rest of the beast continent, this rule would prevent anyone from taking excessive water with them.

"Also, lower the price of the water for the businesses of this city by 10% to 20% since these businesses will essentially drive the economy of this City."

"You can leave everything to us, Your Majesty. I will discuss this whole matter with Ca....cough!!! I meant Lady Calista." Zarim put his hand over his heart and said while lowering his head to Aditya. Calista also did the same.

"Your Majesty, there is another problem that I would like to talk about." Zarim lowered his head and asked.

"Hmmm....!!!"

"It has been a few years since I became the City Lord. In these few years, the level of the water in the Oasis has decreased by half. At first, we thought this Oasis was a natural spring however this isn't the case. With the growing population of Savannahclaw City, the demand for water is only going to rise. My clan did try to look for a solution unfortunately the power and influence that my clan has is very low so there wasn't much that I could do. I really hope Your Majesty can help us."

"Please....!!!" Calista also bowed her head along with Zarim.

Aditya stroked his chin with a thoughtful look. "Let me think about this matter."

Next, Aditya summoned one of Spencer's subordinates to take over everything. Aditya made him in charge of the entire matter. Tomorrow, Calista will officially become the City Lord of Savannahclaw City.

As for the subordinate of Spencer, he was going to make a visit to the Tigrine clan along with Zarim to write a soul-binding contract. The contract is going to be signed by Calista and the Tigrine Clan. This will prevent both parties from betraying each other.

Once the contract has been signed, Calista will be given 100 Dragonians from the Istarin Empire to make her work easier. The Empire is going to be responsible for educating Calista and also providing her with all the cultivation resources and financial support that she is going to need to rebuild the city.

Of course, the financial support part wasn't free. Although Aditya had too much money that doesn't mean he was going to waste it. In the future, once the city starts to prosper and the revenue of the City increases at that time, Calista can slowly pay the amount back. There won't be any need to pay the amount with interest.

Scene change______

By the time Aditya returned back to the inn, it was already 9 in the evening.

Click!!!!

"You're late!!!"

As Aditya stepped inside the room, he found everyone sitting on the couches and staring at Aditya.

"Sorry about that. I was busy with work. It took more time than I had expected." Aditya said as he sat on the single chair that he found empty.

"Is that so....? Exactly what were you doing?" Alicia asked as she crossed her arms under her chest and looked at Aditya. She was sitting next to Julia.

"It better not be flirting with another girl?" She said with a glare.

"What made you think that I was flirting with another girl? I am not a womanizer." Aditya replied as he poured himself a glass of water. Hearing his response nearly everyone in the room except for Lara rolled their eyes.

'Even though this guy says that he is not a womanizer yet the number of women that him have keeps on growing. This guy is like a maject. Wherever he goes, he always attracts beautiful girls.' Everyone other than Lara had the same thoughts in their minds.

Julia took a quick look around the room. 'Let's see, Aditya is officially engaged to Me, Alicia, Riya, Lara, and Sasha. That takes the number to 5. There is also Lilith, although the whole thing is conflicted, she is going to become our sister in the future. That makes her the 6th one.'

Julia then closed her eyes as she folded her arms under her chest. The images of other girls appeared in her mind. 'Aside from us, there are also some unconfirmed ones such as Sylvie, and, Amber. That takes the number to 8. Without even realizing it, Aditya's harem has grown this big.' Just thinking about this Julia felt a headache. Originally she said that she was going to allow him to marry up to 7 wives but now seeing the speed at which his harem was growing, she felt that it would be very possible that the number is going to surpass 10 very soon.

'It all this Bad Wolf's Fault.' Aditya who just finished drinking a glass of water felt someone looking at him. As he put the glass on the table, he saw Julia pouting at him.

He had no idea why Julia was angry.

"Huh.....?"

'In the end, it's not even Aditya's fault. He is just too awesome.' Julia sighed. She was suffering from Aditya's success.

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Chapter 578

After having dinner with his future wives, everyone went to their rooms to sleep. But Aditya didn't go to bed. He quietly left the city and found a private spot. There, he brought out the big Desert Ship he had bought earlier with Riya.

"Now it's time to work on this ship's engine," he said to himself. Aditya wasn't a mechanic or a master craftsman, but he was really good at Runes. Through his knowledge of runes, Aditya was sure that he could replace the Mana Stone with Solar Stones.

Usually, to make a main engine for a ship like this, two kinds of experts were needed. Craftsmen called blacksmiths would make the physical part of the engine. Then, experts in magical symbols, called runemasters, would draw special symbols called Runes. These Runes made it possible for the engine to use energy from the Mana Stones to run. Aditya was ready to use his skills to make the ship even better.

In addition to the main engine rune, there were several other important rune spells used in the engine. Each of these runes had its own unique name and purpose.

The first was the "Frostflow Rune."This rune took a small amount of power from the Mana stones and turned it into cool energy. This cool energy helped to stop the engine from getting too hot, which prevented any risk of the engine blowing up.

Next was the "Purity Ward Rune." This rune spell kept the inside and outside of the engine free from dust and dirt, ensuring it stayed clean.

The third important rune spell was the "Shielding Rune." This one was designed to protect the engine if the desert ship went through rough, rocky areas or if there was an earthquake. It acted like a protective bubble around the engine.

All these rune spells used just a little bit of the huge amount of energy stored in the Mana stones. These runes were already a part of the ship's existing engine; Aditya didn't create them. He planned to replace the Mana stones with Solar stones, which are another type of powerful energy stone. Aditya's skill with runes would help him make this switch smoothly, ensuring the ship would run even better than before.

In Aditya's view, Solar Stones were similar to Mana Stones, but getting energy from them was very complicated. Aditya was able to create a spell that allowed him to harness energy from Solar Stones. Of course, he wasn't going to give this valuable method to anyone else, not even to the allies of the Istarin Empire.

If the big kingdoms and empires figured out that they could switch from Mana Stones to Solar Stones, the value of Mana Stones would drop a lot. Compared to Mana Stones, Solar Stones were easier to find in nature. Solar stones were an abundant resource. They were a great, low-cost alternative that was both safe and could keep going for a long time.

Aditya thought to himself, 'It's strange that no one here has thought of using Solar Stones instead. Maybe I only see this because I come from a different world.' In his world, many large countries were already moving towards using energy from things that don't run out, like wind, the sun, and water.

Aditya was ready to make this change on the desert ship. He would use his skills to switch from Mana Stones to Solar Stones, creating a more efficient and sustainable power source for the ship.

Without wasting any time, Aditya got to work as tomorrow, they were going to leave the city. For a 4-star runemaster, doing this was super easy. Aditya was able to finish the work within 30 minutes. But for a 1-star runemaster, the same process would have taken him 6 to 8 hours. In some cases, the 1-star runemaster might not even understand the rune spells.

"Hehe!!! Little Emperor, what are you doing in the middle of the night?" Aditya's body stiffened as a certain Succubus Empress pressed her soft body against his back and whispered into his right ear.

Aditya could feel her soft yet firm breasts pressing against his back.

"Lilith, don't make any trouble. I am working right now." But in reality, Aditya was nearly done but he didn't want Lilith to keep provoking him otherwise he might not be able to control himself anymore.

"Hehe!!! I am not troubling you. It's just that you look so handsome that I couldn't control myself. You don't mind do you?" After saying the last part, Lilith gently bit his ear. This made his whole body shudder.

Lilith might be the only person in the whole world who could make Aditya feel like a virgin. Every time, she teased him, she always found some way of pushing him to the very limit. It was already a huge thing that he hadn't pushed this woman against the wall and hadn't ravaged her body.

"Lilith, go back to the inn and sleep. Don't disturb me." Aditya said in a stern tone. He hoped that this would work and make this succubus stop.

"Ara...!!! What's that? Is that a giant hard stick I see down there?" Lilith asked him in a teasing tone. Looking down Aditya realized that little Aditya had become solid rock hard. This made him feel frustrated. His body was acting like a virgin. Just a small touch and bite from her was enough to make him so hard. This just showed just how frightening Lilith's charming powers were.

'Even though she is still a virgin.' Aditya can't help but think about what would happen once Lilith lost her virginity. After that time, her charm would only increase.

'Her charming and seductive powers were already frightening as it is. Just a small bite from her is making my body act like a virgin teenager.' Aditya gritted his teeth as he tried his best to control his thoughts and his actions.

Lilith was being even more bolder now that they were completely alone and no one was going to disturb them.

"You're telling me to not disturb you but it seems your body is saying something else, Little Emperor." Lilith's hand reached downwards. She touched the tip of his phallus with her index finger.

"Aditya, I want to see how long you will resist. The more you resist, the more fun this game is starting to become. Hehe!!!" Lilith giggled at his miserable condition.

Meanwhile, Aditya felt provoked by her words. 'How dare this virgin Succubus make fun of me? I will show her who is in charge.'

Ever since Lilith told them about her story. Aditya had stopped being so reserved towards her. After all, she was going to become one of his future wives.

"It's time for some payback." Aditya grabbed Lilith's hand and pulled her. Lilith couldn't even resist in front of the mighty strength of the Dragon Monarch. She found herself sitting on his waist.

Seeing left her dumbfounded. She didn't think that Aditya would suddenly become so bold with her.

However, there was no denying that she was loving this experience. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. Strangely enough, she felt very excited at this moment.

"Little Emperor, why act so bold? I know that you won't do anything to me." Lilith kept provoking Aditya. At the same time, she could also feel the tip of his phallus pressing her ass cheeks.

"Since you have delivered yourself to be, it would be rude of me to refuse." Saying these words, Aditya brought his face forward and kissed her. Lilith did not resist.

This was the first time Aditya was taking the initiative. Whenever she teased him, he was always very reserved. So this kiss was very special to Lilith. She was going to cherish it for the rest of her life.

By now Lilith was also feeling hot. She felt her whole body was on fire.

Aditya and Lilith kept kissing each other very passionately. Lilith had pressed her soft and firm breasts against his chest. While his hands were playing with her ass. He was kneading her elastic mountains and constantly changing their shapes.

As he started doing that, Lilith moaned in their kiss.

Mm....!!!

Even though this was her first time being so intimate with a man, it was as if her body knew how to pleasure a man by instinct. By instinct, she knew how she should move her tongue and how she would use her body to pleasure her man.

As Aditya and Lilith exchanged fluids, Aditya noticed one thing. His body was increasingly becoming very hot He strangely felt very itchy. His whole body was itchy. A voice in his mind was constantly telling him to rip her clothes and ravage her whole body. Aditya never has felt this horny in his two lives.

For a moment both of them separated. Lilith was breathing heavily but she was staring into his eyes.

"I feel as if my whole body is on fire. Why is that?" Aditya asked.

Lilith lewdly smiled and responded. "That's because when a Succubus is horny, the fluid made by our bodies acts as an aphrodisiac."

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Chapter 579

"I feel as if my whole body is on fire. Why is that?" Aditya asked.

Lilith lewdly smiled and responded. "That's because when a Succubus is horny, the fluid made by our bodies acts as a very strong aphrodisiac drug."

"So this is nothing but a loop." Aditya said as he sealed her mouth again with a deep French kiss.

Due to the effect of the strong aphrodisiac drug, Aditya was extra sexually aroused. He could easily continue for the rest of the night.

Aditya stopped kissing and looked at Lilith.

Meanwhile, Lilith who was very horny at the moment started kissing his neck while her arms went under his white Shirt. Her hands were touching his muscles. By now she was already wet.

"However, other than going all the way, we can do everything else." Hearing this Lilith stopped kissing him. She pouted.

"Why?" Lilith was slightly displeased. Lilith has been a virgin for more than 1000 years now. Now that she had reached this stage, she was fully ready to go all the way with Aditya. She felt that if she stopped tonight then she might go crazy.

"I still haven't done it with Riya. I met Riya before you. It would be unfair to the rest of the girls if I did it with you before doing it with them." Aditya wanted to be fair to all of his wives. He wasn't going to give all of his attention to just one of his women. This will break the harmonious relationship that his women had between them and will create rifts between his wives.

And the girls also had agreed to take their turns and not get in each other's way. Only Lilith was an exception to this rule.

This is why, till this point, Aditya has always given equal attention to all of his wives. He did not want his wives to become enemies of each other. That would be the last thing that he wants to see. d

Knowing Aditya's character, Lilith knew that there was no changing his mind. "Hmph!! Fine do whatever you want." After snorting she looked away.

Seeing this Aditya smirked. For a second, he could see similarities between Sasha and Lilith.

Chu!!!

Lilith was surprised when she felt Aditya kissing her left cheek. When she looked at him, he kissed her little nose and then kissed her forehead, and then kissed her right cheek, before giving a small kiss to her lips.

"It's not like I don't want to do it with you." A bitter smile appeared on Aditya's face as he painfully stared down. Lilith followed his gaze and also looked down.

Since Aditya kissed Lilith, he was feeling more aroused than he normally felt. "Words can't describe just how much I am suffering right now. It's so painful down there."

Aditya buried his face in Lilith's Nape and then deeply inhaled her body fragrance. Each of his wives had a very distinct and very unique body fragrance. Aditya loved each of their body fragrances.

"I also want to do it with you but I don't want an entire night's pleasure in exchange for breaking Riya, Lara, and Sasha's hearts. I hope you can understand." Aditya sincerely said.

Aditya planned to consume a pill that Julia made for him to work against the aphrodisiac drug. 'But one pill might not be enough. I guess I would need to consume several of them together.' It was because as the Succubus Empress, the aphrodisiac drug in Lilith's saliva was just too strong.

'Honestly, at this point, I am not even angry or displeased at him. How can I be angry with you?' Lilith inwardly thought.

"Other than doing all the way, we could do whatever we want right?" Lilith asked with a slightly evil smirk.

Aditya felt goosebumps seeing her evil smirk. He didn't hate it. In fact, he was looking forward to it. Aditya nodded his head.

"I am not letting you sleep for the entire night." Saying these words, Lilith wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

While kissing, Aditya somehow made it to Lilith's bedroom on the desert ship. In reality, it was just one of the many bedrooms. Since Aditya chose it, this was going to be her room from now on.

After closing the door, Aditya gently threw Lilith on the bed. Her body whole body bounced a few times.

Seeing him removing his T-shirt, Lilith excitedly smirked as she suddenly had an idea.

"Aditya, how about we play a game?"

"I am listening."

"Both of us will get one hour each. The game is simple. Whoever cums the most loses within one hour loses the game."

"Interesting. I am on. Let me go first." It would have been easier if Aditya let Lilith go first but he also wanted to challenge himself. He was feeling competitive today. He had no intention of losing to her.

Hearing his words, Lilith grinned. "Of course, you can't take any pills to suppress the effect of the aphrodisiac drug in your body. That wouldn't be fair."

"Sure." Aditya decided to play along. Though each minute that passed felt like an eternity of torture for him. But he was the Dragon Monarch. He wasn't going to lose.

'I am going to get my revenge on you for teasing me all the time.' Aditya thought in his mind.

'So for the next one hour, I can tease this woman's body whoever I want and she can't resist.' Aditya thought.

Aditya took out a black rope. The first thing that he did was to tie both of her arms above her head.

"Oh my!!! Tying my hands with a rope from the beginning, Aditya, you're becoming more and more interesting." Although Lilith appeared brave and was even teasing Aditya, but in her heart, she was starting to feel nervous and also excited.

"That's not all." Aditya took out a blindfold and covered her eyes with it.

"Ad....Aditya...!!!" Now Lilith was feeling even more nervous. Her heart was beating loudly in excitement as well as in nervousness. Since this whole situation was completely new to her.

Aditya was about to kiss but knowing the effect that her saliva would have on him, he decided to refrain from kissing her. He instead focused on her body.

Today Lilith was wearing a white Kimono. Aditya started by finding the bow or knot of the obi, which is usually tied at the back. He Gently loosened the bow by pulling the ends of the obi. He was careful not to pull too hard as the fabric was delicate. He then skilfully unwrapped the obi.

Once he took out the obi, he put obi aside. There was no barrier. Aditya was a little bit surprised that Lilith did not wear any underwear beneath.

"Oh...my!!! Lilith, you're so bold. Then again, I expect nothing less from you." After all, among all of his future wives, Lilith was the boldest when it came to this kind of thing.

But Aditya looked down, he saw her juices were leaking out. Even though he hadn't touched her down there, she was already wet from excitement and anticipation.

Seeing her whole body in full glory, Aditya felt his little brother hardening even more. Aditya felt his head was getting cloudy with all kinds of thoughts. His body was telling me to be extremely brought with her and go all the way.

He was finding it extremely difficult to hold his little brother in his pants. The feeling was extremely uncomfortable.

Resisting was extremely hard. While he was playing with Lilith, at the same time, he was also fighting his own inner demons. The demons in his head seem to be getting stronger with each second.

"Lilith, you're so beautiful." Aditya did not immediately touch her. He took his time to admire every single detail of her body. It looked like there was no imperfection on her body. Even though her breasts were not as big as Alicia's, her breasts were perfectly round. The pink colored mini mountains on top were hard and standing in full glory.

Looking down, her pussy was shaved. There was no pubic hair.

"What are you waiting for dummy?" Seeing that minutes had passed, Lilith did not feel his touch, she couldn't handle it anymore and pleaded with him to touch her body. Her whole body was yearning for his touch.

"Hehe!!! What's the hurry, my dear Lilith?" Aditya said as he started circling his index finger around her breasts but he did not touch them yet.

"Aditya...!!!" Lilith was feeling frustrated. Being so horny had turned her body extra sensitive. Each part of her body was super sensitive and was yearning for his touch.

Aditya was testing her. He didn't know what kind of foreplay would excite her the most. Julia for example, her breasts were especially sensitive. Whenever he suck her breasts, she always moaned loudly.

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Right R-18 chapters always have been very tough for me. I hope you can understand.

Chapter 580

Aditya continued to tease Lilith for more than 5 minutes. He continued to torture her.

"Aditya....!!!" Lilith's moans were painful and full of anticipation.

"Beg me...!!!" Aditya said with a smile.

Lilith did not speak first. Her right hand tried to touch her clitoris but Aditya grabbed her hand in time.

"According to the rules of this game, this whole hour, your body is under my control. You're not allowed to pleasure yourself." Aditya said while panting. He wasn't panting from exhaustion or fatigue, but he was panting as the aphrodisiac drug was affecting him. His condition wasn't much better than Lilith's.

"Don't...you.....!! Don't you care about winning this game?" Lilith asked while panting.

"We will see who wins. But for now, beg me?" Aditya said with a smile.

"Alright!! Alright!!! I give up. Please, touch me!!! Please make me cum....!!!" Lilith said loudly.

It felt really satisfying to see Lilith who is always teasing him, now begging him to continue. "As you wish!!!" Saying that Aditya started sucking her right nipple.

Ah.....!!!!!

Lilith loudly moaned. Her moan was really sweet and seductive. Hearing her moan, Aditya felt the heat in his body only increasing. For a second he shuddered.

While sucking her right breast, he used his other hand to pinch her clitoris. As soon as he pinched her clitoris, Lilith's whole body shuddered before she raised her waist.

Ah...!!!!

I am cumming.....!!!!

Her eyes rolled back as she cummed like crazy. Lilith squirted. The juices from her body fall on Aditya's lower body; mostly on his thighs and legs.

As Lilith lay there breathing heavily, Aditya was grinning. "That's one point for me, Lilith. This isn't over yet."

For the next 50 minutes, Aditya continued to pleasure Lilith in many ways. While doing so he also discovered many of her weak points. Using those weak points, by the time, one house passed, Lilith had already cum 21.

In the end, the whole bed was a mess. Lilith was lying on the bed. Her tongue was out and she was breathing heavily. From time to time, her whole body was twitching for a second or two. Her heart was beating super fast. The muscles in her vagina and anus were contracting once every second. She was still recovering from her last squirt.

While staring at Lilith's panting face, Aditya slowly licked his wet fingers. "You taste good Lilith."

Aditya put his finger on her lips. Without needing to say it, she began to suck his finger even though she was currently half unconscious.

"Lilith, you may be the Succubus Empress, but at the end of the day, you're still a virgin. You cannot defeat the Dragon Monarch." What Aditya was saying was true. It was because Lilith was inexperienced that he managed to make her cum 21 times in an hour.

Lilith was a 1000-year-old virgin who never has been touched by a man. Her race was meant for sex yet she did even feel the touch of another man for her whole life. Lilith was already very sensitive to Aditya's touches because of this. With all these conditions, Aditya had the advantage in this game.

"That's an easy win for me." By now, Aditya felt his balls were starting to hurt like crazy. It was not just his balls, he even felt pain in his lower stomach. The pain was very sharp and intense. Aditya felt like he was having a Sperm Cramp. If not for his ridiculous endurance, he would have stopped.

Huff!!! Huff!!!

Lilith somewhat recovered after a few minutes. Although she was still panting heavily, she had regained some strength to get up.

"Don't think that this is over yet." Saying that Lilith pounced on Aditya. She sat on top of his crotch which only made it even more painful for Aditya but he endured it.

"I like your confidence. But you can't possibly make me cum 21 times and beat me." Aditya said in an arrogant tone. Though he was still panting heavily. He was very proud of what he had done in the last one hour.

"Hmph!!!" There was no denying that what just happened was humiliating. But Lilith wasn't the type to give up so easily. She wasn't going to lose this game.

"Don't underestimate me just because I am a virgin." Saying that Lilith blocked Aditya's lips with a deep kiss. She forcefully made him drink her saliva.

Aditya understood what this woman was trying to do. She was making him drink more of her body's naturally produced aphrodisiac drug so that his body would become even more sensitive. The more horny he would become, the more sensitive he would be to her touches. He could only clench his fists and endure as this was within the rules of the game.

After around 5 minutes of kissing, Lilith finally stopped. As she moved away, a string of saliva connected both of their tongues.

Huff!!! Huff!!!!

"Lilith....you...!!!! Aditya's eyes had changed from blue to Crimson red. The shape of his pupils changed to vertical slits. The Current Aditya was like a mindless beast. His mind was clouded by endless thoughts of sex. Even if he closed his eyes, he only saw a naked woman. He felt someone was trying to choke his little brother. The feeling was just too tormenting.

Aditya tightly gripped the bedsheets and hungrily stared at Lilith. Seeing his hungry gaze, Lillith's whole body shuddered in pleasure. She could feel his thing poking her from below. If he didn't hold on to his last remaining will, he would have pounced on Lilith like a beast.

"Try to hold it, little Emperor. This is going to be fun." Lilith giggled as stood up and purposely swayed her ass in front of him.

"Oh.....my!!!!" Lilith touched Aditya's little brother with her index finger. Even through his pants, she could feel the hot boiling temperature of his phallus. She felt his phallus as hot as the Lava.

She also noticed that the precum leaking out of his phallus had wet his pants.

"Look at you....!!! Even though you're a grown man, you still wet your pants." Lilith playfully teased Aditya. She was getting her revenge on Aditya.

"Lilith....!!!" Aditya called out Lilith's name in a very stern tone. He was trying to warn her. By now, Aditya felt that he had become a beast. His last remaining thoughts were the chains that were holding him back. If not, then he long would have pounced on this woman and would have eaten her.

Looking at Aditya, Lilith shuddered for a second before she began removing his pants much to Aditya's relief. Removing his pants wasn't easy as his hard phallus was making it hard.

As soon as his phallus came out, it hit Lilith's cheek. Lilith was startled. As the manly fragrance from his phallus reached her nose, Lilith felt her mind nearly shutting down and her body acting on her primitive desire to mate.

A Succubus's very nature was to mate. Succubus's were sex demons. They lived to have sex. Seeing a hard phallus for the first time in her life, Lilith's mind nearly went blank.

At first, Lilith had planned to use her hands to torment Aditya for a while. But as soon as the manly fragrance from his phallus hit her, by instinct, saliva started forming in her mouth. Soon she opened her mouth as wide as possible. Right now in her eyes, the only thing was his phallus.

As she opened her mouth, Aditya got to see her snake-like long tongue. At the same time, bat-like back wings and a black tail. Her tail was wiggling around like a snake. The end of the tail was heart-shaped.

'So this is Lilith's Succubus form.' Aditya thought in his mind. However, the next moment his mind went blank as she wrapped her long red tongue around his phallus. The sudden pleasure that Aditya felt was so much that he instantly came.

"Dammit....!!!" A large amount of his load was gushed into her mouth. Even though this was her first time, she took every single drop of his sperm in. And then drank it without any hesitation.

Aditya felt slightly bit relieved now that he had come. However, the pain from the Sperm cramp was still there. The pain wasn't just as sharp as before.

Once Lilith was finished drinking his load, she looked at Aditya with a lewd smile. Aditya felt that the current Lilith has become 100 times more erotic and seductive than before. She skilfully put his phallus in the corner of her mouth while making sure none of her teeth touched his phallus and then said.

"Delicious. I want more of this." Lilith started putting more of his phallus in her mouth. Before Aditya knew it, she had put his full length in her mouth. This surprised Aditya as he didn't think that she could do that. After all, neither Julia nor Alicia could do that. At most, Julia was able to take half of his length before she struggled.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I am clearly not good at writing such chapters. I hope you all could understand.

Chapter 581

The battle of struggle and pleasure continued for 2 hours straight. By the end of the battle, Lilith was lying on top of Aditya's chest. Both of them were panting heavily. Even though both of them were super powerful cultivators, both of them had managed to push each other to their extremes.

This was especially true for Aditya who nearly lost control of his body and became an animal.

Although both of them were panting heavily, neither of them were tired. They still had the stamina to keep going. Even if they continued doing this for the next 12 hours, they would still have stamina left for more.

Aditya had very high stamina due to his Divine Bloodline and his abnormal stats. While Lilith was a Peak 5th-order cultivator and also had the sex drive of the Succubus Empress; she was literally the Succubus Empress.

And more importantly......

Huff!!!! Huff!!!!

"I can feel that my Mana reserve has slightly grown after drinking your sperm," Lilith said while panting.

Lilith did not let any drop of his sperm fall to the ground. She drank every last drop of his milk. After drinking his milk for the first time, Lilith instantly fell in love with his sperm. His Sperm became her most favorite drink.

"My power has increased a bit. It seems drinking your sperm has done all of that." Along with the slight increase in Lilith's Mana reserve, her overall power had also increased. She had become stronger than before just by drinking his sperm.

"It seems you have gained a lot from this," Aditya said as he gently stroked her head. His manhood was still hard as a rock. But for now, the effect of the aphrodisiac drug had died down.

He was feeling much better than before. His little brother no longer felt suffocated. Also, the pain in his lower stomach and in his balls also had disappeared.

Aditya was happy and also felt a bit prideful to know that his sperm had done all of that to her. At least, his sperm wasn't wasted. 'Though I wonder how exactly did her power increased? Is it because she is a Succubus?' That was most likely the answer.

"Hey Lilith…..!!!" Aditya called out Lilith. He felt a little bit speechless seeing Lilith playfully touching his hard manhood. It seems she still wanted more. It was not that Aditya was complaining. But rather he also wanted to continue.

'Well, she is the Succubus Empress after all. Just 2 hours wouldn't be enough to satisfy her sexual urges.' Aditya thought in his mind.

Usually, Alicia, and Julia become too tired to continue with him. Sometimes both girls just pass out leaving him hard. But Lilith was someone who could match his stamina and might be able to keep up with him.

"What is it, darling?" Lilith playfully looked at Aditya. After drinking his sperm, her skin seems to be shining. Aditya felt that Lilith had become even more beautiful than before. At the same time, her seductive powers also seem to have increased.

"Say, Lilith, how come drinking my sperm suddenly made so many changes in you?" Aditya curiously asked. Not only her powers and Mana's reserved increased but it seemed she had become even more beautiful.

Although Alicia and Julia also had drank his sperm it did nothing to them.

"Hehehe!!!! I don't know. Maybe that's because I am a 1000+ years old virgin Succubus Empress. I don't think there has been any Succubus Empress in history to be for more than 1000+ years like me. Or Maybe I am just too special." Hearing her narcissistic words, Aditya rolled his eyes.

"Or maybe it's because of the fact that you're a 1000+ years old woman." Aditya calmly said while closing his eyes.

"What did you say?" However, her cold tone sent shivers down his spine. He opened his eyes feeling her arm tightly choking his little brother.

The Smile on Liltih's face instantly made him sweat. "I was joking." Aditya quickly said as he looked at her face and then at his poor little brother who was getting choked.

"As long as you understand." Saying that Lilith let go of his little brother and then lay on his chest and listened to his fast heartbeat.

Sigh!!!

Meanwhile, Aditya sighed in relief. 'This debt will not be forgiven. I shall get my revenge.' Aditya thought in his mind.

"I did hear from my elder that we Succubus have the ability to extract energy from Sperm. Maybe because of this, my powers and my Mana reserve grew slightly. To be honest, who cares? What matters more is when are you going to do it with me?" Lilith demanded in a slightly childish tone. At the same time, Lilith's black tail gently wrapped around his manhood. She did not use too much force. Aditya only felt slight pleasure from this.

"Very quickly," Aditya said as he hugged Lilith. Lilith giggled hearing his response. She felt the bond between them had deepened tonight. Both of them had come a lot closer.

Although Lilith has been taking the initiative to get closer to him ever since she met him, Aditya always has kept a modest distance from her and refused her advances. But after tonight things have changed. This change made her really happy.

"Aditya, do you know that all Succubi and Incubi cannot cultivate after reaching Peak 5th-order." Hearing this Aditya became serious.

"Why?" Aditya never knew about this.

"It's because we Succubi and Incubi are demons of Sex. We are sex demons. We are slaves of sex and pleasure. It's our nature. If we want to break through the Peak 5th-order or if we want to reach to High-order of cultivation, then the only way for me, and Sasha would be to through Dual Cultivation."

Lilith raised her head from his chest and looked at his eyes with a smile. "Do you understand, darling?"

"That means I would need to learn Dual Cultivation," Aditya said. He knew about the general concept of Dual cultivation. Aditya never bothered with any cultivation technique as with the system he could just level up. But now for now Lilith and Sasha it seems he must learn a dual cultivation technique.

'When I have time I will research more on this matter.' Aditya made up his mind.

"Relax, Silly!!! You won't need to learn Dual Cultivation. Even if one of the partners knows about the technique then it's enough." Lilith smiled seeing him already thinking about learning the Dual Cultivation technique.

Lilith felt fortunate that Aditya was the chosen one. She felt happy to see that he cared so much about her and her daughter.

Chu....!!!

Suddenly Lilith kissed both of his cheeks. Lilith knew that she had fallen even deeper for this man. Lilith was sure that no other man would be able to take Aditya's place. The more time she spends with Aditya, the more addicted she becomes.

"I love you!!!!" Lilith's cheeks slightly flushed red as she said these three words. This was her first time saying these three words to a man.

Before this moment, she always wondered what weight these three simple words held. She never understood why people were so obsessed with these three words. But now she understood the weight that these three simple words held. It was the emotions behind these three simple words that gave weight and meaning to these three words.

"I love you too...!!!" Aditya hugged Lilith's waist and said it while directly staring into her eyes.

Aditya wasn't just saying these three words to make her happy. He did love Lilith a lot. Although he found her constant bold actions and teasings to be annoying at the beginning, slowly he has grown to love and enjoy them. Her presence brought more joy to his life.

Hearing his words, Lilith felt sweet and warm inside. She felt really happy at this moment. This moment was one of the happiest moments in her whole life.

Lilith giggled as she buried her face in his chest. For a long time, neither of them said a word. Lilith was enjoying being so close to him.

Aditya broke the ice. "By the way, I won the game. So what do I get as the winner?" Lilith raised her head only to find Aditya grinning at her.

Remembering the result of their match, Lilith couldn't help but sigh. She also felt slightly annoyed. Looking back, she realized that she made a lot of rookie mistakes that not only wasted time but also made her lose the game.

Their 2 hours long naughty game ended with Aditya's victory. In the end, she was able to make him cum 18 times before she ran out of time.

Tch.....!!!

Lilith felt pissed that she lost. Now that she lost, Aditya was going to tease her using this.

"That does not count. I was completely inexperienced. How about another match?" Lilith felt this time she wasn't going to lose.

Aditya felt amused seeing her being so fired up. "It does count. I also had to play at a disadvantage. You used your saliva as an aphrodisiac drug. If not for that, then I don't think you could have made me cum more than 10 times."

Tch....!!!

Lilith looked pissed in the end.

"As for another match, maybe some other time. But tonight, it is already late. We should head back." Lilith reluctantly had to agree with Aditya.

"Alright, I will head back. I will leave the cleaning to you, my darling." Lilith kissed his cheeks before she disappeared.

Seeing that Lilith had fled, Aditya sighed.

Sigh!!!

"This woman......!!!" Aditya looked around the room. The whole room was a mess. It was going to take a while to clean everything. Not to mention that he had completed his work either.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 582

Next morning____

"Everyone this is Kareem and Aisha. And she is their daughter Huda. She will be joining us on this journey." Aditya introduced Huda and her parents to everyone.

Right now it was early in the morning. Everyone was already on the desert ship and they were ready to leave the Savannahclaw City behind and start their journey in the Beast Continent.

"Hello, everyone." Huda and her parents bowed as they were in the presence of Royalties of the Istarin Empire. They needed to show their respect.

"Hello!!! There is no need for you three to be so reserved." It was Lilith who stepped forward. Lilith had a very gentle smile on her face. She represented herself as a gentle, calm, very reserved, and modest woman. She had the wife vibe around her.

The Current Lilith was no longer wearing revealing clothes. But rather she was wearing a beautiful silver Kimono that really suited her. The Kimono was the same color as her hair. She had tied her silky silver hair into a braided bun which made her look really beautiful.

Seeing the change in Lilith, Sasha felt that something had happened between Aditya and her mother last night. Lilith silently looked at Aditya. Aditya gave her looking at him. He raised his eyebrows to ask 'What's the matter'. But Sasha just shook her head as if nothing 'it nothing' which left Aditya confused.

Others also felt confused seeing this.

Julia and Alicia exchanged a look of knowing. Both girls could clearly see that Lilith has become more beautiful today. Her character also seems to have changed slightly. Both girls were sure that something had happened between Lilith and Aditya.

As for Riya, and Lara, both girls were completely confused.

"Please come with me. I will show you three of your rooms." Huda and her parents carried their language and followed Lilith behind.

As soon as Lilith left, the other girls surrounded Aditya.

"What happened between you and Lilith?" Alicia asked as she put her hands on her waist.

"Yeah, you better not hide anything." Sasha also joined in.

Aditya was already beginning to sweat as he was surrounded by all the girls for answers. But then Aditya noticed Zarim and Calista walking towards their desert ship.

"It looks like Zarim and Calista are here to say goodbye. I will go and talk to them." In the blink of an eye, Aditya teleported in front of Zarim and Calista. Both Zarim and Calista were startled as Aditya suddenly teleported in front of them.

"Your Majesty, are you leaving?" Zarim asked in a timid tone. The memories of what happened yesterday were still very fresh in his mind. The current Zarim was like a lion who had lost his ability to roar.

Aditya weirdly looked at this guy and wondered why was he asking such an obvious question. Can't he see that he was leaving? "Yes. Our original intention has been to start touring around the Beast Continent. We just happened to start our journey from Savannahclaw City.

"I see." Zarim nodded his head in understanding.

However, Aditya did not want this guy to think that just because he was leaving the Savannahclaw city didn't mean that he could do whatever he wanted.

"If you get any funny ideas or if you even think of plotting anything behind Calista's back, then I will show you and your clan hell." Aditya looked into his eyes and told him in a bone-chillingly cold tone.

Looking at Aditya, Zarim's entire body shivered as his face turned pale. He took a few steps back from Aditya while trembling. After a few seconds, Zarim somehow calmed himself. With a forced smile, he responded. "I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty."

Aditya simply nodded his head before he turned his head to Calista who was nervously standing in front of Aditya. Standing in front of the Emperor of the Istarin Empire made her nervous.

"Calista, there is no need to be worried. You won't need to worry about the Savannahclaw city being attacked by any other clan or any other force. Even if anyone dared to attack Savannahclaw City despite knowing that this city is under the protection of the Istarin Empire, then I will personally come here and destroy the enemy." Hearing his cold words, Calista strangely felt relieved.

"As for the water in the Oasis, there is no need to worry about it. This morning, my fiance Riya used her powers to restore the water levels of the Oasis. From now on, regardless of how much water is consumed, the water level in the Oasis will remain the same." Hearing this both Zarim and Calista had a look of relief. Now they won't need to worry about the water supply in Savannahclaw City.

Aditya had taken Riya to the Oasis. For Riya restoring the water level of the Oasis was a very simple trick. And in order to make sure that the water level will remain the same, she also has blessed the Oasis with her powers as the Goddess of Nature.

Because of her blessing, the water of the Oasis will be as pure as spring water and will be full of minerals. Not just that but also, whoever drinks the water of the Oasis for a long time, that person will live longer and will be healthier than others. Drinking the Oasis water on a regular basis would also give the people resistance against weak and small curses and poisons. But Aditya decided to not tell Zarim and Calista about it. He let them find out about the Miracles of the Oasis water by themselves.

"Just because the water level in the Oasis will stay the same doesn't mean that you two are allowed to abuse this resource and exploit it. There should be a limit to how much water is being used for consumption." Aditya strictly warned them. After all, if the water depleted too quickly then even with Riya's blessing, the water level of the Oasis won't be able to recover. And eventually, the whole Oasis will become dry.

Hearing this Calista and Zarim repeatedly nodded their heads.

"I will leave the rest up to your hands. Goodbye." Saying that Aditya teleported back to the desert ship which was 100 meters away from Zarim and Calista.

Slowly the desert ship started moving away from the Savannahclaw City. Under Zarim and Calista's eyes, the desert ship slowly moved further from the city.

From the cabin of the ship, Aditya and the girls watched as Savannahclaw City slowly became smaller and smaller.

To Riya, this place held a lot of special memories.

"I had fun while staying here. So before I left, I have blessed this land. From now on, it will rain more frequently. There will be heavy rain at least twice a month. Not only that but also my blessing will slowly change this land to become more fertile and suitable for agriculture." Riya said as she stared at the Savannahclaw City with a soft smile.

She did all of this to make sure that her blessing brought prosperity to Savannahclaw City and its citizens.

"Wow, you could do all that with your blessing." Alicia looked genuinely surprised and impressed by Riya's powers.

"Of course. I could do even more cool things." Riya proudly raised her chest.

Meanwhile, Aditya was talking with Huda and her parents.

"What do you think? With all the changes that I made in Savannahclaw City, I believe the living standard in Savannahclaw City is only to get better in the future. If you want you three could stay in this city and watch as this city transforms." The reason that Huda and her parents were moving away from Savannahclaw city was because of harsh living conditions.

But now things had changed. As Riya said, this land was soon going to prosper.

Aditya was giving them another chance to think this through. After all, the family of three right now had no destination in their minds. The original plan was for them to travel with Aditya's group for a while until they found a suitable city to settle down.

Kareem deeply began to think. As he looked back at the Savannahclaw City, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of attachment to this city. This was the place where he was born and where he had spent all of his life. This was the place where his daughter was born. There was no doubt that this place was special in his heart and in his family's heart.

"Your Majesty......"

Scene change_____

Before parting aways, Aditya handed Kareem a bag that was full of gold coins. In that leather bag, there were around 10,000 royal gold coins. Although Kareem wanted to refuse and give the bag back, Aditya did not let him.

"Kareem, use this money to educate yourself and your daughter. Once you're educated, then with this money, you can start a business." Kareem was on the verge of tears as held the heavy leather bag that was full of gold coins.

Aditya then turned to Huda. "Goodbye, Huda. Take care of yourself. If fate allows then we will surely meet each other again."

"Thank you for everything. Your Majesty." Huda once again bowed her head to Aditya.

Once Huda, Kareem, and Aisha got off the desert ship, it was only Aditya and the girls. Aditya took one last look at Huda and her family before he turned the ship around. Aditya was sure that he would never forget about the hospitality that Huda's parents had shown him when he visited them. He would never forget his meeting with Huda.

"They are good people. People like them are very hard to find in this world." Aditya had to agree with Riya's words.

"Well, Life is a Journey. I once heard a wise man saying, live your life like traveller because nothing in this world is permanent. Death is inevitable.Well, that's true at least for normal humans like Huda and her parents."

"For us, 100 years is nothing. But for them, 100 years is a lot. Maybe the next time we will met, Huda will be a beautiful grown woman. Maybe by then her parents would have passed away. Or Maybe we will never meet as their life spans are simply too short."

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 583

The whole Beast Continent is twice the size of the Dying Isle Continent. The Beast Continent is considered as TheMother Continent by the Beast race as it is believed that all Beast races originated from this continent. All beast races hold great value to this continent. Due to this sentimental attachment, the beast continent was never invaded. Even if it was invaded, the invaders were defeated by the beast race. When facing outside invader, all of the beast-race tribes put their rivalry and enmity aside and joins hands to fight the enemy. To this day, the Beast-continent remains the only Continent that has the least foreign influence.

While in recent years, the unity among the beast-races has worsened and this has allowed a few foreign Empires to colonize small pieces of the beast continent. But the beast continent is a land that held no value.

After all, 1/5th of the entire continent is a desert. The Beast continent has the second-largest desert in the whole world.

The whole continent is divided into five regions. The Eastern Region, The Northern region, The Southern region, The Western Region, and The central region.

Currently, Aditya and the girls are in the Northern region; at the very edge of the Northern region would be more accurate. The Savannahclaw city that was left behind is located at the very northern edge of the Continent, near the sea.

The Northern region where the second largest desert in the world. This region is also the least densely populated region within the Beast continent. Only a very few tribes manage to survive in this harsh weather. And those tribes that do live in the desert, live close to the coastline. They rely on fish and harvest rainwater to survive.

These tribes are the only tribes within the beast continent that consume fish. Their diets are mostly fish-based. It doesn't mean that these tribes don't eat meat or vegetables. But Fish was more available and a much cheaper option for them. The beast-folks loves eating meat and vegetable but when it comes to consuming Fish, they are a bit hesitant and would avoid eating it if possible.

In a way, this separates the beast tribes of the Northern region from other regions of the Beast Continent.

In the summertime, the northern part of the Beast Continent becomes incredibly hot. It's the hottest place in the entire region. The amount of rain it gets goes way down, making it drier. The heat is so intense that a normal person can't stay in the desert for more than an hour without risking their health.

When winter comes, the nights turn really cold, making life very hard. More people in the north lose their lives because of the freezing cold than from the heat or lack of water. In fact, the number of people dying from the cold is about four times more than those who die from the heat and thirst.

Every year, these extreme weather conditions in the northern region cause a lot of problems. The heat in summer and the cold in winter are both dangerous in their own ways, making it a tough place to live. The drastic change in weather from one season to the next makes it a challenging environment for the people who live there.

"I heard that a long time ago, the Northern region was where all the troublemakers and bad people from other parts of the continent were sent against their will. But instead of dying in that tough climate, they found ways to live through it. Over time, more and more people were sent there, and the population grew," Alicia shared.

"That's quite fascinating. I didn't know you were interested in history," Riya commented as she sat down next to Alicia. They were all gathered in the living room of the ship. The room had clear glass windows through which they could see where the ship was going. If there were any things in the way, they could easily steer the ship in a different direction right from the living room.

"Well, I like history a bit. One of my team members who helps me with work is from the Beast Continent. She's told me some stories about its past," Alicia explained, reaching for the glass of cold iced tea Aditya had made for everyone. The conversation was casual and relaxed as they all enjoyed the comfort of the ship's living room, chatting and looking out at the passing scenery.

"After a while, people realized that sending criminals to the Northern region wasn't killing them, so they stopped doing that. Now, I've heard that many tribes in the north have a tougher way of dealing with criminals. They chain them up and leave them in the desert, telling them to try and survive for three days. But without water, surviving in that desert is pretty much impossible. In the end, those people don't make it, and wild magic creatures in the desert end up eating them," Alicia explained, taking another sip of her delicious iced tea.

"That sounds really harsh," Julia remarked.

"It is, but it's usually for people who have done something really, really bad, something that can't be forgiven. Instead of just cutting off their heads or hanging them, they're left in the desert. It's a way of making sure they get punished," Alicia added.

Aditya turned his attention to Lara, showing his care for her. He gently placed his hand on her forehead, feeling for any sign of fever or sickness. Lara, being a normal vampire, didn't have the same strong health as the others, and Aditya wanted to make sure she was okay during their trip.

"Husband, Lara is doing well now," Lara replied, her voice filled with appreciation for Aditya's concern.

Aditya, wanting to keep her comfortable, used his knowledge of runes, to create a special device. These devices would take in the hot air and make the room cooler than normal, ensuring Lara wouldn't feel too warm.

Hearing her response, Aditya let out a relieved sigh. "That's great to hear," he said, happy that Lara was feeling fine. His efforts to make the journey comfortable for everyone, especially Lara, showed his caring nature.

Julia looked at Aditya, curious and impressed. "Aditya, how did you make these cold drinks? They're really delicious." She took another sip of the iced tea, clearly enjoying it. Aditya was surprised that this might be their first time trying iced tea.

"I'll show you how to make it sometime soon," Aditya replied with a friendly smile. He sat down beside Lara and gazed out of the window to see the landscape they were passing through.

Lilith, with a smile on her face, joined the conversation. "Aditya, this iced tea could become my second favorite drink," she said cheerfully.

Aditya had a feeling that asking about her favorite drink might lead to a cheeky response. Sure enough, Lilith playfully said, "Of course, my favorite is Aditya's milk."

Cough!!! Cough!!!

At her answer, Aditya suddenly coughed, almost choking on his drink. He tried to regain his composure, coughing loudly.

Hearing Lilith's words, everyone was left speechless. All the girls suddenly turned to Aditya who was coughing loudly.

Julia and Alicia instantly understood what Lilith meant. After all, the two girls were experienced players. However, even then, hearing her words, they blushed furiously.

Riya and Sasha did not understand what Lilith meant by Aditya's milk but seeing Aditya's reaction, both girls also understood what Lilith meant. Riya's face instantly turned red. Sasha was even more embarrassed. She glared at her mother for saying something so vulgar.

"Husband....husband...!!!" Lara innocently pulled Aditya's sleeve.

Cough!!!

"What is it, Lara?" He asked.

"Husband, can Lara also drink your milk?" Lara innocently asked.

"....Aditya was left speechless hearing Lara's words.

Meanwhile, all the girls glared at Lilith. Everyone knew that Lara was too pure and too innocent.

Seeing everyone glaring at her, Lilith looked away and began to whistle. She pretended to not notice anything.

Sigh!!!

Aditya sighed before he rubbed Lara's head and then said with a forced smile. "Lara, Lilith is just joking. Forget what you heard. Men are not capable of producing milk."

"Okay." Lara nodded her head.

"Hehe!!! Of course, men could produce milk." Lilith giggled and said a in low tone.

Hearing this Aditya and the rest of the girls glared at Lilith. Seeing this Lilith covered her mouth and looked away. Fortunately, since Lara was a normal Vampire, her senses weren't as sensitive as everyone's so she couldn't hear what Lilith said in a low tone.

"Husband, Lara is feeling sleepy. Lara wants to sleep." Lara already had been awake for 5 hours now. Even if she wanted to stay awake, she wouldn't be able to do it because of her illness.

"Alright. I will take you to your room." Aditya picked Lara in his arms.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 584

The desert ship continued to move forward. The ship was traveling through the second-largest desert in the whole world to reach the other regions of the Beast Continent. Compared to the speed at which Aditya, Sasha, Riya, Lilith, and Riya could travel, it could be said that the desert ship moved really slowly in their eyes.

Depending upon the terrain, the ship's speed could reach up to 110 Kilometers per hour. Whereas normally the ship would move at the speed of 80 kilometers per hour.

It wasn't as if Aditya and others were in a hurry. If they were, then Aditya wouldn't have brought everyone along on this journey. He especially never would have brought Lara along with them. After all, there was no specific location of the Dragon Grass.

Time flew by and before they knew it, night had fallen. The sun had set, and the sky was clear and filled with stars. The moon, shaped like a thin curve, shone brightly, adding to the beauty of the night sky.

Aditya looked around at everyone and asked, "What do you all feel like having for dinner?" He had made sure to bring a variety of foods and drinks for the trip. And they didn't have to worry about running out of vegetables or meat.

With Riya, who was the Goddess of Nature, they could always have fresh vegetables. Riya had the special ability to make plants grow, even in the desert. So, they could have fresh veggies whenever they wanted.

"I'm fine with anything," Sasha replied casually. She was busy sharpening her daggers. Everyone seemed to be doing something or the other, keeping themselves occupied as they relaxed in the comfort of the ship's living room.

"The main question should be who should cook tonight?" Julia asked this question. Although Julia knew a little bit about cooking, she didn't think she was suited for cooking dinner. She learned a little bit about cooking back when she used to work as Aditya's maid and kept her real identity hidden.

Since they did not bring any maids or servants with them, the cooking had to be done by one of them.

"I can cook." Riya excitedly raised her hand.

Hearing this everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Riya with suspicious gazes.

"Since, when were you able to cook?" Alicia asked her with a suspicious gaze.

Hearing this Riya pouted and said in an unhappy tone. "Hey, that's rude!!! I always have been able to cook." Riya excitedly said.

Hearing this although everyone still had suspicion, no one said anything. "Alright, Riya, tonight you will be in charge of making dinner for us," Aditya said with a smile. Though he had a feeling that he was going to regret his decision.

"Alright." Riya looked really excited at the thought of cooking for Aditya and everyone.

"Hey!!! What's that?" Hearing this everyone looked outside.

Looking outside, Aditya and everyone else were surprised to see strange monsters spawning everywhere in their sights.

Seeing the monsters Aditya immediately stopped the ship.

"They are Imps." Alicia instantly recognized what kind of monsters they were.

"Imps? What are Imps?" Riya asked while staring at the Imp monsters. With each passing second the number of imps was rapidly increasing.

Looking closely, these Imp monsters looked very similar to goblins. These monsters were around a height of 1 meter. All the imps were very skinny. These monsters weren't weak at all. Even the weakest of these monsters had the strength of a Peak 4th-order cultivator. While the strongest Imps had the strength of a Peak 5th-order cultivator.

"Imps are special kinds of monsters that only can be found in the Beast Continent. These monsters appear during the nighttime." Although Aditya had heard about Imps. He did not think that on their second night in the Beast Continent, they would encounter Imp monsters.

"These Imp monsters only appear in specific hot spots in the Beast Continent. I guess, without realizing it, we were traveling through one of these hot spots and ended up being surrounded by them." Alicia said.

"What should we do now?" Asked Julia.

"We fight obviously. If we don't fight, these Imp Monsters will attack our desert ship and will destroy it and then they will attack us. When Imp monsters appear, these monsters attack any living thing in their sight." These imp monsters had the ability to sense the presence of any living being around them. It was in their instinct to attack any living being in their sight.

Following Aditya everyone came to the ship's deck. By now the Imp already had surrounded the desert ship. The number of Imps that were heading in this direction was just too many to count. All they could see was imps and imps in all directions. And the number was only growing. As from all directions, more and more imps were heading in their direction.

"First we must prevent these imps from attacking our ship." Aditya that Aditya snapped his fingers. Suddenly a crimson wall of flame started forming around the entire ship. As the Crimson flame wall formed around the ships, everyone noticed that the imps had started backing down but they did not leave. Instead, they were waiting for 10 meters away from the crimson flame wall staring at the ship.

"The Sun and Flames are one of the major weaknesses of Imp monsters," Aditya explained why his Crimson flame wall stopped the Imp monsters from attacking their desert ship.

"Judging from the color of the Imps there are three types of Imps."

There were three different colors of Imps. The most common type of Imp monster was the green-skinned Imp monster. These green imps had green tail 'flames'. And two black horns growing from their forehead. These green imps looked a lot similar to Goblins. However, unlike goblins, these Img monsters had claws, and horns growing from their forehead. These imps did not have any gender. The green imps were melee fighters. Meaning that these green imps cannot use spells or elemental magic.

The second most common type of Imp monster was the orange-skinned Imp. These orange-skinned Imps were Archer Imps. They had a bow in their hand and a bunch of iron arrows in their quivers which was placed on their backs. The orange-skinned imps had an orange color flame on their tails. Unlike the green imps, these imps did not have any horns growing from their forehead.

And lastly, there was the purple-skinned imp monster. Matching their skin color, these imps also had dark purple color flames on their tails. These imps were known as Imp Mages. They were long-ranged attackers. These purple imps were the strongest among the imp monsters.

"You all stay here. Do not leave the ship, no matter what happens. I will take care of these damn monsters." Saying that Aditya flew away leaving the girls behind.

As soon as Aditya left the wall of crimson flame, all the imps turned their attention to Aditya. Aditya suddenly found countless iron arrows and dark elemental attacks coming in his direction.

Just before any of the attacks could hit him, he just disappeared. The next second, Aditya appeared more than 1000 meters away from the desert ship.

'I can't start a fight so close to the desert ship. Otherwise, Julia and others will end up getting caught in the range of my attacks.' Aditya thought in his mind. Aditya also did not want to damage the desert ship.

"It has been a while since I last fought." Aditya realized that as he grew stronger, the number of fights that he had kept decreasing. When he was just a 2nd-order cultivator, almost every single day he had to fight someone. But after reaching Beginner 4th-order, till now he only had one fight and that was also against the core member of that organization.

'If this keeps up then I won't have any opponent to fight at all.' Aditya thought. He felt he was suffering from his own success.

'I mean it's not like a bad problem to have.' Shaking his head, Aditya decided to end this as soon as possible. Since he still wanted to eat Riya's cooked meal.

Aditya wasn't that excited about fighting these imps. After all, these imps weren't that intelligent. These imps had the same intelligence level as low-level goblins. These imps will attack by following their instinct. Even a 5-year-old child could make smarter decisions than these Peak 5th-order Imps.

Aditya suddenly flew up in the air. He flew more than 400 meters above the sky. He wasn't standing still, he was constantly dodging the attacks form the imp archers and the Imp mages.

Aditya stretched out his right palm. A crimson flame orb formed in his palm.

Scarlett Inferno!!!!

Aditya started pouring tons of his Mana into this Crimson flame orb. Before when he put Mana in his Crimson flame, the flame would grow in size and power. But now Aditya did not let it grow in size. Instead, as the power of the flame grew along with its temperature, he started compressing it.

The flame orb in his palm started shrinking while vibrating violently. As the size grew smaller, the vibration of the flame orb became more and more intense.

At some point, the flame orb became as small as a bullet. At that point, Aditya felt that he could not keep the flame orb in his control anymore. If he tried to shrink it anymore, then it was going to explode.

Knowing this he fired the flame bullet down like a bullet.

Boooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

Chapter 585

The flame orb in his palm started shrinking while vibrating violently. As the size grew smaller, the vibration of the flame orb became more and more intense.

At some point, the flame orb became as small as a bullet. At that point, Aditya felt that he could not keep the flame orb in his control anymore. If he tried to shrink it anymore, then it was going to explode.

Knowing this he fired the flame bullet down like a bullet. Under everyone's eyes, a very small sparkling bead shaped like a crimson object fell from the sky. Riya, Julia, Alicia, Sasha, and Lilith all looked at the object as it touched the ground. Around more than 10 kilometers away, a snake rose from the sands. This snake was also staring at the crimson bead-shaped object.

As soon as the small, glowing red bead touched the sand, something huge happened. There was a blinding flash of bright light that lit up everything like daytime for a moment. Then, a big cloud of red flames shot up into the sky, looking like a giant flower opening up.

Boooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The heat was so intense that it felt like the whole desert had turned into an oven. The sand around where the bead landed turned into glass because it got so hot. All the scary Imp monsters that had been lurking around were gone in an instant, leaving nothing behind. Not even their ashes were left behind.

The force of the explosion made a loud sound, like the worst thunderstorm one can imagine, and the ground shook as if the earth itself was scared. It was like the biggest fireworks had gone off, but much more powerful. The red flames from the explosion were so bright and hot, it was like nothing anyone had ever seen before.

"This crazy bastard." Sasha cursed Aditya for being so reckless. Doesn't he realize that they were also going to get caught in the shockwave of the explosion?

"Everyone hurry up and make a Mana barrier around the whole desert ship." Lilith hurriedly said in a panicked tone. If they didn't make Mana barriers around the desert ship, then the shockwave was going to destroy this entire ship as well.

All the girls could see that as a result of the powerful explosion, a huge shockwave of Crimson flames was heading in their direction. The shockwave of the Crimson flames was so bright that in front of the wave of the crimson flames, even the 100-meter-long desert ship looked like a toy.

Fortunately, among the five girls, three of them had the strength of a 5th-order cultivator.

"Mana shield!!!!!"

The three of them created three transparent glass-like Mana barriers around the whole ship so that hopefully their barriers could withstand the shockwave from Aditya's attack.

However, Riya wasn't done yet.

"Essence of the wilderness, heed my entreaty,

Grant me the vigor and might, for I am the sovereign of verdure.

Rise, Rampart of the Desert Sands!"

Boooom...!!!!!

Under Riya's command, a huge amount of Sand began rising above the ground. Before the shockwave hit them, Riya was able to add an extra layer of protection to the desert ship by adding a sand wall between the shockwave and the desert ship.

However, just like the girls had expected, the Sand barrier was blown away like cotton. Most of the sand from the intense heart instantly turned into small glass particulars before these small glass particulars shattered into billions of small pieces that cannot be even seen by the naked eye because of the shockwave. All this happened within a matter of microseconds.

It was the three Mana barriers along with the support from Alicia and Julia that somehow managed to withstand the shockwave attack.

Booooom...!!!!!

As soon as the shockwave hit the Mana barriers around the ship, large cracks around the whole ship started forming within seconds. At the same time, the Desert ship was being pushed back at the speed of 500+ kilometers per hour.

"Everyone use everything that you have," Lilith shouted loudly. Lilith, Riya, Sasha, Alicia, and Julia, all poured every single bit of their Mana into the Mana shield. As a result of their joint effort, the large cracks were restored however the desert ship did not stop moving backward. The desert ship was swept away by the huge and powerful shockwave of the explosion.

Seeing the crimson shockwave spreading out in all directions, the little snake that was watching everything from 10 km away became scared. The snake turned around and immediately began running away with all of its might fearing that the shockwave would end its life.

The shockwave of this explosion was so strong that even a Peak 5th-order Mage would be reduced to ashes within seconds.

Aditya couldn't see what was happening as before the explosion happened, he used his powers to teleport more than 20 km away from the range of the explosion.

Watching the massive scale of the explosion, Aditya became worried about the girls and the desert ship. He suddenly felt guilty for using such a powerful attack. But to be honest, even Aditya did not think that this attack would be so deadly and powerful. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this attack was even more powerful than 15 kilotons of TNT nuclear bomb.

"I really hope that they are alright." Aditya didn't look that worried since he had added protection barriers around the ship. After Lilith left him last time, Aditya spent another hour making Mana shield around the desert ship.

"Combined with Riya, Lilith, Alicia, Julia, and Sasha's powers, I am sure they would be able to keep themselves protected. But still, that was very reckless of me." Aditya reflected on his mistake. He regretted using this kind of attack.

He sighed in relief as he could sense that Riya, Lilith, Lara, Alicia, Julia, and Sasha all were safe and their lives were not in danger.

When Aditya rose to the air to use his Crimson flame, he was driven by curiosity to know what would happen if instead of increasing the size and scale of the Crimson orb, he just compressed the crimson orb as small as possible.

And Aditya now knows that the result is frightening. "Fortunately we are in a desert. Otherwise, If I had used this attack in the Istarin Empire, then it would have changed the entire landscape and would have erased mountains and forests from the map forever." Aditya felt he would have regretted it if he had used such an attack on the Istarin empire.

"I really hope that there doesn't come a day when I would need to use this move," Aditya said to himself before he disappeared.

It did not take Riya, Lilith, Alicia, Julia, and Sasha to realize that there was a protective barrier around the ship itself as well. Combined with the outer mana barrier that they made to protect themselves from the shockwave, nothing happened to the desert ship or the girls.

However, the shockwave did kept pushing the ship back for almost 1 minute and 30 seconds. After 1 minute and 30 seconds, Riya used her powers to fight the shockwave which had grown significantly weaker than before, and was able to stop the ship from being pushed back any further.

"Finally, it's over." All the girls felt exhausted as they consumed all of their Mana while trying to keep the desert ship protected. But when the ship had stopped, from the sight of the explosion, they were 13 km away. The shockwave had pushed them more than 13 kilometers away. This just goes to show just how powerful the shockwave was.

"I don't think that in the history of the Beast Continent, such a massive and powerful explosion has ever happened before," Alicia said as she fell to her knees from exhaustion. Her body was covered in a layer of sweat. And her face looked pale as well. This was because she used all of her Mana and also was feeling very nervous facing the shockwave.

"Just how powerful the shockwave had to be if it forced all two Peak 5th-order cultivators and the goddess of Nature who is a Mid 5th-order cultivator to use all of their Mana just to keep themselves protected? And I am afraid even then it wouldn't have been enough if that rascal hadn't created a Mana shield around the whole desert ship." Just knowing the sheer power behind this shockwave was enough to send chills down Julia's spine. She was just like Alicia. Her face was pale and she was panting heavily. Her body was covered in sweat.

Sasha, Lilith, and Riya were so tired that they were just lying on the deck of the ship and panting heavily. Their faces had turned really pale. Their bodies and their faces were covered in sweat. The three had been pushed to the point where they would have been unconscious by now if they hadn't taken the Mana recovery pills that Julia made for them.

"Hmph!!!Let's wait for that rascal to return home. Tonight, he will be sleeping on the couch." Julia snorted and said in an angry tone.

Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!

I have uploaded the image of the shockwave from the desert ship and also how the Crimson flame orb that Aditya compressed to become like a bead would look like. If you're interested then check the comments.

Chapter 586

"Do you understand that you could have hurt us really badly with what you did?" The words were stern, and Aditya could only nod his head in response, feeling sorry and guilty for his actions.

Right now, the ruler of Istarin was sitting quietly on the floor, surrounded by his partners. They were all pretty upset with him because of the chaos he had caused.

"What's your reason for doing something so risky?" Alicia asked, her arms crossed and her eyes expecting an answer. Her voice was very stern and she had a cold look on her face.

"I didn't realize my attack would cause so much harm to the land. I need to think more before I act," Aditya admitted, regret in his voice.

Lilith had to hold back a giggle when she saw Aditya being scolded, but she caught the disapproving looks from Sasha and Riya and decided it was better to keep quiet.

Once Aditya returned to the ship, he was forced to sit on the floor and listen to everyone's lecture for an hour.

"Okay, everyone, I think it's time we stop being mad at Aditya," Julia said to the group, hoping to ease the tension.

Sigh!!!

Alicia just touched her forehead and let out a long sigh. The cold and stern look on her face faded away. She blamed herself a little for falling for such a troublemaker in the first place.

They all loved him too much to stay mad at him for long.

"Get up, Aditya. But please, be more careful next time. We can't have you doing dangerous things like this again," Alicia said, her tone softer now.

"But how are we going to fix all this mess?" Riya wondered out loud as they all looked at the damaged land from the ship's deck. Aditya stood up and joined her to survey the aftermath.

Even after a full hour had gone by since the huge blast, there was still dark smoke going up into the sky. The air above them was filled with dark clouds that had come from the blast.

"I'm not sure what to do," Alicia said, feeling a headache coming on from all the stress.

In front of them, the desert had a huge hole, a crater that was 26 kilometers wide. It was so big and deep that they couldn't even see the bottom from where they were standing on the ship.

There was a bit of good news, though. The explosion had gotten rid of more than a hundred thousand of the nasty Imp monsters. They were all turned to dust by the explosion, and even that dust was gone, blown away by the force of the blast. Around the edges of the giant hole, there were tiny, sharp pieces of glass scattered around. They were made from the sand that melted because of the incredible heat from the red flames. The land around the crater was ruined, with nothing left alive for as far as the eye could see. It was a powerful reminder of just how much damage the explosion had done.

"We should just leave this alone and let the Earth heal itself with time," Aditya suggested.

Hearing his words, everyone agreed by nodding. This part of the desert didn't belong to anyone, so they didn't need to explain what happened to anyone else.

Aditya thought about the future of this place. "I think if those Imp monsters spawn again, they'll probably stay at the bottom of this big pit. It's so deep, I don't think any of them could climb out." Everyone nodded with him. Even if all the imp monsters had been defeated, the next night, another one hundred or more imp monsters would spawn again. This was an unknown phenomenon that no one in the Beast Continent has been able to explain.

"It seems like something good did come from the explosion, at least." Aditya almost wanted to let out a little smile, but he caught the serious looks from all the girls and decided it was better to stay quiet. He knew he had gone a bit too far this time.

"Is our desert ship still in good shape?" Sasha asked. It was important because if the ship was broken, they would have to walk the rest of their journey.

"I haven't seen any problems on the outside of the ship, but just to be sure, I'll go check everything," Aditya said, feeling it was his duty to make sure the ship was completely safe after the explosion.

"Okay," everyone agreed with his plan to inspect the ship.

Julia turned to Riya with a bit of worry, "Riya, would you be able to cook dinner for us tonight?" She felt a bit uncomfortable asking since Riya must be really tired.

"Absolutely! I was just about to go to the kitchen. You're all going to enjoy what I make!" Riya responded cheerfully. Instead of feeling reassured, the others felt a bit worried about her confidence in her cooking.

As Riya walked away from the deck, everyone watched her go until she was out of sight. Then Sasha turned to Aditya with a curious look. "Aditya, have you ever seen Riya cook before?"

"No, I've never seen her cook. But let's not worry too much. Her cooking can't be that bad. We should think positively," Aditya replied, trying to stay optimistic.

"I mean what could possibly go wrong."

Scene change____

"When I joked about what could go wrong, I didn't imagine our meal would turn out like this," Aditya said, staring at the strange dish in front of them. The rice was a deep, dark purple, and it was swimming in some kind of purple sauce. Even the steam rising from the hot meal was tinted purple.

Aditya turned his gaze from the odd-looking dinner to Riya, who was watching him with a big smile, clearly eager for him to try it. Her eyes were shining with excitement like she really couldn't wait to see what he thought.

Gulp!!!!

Aditya swallowed hard, feeling a bit scared to take the first bite. He glanced around the table. Everyone looked just as uneasy as he felt, eyeing the purple meal that Riya had put in front of them.

"Ri...Riya, can you tell me what we're having? Is it some kind of special dish from the elves?" Aditya tried to sound casual, even though he was really worried about eating the food. He had some immunity against poison, sure, but looking at the purple food, he felt like it might be the end of him.

"Oh, no, it's just rice and curry," Riya answered sweetly, not realizing everyone's concern.

"Got it," Aditya replied, trying to keep his voice steady.

Just then, Lilith put her hand on her head, pretending to feel dizzy. "I think I need to rest. My Mana is really low, so I should probably get some rest in my room. Riya, can you save my portion? I'll eat it later," She said quickly, then hurried out of the room before anyone could say anything.

Aditya's eye gave a little twitch as he watched her leave. He wished he could make a quick exit too, but Riya looked so happy and expectant that he couldn't bring himself to hurt her feelings. Walking away now would be like saying he didn't appreciate all the work she'd put into cooking for them. It would same as insulting the effort that she put into cooking this food for them.

Aditya thought to himself, 'Well, here goes nothing,' and bravely took a spoonful of the bright purple dish. Everyone around the table watched him with wide, anxious eyes. Julia was even on the edge of her seat, almost ready to leap forward and stop him, thinking that the intense purple color meant the food must be bad. But she was too late.

They all waited for Aditya to spit it out and start writhing in pain, but that moment never came. Instead, Aditya just chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed without any fuss.

"How does it taste?" Riya asked, her hands clasped together in anticipation.

"It's actually okay, but maybe try using a little less salt next time," Aditya suggested after he took another mouthful. Hearing this Riya was very happy.

Encouraged by Aditya's calm reaction, the rest of the group slowly began to try the food. Julia was very careful as she tasted it. A second later, her face showed surprise. The food wasn't as bad as she and others feared. It wasn't the most amazing meal, but it definitely wasn't terrible. It was a relief to find out that it wasn't poisoned and that they could actually eat it.

When Julia and Aditya started eating without any problem, Alicia decided to give it a try too. She put a small amount in her mouth and was hit by the overwhelming taste of salt. It felt like there were no other flavors, just salt upon salt. It was so salty she almost couldn't keep it in her mouth.

But she didn't want to hurt Riya's feelings, so she kept eating, just like Aditya and Julia had done. Sasha did the same, managing to eat without making any faces that would show how the food really tasted. Both Alicia and Sasha finished their portions quickly and then excused themselves to go to their rooms. Julia also left soon after, saying she was tired and needed to sleep.

With everyone else gone, Riya moved closer to Aditya, who was still eating but much more slowly now. "Tell me the truth... The food is really bad, isn't it?" she asked quietly, her head down, looking a little sad.

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